"Enemies on the left! Where do you think you’re going?"
"Good shot."
The ceiling is endlessly spinning with sirens, interspersed with gunfire and explosions. A battle unfolds within the thick concrete walls that seem to pierce the sky. A variety of junk is scattered around, with a massive tower in the center, surrounded by unidentifiable relays, pipes, and giant fans.
A fierce skirmish takes place in this chaotic space, much like the past. It felt as if we had returned to the old days. How would the Dagger Team perceive this point? There was no need to ponder that question, as they glanced my way every thirty seconds or so to check my position.
They were certainly overprotective.
[Notification: Intrusion algorithm penetrating cooling protocols.]
[Objective: Terminal destruction // Server destruction]
“Enemy Warhound on the upper support column!”
“I’ll take care of it!”
At the sa ti, I cautiously peek out from my cover. I spot the barrel of a minigun closely following behind the rapidly moving Loren Tina.
Not on my watch.
I pull the trigger repeatedly. In an instant, more than half of the 25 rounds in the M110A1 magazine are spent, and the Warhound hanging from the column drops to the ground. An unfortunate enemy is crushed beneath the falling Warhound from several ters above, letting out a scream as he ets his end.
The motto is simple: Once I kill all the enemies, nothing will stand in our way. I aim to take out as many unmanned units as possible, shrugging off minor damage with the shield of my gear while securing better cover and expanding our territory to reduce enemy forces.
Owens, positioned in a pri sniping location, eliminates those who dare to peek up, while the three of us rapidly advance to the frontline, cutting through enemy ranks with ease.
Soon, Logan reaches the first server they had cherished.
“Server secured. Hacking the terminal.”
“Roger.”
With a grunt, I hear an ominous sound from the intercom. An enemy flies through the air, soaring over ten ters before crashing sowhere. Loren Tina's voice follows, sounding triumphant. She must have kicked him hard. It’s typical for a person to fly when kicked.
We hack the terminal and destroy the server. The first objective, once cumberso to achieve in the past to avoid damage to the cooling tower, is effortlessly accomplished. Perhaps so are thinking that it should have been done this way back then.
After roughly wrapping things up, the question arises.
“What’s next?”
“Last ti, there were plenty of those trying to steal radioactive waste, including HLW. Let’s bury the waste in casks and toss in any pesky enemies too. What do you think, Senior Officer?”
“No problem. Let’s move.”
Of course, there was no reason to object.
We traverse over the still annoyingly bright power plant. We had experienced several skirmishes along the way, but excluding myself, the rest of the Dagger Team effortlessly plunged into the fray, cutting down enemies as if they were possessed. Keeping up with them was almost a challenge for .
I couldn’t help but wonder what was driving them to engage in battle so passionately. But there was no need to think too deeply. This would mark another end to the journey I had been on.
But aside from that...
“It’s Icarus! Block them!”
“Dagger team, we’ve encountered the enemy. We’re entering combat now.”
As the enemies erge around the corner, I grab one by the neck, lifting him and smashing him down without a sound. His neck snaps with a sickening crunch. Using his body as a shield, I open fire. As I do, Loren Tina leaps off the wall, avoiding gunfire.
At this point, the combat could easily be described as a battle between superhumans and ordinary people. With no one to hold back, the Dagger Team unleashed their full capabilities, darting between obstacles as if they were ballet dancers, swiftly neutralizing the enemies and handing control of the storage tanks over to us.
Yet there was no reason to spare anyone.
[Notification: Tank control manipulation in progress. Lockdown protocol established in 5 seconds… Tank lockdown complete.]
[Radiation levels normal.]
—Chik-chik!
In that mont, a brilliant light bursts forth.
“On the upper column ahead, Warhound!”
“I’ll take care of it!”
Just as I take aim, a mont of clarity strikes. We now have control over the tanks and can focus on neutralizing the enemy forces.
The brilliant light bursts forth.
“On the upper column ahead, Warhound!”
“I’ll take care of it!”
Just as I take aim, a mont of clarity strikes. We now have control over the tanks and can focus on neutralizing the enemy forces.
Loren Tina throws a thermite onto the control panel. As it lts away, everyone watches, unsure of what she’s doing. However, it’s not a bad choice, as the remnants of the Russian forces might try to reprogram the devices. After all, the ownership lies with the U.S., so they could easily switch it to another device later.
With the ground operations entirely concluded, the next step is to clear out all the remaining enemies and retrieve the nuclear backpack.
