Chapter 272 – Proximity Flamethrower
The transmission of news between countries had a delay.
Although the United States seemed like a country that was closer than anywhere else just by its name, the distance between it and Korea was over 10,000 kilometers, and New York was a separate world, 13,000 kilometers away.
For this reason, many people in Korea were quite in the dark about most news other than game results and live broadcasts, and this naturally applied to Harmony as well.
Although she went as a Dark Zone partner streamer, aside from her daily updates and communication with the Korean national team, she didn’t do anything particularly interesting. Of course, the rapidly increasing number of viewers compared to a few months ago didn’t mind that, but it wasn’t enough to spread beyond that.
Hence, some questions arose.
Among them were those who were greatly interested in the Dark Zone and Final Championship soloing matches but didn’t care much about Harmony’s existence or why she had gone there.
“So, why did Harmony go in the end?”
“Who knows? Since she’s friendly with the national team players and was invited as a partner streamer without any problems, didn’t she just go to sightsee America?”
An empty cart always makes the most noise.
The less people knew, the more they speculated, and although the Korean national team stated directly that Harmony had gone to help the players with their scrims and that she had the skills to do so, it didn’t resolve the issue but instead stirred more intense controversy.
The gist of the issue was simple: no matter how much Harmony had shown in the past, it wasn’t enough to justify that. Of course, to Harmony and the involved parties, it was nothing but nonsense.
It was up to the involved parties to make judgments, and arguing over it was foolish. However, the internet world was originally a place where all sorts of nonsense spread based solely on speculation without any logic.
Naturally, as always, those including Harmony paid no attention to it.
Therefore, Korean users flocked to the chatroom of the Partner Streamer Showdown, which started after the Final Championship, to see if there was any reason why Harmony went to New York and to watch her play.
Until the game started, some of the participating streamers and users in the chat window devalued Harmony’s skills through their own justifications. However, it didn’t take even ten minutes for the kill log on one side of the UI to produce unusual results.
The viewers, who had been grumbling just a few minutes ago about how she seemed to be tinkering with grenades all day, widened their eyes and fell silent.
───BOOM!
“Hehe.”
????????????????
Oh wow, she’s laughing while blowing people up ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
What the heck is this Nocknyang girl doing ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
???: Is there really a need to shoot people to kill them?
Jigsaw would kneel and scream at the traps scattered everywhere
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Under the simple and clear action principle of using more firepower if one grenade couldn’t kill the enemy, Harmony used eight grenades more efficiently than anyone else, to the point where anyone would think, ‘Isn’t this too much?’
Thus, the warehouse overlooking the skill activation zone greedily devoured the blood of four enemies, and she easily obtained four sets of fully armed items without even lifting a finger.
By then, Harmony had long been the top kill leader in the Partner Streamer Showdown.
By merely acting, she shattered all the logic of those who spouted nonsense. If the disbelieving viewers were forced to conform to reality or were kicked out for trolling, what about the ones killed by her?
They wanted to dismiss it as a lousy trap, but then again, if they fell for such a simple trap, they were the biggest fools. In such cognitive dissonance, they were left with only one choice.
“Isn’t she too good?”
“I’ve recorded all the nonsense you were spouting before the game started, so don’t make pathetic excuses.”
“Damn.”
Of course, to Harmony, it was no different from watching a farce where fools were being mass-produced at will—though ironically, she didn’t even care about that.
The first match of the Partner Streamer Showdown had just begun.
The complexity and strangeness of the world were indeed astonishing.
“This goes here, and next is….”
What the heck is she doing? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Are there any professional teachers here? If you’re watching the broadcast, please explain what this cat is doing, damn it.
This is a trap to catch people, you understand?
Look at those natural movements ㅋㅋㅋㅋ How many times has she done this?
She separated the turret’s firing unit from its stand and carefully placed the stand in the center of a large pit that one must pass through to reach a specific area. Then she slightly modified the support algorithm in the turret’s settings.
She covered the pit with wooden boards scattered nearby. The stand automatically supported the wooden boards, making it look like a natural part of the cluttered warehouse while a smile appeared on her face.
She hid the turret body in an appropriate place. If she placed it haphazardly like any other piece of junk, it would bounce off due to recoil during shooting, so she had to surround it with heavy objects.
