I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 234 – Fire and Rain

-[Alert: Detection of abnormal energy signals.]

“Is this an airport or DARPA… Anyone would think we’ve come to a next-gen weapon demonstration.”

The reactions were mixed. Some people laughed shortly, others nodded. All those noises came from the darkness, giving a slightly strange feeling.

It wasn’t an incorrect statement.

The state of the Russian military, which was guarding Bradley International Airport, along with the collaborative technology and equipment from Artemis, was bizarre to say the least. Anyone could believe that Wagner Group had been merged with Artemis.

Anyway, the gunfire continued even at midnight. Just because it was an abandoned airport where you couldn’t see an inch ahead didn’t mean there wasn’t any conflict. On the contrary, it was more intense.

More effort was needed to identify each other’s positions, making the situation fiercer than during the day.

Especially when, as mentioned earlier, the technological gap wasn’t that significant.

“20 meters ahead, a drone is hidden behind the wall. It’s charging an EMP.”

“Just hold on a bit, I’ll take care of it.”

Thunk!

The hacking tool fitted to the launcher flew through the air and landed on the wall near the drone, spreading jamming signals in all directions while hijacking control of the device.

The drone, emitting a faint white light in the darkness, gracefully moved and crashed into the enemy’s hiding area.

Boom.

A strange noise resounded as an intangible shockwave spread.

The Artemis drones that were rushing towards our side stopped momentarily, and rustling sounds were heard from the other side, possibly indicating that the night vision was malfunctioning.

What happened next was obvious.

Our troops, who had briefly exchanged signals, collectively advanced, easily penetrating and dismantling the enemy’s defensive line, tearing everything in sight apart.

This was the basic tactic of the Dagger Team. Minimum damage, maximum efficiency. If you weren’t accustomed to it, even following along would be challenging.

“Wow, why is everything so fast today? It’s hard to keep up.”

“Just hang in there a bit more, Cat Lady. You’re already moving quite slowly.”

“Whaaa….”

Harmony seemed to be syncing well with Specter.

Anyway, it seemed she was about to die already. Not that I didn’t understand. However, the real operation needed to be even faster than this, and it was quite enjoyable to be working with them after a long time.

Even Harmony, who had a lot of experience working with me, was struggling when the operation was only halfway through. It wasn’t the first time though.

She had a hard time during the early days too. It’s just that kind of feeling.

Of course, we also had our stories. When I told them via the secret voice channel that Harmony was a civilian, everyone was this surprised.

“I thought she was quite trained because she kept up so well on the first sync. Is she coming to the Final Championship too?”

“No way. She’s a civilian.”

“It would be fun to teach her a bit. Maybe I should ask her to visit Norfolk if there’s no other work. She looks like she’d enjoy the navy.”

“A cat that likes water? Which world does that cat live in?”

There was a momentary, fierce yet useless debate, but these guys who lived on unit pride would always argue once they opened their mouths.

After finishing the final check on the dead bodies and scrap heaps that were slowly disappearing in polygon form, I saw the UI indicating the detection of abnormal energy signals.

This meant we would soon face the Overseer.

Even though it happened last year, the structure and specifications of the device vividly came to mind as if it were yesterday.

If this bizarre game scenario was based on past events, the development would likely not differ much.

A huge truck, placed near the runway instead of an airplane.

Its black color, characteristic of ceramic armor reinforced with carbon nanotubes, made it appear as a giant black object at night.

Without night vision, we wouldn’t have even been able to identify its structure or nature.

I observed the surroundings through the binoculars packed with all sorts of cutting-edge high-tech.

Four medium-sized generators covered with camouflage, and power transmission coils as thick as a human fist, all connected to the central armored vehicle.

Naturally, there were plenty of enemies deployed nearby. From camouflage surveillance posts to patrol units, mentioning each one would be exhausting.

Of course, there was a way.

I placed the Mjolnir, which I had been carrying on my back, on the ground, skillfully set up the tripod, and attached the large silencer. It was so long that carrying it seemed impossible, but it was useful in its own way.

───Click!

I removed the existing magazine and loaded Lapua Magnum subsonic rounds into the empty magazine. About 20 seconds later, five magazines were ready.

