Chapter 8 : Divine (8)

“1st floor cleared! Proceeding to the 2nd floor.”

A roar louder than a car explosion echoed from below.
The vibrations were so intense, we could feel them even from our position on the roof.
No, wait. The gun mounts are actually shaking. It’s really that loud.

“Next squad, prepare for deployment!”

“Our objective is?”

“”To meet God!!””

“Alright~ Let’s go!”

Shouts from the women below reached our ears.
In such a short time, the traps Yena and I painstakingly set up were being dismantled with ease.

If people around the world yearning for military-trained high school girls saw this, they’d be thrilled.
These girls were advancing relentlessly, using the sacrifices of their comrades as stepping stones.

With tears for their fallen comrades…
They charged forward!!

“Why are they all so good at this?!”

[– Girls get things done when they need to…]
[– Actually, a few are stream sniping lol]
[– The game’s turned into a team game, they’re all sharing supplies and meds lol]

“Crazy bitches!!”

Yena yelled, gripping the grenades she’d managed to loot. She threw them towards the ascending staircase.
She even taunted them by twirling the pin on her finger, showing she was still brimming with confidence.

“Take this!”

*BOOM*

The building shook with the explosion.
This game’s realism extended even to explosions affecting the thrower.

The shaking ground was one thing, but the sound of shrapnel was even more distracting.
The ringing in my ears was a bit annoying.

Still, it was definitely effective, judging by the significant increase in kill logs.
Maybe I could get an achievement like, “

“Hahaha! You’re not even close!”

Thanks to the well-stocked military base, Yena had plenty of grenades to throw.
And with the two of us having this vast looting ground all to ourselves,
we had no shortage of supplies.

Watching her from behind, her almost manic excitement made it hard to call her actions “good,” but if she’s happy, isn’t that what matters…?
A college girl cheering while watching people explode… could there be a market for that?

[– Yena, can’t you see WooSeok’s expression? lol]
[– This’ll 100% come up in the after-party stream lol]
[– Yena… simply getting a lot of kills isn’t attractive…]
[– Who would like a slightly pretty girl who just plays games anyway lol]
[– She’s just setting herself up for disappointment lol]

“Comrades! March over our corpses!”

“There will be light at the end!!”

The sheer number of people swarming in was enough to understand why Korea was pushed back by the Chinese during the Korean War.
By the time she ran out of grenades, the first and second floors were filled with corpses.

“No one gets past WooSeok!”

[– Seems like she’s gotten into the damsel-in-distress-saving-prince roleplay…]
[– Her energy is crazy today.]
[– She’s a forever-alone virgin too. Cut her some slack.]

“WooSeok! The K-6 is ready!”

[– K-6 at this timing? You are a textbook example…]
[– The true patriotic streamer, Choi Yena! Choi Yena!]

It was fascinating to see a woman handle a firearm with such military precision.
Yena operated the weapon with practiced ease.
As if she’d received real training, not just in-game…

[– Info: Choi Yena served in the Special Forces at 22.]
[– Info: Choi Yena’s useless military pride is showing.]
[– Info: That same Choi Yena has a recent record of 0 kills and 2 deaths in the last two matches.]

“Hey! I’ve already killed over 100 people!”

Ah, so women serve in the military here.
I fed her ammo as she fired.

[– Did WooSeok serve too? Lol, he’s a good assistant.]
[– Ex-military high school boy?!]
[– Couldn’t they just throw a grenade there?]
[– WooSeok’s there. They gotta be careful.]

I wondered why they weren’t using explosives, then I realized, their goal wasn’t victory.
If you think about it, there’s no way all those people teamed up in duo mode just to win.

“Is this all you got? Is that the extent of your guts?!”

Even amidst the hail of bullets, Yena didn’t forget to taunt her opponents.
Knowing they couldn’t just rush out, her taunts became more fervent, her professionalism as a streamer long gone.
All that remained was a beast consumed by desire.

“Is this… professional…?”

The standoff was brief. The sound of shattering glass preceded smoke and flash grenades rolling in.
I thought it was too quiet.

“Yena, watch out…！”

Unfortunately, Yena turned to look at me just as I spoke, and she could only yell and crouch.
A blinding light filled the room, followed by gas.

Footsteps approached from beyond the window.
With sight and smell blocked, I had to rely on those faint sounds to take them down.

As I aimed my M-16, Yena, still on the ground, shouted.
Despite her blindness, a strange determination seemed to grip her, her hands still clutching her weapon.
A very large one.

“WooSeok, get down!!”

Then, spinning around, she fired the K-6.
*BRRRT*—A barrage of bullets erupted.

But it didn’t last long. The gun quickly ran out of ammo, and the intruders seized the opportunity.
As Yena vented her frustration at the empty K-6, someone rushed in, grabbed me,
and…

“Heeheehee! I’m taking WooSeok!”

