I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 210 – Devotion and Reward

“Ugh.”

What time is it now?

10 AM. Rarely had I ever slept so excessively. Before I could even open my eyes, the cacophony of incoming emails rudely jolted me out of the dream world. Forced back into reality, I groggily opened my eyes.

A hologram pop-up floated above the bed. It wasn’t a work email, but rather a personal one I had previously submitted to the streamer showdown organizers. Right at 10 AM on Monday, it contained details about the upcoming competition scheduled for next Monday.

Information about which maps would be played, how the scores would be tallied, how rankings would be determined, and various other details. It made me wonder why they had to send it at this hour, but realistically, I had just woken up too late.

Rustle.

I threw off the blanket and got out of bed. The house wasn’t too cold since I had turned on the heater mildly. It was nearing November, and the weather had been quite chilly in the mornings and evenings.

Thinking about the weather and the cold, I suddenly remembered Teacher Yoo Jin. She probably turned on the heater a bit earlier. I imagined that if I visited her house in winter, she might be wrapped up tightly in a blanket, coiled up like a snake.

I didn’t originally have such thoughts, but I was starting to like snakes more and more.

I momentarily turned my gaze away from reality.

“Ugh, I don’t feel like going to the gym….”

But skipping a day would only make it harder to go the next day.

I dressed in simple workout clothes suitable for exercising and headed to the gym. I felt like I should’ve had at least a small breakfast, but since I woke up late, there was nothing I could do. I worked out until I broke a sweat and then returned home.

After quickly showering and preparing lunch, it was almost noon. As I was dieting these days, lunch was a salad. I forcefully stabbed the tasteless vegetables with a fork and barely managed to swallow them while checking various progress updates I hadn’t looked at yesterday.

In short, managing Yourspace, contacting the editor, reviewing planned content, and rechecking matters related to the upcoming competition.

‘The stream starts at 6 PM today….’

I wanted to do something simple before then.

With that thought, I did the dishes. I probably didn’t need to digest, but I spent about 30 minutes sitting in a chair and handling some of the backlog. Then, I skillfully pulled out the connection device, put it on, and entered VR.

Ruined New York greeted me.

I only had a moment to feel the atmosphere before entering Domination mode. I checked the UI briefly. Surprisingly, several squad members like Limit, Hotteok, and Kim Stone were online, but no one had messaged me. It was an unspoken agreement to delay the reunion until 6 PM.

Teacher Yoo Jin had said yesterday that there was no need to climb the ranks any further… but it felt awkward to just stop in the middle of TIER 2.

Hmm….

“As long as I don’t invest too much time… it should be fine, right?”

As long as it didn’t interfere with my practice time, spending an hour or two in real life, which would be about 4-5 hours in-game, shouldn’t be a problem. When I used to stream with Teacher Yoo Jin every day, we handled a much more hardcore schedule daily.

Besides, if I reached Tier 1, wouldn’t the teacher be secretly pleased…?

It was definitely not out of personal greed. It wasn’t because I suddenly craved high tiers I had never even thought about before in my life.

So, let’s climb quickly to avoid any complaints later.

-[Notification: Rank game matching is starting.]

Thus began Harmony’s so-called deviation.

Two hours before she heard from Kim Stone, Limit, and Hotteok about Yoo Jin’s day off.

-[Notification: Bio scan starting. Recognizing code name….]
-[Notification: Operator – John ‘Anchorite’ Nakasone confirmed.]

-[Notification: ICARUS device not found.]

“…It’s the first time I’m seeing a working piece of equipment with my own eyes. If we bring it to the U.S., the Department of Defense, the House, and the Senate will be ecstatic.”

“The first thing you say when you see me is that? That’s harsh.”

“Haha. I’m just not good with words. Sorry about that.”

“Someone working as a deep cover agent in Korea says they’re not good with words, that’s a joke.”

As mentioned, today, Harmony’s solo play was outside Yoo Jin’s interests.

She had a very important task to handle.

“Yoo Jin! Damn it, you’re alive!”

