NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 213
Chapter 213 – Logan
[General] Harmony is losing it, LOL. Has she finally gone crazy????
She made everyone raise their hands naturally and then suddenly took a picture to preserve those who were willing to work hard, LOL.
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– It was so natural that I wondered what she was doing, crazy b**ch…
– She’s getting more and more deceitful, LOL.
– Fact) She dumped the instructor role on her team member after that.
ㄴ LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
ㄴ Scamming, subcontracting, and even family business? This is totally LOL.
ㄴ But she never actually talked to the people involved, LOL.
ㄴ Dammit LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
– It seems sloppy, but it looks like it will work somehow, LOL.
ㄴ Seems like she learned something half-assed from Yoo Jin, LOL.
ㄴ MacGyver vs. Pat & Mat
ㄴ LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
ㄴ Team Harmony x Team Pat & Mat
ㄴ But Pat is so strong, LOL.
– Crazy people tend to have amazing skills; why is this real?
ㄴ She invested her excess madness into her gaming skills.
– When the haters overflow, Harmony bulldozes all obstacles in her way…
ㄴ I feel like I’ve heard this narration somewhere.
ㄴ Dammit, it’s what Yoo Jin said during Preliminary Rank, LOL.
ㄴ They resemble each other, LOL.
– At least she doesn’t have to worry about surpassing her teacher.
ㄴ For her to be considered as surpassing Yoo Jin, half of Yoo Jin’s limbs would have to be missing, LOL.
ㄴ LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
ㄴ That’s too much, LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL.
ㄴ It’s still not far from the truth; that’s legendary.
ㄴ Fact) She’d have to lose her tail too.
[General] Today’s… summary of Harmony’s stream…jpg
Whatever, do whatever you want, LOL.
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– ???: If you don’t like it, reach Grandmaster, LOL.
ㄴ I have nothing to say, LOL.
ㄴ Look how brazen she is, LOL.
– She’s becoming one with the shooting range, LOL.
– Running laps at the shooting range is effective, but doing it now, LOL.
– Meanwhile, even the ones playing the instructor role are starting to enjoy it more.
ㄴ Seriously.
ㄴ The body doesn’t lie, wwwwwwwwww.
– But at this point, wouldn’t it be better to focus on team play rather than the shooting range?
ㄴ What’s the point of team play if the squad members don’t have the physical ability to achieve
the goals?
ㄴ It’s like doing a college group project with middle school students, LOL.
ㄴ Just hearing it makes me breathless, LOL.
ㄴ If you watched Noknyangi’s stream yesterday, you’d know why individual practice is important.
– How far does Yoo Jin’s arrangement reach?
– “If you don’t like it, reach Grandmaster” is such a strong statement.
ㄴ Does this phrase even match Harmony, LOL?
– I had something to say, but I forgot as soon as I saw the instructor hat.
ㄴ This is visual terrorism, LOL.
– She seems crazy on the outside, but the results are decent; that’s legendary.
– What is this? Is she trying to show the downside of results-oriented thinking?
“You’re doing better than expected, so why the fuss?”
Slurp.
I swallowed the hot liquid from the cup and turned my gaze to the multiple pop-up windows floating in front of me. Videos, text, and images. I gathered information on what had happened in the past few days through various forms of media.
Despite the grandiose words, I was just checking to see if Harmony was doing well without me. Although I wasn’t too worried, I couldn’t completely let go of my concerns. Fortunately, it seemed she wasn’t taking any unnecessary risks.
Well, as long as it wasn’t something completely out of line, it would be beneficial in some way – whether improving individual skills through the shooting range or practicing team play, any information gained would be useful.
Moreover, there were other matters that were more concerning.
“Is it really that surprising that Harmony’s skills have improved this much?”
From my perspective, it was practically impossible otherwise.
Unlike me, in the exceptional cases, the most critical elements for rebirth as a top operator, such as basic physical strength and endurance, were irrelevant due to the nature of VR. In other words, the biggest obstacle had been removed.
All that was left was to embed muscle memory into the body. If it were not Harmony but special forces applicants, they would achieve significant results within three weeks in VR, not the two months she took.
They just needed to improve navigation, shooting skills, and situational judgment.
The Dark Zone claimed to balance the gap between men and women under the guise of adjustments, opening up a world not constrained by gender. Dice was proof of that.
The reason why there were still few female pro gamers might not be due to skill, but simply because gaming wasn’t to their taste.
I digressed.
I waved my hand to close the window and checked the list of tasks to be done. Up next was passport renewal… I could even get an American passport if I wanted. I was probably already registered as a citizen.
Luckily, my past self had obtained US citizenship through MAVNI and had renounced my foreign nationality before the age of 22. I wouldn’t have any nationality issues.
As I glanced down, I saw something.
-[Harmony: I want to go to America with you in December, teacher. Waaaah ㅠㅠㅠ]
This brat.
Anyway, Harmony would also leave the country this December. According to Icarus, there weren’t any major issues, and the final championship reservation was made easily. Although the reservation rate was extremely low, with only one in three thousand getting a spot, it was simple under the pretext of accompanying the team.
Of course, Icarus had no reason to cover Harmony’s expenses, so the travel costs were naturally on her. Min Ah had already planned to use her own money, so there was no issue there.
The concern lay elsewhere,
-[…Additionally, Senator Henry M. Brayton will attend the AP Final Championship to meet the players. As the Korean representative, Yoo Jin… ]
“The pretext is grand, old man….”
