I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

"…This is Photon 1. Currently traveling at 250 knots—approximately 460 km/h—entering downtown Boston. There are no thermal signatures detected within the city."

"Is there any place where there wouldn't be? It must have been a lively place once. I could tell as soon as I saw it. University towns have a unique energy to them. Not anymore, though."

"Suddenly, I find myself missing Virginia. Those days back in college were really fun."

"Come to think of it, you. Didn’t you go to Virginia Tech? What was your major?"

"Information Security Engineering. Graduation went smoothly, and thanks to that, I got a job with a military contractor... but then, out of nowhere, I found my true calling, and ended up in the Navy SEALs."

…

Lorentina suddenly starts reminiscing about the past.

Beyond the Valkyrie’s hatch, the blackened sky and the darkened streets of Boston, with not a shred of light, stretched out beneath us. It looked like a city that anyone would say had died, without a doubt.

The current time was 2:26 AM. It was an early morning operation for a change. For a while, I had been living like a proper lady—no, not a lady anymore. Anyway, after getting used to going to bed early and waking up early, I was feeling a little drowsy.

Next to me, Rapland was staring outside with a mix of excitement and anxiety. Today, Olivia and I were supposed to accompany her.

The Eagle Team consisted of four, including Olivia, and adding Rapland and myself made six. We had two teams of three instead of three teams of two, because it was said that it was better for unexpected situations.

Perhaps that’s why Rapland had a tight grip on my hand. I heard she still found Olivia a bit intimidating. It’s understandable, but…

"Five minutes to arrival. Optical device functioning normally. I assume you’ve heard the reconnaissance results. A few unidentified drones were hovering around. They’ve all been shot down, but… I think someone is still here."

"As expected. That’s exactly why we’re carrying this thing, isn’t it?"

"Right, haha. We’ll be waiting in the air, so finish up quickly and get out."

"Understood."

Click!

I pulled back the cocking handle and released it, sending a bullet flying into the air. The tip of the bullet was coated in black. It wasn’t an ordinary bullet, but a special armor-piercing round.

I grabbed it, pressed the magazine catch to remove the magazine, loaded the bullet, and slid it back into place. It was something I could do without thinking. If someone saw it, they’d probably think I was all over the place, but for me, it was just practice with my tail.

At first, I would miss a lot, but not anymore. Now, I could move the tip of my tail pretty smoothly. Once I get more proficient, maybe I can even toss a grenade with it.

Thanks to the diligent oiling, the firearm moved smoothly, almost like butter. I had to admit, the guns I used when I was serving in the military back in Korea were... just garbage compared to this.

With that thought, I leisurely sat back down in my seat, and it didn’t take long for the transport plane, slowing down, to land on a high-rise building not too far from the landing zone.

While the Eagle Team, excluding Olivia, landed on the observation deck of the tallest building nearby, the transport plane took off again, landing at a parking tower just 200 meters away from the target site.

"Alright, let’s go. Doesn’t look like it will take long. There’s no sign of life around… but I can faintly smell blood."

"Once we get inside, we won’t be able to smell anything. Laser sights activated. I don’t know if it’s because my helmet is too big, but I never thought I’d be unable to aim properly."

"Take care of the little wolf, will you?"

"Sure, sure."

We hooked onto the wall of the parking tower and began to descend.

The entire assault team was wearing different outfits than usual. They had protective suits made of synthetic resin, oxygen tanks on their backs, and helmets that could seal with a single button, but could also open or close in secret.

For Rapland, this situation was quite awkward, but given the location of the lab, it was highly probable that we wouldn’t be able to get proper fire support unless we got this close.

Shaking with nerves, Rapland kept pointing her gun around, but once Olivia and I set up movement detection sensors and showed the reconnaissance results, she let out a sigh of relief.

When I placed my hand on the large box with the Icarus logo, a strange sound came from inside, followed by a weird sound as the box reassembled itself.

As the wings hidden inside the box took shape, Rapland activated her wearable tablet.

And—

—Vroom!

"…Oh."

"Just fly it over the lab, set it to auto-scan mode, and you’re done. It’s not complicated. You’re good at being a mission officer, so I believe you can handle the briefing."

"Yeah. I’m getting used to being a mission officer now. Leave the briefing to me."

"Got it. Want a snack?"

"Hey, don’t forget, I’ve lived longer than you!"

Ah, right.

I had become so accustomed to being spoiled that I momentarily forgot about it. But it was probably because everyone I had met so far had spoiled me in every way.

Still, as I watched Rapland grab a chocolate bar, I suddenly fell into thought. Maybe later on… I’ll end up having someone join my team, not as a temporary member, but as someone under my command.