“Not exactly a joke to say to someone who’s alive, but I’ll let it slide today. Have you been well, John?”

In sync with the heartbeat, the ICARUS gear beeped. The automatic scan activated, comparing the operator’s physical condition registered in the ICARUS network with the scan results.

John ‘Anchorite’ Nakasone. Previously with U.S. Cyber Command, he had been selected as an ICARUS operator long ago because of his exceptional skills in establishing hideouts and maintaining the network in both the physical and electronic worlds.

There were a few more pieces of information and connections I knew about this person, but they weren’t important right now.

───Hug!

“It’s really good to see you, wow….”

“Ugh, stop the free hugs with your superhuman strength…!”

I heard a cracking sound, but I didn’t care and hugged him deeply.

Thus, a brief reunion ensued and then concluded. He jokingly asked if he could enter with his shoes on while quickly scanning the structure of the house. Even while the ICARUS gear kept warning that the other operator didn’t have the gear, he quietly silenced it.

Naturally, his gaze turned toward me. Even highly trained personnel who had been taught how to handle their gaze found it difficult to control momentary unconsciousness.

He carefully placed a bulletproof laptop on the table and sat down on the sofa.

His mouth slowly opened.

“I have a lot of things I want to hear, Yoo Jin. Of course, my main purpose is different, but what I’m most curious about….”

“Before that.”

Crackle!

A tiny noise and a slight spark came from inside John’s collar. I sat down opposite him, smiling slightly, and added.

“What you heard today, tell me directly when you get back. Or maybe I should have told you to speak up before I broke the bug.”

“These damn guys, hiding a bug in my clothes?”

“Haha. I can guess roughly what you’re curious about anyway. You want to know what happened that day, right?”

“….”

Silence.

But it was a different kind of straightforward approach. He might as well have been silently agreeing that my question was correct – at least it seemed so. I didn’t know how my funeral was conducted, but the last battle I fought at Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant ended in collapse.

They must have assumed that even my corpse wouldn’t be found.

However, unfortunately, I couldn’t even give a clear answer about that. I didn’t know how I managed to return home myself. All I could say was that there was an explosion while I was fighting until the end, and somehow, I ended up back here. That was the irresponsible answer I could provide.

I skipped the part of the story I couldn’t reveal.

Despite that incomplete answer, he added in a nonchalant tone.

“That’s enough. The important thing is that you achieved your goal. Since the Omega Virus incident, the logic and common sense humanity had built up have been denied several times. Would it matter if a few more examples were added?”

“…Is that really okay?”

“When there’s no expectation of additional meaningful information, is there any point in asking more? Essentially, what you went through is closer to an incomprehensible situation. Like what Logan and Christopher experienced.”

“Logan, Christopher….”

Buried memories.

The sharp spade called words pierced through the fragile sand of time, digging up memories. But since the one touching them was the person involved, they would no longer remain solely mine.

Someday, those two, and maybe even Instructor Owens… perhaps in the not-so-distant future, we could meet again.

As if reading my mind, he added with a small smile.

“Thanks to disabling the bugging device, it’s possible to say this: there are many people in the homeland who want to meet you. Just know that for now.”

“….”

“But as you know, this world has procedures and processes. Like wearing the appropriate attire to a ball-”

Clink.

As I stood there, not knowing what to say, he opened the bulletproof laptop on the table with some half-meaningless words. Several icons floated on the screen that turned on automatically.

With a click, an encrypted file ran.

[Warning: This file requires ICARUS clearance for access.]

“So, before you go to the U.S., you’ll need to make the necessary preparations.”

“Preparations? Could it be….”

“You guessed right.”

At that moment, he pulled out a badge hidden inside his collar.

The blue badger of Delta Force.

The emblem of a combat knife within an arrowhead, unique to US SOCOM and specifically to USARSOC, shone brightly under the ceiling light.

A solemn verdict began.

