NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 31 - Team Six
Chapter 31 Team Six
* * *
As I think I’ve mentioned before, I used to like FPS games.
Back then, I used to ramble on about how the objectives were simple and such, but to put it briefly, it was just because of the straightforwardness and the intuitive pleasure.
As time went by, there were more games that required more than just shooting, but when it came to FPS games, I tried almost all of them, regardless of the extra features.
There were games with bizarre names like “RainbowSiege” if I translate directly, and large-scale conquest battles with 64-player multiplayer.
There were also scenarios where the player became a war hero, and games about escaping from a closed economic zone.
They were all categorized as FPS, but on the other hand, they were games residing on different platforms.
But…
[External Mission List］
ㄴ[Small-scale Infiltration: Team Six］
ㄴ[Various enemies, including Russian intelligence units, have infiltrated the mainland, set up EMPs, and fortified numerous terrains to lay the groundwork for an invasion. Form a team with other operators to stop them.］
ㄴ[Current Rank: None］
[External Mission List // Seasonal Content: Open］
ㄴ[Find the Vaccine: Survival］
ㄴ[A vaccine against the Omega Virus, a biological weapon that has spread worldwide, has been found in a research facility within a contaminated area. Break through the impending snowstorm to retrieve the vaccine and return safely.］
ㄴ[Current Rank: None］
[External Mission List］
ㄴ[Closed Zone: Escape from Unknown］
ㄴ[You have returned after going missing during a reconnaissance mission in an unknown area far from HQ, and confirmed that valuable supplies and information are still left there. Break through the danger-ridden area, acquire valuable items, and escape.］
[External Mission List］
ㄴ[Data Erasure: Apex Predator］
ㄴ[After the fall of Artemis Technologies, ICARUS technicians have created a vast virtual training environment over 7 square kilometers through simulators. Fight and claim victory against nearly a hundred competitors in research facilities, a fallen city, and a large training ground.］
ㄴ[Current Rank: None］
[External Mission List］
ㄴ[Full-scale War: Battlefield］
ㄴ[Fights with the regular armies of Russia and China are imminent. Occupy bases in a vast battle environment, kill the enemies, and keep killing. Even if you die, you can be resurrected.］
[External Mission List］
ㄴ[Unlimited PVP: Fallen］
ㄴ[Treason by an ICARUS agent is the gravest threat, and an excellent agent can turn into a terrifying enemy. Enter an area swarming with rogue operators who have turned to violence and eliminate them.］
ㄴ[Current Rank: None］
.
.
“There are a lot of options.”
“They bought the rights to old FPS games that were popular in the past and integrated them into the Dark Zone. So a lot of users have flocked here.”
“Seems like it.”
…They were all games I’d seen somewhere before, but why were they all crammed into the Dark Zone?
Old memories resurfaced. Come to think of it, when I glanced at an article related to the Dark Zone last time, it mentioned something about this. It said they had implemented numerous old FPS games in virtual reality.
So it’s not entirely impossible…but it’s still ridiculous. To face my old games in this form.
The explanations of the external mission lists, that is, the game modes serviced by the Dark Zone, were slightly different from what I knew in the past.
To be more specific, many of the originals were hard to recognize due to some modifications made during the process of integrating the settings and lore into this world.
But ultimately, as if telling me that the content is what matters, the familiar maps unfolded before my eyes the moment I opened the detailed view of the Team Six section. Mansions, banks, coastlines, all sorts of locations.
Hmm.
“It’s been a while since I practiced rappelling….”
“Sorry? Did you say something?”
“I was just thinking about what I might do. Have you decided, Harmony?”
“I’m figuring it out through a poll. You’re okay with anything, right?”
“Yes.”
Broadcast.
Broadcasting, huh.
Suddenly, I became a bit curious. How the broadcasting was done, how she was doing it. Maybe this was how viewers were attracted.
After a short wait, Harmony, who received permission through a party leader change request, pressed the ‘Team Six’ section at the top. With a seamless internal UI entry, the surrounding environment peeled away, and before we knew it, we were standing in a briefing room-like space.
The ranked match feature was locked due to level restrictions, but a message popped up stating that beginner matchmaking was not applied due to the presence of hardcore users for normal matchmaking.
