I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 167 ­ Penalty

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“Starting off with a big match! Yoo Jin and Dice, master and apprentice! Facing them are the famous streamers Cartographer, Espier, and LateNightChickenSpecialist!”

The entire space scattered and then reassembled.

Just a few seconds ago, the place had been a studio capable of accommodating hundreds. Now, it transformed into a battlefield.

Countless objects were artificially placed against a relatively dark background, reminiscent of a hangar with airplane parts strewn about haphazardly. However, the center was empty, with the objects deliberately turned OFF.

After a few words, the celebrity representative and the announcer representative disappeared into the background. This was now the realm of the caster and commentator. A refreshing voice, as if it were cleaning the ears, resonated through the space.

“Today, the first match of the grand event! Five participants, divided into two and three, will engage in a gunpowder-scented battle in an abandoned hangar!”

“As we speak, the teams are exchanging handshakes. The streamer team is now discussing handicaps in earnest. Given that their opponents hold the first and second ranks in the KSM, a deep discussion is necessary.”

The event match’s rules were somewhat complex.

Before the match started, the streamer team could propose a handicap to the pro gamer team, in addition to the numerical advantage. As long as the handicap wasn’t excessively unreasonable, it had to be accepted.

If the handicap was acceptable, the pro gamer duo would accept it and begin their tactical discussion.

Thus, this game was quite disadvantageous for the national representatives. Therefore, the spectacle of the event match lay in how the pros would perform while shouldering both a numerical disadvantage and a handicap.

There was one minute to discuss what penalty to impose.

While Cartographer, Espier, and LateNightChickenSpecialist disappeared to discuss this, Dice and Yoo Jin continued their conversation.

“Ha, this is the most nerve-wracking time. Last year, they came up with all sorts of strange things. I wonder what they’ll do this year.”

“What kind of things did they come up with?”

“Blocking vision in the left eye, fighting without the index finger on the right hand… left-handers had to shoulder their weapon on the right, and right-handers on the left. Of course, pro gamers practice ambidextrous shooting, so we won easily then.”

Human imagination knows no bounds.

Yoo Jin muttered roughly so but quickly returned to her usual half-apathetic expression. Dice, who always knew Yoo Jin was thinking about something at times like these, subtly gave her a look.

“You know something, don’t you?”

“It’s hard to say for sure since the ideas are so varied, but with Cartographer on the opposing team… I think a serious handicap might come up.”

“Cartographer? Do you know him?”

“…A victim, technically speaking.”

Of course.

Dice thought to himself that Yoo Jin’s influence was vast and deep.

Meanwhile, similar discussions were taking place on the opposite side. Unlike the two who took it lightly in the name of an event match, only Cartographer was serious.

Normally, someone might say he was too immersed, but he had fought Yoo Jin over ten times.

Ignoring him would be unthinkable.

“…Really, that bad? Banning throwable weapons is like losing an arm.”

“Banning traps? What traps?”

“I got caught in a trap before… because of fishing lines.”

“Oh, that…”

It was unforgettable.

What happened when Cartographer walked into the trap house Yoo Jin had set spread widely through his streamer friends. Even if it hadn’t happened to them, countless donations made it impossible to ignore.

Thanks to those donations spreading like a web, jokes about Yoo Jin blocking new players from joining became popular.

Moreover, it wasn’t just about beating people with traps. By now, many knew that Yoo Jin used various traps to block sound or sight.

In short, they wanted one thing.

“The best chance of survival is for them to quietly shoot.”

“Should we ban running too? They wouldn’t be able to perform tactical maneuvers.”

“That won’t be accepted.”

Banning running and throwable weapons, allowing only shooting. If all these were accepted, it would be one of the highest-ranking penalties ever imposed in an event match.

But for some reason, it felt like it would still be hard to win. Even without running and using grenades, they could still be strong.

…Come to think of it, isn’t that just like the Juggernauts?

One minute passed in an instant.

In the end, they chose a documentary over a variety show, and almost all their feedback was accepted. Sprinting was banned, as expected. Shooting was the only permitted action. In contrast, the streamer team could use most things except shield-related skills.

After the penalties were confirmed and the five minutes given for Yoo Jin’s team to discuss tactics ended, the MC announced the start of the game.

“The event match begins now!”

Final greetings.

Yoo Jin exchanged a brief glance with Cartographer and added.

“It’s been a while. You’ve chosen a clever strategy.”

“…You seem good at shooting too. I have no confidence in a direct confrontation.”

“Haha.”

At that moment, their vision darkened.

The place where they had been standing was covered with all sorts of objects, and the combat area was fully set. Those in the audience became viewers, including Gambit and Michael.

With the disappearance of the five as a bundle of light, the curtain rose on the first round of the event match.

“We’ll go with the Juggernaut meta.”

“Oh dear. You’re not serious, are you?”

“Of course, I’m joking.”

Yoo Jin slyly handed over the operation plan along with the GRG.

The map was divided into various zones based on the placed objects. But there weren’t many. About six zones. Since Dice had been with Yoo Jin for a long time, he quickly understood what that meant.

“We’ll base the briefing on this?”

“Yes. Let’s go with the standard play. If I draw attention, support me with shooting from behind. The terrain isn’t favorable, so it’s best to use large-caliber weapons.”

