Chapter 38
[Author: Anonymous]
[Title: Let's Analyze the Boss's Origins and Nationality]
If she was capable of securing the Imperial Seal in China, she must have been a general at the very least.
She fought among Chinese commanders whose forces easily numbered over ten thousand.
By that logic, she might have been a member of Cao Cao's army.
The fact that she took the seal and left proves Cao Cao really wasn't fit to be king.
And then there's the Battle of Dannoura.
The records say the Imperial Seal disappeared around the 900s.
Dannoura was in 1185, so the boss had more than enough time to make it to Japan too.
Maybe she lived at Inari Shrine?
Perhaps she rescued Emperor Antoku because she pitied him for throwing himself into the sea at only six years old.
They say all the Three Sacred Treasures except the magatama are fake, so if the sword is with the boss, she probably has the mirror too.
(News about VTuber Wakamo's donation posted today).
And the genuine Taegeukgi used during the March 1st Movement. They say the Tower turned it into an item for her.
At this point, it seems like the Tower changed every single thing the boss owns into a relic-grade item.
Well, if you think about it, they are historical objects, so I suppose it makes sense.
Hasn't our boss lived an incredibly fucking spectacular life?
War, war, and more war wherever she went.
She probably didn't get to see Japan being nuked.
She's broadcasting as a VTuber because the world is peaceful now.
Isn't it amazing that she hasn't grown tired of humans?
-She has the kind of muscles that make her look athletic.
ㄴThe independence movement?
ㄴThey say she ran at the very front of the March 1st Movement....
-Noㅋㅋ Fuck, she's an independence fighter!!!!
-Going beyond national pride, isn't this just Captain Korea?
-A Korean fox who has lived for a thousand years... This is definitely going to show up in a comic soon.
-Neither Chinese generals, Japanese warriors, nor Korean wars could kill me....
ㄴFrom the boss's perspective, isn't it just, Here we go againㅋㅋㅋ
-So why is she a VTuber? I'm genuinely asking because I don't know. Is she really a VTuber?
ㄴShe broadcasts using an avatar, so she's a VTuber.
ㄴIf you buy a studio and broadcast as a VTuber, you're a VTuber, yeah.
ㄴThere are VTubers who broadcast after revealing all their red pills, so what's the problem?
ㄴAre you slandering an independence fighter right now? Are you, perhaps?
ㄴFuck no!!!
-The boss's shield is fucking strong. Chinese-born, Japanese-born, who gives a shit—"independence fighter."
-The shameless fox of Korea, for fuck's sakeㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Didn't she say she lived holed up at home!!! This is an extrovert's deception!!!
-Even extroverts don't go on outings like this, fuckㅋㅋㅋ
-? Guys. A PV has been uploaded to Ichigo's broadcast.
ㄴ? What is it?
ㄴNo, I watched it, but what the fuck is thisㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Even when the forty-floor Gimpo Tower collapsed, Korea's online communities continued to hum along as usual.
The military had already been deployed and was finishing the suppression, so the only posts appearing on the community were from reservists and Climbers waiting on standby and grumbling.
They were on their third day of waiting, unable to know what might happen and hoping only that the situation would end quickly.
There was one thing that no domestic Climber was unfamiliar with: Wakamo Inarizushi.
An unknown PV was uploaded to the broadcast of Hajime Ichigo, whom Wakamo cherished and raised like a daughter.
Watching a video on a pitch-black screen that said Major Announcement!, some VTuber fans writhed with PTSD beyond mere fear, but those who clicked it soon faced bewilderment beyond questions, confusion, and cheers, wondering whether this was really okay.
As the video began, deep, subdued brass music rang out, and a faded, colorless screen gradually appeared alongside strings that slowly grew more intense.
"[The smallest country in Asia. This land of quiet dawn has fought against countless invasions for many long years]"
The narration began in the voice of a famous voice actor that sounded familiar from somewhere.
From the Three Kingdoms period, through the Joseon Dynasty, and into the Korean War.
Scenes of generals and soldiers who always fought without breaking or yielding, even in the sorrow of being invaded and watching their homeland become a battlefield, overlapped and flashed across the screen.
Then a scene suddenly appeared of a VTuber everyone had seen way too many times raising the Taegeukgi high and leading people, and the believers could only burst out laughing or react with, What is this?
