The First Deployment
Choi Soyeong returned two hours later.
As the number of women in the bar steadily grew, the suffocating weight of their stares drove me outside. I ended up waiting for her on a bench at Uijeongbu Station.
A short while later, she came stumbling toward me.
As she collapsed onto the bench beside me, a faint scent of soap drifted from her.
Now that I looked closer, she had washed her hair. Her previously disheveled nest of black hair was actually neatened up.
Choi Soyeong spoke.
"...It was incredible... No... spectacular... Mmm, 'good' doesn't even cover it... Yes, it was like a dream..."
She stared wistfully up at the sky.
I had no idea what had transpired, but she looked thoroughly satisfied.
"Hehehe... Juhyeok, a woman's body is just so... Oh my, how vulgar of me. To think I was about to share what happened in bed with someone else..."
She was getting a bit creepy.
"Did you achieve your goal?"
"Of course. Do you know what pillow talk is? It's a time when two people open up their hearts to each other. We shared so much, and I learned so much. Thanks to that..."
Choi Soyeong pulled a USB drive from the pocket of her hoodie.
"I managed to get the password to her laptop and copy everything."
"Ooh!"
"I'm going to start working on this right away!"
We headed to a PC cafe.
She used two computers simultaneously to organize the affinity information, while I sat beside her, offering moral support with my eyes.
About an hour later, she hit the enter key one last time and pulled the USB drive from the computer.
"...Is it done?"
I asked.
Choi Soyeong stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then gave a soft smile.
"Through her contacts and documents, I obtained a list of people involved with the ballistic missiles. Thanks to that, we've gathered enough affinity information."
"Which means..."
"There are still parts that need to be optimized and polished, but a new Event Zone has just been discovered."
I clenched my fist.
The faces of my fallen comrades flashed through my mind.
Choi Soyeong held up a slip of paper with the route to the Event Zone written on it.
"What do you think?"
I stared silently at the paper in her hand, then slowly nodded.
"Let's go."
We left the PC cafe and headed to the starting point of the route: Uijeongbu Station.
The route was a long, winding course that left Uijeongbu, spanning Subway Line 1, a bus ride, and Subway Line 4.
"Once it's optimized, it'll get shorter. A lot of players struggle with long dive times, so shortening the route is essential."
But right now, none of that mattered.
We completed the long loop and returned to Uijeongbu.
Just like before, we entered the department store and headed toward the main entrance.
Choi Soyeong placed her hand on the handle of the main door.
"Are you ready?"
I nodded.
"Let's go!"
We opened the department store doors and plunged into the battlefield.
First came an ear-splitting BOOM!, followed by a heavy vibration that shook the earth.
Yellowish-brown dust and black smoke billowed upward, with occasional red flames and metal shrapnel raining down in all directions.
Artillery fire erupted from every direction, making it impossible to tell where the shots were coming from.
Tak-tak-tak! Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The screeching roar of automatic rifles and machine guns tearing through the air was relentless.
Missiles flew overhead like a downpour of rain, leaving high-pitched, whistling trails in their wake. Seconds later, they shook the ground beneath our feet, erupting into pillars of fire in the distance.
The smoke-shrouded sky was a dull gray, the debris-strewn, bullet-scarred ground was ash-colored, and the air was thick with the stench of burning gunpowder and metal. Every breath stung my lungs.
And above all those sensations, occasional short, high-pitched screams pierced the din. I was stepping once again into this living hell.
"Juhyeok!"
Choi Soyeong grabbed my arm and shook it.
She was looking at me with deep concern in her eyes.
"You spaced out for about five seconds."
Had I? I hadn't even realized.
"Is it PTSD? Though, your blood adrenaline and excitement levels are surprisingly stable for that..."
Soldiers who underwent neural and physical reconstruction like me didn't get PTSD.
From the day of the surgery until the wounds healed, we were subjected to 24-hour mental conditioning bordering on brainwashing while confined to our beds.