Of course, it wasn’t a difficult task.
“Now that this one is done, what’s next?”
That looks like it’ll get detected by a pulse scan ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
It’s not active, so why would it get detected by a pulse? Do you even know the game, noob?
I can’t even guess how this will work ㅋㅋ
Came to watch Harmony shoot but all I see is her killing people with skills and traps
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Already preparing the next one is ridiculouswwwwwwww
Even while setting traps, she didn’t neglect her surroundings. She was tense, consciously keeping her body ready to grab her suppressed Vector at any moment, but only keen observers would notice.
Harmony, hidden in a safe spot, checked the map to confirm the current kill zone’s location and the time left until it shrank. She stared at the screen, frozen as if she had stopped moving, but her mind was busier than ever.
Where would the next safe zone be?
What vehicle was needed to reach that location?
How much time was required for the move?
If there were enemies in the safe zone, how would she drive them out?
Numerous predictions and combinations of experience were created and discarded repeatedly, but the results were successful.
Harmony set two timers that only she could hear and moved around the terrain to figure out escape routes and building structures.
‘Since this is the third to last kill zone, the chances of enemies coming to this area are… not low.’
With that conclusion, Harmony began waiting at a spot where she could observe the positions enemies were likely to come from.
In the Final Championship, battles between players who arrived first at specific landmarks and those who arrived later were common, and equipment like heartbeat sensors and pulses, which could be attached to guns, existed to balance these situations.
However, the pulse range was usually 45 meters. It wasn’t short, but it wasn’t meant for detecting users far away. Having roughly gauged the distance using a laser rangefinder, Harmony started her watch from a balcony that was just beyond the pulse’s reach.
Of course, things didn’t always go as planned.
───Buzz!
-[Alert: Detected by enemy pulse.]
-[Alert: Weakness detected. Critical hit chance increased.]
A faint concentric circle spread from directly below the balcony.
The characteristic resistance of the pulse enveloped her body, but she didn’t have the luxury of staying still. Muscle memory kicked in faster than reason, filling her legs with strength, and as she leaped off the balcony with perforated floors, a dozen bullets pierced the spot where Harmony had been.
Her index finger moved, and the rattling sound echoed. Even as the gun spewed over 20 bullets with each twitch, her speed didn’t slow down.
The user who had attacked Harmony retreated despite having the advantage of the first strike, but the next moment, a grenade flew in, forcing the enemy further inside.
Of course, this didn’t mean Harmony was in a good position.
“5 minutes and 24 seconds, huh.”
The two alarms she had set up not long ago.
The first was a ‘recommended’ alarm to leave the area and clear the traps once it went off, and the second was a ‘mandatory’ alarm to move to the next safe zone no matter what.
2 minutes and 13 seconds until the first alarm went off, 5 minutes and 24 seconds until the second alarm went off.
‘I need to move first.’
The metal scaffold balcony was a good place to monitor things but not an ideal place for a fight. It would have been fine if the entire ceiling was covered with platforms, but generally, it severely limited mobility.
Therefore, Harmony quickly moved when the enemy re-entered the interior. It didn’t matter if she went back the way the enemy had come. When the first alarm rang, she could detonate the traps she had set up and escape along the pre-planned route.
So, how would the enemy act?
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.
───Buzz!
Another pulse exploded.
As the light wave enveloped her body, a peculiar circular object flew up to the balcony and, with a suspicious sound, accelerated rapidly, catching up with Harmony in an instant. It was a seeker mine.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind. In that moment, Harmony figured out which two skills the enemy had selected among many, which was quite a gain.
But the immediate priority was intercepting the fast-approaching tracking mine.
Crack!
As she emptied the remaining bullets in her magazine, at least two hit the mine, filling the warehouse with a thunderous noise. The balcony Harmony was on swayed and tilted. The massive heat from the incendiary mine had melted the scaffold support.
A steep incline formed instantly. Harmony had already moved close to the end of the balcony, so she wasn’t swept away, but getting caught in that sight would have caused quite a hassle.
She dropped the empty magazine and loaded a second one.
Meanwhile, the enemy was moving quickly, escaping from the emergency exit.
