LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 177 - Second Unboxing
Chapter 177 Second Unboxing
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‘Is there really a reason to go that far?’
‘The Dark Zone itself proves the existence of another world. It’s too vivid to be dismissed as just a dream. The President… no, is he still the Democratic Party leader? Anyway, the fact that the NSA Director, the National Security Agency, the Department of Defense, and various other ministers experienced the same world should be reason enough.’
‘But.’
‘Is that not enough? What about the capture of Jordan Amherst, who tried to create the prototype of the Omega virus?’
‘What if it was only possible because of Viper’s existence? What if, in reality, the causality was reversed? What if her existence caused all this?’
‘…That makes sense. But this much is certain.’
A brief silence.
‘Including you, those who were already severely burned are glaring under the Star-Spangled Banner.’
“…Hmm.”
October in the United States was exceptionally mild.
To wake up, I checked outside. Between the trees laden with brown leaves, I could see the Potomac River. The newly rising sun was shining its rays through the clear blue sky.
After receiving coffee from my secretary, I took a moment to appreciate the aroma of the beans filling the room. Then, one by one, the tasks began to pile up. This was how the day of Lloyd A. Macmillan, Secretary of the United States Army, began.
I reviewed documents, attended meetings, and handled countless tasks. I even dealt with sensitive matters that shouldn’t be disclosed to the public. This was the significance of holding a position in the Pentagon.
Time flew by busily, and before I knew it, it was around 12 PM, lunchtime. Normally, I would resolve lunch at the cafeteria and then grab coffee from Ground Zero Café, but today was different.
───Rustle.
Contrary to the prejudice that those in high positions would have steak for every meal, I was just like anyone else. I was more pressed for time than others. The presence of a burger set on the neatly arranged table proved this.
The warmth felt from the paper bag. The meal continued as usual. It didn’t take long for the wrappers and drink cups to turn into trash.
I crumpled everything into the trash can. All trash in the Pentagon was incinerated to prevent any possible information leakage. These too would turn to ashes in a few hours.
After washing my hands clean in the bathroom, I sat back down after some fresh air.
Although lunchtime wasn’t over yet….
Creaaak!
“….”
Pentagon’s confidential documents were usually decided upon during lunchtime. Whether to hold, execute, or discard them. This was because it was the most relaxed time even within the Pentagon. This thorough and implicit rule was still observed today.
In the meantime, Secretary of the Army Macmillan took out a document that had been carefully stored in his office desk cabinet.
A document with dry handwriting.
[Medal of Honor Unofficial Award Recipient]
[Warning: This list is to be sent to the Department of Defense’s Human Resources Department immediately.]
To be sent immediately.
In other words, it meant that this would go directly to the Human Resources Department without obtaining the consent of ⅔ of the House of Representatives. Although I had almost no experience in deciding on the Medal of Honor, I knew this was the height of irony.
The Medal of Honor, the most noble award in the United States. As an Army Secretary, a devout Protestant, and an exemplary American citizen, Macmillan felt this was a heart-wrenching injustice.
But, however.
───Tududududu!
‘We’re here, Secretary! Damn it, Yoo Jin! We’re holding this position! Get the Secretary on the helicopter! Get out of this hellhole!’
‘I’ll come back to support you after putting him on the chopper, so stay alive until then!’
‘Forget about my life, worry about his!’
Memories that surfaced when closing my eyes.
Lead bullets stirring my stomach and the unending blood. My white dress shirt turned red, and with all my strength depleted, I almost met a tragic end right there, but I was rescued by Task Force Dagger and barely survived.
I was one of the few who witnessed New York, Washington, and various other places, including California, return under ICARUS’s wings with my own eyes.
And all those memories were vividly embedded in the game called Dark Zone.
“It feels like a joke.”
Although these were memories of another world, if they were utterly nonsensical, the document would have been rejected and burned right here.
But everything was materializing into reality. The actual Omega virus that nearly broke America’s back was quarantined along with Amherst, and after the risk assessment, it would be incinerated, and Jordan would receive his due punishment.
Was it because Yoo Jin appeared that this happened, or did her presence prevent something from happening?
Even if it was the latter, could it be said that this warranted adding an exception to the history of the Medal of Honor, ignoring the established principles of civilian control and the separation of powers?
…Wait a moment.
‘…Exceptions are excluded because if a precedent is set, the same thing can happen more than once.’
When Roosevelt ran for a fourth term, many expressed concerns. It allowed room for constitutional amendment. After FDR’s term, the three-term limit was codified in the Constitution, which George Washington had originally conceptualized.
This was because, without such a stipulation, existing precedents could be nullified under special circumstances – but could there be another such case? Could a similar situation occur again?
The fragile human mind automatically blocks any thought beyond that. Perhaps it could happen. And if a similar event happened again, resulting in a similar situation, it would no longer be the America I knew.
Moreover, this was official but also unofficial.
───Bang!
[Authenticating….]
[Document Signer: Roid Alois. Macmillan]
[Would you like to send?]
Agreed.
Thus, the arrow left the bowstring.
‘Right. Now you’re an accomplice too.’
Lloyd seriously worried about his future as if hearing a hallucination from somewhere. And soon, the Deputy Secretary and Secretary of Defense would face the same agony.
Damn Henry.
“…I might get summoned to a hearing if I’m unlucky.”
But, nevertheless.
There were no regrets.
Even if she was from another country, for the woman who gave everything for the nation… America could truly do many things.
Thus, the day passed.
“Wow, this is really cute. Can I take one?”
“…Yes. Take one.”
“Ah, why do you say it like that? It’s a bit burdensome.”
Meanwhile.