Will I have enough experience and skill to teach someone else?

Maybe that’s a story for a much later time.

Thinking about that, I activated the Icarus Gear interface. By now, the Dagger Team had reached the front of the National New Infectious Disease Research Institute.

In the distance, the Eagle Team, which had landed first, had deployed the Titan railgun that Olivia and I used before. We set up our firearms on a tripod and fired a grenade nearby.

Of course, it wasn’t a regular grenade. It was more of a launch-install trap. We could use those to find out what was happening around the area.

As I glanced to the side, Logan’s screen was shared with ours.

• Communication check. We’re about to enter the building. Once we enter the Level 4 zone, communication might be difficult, so keep that in mind. But the signal can still be received, so let us know if there’s any external threat.

• Found the front door. "Cal J. and Lutz Shapiro Emergency Medical Center…" Looks like a place that made a lot of money back in the day. The exterior is completely falling apart now, so it’s hard to tell.

• No sign of life inside.

Obviously, the view of the hospital’s interior beyond the screen didn’t look good.

The metal detector at the entrance, which wouldn’t even activate, and the lobby beyond, littered with "something" that had been dead for at least half a year. Thankfully, it was censored.

But still, there were protein masses I didn’t want to describe, and skulls exposed from the decayed flesh and hair falling off.

If this was visible in the lobby, which wasn’t even the emergency patient area, I shuddered to think about the rest of the building, but unfortunately, the assault team’s target wasn’t the hospital but the research institute, which was located far from the hospital.

The assault team kept moving, while the thermite cutter was deployed.

In case of a virus leak, there were automatic barriers designed to activate when internal control became impossible after the incident.

As the assault team accessed the building’s internal systems, they began to converse.

• The air microorganism levels are normal. It doesn’t seem like any viruses stored in the facility have leaked.

• No activation of bleach sprayers, autoclaves, or high-temperature sterilizers in the logs, but it could just be that they weren’t working due to a power shortage. Let’s open the door first.

• Alright. High-power cutter activated… The barrier seems thick, but it’s melting instantly. Not sure how many more of these we’ll encounter, but we’ll go in for now. 360 meters to the server room.

With a sizzling sound, the steel door began to heat up quickly, then was neatly cut into a circle. As the red-hot steel cooled, seven people entered the hallway. Rapland, who had switched the reconnaissance drone to autonomous mode, was watching the scene unfold, albeit through her wearable tablet, as the Icarus gear didn’t have its own lens.

"…"

She remained silent, focused on the task at hand.

Seeing that, I too refocused, and the assault team, led by two mutants, swiftly approached their objective. The barrier that hadn’t been opened since the Omega Virus outbreak was being breached.

As we passed the scattered bodies of the deceased, trapped for perhaps ten years, or even longer, between the closed walls, we finally arrived at the server room without much difficulty.

How much time had passed? Without a speck of dust, in complete silence, the server room emerged from the shadows.

If the U.S. doesn’t recover, this will likely remain a digital tomb for decades. The Dagger team entered and began supplying power to the servers and attempted to connect.

In an instant, thousands of LEDs lit up, and a heavy humming sound filled the server room. As that happened, the Dagger team pulled out the coordinating computers between the servers and began synchronizing the network.

• Connecting. Taking all data related to Jorden Amherst’s personal details, viral DNA data, and protein synthesizer information.

• Server reset in 30 seconds. EMP charging.

• …Wait. The data extraction process just slowed down a little—damn it…!

• What the hell is this alarm!?

• It’s detecting our connection and seems to be sending it somewhere… we haven’t lost control of the system, though. It looks like it’s only detecting the connection.

• This doesn’t feel right. Let’s get out of here fast.

"What’s going on?"

"It seems like someone set a trap. Rapland, is there any movement around us?"

"No, surprisingly… there’s nothing. The TOC coordinating the operation says no one has moved within a 10km radius."

"I don’t like this. Photon 1, we need to evacuate immediately. If a missile drops, the Dagger team is going to turn to ash here, damn it."

…Nah, there’s no way.

Still, the Dagger team was quickly exiting the way they came, and Photon 1 was descending at a speed that made me wonder if it was even safe to come down that fast.

Just then, the HQ, having taken the Dagger team’s request seriously, activated the Aegis Shore on Governors Island and launched about two interceptors toward Boston. Given the distance to New York, it would only take about two minutes for the interceptors to reach their target.

Although there were no radar systems, some might think this was just a precautionary fuss, but the higher-ups must have decided to act just in case.

