Season 3: Chapter 29: It’s a Hit! (3)
The employees, without being asked, started tapping away on calculators. If Almond eliminated every enemy here and exited the building in one go, would the challenge points still be safe?
"... Well, it's not exceeding the limit."
"Of course, the real challenge starts after leaving the building."
Their concern was about the number of enemies that Almond would kill if he successfully escaped the building on his first attempt.
As soon as Almond left the executive office, an operator began to assist him by examining the map and giving directions. The operator would assign Almond a new mission if he successfully escaped the building.
Someone even incorporated this future scenario into the calculator.
"Well, we still have a lot of rooms."
"How many rooms are we talking?"
"Unless he survives for two hours in challenge mode without dying... it's impossible."
Sighs of relief could be heard from all around.
"It seems we can just enjoy watching. He plays the game well. It's nice to watch."
"Right?"
As a result of their calculations, they concluded that they had sufficient challenge points to award Almond. Had the upper management really allocated a good budget for this? They would be generously doling out challenge points in elite agent difficulty.
"But did we have that many challenge points? Haha."
"Uh... well... that's because there haven't been many guests lately, so none have been given out."
"..."
It was a laughable, yet real reason. They had so few challengers that they still had plenty of challenge points to give out.
"Cough. Almond has left the building."
"Ah... I see."
Almond exited the building too naturally as if it had been expected. The employees nodded as if they no longer found it surprising.
"But... wait a minute."
During this, one of the employees noticed something odd.
"Why isn't he listening to the operator?"
They realized that Almond had removed his in-ear.
"... What?"
"The operator doesn't even know his name right now. It starts by asking for his codename."
"Eh...?"
The operator seemed to be repeating the same thing and couldn’t get through to Almond, “This is Operator 03. Agent, reveal your codename. Please state your codename…”
"Isn't an operator supposed to be there to help him get out?"
"... Uh. No, not structurally. The operator helps with the internal map of the building and identifying enemy positions."
"So he just came out on his own without any map?"
Escaping the building wasn't as simple as just walking down the stairs. Sometimes, the stairs were blocked and required another route with enemies perfectly hidden around. Exiting without an operator and just shooting down all the enemies would be too difficult.
"What the."
It seemed that was exactly what Almond had done.
"He just went through and killed them all?"
How could such a brute force approach even be possible?
"But then... didn't he kill way more than we expected? Players are supposed to avoid unnecessary fights..."
"!"
Exactly, following the operator's commands would have avoided unnecessary conflicts. Almond not only ignored the operator's commands, but hadn't even heard them. The operator hadn't even managed to ask for his name.
"Could it be... he killed them all? Look!"
***
"Plan D1 successful~" Almond boldly stated as he exited the lobby on the building’s first floor.
— Is it just me or do all the plans sound the same?
— LOL
— There he goes pretending to use his brain again LOL
— Plan D1: Kill them all
"It wasn't just about killing them all. I also collected the guns they used..." Almond complained as if upset that his plan wasn’t being recognized.
— Even that was part of the plan? Wow.
— It's also part of the nut's plan.
— Plan DEBDM12958: Kill everyone and take everything.
— No, he just ran out of bullets and took theirs LOL
"But what happens now?"
No more enemies were appearing. Civilians were walking around outside and ambulances with flashing red sirens were parked here and there. People who seemed to be firefighters were diligently putting out fires in the building.
It was clear that Almond couldn't open fire in such a place.
— Let's switch to Plan C1, bro.
— Aren't these witnesses too? Shouldn't he kill them all? LOL
— Is this New York? Wow.
— Put in your earpiece.
Ignoring the insane suggestion to kill all the New Yorkers, Almond looked around. Fortunately, the people seemed uninterested in him. He lightly dusted off his suit and naturally blended into the crowd on the street.
"Let's just walk for now."
Someone else could threaten him, so he tried to blend in with the pedestrians. He walked for a while.
"But why isn't anything happening?"
— Who knows?
— Put in your earpiece. I told you 23 times.
— Are you going to put in the earpiece?
— Don't know.
— Why ask if you're not going to read the chat? LOL
The game wasn't progressing. That was when it happened.
Ding.
[JudoMedalist has donated 10,000 won.]
[You took out your earpiece. Please check the chat. :( ]
It seemed the chat had been active while Almond was distracted by the streets of New York.
"Ah, the earpiece. Thank you, JudoMedalist."
Almond remembered the earpiece and put it back in his ear.
— Incredible, reading only paid chat messages LOL
— From archer to judoka!? Wow
Chiiiiik.
After a moment of static, the earpiece delivered the message clearly.
“... Agent, state your codename. This is Operator 03. The agent currently listening, state your codename. This is Operator 03. Currently…”
It seemed the poor operator had been repeating the same message the entire time Almond was going through the building.
"Code name Almond."
— What's with the code name LOL
— Why not double A?
— Make it Aaalmond
The operator responded after a moment of silence, “Code name Almond... I will now send you information regarding the surrounding terrain and situation.”
Zing.
The information appeared on the lens that Almond was unknowingly wearing.
"!"
He could see his current location in 3D. The expected positions and movements of the enemies were marked.
“Your primary objective is to escape the building... Ah, you've already escaped?”
The operator seemed momentarily confused, realizing the situation wasn't as he thought.
"Yes. I killed all the witnesses while escaping. Does that complete the mission?"
“All witnesses... Ah, I see.”
