I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 48 ­ Rank Game

* * *

“Die, you bastards!”

“Дебил, Умира？щие американские детеныши!” (“Idiot, dying American children!”)

Cursing, gunfire, and screams.

It only took a few hours for the library, which did not tolerate anything but the sound of pages turning, to become a ruin filled with blood, shattered stone fragments, and wooden debris.

The promising talents who were set to lead the future of the US military and the elite killing machines from Russia clashed, piling up bodies that no longer had any value.

Among them, the ones being pushed back were none other than the cadets of the United States Military Academy – West Point.

As the Omega Virus spread worldwide, they took up arms, stood guard, and took in refugees, fulfilling their roles as officers.

Unfortunately, their capabilities were insufficient to handle the Russian airborne brigade that descended from the sky, armed with various heavy weapons and even infantry fighting vehicles.

Sniper rifles shattered the heads of those standing guard, and the thick exterior walls of buildings and hastily constructed barricades were mercilessly destroyed by heavy weaponry.

Like cutting through a cake, the enemies quickly pushed into the campus, cutting through their lines like a storm. The cadets, quickly pushed back, struggled to continue sporadic battles inside the buildings.

However, their firepower and capabilities were no match for the enemy.

Despite dedicating their sleepless nights to the nation and its people, it was extremely difficult to contend with the killing machines who had prepared meticulously under the cover of darkness.

“The enemies have flanked to the right, cough!”

“Damn, Kevin’s hit! We need to retreat!”

“Leave me, let go…! I’m done for!”

A bullet pierced his abdomen.

Blood flowed from his stomach and back, soaking his shirt and pants, staining the floor red, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop. He was slowly dying.

However, he didn’t let go of the pistol in his hand. He would die here. And if he was going to die anyway, that was what he would want.

The sound of metal and screams was joined by the crackling of fire. Grenades, heavy weapons, and rocket flames easily burned through the library’s collections.

An uncontrollable blaze erupted. The smoke rising to the ceiling carried the lives of countless individuals.

With a ping, the slide of the pistol in Kevin’s hand retracted. He was out of ammo. The strength of his hand groping for his pocket gradually weakened.

“…Kevin, damn it, we need to retreat! Go further inside!”

“Fuck, there’s nowhere else to go!”

“Hah, we’re royally screwed.”

His vision blurred.

The floor was now covered in his blood. His finger on the pistol trigger was stark white. His entire body felt heavy, and the sounds were buzzing.

Thunk.

The impact of a bullet piercing his shoulder knocked him backward. Since he was already dying, the pain was less than he expected.

He lay still, staring at the ceiling.

The noise faded away. All the loud voices gradually left his ears.

His comrades were saying something, but he could no longer move.

As his body was dragged somewhere, leaving a long trail of blood, his senses gradually faded.

Soon, no one was left around him.

However,

───Boom!

A vibration shook his entire body.

As the wall broke and countless fragments flew in all directions, two silhouettes emerged from the crater caused by the explosion.

Amidst the unfamiliar gunfire and corresponding screams that shattered against the walls, a needle pierced his thigh.

Only a few seconds had passed, but as his senses gradually returned, the gunshot wound burned as if on fire. It was an intense pain that reminded him he was still alive.

A scream escaped even though he clenched his teeth.

Through barely opened eyes, he saw a figure.

“It’s a medical nanomachine injector. Don’t move. Your wounds will heal slower.”

“…Ah….”

Even in the middle of the battlefield, the eyes glowed blue.

A blazing phoenix mark.

As he took it all in, he lost consciousness on the spot.

[Haptic: Numerous enemies in Washington Hall. It’s a bit hard for just the two of us to push through. Can you support us?]

“We just finished clearing the library, so we’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t force your way in, just deal with the approaching enemies as if cutting off a protrusion.”

After swapping in a new magazine and chambering a round, he had ten magazines left.

It seemed like a lot, but it meant they had used about a third of their total. Without air support, they would have run out a long time ago.

Regardless, it was certainly enough to clean up the remaining enemies in the facility.

He took a moment to catch his breath, checked for any lost items, and took out an IR marker from his pocket. He heard it emitted a massive amount of infrared light when activated.

From deep within the library, people started pouring out. There were dozens, ranging from soldiers to armed civilians.

Automatically, the script proceeded.

He handed the IR marker to the leader, briefly explained its usage, and informed them that the support team was ready to depart.

On the Hudson River, which occupied most of the right side of the map, dozens of boats were approaching to transport the allied forces. They varied from ferries to motorboats.

While moving quickly, he confirmed everything that needed to be confirmed.

[Current allied forces: 91%.]

[Current enemy forces: 34%.]

“Despite so many casualties, we still have a significant amount of allied forces left.”

That’s because the rest were all scripted deaths.

91%??? What am I seeing right now?????

Fact) The average survival rate of the allied forces with a cheat build is a mere 35%.

You’re doing this in public matches? In public matches? In public matches? In public matches? In public matches?

Astonishing! My jaw is perpetually dropped! Someone help me close my jaw!

Enemy forces 34%.

However, due to consecutive bombings that wiped out their temporary command and communication systems, the actual combat was far easier than before.

Without orders to move, the enemy squads turned passive and became easy targets. This was true everywhere.

Of course, it should be noted that this was against AI in a game.

The straight-line distance to Washington Hall was roughly 150 meters.