At that point, I handed the rifle to Lorentina and prepared to descend with Logan.

Harmony would likely spend quite a bit of time with the shark today.

Lorentina, seemingly anticipating the form of engagement, gently placed her hand on Harmony’s shoulder and added,

“Just watch the enemy positions and wind speed. We’ll handle the rest.”

“…Huh? Okay?”

“Here, the binoculars.”

After leaving Harmony in Lorentina’s care, Logan and I carefully descended to the runway.

The infiltration team, armed with tactical knives and silenced pistols, and the sniper team providing cover from the rear, it was a fairly standard infiltration mission.

Over the intercom, I could hear Harmony being instructed on the basic ICARUS Gear operations. Fortunately, she quickly learned how to share enemy markers with the team through the binoculars, as expected from skilled personnel.

I designated the first target using the infrared laser attached to the pistol.

As I moved quickly, I heard a faint ping even from a few dozen meters away, and the enemy’s head exploded.

To prevent the sound of the body hitting the ground, I grabbed the falling body and gently laid it down.

“Good shot.”

“Phew, almost burned my hand….”

“Sorry it’s not a bolt-action.”

She must have caught the ejected casing with her hand.

Leaving Lorentina and Harmony behind as they improvised a casing catcher, I focused on a patrol team positioned at the end of the cleared path.

Running swiftly without a sound, I aimed the pistol. With a quiet noise, the enemy’s body fell like a marionette with its strings cut.

Crow, following at a distance, placed a unique device on the sensor of the UGV operated by the patrol team.

The autonomous attack system shut down at that moment.

“All clear.”

“Moving to the next target.”

-So, we’re supposed to do this now?

-Seriously, how are we supposed to keep up with these former unit members? LOL

-Screw it…I’m just gonna enjoy this.

-Guys, there’s no Omega rank in Incursion, please! LOL

-I can hear the Cerberus team surrendering from here LOL

The rest wasn’t much different.

Harmony and Lorentina, having finally improvised a casing catcher, provided sniper support from high ground, shooting the heads off the Russian soldiers who were observing the surroundings.

Logan, Crow, and I spent about five minutes cleaning up the nearby patrol units, sending them all to the Styx River.

After clearing all the nearby surveillance personnel, what remained were the disguised surveillance posts and extra airport defense troops positioned slightly further from the current location.

As always, we used one strategy against another.

───Whirr!

“Let’s see how well Artemis’ machines operate.”

“Ha, you won’t be disappointed. That’s a guarantee.”

As expected, the smooth operation of the tracked UGVs was impressive. It seemed they had pre-registered IFF (Identification Friend or Foe), as the Russian troops were marked as friendly hexagons on the screen.

I tweaked the settings a bit.

Activating the night vision function and adjusting the IFF settings, the friendlies became enemies and vice versa. Then it was simple. Disengage the safety, select the available firepower, and fire.

Spotted were a 60mm shotgun grenade and an automatic guided missile launcher. For a device no larger than a washing machine, its armament was terrifying.

Let’s see its performance.

After exchanging signals with Logan and syncing timing with Harmony and Lorentina, I spoke softly.

“Let’s have a fireworks show.”

Thunk.

The shotgun grenade and missile flew through the darkness and exploded brilliantly.

The fragments scattering in the explosion and the screams, which seemed to echo across the airport, were drowned out by the fireworks.

Unfortunately, this was just the beginning.

The rhythmic firing of the grenade launcher, joined by the continuous low sound of the chain gun, created a dazzling light show in the darkness.

The 7.62mm rounds cutting through the darkness at lightning speed was a bonus.

The performance wasn’t long, and the result was predictable.

The supervisor of Windsor Locks fell into ICARUS’s hands in less than three minutes.

───Whaaaa!

The siren, which sounded like it was scraping the eardrum with sandpaper, echoed throughout Norfolk Naval Base.

Prepared launch vehicles, VLS from nearby destroyers, SLBM and torpedo tubes from nuclear submarines, and all platforms capable of launching cruise missiles sounded the red alert. Hundreds of missiles simultaneously soared into the sky, disappearing into the darkness.

The jet engines activated, starting the cruise.

As the Tomahawk cruise missiles crossed Delaware and approached Philadelphia, the same procedures commenced at the naval base in New Jersey.

