I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 49 ­ HALO

* * *

­[Prepare for high-altitude drop.］

­[The number of operators being deployed into a virtual training environment exceeding 7 square kilometers is one hundred. Only the most outstanding will seize victory. Use all assets obtained to survive.］

­[Test your survival instincts, familiarize yourself with weapons you’ve never used, and fight enemies in extreme environments that occasionally occur.］

­[All the experiences you gain here will become your foundation.］

­[Drop, drop, drop!］

“It’s not like we’re dropping at an exact location. What kind of half-baked…”

Thud.

I carefully landed on the ground and roughly organized the parachute scattered around. Although I spoke in a half-grumbling tone, I was genuinely bewildered.

Scattering people like flyers everywhere is common in battle royales, but actually jumping from an aircraft… Well, that’s enough.

A cool breeze blew.

From what I could see around me… This place also seemed like a dead city. Not like New York with high-rise buildings scattered around, but rather centered around a harbor.

In short, it felt a bit rough and artificial, if that makes sense.

I entered any nearby building to inspect the structure. It wasn’t a place I planned to stay long. This round was the first one, and I was just getting a general feel of the game’s flow.

But my relaxed mindset was wiped away by the sound of gunfire nearby.

At the top of the UI, the number representing the remaining players was already decreasing one by one.

───Clatter.

I opened boxes scattered around the building that gleamed faintly in a peculiar golden color, finding magazines, fully assembled firearms, bulletproof vests, and more.

Just walking around a little, various attachments for guns were everywhere, not to mention various tactical gear.

It only took less than a minute to get fully armed, suggesting that this game was, literally, for combat, by combat, and of combat.

Leaving the building, I entered a large store’s unloading area and checked the map.

As expected, in a battle royale game, something circular was closing in from the edges of the map towards the center. I could roughly guess what it was.

“….”

Footsteps.

They weren’t light. Rather, they were heavy, accompanied by the sound of military gear clanking and colliding.

The first engagement was the most important. The reason was simple: it would reveal what kind of scenario the developers had envisioned.

If you died after getting hit a few times, this mode would prioritize psychological warfare and survival over direct combat.

However, if you didn’t die easily even after taking several hits, the developers intended for intense firefights.

The vibrations sensed through my entire body roughly indicated the enemy’s location.

Thinking that the person was moving too carelessly, I aimed at the enemy who flung the door open.

The weapon was a shotgun. The shell was a slug round. Even if it hit the helmet, the kinetic energy would be enough to snap the neck.

When the heavy slug hit the chest with a hefty recoil,

───Bang!

“Argh!”

The enemy fell backward as if defying the laws of physics.

They wouldn’t die with just one shot, so I gave them roughly two or three more shots. Like some hedgehog game, they spewed items and vanished on the spot.

The number at the top of the UI decreased by one, and the kill count went up by one.

While searching for a more useful gun among the items, I spoke.

“It’s pretty realistic. Or maybe it’s because I shot a slug round.”

­Where’s the recoil, noona??????????

­Wow, clean shot.

­Throwing away a shotgun just a few minutes after picking it up, lol.

­This place is usually hot, but not many people here today.

­I believe you will play all 10 placement matches before sleeping^^7.

Usually, I didn’t use guns as soon as I grabbed them. Not only me, but the people I used to operate with also used their own customized guns.

I preferred Western firearms over Eastern bloc ones, and I liked carbines with suppressors that could handle most situations with one gun.

Unfortunately, the person I just eliminated… The only usable thing was an M1A.

Better than a shotgun.

I swapped the high-magnification scope on the Picatinny rail for an EOTech and adjusted the zero while adding,

“Since this is the first match, I won’t worry too much about safety and will play freely.”

If there were enemies nearby, I would pick a fight with them.

It was a meta that even I thought enemies would hate.

With that, I left the shopping mall.

The mouse, which made aiming easy, the keyboard’s WASD keys, which controlled character movement, and numerous shortcut keys, which enabled various tactical actions.

Although the Dark Zone had become simpler with numerous player-friendly patches, the convenience of so-called keyboard and mouse users couldn’t be completely replaced.

Thus, VR games, whether large or small, naturally depended on physical skills, and the frequency of situations known as “super play” significantly decreased.

Of course, the long time inevitably made in-game users better, and the Dark Zone was no exception.

While it was clear that the severing of the keyboard and mouse meant there was no going back, it also meant that exceptional play appeared more occasionally as time passed.

However,

───Whoosh!

“Ugh.”

There were always exceptions to the norm.

A ballistic knife fired at close range. I narrowly dodged it with pure reflex, and the cut hair strands fell to the floor.