I knew it.
“Ugh, now that I’m actually about to do it, I’m nervous. I played it on the computer a few years ago, but it’s been so long that I forgot all the maps. Are you okay, sir?”
“I think we’ll manage….”
“That’s true.”
Dun-dun.
Meanwhile, with a grand sound announcing the match, a map appeared before my eyes. It was a bank. A complex structure with three floors including the second floor, first floor, and the basement.
The time limit was three minutes. After three rounds, the roles of attacking and defending would switch, and the team to reach five wins first would win, a simple and clear system.
Harmony, next to me, couldn’t hide her surprise, saying, ‘Even regular games have the same system as ranked matches these days?’ and the waiting room began to expand gradually from that point.
Three more players were entering.
But,
───!
“Please, let me be in! Please…!”
“Huh? I’m in! Really? I actually got into this way!?”
“Everyone, we made it───!!”
…This, I didn’t expect.
They were all avatars that had nothing to do with FPS games. While I was making a face that said ‘What the hell is this?’, the ‘female avatars’ of various appearances were cheering as if they were having a fan meeting… Wait a minute.
Us?
“It’s Yoo Jin!”
“Teacher! Please take care of our slightly lacking but kind Harmony! Without you, she might quit this game!”
“…Ah, yes. Understood.”
The briefing room became quite noisy before I knew it.
Harmony, accustomed to this, told them the rules they had to follow when participating in the game together, and the others nodded in agreement.
Unlike the old days when you couldn’t know who was on the other side of the computer and all sorts of harsh words were exchanged, the nature of virtual reality games, where actions and speech are revealed even with avatars, meant that more decent users had increased, or so they said.
Harmony, checking if the screen transmission was smooth, added,
“The location exposure prevention function is on, so even if someone on the opposing team is watching my broadcast, the transmission will be cut off the moment we match. So there shouldn’t be any big problems….”
Bzz.
With a phrase appearing in front of my eyes, a slightly muffled briefing came to my ears.
[The enemies have set up EMPs and sealed most of the ICARUS System. Operators, select gadgets that might help in the operation and proceed.］
And a multitude of equipment for the attacking team was listed.
A breaching hammer, EMP grenades, a flash shield, explosive grenades, and many other gadgets too numerous to mention individually. Naturally, it was impossible to carry more than two of these.
Except for me.
But there wasn’t much worth taking, so I decided to just take some explosive grenades. Carrying around too much stuff was cumbersome anyway.
The armor selection and ban-pick process began.
Therefore, the final team composition was…
[XKairos // Breaching Round // EMP Grenade // Air Jab // Tracks］
“The composition looks similar to a ranked game.”
“This way, there shouldn’t be any combination we can’t break through… Nobody brought weird stuff, right? Like sticky explosives instead of smoke grenades or flash grenades, nothing like that?”
“No issues.”
“What about you, Harmony?”
“I didn’t bring my skills.”
“Oh dear.”
While everyone was laughing and chatting, I also checked if I had forgotten anything… but I didn’t have anything to begin with.
Others changed their armor and speed based on gadget selection, but my gear remained the same except for the breaching round launcher and extra ammo on my back.
And sure enough,
“Um… Yoo Jin?”
“Yes?”
“Why, how are you the only one with 3 speed and 3 armor?”
“Because I’m a hardcore user.”
“…What?”
Four grenades, standard issue.
Hard breaching charge, a common gadget. Just brought it casually.
Body armor. As always, I wore the heaviest and sturdiest.
Speed. I was just naturally fast at running.
“Is there a problem?”
It didn’t take long for four expressions that couldn’t find a problem-free part to look at me.
[Due to the jammers present in the operation area, scanning the facility is impossible. Use drones to reconnoiter the enemy base camp and eliminate them.］
Bzzz.
Small disc-shaped drones automatically generated outside the base camp. While everyone’s gaze lowered to the ground, with the sound of air being expelled, the drones began to move under the players’ control.
All passages were blocked with planks, but there were gaps just wide enough for the drones to pass through, enabling smooth reconnaissance. The four drones thus entered the interior through the back door, the front door, and a vent in the wall.
