I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

<pangrimineoryeowodohajima sponsored 1,000 won!>

• Commenter 1: I gave up trying to match with you after seeing your play, Eugene-sensei… Isn’t that too much?

"Pangrimineoryeowodohajima, thank you for the 1,000 won donation. Yeah, I guess that’s true. If I were on the opposing team... uh... wouldn’t I just ask to be put out of my misery?"

• Commenter 2: ㅆㅇㅈ
• Commenter 3: Agreed, lololol.
• Commenter 4: Surrendering pathetically vs. getting wrecked terribly.
• Commenter 5: I’d surrender rather than get my head split by a tomahawk, lol.
• Commenter 6: Sensei, decapitation is a bit too much, don’t you think?

18 kills, 4 assists, and 0 deaths.

With the shift from keyboard and mouse controllers to physically moving in VR games, the gap between regular and ranked games has significantly narrowed for all but a few players.

Even if you work out regularly, moving tactically is vastly different from lifting weights to build muscles. Thus, in Team Six, the higher tiers focus more on how well team members coordinate and fulfill their roles rather than individual physical prowess.

However, there are always exceptions.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, it’s nothing...."

Five rounds, a 5:0 perfect victory.

With separate time allotted for ban-pick selection, loading, and droning, the actual physical gameplay lasted only 15 minutes, yet Eugene swept through the building within that short time.

Considering the time spent entering the bank, she effectively maintained a kill rate of 1.5 kills per minute, all in hardcore mode.

Perhaps she had underestimated someone she shouldn’t have.

Harmony, contemplating this, cautiously added.

"...Should we keep matching?"

"I don’t mind. Do as you wish."

<Mission Complete! [Time limit: 4 hours 30 minutes // Success: 300,000 won]>

• Commenter 1: Do it.

"Ah, mission complete! Thank you so much for the 300,000 won────!! Thanks to you all, I can pay my rent, phone bill, food expenses, device installments, cooling bills, and editor’s salary today! Thank you all so much… Ah."

An awkward exchange of glances.

In the briefing room, two gazes met. One was a look of confusion, and the other was akin to being caught doing something embarrassing.

Frozen mid-cheer, Harmony turned her head like a rusty machine.

"...Ah, I-I’ll give you your half! I haven’t forgotten about that, really!"

"It’s not about that...."

• Commenter 1: What are you doing, lololol.
• Commenter 2: Today too, just... 'pathetic.'
• Commenter 3: This nuna looks so broke no matter how much she earns, lol.
• Commenter 4: Eldest daughter....
• Commenter 5: Sensei’s expression is priceless, lol.

Such a peculiar person.

Under her emotionless expression, Eugene evaluated Harmony as such. Though, of course, she couldn't say it out loud.

But it didn’t feel particularly bad.

It’s a kind of bias, but in this world, some people are endearing no matter what they do, while others are irritating regardless of their actions.

Harmony was definitely the former.

Perhaps that’s one of the qualities of a good streamer.

'...Did I do something wrong?'@@novelbin@@

Of course, for Harmony, it was a gaze inducing significant discomfort.

But she had her reasons. The Dark Zone content wouldn’t exist without Eugene.

Even though Harmony could manage her Dark Zone exploration without Eugene, the game's popularity ensured plenty of interest even if she only posted videos of her suffering.

However, it was also true that her current heightened recognition was partly due to Eugene’s presence. And Harmony clearly didn’t reject this.

In summary, she was collaborating with Eugene because it benefited her stream.

While thinking she needed to repay this somehow, Eugene showed no signs of wanting anything in return.

Her goal was merely to play the game, and the variable of 'who to play with' didn’t seem significant to her.

So, feeling self-conscious, Harmony hurriedly added.

"Ah, I’ll deposit the earnings as soon as today’s stream ends… so please give me your account number! I might forget how much to send otherwise!"

"My account is expensive."

"I thought that was a joke on Engram! Why is it true!?"

• Commenter 1: ?
• Commenter 2: ??????????
• Commenter 3: What is this?? What is this?? What is this??
• Commenter 4: When did it come to this? Tell us immediately!
• Commenter 5: Sensei’s account is expensive, lol.
• Commenter 6: What’s with this Harmony-Eugene chemistry, I’m dying, break the earth, break the universe, poppin’ break.

What’s going on? Why is the chat like this?

