I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 38 – Hunter

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In the past, when I roamed the dead city.

There was always danger around me, and there were countless times I nearly lost my head due to carelessness. Everything that wasn’t an ally was a potential enemy, and most of them indeed were.

However, after spending countless hours there, I couldn’t help but categorize threats into those relatively less dangerous and those I should never face alone.

Among them, Hunters were…

­”[Warning: EMP detected.]”

They were definitely the kind of enemy I should never engage alone.

They existed solely as countermeasures and arch-enemies designed to efficiently kill ICARUS operators. Dozens of agents had lost their lives to them.

The headquarters established engagement protocols with them solely through the desperate messages left by already dead agents, and those words were written in literal blood.

The first condition of that manual was always to recommend engaging them with a minimum of a 2:1 ratio.

Click.

I pulled the pin from the grenade and threw it hard toward the wall where the scattered footprints ended. However, as if they had anticipated it, the Hunter immediately leaped out and took cover elsewhere.

The few shots that hit their body in that brief moment were purely due to my skill.

However, it didn’t cause even minor injuries. At most, the Hunter might have felt a slight sting at the impact point.

‘I don’t like gambling in situations like this…’

It wasn’t just a simple gamble.

It was more like a mad contest to see who could dance longer on the blade, with life itself as the stake.

I roughly guessed the traitorous teammate’s intention, so to match the time, I had to quickly break through the Hunter.

I gave orders over the intercom, which had started to malfunction.

“Can someone draw their attention, even just one of them?”

­”…Ah, yes…! Right now, the sound… is hard to hear… but I’ll try…!”

“Make sure the enemy doesn’t get close. Understood?”

It was half a hope.

To turn such hopes into reality, I had to take greater risks… but if I couldn’t endure those, I wouldn’t have made it back to where I originally lived.

I lowered my gun and just waited. Their characteristic was their cunning, and once they suffered a certain amount of damage, they would immediately take cover nearby to heal and recover their strength.

But if I lured them into close combat, they would approach with a speed that didn’t match their huge build and either deliver an electric shock or swing a tomahawk.

There were two choices, but both meant certain death.

I used that fact.

───Rustle!

They were dangerous and had aggressive tendencies befitting that danger.

In other words, if I avoided the engagement, they would actively try to close the distance. The amplified sound of footsteps growing closer indicated that.

With my skills sealed due to the EMP, I had no idea where the enemy was.

I just trusted my sharpened senses and waited.

Then,

“…!”

“Ugh…!”

Thud.

As soon as the tomahawk swung around the corner, I grabbed the arm instead. Likewise, I firmly grasped the other arm, not the hand.

In my left hand was a hatchet, and in my right was a high-voltage emitter. The latter, like a taser gun, would destroy the body’s control if it made contact.

I met the bloodshot eyes beyond the bulletproof mask. The intense murderous intent in the blue eyes stared at me as I twisted their right hand hard.

With a grotesque sound of flesh being crushed and bones twisting, the hand bent, and the emitter that had been spewing out a chilling arc of electricity touched the Hunter’s own body.

Crackle.

My vision flashed with overwhelming brightness.

“Ahhhh!”

“…Argh…!”

A searing pain that felt like it was slicing through my body surged through me.

But I gritted my teeth and endured without falling. Within just a few seconds, the rebooted ICARUS gear regained partial control of my body and forced my muscles to move.

The next moment, the Hunter collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Unable to endure, they fell.

“…Ha.”

It felt like my breath carried the smell of gunpowder.

Ignoring the sharp pain, I pulled out the Tactical Tomahawk hanging from my waist. My target was the cervical vertebrae, aiming to sever their airway in one strike.

With fear of death reflecting in their eyes behind the mask, I swung it down with force toward the ground.

Crack.

That was how one Hunter met their end at the hands of their prey.

───Ratatatata!

Meanwhile, the sound of gunfire echoed from a distance.

It indicated that Harmony was engaged in combat not far away.

In terms of numbers, we were perfectly even now, but those were killing machines made to kill operators, and she had only been in this game for a few days.

I forced my still-stiff body to move. Another Hunter had already approached. I didn’t think I could rely on luck as I did before.

But I had to do it, and so, I would just take them down.

Dawn had not yet broken.

“Damn it, I might actually die at this rate. They’re really scary….”

­[Nickname lillliillililll]

­[The name alone shows they came to snipe. Ridiculous.]

­[Why did they even let them join? I don’t get it; they should’ve shot them from the start.]

­[The chat is so messed up, lol. The mode was made for this kind of thing anyway.]

­[Whether it’s sniping or not, why can’t betrayal happen? Did you not watch the trailer?]

At that moment, Harmony’s chat was in utter chaos.

The opinions, as numerous as the people present, could be described as chaotic, but there was a semblance of direction.

Specifically, it was divided between those who were extremely upset with the user who put their favorite streamer in danger and those who clarified that betrayal wasn’t technically wrong.

Of course, the truth was somewhere in between, but what was certain was that the dominant opinion in the chat, ‘Can’t we report that user?’ was realistically impossible.

This was because the survival mode and the combat in the Contaminated Zone were designed to allow and even encourage such situations.