The image of the Taegeukgi Wakamo had waved so diligently being donated to a museum and preserved, with the Tower's landscape visible above it.
"[And even in the modern era, that did not change]"
Dozens of drones flew through the sky, showing Seoul, completely devastated by the Tower's collapse and the chain of collapses that followed.
Monsters filled the streets, and the bosses of the collapsed Tower had come outside and built nests in its center, settling down as though it were their territory.
"[Even if she is young, she is a survival expert. There is absolutely no reason to doubt her abilities]"
Before long, the narration changed to the voice of Manager Won Da-hye, whom some of the believers might have been hearing for the first time.
As the uniforms of soldiers from the Korean War gradually changed into modern ones, four armed soldiers fastened their belts with a click, equipped themselves with firearms, sheathed military daggers, and carried enormous axes on their backs before advancing with their guns shouldered and alert.
At their center, Wakamo Inarizushi walked forward, gripping a shield as tall as she was and an enormous hammer in both hands.
But it seemed as though she was not the leader.
Along with the sound of breathing from the darkness, a gas mask partially emerged.
As though opening from a blink, red eyes filled the screen, and Hajime Ichigo walked out holding a gun in each hand.
"[FOX Team, are you listening? We will now begin Operation 『Retaking Seoul』. Good luck]"
The screen darkened along with Manager Won Da-hye's voice coming through the radio.
Then the title 『Battlefield: Retaking Seoul』 rose in the center.
The brief trailer ended with a notice that it would continue in the membership broadcast of apocalypse survival expert Hajime Ichigo!!
The quality was so high that anyone shown it without context would believe it was a movie trailer, but Ichigo's fans, the 『Friends』, were just as bewildered that it was membership content from a VTuber.
They had all subscribed and waited without giving it much thought after hearing that she might hold a membership broadcast soon.... But was this scale really appropriate?
Once again, the community burst into flames.
※※※
[Author: Dr. Romantic]
[Title: Surviving Is Proof of Strength]
Anyone who survived Joseon, the land of cannon fire, could surely survive Korea, the land of corruption.
A person who survived passing scholars and Japanese matchlock guns.
I don't know whether Hajime Ichigo is a descendant of Cao Cao or Liu Bei.
Combining the Red and Blue teams to retake Seoul is fucking magnificent.
Wow~ I was genuinely moved by the incredibly realistic quality.
Metaverse technology has really reached the next level these days!
How many 3D CG teams did they use? Our boss does have a lot of money.
She might even have Russian gold bullion.
Or the gold and silver treasures of the Chinese imperial family.
-Include the generals who were still alive before Cao Cao killed them all.
-It can't be helped. A temporary alliance just this once.
-I think a surprisingly dangerous combination might have been born here.
-Ichigo "It's like Virtual Gra'
ㄴThe parts with the VTuber characters are exactly the same.
ㄴSince the video makes use of the characters' concepts, I'll allow it.
-At last, the Republic of Korea has become a VTuber powerhouse.
-Wow, it's so realistic and impressive~
ㄴIf the operation succeeds, it really feels like Seoul will be retaken.
ㄴFor realㅋㅋ Suspiciously suspicious special agents are conquering itㅋㅋ
ㄴRise, Captain. Korea is in danger.
ㄴCaptain Korea and Hawk China... My heart is swelling with pride.
ㄴAt least call her China Widow.
ㄴBut the breasts....
ㄴAre you insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ
"Yes! That's a wrap!!"
Wakamo, who had enthusiastically participated in the shoot while changing the appearance of her clothes with [Mana Manipulation], found herself wondering whether this was really okay. Normally, they would attach equipment to their bodies, film the footage, and cover it with CG afterward.
The two of them had simply changed clothes and stood there. At this rate, people would think the VTuber models and the red pills were identical!!
Meanwhile, the people filming had received such a large budget that whenever they saw Wakamo, they begged her to call them again next time.
As expected, there was nothing money couldn't accomplish.
Manager Won Da-hye proudly gave a thumbs-up, saying she had earned enough money that Wakamo could call her whenever she wanted to film something.
'Why am I suddenly thinking of Virtual Live's dragon....'
