Zack let out a grunt. Under Captain Price's urging, he controlled Soap to climb the ladder and reach the platform above.
Then he switched the weapon in his hand to an MP5 and four flashbangs.
From the dialogue in his earpiece came Captain Price's explanation of this CQB test content.
But Zack himself wasn't paying too much attention.
Isn't it just a beginner tutorial?
As Captain Price finished his introduction, the sound of 'GO! GO! GO!' rang out.
In an instant, Zack ran forward.
Then... splat, he fell straight from the high stairs on the second floor to the ground.
[Hidden Achievement: Watch Your Step (0.0021%)]
Zack: ?????
Looking at the gray death screen and the game interface reloading to the last save point.
Zack was a bit stunned.
Wasn't it supposed to be a cool parachute drop!?
Did he really have to slide down the rope?
Looking at the interface with a prompt box, Zack was speechless.
This meant that 0.0021% of players had died the same way as him, by not watching where they were going and falling.
He talked to Captain Price again, then climbed back to the second floor. Zack took a deep breath.
This time he was going to take it seriously!
With Captain Price's GO GO GO.
Zack quickly used the rappel rope in front of him to descend.
At the same time, he switched to a small pistol and shot the steel plates representing enemies in front of him, smashing them.
He ran down the stairs, smashing the rising steel plates, and used a flashbang when entering the room.
Following Captain Price's directions, Zack felt his speed was very fast along the way.
But when he looked at the final record time, it was a bit different from what he expected.
'25 seconds, okay.'
'I don't know how a rookie like you passed the candidate selection.'
'If you want to try again, climb back up the ladder.'
After the dialogue ended, a mission complete summary panel appeared in front of Zack.
25 seconds, and that was with an accuracy penalty of minus 3 seconds.
This meant his actual time spent was 28 seconds.
Especially the recommended difficulty below, which made him a bit angry.
Recommended Difficulty: [Recruit]
There were four difficulty choices in total.
Recruit, Normal, Hard, and Veteran.
How was he a recruit!?
"Stuffing this by rote memory isn't a real test of veteran combat skills. I want to play on veteran!"
Zack's rebellious side kicked in right away.
You want me to play on recruit difficulty?
Hey! I won't!
I'm going to pick veteran difficulty!
In an FPS game, if the difficulty is too low, isn't it just too boring?
After choosing the difficulty, Zack triggered the plot for the official start of the game.
'B Team, this mission intel comes from our contact in the Russian Federation.'
'The target item is on a cargo ship, with crew and a security team besides.'
On the electronic screen, the target cargo ship appeared, and Price beside it laid out the action plan before the fight.
'What are the engagement rules?'
'No survivors!'
Then from the earpiece came the sound of helicopter rotors spinning, mixed with thunder, heavy rain, and the rolling waves below. The atmosphere hit hard all at once.
The fully armed SAS team members rode an armed helicopter toward the target freighter in the rainy night.
Price, leaning against the door seat, turned his gaze outside the helicopter and took a deep drag from the lit cigar in his hand.
'Get your weapons ready for fast rope, GO, GO, GO!'
Price tossed the still-burning cigar out the window.
The next moment, Zack found he could control Soap in the game.
In the dark night, using the heavy rain for cover, the helicopter dropped ropes, and the SAS team assaulted the target cruise ship in the Bering Strait!
He fast-roped from the helicopter onto the cargo cruise ship.
Thanks to the heavy rain cover and it being the middle of the night, the people on the ship clearly hadn't noticed a group of uninvited guests boarding.
Everyone's guns were fitted with silencers. Following Price and the SAS team members, they used silenced rifles to take out the enemies guarding inside the ship cabin.
'Deck is clear!'
'Soap, follow up!'
The team member next to him kept reminding Zack, who was still behind.
"This... this is the highest difficulty? It's way too easy! And the teammates are perfectly coordinated!" Zack couldn't help but let out a scornful laugh.
That's it? That's it? That's it?
Three that's its in a row.
From start to finish, the enemies didn't fire a single shot.
And this game gave Zack a real team feeling for the first time.
When he fired, the companion NPCs would immediately follow up and take out any enemies he missed.
The team members worked together, instantly securing the ship cabin.
Front teammates pushed ahead, rear ones covered the back.
This kind of seamless teamwork really made Zack feel like he was playing a high-level match in Rainbow Six: Siege.
And it was something he'd never experienced before.
Because in his games, teammates were usually uncoordinated 'pig teammates.'
Entering the dorm inside the ship cabin, Zack pulled out his silenced pistol and worked with the SAS team members beside him to take out the still-sleeping enemies.
Along the way across the deck, team members were also chatting with Captain Price.
When they reached the bow, the earlier noise had clearly alerted the enemies.
A group of armed guards stood on the second floor, laying down fire to suppress them.
'Second floor has enemies, Hammer 2-4, second floor enemies, handle it.'
'Roger!'
Over the team comms, Captain Price ordered the armed helicopter that had brought them.
He was clearly planning to let the armed helicopter deal with those enemies holding the high ground on the second floor.
But Zack just charged out with his gun.
What did he need the armed helicopter for?
Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
And he was a battle-hardened veteran!
But the moment he left cover.
Zack felt what it was like to be under a hail of bullets.
The first shot hit his chest, and the Cosmos VR feedback brought a strong sense of immersion.
The screen turned red.
The second shot hit his chest again, with the same realistic feedback.
Soap gasped for breath.
The third shot hit his chest too, but this time there was no feedback.
Because the screen went gray, and a famous quote appeared before him.
[If man does not end war, war will end man—John F. Kennedy]
(End of Chapter)
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