Almost all available naval power in the northeastern United States launched their missiles into the air at this moment.

It didn’t take long for them to converge.

“The first missile group is advancing. Following at a 10km interval.”

“Any system interference?”

“None so far.”

“Good. Let’s see what ICARUS has brought.”

Six hundred seconds passed.

As 200 missiles crossed Long Island, the most precise guidance data created through the collaboration of Artemis and ICARUS intervened in their systems.

If the Tomah

awks had eyes, and if they were living beings, they would have seen the movements of the invaders bustling about dozens of kilometers away.

Of course, the cameras on the Block 6 upgraded cruise missiles could relay a lot to their operators.

“Target data acquired. Entering final acceleration. Accelerating from cruise speed to Mach 7.”

“Identified two Lider-class destroyers. CIWS activated. Two missiles shot down. 34 missiles remaining.”

“Detected three submarines urgently submerging. No IFF response. Entering strike trajectory in 2 seconds.”

“Impact in 5 seconds!”

After what felt like both the longest and shortest 5 seconds, the cruise missile cameras, displayed on all command screens of Norfolk and New Jersey, were suddenly filled with X marks and noise.

At that moment, New Haven was turned into a wasteland.

───BOOM!

The air trembled as the missiles, maintaining cruise speed, accelerated to hypersonic speed in just a few seconds. The Russian command and naval forces in Connecticut, not knowing what was happening and panicking, began to move erratically.

However, as steel rain fell from the sky, all enemies within the range turned to ashes under the flames and explosions. It took less than 5 seconds for the thunderous roar, akin to ringing a bell with all one’s might, to go from one to two, four, eight, ten, to a hundred.

Even the ICARUS Operators observing from several kilometers away to estimate the damage couldn’t help but murmur in awe.

“Oh my God.”

The two steel boxes majestically floating on the sea, the submarines freely roaming beneath the surface, and the military command that gathered Connecticut’s remaining forces were all equally obliterated.

Even the Operators who had to send the damage assessment screens to the friendly base momentarily forgot their duty due to the spectacle. Only when one Lider-class destroyer split in half with an explosion reaching the sky did they return to their roles.

After a brief screen delay, cheers filled Norfolk and New Jersey naval bases.

There were also those who watched this scene from prime seats.

“All drone signals lost. It seems they all hit the targets.”

“Good job. It would’ve been great to see that scene up close, but watching it on screen from 100km away… We missed the best part.”

Creak.

Three people, including Crow, opened the cockpit door and stepped onto the ground. The outside was desolate and dark. The early morning wind, devoid of any sign of life, awaited them.

However, as the communication network blocked by the supervisor was restored and excited voices flowed into everyone’s ears, they could feel the mission’s success.

-[M: I have a lot to say during the debriefing, but to sum it up, we might need to rename Connecticut to Ground Zero. It was a perfect destruction where not even a mouse covered in borscht survived.]

-[M: Five nuclear submarines combined with destroyers… This is like wiping out over 60% of the Russian naval power in the northeastern US in a single operation.]

-[M: What’s left are Providence and Boston. Considering we have control over the machine, operations with cruise missile bombardment will continue to be effective. There’s nothing more fun than pounding a blind enemy.]

-[M: Let’s discuss the rest at the base. Great job, everyone.]

The sky started to brighten beyond the horizon as if it was a lie.

As the once completely black sky turned blue, the pilot of the black stealth helicopter, in his usual playful manner, lowered the landing gear and landed.

As Harmony sighed in relief, hands reached up to pat her shoulders.

Of course, this time, there were several hands.

“Great job.”

“You kept up pretty well. Would you consider being friends with me instead of the rookie?”

“I’ll treat you to something tasty when you come to Norfolk. Maybe we could have a chat about the navy over a cup of tea… Ouch!”

Leaving the silly jokes behind, the five people, including Crow, boarded the stealth helicopter, intending to ascend with the rising sun.

Thus ended Yoo Jin’s first incursion mission.

-[Alert: Progress update in progress….]

-[Alert: Recalculating world line synchronization estimate.]

-[Alert: Calculation – 16.6% // Next incursion mission unlocks in D-7]