Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: It's Not a Self-Deprecating Broadcast
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There was no need to wonder how the Morozova sisters had regained their memories.
I had no idea what the principle behind it was, but one memory had surfaced in my mind as well.
The despair of being trapped in the game. The terror of heading to the battlefield.
The memory replaying like déjà vu was exactly the same as the incident I'd experienced four years ago.
Thanks to that, I could instantly empathize with the confusion the two sisters were going through right now.
They must have been feeling like they'd seen this exact scene in a dream. Or like some ominous premonition was stirring. That kind of déjà vu.
It was a memory frightening enough to trigger PTSD, but if it was still hazy, they could probably brush it aside.
With that judgment, I opened my mouth to calm Yelena and Irina.
“O, oba nyu umurut (Оба не умрут)….”
But I failed.
Even I was struggling to stay sane as nightmares from the past resurfaced.
My teeth chattered pitifully, and my weakened legs felt like they’d give out any second.
If the commander was in this state, it would only amplify their anxiety instead of providing any reassurance.
So I hugged Yelena with all my strength and squeezed my eyes shut.
There was nothing I could do in this situation anyway. At least I could shield her from any sudden outbursts.
—Kwaaang—!! Kwaaaang——!!!!
At that moment, Luftwaffe bombs rained down on the peaceful port city.
The air-splitting explosions and earth-shaking vibrations. Even with my eyes closed, it painted a vivid picture of hell.
The stream’s chat window had vanished without a trace, and my body and mind had long been swallowed by panic.
The price for deluding myself that my PTSD had improved was returning with truly horrific severity.
* * *
‘Am I screwing up again?’
Ttalgwi shuddered at the familiar chill.
The urination warning that had been hovering moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
But right now, she had no time to worry about that.
She’d laid down waterproof pads after the last mishap anyway, so the VR gear should be safe.
What she needed to worry about now was Sukka and the Morozova sisters’ mental states.
The three of them clinging to each other looked so precarious.
—Kugung—!! Kwaang—!!!
She couldn’t hear their conversation over the bombing, but Sukka’s emotions were crystal clear.
Anyone could tell from her actions—Sukka was exerting every ounce of effort to protect the Morozova sisters.
Worried about shrapnel maybe, she was embracing the two sisters with her small body.
Desperately resisting her fear, grinding her teeth until they bled, she was fiercely guarding her precious comrades.
What kind of relationship did she have with Irina to be so devoted?
It was a bond so tender that half-baked jealousy couldn’t even squeeze in.
—Kwagang—!! Kuwoong—!!
The silver lining was that their current spot was outside the bombing zone.
Just as Sukka had anticipated, the Luftwaffe’s airstrikes were focused on the munitions factories and residential areas.
A quick glance back showed the city already turning to ashes.
If Sukka hadn’t led everyone to the beach, most of the company would surely have died.
But being out of the bombing zone didn’t mean they could relax.
The pilots hitting them now weren’t NPCs, and among the users, plenty prioritized kills over missions.
『I just died and pissed myself in the VR rig lol so fucking scary for real』
『Sukka can’t see chat again!!!!!!』
『I shat my pants the second I saw the bombers』
『Uh… looks like a Stuka coming that way…』
『Too many of us clumped up, we’re busted』
『Air raid alert!!!!!!!』
Sure enough, a Stuka that had passed by once abruptly banked and came diving back.
The company’s cover looked nearly perfect, but it must have spotted the tanks lined up on the beach.
If it got any closer, even the troops hunkered in the sand would be exposed.
With no way to fight back, the users were playing dead on their stomachs—easy pickings for military contribution points in the pilot’s eyes.
Fleeing into the city would be suicide, and hiding in place was just waiting to die.
It was a true dilemma.
—Wheeeing—
Finally, the Stuka let out its signature wail as it went into a dive.
Her ears were numb from the blasts, but the siren cut through with terrifying clarity.
Ttalgwi and Ghost instinctively threw themselves to shield Sukka.
They knew from experience—the Stuka’s arc was heading straight for them.
It might have been baseless suspicion, but ‘stream sniping’ flashed through Ttalgwi’s mind.