“Hah, they don’t step on the trap triggers at all.”
But there was no room for complaints. Hoping the opponent would move as desired was a fool’s errand. The progress of the plan wasn’t decided by wishes.
In other words, wishes had to be turned into reality.
Thus, Harmony immediately took action. By stepping on the upper balcony and jumping into the appropriately adjusted pile of empty boxes, she could reach the lower balcony without any fall damage.
Anyway, how to lure the enemy?
Just make sure they couldn’t stay in one spot.
“Let’s see if they can stay put after getting hit by a bomb.”
??????????
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Why is she so ruthless ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Are you crazy, sister? Are you crazy? Are you crazy? Are you crazy? Are you crazy? Are you
crazy? Are you crazy? Are you crazy? Are you crazy? Are you crazy?
Oh dear, Teacher Yoo Jin, why are you possessing Harmony’s bodywwwwww
Click!
She took out the sticky bomb launcher calmly resting in the holster on her left thigh and loaded it. As the surreal yet elegant device aimed forward, the estimated impact point and damage range appeared on the lens-shaped UI.
The moment it launched with a whoosh, the enemy sprang out like a spring from behind cover. But an explosion was still an explosion, and it didn’t prevent her from shooting. With a distorted firing sound from the suppressor, AP rounds shot out, continuously battering the shield.
.45 ACP casings clattered against the floor at a rate of dozens per second. The Vector’s unique high bullet consumption and ambiguous recoil were literal drawbacks.
The eight magazines in her pouch depleted quickly.
But,
-[Alert: Turret stand pressure detected.]
-[Alert: Turret activation.]
───Ratatatat!
“Aaargh!”
The hidden turret finally shone.
The trap, forgotten by the enemy due to unexpected timing, proved to be a blessing. The enemy, stepping on the wooden boards covering the support stand, triggered the turret, which began firing indiscriminately.
The scales of the unpredictable situation titled towards Harmony.
However—
-Click!
“Damn, I should stop using the Vector….”
The Vector.
Also known as the bullet sprinkler.
With an RPM exceeding 1000, even AP rounds lacked the suppressive power and damage to suffice in single-shot fire, nearly forcing automatic fire. In other words, eight measly 40-round magazines were nowhere near enough.
Moreover, unlocking two skills limited the number of guns she could carry to one, specifically an SMG or a carbine. Harmony chose the Vector for that reason.
It wasn’t very effective, though.
She discarded the empty gun, grabbed the pistol from the holster, and quickly approached to finish the job. With a grenade in her left hand and a pistol in her right, she showcased her explosive prowess fitting her nickname as she neared the enemy.
Naturally, this didn’t guarantee the enemy’s non-resistance.
Thus, Harmony barely managed to take down the enemy after almost exhausting the pistol’s ammo. She embedded the remaining bullets into the enemy’s limbs to incapacitate them before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
“Ah, this is so exhausting….”
Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony! Harmony!
Is she a god? Is she a god? Is she a god? Is she a god? Is she a god? Is she a god? Is she a god?
Are you crazy, human? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Wow, she’s a former pro turned enemy streamer ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I won’t underestimate her again!!!!!!!
The used turret self-destructed. It could be reused within five minutes.
She lifted her pistol, but it was completely out of bullets. Harmony sighed and tossed it to the ground.
She wanted to finish with a sticky bomb or grenade, but with less than 30 seconds until the second alarm, using explosives would scatter the items everywhere, wasting time.
However, Harmony had a plan for this.
“…?”
Click.
By removing the bomb part and adjusting the sticky bomb warhead here and there, it turned into an excellent flamethrower.
When she was with Yoo Jin during the Washington D.C mission, she learned about this superb close-range flamethrower.
Harmony aimed it at her forehead and pulled the trigger.
“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on!”
───Bang!
Her head evaporated, and her body turned into polygons and scattered.
Finally, Harmony began to gather the items.
You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy
bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch! You crazy bitch!
She’s completely insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Teacher Yoo Jin, are you watching? This is what you’ve forged! Please, stop it! Bring back the old Harmony!!!
Harmony, do whatever you want~ Just not to me~
I can hear the participation rate in Dark Zone PVP matches dropping from here
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Of course, the viewers were left in utter astonishment.