It’s ti to head underground.
“Let’s move as quickly as possible. We can’t afford to let them use any more vibration bombs.”
“Make sure to keep an eye on our junior mber.”
“You guys are far noisier than he is. I’ll leisurely follow behind, so don’t go stumbling ahead unnecessarily.”
“Doesn’t matter to .”
At the sa ti, the two of them rush underground.
As the Icarus gear marks the anticipated location of the nuclear backpack, Owens and I step down a little slower. After moving a bit, we see the ceiling that once separated from the Dagger Team. However, this ti, there were no cracks in sight.
Gunfire echoes through the corridor and hallway. Yet, amidst the painful cries, there are no sounds from Logan or Loren Tina. The sounds gradually fade away.
I had never participated in the Indian Point operation more than twice, but one thing was clear: the current situation was completely different from what had happened back then. The reason was simple. Everyone already knew roughly where the enemies were located, their dense areas, key engagent points, and possible cover spots.
As a result, the operation proceeded at an incredible speed that would be impossible in reality—so much so that the enemies couldn’t even formulate a proper response.
After so ti...
“Ah, vibration bomb diffusing is complete. I’ve also located the nuclear backpack. I’ll start spreading jamming signals throughout the facility to prevent detonation, so hurry up.”
“I think we could have cleared this operation even if those two were sent in alone.”
“Haha, just kidding.”
Though I made that joke, he wasn’t really the type to enjoy joking around.
It didn’t take long for the four of us to regroup, and even less ti for us to secure the nearby underground control room. It was no surprise. Just ten minutes after the operation began, we had already achieved around 60% of our objectives.
From the enemies' perspective, it must have been quite confusing. Suddenly, the outside operation team was taking them down one by one, and with the weight of the words “nuclear backpack” and “power plant,” it was a type of operation that would be impossible in reality.
Logan enthusiastically examined the CCTV feed. He began closing the gates leading to the outside, effectively cutting off the enemies’ escape routes and pushing them into a corner.
What followed was predictable. In a last-ditch effort to detonate the nuclear backpack, an officer got fragged.
The last situation shown on the CCTV was spectacular. The officer clutching the detonation device, holding a pistol while uttering various words, suddenly had his head blown off by a soldier sneaking up from behind. Luckily, it seed he hadn’t managed to detonate it in his final monts.
Although chaos didn’t completely dissipate, it appeared most enemies had decided to surrender, throwing down their guns and grenades in a corner. One soldier even stripped off his clothes, using a white T-shirt to fashion a makeshift white flag by tying it to the barrel of a disassembled gun.
“It’s a good thing the CCTV is in black and white. If it were in color, I wouldn’t even want to imagine what that T-shirt looks like.”
“Damn, you just made picture it!”
“Ahaha, it’s a successful associative technique.”
While those two engaged in a completely unprofessional conversation, I opened the barricade.
About fifty remaining soldiers raised their hands in surrender, and we contacted the Icarus HQ to inform them of the captured Russian troops.
Approximately five minutes later, the backup mobile strike team that had been waiting outside rushed in, securing the prisoners with cable ties, ropes, and handcuffs, dragging them out one by one. The nuclear backpack was safely taken out after its fuse was removed to prevent any accidental detonation.
Though our journey had concluded, it didn’t an that all our journeys were over.
It was actually just the beginning.
“Where are you going, Junior?”
“I’m just going to check on my past for a mont; do you want to co?”
With that, all persuasion ca to an end.
After walking for about five minutes, we reached the collapse point where it all began. As everyone looked up at the ceiling, reminiscing about the past, I spoke up.
“At first, I didn’t know where to go, but I intercepted enemy communications indicating they were approaching the high-level radioactive waste. I thought I had to stop them even if I had to do it alone.”
Activating the Echo function of my gear partially, I conjured the shield I once used.
Like a museum tour, the explanation continued. By that point, the shield, which could not be said to be in good condition, was becoming increasingly battered as the battles progressed. By the ti we reached the wet waste storage facility, it was in a nearly unusable state.
Pointing to the spot where I had fallen, I continued, “The shield broke here, and I took two penetrating hits to the abdon.”
The sensations from that ti were still fresh in my mory.
The pain felt like my entire abdon was twisting. The feeling of my legs giving out in an instant was sothing I wouldn’t wish to experience again, having suffered nurous gunshot wounds over ti.
