I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 70­ Another Challenge

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Harmony’s day was quite ordinary.

She struggled to get up at nine in the morning and, after forcing herself to fit in a gym session amidst her busy schedule, she barely managed to head home, drenched in sweat after just an hour or two of exercise.

On her way home, several cafes selling cool and sweet smoothies caught her eye, but she sighed and closed her eyes tightly, still feeling the soft, doughy belly when she touched it.

When she finally returned home, she dragged her heavy body straight into the shower, then took out the various side dishes she had stocked up and the soup she had divided and frozen, to have for lunch. Perhaps due to this, the high-calorie delivery food that used to overflow had gradually disappeared.

After the meal, she would doze off for a bit to digest the food, then sleep soundly for about two hours.

If there was a schedule that required going out, she would usually go out during this time.

When she woke up and felt a bit more awake, it was usually around four in the afternoon. If there were no special circumstances, she would finish the schedule she couldn’t handle before her nap.

Most of these were related to videos uploaded on Yourspace or MCN content. Nevertheless, since she had autonomy, it wasn’t something she particularly cared about.

Around six in the evening, she would have a light meal, brush her teeth, and start her stream.

Usually, this would continue from seven in the evening until eleven or, if it was long, until midnight – about twelve to fifteen hours in virtual reality. Naturally, experiencing the compressed time, she would fall asleep right after the stream ended.

And on a late August day, still sweltering with heat.

She was streaming, embracing a much larger audience due to various events related to the Dark Zone.

While she was just chatting, a screen popped up in front of her eyes.

Noknyang!!!! You’ve been spreading weird games everywhere again!!!

“… Sniff.”

A sight that required no grand explanation.

A brief recap of what had happened before, then it naturally shifted to the moment Yoo Jin was playing Jump Master. It was a sight characteristic of her. She wouldn’t do something someone wanted even if it killed her.

Of course, she was the one who taught the method, which made it even funnier.

Don’t laugh

I can tell at a glance that you taught him, ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

You are truly a real troublemaker, ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

­Harmony, is it you again?

This is a real plague, ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Harmony’s viewers, who had begun to adapt, and those who recently got involved in crappy games and instantly realized who had influenced Yoo Jin. And a few who had absolutely no connection to all this, like onlookers from across the river.

Today too, Harmony’s surroundings were running smoothly.

There was a saying that time flows in proportion to how busy a person is.

I was one of those who deeply felt that fact these days, as my daily routine was quite firmly fixed, making it feel like time was melting away in the blink of an eye.

Specifically, it felt like night and day passed in an instant whenever I closed my eyes.

A lot happened during that time. I participated in scrims held daily unless there were scheduling issues, and meanwhile, discussions about the temporary coaching position suggested by Dice – specifically contracted until the Asia qualifiers – were concluded.

Thus, starting tomorrow, I was scheduled to act as a tactical advisor during those hours instead of scrims.

…It was a job I had considered if things didn’t go well after returning here, but to do it in the cyber world rather than in a real PMC. It felt nostalgic, in a way.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to drag my real body. Since the matches were held within virtual reality, that was fine.

Anyway, aside from that.

Starting something new naturally brings its own set of concerns. Some were relatively simple, like sharing my expertise with others, but there were entirely different levels of issues.

For example, the proposal suggested through Dice – to put it simply from my perspective – was like someone asking for directions and me accompanying them because we were heading to the same destination.

However, the latter was a different story.

For instance, finding an editor for Yourspace and running my own channel.

For instance, receiving an offer to join an MCN.

Neither were mandatory, but at least the matter related to channel management was something that many people desired, making it difficult to ignore or dismiss completely.

Perhaps it was that my preparation was still lacking, or maybe there wasn’t enough preliminary research. Although plans usually go awry from the beginning, I couldn’t find an editor without deciding how much salary to offer.

In fact, discussing that part seemed endless.

Planning the channel’s direction, deciding the editing style, uploading a few videos a month, figuring out how to promote the channel… having video thumbnails would be good too. If so, that part also needed consideration.

Additionally, there would be changes internally in the stream.

I wasn’t particularly bad at speaking, but it would be somewhat repetitive to post videos with the same content and format all the time. This would inevitably involve many encounters and changes.

It’s not that those things are bad.

However, considering the upcoming tournament, it might be a bit tricky to get involved now.

Actually, it wasn’t such a big concern.

To put it simply, it was a part of my personal tendency, the “if you’re going to do it, might as well do it perfectly” trait kicking in. Simply thinking about it, I could find someone to do simple editing before seriously paying attention to it.

But the reason I started seriously planning at this point was different,

­[Harmony: Teacher~~~~how have you been?? It’s still very hot these days, right? (*´？`*）？］

­[Harmony: I heard a lot of news recently, so I came to say hi as usual ㅎㅎ! Did you clear Jump Master?］

­[Yoo Jin: ( ·· ）］

­[Yoo Jin: How could you recommend such a game…］

­[Harmony: ㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ…;;］

­[Harmony: Sorry,,ㅠㅠ］

It was because of the words that came after these annual greetings.