“Sergeant Yoo Jin ‘Viper’ Lee of the 1st Special Actions Unit, The Unit – Far East Regional Specialist and member of the local infrastructure establishment and activity team. By the order of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, your status is reinstated. Any objections or questions, Sergeant Yoo?”

“…None, sir!”

“Then let me warmly welcome you back. Ugh… hugs are forbidden…!”

Wham.

After expressing emotions uncontrollably for a moment and then shuddering from the pain, he sat back down.

“I don’t understand why people like you, Logan, and Christopher love to hug so much… Anyway, this is your personal record file stored in Korea. To align it with the U.S. personnel, we’ll need to appropriately edit this file.”

“Why bring it all the way here?”

“To be blunt, this file can’t be opened without your wristwatch.”

Ah.

There was no more need for words. My task was clear.

I took a deep breath and operated the ICARUS Gear. A hologram floated in the air, signaling the bulletproof laptop had granted access – automatically synchronizing and activating the file, the laptop began displaying numerous warning messages.

The main content was all the same: overheating and overload had started as it couldn’t keep up with the ICARUS Gear’s processing power.

But even that resolved soon enough. As the authenticated file opened, it began spewing out vast amounts of information.

As if the time had come, he added.

“You can refer to this file for the modification guidelines.”

“Enlisted in the U.S. military through the MAVNI program, gained various experiences afterward… MWTR? Metropolitan-Warfare Tactical Response unit? Is this a newly established unit?”

“Only on paper. It wasn’t created through regular procedures; we allocated a new budget by repurposing a relatively useless unit. It’s a unit formed entirely by volunteers from former ICARUS members scattered across Tier 1 and 2 special forces under JSOC.”

“…It’s not just on paper, then?”

“Of course, we’ve separately allocated training and unit maintenance budgets. Creating a career from scratch requires this level of meticulousness.”

A dry laugh.

Such dedication. But contrary to those thoughts, I barely managed to keep my emotions in check, feeling like tears might overflow with just a bit of carelessness.

He continued.

“Naturally, there are still many shortcomings, so we’ll need to use the power of ICARUS Gear to refine and polish it smoothly. The training content carried out by this unit will be adapted from past operations where Task Force Dagger was deployed. During this process, cross-testimonies among unit members will be handled seamlessly and naturally.”

“So, my job is….”

“Looks like you’ve got the gist.”

He pointed at the ICARUS Gear automatically making the edits.

Our eyes met.

“As much as it’s touching, we’ll need to borrow your strength often. This isn’t the end, but the beginning. The real work starts now. And it won’t only be behind the scenes; there will be some public announcements as well.”

“Public announcements?”

“After discussions in the homeland, it’s decided that the news about your connection with the U.S. military will be intentionally spread through certain channels. While this will temporarily impose some inconvenience on you, it’ll serve as a solid warning to those who dare to approach you.”

This person is an asset of the U.S., so don’t even think about touching him.

He was indirectly expressing that I was under the eagle’s wings from this moment – perhaps even earlier. That made me smile. That much was bearable.

…Though I was a bit anxious about how exactly they’d go about it and how troublesome it would be.

“I’ll endure it.”

“Apologies for opting for such a blunt method. But if you get photographed by paparazzi when you come to the homeland, it’d be troublesome for the DoD to handle the aftermath. All these matters are handled in secret within the Department of Defense, so they can’t intervene.”

“I understand. That’s true.”

In simple terms, this project to create my military career was originally unacceptable and unofficial. Therefore, if I got involved in troublesome matters, the U.S. federal administration couldn’t officially help me – unless it was unofficial.

So, it meant they’d preemptively warn people not to mess with me.

It was a necessary and essential measure. There was no reason not to accept the accompanying disadvantages.

“Then we have an agreement.”

I nodded.

At that moment, we both extended our hands.

A rugged hand met a soft hand.

“Task Force Dagger member, Sergeant Yoo Jin ‘Viper’ Lee. Welcome back under the wings of the U.S.”

“It’s an honor.”

In mid to late October, on a fine day.

Today would be recorded as one of the best days of my life.