I continued the fight without even having the chance to heal, and long streaks of blood marked the floor. After killing the last enemy, I leaned against a pillar and injected dical nanomachines while spraying healing chemicals on the ground. However, due to the blood loss, my head felt dizzy.
As I could no longer use the shield, I leaned it against the wall.
“…And later, I found out there was another bomb, separate from the nuclear backpack, being monitored by UAVs. The contents were already decomposed and being carried by another squad.”
The expressions of the three listening to my situation changed gradually.
There was no denying it; the progression of the operation at that ti had been almost impossible. Just before properly achieving the objective, the vibration bomb was about to explode, nearly collapsing the facility and the ground. Therefore, I had to at least manage to extract the backpack.
I ambushed the enemies and managed to seize the nuclear backpack, but in the process, I couldn’t return the way I had co and ended up trapped in a dead end. At that ti, I faced around sixty enemies. Of course, with UAVs included, their actual strength was even greater.
Swallowing hard, I walked toward the firmly closed barricade.
“…At this point, I should let you know what happened to back then.”
With that, I calmly explained everything.
I was originally from this place, but I had fallen into New York, where the virus was spreading, without any explanation—everyone knew this part, but I had never shared what ca next. Now was the ti to reveal it.
Finally, I disclosed that I was rescued in a way that modern physics couldn’t explain, causing the expressions of my companions to shift strangely.
Even now, I didn’t know who had rescued .
But now, did it even matter?
[Notification: You have t the qualifications for the second-world synchronization.]
With a burst of light, my vision blurred.
“Good heavens.”
The expressions we had been making vanished, and all three of them widened their eyes in shock.
Logan, Loren Tina, and the engineer squad leader. In reality, not VR. A world without Yujin… almost the sa people in different world lines. Yet, what both sides were witnessing was the sa. An impossible reality unfolded before our eyes.
But all of this was allowed. If modern physics had been functioning properly, no bear ears would have sprouted on top of anyone's head, and a man wouldn’t suddenly beco a woman—yet that was all rely a third-party perspective.
Who would be able to think such thoughts while witnessing this scene before them?
“What the hell...”
“It’s dangerous. Don’t get too close.”
The engineering commander wore a bewildered expression, and Logan added his concern.
It was as he said. After weeks and a long ti had passed, the ice that would not lt and the ever-burning fire—who could know what would happen if one touched it?
Logan and Loren Tina carefully stepped inside, encountering a bizarre sight as if they had arrived at a base on another planet. The two of them, with overwheld emotions, began to search the area while taking aiming stances.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there were no other special points around. The only remains were bodies frozen solid, pierced by ice pillars, or corpses reduced to ashes. With that thought, their attention shifted toward whether Yujin’s body was intact among the ashes.
It was a terrifying prediction that Yujin might be mixed in with the burned corpses.
However, no matter what happened, the outco wouldn’t change.
Yujin had disappeared without a trace, and further searches would be aningless.
‘…All that remains are two Echos, a shield, and the bloodstains on the floor left by you.’
Finally, I felt the strength drain away.
Loren Tina seed to reach a similar conclusion, and the two stopped aiming their guns, staring blankly at the ceiling. Once the thoughts of fantasy and reflection settled, they wouldn’t have any more business in this place.
With that thought in mind, they tried to take a step forward.
No.
They were about to take a step.
—!
Suddenly, the ever-burning flas that heated the air extinguish in an instant.
The ice that had been emitting cold underwent a change. It no longer felt like an ice that was too cold to touch, but rather it seed to revert to its original state of ice...
And in that mont, a light flickered from the very edge of the dead end. Initially observable, it gradually reached a point where it was no longer visible to the eye—just as Logan and Loren Tina raised their guns, they quickly deduced it was not an enemy and urged the engineering commander to take cover.
After so ti, a figure materialized in the radiant light.
With a sowhat awkward expression.
“No way.”
Soone murmured that. But that wasn’t what mattered. It was unbelievable, yet desperately desired—a scene where Yujin stood before us. Behind her, the space shimred as two more figures stepped forward, but it didn’t matter in the least.
As my head spun, the junior mber I had wanted to see alive stood there, wearing a bitter smile.
She was talking to soone.
“…You didn’t tell the second-world synchronization would be like this.”
“What does it matter? Just prepare for the rebound.”
“Rebound?”
And in that mont,
“Yujin—!”
“Cough!”
Before anyone else could react, Loren Tina rushed forward, tears streaming down her face as she embraced the junior mber.
This was the mont when Yujin’s official resurrection beca certain.
Reviews
All reviews (0)