A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 28. What the heck are they doing?

“-That’s all. And…….”

Meursault, having finished his not-quite-discipline, added after briefly reporting to the commander.

“Today is the day of Hayden-nim’s training simulation.”

“Is it today?”

“Yes. If you leave now, you’ll arrive just in time.”

Despite this, the commander did not stop reading the report, prompting Meursault to ask again.

“Aren’t you going to go?”

“There’s no reason to.”

The commander casually put down the report and answered.

“Hayden will win anyway.”

“…You’ll be criticized if you’re too indulgent, Your Excellency.”

Despite Meursault’s reasonable yet rude remark, Commander Hayden merely chuckled.

To Meursault, who was unaware of the whole situation, it was no surprise that he saw the commander as indulgent.

‘Hayden is a regressor…….’

The truth was, the commander somewhat believed that Hayden was indeed a regressor.

As Hayden had said, with Luna Moon being a ‘Player’, it was unlikely that her child, Hayden, would be an ordinary kid.

‘A Player’s child is a regressor. Could Daphne’s child also be something special?’

Thinking this, the commander briefly glanced at Meursault.

‘The child between this guy and the Player might be dangerous.’

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

At Meursault’s question, the commander replied nonchalantly.

“It’s surprising.”

“What is?”

“Meursault, do you think Hayden will lose?”

“Hayden is ten years old. The cadets are soon-to-be officers about to graduate. However……”

Meursault frowned slightly and gave a faint smile.

“It’s strange. I also don’t think Hayden will lose.”

“You still have a keen eye for people.”

“Even so, Your Excellency is still being indulgent.”

“You’re still as cheeky as ever.”

Ignoring Meursault’s grumbling, the commander looked out towards the direction of the academy.

‘The Second Apocalypse…….’

If the world was to face another apocalypse soon.

And if Hayden really was a regressor who had returned from the future to the past.

‘Luna Moon. Your child will save the world.’

* * *

The academy’s training simulation.

In an era where alien monsters, not humans, were the main enemies.

Training cadets to fight each other could be considered anachronistic.

Even so, the reason why such training was necessary was that sometimes during hunts, they would encounter people from other zones.

Given that it was an era after the apocalypse, it was very rare for the already endangered human race to try to kill each other.

But the Knife Zone people were completely insane, murderous maniacs who were beyond common sense, and occasionally, other zones lacking resources or refugees who couldn’t return to their own zones due to crime or political reasons would attempt raids, making such training necessary.

Conversely, if our zone ran out of resources, we’d have to raid other zones as well.

Planting the flag in the enemy team’s zone carried that meaning.

In other words, this training was meant to experience the depths of human nature.

It meant that even if the opponent was a ten-year-old child, you had to do your best.

To be honest, I was worried that the academy cadets wouldn’t take me seriously……

‘Judging by their eyes, I don’t need to worry about that.’

For some reason, the cadets chosen to face me were looking at me with eyes full of hostility.

Why was that?

Was it because I said that the academy was a waste of time and had no intention of enrolling?

Or because I used my dad’s influence to gather the best cadets to use as my combat power meter?

Or was it because I said I could handle them alone and told them to come at me all at once?

‘There are too many things to worry about.’

In any case, if they were going to take me seriously, it was good news for me.

At least no one could say that I won just because I was the commander’s son.

If this wasn’t a demonstration but an actual entrance exam, I would have just used my dad’s influence to win and move on.

“You should all be familiar with the rules of the training simulation, but since it’s Hayden-nim’s first time, I’ll briefly explain before we start.”

One of the three instructors appointed as referees and supervisors for this training simulation, the one wearing a red hat, stepped forward and spoke.

“The rules are very simple. To win, you must either annihilate all your enemies or plant your flag on the enemy’s flagpole. If your body takes a hit, the sensor will react and determine whether it’s a fatal wound or death. In situations that machines cannot judge, we instructors will observe through drones and determine whether it’s a fatal wound or death. Since this is just training, if you think it’s dangerous, don’t hesitate to surrender.”

That last sentence wasn’t part of the usual training explanation; it seemed to have been added because I was the commander’s son and a child.

At that moment, one of the cadets raised a hand, indicating they had a question.

When the instructor allowed them to speak, the cadet asked.

“We’ve all experienced the training simulation in this training ground and are familiar with its terrain, but since it’s Hayden-nim’s first time using this ground, wouldn’t it be more fair to use a different terrain?”

At those words, the instructor glanced at me before answering in a flat tone.