Viewers go wild with just a slight shift in attention or a revealed fact. While Harmony hadn’t mentioned giving her contact details to Eugene, this needed a detailed explanation, so she quickly added.

"What’s wrong? Isn’t it normal to handle income-related matters like this? When money is involved, direct contact is necessary."

• Commenter 1: Ah, that can’t be helped.
• Commenter 2: Are the ones questioning this just people who’ve never worked?
• Commenter 3: Don’t overdo it.
• Commenter 4: Why bother with that? Just watch a warm Harmony stream, lol.
• Commenter 5: Another loss for the sleepless bums in their one-room apartments, lol.

...Was that an additional hit instead of an explanation?

Harmony decided to moderate her responses to viewers in the future, turning off her attention to the chaotic chat.

Meanwhile, she pondered a separate thought about the content. Specifically, whether this could sufficiently entertain viewers.

Although she hadn’t been playing the game for long, she had tried it on a computer in the past, and from her memory, it was quite a challenging game.

In short, if she didn’t understand the map structure and gadget usage, she couldn’t fully enjoy the game’s mechanics.

Could she confidently say she understood those mechanics?

Probably not. It was an obvious conclusion, and it certainly wouldn’t be positive.

However, skipping to other content without any explanation wouldn’t be ideal, so she decided to seek understanding.

"…Anyway, everyone. We’ll stop the Team Six mode here. We’ve only played one round, but today’s goal is to showcase PVP modes."

After mentioning they would proceed to another external mission, viewers showed signs of calming down.

Those waiting eagerly to join the viewer match were disappointed, but ultimately, Harmony was the one running the show.

During this, a donation popped up on the screen.

<kimblurrchamp sponsored 1,000 won!>

• Commenter 1: I suddenly got curious. They say snakes are sensitive to the cold, so would that person be too? I mean, do a survival mode.

"Kimblurrchamp, thank you for the 1,000 won donation. Hey. Avatars and real people are different, right? Right, Sensei?"

"…."

"…Sensei?"

What’s this?

The Eugene she knew would’ve responded immediately to such a question. But for some reason, her gaze began to shift slightly, specifically avoiding eye contact from Eugene’s direction....

...No way.

"Eugene-sensei?"

"…I’m very sensitive to the cold."

• Commenter 1:
  ??????????
• Commenter 2: Sensei, really? lol.
• Commenter 3: Pyaaa pyaaa pyaaa lolol.
• Commenter 4: Are you aiming for a gap moe? Sensei, are you a genius?
• Commenter 5: Oh no, snake-nuna, I feel weird.

Here it comes.

Not just in terms of content, but also from a person-to-person perspective... Ugh, who cares? How am I supposed to resist this?

Harmony’s brain, momentarily frozen, began spinning in a different direction. It wasn’t an arithmetic calculation but more like a simple happy circuit, and because of that, the decision was swift and intuitive.

With control over the party, Harmony had left the Team Six mode and started matching for Survival mode.

With a voice full of desperation and apology, she spoke.

"…Sensei. I’m really sorry. Just once… would that be okay?"

"…Sigh."

Eugene’s expression, as she answered, showed a resigned but gentle smile.

[Dark Zone - Team Six Sub Gallery]

[General] Today’s... a true madwoman... gif

A gif of Eugene spiking an enemy’s neck with a tomahawk during Team Six mode

What kind of executioner roleplay is she doing in a shooting game? Her teammates must be terrified.

• Commenter 1: I’ve done many melee kills, but decapitation is insane, lol.
• Commenter 2: She’s popping up everywhere in the galleries lately. What’s her deal?
• ㄴ Commenter 3: We don’t know either, lol. Someone speculated she’s an ex-special forces member, go check it out.
• ㄴ Commenter 4: This is dizzying.

• Commenter 5: If I faced that, I’d wet my pants and beg for mercy, upvote, lol. Me first.
• ㄴ Commenter 6: When else would you get your head split by a tomahawk? It’s a rare experience.
• ㄴ Commenter 7: When did decapitation become a rare experience, lol.
• ㄴ Commenter 8: Severe Dark Zone addiction.

• Commenter 9: Is she really playing hardcore mode? Sounds like BS.
• ㄴ Commenter 10: Yeah, it looks like it, lol.
• ㄴ Commenter 11: I wish she’d give a clear explanation.
• ㄴ Commenter 12: She doesn’t care even if she appears on major broadcasts, why would she bother explaining? She’ll get banned or whatever eventually.