— Why does the operator sound like it's glitched? LOL
— What LOL wasn't he a computer? LOL
— Confusion;
— Surely killing everyone wasn't necessary?
“All of them? You killed them all?”
"Yes."
“That wasn't necessary…”
"But you said to kill them all... Is the mission complete?"
“Ahem. Understood. Mission accomplished!”
No, something felt forced about it.
— LOL, whatever! Mission accomplished!
— LOL LOL LOL
— What's with this? LOL
— Good job, Hitman Company LOL
— Eh, Mr. Nut! Just cover it up and return!
Ding.
[LittleDragonCannon has donated 30,000 won.]
[By the way, Mr. Almond! Mr. Almond! Wouldn't it have been easier if you had worn the earpiece from the start?]
"Uh..."
Indeed, Almond acknowledged it as he viewed the map that unfolded in 3D. He recalled how much he had wandered around inside the building during his descent. It would have been the right choice to use it earlier.
'But...'
Knowing he had struggled unnecessarily because he didn't use it and anticipating that the viewers would energetically offer advice through the chat, Almond decided to just pretend he didn't know.
"It must not have been activated earlier. Thank you for the donation, LittleDragonCannon."
— How would you know if it was activated or not? LOL
— Just pretend you didn't know LOL
— Eek LOL
— Ah...
— He's grinding his teeth and moving on LOL
Then, the operator spoke again amid a crackling noise.
“Agent Almond. Please respond.”
"Yes."
“It appears you were not the agent originally assigned to this operation.”
What? What was this about?
“The agent originally assigned to the operation was codenamed A.”
Almond, hearing something completely unknown to him, just listened.
“You are Agent A's sidekick and the operation agent has died. Is that correct?”
"Ah, yes. It seems so."
“I see.”
— Check first
— LOL, why is everything so half-hearted?
— But this seems like it's part of the story?
— Startup Hitman Company LOL
“Then, Agent Almond.”
"?"
“You will now continue Agent A's duties.”
It seemed this was the storyline within the challenge mode.
— ??? Ah... suddenly your mentor has to go out today. You take over.
— Isn't this really a startup LOL
— ??? Here! Eeeee! It's a deal! Promoted to Manager Nut!
“Before that, Agent A was an elite agent. His loss is an emergency for our company. The priority is now to change the operation to track the incident involving Agent A.”
Ding.
Along with the alert, a hologram of a weapon appeared.
“This is presumed to be the anti-tank gun used in intercepting Agent A.”
Ziiing.
As the operator said this, he unfolded a map.
“The possible locations to hit this building with a medium anti-tank gun are as follows.”
Several points on a glowing map were marked in red.
“Considering the angle of impact of the broken glass and other debris, the effective points are these two.”
The numerous red dots narrowed down to two.
“From these, street CCTV hacking has detected suspicious vehicle movements.”
A black van moving down the street appeared.
— Wow
— This is major corporation level
— Oh
— Shit
— This was a small tech company all in on tech
Viewers felt surprised by the considerable technological capabilities of a company they had underestimated.
“Track the black van. The vehicle is now on standby. Receive weapons from the vehicle and stand by for the mission.”
Tick.
After that, the operator's voice disappeared. Only the mission window floated idly.
"Vehicle? Where to?"
Was he supposed to get in the car? Almond looked around.
Screech!
A black van pulled up to a stop. Another voice came through the earpiece.
“Please get in, Agent.”
Ziiiing.
The door slid open automatically. As he entered the van, a weapons rack in one corner slid open, revealing itself.
— Wow
— This is what being an agent is about!
— This is it
— Like Kingsman!
Numerous guns with unknown names gleamed black, tempting him to choose one. Almond hesitated, unsure of what to pick, and finally reached for a tremendously large gun.
"Agent, this mission involves assassination. Please select a weapon suitable for covert operations," the voice from the passenger seat interrupted him.
It was the same female voice he had heard through the earpiece earlier.
"Covert?"
"Yes."
As he turned his head, her auburn hair cascaded down.
"Apologies for the late introduction. I'm Hannah, the one assigned to assist you."
— This is like a spy movie
— The character is stunning
— Heaven
— Wow...
Hannah slightly lowered her sunglasses to reveal her blue eyes and continued, "Surveillance and tracking followed by assassination. That is the process for this mission. There must be no witnesses among the enemies. Our company must leave no evidence of retaliation."
‘Ah, I see.’
Almond nodded and began to select something smaller.
Ba-bam!
[ShyNapoleon has registered a mission!]
[10,000 won per kill!]
— Wow
— No cash for those who forget history
— Again?
— LOL, wow
— Ah, LOL
"Wow. Thank you ShyNapoleon for registering a mission. It’s been a while since we had a per-kill mission."
Almond realized it mid-sentence.
'If it's an assassination, does that mean I only have to kill one person?'
Since no one could know about the assassination, it seemed like the target was only one person.
"Hmm... This seems good. This and... this..."
Click. Click.
Almond started choosing the most formidable-looking weapons.
"... Agent?" Hannah tried to interject, but it was futile. "This mission is an assassination mission..."
"I'll make sure there are no witnesses."
"?"
"Let's go."
— ??? Assassination? My mission is to slaughter?
— Ah, LOL who will testify if they're all dead?
— Eek, LOL
— LOL, let's go, seriously?
— Hannah, if you don't want to be a witness, keep quiet~?