“…You don’t want me to seriously prepare for using the Barrett like last time, right?”

“Haha.”

There was one trick here.

One person would give up their primary weapon and choose two anti-material sniper rifles, and the other would pick two primary weapons and hand one over.

“What weapon do you prefer?”

“SIG MCX Rattler. The engagement distance is short, so something standard is fine. For sniper rifles, I’ll pick the M107CQ and M6 Lynx. And you, Yoo Jin?”

“I think the MG338 is reasonably safe.”

“…How is a machine gun that fires Norma Magnum rounds at ten rounds per second safe?”

Despite grumbling, the two quickly selected their firearms and attachments.

Since it was hardcore mode, Yoo Jin had to manually create magazines with the ICARUS bag’s loader, and Dice handled this. Amid the clattering of metal, magazines were slotted into the pouches of the bulletproof vest one by one.

Dice checked the map and marked two points.

“Only these two spots provide decent shooting angles. I’ll share the observation view, so confirm it.”

“…This is good enough. Without dragging it out, if we silence one person on the first line, the numbers will be even, and they won’t dare to come in easily. Let’s apply heavy pressure then.”

“Sounds good.”

And the final conversation continued.

“But can’t you just take the Barrett and destroy them all?”

“Barretts only spawn in high-value research facilities.”

“Ah.”

That made sense.

It was better to use commonly dropped weapons to kill rather than those that rarely appeared. Moreover, if Yoo Jin soloed the game, it would become boring in a different sense.

The event match was about overcoming three people together, but if one person stood out too much, it would be quite troublesome.

The siren blared loudly, signaling the start of the combat.

───Wooooooong!

­[Notification: Kill Zone activated. The current area is designated as an unrestricted kill zone.］

“See you later!”

“Yes.”

At the start, Yoo Jin dropped the SIG MCX and eight magazines she had on her back.

But there was no time to put them into the pouches one by one. The 10kg hunk of metal moved lightly in Yoo Jin’s hands, spitting out 20-gram bullets at Mach 2.3 with a fierce muzzle flash.

Dice gritted her teeth and started running. With magazines weighing 15kg each in both hands, the MCX on her body, and eight magazines in the multipurpose pouch, she carried nearly 60kg of equipment.

Moreover, the target was a high place providing a shooting angle, not just a flat ground. In summary, it was a rather dreadful 30 seconds.

Upon reaching the designated spot, Dice set the Barrett in a shooting position and checked the situation. The enemies seemed to decide to rush all at once, seeing only Yoo Jin left, approaching faster than expected.

From afar, a snake was pouring suppressive fire, its barrel glowing red hot. It was as if it was intentionally announcing its presence, an aggro play that made her chuckle.

It was just as she had envisioned from the start.

‘When retreating later, I’ll leave the Barrett here….’

Click.

The heavy feeling transmitted through her fingertips when she pulled the charging handle and loaded the bullet was just as she remembered.

The enemies were not yet fully visible. She tucked the M6 anti-material sniper rifle to one side and then took out eight magazines from the multipurpose pouch, finally placing them in the chest pocket.

Preparation was complete.

A timely radio call came in.

“Someone is flanking toward the airplane wing. If I can’t cut him off, I’ll be trapped.”

“Confirmed… Ah, I

see movement. Can you suppress fire in that direction?”

“It’ll be tight. The enemy is using a bombing drone.”

───Boom!

A loud explosion and a fiery blaze erupted from afar.

However, the green indicator confirmed that Yoo Jin’s life signal remained normal. Worry was for those who needed it, and Yoo Jin was far from that standard.

Moreover, Dice had more important matters to attend to.

‘…They’re here.’

About 50 meters ahead, an enemy flanking to stab Yoo Jin in the side was moving stealthily.

Dice shared her field of view. Normally, this would be distracting in a combat situation, but she trusted Yoo Jin to confirm it. Besides, according to the map she had checked earlier, the enemy had to turn a lot to secure a line of sight.

If Yoo Jin laid down suppressive fire at the right time, the enemy would be forced to take cover.

With her reticle moving stealthily, Dice spoke softly.

“Now. Suppressive fire in the passageway.”

Drrrrrr!

Bullets pierced through the passage, neatly aligning with the precise timing, pinning down the enemy’s ankle just as he was about to round the complex corridor. Despite knowing they had a clear shot, the enemy couldn’t advance and leaned against the wall, waiting for the suppression to end.

It was the exact moment Dice had been hoping for.

With the enemy in the reticle’s center, she took a breath and pulled the trigger. The heavy trigger bent backward under the pressure of her finger, the firing pin striking the primer of a bullet as big as a board marker.

───Bang!

“Argh!”

A direct hit.

The sheer physical force shook the barrier violently. The remaining physical power struck the upper body, causing the enemy to fall backward.

The moment he fell, his fate was sealed. From the avatar’s appearance, it seemed to be LateNightChickenSpecialist. At least that’s how she remembered it. But after a few more trigger pulls, he evaporated instantly, making it unnecessary to worry.

The speaker on the ceiling announced one player was eliminated, but she mentioned it again.

“No exposure. No more flanking enemies.”

“Good. Let’s check the situation now.”

Forty seconds had passed since the game started.

It was an excellent start.

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