Even if the enemy wasn’t watching the broadcast, the situation was undeniably dire.
—Tung!
“Gyaack!!”
Soon, the Stuka’s bomb slammed into the soft sand.
It was an insanely close call—just three meters away.
Ttalgwi screamed, along with the company members around her.
The only one who moved on reflex was Ghost.
“Urk!!”
Ghost lunged forward and kicked the lodged bomb flat.
Then he used his burly frame as a lid to bury it in the crater.
It was a sacrifice to save the allies nearby, but the bomb was too big for it to make much difference.
Just as everyone braced for death and the 24-hour login ban that came with it.
“A dud?”
Ghost’s mutter reached Ttalgwi’s ears as she peeked through slitted eyes.
Everyone, Ghost included, was unharmed.
A user’s gear malfunctioning?
It wasn’t impossible, but calling it sheer luck barely covered it.
Yet despite surviving by the skin of their teeth, no one could celebrate.
No one knew when the bomb might go off, and the Stuka that had climbed was circling back.
“Radio from Wild Boar!! They’re reporting they’ve arrived!!”
But this time, a countermeasure arrived.
The reinforcements—Red Army air force, intel-acquired and belatedly dispatched—had finally joined the fray.
Ttalgwi forgot about distancing from the dud and looked skyward.
Dozens of fighters, gray with red paint, turned the one-sided slaughter into a proper war.
Relief finally hit, moistening her eyes.
Ttalgwi shouted the fighter names exploding in the chat.
“Yak-3!!”
Sure enough, a Yak-3—clearly Wild Boar’s—latched onto a Stuka’s tail.
She’d avoided Wild Boar due to her fear of heights, but right now, they looked like the next coolest war hero after Sukka.
The small, speedy Yak-3 soon riddled the lumbering Stuka like a beehive.
Even clueless Ttalgwi was awed—Wild Boar’s dogfighting was elegant and overwhelming.
But there was something even Wild Boar’s skills couldn’t stop.
Users respawned after 24 hours even if they died, so they reached for those military points right up to the end.
“Th-that psycho!!”
“Everyone scatter!! That bastard’s going kamikaze!!”
Sure enough, the burning Stuka came diving with insane tenacity.
Having spotted the company during its first pass, it even dropped bombs on the beach.
Unlike the first dud, these exploded without mercy.
Sand erupted skyward mixed with blood and flesh, and horrific screams filled the hellish shore.
And then came the Stuka’s suicide charge.
Its sticky malice to kill even one more swept over the company on the beach and crashed down.
—Kwaaaang——!!
“Kyaaak!!”
Ttalgwi screamed and ducked urgently.
She had to protect Sukka from the bullet-like shrapnel—and the gruesome sight.
But even in her panic, Sukka hadn’t lost track of her surroundings.
She turned the tables, embracing Ttalgwi instead, then shouldered her tactical PPSh and stepped forward for everyone.
Sukka’s barrel was aimed at the downed Stuka’s cockpit.
An indescribable rage flickered in her hollow eyes.
—Tadadang!!
Soon, Sukka executed the enemy that had wronged them all and looked to the sky.
The swarm of bombers had already vanished eastward.
Probably off to bomb munitions factories elsewhere.
She couldn’t eliminate all damage, but with Soviet air force engaged, total annihilation was averted.
But Odessa—the bombing’s starting point—was already a smoldering ruin.
And unfortunately, Sukka Company’s losses were devastating.
“Ah….”
Sukka glanced around and dropped her PPSh.
The horrific scene reflected fully in her hollow eyes.
Sukka, who always prioritized her comrades’ safety over her own.
There was no way she could stay composed seeing her nearly wiped-out company.
Ttalgwi belatedly covered Sukka’s eyes.
Rage, sorrow—above all, guilt. Tears carrying those emotions flowed down Ttalgwi’s hand.
“…….”
But no sobs escaped the girl’s lips.
She just swallowed her feelings and turned to the Morozova sisters.
Sukka, who couldn’t possibly be okay, was pretending she was.
Ttalgwi couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable unease.
“S-Su, Sukka… are you okay?”
“……Yes.”
Something was seriously wrong.
Sukka seemed broken.