I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 248 – Road to Two Bridges

“Haa.”

“The weather is really freezing. They say it’s the kind of cold that comes once in fifty years. But it seems the youngest isn’t feeling too cold today?”

“I turned on the temperature control function today. But saying that while wearing a short-sleeve shirt and shorts doesn’t help me get used to it at all.”

“It feels cool and nice. It’s like facing a fresh autumn breeze.”

6 a.m.

Although it was still before dawn, Washington’s morning had already begun. As soon as we left the hotel, numerous vehicles were heading somewhere along the northwest avenue. Just getting out of here seemed to require considerable effort.

The vehicle, with four of us including myself, was headed for Two Bridges in Manhattan, New York. Our destination was the ICARUS headquarters.

Normally, we could have flown leisurely, but since they insisted on not flying, I had no choice but to accept their hospitality.

It was as if one had to go through New York Avenue Northeast to get to New York. Then, the vehicle entered the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. To get to New York, we had to pass through the major cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia, so in a way, the road names were guiding us.

Fortunately, despite the time, the number of vehicles on the road wasn’t as many as one would expect in the world’s most congested city traffic.

Of course, there were still enough vehicles to be troublesome.

A journey of 4 hours and 30 minutes. Logan took the wheel today, as it was his car. Since we had just started, no one seemed to be ready to fall back asleep. In other words, it was time to chat enthusiastically.

I thought about what topic to bring up and decided to go with whatever came to mind.

“What were you all doing before coming to Washington?”

“Wandering here and there. Mostly checking out places with heavy combat. It was fun in its own way. It was better than spending a 3-week leave just drinking and wandering around.”

“It wasn’t just that… We also dealt with some kids who thought they were hot stuff by pointing guns, bent a few arms backwards, and even received offers from a modeling agency. It never gets old.”

“It sounds like you’ve been picking out only the weird stuff to do….”

Putting aside who they are, if someone looks a bit intimidating, wouldn’t it be normal to not even think of messing with them? But then again, who would go around picking fights with everyone while worrying about that?

I could somewhat guess the outcome.

They probably subdued them with just a flick. If they had actually bent arms backward, things would’ve gotten quite complicated.

Listening to these not-so-glamorous tales, we slowly exited Washington.

“Who wants to take over driving after we have a quick breakfast in Philadelphia?”

“If you buy me breakfast, I’ll drive.”

“You’ll be left in Philadelphia, so it doesn’t matter. Senior Officer, can I ask you to drive?”

“I’m the only suitable one.”

“If you get tired, you’ll switch to autopilot anyway. Everyone’s so nosy….”

I could drive too, but if I volunteered, they would definitely stop me. The memories of me wrecking a vehicle every time I drove were still a painful experience for them.

The fact that they didn’t even talk to me was proof.

Anyway, the bickering between Logan and Christopher didn’t last long. Not because of a deep reason, but because everyone except Logan had fallen asleep.

They had drunk so much last night that it was inevitable.

Of course, I didn’t touch alcohol because it messes with my sleep in many ways.

“…Oh, the sun is rising.”

“Yoo Jin.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re sleepy, you should take a nap. If you sleep at the right time, these guys will feel more comfortable chatting later.”

…Is that so?

It was a funny reason, but it wasn’t completely unreasonable.

Besides, after staying up late talking last night, I was starting to feel sleepy.

I wanted to ask Logan if he wasn’t bored, but considering he was still manually driving in this age of autonomous cars, he probably didn’t mind. If he disliked driving, he would’ve just switched modes and slept.

He’ll handle it well.

The seat was comfortable, and it didn’t take long for sleep to take over.

How much time had passed?

-[Notification: 5 minutes to arrival in Philadelphia.]

“…Ugh, we’re here already. Welcome to Philadelphia, everyone.”

“If someone saw, they’d think you drove all the way here.”

“I kept the driver’s seat warm, so let’s count it as that.”

“Such words.”

This polar bear had reassured me only to end up sleeping in the driver’s seat.

After exchanging some friendly words with Logan, Laurentina opened a hologram. Several pop-up windows appeared on the windshield, showing nearby restaurants.

But the result wasn’t great. Due to the heavy snow, many restaurants had delayed their opening times. It was still quite early.

“So, what’s the alternative?”

“There are many universities in the center of Philadelphia. Let’s check around there.”

“Do they still go to school on a day like this?”

“I’m not sure, but the semester probably isn’t over yet. Besides, who here remembers their college days… It’s been a long time since we finished our master’s courses.”

Meanwhile, they all glanced at me.

“…Why are you all looking at me? I’ve never even been to an American college.”

They seem to think I’m some kind of American native.

Meanwhile, the vehicle had left the highway cutting through America and entered the streets of Philadelphia. Crossing the river to get into the city center felt somewhat like Seoul.

The difference was that the southern part of the river here was covered with residential areas.

Crossing the Whitman Bridge into the city center, the first thing we noticed were the still ongoing snow-clearing operations. But even amidst this, we could see several people bundled up and carrying large bags, heading towards their destinations.

One thing that surprised me was,

“Even in this weather, food trucks are operating.”

“On the contrary, there’s no reason not to. In winter, there’s less worry about food spoiling….”

Maybe it’s a current trend, but the food trucks were perfectly equipped with windbreaks and heaters. Despite the cold, there were more students than expected.

A lot.

“There are more people than I thought. We might have to worry about finding a place to eat rather than choosing a menu.”

