Episode 1: Korea University (End)
The shots rang out simultaneously. It would've been ideal to aim right at the enemy, but there wasn't time to line up the shot. I hit the door of the stairwell passage the terrorist had climbed up. It disrupted his firing just a bit. Ting! "You fucking bastard! Die!" Bang! I threw myself sideways to dodge the bullet. Fortunately, a nearby outdoor AC unit acted as a shield. Clang! Clang! But... his first shot had shattered my pistol.
"Tch, good luck or bad luck..." I set down the pistol—now a useless rag instead of a finger—and sighed, scanning my surroundings. I wanted to grab the sniper rifle again, but that spot was unfortunately in perfect view of the terrorist. This position was too exposed, so I shifted behind the AC unit.
"Come out! You filthy South Korean dog! Think I wouldn't notice you disguised as mobile unit?" The terrorist had a filthy mouth. He seemed like a pro, slowly tightening the noose by moving to positions that put me at a disadvantage.
"Shai's gonna laugh her ass off..." At this life-or-death moment, I recalled Shai's warning to be careful. I was planning to charge in timing it with his approach.
That's when a voice came from where the sniper rifle had been—somehow, Evergreen made a sound to draw the terrorist's attention.
"Who the hell are you!" The startled terrorist swung his gun barrel slightly, and I charged at him. Thwack! First, I grabbed the rifle's muzzle with my left hand and shoved it outward. That forces the enemy to confirm the grab and tense both hands. In that instant, I smashed my right fist into his jaw. Thud!
"Urk!" He was holding the gun, so no guard up. I landed a solid hit, then faked another punch.
"You bastard!" As the enraged enemy tried to block with one arm, I reversed, grabbing the rifle with both hands and twisting hard to strain his wrist.
"Eek!" The guy wasn't stupid. Seeing me try to take the gun, he kicked me back. Whack!
"Ugh." But his wrist was properly twisted, so the rifle clattered to the ground. As he reached for it, I rushed in and kicked it away. Thwack! Skrrrt! The gun slid under the AC unit.
"You..." The terrorist drew a dagger from his belt. "What unit are you? Korean? Chinese? Your moves scream special forces."
I didn't answer, just eyed his hand. The guy rattled off questions and jumped to his own conclusions. "Yeah... no need for talk between us. Die!"
Rifle to knife. Downgrade—should I be happy? He extended his left arm forward, hiding the dagger hand behind. Whoosh! He blocked my vision with his palm, then slashed with the knife. I barely twisted away; the blade grazed and tore my collar.
As I kept dodging his attacks, his breathing grew ragged for a split second. I tagged his face lightly with a left jab. Thud!
"Kuh!" Predictably light damage—he grimaced, lip twisting, and reset his stance. This time, upper body feint right before he charged. He'd been burned by the jab, so his focus was on my hands. Thud! Then a calf kick to his lower leg.
He panicked at the sudden strike and swung the dagger wildly. Swoosh! With his legs compromised, the thrust was slow. I sidestepped easily and kicked low again. Thud!
"You... you son of a bitch..."
"You've got such a dirty mouth." It was a slow attack, but it still nicked my skin—blood welled up. Knives could wound with the slightest mistake, so I refocused. Close combat is psychological warfare. Alternating high and low strikes keeps him guessing. Upper? Lower? Like odd-even rock-paper-scissors, I chipped away at his nerves with hits.
"Hoo..." I paused to catch my breath. He'd taken too many solid hits and was steeling himself for a big move. At this rate, cumulative damage would beat him, so he wanted a one-shot kill. I deliberately opened my upper body, feigning carelessness.
"Die!" Whoosh! Reading my motion, he blocked my vision again and thrust at my torso. That's what I wanted. I stepped wide sideways, burrowed inside, grabbed his thrusting arm and collar. Shifting my center of gravity deep, I dropped into a seated posture. His body flipped over my back—judo's "ippon seoi nage"—slamming him into the concrete. Thud!
"Gahk!" He screamed in agony from the concrete impact. I wrenched the arm I still held. Crack!
"Aaaargh!" Thud! I punched the noisy bastard unconscious.
"Hoo..." Tension made my legs shake. Stumbling a bit, I quickly grabbed Evergreen.
"I'm fine. More importantly, status?" I picked up Evergreen again; the screen restored, showing Conel's video feed. Ryu Seonghong was yapping nonstop in front of her. The terrorist had a bomb switch but hadn't hit detonate yet.