The rendezvous was quicker than he expected, and as soon as the split party reunited, the airborne brigade fell like autumn leaves.

Since this wasn’t a real-life engagement, the enemy’s movements weren’t particularly smart.

So, his fingers kept twitching as he pulled the trigger, and the speed at which the magazines emptied and the speed of their advance were almost proportional.

The percentage of forces was now dropping to the low 20s.

Considering that a force is deemed annihilated when 20% is lost, it was basically a complete rout.

Specifically, even without their intervention, the sporadic resistance from the allied forces was enough to take out the remaining enemies.

As the operation time exceeded an hour in-game, a flare shot up high into the sky.

Boats filling the Hudson River and dozens of Blackhawks landed wherever they could.

Civilians, cadets, professors, and instructors boarded various transport vehicles, disappearing into the darkness over the black sky and the Hudson River.

Amidst the propeller winds so strong it was hard to even open his eyes, countless messages popped up, signaling the end of the mission.

They announced the mission clear.

[ISO: An amazing achievement. Hundreds of people. I didn’t expect we’d rescue so many. The base will be busy for a while. We’ll have to convert nearby buildings into accommodations or something.]

[ISO: I’d love to pop a bottle of champagne in celebration, but it’s a bit early without the participants. Let’s talk after you return. This mission will greatly enhance the support the base can provide.]

[Mission: Retake West Point – Southern Infiltration // Recommended party size: 4]

[Difficulty: Very Hard (Hardcore users present)]

[Current status: Completed]

[Clear time // 01:13:02]

[Allied forces: 89%.]

[Enemy forces: 13%.]

[Mission clear rank: Omega]

[Base function unlocked: Gunsmith / Weapon Manufacturing]

[Blueprints obtained: RPK-16 / AK-74MR / AK-12 / AS-Val / MK18 / MCX………and 18 others.]

[Accessible ammo production lines: 7N39 / M955 / SSAAP…………and 11 others.]

[With the additional support operators joining, the probability of obtaining additional rewards in missions increases slightly, and the likelihood of clearing difficult mission routes rises.]

“…They’re giving a lot of stuff.”

What the hell???????

Clear rank Omega, hahaha.

Stop being so good! Stop being so good! How are we supposed to watch anyone else’s streams after this!!!!!!!!

I’m not running West Point public matches for a while, damn it.

It pisses me off thinking about noobs trying to imitate this and getting wiped out.

There were a lot of familiar words, but I was just bewildered.

Since I didn’t know much about the game beforehand, I was just pushing through in my own way… whatever. Don’t think too much about it. I’ll figure it out eventually.

The three… party members who played the mission with me approached as the loud sound of the Blackhawk assigned to us roared.

I greeted them lightly.

“Good work. It must have been quite a struggle. Did you get anything useful?”

“Uh… we got more than we could have hoped for. Thank you, Ms Yoo Jin. Do you have plans for other missions?”

“If I do, it’ll probably be through random matching like this time.”

So please put that regretful expression behind you.

With that general feeling, I carefully sat in the helicopter’s seat. As the door closed, the clear night sky faintly appeared beyond the window.

Thus, one mission ended.

We returned to the base.

Are you planning to participate in the Dark Zone E-sports Asia preliminaries starting this September?

“Well. If I can, I’d like to, but I don’t know anything about the events or eligibility.”

That was the start of the debate.

Despite showing exceptional in-game skills that others couldn’t easily imitate, I knew nothing about this part.

My words piqued the curiosity of viewers who knew all sorts of information from playing countless games,

And soon, a flood of donations and chats started pouring in.

Unable to handle it in-game any longer, I had no choice but to move to the private room designated for streamers – the place where I first started broadcasting.

For about 30 minutes, there was a wild mess, summarized as follows:

The PVP events include Survival, Apex Predator, Team Six, and Fallen Angel.

Among these, Team Six and Fallen Angel are team games with 5 and 4 players respectively, so you need to find compatible teammates or join an E-sports team.

Survival and Apex Predator are modified battle royale genres, playable solo, with ranked games featuring tournament rules during the E-sports period.

So, my choices were limited to Survival and Apex Predator.

The tournament rules were about significantly increasing item drop rates or adjusting various factors to induce intense early skirmishes.

To help users adapt to tournament rules, they created a separate ranked server, called Tournament Rank.

“So, when does this Tournament Rank start?”

It’s already open.

Ah.

Then… I counted the dates. It was mid-August now, meaning there were only a few weeks left until the tournament started.

Taking a small breath, I read the post online.

The Tournament Rank starts at TIER 2, and in other games, it’s equivalent to Master, indicating basic eligibility to participate.

The tier order is WOL 1, WOL 2, WOL 3, Recon, SOF, TIER 2, TIER 1, and Medal of Honor, roughly corresponding to Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum/Diamond/Master/Grandmaster/Challenger in other games.

Hmm. So, basically, I need to grind ranked matches to reach as high as possible. I wondered what the benefits were, but whatever….

Actually, I had already decided on the event in my mind.

After logging back into the game, I clicked Apex Predator without hesitation.

Specifically, it seemed like a mix of an old chicken dinner game, a game of duty and call, and a battle royale game shared with a world of falling titans.

Pressing the tournament ranked game button, I spoke as usual, without much thought.

“So… let’s try this today.”

Survival is too cold for me.