Among them, one drone
remained stationary.
Parking the drone deliberately close to its spawn location, Yoo Jin connected to the camera network and checked the movement of the other drones.
The sound function of a drone entering the second floor was turned on, revealing numerous footsteps, sounds of reinforcing walls, and gunfire trying to catch other drones.
Continuous shotgun noises and the sounds of electric discharges flying in all directions. Electricity sparked over the reinforced walls.
Through a process called construction, the defending users were preparing to make it inconvenient for the attacking users to approach the target.
During the reconnaissance time, three drones survived. One was Yoo Jin’s, and only two drones were in suitable positions to brief the enemies’ locations in real-time.
“The bomb is on the second floor. They’re constructing and wearing armor. Be careful of entry denial devices, ADS is up, and… electric claws are set. I don’t know about the last one.”
“It’s a jammer gadget.”
“Oh, really? Then all five are confirmed. I’ll go around the back door, so watch out for spawn kills. Harmony, where are you going?”
“I’ll just follow the crowd.”
“Then follow us. What about you, Yoo Jin?”
“I’ll go around through the parking lot.”
“Okay. Watch out for roamers!”
[Find and defuse the bomb.］
With the heavy voice of the support operator, five people appeared in the snowy urban area.
Before fully approaching the bank, the operators cautiously started moving after waiting briefly to see if anyone would break the barricade and come out for a spawn kill.
Three approached the back door, two spawned at the front, one heading to the sewer and the other, Yoo Jin, heading to the parking lot.
Click.
One bullet in the chamber. The 31-round magazine was filled with .300 AAC Blackout rounds, boasting significant damage and stopping power, and ten identical magazines were tightly packed in the pouch.
After checking the firearm, Yoo Jin picked up the disc-shaped drone on the ground, stuffed it into the utility pouch, and started moving.
No, it was more like running.
───Bang!
With a cracking sound, the CCTV attached to the ceiling outside the parking lot shattered, and a silhouette disappeared inside the building.
From here, the enemy could be anywhere. Silently, she aimed her firearm and quickly began to search the places where enemies were likely to be hiding.
The parking lot was empty.
Before entering the building, she focused all her attention on her hearing. No loud noises. She took out the drone from her utility pouch and started operating it.
“…”
Inside the vault. The CCTV control room. Not a single sound could be heard.
After taking a breath, she charged at the barricade, breaking it into pieces and hiding herself deep inside the basement in an instant.
While the enemy was distracted by the sound of the barricade breaking, she planned to join the team member pushing from the cave side and clear the basement by converging from the server room stairs.
But then,
“In the basement! Enemy waiting behind the server at the cave entrance!”
A sharp gunshot rang out.
Yoo Jin, who was circling inside the vault, immediately started to act. Covering dozens of meters in an instant, the sharp sound of metal friction was drowned out by the gunfire.
Arriving at the control room, she quickly slowed down. Despite the numerical advantage, the initiative was with the defenders, and if unlucky, the situation could turn from 5:4 to 3:5.
After a moment of contemplation, Yoo Jin took out the drone she had retrieved.
A few seconds later, gunshots echoed from above the server room.
The drone didn’t last long and was soon destroyed, but that was enough.
With the tail of the grenade launcher slung over her shoulder, she handed it to her arm, and with her finger on the trigger, she fired a breaching round at the server room wall.
Then she moved.
Just before the wall exploded, Yoo Jin dashed out of the control room at a speed comparable to the flying debris, pivoting sharply off the ground.
Her target was the enemy hiding behind the server, just a few meters away. Her leg strength allowed her to cover the twisted space in the blink of an eye.
With the deafening roar of the breaching round, the enemy, unable to fire a single shot, was tackled and slammed into the wall.
───Boom!
“Ugh!”
Despite being a game, the impact was enough to daze him, dropping his HP below 20 in an instant as he collapsed to the ground.
Before he could recover, he saw something in his vision a tomahawk raised high in the air. He couldn’t help but wonder if dying in battle would have been better than this.
In the next moment, a rather horrific sound for a game echoed out.
[5 : 4］
One enemy had perished.