Chapter 54

Chapter 54
Following the conclusion of the commencement exercises, deployment orders for the newly appointed officers’ extermination sweep were officially distributed. On this occasion, the traditional unit framework was completely dismantled. Only a carefully selected group of individuals—handpicked personally by myself and the Commander—would be divided into ten distinct squads and deployed into the field. These ten squads would not travel as a unified bloc; rather, they would fan out across a broad arc, executing a systematic, zone-by-zone reconnaissance.

Naturally, each squad was capped at ten members, meaning we had no intention of marching blindly into hordes of monsters. Following the initial sweep, we were scheduled to rendezvous back at the main encampment, pool our intelligence regarding the locations and travel patterns of any large-class beasts, and only then commence the actual hunt. The Commander took charge of Team One alongside the veteran troops, securing the central position. Meanwhile, I was assigned to move with Team Ten, which consisted of the fresh recruits.

“The extermination sweep has barely begun, and he is already dumping examination paperwork on my shoulders.”

“I must ask you not to complain quite so loudly, Sir Heydam. The squad members can hear you.”

At Meursault’s remark, every member of the unit adopted an expression suggesting they were utterly deaf to the exchange and became intensely fascinated by the scenery elsewhere. Why on earth was Meursault even assigned to Team Ten instead of the Commander’s Team One? All he seemed to be doing was crushing the morale of the junior officers. For the record, Platon’s capabilities had indeed been acknowledged; he was currently spearheading the rest of the new officers as the captain of Team Nine.

The Shut-in Darling I had previously positioned within the subjugation force was embedded somewhere among the regular soldier squads, numbered three through eight. The only familiar faces in my own unit were Lucas and Bones. The two of them evidently did not view our past encounters with any fondness; the instant my gaze drifted in their direction, they flinched, announced their intention to scout a much more distant perimeter, and promptly vanished.

The sector allocated to our unit was situated at the outermost periphery of the zone—right where the boundary barrier should have been located. Large-class abominations rarely materialized out here, making it an ideal environment for rookie officers encountering real combat for the very first time, and equally suitable for me as I checked for any trace of the barrier.

Still, there was no sign of the barrier anywhere. Meursault broke the silence once more.

“By the way… I genuinely did not anticipate that you would go so far as to compel Cadet Platon to execute such a maneuver.”

“Such a maneuver? It is not as though I instructed him to commit a criminal offense.”

“Yet you were fully aware, weren’t you? You knew precisely that his graduation address would complicate matters significantly for him moving forward.”

“Since when did you develop such a tender concern for other people? Besides, he is no longer a cadet—he holds the rank of second lieutenant.”

Platon and the remainder of the academy graduates were no longer trainees; they were legitimate commissioned officers bearing the rank of second lieutenant. Of course, lacking any practical experience, that rank was largely symbolic at this stage.

“It would appear that Sir Heydam’s own official rank was never actually finalized in the end.”

I had anticipated that the Commander would settle my rank the moment the campaign commenced. Perhaps he had already noticed that I spoke informally to Meursault, a major general, or perhaps he simply foresaw that assigning me any ambiguous rank would practically guarantee insubordination. Whatever his reasoning, he had not pinned any insignia on me at all. Ultimately, sticking me with the vague designation of “team leader” was likely the most sensible resolution.

“There is no need to fret over Platon. His father is a general—what is the worst that could possibly transpire?”

“You possess a remarkably cold-hearted disposition.”

“Meursault. Platon is the sort of individual who generates trouble for others, not the sort who gets dragged into it by external forces.”

“That… is undeniably true.”

Meursault closed his eyes briefly, undoubtedly recalling the graduation speech that had dragged my own history out into the open. Fortunately—if that term applies—the Commander seemed to have opted to let the entire incident pass quietly. He may well have subjected Platon to a private reprimand out of my sight, but the boy’s limbs were all still intact when we set out this morning, meaning nothing overly catastrophic had occurred.

