MasukThe vehicle's menacing armor and intricate machinery made it impossible to tell what kind of starter vehicle it had originally been.Mounted on top of the war vehicle were three external weapons gleaming with a cold metallic sheen: a high-rate-of-fire machine gun, a tank cannon, and a twelve-round missile launcher.Those three external weapons announced the vehicle's level. It was a Lv.7 vehicle!At that moment, in the command room inside the war vehicle, a foreign man a full six foot three lounged lazily in a leather chair.He had short, pale-blond hair, a long, narrow face, and high cheekbones. Deep in his sunken eye sockets, his eyes were as sharp and cold as a hawk's.This was one of the Free Alliance's core leaders, code name Neptune.He glanced at the freshly updated points leaderboard.[10th Place: Neptune (Team 0001): 6,900]"Tch."Neptune clicked his tongue in displeasure and closed the panel. "My ranking didn't even budge!"He stood up, threw on a dark-blue naval gr
Night fell.The knocking and calling at the door arrived right on schedule."Open the door... Mister... it's me, Lilith. My sister and I have been captured...""Jake, this is Leon. There's an emergency...""Jake... it's me, Victoria. I've found an important clue..."This time, it wasn't just Anne's voice. There was also Sheriff Leon's commanding tone, and even the voice of the Junaea team captain they'd met earlier that day.Every voice was perfectly lifelike, striking straight at the weakest spots in a person's heart.But Jake just sat quietly in his chair and paid it no mind.He was on watch again tonight.He took out the note he'd written the night before from his subspace and neatly added the information he'd gathered today, along with some of his guesses.After all, the town's curse was forgetting.If he really did forget something, he could use the note to piece things back together.He wasn't afraid of forgetting this either, because he'd also prepared a few continge
On the way back to their lodgings, Jake also ran into a group of foreign players who had just entered the town.There were a dozen or so of them, all well-equipped with fierce eyes. Clearly, they hadn't been forced in. They were elite players confident in their own strength who had entered the instance voluntarily for the rewards.Jake saw Carl, the mustached officer, saying something to them with that signature smile plastered on his face.Jake didn't stick his nose into it. He looked away and pushed open the door, stepping inside with Iris."You're back?"Bella, wearing an apron, was busy making dinner. When she saw Jake come in, she immediately broke into a gentle smile, "Dinner's almost ready.""Mm."Jake nodded and glanced at Vera, who was sitting on the living room sofa.Vera was staring blankly at a pile of bottles and jars, her brow deeply furrowed.At seven o'clock in the evening, the heavy, drawn-out tolling of the distant clock tower rang out again, as if striking a
The last time they'd met, she had quietly left a Mental Mark on Lilith.Yet one second passed, then two, then three...A fine sheen of sweat broke out across Iris's forehead.Her eyes snapped open, full of disbelief. "That's not right! I definitely marked her. That's how I found Lilith last time. But now... the signal's gone!""Gone?" Jake's eyes narrowed."I definitely marked her! That's exactly how I found Lilith last time," Iris's voice was grave. "If a mark disappears, it usually means one of two things. Either the target has left my sensing range, which means more than six miles away, or..."She swallowed and almost didn't dare finish, "Or the target is already dead. When the vital signs disappear, the mark fades along with them."Had Lilith and Anne already been killed?Jake shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the empty living room. "If someone had attacked them or taken them by force, there'd be signs of it. And a killer wouldn't bother hauling off all that worthless
Jake stood in the street and watched Sam take Gavin back to their safehouse.Then he headed to his own lodgings and let Bella and the other three women out of his subspace.After briefly describing what had happened in the graveyard, Jake took out a withered branch and handed it to Vera. "This is a severed limb from that Tree-Demon.""Mm." Vera took it, then brought out the Sacred Fruit and the Bark Rot tissue mucus she'd taken from Anne. Her eyes burned with a fevered thirst for knowledge. "I'll figure out what these things are made of and how they're connected as soon as I can."Jake nodded, then turned to Bella and handed her a sheet of paper listing what he needed, including 130mm silver shells and more.He needed more powerful explosives to deal with what came next.Bella said earnestly, "Don't worry, Boss! I'll get it done!"Jake gave a slight nod and finally looked at Raina. "If anyone tries to force their way into the safehouse, shoot them dead!""Got it!" Raina nod
"Thank you," Parker said with a sincere nod, but Larke didn't budge.Victoria turned and shot Larke a fierce glare.Only then did Larke grudgingly lower his head and say in stilted Hemaysian, "...Thanks."Jake gave a slight nod, his expression as cold as ever. "It was nothing. I was saving my friend. You three just happened to be along for the ride."With that, he showed no intention of chatting further with the trio. He didn't even spare Victoria another glance. He simply turned and helped Gavin, who could now barely walk, to his feet."Let's go.""Right! Jake!"Watching Jake leave with Gavin and Sam, the male player named Larke finally couldn't hold it in any longer."Dammit! What's he so full of himself for?!"So what if he's a little stronger? Sure, he's tough in a one-on-one fight, but this is a road survival game! What matters is the vehicle! The car!"If we can get out of this damned Mist Town and get our Lv.7 armored war vehicle back, he's nothing but a joke next to u







