Global Match — End of Day One

"Three teams at once…"

Players scattered across the island stared at the kill logs stacking up one after another and fell into confusion.

"So that red blip glowing alone in the center really was the Korean team? If everyone rushed there, it could have turned into a free-for-all."

"Could be. However they did it, wiping out team after team like that means they're a dangerous enemy for sure."

The Brazilian team had seen the solitary red light shining from the center, but they judged that the timing to head there had already slipped away.

I figured advancing to the center was the way to avoid clashing with other teams, so plenty of others must have thought the same. Staying put was the smart call after all.

Brazilian team captain Pabllo Santana nodded, congratulating himself.

If they had gone for the center, he or one of his teammates might well have claimed a spot on those nonstop kill logs.

Pabllo's core strategy for this Global Match was simple: get all three members through the first day alive.

As someone who regularly enjoyed survival combat back home, he understood better than anyone the advantage numbers brought the longer a match dragged on.

Most of the teams still standing right now are probably the ones who kept all three members alive.

He believed the teams that made it past day one would be those that avoided fights as much as possible and focused purely on survival.

If a team went through two or more engagements, even if they somehow survived they'd be wrecked. For all practical purposes they'd already be out of the long race that starts tomorrow.

Of course, there was the variable of the Korean team that had just racked up consecutive kill logs.

In the long run, that still wasn't the wise choice.

After fighting like that, even if the Korean team had lucked into full survival, their Life expenditure would be heavy. The next day, once they crossed paths, they would be easy to finish off.

But there was a fact Brazilian captain Pabllo had overlooked.

No—something he simply could not know, because he had never actually fought and eliminated anyone.

The achievement and reward system.

Contrary to Pabllo's expectations, Yeon-woo and Kim Su-hyeok did not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have so much as a scratch on their protective gear. Park Jung-hyeon had taken three hits in the fight, but he had used the Life Recovery Ticket Yeon-woo transferred to him and fully restored the loss.

In game terms, they were maintaining a constant full-health state.

Meanwhile, back in the broadcast control room, a heated discussion was underway over exactly those rewards.

"We obviously have to give them the Life Recovery Ticket for the team eliminations. The question is the extra reward for the triple kill."

"How about a Special Weapon Selection Ticket?"

One director floated the idea of a special weapon; the others immediately shook ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their heads.

"Don't you remember? The Korean team captain, Ryu Yeon-woo, already took first in the preliminary round. He already has a special weapon."

"Hmm. Two of those would completely break the balance. Looks like we'll have to release a Special Item instead."

The other directors nodded, though their expressions were less than cheerful.

The original plan had been to start releasing Special Items from the afternoon of day two.

"Among the Special Items we prepared, what's the one that can still keep the game balance somewhat intact?"

"Keeping the game balance" was just a polite way of saying the least useful item.

The Korean team's combat power had turned out higher than expected; they could not hand over anything truly powerful.

While the others deliberated, the director who had brought up balance reached for one of the cards on the table.

"The Radar Detector should be fine."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"At first glance it looks good, but the actual utility is lower than you'd think. Perfect. Once they receive it, it looks impressive enough that they won't complain."

After finishing the fight at the concrete building, Yeon-woo and his teammates were heading toward their objective.

Beep—

Yeon-woo's smartwatch suddenly vibrated.

Hmm? Another team's kill log?

He checked quickly, but that did not seem to be the case.

After reading the message, Yeon-woo informed the teammates ahead and behind him.

"Looks like the reward for the fight we just finished has arrived. It says to check the Operation Pad."

"Took them long enough."

"Right? They must have spent a while deciding what to give us."

Kim Su-hyeok and Park Jung-hyeon scanned every direction, carefully checking for any possible enemies nearby.

"Clear."

"This side's clear as well."

Yeon-woo nodded at his reliable teammates, shrugged off his pack, and pulled out the Operation Pad inside.

Hmm. Still quite a bit of time left.

After checking the remaining Strategy Time and the distance to the objective, Yeon-woo tapped the blinking Items slot.

Radar Detector?

Yeon-woo's brow furrowed at the name of the newly registered item.

If military experts had to name the two things that most transformed the face of modern warfare, most would choose satellites and radar.

At a glance, satellites and radar might seem similar to civilians because both were used to detect enemies, but their actual applications were completely different.

Countless satellites for weather observation and radio transmission orbited the Earth, yet among them the military reconnaissance satellites carried ultra-high-performance cameras and provided visual information directly.

In other words, you literally looked at photographs or video shot from the sky.

I even checked satellite photos of the small islands in Central America before coming here.

Radar, on the other hand, was something ordinary people rarely encountered.

