Chapter 278 – Polar Bear
Time flowed differently for the players than it did for the spectators.
From the moment they were ejected to the lobby, they became late viewers, usually watching the user who had killed them. This allowed them to best understand their mistakes, whether it was a bad decision, slow tactical movement, or something else that led to their death, as they could see their shortcomings through the eyes of others.
This was the same for the Korean national team. As soon as the first user was eliminated, people started gathering, seemingly waiting for it. The timing of their deaths all coincided when fewer than 20 players remained.
Those who died first were different each time, but within five minutes of the first death, two or three people would come to the debriefing room. Naturally, conversations blossomed after that.
The main topic was the game itself.
“I thought we’d make it to the top 10 this time, but ah…”
“What got you killed?”
“I died because my skill cooldown wasn’t ready. But I took someone down with me.”
“I keep telling you to practice stack-type skills. Once you set them up, they recharge on their own in autonomous mode.”
“I’ll try that next round.”
Naturally, the focus of the players differed from that of the spectators. The latter discussed which game was incredible and which judgment was insane, while the former engaged in more introspective and deeper conversations.
But what happens when no amount of reflection and debriefing can change the result?
“Why is Ink just lying there?”
“Hey, what are you doing? No debriefing?”
“There must be a reason he’s lying there. Let’s see what he did.”
The situation unfolded predictably.
Someone picked up the remote and displayed the screen on the wall. Searching for the nickname “INK” among the 100 users, they clicked his name. He ranked 12th, which wasn’t bad. The replay started, showing Ink’s perspective and an overview of the battle.
It only took a few seconds for them to understand what had happened to Ink.
“Oh…”
Familiar black hair and a snake tail wriggling from the hips.
There was a reason the person was lying on the bed as if their spirit was broken. But there was a bigger story behind it, and the others began to watch it with little thought.
Ink, determined to kill his enemy, accepted that his position would be exposed while retrieving a recoilless rifle. He hid it appropriately and began scouting the area when he engaged in combat. He successfully lured the enemy and picked up the preloaded recoilless rifle. The enemy was supposed to be blown away as they opened the door.
However, the enemy broke through the door more than five seconds faster than expected.
As Ink hoisted the rifle onto his shoulder, Yoo Jin started running. The speed was unimaginable, causing Ink’s pupils to shake, but his body was already preparing to fire. He placed his finger on the trigger, aimed, and pulled it.
At that moment, Yoo Jin literally soared.
“What the hell is this…”
A rapid acceleration through two consecutive invisible jumps. First, she leapt over a 120cm cover, then jumped again, breaking the wooden plank under her feet as she flew. A shell narrowly missed her feet.
As the shell, accelerated to 225 meters per second, hit the cover Yoo Jin had used to jump, a loud explosion and shockwave erupted, pushing Yoo Jin far. However, as soon as her feet touched the ground, she performed a flawless forward roll, reducing her speed.
Ink threw the recoilless rifle to the ground, but Yoo Jin had already drawn her pistol. A barrage of rapid pistol fire followed, blocking Ink’s retreat. Thus, Ink was ejected to the lobby. It was a familiar, effective, and brutally efficient method.
Variables could have changed the outcome, but it was not that Ink made a poor choice. Instead, Yoo Jin managed to align all the necessary conditions for victory.
There was no need to console him.
A single exasperated comment sufficed.
“She’s our coach, but she’s truly crazy.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
After some time, Dice entered the room, making a strange groan. Dice often appeared alongside Yoo Jin, so everyone was puzzled. However, it became clear that Dice had finished the game in 5th place. Since Yoo Jin would take a few more minutes to wake up, Dice decided to arrive early.
Applause followed. It had become a familiar situation, but there was no reason not to clap. The honor of being in the top 5 was significant.
Naturally, Dice had a similar expression to Ink.
“Wow, 5th place. 5th.”
“Who killed you this time?”
“Polar Bear.”
“No wonder you died.”
It was true.
From that day, Logan had brought out his bulletproof shield, determined not to spare anyone, blocking all of Dice’s actions. The result was obvious. Unable to showcase any of her usual tricky plays, Dice was suppressed and ejected.
Dice added, in a tone that conveyed her frustration at the disparity.
“This game is so tough…”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s watch Yoo Jin.”
“We have to see that.”
Even Ink, who had been lying down, rushed over.
The audience gathered. The screen started playing Yoo Jin’s gameplay, and, unsurprisingly, she was facing off against Logan. In a blink of an eye, the roles of attacker and defender shifted, and the initiative of the attack constantly changed. Whenever someone closed the distance, the opponent would widen it.
Amid the unimaginable tactical battle, those watching the intense skirmish swallowed their breath.
It seemed Yoo Jin was at a disadvantage.
However,
“Isn’t that what Ink brought out earlier?”
“Wow…”
As Yoo Jin struck Logan’s shield with a shell in a desperate moment, everything changed. After struggling desperately, she seized the victory, and the battle between the giant anaconda and the polar bear ended with the former’s triumph.
Just as someone laughed in disbelief, Yoo Jin burst into the room.
Thunderous applause followed.
“First place! First place! First place! First place! First place! First place!”
“Our teacher is truly the best, no lie.”
“Why is everyone acting like this all of a sudden?”
Of course, the person who had just fought a legendary battle with Logan was not in the right mind to accept the praise.
This was their everyday routine.
“The rookies trained by our youngest member have an excellent understanding of the map. They clearly know that the gimmicks and map structure themselves can be weapons… Well, that bear doesn’t seem to have any intention of understanding the map.”
“He must be thinking that today is his last day in the tournament… and he doesn’t care about winning or losing.”
“That’s true. If it weren’t for our youngest member, he wouldn’t have participated.”