The enemy’s last-ditch effort after being caught off guard was blocked in a ridiculous manner, and their expression twisted bizarrely.

The enemy with a hole in their head slumped to the ground amidst loud noise and blinding light.

­[Current kills: 16］

­[High-value target being tracked / Target duration: 13 minutes 26 seconds］

I took a short breath and checked for remaining enemies around.

Gunfire crackled incessantly in the background.

I was in a small house. Specifically, I had pushed into a building where someone else had set up.

This was CQB territory, and she was adept at clearing buildings.

­Ah, feeling dizzy lololol.

­Viewers experiencing collective dizziness from first-person perspective.

­What just happened? Did you dodge something?

­Hammurabi Code’s sexiest woman in CQB, Yoo Jin Heung….

­Signature trait: the bully for clever enemies.

“In a non-fortified space like this, there are plenty of ways to break in as long as you roughly know the enemy’s location. Staying in one spot for too long is not advisable.”

­Fact: That’s just for you, ma’am.

…Is that so?

I glanced at the chat, feeling a bit doubtful, but it was hard to find any disagreement with that donation. If that’s the general consensus, so be it.

The number of remaining players was down to thirteen, and the circle had significantly shrunk. What was once at the map’s edge now encompassed only a couple of small villages.

It would soon shrink further, and the damage field would eventually cover the entire map.

Engagement distances had greatly shortened.

It was about time to let go of the M1A slung on my back. It had served me well, but now the recently acquired MP7A1 was sufficient for combat.

­[Alert: Enemy UAV detected.］

­[Alert: Damage field shrinking. Move to the safe zone.］

“I have to move.”

I never intended to stay inside the building for long.

Before stepping outside, I checked my movement route, avoiding windows where I might be seen. I moved quickly, just as planned.

There were plenty of cover points, so moving wasn’t an issue. Using the gunfire as background noise, I roughly gauged the enemies’ positions.

My mobility was faster than I expected since I switched to a lighter firearm.

However, the terrain ahead was not ideal.

­Look at the circle, lol. Does it imply it’s dangerous outside the blanket?

­Is this Apex or Normandy, lol?

­That’s why high ground meta is important, got it?

­Just mounting a machine gun at the window and shooting everyone coming would kill them all.

­Honestly, survived because of the speed.

Almost simultaneously with such reactions in the chat, a barrage of bullets rained down from above. It was almost like a premonition.

The familiar sound of bullets whizzed past my ears, and sparks flashed from the second-floor window of a house in front of me.

There’s no tougher enemy than someone who gets the first position and starts shooting.

I wished for a rocket launcher or grenades, but needed items were never there when you needed them.

The competitors were now down to seven. Judging by the circle’s size and shape, at most one other enemy was taking a similar route.

I kept ready to aim and proceeded to the house.

Carefully opening the door and entering, I heard footsteps almost simultaneously from the opposite side.

“….”

Holding my breath, I hid behind a wall, gauging the situation solely by the sound of footsteps.

Judging by the situation, the enemy, like me, definitely knew someone was on the second floor. After all, they had fired so many shots.

If they went straight to the second floor, that would be perfect….

­They’re coming.

­Not going to the second floor, huh?

­Noisy, lol.

­Heartbeat!

­Close.

Unfortunately, things never go as planned.

I considered using a tomahawk but decided against it. Knowing the location through vibration detection, I waited for them to get closer.

Identifying the silhouette as it passed by.

What followed was simple.

───!

“Ugh,

gah…!”

Taking a big step forward, I grabbed the enemy from behind, covering their mouth, wrapping a tail around their legs, and lifting them up, leaving them half-suspended.

Twisting and snapping their neck in that state resulted in a silent kill.

Leaving behind the limp body that turned into a pile of items, it was time to fulfill their unachieved dream.

I swiftly ascended the stairs and threw a flashbang into the noisy room.

That was the first explosion, followed by the second—a machine gun firing wildly by the blinded and deafened enemy.

The burst didn’t last long.

The clicking sound signaling the empty magazine was their final words.

“Aaargh, argh, cough!”

Struggling on the bed, a bullet pierced their forehead, ending their life with a grayish mass.

This made 18 kills. There was no particular thrill.

Reloading a round into the chamber, I checked for useful items, finding nothing but a replenished flashbang.

Only three players remained.

­Seethroughal, what did I just witness? Who are you, exactly?

“You’ll get hurt if you try to find out.”

There wasn’t much else to say.

About two minutes later, I finished the first match with 20 kills.

The start wasn’t bad.