I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 216 – Untouchable

As we passed Friday and headed into the weekend towards the end of October, the state of public opinion on Dark Zone – AP could be summed up in one word: chaos.

As always, Yoo Jin never created the situations that others wanted, and this was true even now. In short, what this meant was that the viewers were, once again, left with the feeling of “I have questions, but I won’t get any answers.”

Moreover, this time the topic had far surpassed the relatively ordinary curiosity of “What does she do in real life?” that had been floating around before, causing the entire community to burn with fervor.

Of course, this wasn’t limited to Korea; the same was true in the United States.

The evaluations individually given by hundreds of thousands of people were as varied as the number of individuals, but if you summed them up, a few directional trends could be identified.

To briefly list them:

“So, who is Yoo Jin?”

This was the first reaction of ordinary users who usually didn’t pay much attention to Dark Zone or AP.

“Oh, that skilled Korean user? I didn’t think they had any connection here, but looking at the play style, it seems plausible.”

This was the second reaction, assuming that with that level of skill, it might indeed be possible. However, a third reaction, which would be impossible in other countries, began to quietly emerge on the American internet.

To summarize briefly-

– I came across your channel in the US. There are many questions. I hope you can answer them.

“Thank you for the donation, Erickarter. But why use such a rough translation tool when there are better ones these days…?”

These were the blunt questions that followed.

However, the significantly increased foreign donations couldn’t be ignored – among those who came in simply to stir the pot, there were a few who were actual former or current US military personnel. Among these, one or two had spent quite a long time in JSOC.

Of course, I sincerely answered the questions from those who approached individually. These viewers usually asked about information that could only be known if you were in the military, seemingly to verify my background. I answered as best as I could.

One of the most memorable conversations, though I couldn’t disclose it to the viewers, went something like this:

-[OGAA: I came across some interesting stories from a recent domestic interview. You seem to be a popular streamer, so thank you for taking the time. Can I ask a few questions?]

-[Yoo Jin: Of course. Are you working with the CIA?]

-[OGAA: Why do you think that?]

-[Yoo Jin: OGAA stands for an agency-affiliated agent, and only Delta uses such terms, so I just thought to ask. If you dislike Delta, should I call you 1st SAC or SAG?]

-[OGAA: WOW]

-[OGAA: OMG]

It couldn’t be helped.

The official name of Delta Force, or more accurately “The Unit,” is 1st Special Actions Group. We used to switch between calling it Group and Compartment when I was in New York.

I even showed them a picture of a military uniform I had stashed away – with all the ICARUS-related patches removed, of course. The user who had questioned me went into a frenzy. I was careful with my words since he didn’t seem to be a veteran, but fortunately, he brought it up first.

-[OGAA: I’ve heard of MWTR. There was some talk about it a few years ago. I think some people from SAG were pulled for it. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like you were part of that unit?]

-[Yoo Jin: I joined initially for data collection and ended up sticking around. Team members came from Delta, DEVGRU, SAD, and CCT, among others. I learned a lot in those four years. I left as a Sergeant First Class.]

-[OGAA: Haha. Should I call you a junior? Do you remember anyone from SAG?]

After a brief hesitation, I mentioned a few names.

-[Yoo Jin: Do you know Sergeant Anthony Owens or Logan from my recent interview?]

-[OGAA: Of course. Though we weren’t in the same squadron, I’ve checked out the monster in the strike team a few months back. Can’t believe he was part of MWTR. And Logan, I heard he recently earned the Blue Badger. He’s got about a year before formally joining Delta.]

-[Yoo Jin: I know them well. If you mention my name to them, they’ll probably recognize it.]

-[OGAA: If I get the chance. I thought you were just a braggart, but this is unexpected. Sorry for creating a difficult situation. Some of us, including me, were planning to expose you as a fraud.]

-[Yoo Jin: I understand. Being part of the US military, especially JSOC, is a great source of pride.]

My conversation with the current Delta member was resolved smoothly. Others from DEVGRU also asked a few questions, but mentioning Christopher quickly made them allies.

Actually, the more challenging questions came from those below Tier 1. Answering every single question while streaming was quite difficult, and the quality of questions wasn’t great compared to before.

In summary, Tier 1 personnel recognized me as genuine, but those below were more skeptical. Fortunately, mentioning my military clearance and warning them a few times made most of them back off.

Therefore, by the end of Saturday, the conclusion was clear.

“We need a stronger statement.”

“You’re right. We’re getting more trouble than expected. I didn’t think the plans focused on Korean viewers would become useless.”

“At least we realized it now.”

The multi-voice channel buzzed.

A few days had passed since I first met Anchorlight. Now, I had met most of the deep cover agents active in Korea. Thus, our discussions and meetings were promptly relayed to the homeland, and real-time feedback and adjustments were made.

Today’s meeting was about how to handle the unexpected backlash – the cause was clear. Logan’s interview had too indirect mentions about me.

But…

“Matters happening in the homeland should be dealt with there, but it’s unreasonable to block the activities of individuals who are no longer in service.”

“Those who’ve returned to society are hard to control. Such people are usually stubborn.”

“What about intentionally increasing MWTR mentions in the Department of Defense network? The key is shaping public opinion.”

“Not a bad idea. Let’s add that to the proposal.”

These people were having some unsettling discussions.

