Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Not a Self-Deprecating Stream
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“Urk!”
Ttalgwi clutched her side where she’d been shot, grimacing.
Of course, since it was just a game, it didn’t hurt that badly, but the tight, stiff sensation made it impossible for her to move.
Judging by how she’d entered a combat-incapable state, it looked like this life was done for.
She let out a bitter smile and leaned her back against the wall.
“I’ll borrow these.”
Just then, Sukka—who’d been on the verge of tears moments ago—spoke up in a quiet voice.
She carefully pulled out the two grenades hooked onto Ttalgwi’s body armor.
Thinking back on it now, she’d forgotten to buy grenades when equipping Sukka.
Of course, it wasn’t because she was stingy with the money, but she still felt unnecessarily sorry for not looking after every little detail.
“Hang in there just a bit longer.”
Sukka took a small breath before pulling the pin on a grenade.
At the sight, Ttalgwi tilted her head to peer beyond the wall.
Enemies were entering the alleyway, coming into view.
There had to be at least ten of them—at the sight, her vision went dark.
No matter how capable Sukka was, there was no way she could handle that many on her own.
The thought that even a fight wouldn’t be possible brought a hollow laugh to her lips.
- Ting!
But the girl in front of her showed no sign of backing down.
She’d been trembling in trauma-induced fear, yet she had no intention of running—she planned to fight to the end.
Sukka’s thrown grenade flew straight into the middle of the enemies.
It landed in a truly perfect spot—within blast radius but tricky to deal with.
"Grenade!!”
“Take cover!!”
- Boom!!
The enemies scattered in panic, throwing themselves into the alleyway gaps.
Some who couldn’t dodge got hit by shrapnel, but most emerged unscathed.
Regaining their composure, the enemies reformed ranks and charged again.
They’d even pinpointed the position, laying down suppressive fire on the wall.
Grenade with grenade—that was common sense in FrontAka.
Their own grenade barrage would come soon enough; the situation was a dead end.
“Ura.”
Then, Sukka muttered lowly and gritted her teeth.
She threw her second and final grenade before grabbing her PPSh.
But unlike before, this grenade traced a gentle arc.
And with the enemies so close, even the delay fuse seemed pointless.
They were already on guard for grenades—they wouldn’t just watch such a clumsy throw.
Sure enough, spotting the incoming grenade, the enemies reacted swiftly.
“Grenade!!”
“Catch and throw it back!!”
Rather than taking cover, the enemies chose to counter.
They were going to swat away the grenade before it even hit the ground.
But in that instant, Sukka—as if she’d been waiting—fired her gun and leaped out from behind the wall.
The PPSh’s rapid fire instantly turned the enemies, fixated on the grenade, into Swiss cheese.
- Rat-tat-tat-tat!!!
“Aaagh!!”
“Fuck!!”
Sukka kept firing as she dashed into the opposite alleyway and vanished.
It was such a bold ambush that the enemies couldn’t even return fire.
- Thud.
Yet amid it all, the grenade had bounced back inside the wall.
Ttalgwi squeezed her eyes shut at the grenade now lying beside her.
There was no time left to react. She couldn’t even move her body in the first place.
The chilling déjà vu from just two days ago left her sensing her death.
“Ugh...... Huh?”
But even after several seconds, the grenade didn’t explode.
Feeling something off, Ttalgwi cautiously opened her eyes to see a perfectly intact grenade with its safety pin still in.
It seemed Sukka hadn’t pulled the pin when throwing the second grenade.
At the bewildering situation, the stream’s chat exploded.
『What? Why didn’t it go off?』
『She must’ve forgotten to pull the pin in the rush lololol』
『Lol just a free pass at that point?』
『Holy shit lol that would’ve been a teamkill fr』
At first, everyone just reacted with confusion.
Some even mocked her, assuming Sukka had messed up.
But as time passed, viewers began finding meaning in Sukka’s actions.
They argued she wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake—that it had all been planned.