“I nearly lost consciousness myself on that particular day.”

“It is fortunate that the matter blew over.”

Meursault nodded, finally conceding that worrying over Platon was a futile exercise, before pressing on.

“I recognize that I need not concern myself with Platon, but…”

“But?”

“I feel compelled to mention that you ought not place blind trust in him either. That brand of impulsive behavior is hardly restricted to something as minor as a commencement speech.”

I was already well aware that Platon’s outbursts occasionally crossed acceptable boundaries, but Meursault’s lecturing streak was running exceptionally long today. For someone who had previously claimed that joining the subjugation campaign was no big deal, he appeared rather high-strung.

“Still, you were moved by it, weren’t you?”

“Me?”

Meursault cleared his throat awkwardly, then strode off purposefully in an entirely nonsensical direction, directing his words at an empty space where no one was standing. Realistically speaking, that man simply refuses to acknowledge his own sentiments.

Meursault was an NPC who had never managed to enter the academy; he had begun his career as a common soldier and clawed his way up to the rank of major general purely through raw competence. Along that grueling path, he must have faced relentless scorn from academy graduates on every front. Even after achieving his high rank, he would still have been looked down upon by the elite officers whom those very same graduates had backed and elevated. Now that the entire corrupt system had been dismantled, he had to be experiencing a profound sense of release. The uncharacteristic anxiety he displayed regarding Platon was likely rooted in guilt—a lingering sense of remorse that a young cadet had been forced to carry out the unpleasant duties that Meursault himself should have handled.

He argued that forcing Platon into that position would invite trouble for the boy later on. What he failed to realize was the exact opposite: precisely because Platon had taken those actions, Meursault was now capable of treating Anton’s son without prejudice, despite the boy being the offspring of the pro-Daphne faction’s leader. Now that I think about it, Anton must have known that I was the one responsible for authoring the examinations, yet he has not reacted in the slightest…

Right at that moment, the squad members marching ahead of us raised a sudden commotion.

“What is happening up there?”

“Sir Heydam—it’s Lucas and Bones…”

“Move aside.”

Hearing the names of the two individuals who had deliberately traveled far ahead specifically to avoid me made me wonder if they had sustained injuries. I forced my way through the surrounding men and stepped forward.

“…What in the world is this?”

Clutched tightly in their hands was an object that had no business existing in this location.

The Love Area player: Long-tailed Tit.

Prior to his possession of this avatar, he had operated as a survival specialist. Having caught the attention of the Love Area’s All-God—the entity known simply as “God”—he had been entrusted with a unique directive: travel to the Cola Area and unearth intelligence concerning Dopamine Addict. To facilitate this objective, the All-God had even sanctioned the torture of Cola Area NPCs.

Long-tailed Tit had previously inquired about what course of action he should take if the Cola Area NPCs possessed zero knowledge regarding Dopamine Addict. The All-God had replied that gathering information on “Heydam Goodman” would suffice as an alternative. As expected, the All-God possesses absolute omniscience! While a few disrespectful players questioned the extent of the All-God’s power, Long-tailed Tit maintained absolute, unwavering faith. That profound belief was precisely why he had willingly endured the punishing trek from the Love Area all the way into the Cola Area while inhabiting the fragile body of a child.

As a player, Long-tailed Tit already retained a fair amount of background knowledge concerning the Cola Area. He was aware that during this specific time of year, Cola Area NPCs routinely swarmed outside the defensive walls for monster subjugation duties. Yet when he timed his arrival with absolute precision, an unexpected hurdle awaited him.

There are… significantly fewer soldiers than I anticipated.

Whatever circumstances had intervened, the usual human wave of Cola military forces was completely absent. All he could spot were scattered pairs of soldiers who appeared to be conducting basic reconnaissance patrols. This presents a major obstacle.