A laugh more creepy than hearty.
Were her hands trembling? Or was it just my imagination?

The intruder grabbed me, still prone, and retreated back out the window.
They even covered me with something soft and blanket-like to protect me. Where did they even loot that?

Outside, I took a breath of fresh air.
The smoke-filled room had been stifling.
This game’s strange realism was getting to me.

As I adjusted to the change in environment, I finally got a good look at the woman carrying me.
The intruder, with a model-like physique, was stunningly beautiful, making me wonder why she was playing this game on a weekday.
Especially while stream sniping Yena’s broadcast, no less.

She bundled me into a car, her distinctly dyed sky-blue hair flowing in the wind. Is that natural? I’ve seen a lot of unusual hair colors since I came to this world.

“I can’t believe I’m in a car alone with a man! It was worth taking emergency leave for this!! Mr. WooSeok, I, I…”

“Then you must die.”

Just as she was about to introduce herself, her supposed gaming partner shot her.

“Bluetooth…. Even you…”

[– Plot twist after plot twist lol]
[– Bluetooth in the meantime lol, isn’t it Brutus?]
[– What’s Choi Yena doing?]
[– Idk, watching WooSeok.]

The cool-looking short-haired traitor gave me a bright smile.
Though she couldn’t quite follow through with words.

“Uh…. St… St… I…”

“Um…”

“This is my first time talking to a man…”

The woman’s face flushed crimson, ruining her cool image.
How did these people end up here through Yena’s broadcast?

“I love you! Please win!”

Overcome with embarrassment, she shot herself with her pistol.
Why kill her friend if she was going to do that?

Alone in the car again, I stepped out.
I was starting to feel like the nature of this game had changed.

“Oh? Here!! Over here!!”

As I looted weapons from a corpse, another woman spotted me.
What followed was a repeat of the previous encounter.

Self-introduction cut short, followed by suicide.
Are the women in this world insane?

When Yena finally arrived, panting, it was all over.
Even she seemed baffled, just standing there and muttering.

“What is this…”

[– I’m the woman who just killed herself, I was literally speechless.]
[– I had a whole marriage proposal and grandchild names prepared but couldn’t say anything.]
[– How can Choi Yena talk so casually?]
[– I’ve never been more envious of a bodyguard than right now.]

“Yena. So, it’s just the two of us left?”

“Right…? The survivor count says two.”

“But why isn’t it over?”

Since we were matched as a duo, the game should end when we’re the last ones standing.
But it showed no signs of ending.

“Is it a glitch? No way. This game has never had bugs. Look, the safe zone keeps shrinking.”

The safe zone was indeed shrinking.
Everything seemed normal, yet the game wouldn’t end.

“Don’t we have to kill that boss monster or something?”

“Nah~ We’ve never had to before.”

“So, we get the ending where we die to the safe zone?”

“We’ve been lucky with the safe zone so far… Wait, what’s this?!”

Looking at the map, she pointed to a spot.
It showed the next safe zone location, and it was like…

“That’s WooSeok’s location!!”

[– LOLOLOL What the hell?]
[– The woman’s supposed to just die to the safe zone lol]
[– How dare a woman interfere with a man winning!]

The safe zone was centered on me.
It moved as I did.

“Are the developers crazy?!”

The safe zone started closing in, visibly faster now.

“Ouch! It burns like hell when you get caught in it!”

Yena then turned the gun on herself.
She was quick to act on her decisions.

“WooSeok! It was a short run, but do you want to stay after? I have something to say.”

*BANG*

The game ended the moment she shot herself.

[– Lol, that’s some crazy dedication.]
[– That number’s the same one from the chat earlier lol.]
[– She was watching the stream too, damn.]
[– I called again and she answered with the same sultry voice “Mr. WooSeok?” lol]

“Haha…”

As I chuckled awkwardly, I felt myself floating back to the lobby.

Everyone who participated in the game was there, waiting for me.
The blue-haired girl seemed to be arguing with her friend.

They all stared at me, ears perked, seemingly waiting for something.
Except for the two friends who had betrayed each other, of course.

“Good work, everyone.”

“”Woohoo-!!””

A single word of appreciation, and the women started logging out.
A strange feeling crept into my chest, so I quickly looked away.
Fortunately, they didn’t seem to notice anything unusual as they continued to log out.

[– That doesn’t look like logging out, looks like they fainted and their capsules were force-opened.]
[– :₩]
[– I’ve never been so jealous of a bodyguard in my life.]
[– Fr, WooSeok’s bodyguard must hear that all the time….]

Yena waited patiently until everyone had logged out.
She looked at me with a nervous expression, seemingly organizing her thoughts and choosing her words.

“Yena, you worked hard tod…”

“WooSeok!!”

We spoke at the same time.
I gestured for her to go first, and she understood, finally opening her mouth.

“Want to do it?”

“Huh?”