I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Cleaner.

If you were to ask people around Central Park HQ about the existence of these individuals, most would try to show the most favorable reaction possible, albeit with subtle expressions.@@novelbin@@

The reason was simple. There was no other unauthorized armed group that had been more helpful to HQ and to the current United States than these people. But at the same time, their ideology was completely incompatible with that of the U.S.

They were the ones who burned every enemy they deemed as such. Physically. They were the executioners of one of the most horrific deaths a person could face—being burned alive.

This was a practice that, after the Reformation, was rarely carried out in modern times, and since then, could only be found sporadically in books. But in the 21st century, it was resurrected and carried out by the New York City Sanitation Department.

They were undeniably helpful, but their methods were not exactly desirable by any means. With that in mind, it was understandable why people at HQ would make hesitant faces when asked about the Cleaners.

But the world had become incredibly harsh, and to survive each day, most people were willing to rely on the devil's hand, not the executioner’s.

Moreover, the virus apocalypse was no longer the primary issue. The Third World War had broken out in the northeastern United States, and everyone except children and the elderly was set to take up arms and head to the front lines.

In short, while the Cleaners were definitely an unappealing presence, there were far more pressing matters and horrific events in the world.

However, on a day in December, seeing dozens of fire trucks crossing Manhattan suddenly brought about an unavoidable feeling of pressure.

Wooooo!

The fire trucks, blaring an unbearably loud siren, were followed by military transport vehicles with miniguns bearing recycling marks, and other vehicles of unknown purpose trailing behind.

Few people knew that these were modified all-terrain fire response vehicles the Cleaners used during their attack on the Bronx, but at least the Dagger Team, riding in the lead command vehicle, knew.

And it wasn’t just water being sprayed from these vehicles anymore. They now fired napalm and incendiary aerosol munitions with heat-pressure mortar and miniguns, resembling a makeshift armored vehicle.

The sirens were deafening.

It felt like the vehicles cleared the streets of Manhattan just for this moment as numerous vehicles moved down from northern Manhattan toward New Jersey.

The state of the Holland Tunnel, which connected Jersey City and New York across the Hudson River, was far from perfect, but the Cleaners paid no attention, crossing through the tunnel and heading toward Newark Airport.

Their mission was simple: eliminate all the enemies that had landed in New Jersey.