In any case, other suggestions were also made, but the main idea was to remind people that investigating me was similar to probing vital information within the DoD.

And these strategies were simpler to implement than expected.

In other words,

“Just wait a few days and give a call to those who contacted Yoo Jin. Whether NSA, CIA, MPs, or audit departments, citing risks of leaking classified military information.”

“Good idea. Just giving the impression that they touched a sensitive area will achieve our goal… The DoD and veterans’ affairs will handle tracking those individuals.”

“That’s not our concern.”

The MPs will be quite busy.

According to them, visible effects should appear in about 2-3 days, so they told me to hold on until then. Of course, it wouldn’t end there, and they planned to propose more simultaneous opinion-shaping operations.

This would likely wrap up the US side – not my judgment, though.

As for Korea, it wasn’t a significant concern. Since it was an incident in the US, no one in Korea could force me to answer questions. That’s why I said:

In conclusion, the fifth contact ended without any major issues.

“If there’s any problem in the future, contact us immediately.”

“Of course. Thanks, as always.”

With that, one by one, people disappeared from the multi-voice program. Once everyone left, and after 10 minutes with no special follow-up, the meeting data would be completely erased.

The sixth regular contact was scheduled for five days later, and thankfully, nothing urgent requiring full response efforts had occurred so far. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any future incidents, but I had to be cautious.

Of course…

“….”

It felt like things were finally falling into place.

The memories I had to bear alone were no longer just mine. Now, everyone contacting me remembered my contributions and further acknowledged them in reality. From this perspective, my dedication was now being rewarded.

I was alive.

Feeling an inexplicable joy rising within me, I left the room.

“Hah.”

It was a feeling I hadn’t experienced even when winning first place in the KSM or the Asia preliminaries. The two-month wait felt incredibly long.

What should I say when I see familiar faces again?

The thought didn’t leave me until the sun set below the horizon.

—

“Teacher! The competition is tomorrow! Are you coming to watch?”

“Of course. Where will it be?”

“It’s not in a venue like KSM or the Asia preliminaries. It’s much smaller. Everyone will be participating from their homes in virtual reality.”

“Oh.”

Come to think of it, tomorrow was Monday.

Time had flown by so fast. It had been a week since the Asia preliminaries ended, and November was already approaching. The more packed the schedule and the more significant the events, the faster time seemed to disappear.

Anyway, I still couldn’t give Harmony any advice. While personal conversations were allowed, it felt pointless – it relied on individual conscience. Harmony hadn’t sought advice since then.

Actually, we hadn’t talked much at all since then. It wasn’t that we had grown distant; rather, Harmony seemed to be considerate of my busy schedule.

“Anyway, how have you been? It feels like forever since we last met, though it

’s only been a few days. And, um…”

“Speak comfortably.”

“…Never mind. Just let me know if you’re having a hard time! I’m not good at counseling, but I can listen to you till the end.”

“Oh.”

I roughly understood what she was concerned about.

After pondering for a moment, I decided to express that I was fine succinctly rather than giving a lengthy explanation.

“Haha, do I seem like the type to get anxious over speculative remarks?”

“…Oh.”

Naturally, Harmony’s stiff expression softened. Her comment about it being a very “me-like” response seemed like a form of compliment, though it didn’t bother me much.

“Right, Yoo Jin wouldn’t be one to care about such unnecessary words. I feel like I was meddling.”

“It’s not meddling. You’re caring for me, so don’t call it that. Besides, the issue will resolve itself in a few days, so focus on the competition. Don’t worry about this side.”

“Right.”

Thus, the topic subtly shifted.

We decided to discuss more general topics – and the chosen subject was none other than ranked games. I hadn’t played much Domination mode, and since I couldn’t give advice until the competition was over, I planned to just listen.

Anyway, Harmony began recounting her journey to the highest tier starting from Monday.

“…I reached TIER 1 around Wednesday. I actually reached TIER 2 on Monday without you knowing, but I couldn’t tell you in real-time, which was frustrating. But I’m glad I can share it all now.”

“How’s the view from the top?”

“Oh, there’s definitely a difference. I died a few times during the games. But it was manageable. There were a few really good players… though they fell for a few traps.”

“Haha.”

She was doing really well.

Unfortunately, this was usually when I would give some helpful advice, but that was it. For the remaining time, I had to listen to Harmony’s self-praise.

She was full of gratitude towards me and pride in herself for making it this far.

In that sense, Harmony might indeed fit in with special forces.

After talking for a while, it was past 11 PM.

Min Ah, yawning without realizing it, added with some embarrassment.

“Oh, there’s still so much to say, but it’s already this late… I haven’t asked what you’ll do in the US, or talked about the hotel after the competition.”

“Today isn’t the only day. You should also manage your condition.”

“Right…”

Though I didn’t want to say it outright, Harmony was diligently practicing, streaming even the day before the competition.

She needed to rest.

We decided to discuss the remaining topics after the streamer showdown. I gave her a small encouragement.

“You’ll do well in the competition, right?”

After a brief silence, she laughed and replied.

“I’ll beat them all.”

“You should.”

“…Wait. Is that right? Should I just say I’ll do my best…?”

“…Yeah.”

What should I say?

Once this call ended, I might need to seriously check if my curriculum included increasing students’ aggressiveness.

It was quite an absurd conversation for the day before the competition.