­[Harmony: I thought of listing reasons but decided to get straight to the point,,］

­[Harmony: I’ve received so much help so far, but I feel like I haven’t given a proper thank you］

­[Harmony: I wanted to treat you to a meal if that’s okay (·？·）］

­[Harmony: It’s my personal desire, so you can refuse if you want….］

Specifically, after seeing this, while mind-mapping questions that might come up if I actually met Harmony, I ended up getting sidetracked.

Not meeting wasn’t really an option I considered.

I’m not a shut-in or anything, there’s no reason to be scared of meeting people. I hardly remember my old body anymore. If we only talk about workout volume, the 4 years and 8 months I spent in New York would crush the previous 20 years.

Anyway, all this long digression was ultimately derived from that message.

End of summary.

­[Yoo Jin: Can I think about it for a moment?］

­[Harmony: Yes!］

Actually, it wasn’t a roundabout refusal, but more like checking my upcoming schedule and whether I had clothes to wear when meeting her.

It was a mishap because the only clothes I had at home were fluttery dresses and all sorts of weird things. Of course, if I dug around, I could find something to wear, but even those were a bit…

It was ironic that I had adapted to wearing underwear.

Also, I needed to prepare to explain my real appearance.

­[Yoo Jin: Since the preliminary ranks open next Monday, it might be a bit difficult around that time］

­[Harmony: Oh］

­[Harmony: Do you have interest in meeting?］

­[Yoo Jin: It’s not impossible ㅎㅎ］

­[Harmony: Yay~~~~!!!(*）］

­[Harmony: Let me know if there’s a day that works for you! I can free up my schedule anytime!］

­[Yoo Jin: I don’t mind, but there’s something I need to tell you］

­[Yoo Jin: You might be a bit surprised when you see my real appearance,,］

A quick reply came back.

­[Harmony: It’s okay! I’ve mentally prepared myself… I won’t be surprised no matter what, even if you’re a super muscular trainer ㅎㅎ^^］

­[Harmony: Should I book a barbecue place…?］

­[Yoo Jin: It’s faster to show you a picture］

Click.

I took a picture and sent it.

┌───────────────────────┐ [Body Identification Card］ Species: Eunectes murinus Linnaeus Classification: Serpentia (Green Anaconda） Name: Lee Yoo Jin Definition: EM/IPN Details: Multiple Physical Identifications (Evident/Multiple） Identity Protection Needed (Identity Protection Needed） Note: 010 ­ XXXX ­ XXXX (Human Rights Protection Center）└───────────────────────┘

I pressed and sent it.

There wasn’t much hesitation. I had long passed that stage, and I wasn’t one to reject kindness. It sounded grandiose, but I was just the type to eat well if someone treated me

.

Anyway, aside from that, Harmony’s reaction wasn’t too far from what I expected.

­[Harmony: !!?!??!?!?!?!!?!?!!?!?!?!?!］

­[Harmony: Teacher?????????????????］

­[Yoo Jin: (·ε·；）］

­[Harmony: If you’re a Green Anaconda, then does that mean your avatar is…???］

­[Yoo Jin: (；д）］

­[Harmony: Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha］

The inexpressible mix of emotions contained in those endless laughs.

Luckily, there was such a thing as manifesters in this world. Considering that, I didn’t need to worry much about the external reaction, and it was interesting to see Harmony’s reaction in the future.

How much time passed?

­[Harmony: You tricked me!!!!!］

­[Yoo Jin: I didn’t mean to, but it just happened］

­[Yoo Jin: I didn’t lie］

­[Harmony: No way ahahahaha］

­[Harmony: I feel dizzy….］

But not long after, more words followed.

­[Harmony: Do you really have a tail? Show me your tail!］

­[Harmony: Can you draw a heart shape with your tail?］

…Hmm.

I did it as a final service. It was a shape difficult to make smoothly due to the structure of my tail, but I had done it a few times before, so it didn’t take long.

After another flash went off, I pressed the send button, and the number 1 next to it instantly disappeared.

­[Harmony: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡］

­[Harmony: I’ve never seen an E2-level manifester before….］

­[Yoo Jin: It’s not strange, right?］

­[Harmony: I’m not particularly fond of snakes, but your tail is so pretty!］

­[Yoo Jin: That’s a relief］

It seemed a bit off-topic, but it was to prevent any surprise, so… in conclusion, the purpose was achieved.

­[Harmony: Do you have any place you want to go?］

­[Yoo Jin: I eat quite a lot….］

The conversation continued.

Lately, I always felt that my future was so dynamic, I couldn’t even predict it myself.

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