There was a reporting feature in the Dark Zone.

It was actually much better than in other games, but there were many limitations in immediately and clearly determining the fine line between game allowances and sniping.

But conversely, this meant that if there was clear evidence, it could be judged as sniping.

However, that didn’t help Harmony, who had encountered a truly terrible enemy.

‘…In times like this, I shouldn’t get involved at all.’

It was ambiguous to say that it was like ignoring a troublemaker, but Harmony, with her years of broadcasting experience, knew well that stepping in and saying something was a suicidal move.

Whether she died or not, it was right to wait until everything was settled and all the pieces of the puzzle were revealed before expressing her thoughts.

Broadcasters who forgot this… mostly perished.

And whatever it was, Yoo Jin had given her a trigger. That should make things work out somehow.

───Pew!

“Hey! So, who are they? I don’t know what they are, but they look extremely strong. Do something about it! Backseat gamers! Ding dong ding dong ding dong!”

­”Hahahahahaha.”

­”She doesn’t even get mad, lol. A true streamer.”

­”She knows there’s no point in getting angry at this.”

­”That’s the experience of a seasoned streamer. There’s a reason she survives while others fall due to slip-ups.”

­”But that bastard summoning Hunters and running off is really infuriating. Is that normal?”

Unlike the firing sound, the sound of bullets whizzing by was like a whip crack.

Bullets ricocheted and shattered concrete debris scattered around, creating a tense battlefield. Hiding in a spot overlooking the parking lot was good, but there was no escape.

It was a 1:1 engagement, but the opponent was a Hunter who could instantly shred even veteran players if unlucky.

Yoo Jin was probably facing two at once, but would she be okay? However, such thoughts were a luxury. I didn’t even know if I could survive myself.

Breath came in gasps, and my mouth felt dry. Even though it was in-game, the sensation of real physical strain during combat was maximally suppressed but still felt intense.

­”[Warning: Fragmentation grenade detected.]”

The text, which had been glitching, began to return to normal. Some parts were still flickering and shaking, but it was much better than before.

Meaningless skirmishes continued. The damage to each other gradually increased. This kind of pressure wasn’t even felt when facing other users.

­”You have to keep shooting to draw aggro. Otherwise, they’ll get close and use an instant kill move.”

“Damn it, there are all sorts of enemies in this crazy game…!”

Meanwhile, to refresh the filthy chat, many viewers started donating more tips than usual.

Suggestions to deliberately throw grenades to force movement, focus fire when they’re not in cover, use various status effect grenades collected so far, and use pulses to detect their location.

All were facts she had forgotten in the heat of battle.

As if guided by an invisible hand, the flood of backseat gaming tips started to input into her body one by one.

Normally impossible information was somehow feasible due to the time spent with Yoo Jin, and Harmony clumsily followed them.

She used a skill to locate the enemy first and prepared to use the grenades in her pouch based on that.

The next moment, an electric pulse-emitting grenade flew and discharged a large electric field, causing the unfortunate

Hunter to collapse, convulsing.

Switching from semi-automatic to fully automatic fire, Harmony yanked the trigger, and a deafening sound echoed at a rate of 800 rounds per minute.

­”Is she actually going to take it down?”

­”Our girl Harmony is adapting fast, legendary performance!”

­”She threw that grenade so haphazardly, yet it hit, lol.”

­”Forbes ranked easiest Hunter takedown streamer: Harmony. Is she a goddess?”

­”First time seeing someone nail it like this on the first try, lol.”

However, before she could fire ten bullets, the Hunter, almost instantly recovered from the status effect, dodged the bullets by rolling and took cover nearby.

The chat was in an uproar.

But it wasn’t disappointment over not completely finishing the Hunter. It was something more familiar….

­”What if there’s Yoo Jin inside that Hunter mask?”

“Spets, thank you… haha, hey! Don’t make me laugh at a time like this!”

­”For real, lol.”

­”Makes sense, haha!”

­”He went to fix the relay and changed clothes, lol?”

­”The ultimate lesson was surpassing the teacher?”

A lull followed.

The nearly incapacitated Hunter was hidden behind a container, focused on self-healing without showing a trace, while Harmony reloaded her magazine and hid behind a wall.

With a crackling sound, another EMP detonated. The intercom crackled again. Yoo Jin seemed too busy with the fight to respond. Only the occasional gunfire indicated she was still alive.

The chat, as usual, forgot the previous events and suggested finishing off the Hunter since they had already been pushed to the brink.

However, the next moment,

───Ratatatata!

“Ahh!”

Suddenly, gunfire erupted from behind, and a dozen bullets struck Harmony.

The sight was all too familiar.

That was because the gear that figure was wearing was made from materials Harmony and Yoo Jin had obtained through their engagements.

With a revolting smile and a mechanical warning sound ringing in her ears.

­”[Warning: Rogue Operator detected.]”

­”[Warning: Operator health low.]”

“You should’ve watched your back. If you go up like that, you’ll get your head blown off.”

Kicking the descent device on the floor, the user, once known as Barcode, aimed their gun at the nearly incapacitated Harmony.

A flash of light, and before she could react, the gunshot rang out.

­”[Warning: Operator down.]”

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