For corporate VTubers, participating in content prepared by the company was simply part of the job. Doing advertisements was common sense too. Companies planned everything in detail, from shorts and original songs to concerts. Corporate VTubers received overwhelmingly more support and had more advantages than independent VTubers, though.
Production of Hajime Ichigo's original song was still being planned, so when had this gigantic piece of content possibly been prepared?
"When I thought of corporate content, I imagined a summer swimsuit special or something like that....!!"
"Please think of it as full 3D CG!! Do you have any idea how advanced technology is these days!!"
Manager Won Da-hye's preparedness, including having chroma-key cloth for CG and a huge filming studio prepared separately, almost brought tears to Wakamo's eyes.
But you're not going to use any of it.
They were filming a retaking operation with a background that really felt like devastated Seoul and agents who seemed to be armed with real weapons despite being CG characters.
"Including editing, will it be about two or three hours long?"
Meanwhile, Manager Won Da-hye seemed not to have even considered the possibility of the operation failing.
Of course she hadn't!! Wakamo had only ever shown herself as an invincible superhuman in the Tower! But this was a real situation.
In the end, after worrying and worrying, Wakamo told her about the Skill she could use, [My Worlds].
"Let's make it completely like game content while we're at it!!!"
Not only could they safely transport supplies, they even had personal shelters where they could rest safely!
"There are similar FPS games, too. Let's set the concept as though we're progressing through the story of one of those games. Agents, are you okay with that? Come up with codenames that really sound like they're from a game."
"Then I'll be Gaedugi."
"Can I be Hoshino Ruri?"
"Unicorn."
"Call me Sikopi."
The agents had cameras attached to their heads and bodies and were equipped identically, including helmets that made them impossible to identify. Manager Won Da-hye told Wakamo that they had been chosen by the association chairman, so she did not need to worry about their discovering her red pill.
Wow, you really look like game characters!!
"No, but what's with Unicorn?"
"Pia-chan will return someday...!!"
"Ah, you're a Novelpia VTuber fan...."
So you were an uncle.... Wakamo did not ask any further questions. This place.... had sorrow....
Because of copyright issues, one person's name was shortened to Ruri. Meanwhile, one of them subtly promoted his captain by asking Wakamo whether she knew their captain and saying she was cute, so Wakamo silently showed him some merchandise in reply.
Now that I think about it, you gathered people who were all VTuber fans or at least had some years of community experience.
Where did you find people like this....
"All right, let's get ready!"
Manager Won Da-hye said that and showed Wakamo the supplies that had originally been scheduled to be transported in a different way.
I'm not going to war somewhere, am I...?
I'm about to become an actual active-duty soldier, beyond reservist PTSD.
This is why you shouldn't assume being a corporate VTuber is always a good thing....!!
Still, at least this wasn't a black company that merely exploited her, so Wakamo silently equipped herself.
※※※
"Is this really okay...?"
"Is there some problem? Do I look like I'm planning a coup? If so, I am a little hurt. We are faithfully working for His Excellency the President, after all."
The military alone was sufficient to handle the Tower collapse in Gimpo. The association chairman merely pressured the worried young lawmaker with a smile, saying that all of their concerns were pointless.
"Now, at last, it is time for you to make your move. Though you will be called FOX Team, not the Surveillance Team."
The association chairman then looked at the four agents gathered in the conference room and Manager Won Da-hye.
"The capital, Seoul, has been taken by mere monsters. We wanted to raise the army and retake it, but we had neither the resources nor enough support. We couldn't risk provoking them and causing even greater damage. What a nuisance those people obsessed with protecting themselves have been."
Ironically, the monsters that emerged from collapsed Towers did not approach the areas around the Towers.
They were maintaining an invisible boundary of their own. But they did not always stay inside, so the threat they feared was not exaggerated.
No one knew why they behaved that way.
Nothing had been discovered about why the Towers had appeared in the first place or what they wanted.
Many people claimed that the answer could be found by reaching the top of one of the hundred-floor Towers that had begun appearing recently, but no Climber had yet conquered a hundred-floor Tower.
All kinds of large monsters had taken over Seoul, and the field effect created by the collapsed Tower had made the environment impossible for humans to endure. The entire city of Seoul had changed into something like a floor inside a Tower.