He wouldn’t have come if it weren’t for me, yet he’s pretending to be interested now.
But as a long-standing figure in Washington, his official pretext would naturally be grand. Whether it would remain a simple meeting, only time would tell, but I couldn’t get a clear sense of it yet.
Surely something was happening below the surface….
While I was lost in these thoughts, a sudden vibration.
It was a message from Anchorlight.
-[A: The public announcement has started. But even I didn’t expect this method.]
-[A: https://www.yourspace.com/watch?v=GmlQVS3dAM&list=RDH]
-[A: LOL]
“…Why is he laughing, making me uneasy?”
I cautiously moved my fingers to open the video.
As the video loaded, several pieces of information appeared in slow motion. Just over a hundred thousand views and uploaded just an hour ago – a fresh video. The title was in English. Translated, it would be something like “Dark Zone Final Championship North American Participant Interview.”
But as the video finished loading, what I saw before my eyes was-
“Logan?”
Before I could even question why this person was here, the visual data hit my retina, traveling through my optic nerve to my brain.
With skin as white as snow and transparent sky-blue eyes, contrasting against long, milky hair and polar bear ears perched atop their head, along with a still unfamiliar thin voice. This unforgettable data set was sitting in the studio, looking straight ahead.
It seemed like she was looking through the camera, but it felt like we were exchanging glances.
Voices exchanged between the studio MC and her several times.
– Hmm, I haven’t gone through the data of all the participants in the final championship yet, so I can’t give a definitive answer… but I’m not completely ignorant of them.
– This is surprising. It sounds like you know someone.
– Yes, I do. Yoo Jin from Korea… I’m actually quite familiar with her. I’ve seen her quite often while working in military-related positions.
As a series of bombshell statements poured out of her mouth, the host’s eyes widened like saucers, and she continued to add more.
– Wow, that’s something I never imagined. Can you tell us about the circumstances?
– I can’t go into detail. But… there are quite a few people who know her, including myself. I hope you can guess why I can only say this much.
– Ha, haha. That’s intense. Let’s move on to the next question then─
So it was this person who shouldered the burden.
It seemed trivial, but it was actually an interview that would bring about enormous ripples. The video was only an hour old but already had 100,000 views. As someone familiar with Yourspace, I could vaguely predict what would happen next.
This was what they meant by ‘public announcement through a specific method’ mentioned during our first contact. I never imagined they would use such a wild and straightforward approach.
However, if you think about it, it would be hard to find a more effective method. Hinting at my career while having an unparalleled spread.
It was much more certain than a clumsy method.
But, that being said…
-[Eugene: Did Logan also participate in AP?]
-[A: I don’t know about that.]
-[Eugene: ?]
-[A: ?]
This person, isn’t he HUMINT?
What do you even know?
“Did you develop a new hobby of getting punished when you go out?”
“Oh, come on. Would it hurt you to speak nicely?”
“Even if I speak kindly, the expected outcome won’t change. I should practice nailing the coffin lid – ugh.”
“Damn it, you wretch. I was asked to do this too, you know.”
Thud.
With an ominous sound, a fist flew into my side. Even though Owens had served in Delta Force for 19 years, it was tough to completely fend off the punch from Yoo Jin, an EM-level manifester.
Despite a perfect defense that could be cited in CQC manuals, he shook his hand, unable to fully absorb the punch’s power. The two of them headed towards a park crowded with food trucks.
It was a weekday, and during lunchtime. The park was bustling with people from nearby offices grabbing a quick lunch.
“Do you want to eat something? Panini? Hot dog? Hamburger or lobster sandwich… Good grief. Fried mac and cheese bites? My arteries are screaming.”
“That’s the plan. Let’s try one of each. How about we take turns buying them?”
“It looks like I’ll be covering 80% of the meal costs.”
“Ha ha.”
With a short laugh, they roamed around for about 30 minutes, showing their faces at every food truck, and soon they gathered all sorts of food to fill a park table.
Owens opened a cola can with a light pop. While he sipped its contents, Logan quickly devoured a taco and wiped his mouth before adding.
“A few days ago, DARPA was in total chaos. Royden told me. You can guess who’s to blame, right?”
“Are they starting to move?”
“Exactly.”
Hiss.
After a light sip, she spoke again.
“I’ve been asked by some of my old superiors. Unlike me, Christopher is working with the Gold Squadron in Virginia, so he can’t move much… Well, he might come in December. Anyway, I’m telling you on his behalf. The less busy person takes the lead.”
“You’re working hard. By the way, that guy… thinking about it now, he went to a place that suits his appearance. I wonder if he’s still working as an underwater combat instructor.”
“If I chose special forces based on appearance, I would have been in JTF-2.”
“You mean the place that shoots maple syrup instead of bullets.”
“Sigh.”
A brief silence.
Their eyes met.
“It seems you’ll be busy again in December. If you have something to say to Yoo Jin, say it now. Are you going on a rotation deployment at the end of the year?”
“I can’t be sure, but… the final championship is held at Madison Square Garden, right?”
“Yes.”
As he chewed on his burger, he added.
“I’ll have to spend this New Year at Times Square.”
“Uh…”
A moment of silence.
But quickly understanding the meaning, she added with a large smile.
“You’re not being honest. Then I’ll reserve a ticket in my name for free, so contact me when you get it. Got it?”
“…”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
With that, she resumed her meal with a much happier expression.
It was six hours before Eugene’s kind response to the interview would send chills down her spine.