Back then, I had found it incredibly tedious and hated every second of it.
"Whew—haaa."
Taking a deep breath made my throat sting.
Everything was exactly as it had been.
Clank, clank, clank.
A tank rumbled past us down the road.
A soldier atop the tank shouted something in our direction.
Probably telling civilians to run away.
I looked at Choi Soyeong and asked,
"Where is the multi-legged tank?"
"I'm not entirely sure... but wouldn't it be in the direction the tanks are heading?"
On this day, our country lost an entire battalion.
Which meant every single tank here was about to be blown to pieces.
"Let's move."
We kept our distance from the tanks and followed them.
As we walked, Choi Soyeong spoke up.
"Um, actually, I have a concern."
"What is it?"
"Well, I mean... this space is a recreation of the day the multi-legged tank first appeared."
"Right."
"But all machine species are connected to F, right? So that multi-legged tank must be connected to F too... Is that F one created by the Internet? Or is it the actual F that created the Internet?"
What was this, a philosophy lecture?
When I gave her a blank look, she tried to explain again.
"I mean... what if the multi-legged tank sends a transmission to F? If it contacts the F that rules the virtual Internet... we'd have to run away immediately..."
"Ah, that... Don't worry. I've already prepared for it."
"Prepared?"
I pointed a finger toward the sky.
A white, spherical drone was hovering in the air.
"A drone?!"
Choi Soyeong tensed up, dropping into a defensive stance.
"Wait, calm down. That's not a machine species drone. The multi-legged tank, the very first machine species, only appeared today. There's no way successor models like search-type species and drones would exist yet."
"Then, what is that...?"
I silently stared back at her.
She seemed to think for a moment, then gasped, covering her mouth in sheer shock.
"You did that...? That drone? Mister, what on earth are you?"
"Keep it a secret from others."
Leaving her with those brief words, I quickened my pace.
While waiting for Choi Soyeong, I had run through various scenarios with CC and formulated a plan to deal with the multi-legged tank.
CC had shared the exact same concern as Choi Soyeong.
So, we deployed a drone to jam the tank's communications. Even if a connection went through, having our own machine-type drone in the air would allow us to detect it immediately and react.
"Fire!!"
BOOM! CRASH! BOOM! BAM-BAM-BOOM!
The tanks hidden between the buildings opened fire in unison.
Their target was the center of the square. Though shrouded in thick smoke, the enemy was definitely there.
"Juhyeok."
"Let's wait for now."
If history repeated itself, every single tank here would be obliterated, marking the beginning of a desperate, teeth-gritting delaying action. But in the end, they would fail to halt the multi-legged tank's advance, and the unit defending the Uijeongbu sector would be completely annihilated.
Screeeeeeeeech—!
A blue flash of light erupted from the center of the gun smoke, accompanied by the sound of burning air.
"Get down!"
I grabbed Choi Soyeong's arm and pulled her down to the ground.
Phew—!
The next instant, a massive block of tungsten tore through tanks and buildings alike, screaming directly over our heads.
"Is that... a railgun?"
Choi Soyeong's eyes went wide at the sight, having never witnessed such a thing in her life.
"It's begun."
The multi-legged tank's massacre had commenced.
The tanks' armor was utterly useless against the railgun.
Thick steel plating tore like paper as the tanks were blown apart one by one.
It took less than ten minutes for the lieutenant, who had assumed command after the battalion commander's death, to order a retreat.
We advanced forward, passing the retreating tanks in the opposite direction.
"There are still civilians here?! Run! That thing is a monster!"
A soldier atop a tank screamed at us.
But I kept moving forward and called out,
"Choi Soyeong!"
"Y-Yes!"
She stopped in surprise.
Only now did I notice that her shoulders were trembling slightly.
"You don't need to step up and fight. Just hide somewhere safe and draw its attention if you can."