That was exactly why Yeon-woo's brow had tightened at the item name.

Radar was fundamentally an information system that calculated the time difference between radio waves emitted from an antenna, reflected off an object, and returned, thereby determining the distance to that object.

We're not fighting an air war here. Why hand out a Radar Detector?

Of course radar was indispensable in modern warfare.

During World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Britain, the British—who were the first to put radar into practical use—had scored a major victory with it.

But that was at the level of military operations.

At the civilian level, the most an ordinary person might encounter was something like a vehicle collision-warning system.

This was not about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠detecting fighter jets or warships at sea. What use was radar in an infantry fight like this?

Frowning, Yeon-woo read the item description.

After reading the description, Yeon-woo's expression turned peculiar.

What kind of Radar Detector is this? Just a fancy name slapped on an item.

He then became conscious of the cameras attached all over their gear that were still recording video and audio.

"CEO Kim, Team Leader Park. We received a new item as a 'reward for eliminating three teams in a row.'"

Yeon-woo spoke while looking at Kim Su-hyeok and Park Jung-hyeon.

What came out of his mouth was not the Korean they had been using until now, but clear, precise English.

And he deliberately emphasized the phrase "reward for eliminating three teams," as if making sure someone would hear it.

At his words, Kim Su-hyeok and Park Jung-hyeon made one final check of the surroundings before approaching.

Yeon-woo briefly summarized the item description and asked for their opinions.

"What do you think?"

Hearing Yeon-woo ask in English along with the item details, Kim Su-hyeok instantly grasped the intent and answered firmly.

"All flash, no substance. Garbage."

Park Jung-hyeon nodded in agreement.

"When ninety minutes remain until Strategy Time? We might be on the move or in the middle of a fight. Who has the leisure to stare at an Operation Pad then?"

"Exactly. And it only shows the position briefly—not every team's position, just the one you pre-entered. Hard to use strategically."

Park Jung-hyeon took the Operation Pad from Yeon-woo, stared at it for a moment, then continued.

"And the name is Radar Detector, but it isn't even radar. It's just a tablet PC that briefly displays a location using GPS signals from satellites and dresses it up to look like a radar screen. How is that radar equipment? Isn't this false advertising?"

Yeon-woo looked mildly surprised at Park Jung-hyeon, who he had thought only excelled at eating gukbap yet was unexpectedly articulate.

After quietly listening to both of them, Yeon-woo nodded with an innocent expression.

"I thought so too. I read the description and was half-convinced, but hearing the experts makes it clear. I got my hopes up when they called it a Special Reward, but for eliminating three teams in a row, this gift is far too underwhelming."

If it at least let them predict the direction of movement, maybe. Simply flashing a position for a short time would be useless unless they luckily tagged a team that happened to be right nearby.

At least for now, that was true.

But it isn't single-use, so its real value will show later. When only a few teams remain, even a brief location fix will be a major advantage.

Still, the reason he deliberately complained in English, making sure the cameras caught every word, was a clear message aimed at the control room that was watching in real time.

This can't be the only Special Item, and we won't be the only team earning achievements. To keep the balance, they'll give better items to other teams.

He saw that coming a mile away and had no intention of being played for a sucker.

So, under the pretense of sharing item information with his teammates, he casually delivered the message to the control room.

Kim Su-hyeok nodded and played along.

"Sigh. If they're going to hand out useless junk like this as a Special Reward, they might as well just top up our ammo."

The subtext was clear: keep this up and we'll rebrand ourselves as professional black consumers.

Beeeep—

Once they reached the objective and time ran out, a sharp beep announcing the end of the match blared from both the Operation Pad and their smartwatches.

Yeon-woo nodded as he read the notice on the Operation Pad.

As expected, no more fights broke out after the one we finished.

Everyone must have looked at the darkening sky and realized day one was about to end; no one chose the risk of picking a fight with another team.

In fact, the Japanese and Brazilian teams had been within sight of each other at a distance of over three hundred meters, yet neither side closed the gap. They simply maintained a safe distance and waited out the clock.

Then the roar of multiple helicopters filled the sky.

"They're coming to pick up the players."

Thud-thud-thud-thud—

The helicopters' rotors tore through the air, hammering their eardrums.

"Team Leader Ryu. We're probably heading back to the hotel we stayed at, right?"

Kim Su-hyeok asked, looking at Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo thought the same and nodded back.

Kim Su-hyeok continued.

"Hmm. I can already feel the other teams' icy stares that will be pouring down on us in the dining hall."

Yeon-woo let out a short laugh at that.

The more he got to know the man, the more he realized this uncle had a quiet streak of attention-seeking that completely clashed with his image.