This situation had come about because, when the Tower first appeared, people attacked it intending to destroy it, then attacked another Tower in Seoul after seeing the monsters emerge when it collapsed.
"This is not a show of force or a coup. How could a mere association chairman dare threaten the president, who holds supreme command and control, in a democratic nation? We are moving to retake Seoul."
Rather, the collapse of the Gimpo Tower had allowed them to gather forces near Gochon and bombard the area, drawing the monsters in Seoul's attention there.
"We will pass through Geumcheon-gu and subdue the boss that emerged from the collapsed Tower in Gwanak-gu."
The goal of this operation was to lure out the Tower, drive away the monsters, and reclaim part of Seoul.
If the monsters of a collapsed Tower were defeated, there was a one-hundred-percent chance that another Tower would appear.
──This plan for reclaiming territory had been developed from experience gained by several countries. If they simply killed the boss monster with bombardment, it would revive. Ironically, only a Climber could kill it and cause the Tower to reappear.
It remained a sad memory for the association chairman that many Climbers who had gathered to reclaim Seoul had left after becoming disappointed in the country.
"Would citizens oppose an operation to retake Seoul? They might call it dangerous. But it is something that must be done someday. Even a president cannot stand above the people forever.... We are also manipulating the media to make it seem as though the president supports Wakamo."
"....."
It would be better if they announced that Climber Wakamo had stepped forward to fight and retake Seoul. But since she wanted to be a VTuber, the chairman intended to handle that aspect with care. Politics could be left to people skilled at politics. She was already doing more than enough to fulfill her role.
"A president striving to reclaim Seoul. What a perfect image for winning the people's support. Then, once her reputation has risen, what will happen if we reveal that he tried to kill Korea's hero, the independence fighter? If we tell them that the Climber who retook Seoul was Wakamo.... Don't you look forward to seeing how the lawmakers' expressions change?"
A president who persecuted an independence fighter. And even more so if that independence fighter was the Climber who successfully retook Seoul?
No matter how much they supported the president and disliked the association chairman, they would have no choice at all when deciding whose side to take.
'What terrible taste....'
The manager knew that the chairman was by no means someone who would simply take a beating. But she had never imagined he would use the Gimpo Tower's collapse like this. Manager Won Da-hye could only sigh, at a loss for how to explain it to Wakamo-sama.
'She probably won't refuse if I say it's content planned by the company....'
Although she had to phrase it in every roundabout way possible and had the most unwilling expression imaginable, she had somehow succeeded in getting Wakamo to do the content.
But the "manager," Won Da-hye, never forgot that Wakamo was doing this not because she wanted to, but solely for Ichigo.
The original plan had changed quite a bit. If the operation succeeded, the news would report it as the work of an "unidentified Climber."
Everyone would know who it was, of course, but since it was supposedly a VTuber's content broadcast, they could insist that it was not real and bluff their way through!!
How had the political battle between the president and the association chairman over Climber Wakamo grown to this scale?
Even if it was called Retaking Seoul, this operation absolutely had to succeed for everything else to proceed smoothly.
'The chairman has essentially put his own neck on the line in this gamble.'
The agents from the Surveillance Team were not Climbers, but they were trained soldiers.
Even if it was necessary, the truth was that they were arbitrarily deploying an armed force privately controlled by one person!!
On top of that, if Seoul's monsters happened to cross into Incheon....
'I really hope Wakamo-sama doesn't get angry....'
In effect, the Climber Association was sending her to a battlefield.
All for her sake, hidden even from her behind the interests of the country, under the single excuse that it was for her!!
"I suppose it can't be helped. We'll have to take extraordinary measures...!!"
※※※
"[FOX Team, are you listening? We will now begin Operation 『Retaking Seoul』. Good luck]"
'Uhehe~ Being a VTuber is hard~'
Right, don't VTubers get locked in some basement and forced to sign hundreds of autographs at a time? A VTuber could infiltrate Seoul by military helicopter too, surely.
Unlike Manager Won Da-hye's worries, Wakamo was regretting that she had shown such overwhelming force that people trusted her enough to entrust her with something like this.
She had the pride of a VTuber. She couldn't hunch over and say, I'm actually weak. Could I not do this...?
If they told her to do it, she had no choice but to do it! She would never back out when content was right in front of her!!