Somewhere in Korea, 11,146 km away.
Yoo Jin couldn’t hide her mixed feelings as she opened a box full of dozens of SD dolls that looked just like her — reminiscent of Nendoroids.
───Knock, knock, knock!
“Yoo Jin! Is this the right place?”
“The door is open, come on in.”
Click!
A short-haired person peeked through the gently opened door.
As the door opened wider, the scene formed a familiar image in my memory — Dice, or Seo Ye-rin. She had crossed the Han River in a heartbeat after receiving my invitation yesterday.
There was no awkwardness. Ironically, our avatars were identical to real life — one almost, the other completely — meaning there was no premise for awkwardness to arise.
A following exclamation.
“Wow, the house is really nice. But the interior is really like you. So simple.”
“It’s already quite decorated.”
“Really?”
“With boxes.”
Ugh.
With a face that seemed exasperated, Dice took off her shoes and entered the hallway, her eyes widening like saucers. The wall was filled with packages. Anyone would think I was a VIP for a delivery app with this amount.
Of course, Dice was equally surprised by the fact that this was not by choice but by necessity. All of them were advertisements and sponsorships. Even Ink, who grabbed first place in KSM last year, didn’t receive this much. It was amazing that all this was achieved by my own hands.
However, I didn’t care much and handed her a file.
“I received one before, so I need to reciprocate.”
“…Is this, by any chance, today’s scrim analysis?”
“Of course.”
The expression wondered how something could feel so thick in terms of megabytes.
A PDF file so heavy it was daunting to even open. Dice had no choice but to accept it reluctantly — but she had no choice. The keyword just mentioned was steering her thoughts in that direction.
Scrim.
In other words, the 4th week had begun. Scrims took place Monday through Friday — during the weekdays, and the tournament was held on Saturday and Sunday, leaving effectively 5 days. And since it was Monday, there were 4 days left.
I spoke while she was deep in thought.
“Today’s load is still light. The opponent didn’t do well.”
“…Well, it’s a bit harsh to say, but Taiwan is usually like that. It’s more like fulfilling a requirement. Starting next year, the teams participating in the Asia qualifiers will be restructured.”
With the topic presented, explanatory data was sent.
To sum up, from next year, the bottom 2 teams of this year would compete for entry rights with the lower leagues of Asia.
For example, if this applied to this year, China and Taiwan, which placed 4th and 5th last year, would compete for 40 entry rights with Southeast Asia and Central Asia leagues.
Of course, except for some like India or Saudi Arabia, it was almost meaningless. Anyway, as long as Korea consistently placed at least 3rd, there was no need to worry much.
Anyway, starting tomorrow was important.
“It’s our turn tomorrow.”
“That’s right. The day after tomorrow is China, then Japan, and on Friday, Russia. Because of its vast territory, Russia is advantageous again this time. It was similar last year.”
“Uh-huh.”
What this meant was the day the 1st team was deployed in the scrim.
Especially Russia came up repeatedly from Dice’s mouth. Because of its vast territory, they had various time zones, giving them a significant advantage.
Russian players were mostly assigned scrims just a day or two before the Asia qualifiers. In other words, it was advantageous. The later the 1st team was deployed in the scrim, the less time there was to analyze their play.
Even someone unfamiliar with the dynamics of the tournament could roughly guess that much.
“…It’s mind-boggling that I’m here at your place when we’re deployed tomorrow.”
“No matter how hard you work for a day or two, nothing changes. If muscle memory could be built in a few hours, anyone could fly in combat.”
What matters most is what has been built up so far.
There was no further discussion.
From now on, trivial conversations and broadcast preparations would follow.
───Buzz!
“Ugh, so bright. What’s this?”
“It’s a motion capture device. It implements avatars on our bodies in real-time and uses it during broadcasts. Since our identities are still hidden, we need something like this.”
“So that’s why you unboxed it last time. But I’m not good at talking and never appeared on a personal broadcast. Will it be okay?”
“Just talk as you did with me. I also started broadcasting less than two months ago.”
…Why is that accurate?
Being an extremely popular streamer, the fact that she had only been broadcasting for two months had long disappeared beyond the event horizon.
Anyway, I looked around. Huge trash bags for handling all the garbage from unboxing. Yet, it felt like there were no scissors or cutters for unboxing.
So Dice turned her head and looked at Yoo Jin again.
And she screamed.
“Come to think of it, there’s nothing to open the tape with. I’ll bring… Ugh, why are you holding such a deadly thing!?”
“Deadly? This friend opens tapes very well.”
“It looks more like it could slice a neck than tape!”
Swoosh.
What Yoo Jin held up was none other than a tactical axe.
It was amusing to see in videos, but the axe in Yoo Jin’s hand in real life… and the aura Yoo Jin exuded while holding it was terrifying enough to make anyone wet their pants. “Prey in front of a predator” couldn’t be more fitting.
Automatically, her body turned the other way. The fact that someone was actually hit by that made her shudder.
Meanwhile, Yoo Jin continued nonchalantly.
“Oh, come to think of it, I forgot to give you a gift. Do you want to take an axe later?”
“Who would take something like that!?”
“Now that I think about it, that makes sense.”
I felt like going insane.
Watching Yoo Jin warm up with about ten meters of space between them, Dice trembled, wondering if she had come to a place she shouldn’t have.
And how much time had passed.
“Stop poking me with the axe! It’s scary!”
“It’s not an axe; it’s a tail.”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
Yooha
Yoohaaaaaaaaaaaa???????????????
What are you doing from the start, lolololololol
Wow, a special guest! Who is it! Without any notice!
Isn’t that Dice???????
The second unboxing began.
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