Just as the old proverb notes that the best place to hide a tree is within a forest, Long-tailed Tit had originally intended to blend seamlessly into the massive throngs of troops and masquerade as a fresh recruit. With such a meager presence in the field, a child of his current stature would stand out immediately. Had Dopamine Addict already intervened in troop allocation? Assuming their initial starting conditions were identical, Dopamine Addict should theoretically still be restricted to a ten-year-old boy. Yet is he already directing an entire military force?

Now I fully comprehend why the All-God commanded me to investigate him.

In truth, Long-tailed Tit had always found the zealous worshippers of Dopamine Addict back in the Love Area rather irritating. Witnessing the reality of the situation firsthand, however, he finally grasped why those individuals were so desperate to verify whether Dopamine Addict stood on their side or not. While the Love Area’s leader, “God,” remained limited to manipulating players like himself, Dopamine Addict was already issuing commands to an entire NPC army.

I need to alter my strategy.

His original plan relied on integrating himself among the troops and extracting information through casual inquiries such as, “What is Sir Heydam like?” Posing as a regular soldier was no longer a viable option. However, I am a player. I can easily talk circles around Cola Area NPCs any day of the week. Every experienced player knew that Cola Area NPCs readily traded intelligence in exchange for demonstrations of kindness; they were considerably more naive than NPCs from other zones while remaining exceptionally good-natured. At present, Long-tailed Tit cut the exact figure of an unaccompanied ten-year-old child. How would Cola Area NPCs react if they discovered a child wandering by himself across a freezing snowfield? If he claimed he had injured his foot and was incapable of movement, they would approach without a shred of suspicion and attempt to assist him. The moment the first soldier stepped within range, he would strike.

Conveniently, they appear to patrol in small groups, making it ideal for eliminating one while retaining the other for interrogation. They would never fathom that a ten-year-old child could pose a threat, nor would they imagine that trained soldiers could be neutralized by an injured youth abandoned out in the snow. He could scarcely wait to witness the expressions on their faces when they realized they had been thoroughly manipulated.

This is precisely why I prefer playing Safe Zone.

Inhabiting a ten-year-old physical form might initially seem like a severe disadvantage, but as a seasoned Safe Zone veteran, he understood precisely how to leverage it to maximum effect. It mattered little that this was the Cola Area where Dopamine Addict made his home—NPC artificial intelligence remained a constant, predictable variable. If he could utilize Cola Area NPCs to undermine Dopamine Addict right here on his home turf, even the Love Area fanatics would finally seal their lips… or so he believed.

Remaining entirely oblivious to the fate about to strike him, Long-tailed Tit collapsed dramatically onto the snow-covered ground and waited for the Cola Area NPCs to draw near.

“——Lucas.”

Moments later, a deep, gravelly voice echoed from close by.

“Unless my eyesight is completely shot, there is a kid sprawled out across the snow over there.”

“What?”

Reclining in the snow, clutching his knee and groaning convincingly as though suffering from intense agony, Long-tailed Tit thought to himself: Lucas… that rookie officer? And judging by the voice, his companion must be Bones.

Quickly identifying the approaching Cola Area NPCs, Long-tailed Tit cheered quietly to himself. Lucas and Bones—both newly commissioned second lieutenants. This assignment is going to be effortless.

Bones was all talk and no substance; even if Lucas were to drop dead directly in front of him, he would hesitate to raise a hand against a child. Lucas, conversely, was analytical yet rigidly bound by principles—meaning he had to be eliminated first. Eliminate Lucas, then torture Bones.

With that strategy locked in, Long-tailed Tit buried his mouth against his shoulder to muffle any give-away sounds and smiled faintly. Greenhorns on their first actual subjugation mission? They are no match for me.

He waited patiently for them to step closer…

Something was profoundly amiss.

Unable to curb his growing curiosity, Long-tailed Tit twisted his torso slightly as if writhing in pain and stole a covert glance toward the source of the voices. Standing right there were Lucas and Bones, staring down at him with gazes far colder than the surrounding ice.