It absolutely wasn't because Manager Won Da-hye had tempted her by promising to buy her a figure afterward. Wakamo believed that the believers would trust her words.
Even if they said, Are you insane? You went to a restricted area just for a figure? It was a limited-edition pink shrine maiden figure from the early days..... Did they have any idea how precious it was.....
'If news like Mysterious Climber Successfully Retakes Seoul! gets posted, the believers will come to tease me again.'
Wakamo had revealed a little of her secret and was extremely tense, determined to do her best so that none of the accompanying agents would die needlessly.
But she could think of nothing except worrying about what would happen if she ruined Yu Ying's first membership broadcast because of herself.
"I heard HoX-i is such a popular game that even you're scared of it. The company that used to make LiX-ge made a god-tier game like this too."
"They're the same company, sir."
"[PUBG: Battleground of the Players] better be nervous too. Korea has released a god-tier Battlefield game as well. FPS games really are the best. This is that SeX Attack 2 thing, right?"
"Anyway, do your best. I'm a beginner at this game."
The content began without a script. Contrary to their worries, the four agents who had joined as support were chattering in a way that suited the concept of gamers playing a game more than expected. Sitting opposite them were Hajime Ichigo and Wakamo Inarizushi. To anyone watching, they looked exactly like veteran players who had covered themselves in skins and played the game for years.
"Seoul starts just ahead! Good luck!"
The first thing they saw after the helicopter landed was the boundary of Seoul's Geumcheon-gu.
Before them stood a zone of contamination halted at a boundary that did not look as though it had been processed with CG.
The sight seemed to say that beyond this point lay a warped region twisted by the Tower's collapse, and that Seoul, which had become a genuine demonic realm after the failure of the initial suppression and ten years of neglect, awaited them.
"[FOX Team, I will explain the target. The objective is to defeat the 『King Triple-Headed Ogre』 residing in the collapsed Seoul fifty-floor Tower located in Gwanak-gu]"
"Yeees."
A communication screen appeared in front of leader Hajime Ichigo. A hologram like something from a game or a science-fiction movie floated up, and Manager Won Da-hye, wearing a military uniform, communicated with Hajime through the screen. Since she knew absolutely nothing about the military, Ichigo's answer was so cute that the agents chuckled.
"[Hajime Ichigo. I will navigate you along the shortest route to the boss. Supplies can be obtained at bases along the way. I will mark the locations of the bases for you]"
A map appeared where everyone gathered could see it. The locations of the bases and the enemy boss appeared, along with a picture of the boss.
[Internet Connection] was linked with [Form of the Idol], allowing Wakamo to display it in real time as part of the production. Wakamo's abilities were so good that they left the 3D CG team with nothing to do. Should one call her a former clipper?
"Waaah"
When she gestured with her palm facing down, light fell and stretched forward, marking the route they needed to take.
The familiar production continued so naturally that it felt like they were really playing a virtual-reality game!
"Let's go, go, go! Is there heavy snow here too, though?"
"You really haven't played many games, have you, sir?"
"Where do we pull the pretty-girl skins?"
"All right, everyone. Let's listen to Hajime-sama's orders. Shall we head out?"
It was difficult to adjust to heavily armed agents equipped to the level of full armor spouting MZ-generation dialogue, but the gigantic fox god among them was even more overwhelming, so it did not stand out as much.
Vwoom──
[You have entered an area containing a collapsed Tower!]
[The contamination level is high, and the danger level is at its maximum!]
[Tower Entry] cannot be used in this area!
Warnings of every kind appeared the moment they entered. Wakamo led the way with her shield held in front and hammer gripped tightly, while the four agents, standing around Ichigo as though escorting her despite speaking strangely, began moving while watching all directions.
"Speaking of Geumcheon-gu, my favorite gopchang restaurant is around here."
"What, are you suggesting we hold a meetup there, sir? Let's focus."
"Guys, I have to watch the shrine maiden's broadcast tonight, so can we clear this quickly...?"
"The loading is so fast that I don't even have time for a cigarette break."
Wasn't this called collective monologue? The group continued moving while delivering lines like real gamers playing a game, each saying only what they wanted to say.
