Chapter 113

Episode 113. The Sixth Supernatural War (1)

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Today is the day to train with the Special Forces.

The previous Special Forces were practically disbanded. The Science Officer died in a cave, whether it was suicide or an accident. The Special Forces Team Leader took several months of sick leave, citing extreme psychological trauma.

After replenishing some personnel, what remained was an organization quite different from the previous Special Forces.

“I’m Lee Jin, Team Leader of the Special Forces ‘Moon of Seoul.’”

“I’m Dr. Kim. Thank you for your hard work.”

I bowed to the Special Forces Team Leader.

“Yes. Please take care of me, Director. The previous leader is on leave, and the Science Officer has fallen in battle, so things are chaotic… but I’ll do my best.”

“I’m sure you’ll do well, Mr. Lee Jin.”

Perhaps because they were soldiers, even in a serious situation, the pleasantries ended quickly. The Team Leader began speaking.

“The rules are simple! It’s an 8 vs. 8 stronghold capture battle, including the Director. By the way, if you get shot, you don’t die. You can respawn by walking to the respawn point.”

The mock battle equipment. It seems to use lasers to determine hits on vests or helmets.

“We’ll divide into Blue Team and White Team.”

The arena, or rather the training ground, is a square about 1 kilometer in length and width.

Corners 1 and 3 are our team’s strongholds, and corners 2 and 4 are the respawn points. The capture points face each other, and the respawn points are the same.

“Ah. And the Director is prohibited from using supernatural abilities. Please compete using only physical skills and marksmanship.”

Without that, I’m just a potato.

I nodded anyway.

“Also. Each stronghold is considered captured if two people enter simultaneously. Ah, and during the operation, you cannot remove your gas mask or other equipment! That’s part of the training.”

We immediately received the mock battle equipment. Plastic knives, dummy grenades, vests and helmets, and rubber guns with laser pointers.

“The usage is similar to real ones. The dummy grenade will kill you if it explodes within 2 meters after pulling the pin, the rubber gun will kill you if it hits your vest or helmet, and the knife will kill you if it’s thrust into your vest with a certain force.”

The rules weren’t hard to understand.

****

The mock battle begins.

“This is Blue-1. Mock battle starting.”

The plan was simple. There’s no reason to guard the respawn points separately. Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 will move defensively around the base, while 5, 6, 7, and 8 will split into two groups and target the enemy base.

I’m Blue-8. Blue-7 is in my group.

The problem is that the capture point is on the rooftop of a 3-story building. We have to clear the building to reach the point. It feels like the final stretch will be quite exhausting.

“This is Blue-8. Advancing.”

For now, there’s no other choice, so I slowly advance. There’s no reason to guard the respawn points. If I die, I’ll just respawn there.

The area we need to actively defend, or rather, our territory, is about half the corner. The enemy’s situation is the same.

“This is Blue-8. Reached the edge of friendly territory. No enemy movement detected.”

Even rubber bullets will hurt. Getting hit without protection will leave bruises, and even with a gas mask, getting hit in the face could break teeth.

“This is Blue-1. Advancing. Hold your position.”

It would be nice to sneak into enemy territory, but that doesn’t seem possible.

“This is Blue-1. We’ll start shooting from the front to draw the enemy’s attention. The two attack groups should advance without delay once the shooting starts.”

I nodded.

One, two, three.

The defense group, spread out appropriately, started shooting somewhere. I don’t know if they actually spotted the enemy or are just shooting.

The gunfire continued for a while. The rubber bullets made a sound almost indistinguishable from real bullets.

“This is Blue-8. Entered enemy territory.”

Concrete structures scattered messily around. There might be an enemy sniper on a high point nearby, but it’s so dark I’m not sure if they can hit anything. Probably not.

Bang!

A dummy grenade exploded somewhere in the distance.

“This is Blue-5. Unable to move. Two enemies are blocking the path, and the others have disappeared somewhere. Blue-7, please advance.”

“This is Blue-8. Confirmed.”

It’s a reasonable strategy.

It’s 8 vs. 8, and manpower is very limited. If two people tie up three, that’s a loss, so two people block two.

Then, will the remaining two come our way?

“Take cover.”

Bang!