“Just so you know, if anyone suggests eating in my car, I’ll hang you outside until we reach Two Bridges.”

“Maybe we should ask the students?”

“That sounds like the best idea.”

After temporarily parking in a nearby lot, we stepped out into the biting wind. With pre-mapped directions, there was no worry about getting lost.

After a few minutes of walking, we spotted a group of college students leisurely heading somewhere. They would be our first targets for questioning.

After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, Logan became the one to ask the questions.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment for a few questions?”

“Oh, of course—whoa!”

“What’s wrong, Manson? Why are you suddenly screaming, huh?”

Of course, one thing we overlooked.

EM-class manifestors were extremely rare, with maybe twenty in the world, and currently, three of them were here.

It seemed our late breakfast would face significant difficulties.

Buzz, bustle.

It was always crowded, and because it was winter, the well-heated buildings were even more popular. The campus cafeteria of a university nearing the end of its fall semester was packed.

And today, a huge bomb had dropped in that chaos.

“…Who said they’d hang us outside if we ate in the car? Come out.”

“I never thought I’d experience something like this. I didn’t expect to see the benefits of having good squad members here.”

“I also didn’t know our senior officer was as good at black humor as the SAS guys.”

At this point, the University of Pennsylvania’s cafeteria—where we currently were—was in a rather bizarre and complex situation.

Even though Americans are quite open, they couldn’t just openly ask for autographs or photos from us, who were as famous as celebrities but not actual celebrities. But curiosity was curiosity regardless of the East or West, and that resulted in our current situation.

Simply put, numerous eyes were currently on us.

And the ones drawing the most attention were Logan and me.

“In hindsight, coming to this area because there were no open restaurants was a suicidal act. I humbly admit it.”

“It would’ve been much better to buy groceries from a quiet store near the road and cook ourselves.”

“Regardless of the choice, I don’t care, so let’s just eat and leave. We’re used to this kind of attention anyway.”

“Our youngest is quite brave, just like a streamer.”

It’s not like we’d wear out from being looked at.

Of course, Logan might wear out a bit. His bear ears twitched slightly as he ate. His expression was somewhat ambiguous. Laurentina chuckled at this sight.

“You won’t be able to return to your main job until next year, so why not provide some fan service? You’re the Dark Zone North America representative.”

“Not sure. Would anyone be brave enough to come up for an autograph?”

“Our youngest has already given a few autographs. You need to step up.”

“Enough.”

Meanwhile, ‘I’ve given a few autographs’ meant—

In simple terms, it was a result of people finding a way to approach our group of four—among the hundreds or nearly a thousand students gathered here, there was at least one sensible request they could make, which was to ask for autographs.

From me, specifically.

“…Excuse me while you’re eating. Are you Yoo Jin, the Korean streamer? I

always enjoy watching your streams. This is a piece of cake from a nearby dessert shop. If it’s okay….”

“Oh, thank you so much. I’ll give you an autograph.”

Swipe.

Another food gift piled up on the cafeteria table. I signed the notebook the student handed over and wrote a brief greeting.

Since the fall semester was almost over, a few words wishing them good grades were always well-received.

The gifts kept coming. Scarves, mittens, cake slices, waffles, and even a bottle of wine from a group planning a graduation party.

By now, I was most grateful to the student who provided a large basket for carrying everything at once.

“I’m just running a channel on Yourspace, but a lot of people recognize me.”

“Our youngest learned to be humble somewhere.”

“Oh, no, that’s not it… I’ll give you some chocolates later.”

“Then that’s a different story.”

When I unwrapped a chocolate and put it in Logan’s mouth, his expression changed diversely. At least it wasn’t a bad one.

Although the meal usually took longer, it wasn’t the case today. It was fortunate that we didn’t leave any of the food we had swept up from the food trucks.

After finishing the meal and cleaning up, we quickly left the cafeteria. Staying there any longer would’ve been a disturbance, and also—

-[Notification: ICARUS code WC-EG-ISBALT-LWIPPG-0810]

-[Notification: Oh my! Philadelphia. It’s almost time. How have you been?]

-[Notification: See you soon!]

—I needed time to look more closely at this message.

Although the others couldn’t see the hologram message due to the lack of lenses, even if they could, they might not have been able to read it. It was the first time I saw a message breaking in real-time like this.

Despite the cryptic message, I could guess where it came from.

A remnant of the past.

The last moment at Indian Point.

“Alright, let’s go to Two Bridges. It won’t take more than 30 minutes.”

The engine started, and the vehicle began moving.

Leaving behind the University of Pennsylvania with its fresh memories, we headed back onto Interstate 95.

Passing through vast, desolate fields and forests, we drove along the border of New Jersey and New York.

How much time had passed?

When the vehicle finally crossed the Hudson River and reached Manhattan, we found ourselves at Two Bridges, with the East River soon in sight, about 10 minutes later.

A black skyscraper, identical to the one in Yeouido, stood towering in front of the vehicle.

“Good luck.”

“Should we wait for you?”

“I’m not sure how long it’ll take, so if I don’t come out in a couple of hours, you can go back to the hotel.”

“Alright. Take care. Hope it goes well.”

Click.

With those words, I opened the car door.

Perhaps the answer to my past lay within.

Meanwhile,

-[Trending Topic // Unique visitors at the University of Pennsylvania… (Click to read more)]

“…What is he doing in Philadelphia?”

“Such a peculiar person.”

Of course, they said that, but they imagined Yoo Jin’s flustered face.

It seemed there would be a lot to hear when he returned.