In the VIP lounge, a completely different place from the packed main stadium and the outdoor viewing area of Madison Square Park, two people relaxed in chairs, watching the screen.
The second game was just starting. The map was Poplar Ridge Correctional Facility. An artificial structure built in the middle of the sea could simultaneously house 5,000 prisoners, but today, 100 users pointed their guns at each other to determine the sole survivor.
There was no reason to discuss the finals. Thus, what piqued their interest was the map itself.
“This map is quite similar to the High-Value Research Facility.”
“It’s intriguing that the facility itself moves.”
Poplar Ridge Correctional Facility.
A map divided into lower, middle, and upper layers, with the goal of escaping from the sinking facility via the escape pod located on the upper layer. The kill zone was unique, as it was defined by the incoming seawater.
After a certain period, the unsubmerged areas of the lower layer merged with the middle layer, forcing everyone to move up – a system designed to prevent easy victories for users waiting on stairs by not creating paths between the layers.
Subsequently, the middle layer merged with the upper layer, where the remaining players fought their final battle near the gate where the escape pod was located, avoiding the collapsing upper platforms.
The reinforced and pressure-resistant plastic, glass, polycarbonate, and composite armor meant to remind prisoners they couldn’t escape were already cracked in many places. The 100 players who woke up on the lower level fired at each other fiercely to escape the flooding areas.
Sixteen platforms combined to form a massive lower platform. The red-stained areas indicated zones that would soon be submerged, and players had to evacuate.
Numerous players roamed in between.
“It’s quite diabolical to place high-value items in the areas scheduled for flooding.”
“Indeed.”
There was also a rare drop of a large amount of C4, intended for those who understood and could use or break the gimmicks. It wasn’t practical for killing people due to the signal jammers
placed throughout the map to prevent prisoners from escaping, but it was perfect for blowing up walls.
In other words, it was sufficient to intentionally cause flooding by attaching it to polycarbonate walls – although this should never be done. But since it was a game, C4 was present.
And Dice was targeting precisely that.
“That child seems to be searching only for gimmicks.”
“Or they think that’s the only way to catch Logan.”
“That might be more accurate.”
Dice had set the bear’s fur on fire while it slept and survived, even using the in-game gimmicks to put the bear to permanent rest. Thus, Dice was left with one unwavering fact.
It was impossible to catch Logan head-on.
At least not without creating an inescapable trap using the gimmicks, which would otherwise become an unstoppable natural disaster.
Especially since Logan had started carrying a shield after that incident, clearly signaling that he had no intention of dying for anyone. Naturally, the skill activation zone was littered with shell casings and bloodstains left by the disaster named Logan.
EMP pulses and ballistic shields – a lineup filled with the single-minded intent to utterly destroy the opponent.
Watching this, the two men exchanged knowing looks and spoke.
“Do you think Logan will encounter that dice?”
“Hmm.”
Owens, rubbing his rough beard, added.
“I don’t believe in coincidences, but in situations like this, they usually do meet. And the longer it takes, the more likely they are to encounter each other.”
And as he said, not long after, the lower and middle layers completely merged, and just a few minutes before the remaining areas joined the upper layer – Logan finally encountered Dice.
In the middle of a spacious common area, the two engaged in a chase. Dice was fleeing, and Logan was pursuing. However, Dice showed that her previous experiences weren’t wasted, maintaining a steady retreat without looking back.
The impatient die first.
And Dice had been preparing for this moment for a long time.
“Is that a habit, or did she set a special trap just to catch Logan?”
“Maybe both.”
It was a habit, but honing it to perfection and showcasing it in practice was also a matter of personal capability.
Dice measured Logan’s steps and speed, aiming to slow him down as much as possible. She needed a critical interval to trap Logan in a flooding area and escape through the gate herself.
Dice had already planted C4 in an invisible spot on the polycarbonate wall and was carefully choosing her moment.
When the wall broke and the flooding began, the gate separating the areas would close. She needed a decisive gap to trap Logan in the area and escape through the gate.
But Logan was already smiling.
Seeing this, Laurentina also laughed and added.
“Today, that blond child will learn not to focus too much on gimmicks.”
There was no response.
At that moment, Dice detonated the C4 attached to the wall.
───Boom!
-[Alert: Facility damage. Facility damage. The area separation and gate closure will follow within 30 seconds. All personnel in the affected area should evacuate immediately.]
The wall separating the seawater from the facility shattered instantly, and a massive amount of seawater rushed in. Dice had already started running toward the gate without looking back.
But Logan smiled and activated his skill.
An EMP pulse covered the gate.
-[Alert: Gate malfunction. A gamma-level EMP pulse detected in the facility. Gate control transferred to the upper layer. Reboot expected to take an additional 15 seconds…]
The gate didn’t close.
The three barriers that were supposed to close sequentially didn’t due to the reboot – and this meant the water would flood through the gate uncontrollably.
It took just 20 seconds for the water to flood every corner of the area where Dice and Logan were fighting. Naturally, the water flow completely engulfed the still-open gate.
At that moment, Laurentina laughed and added.
“Come to think of it, the polar bear was an excellent swimmer.”
As she said.
The icy cold water swept through the gate, and Dice was engulfed in the flow.
But at that moment, Logan, faster than any debris in the seawater, met Dice’s gaze. And that was the end. With a dull thud, the stock struck Dice’s forehead. She exhaled the breath she had been holding.
As her vision darkened, Logan moved freely in the water, grabbing Dice’s avatar.
Of course, it wasn’t to rescue her.
───Thud!
Even if bullets slow down in water, their power doesn’t diminish at point-blank range.
The pistol bullet that penetrated her chin and palate was Dice’s final sign.