The enemy seems to have thought simply.

The White Team just placed a sniper in their stronghold.

From one end of the arena to the other is within 1 kilometer, so without cover, the entire arena can be covered. At least in theory.

But rubber bullets won’t fly that far, right?

“This is Blue-8. Bullets are flying our way. There’s a sniper in the enemy stronghold.”

“This is Blue-5. Moving under cover.”

The problem is not knowing the enemy’s skill level.

It’s dizzying. In a real situation, my head could fly off hundreds of meters away without knowing why… If there’s a silencer, even the person next to me would only realize the sniper’s presence after I fall.

“This is Blue-5. Almost dead.”

“This is Blue-6. Same here.”

The radio went silent. They’re probably dead. Ah, it’s a mock battle, so they’re not dead. They just turned off their radios like dead people.

It’s a variable.

The two dead have to respawn and come back. Will the White Team take this opportunity to attack, or will they come to catch me?

“Blue-7. Watch your back!”

I used a tree as cover and started shooting. Two enemies were shooting at us from behind. I’ll move forward since the stronghold is ahead.

There’s no reason for me to win. I’m not using supernatural abilities. The only advantage is… hmm, being small means a smaller hitbox?

“This is Blue-8. Failed to kill. Moving deeper into enemy territory. I’ll try to shake them off.”

No harm in trying.

Since we’re already near the stronghold, the four people chasing us and the sniper in the stronghold are tied up.

I used a concrete structure as a wall for cover, then aimed my gun again-

Bang!

The gunfire continued. Blue-7, who came with me, also kept shooting toward the rear. It’s dark around, but with night vision goggles, I can see something-

It’s a person.

I aimed my gun upward again.

Bang! Bang!

Got one. It seems I hit the vest. One enemy lowered their gun and started walking back to the respawn point.

“This is Blue-7. The enemy sniper has completely blocked movement. Unable to move.”

Looks like they’re tied up. I got one, but two more enemies are walking this way. I hid quietly, and a grenade rolled toward me. I started running-

Bang!

It’s quieter than a real grenade, but still loud. I ran to the next cover, but realistically, it’s too far. I resumed shooting-

Thud. Out. I lowered my gun. It seems the sniper’s bullet hit my helmet.

“This is Blue-8. Out.”

I put down my equipment and slowly walked back to the respawn point. Just go back to the respawn point and turn the radio back on to respawn.

“This is Blue-1. Entering the enemy building.”

Huh, when did they get there?

“Blue-1. Entering the stronghold.”

“Blue-2. Entering the stronghold.”

Is the situation already over? Well, numbers 7 and 8 tied up a few people. It’s not unreasonable to advance in that time.

“Blue Team wins. First mock battle over. Everyone, return to headquarters for now.”

Mock battle over.

The mock battle ended more anticlimactically than expected. We returned to the stronghold to prepare for the second round.

****

[Mock Battle Record. Number 1.]

[Author: Lee Jin, Team Leader of Special Forces ‘Moon of Seoul.’]

[In this training, we practiced room clearing, shooting, combat skills, quick reloading, and then moved on to the mock battle.]

[Winning or losing isn’t the most important thing.]

[Director Kim? Aside from supernatural phenomena and equipment, she’s ordinary. Not at an impossible level for a human. It’s a bit strange for a woman to be like that, though.]

[Well, I haven’t tested her strength. I don’t see anything particularly unusual on the surface. She’s at a similar level to the other members.]

[I’ve recorded the members’ hit rates, average movement speed, steps, etc., and attached them. Please use them for personnel evaluation and ability analysis. By the way, the Director’s level is just average in these numbers too.]

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[Mock Battle Record. Number 1. Reply.]

[Author: Personnel Department Head]

[Sir. It’s strange to say she’s average by Special Forces standards. Isn’t it amazing that she runs around in full gear with that physique?]

[It’s hard to say the Director hasn’t improved. Anyway. Thank you for the information. The documents you sent will be processed and reflected in the personnel evaluation.]

[I believe the Special Forces Team Leader knows this too.]

[If the Director uses all her supernatural phenomena and equipment, there’s no guarantee that even the entire Seoul Branch’s forces could subdue her. I saw her teleport this time.]