Because they were outside the Tower, filming was being done with drones as well as Wakamo's camera. In that situation, Manager Won Da-hye continued briefing Ichigo in real time. After telling her that she did not need to respond through the earpiece, Ichigo took it off and threw it away.
"G-guys, r-run!!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than monsters smelled the humans and rushed in from every direction. Beginning with green skins, humanoid monsters of every kind were mixed together, not fighting each other but charging solely at the humans.
They formed groups but never fought among themselves. The sight of them pouring out from the wide-open roads in all four directions, buildings, and pushed-aside sewer covers, intent only on killing humans, was truly spectacular.
The camera looking down from above showed an assault by hordes of monsters swarming in from the rooftops and throughout Geumcheon-gu!!
"I think I've seen this in WarXammer!!"
"Isn't this some zombie game called World War or something?! Why isn't it lagging!! Look at the Earth server go!!"
"The captain has a stream scheduled today, so let's hurry up and leave!!"
"I'm curious—are you talking about the admiral of the Space Pirate Kemono pirate crew?!?"
"She's a stingray!! You fox guy!!"
There were so many monsters pouring in that they could fire bullets in every direction without even needing to aim. The sight of monsters charging forward while stepping over other monsters' corpses was intensely oppressive.
Ichigo took a potion bottle from her waist and threw it at them. A wall of ice appeared and blocked the monsters, and when Ichigo shot the potion bottle she had thrown ahead with her pistol, flames burst out with a bang!
Perhaps it contained white phosphorus, because the fire spread from monster to monster and burned so fiercely that it did not die down until they had been completely wiped out.
It was an overwhelming display of firepower made possible by the lavish support given to the [Alchemist] who had climbed to the twentieth floor!!
"Hngh─!!"
Wakamo charged toward the car blocking the subway entrance and kicked it away like a soccer ball. When she pointed, the group rushed inside. Before they entered, Wakamo caught the falling car and threw it at the monsters, while Ichigo, waiting beside her, flung a potion bottle like a dagger.
Then came a flash.
Ichigo, wearing goggles, and Wakamo, whose vision was not obscured even after taking the attack, followed inside as the group raced through the chaotic subway with their lights on.
It was too dark to see, so Wakamo created a floating light source, and the dark underground became bright in an instant as though the lights had been turned on.
"As expected of a veteran player, your items are great!"
"What level do you unlock that Skill at?!"
The agents did not miss a line even while running, behaving like professionals. Then one of them was caught by vines that sprang from a hole in the shattered ceiling and was thrown upward.
"Aaaah!!"
"Gaedugi!"
"Leave him. That's a natural death!!"
They lost one agent in an instant, but no one panicked.
They shot down the monsters swarming through the subway station and continued racing without stopping until they reached the tracks where trains had once run.
"Boss, undergrounder!"
No sooner had they descended to the tracks than Ichigo's warning came as her ears perked up. Wakamo smashed the undergrounder that leaped from the darkness with her shield and killed it, but even as it was struck, the undergrounder punched through the solid-steel shield with its outstretched hand.
"Shield! The shield's breaking!"
An agent equipped with protective items grappled with the undergrounder, blew its head off with a pistol, and shouted to Ichigo as the visibly cracked shield remained between them.
"Guys!! Breath!! Get out of the way!!!"
On the ceiling of the tracks, something shaped like a lizard clung upside down. When it opened its jaws, flames poured out. The agent who had called the warning rolled alone in the opposite direction, and Ichigo shouted at the other agents to move, leaving him behind.
There were more monsters than they had expected. In this desperate situation, an enormous number of monsters smelled the humans and swarmed in, and even shooting them down with a barrage of gunfire did not seem to reduce their numbers.
"Hngh!!"
Wakamo bought them time by swinging the shield with the undergrounder still hanging from it and single-handedly blocking the wave of charging monsters.
In a situation where there seemed to be no escape, Ichigo flung open an iron door and rushed inside. Two agents followed, guarding the way and buying time for Wakamo to arrive. Once all three had entered and the door closed, the monsters slammed into it.
Kwang!!
The door shattered and fell away, and darkness descended.
Then silence flowed through the space.
There was no one inside.
※※※
"Safe Team rescue complete."
More personnel would normally have been sent as support, but fewer people were better for the production. The two rescued agents were changing into equipment that looked perfectly fine, as though nothing had happened.