...Scared of dying? Sniping from here could take him down, but all I could think was the switch getting pressed. Too far for Conel to react. I headed to the memorial hall's first floor, where I'd pre-summoned Hellhound—aka Puppy.
"...Screw it!" I mounted Puppy. In Chasefield X, there's a dog jump minigame where you leap between buildings on him. With baseless faith, I yelled,
"Go, Puppy!" Clank! Clank! My ass hurt like hell from his rigid back. ...Gotta separate game from reality. Gritting my teeth, I committed to the 40 km/h speed. Wind whipping, I reached the main building fast.
"Got it. No problem." I arrived at the main building in seconds. Gauged the distance, had Puppy back up a bit. ...This should work? Channeling private room dog jump #1 rank experience, I decided.
"Puppy! Jump!" Clank! Clank! He smashed the asphalt accelerating, then leaped huge toward the third-floor broadcast room. Clunk! Mid-air, I shouldered the rifle and pulled the trigger. Bang! If the wall breaks, he'll hear and hit the button—so I'd shoot his wrist first.
As expected, the bullet punched through the wall toward the podium. Boom! Puppy's solid charge shattered the outer wall with a massive crash, bursting into the broadcast room. The impact jolted my whole body; teeth clenched, I leaped off Puppy toward the podium guy's flying wrist and the falling bomb switch.
"Aaaah!" He screamed; my fingertips brushed the switch.
"Wha—impossible!" Click! I stopped it hitting the floor. But my reach fell just short—it bounced away. I prayed it wouldn't detonate on impact.
"I got it!"
"...Shai! Knew I could count on you!" Shai had appeared, snatching the airborne switch. She'd cleared the outside enemies and returned. Simultaneously, Conel slammed the wristless podium guy down.
"S-spare me!"
"Shut your mouth."
I scanned around and told Conel, "Conel! There's some comms jammer here!"
"Hm? Yeah, no contact was weird. ...That thing."
I followed her gaze. That huge North Korean flag from the broadcast had bugged me. Removing it revealed a grayish pillar-like device. I pointed and said,
"Puppy! Fetch!" Grr! No mouth, so he smashed it with his arm. Boom! It toppled, and a welcome voice returned.
"Fine. Check external radio?"
Success reports poured in. Joy at thwarting the terror—then someone dumped cold water.
Radio cut suddenly; a familiar, grating voice followed.
This voice... the old guy who barged in when I was on sniper overwatch with general radio.
"This guy's such an asshole."
"Wanna shank him later?" I almost agreed with Shai. ...How do we escape this?
"Just smash everything and run."
I ignored Shai's assault-brain idea completely. Luckily, Conel had a plan. I nodded at it, but felt uneasy.
"Switching to Plan C. Gotta blow the building."
...Korea University was gonna burn after all.
Ding-dong-dang-dong! The campus-wide broadcast chimed.
The sudden broadcast threw radio into chaos. Civilians heard it too since it was campus-wide.
"I-is it really over?"
"No more gunshots... seems safe?"
Fear and hope mixed, people trickled out. Soon, they had to run like mad.
Kaboom! The main building erupted in flames and exploded.
"Kyaaah!"
"It's blowing! Terrorists detonated bombs!"
Panic voices drew out hidden people, confirming more blasts.
"Bombs! Bombs!"
"This place next? Run!"
Like a signal, everyone bolted for off-campus. Military/police couldn't stop thousands with just a handful, even their op teams disorganized.
In mobile unit gear, I blended into the crowd, recalling Conel's words: 'Stay calm, mix with evacuating civilians, slip out quietly.' I repeated to myself,
'I'm a civilian.' Terror-stricken face, following the herd.
'I'm a civilian.'
...Huh? Aren't I actually a civilian? By the time I realized, I'd exited campus with the mob.
"Conel? Shai?" Looking around, they were gone. Waited at the bus stop—no one came.
"C-can I... just go home...?"
Don't remember boarding the bus. Half-dazed, I got home.
"Son, good day? ...Anything happen?"
"Kid, not pressuring, but how'd the interview go?"
Parents asked like I'd been out drinking. I mumbled back.
"Eh... yeah? Fine. Went, that's something."
"Can't win first time every time. Good job."
Misreading my reaction, they comforted me. I said I was fine and went to my room. Felt like I'd done exhausting exercise. Remember flopping on the bed... that was the end of my day.
Woke at dawn next day. Muscles screaming all over.
"Pffft!" Seeing the terrorists on NutTube news, I spat out my cola.
...That's me, right?