"Draw its attention...?"
"Only if possible. You don't have to push yourself."
"I'll... I'll try."
I stepped directly in front of the multi-legged tank.
"It's been a while."
Whirrrrrrrr—!
The CIWS minigun mounted on top of the multi-legged tank began to spin.
"CC, going with the plan."
"Roger that!"
I dashed sideways just as the minigun roared to life.
Rapid Drone Summoning
Drones created by CC materialized continuously along my path, acting as shields. Though they shattered after taking a single hit from the minigun, blocking just that one bullet was more than enough.
"Mister! That's the limit!"
"Hup!"
Channeling the power of my Strong Arm, I hurled a nearby corpse high into the sky.
This was the sole weakness of the multi-legged tank, a tactic learned only after countless sacrifices.
The multi-legged tank, unable to distinguish clearly between the living and the dead, reacted far more sensitively to airborne threats due to its built-in defense mechanisms.
Therefore, throwing a human-shaped object into the air would trick its targeting system into prioritizing the airborne target, allowing one to close the distance on the ground.
I had successfully used this exact method in Pyeongtaek to stop the multi-legged tank summoned by the Female Operator.
It would work this time too.
It had to...
Yet, the minigun remained locked onto me.
"Huh?"
Trrrrrrrrrrrrt!
I barely managed to dive behind a pile of building rubble.
"What's going on?"
I grabbed another corpse and hurled it.
But the multi-legged tank's gaze never wavered from me.
"Mister, we have a big problem."
"CC! What's happening? It's not moving as expected! Is it different from the real tank?"
"No, it's identical. But there is one crucial difference... it hasn't finished learning yet."
"Learning?"
"Yes. The multi-legged tanks you faced on the battlefield had gone through countless engagements, sharing and learning from massive amounts of data. But the tank here is on its very first deployment today... Its programming only contains its baseline, pre-loaded data."
Which meant...
"Exactly. It hasn't learned that 'airborne targets are more dangerous' yet. Right now, it's likely operating on a simple 'shoot moving targets' protocol. That's why it's ignoring the corpses and focusing entirely on you, since you're the one moving..."
Screeeeeeeeech—!
The sound of burning air echoed.
"Dodge!"
I threw myself to the side.
A blue flash of light sliced through the exact spot I had occupied a millisecond ago.
A split second later, the deafening roar, a gust of wind, and a wave of intense heat chased after the flash.
"Looks like it's already learned the tactic: 'use the railgun against targets behind cover.'"
"Damn it."
My calculations were off.
I had to find a way to close the distance, but...
There was no way. As long as it prioritized ground targets, I needed someone else to draw its fire.
"Of course, nothing in life is ever easy..."
I had only four drones left.
I'd just have to make do with them.
Just as I steeled my resolve and prepared to spring out from behind the building—
"Juhyeok!"
A figure emerged from the shadow of a building.
White hair, wearing a black leather jacket.
Carrying a black two-handed greatsword that was taller than he was.
The B-class player, Dark Warrior Lee Jun.
He was calling out to me.
"That idiot...! Why did she have to jump out so openly like that...! Soyeong! Get down!"
Perhaps he hadn't heard my warning.
Spotting me poking my head out to yell, Lee Jun smiled brightly and waved.
The next instant, the multi-legged tank's minigun tore his body to shreds.
"Choi Soyeong!"
Lee Jun vanished without a trace.
I didn't even have time to grieve. I kicked off the ground.
It was a fleeting moment, but it was a precious opportunity Lee Jun had bought me.
I couldn't let this chance slip away.
I had to close the distance before the minigun could lock onto me.
But the moment I cleared the building, I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Juhyeok."
"Goblin Mister."
"Juhyeok."
"Kyaaa, I'm scared!"
"I, Dark Warrior Lee Jun, shall be your opponent!"
"Goblin!"
An endless horde of Lee Juns was flooding the battlefield.