Wakamo opened a portal through the cameras attached to each agent, and the rescue team waiting nearby was dispatched to retrieve them.
No matter how she thought about it, Wakamo seemed genuinely too reckless and foolish.... Surely they hadn't actually intended for anyone to die, right? She decided to believe that.... Wakamo alone did not know that every agent deployed on the operation had been prepared to die!
Beyond the door of the base, a portal Wakamo had opened at exactly the right moment was waiting for them.
After confirming with the camera she had left behind that the monsters were retreating, Wakamo deactivated the [Skill].
"All right, let's film. Everyone, get into position."
The yard in front of a beautiful mansion, filmed from an angle that did not show the piled-up supplies.
"Ah, what if my rank drops because of you, sir?"
"But you saved us by warning us about the breath, right? We made it to the base, so have a drink."
"Upvote if the leader who almost wiped the party got scaredㅋㅋㅋ"
"What? What did this bastard just say...!!"
Heavily armed agents who looked completely out of place at a tea table laughed and chatted merrily over their teacups. Their attitude seemed carefree, but the agents had gathered with the resolve to face even death and were each performing their roles professionally.
"Mmm~ Drinking this black tea makes me feel like a young lady."
One agent raised his teacup elegantly with his pinky extended and drank by pouring the tea into his face without even removing his helmet.
Another went to the corner and repeatedly sat down and stood up.
Another waved his upper body frantically up and down while holding a gun.
Another took a picture of Wakamo and Hajime lying side by side.
An operation site with not a trace of tension...!!
On the other side of the filming set, Manager Won Da-hye was reconsidering the operation while taking into account the unexpectedly large number of monsters. She was also investigating information about monsters that had not appeared previously. The rescue team supplied the agents, changed their equipment, and checked on them.
There was no problem, since the yard was piled high with supplies, enough to pour out ammunition like water just as in a real game.
"Perhaps we should replace the agents with Climbers...."
"That would certainly be good too, but it would cause problems like this...."
Leaving the operations team busily holding a strategy meeting behind them.
"I keep telling you, you should watch our low-tier space-cat pirate VTuber too, you know?"
"Oh, a low-tier one. I should clip that."
"But if people see this, what do we do if they ask why Seoul wasn't retaken until now?"
"When the bombardment made the monsters disappear, all a Climber had to do was kill the boss? Easier said than done.... People have been saying for a while that trained soldiers could clear the way and use the association chairman as a tactical projectile, haven't they?"
"Climbers are people too, with human rights commissions and all that. Anyway, I have no idea how the government manages to do its job. I understand that Climbers all ran away and that they're precious while reconstruction is underway, but...."
"Our leader, have some snacks. Snacks."
"Munch munch."
"Aww, look how cute."
The FOX Team chattered as though they had come on a picnic.
Wakamo was busy being introduced to a low-tier VTuber and watching the broadcast together, Ichigo was eating snacks people gave her, and several agents sat on the floor resting and grumbled about how there were no Climbers, yet apparently there were no personnel available besides trained soldiers.
There were many reasons, but in one line, the government was simply incompetent. That was all.
They could not ignore the danger, but neither could they leave the problem unattended forever.
That was why everyone gathered there was risking their life. They had not told Wakamo and Hajime, but agents who would serve as stand-ins in case they died by accident were also waiting with the rescue team.
They checked their equipment and armed themselves with a level of heavy weaponry rarely seen.
They had no reason to worry, since they could unleash their full firepower without holding back.
As long as they did not make a mistake, there was no chance they would even die.
The agents who had finished preparing after replacing their shield items stood before the portal Wakamo opened.
"Guys, ready? I'm goin' in, okay?"
"Yesh... got it!"
"At last, the moment has arrived."
"Mr. Gaedugi, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"I heard Novelpia made this game. Is that true? They should invest in novels instead...."
"I hate Novelpia for graduating my precious Novel and Pia.... Invest in VTubers!!!"
"I heard they were both reincarnated?"
"I don't want to hear that truth!!!"
The agents charged in, beginning with Wakamo's advance while holding her shield and venting their frustrations over VTubers.
Chapter 2 began with a shot of the shattered iron door.
The group disappeared into the darkness toward the tracks, where not even an inch ahead could be seen.