『No way, did she bait them with the grenade?』
『She bolted right after throwing—looks intentional? If she’d pulled the pin, they’d both be dead?』
『She threw it to draw their eyes... If the pin was out, Ttalgwi would’ve died too...』
『Super save insaneㄷㄷㄷㄷ』
Ttalgwi tore her eyes from the chat and peered beyond the wall again.
Sukka was nowhere in sight, unfortunately, but the sound of her PPSh kept ringing out.
Only then did Ttalgwi start to partially understand Sukka’s actions.
Realizing why the grenade hadn’t exploded, her voice trembled.
“Because I can’t move... she’s luring them away...”
The enemies, who’d been right in front of them, had turned and entered the narrow alleyway.
In their pursuit of the girl raining bullets on them, they seemed to have erased Ttalgwi from their minds.
They’d probably decided to eliminate the threatening enemy before searching the downed one.
Plus, the alley Sukka had fled into led to Point C, so to avoid losing their captured point, they had to chase.
It was as if she’d dashed right into the heart of enemy territory to draw them all in.
Sukka had staked her own life to save the combat-incapable Ttalgwi.
“Why... why...”
Emotion and guilt tangled into utter confusion.
Knowing Sukka had trauma made even this mere game feel gravely serious.
Wondering what resolve had driven her to face death head-on made her chest tighten.
She wanted to slap herself for having been so purely happy just to game with Sukka.
“I... I can’t be saved anyway...”
At the same time, an unbearable pity left her feeling empty.
She didn’t want to waste Sukka’s efforts, but her own life was already as good as gone.
With no luck and a severe bleeding debuff, survival without a medic was unlikely.
In this virtual reality game of data, no ‘indomitable will’ could work miracles.
= “Ugh!!”
Her vision gradually blurring, she heard a radio transmission through her headset.
It was Sukka, in the midst of combat, groaning in pain at something.
As expected, it was too much alone—she must’ve taken a wound.
No matter how well she fought, it was a hopeless situation where death was inevitable.
“Redeploy... request...”
With that, Ttalgwi had no choice but to accept death with a heavy heart.
It wasted Sukka’s efforts, but with death imminent anyway, there were no other options.
The revived Sukka would surely be in a panic.
To calm her upon respawn, Ttalgwi had to die first.
“We’ve arrived at the battlefield! Operators—”
“—Move it!!”
Soon, Ttalgwi successfully respawned and rushed into redeployment.
She pulled out her PDA to check point statuses, listening to company radio for the battle situation.
Fortunately or not, Sukka hadn’t died yet.
The PDA map showed a notification: ‘Allies engaging at Point C.’
= “Enemy forces currently retreating from Point A. Redeployed personnel, join Point B.”
= “We’re engaging at Point B too! Just one squad and we can cap it!”
Ttalgwi let out a deep sigh as she monitored the company radio.
Respawning before Sukka was good, but it left an odd unease in her heart.
She couldn’t just sit still, worried about Sukka fighting alone.
Stomping her feet, she glared holes into the PDA screen.
= “3rd Squad redeploy complete post-respawn. Heading straight to Point B.”
= “If we have air superiority, report it. Fighters are just circling uselessly right now.”
Still, they’d reunite with Sukka soon enough.
She hadn’t taught her about respawn location selection, so she’d automatically redeploy beside Ttalgwi.
When they met again, she’d say good job, hug her, thank her for the save, and praise how truly cool she was.
With that in mind, Ttalgwi anxiously awaited Sukka’s respawn.
= “Enemy tank sighted at Point B! Request anti-tank support immediately!”
= “Our team’s main tank heading there too. Hold on just a bit.”
But no matter how long she waited,
= “Enemies retreating from Point B toward Point C!”
= “They’ve got no redeploy spots! Point C’s engaged, so no respawns there!”
Even as enemies swarmed,
= “One of our team’s holding Point C! While they buy time, push B fast!”
= “What are that person’s squadmates doing?! Just suicide quick and redeploy via high-altitude drop!”
No clue how she was managing to fight,
= “Whoa... who is that guy? Why isn’t he dead? Guan Yu at Changban Bridge?”
= “Insane, solo carrying... But Changban’s not gear, right?”
Sukka didn’t die.