How much time passed? As soon as the entire assault team was onboard, Photon 1 landed. There was no formal greeting. The Eagle Team, which had landed first, needed to be picked up.

The transport plane took off in an instant, accelerating as it flew toward a building’s rooftop located about 2 kilometers northwest. After picking up the three members of the Eagle Team, it ascended once again.@@novelbin@@

Just as the acceleration began, we instinctively knew our worries had been right.

"NORAD urgently reports! A missile approaching from the main Portland direction!"

"The interceptors have detected the missile! They’re accelerating!"

"Damn it, if we’re unlucky, we’re going to get hit by the blast wave…!"

"Everyone, hold on tight! We might fall!"

And then, after some time, a tremendous shockwave blasted from the sky.

—KABOOM!

"Damn it."

"Damn it! This is Photon 1, hit by the shockwave! The right engine is down, some of the attitude control systems are malfunctioning! Altitude dropping! Mayday, mayday!"

"Two kilometers ahead, Cambridge Commons in sight, deploying parachute for speed control… Damn it, there’s a stone tower right in front of the emergency landing point! We’re going to crash—WHAT!?"

"Stop screwing around and come here, pilots! If you take any longer, we’re all dead!"

"W-what’s going on!?"

The two pilots were dragged out with rough hands, and the moment the entire Icarus Operators team deployed shields to the maximum,

A flash and a deafening roar erupted.

—CRASH!

"…Are there any casualties?"

"Of course not. Even if we got hit by an RPG head-on, they wouldn’t die. There’s no way twelve operators wouldn’t survive a crash."

"…W-What’s this? I didn’t feel anything…"

"We blocked all sensory input. Fortunately, it seems no one’s injured… So, where are we?"

"A park near Harvard University."

When the crumpled fuselage, enveloped in smoke and flame, opened up, the Dagger team, along with two pilots and one trainee mission officer, emerged, seemingly in perfect condition.

Despite being exposed to an absurd situation, the Icarus Gear did its job to protect the wearers' bodies, and even those without the gear survived.

The helmets were slightly dented, and a few strands of hair were singed, but considering the crash occurred at nearly 200 km/h, it was nothing more than minor damage.

But that wasn’t the end.

—WHOOOOSH!

"…Should we have brought a MANPAD?"

"Y-20, a Chinese transport plane. Mostly used by airborne forces."

"I can tell that much, idiot."

"So now… looks like they’ve finally decided to start a full-scale war. How long do we have until our forces come to rescue us?"

"Who knows. For now… let’s crush them all and think about it afterward."

That was a cocky statement, but at least the Dagger team had earned the right to say it.

The Icarus Gear instantly displayed the transport plane's location and trajectory, as well as how far the enemy had dropped. It also calculated and displayed how many minutes it would take for the enemy to make contact.

Simultaneously, the estimated time was uploaded to the side. The number "25 minutes" clearly appeared on the interface, and the Dagger team quickly realized that it represented the time until rescue.

But there was a silver lining:

"They don’t know the structure inside Harvard University. It’s the same for us, but we have pulses. The only problem is we’re low on ammo for prolonged firefights…"

"In that case, we’ll have to improvise. We’ll either capture enemy weapons or take them out in close combat. We’ll do what we can."

"By the way, I think it would be best if the little wolf and the two pilots find somewhere to hide… It’s a tricky situation. We’re supposed to be rescuing the fallen pilots, but now it’s turned into something like the opposite."

"We’ll split the team in two. Put the mutants in one team, and we’ll focus on rescuing the little wolf and the pilots, as well as providing air support. You know what that means?"

"I understand. Looks like the little wolf is finally going to join the assault team. Are you confident?"

"I’ll do my best, for sure."

With those words, Olivia, not Eugene, gave Rapland a tight hug and added:

"I thought this might happen, but I’m still sorry. No matter what happens, we’ll all make it back to Central Park alive, so don’t worry."

"…Really?"

"…Well, there might be a slightly different way of saying it."

With that, Olivia pulled a knife from its sheath.

"I’ll kill every last one of them. Don’t worry and wait for us."

"…Uh, be careful."

"Don’t worry. I’m planning to do just that. Do you remember the close combat skills we practiced recently? It would be good to recall them for the real deal."

"…Yes."

"Alright, let’s go then."

At that moment, excluding Rapland, the mutants activated their optical devices and disappeared toward Harvard University.

Leaving that scene behind, the rest of us started moving toward the southwestern area where the football stadiums and other fields were located, making it easier for the transport to land.

It was just four minutes ago that the mutants had crushed the allied forces.