“…Hayden-nim said that it wouldn’t matter which terrain was used because it would be too advantageous for him. For fairness, it was decided that the training would be conducted in a space familiar to the cadets. There will be no changes.”

“……Excuse me?”

The cadet who asked the question looked dumbfounded for a moment before realizing that they had been disregarded by me and turned red with anger.

The other cadets also seemed baffled, and Plato, the cadet I had met before, was glaring at me with his blue eyes as if he wanted to devour me.

‘They’re still rookies after all.’

Seeing them getting agitated before the training even started, it didn’t seem like it would be too hard to wipe them all out.

An overly enraged viper, in its focus on fatally wounding its enemy, often forgets to protect itself.

* * *

“What’s with that little brat?”

Just before the training started, one cadet grumbled as they entered their designated starting point.

“He’s not a soldier; he’s just the commander’s son. What confidence does he have to think he can beat us in our own backyard?”

The other cadets seemed to agree, but as there were many ears listening, one senior cadet raised a hand to calm them down.

“Watch your words. The instructor might hear you.”

“Didn’t you see the instructor was just as shocked?”

The grumbling cadet spoke loudly, as if wanting to be overheard.

“His Excellency is too much! Telling us to face a ten-year-old child……. It feels like he’s underestimating us cadets who are about to become officers!”

The other cadets, who shared the sentiment, started voicing their opinions one by one.

“It’s also strange that we didn’t change the training location even though he said he could face us alone. Is he going to use it as an excuse later if we win because the terrain favored us?”

“What if he really says that?”

“Well, that would mean Hayden-nim lost. We should be thankful that there’s no pressure to let him win.”

“We’re busy with our own training, and this is a real waste of time!”

“Hayden-nim thinks the academy is a waste of time, but doesn’t the commander agree with him? The commander didn’t graduate from the academy either!”

“Calm down.”

Seeing the situation about to escalate, Plato, who had been quietly listening from the back, stepped forward.

“I understand your frustration, but getting angry now won’t help. You didn’t say a word in front of Hayden-nim, but you’re complaining behind his back? Can you really call yourselves proud cadets of the academy?”

“Well, that’s……”

“I misspoke. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

As the cadets began to reflect on their actions, Plato spoke more seriously.

“Listen carefully. When Hayden-nim said he would face us alone, I was also taken aback, but upon thinking it over, he had no choice.”

“What do you mean he had no choice?”

“First, no matter how excellent we are as cadets, we wouldn’t have been in sync with Hayden-nim, who was participating in training for the first time. Just like how you all don’t think favorably of him, the cadets who would’ve been on the same team as him wouldn’t have been cooperative either.”

“…….”

Since they had just been cursing him moments ago, the cadets nodded in agreement.

“Second, it would take a lot of effort to protect the weakest member, Hayden-nim, so teaming up with him would be inefficient. And what if Hayden-nim got injured during training? Wouldn’t the cadets who failed to protect him be in a difficult position?”

Realizing the truth of this, the cadets all nodded in unison.

‘Ha… these thoughtless guys are the future officers.’

Plato sighed softly and continued.

“Lastly, if Hayden-nim is alone, he can hide his body anywhere in the terrain. Places that our cadets can’t pass through, he could easily sneak into with his small frame.”

“Oh… when you put it that way, it makes sense.”

“Therefore, the strategy Hayden-nim will likely aim for is one: sneaking into our base and planting the flag. It might

be impossible for him to wipe us all out, but it’s not impossible for him to plant the flag by taking advantage of our carelessness. In that sense, even for Hayden-nim, it’s advantageous to train in a terrain we’re familiar with. Since we’ll be overconfident and let our guard down. The dismissive remarks he made were likely intended to provoke us and narrow our focus.”

When Plato finished speaking, the surrounding cadets all looked enlightened and gave him a round of applause.

“Oh… as expected of Senior Plato! Hearing that, Hayden-nim’s words make sense now.”

“Hayden-nim must have been executing his strategy from the moment he faced us. He wasn’t actually looking down on us.”

“…….”

The truth was.

Plato, who had briefly spoken with Hayden in the principal’s office, knew that Hayden genuinely looked down on the cadets.

‘Even if it’s true, it doesn’t help to know that. Anger and carelessness are poisons to carrying out a strategy. If any of the cadets were to hurt Hayden-nim out of malice, it would be catastrophic.’

For this reason, Plato couldn’t tell them the truth and instead had to say the following.

“Yes. He’s as brilliant as the rumors say. If Hayden-nim is that serious about this training, it’s only polite that we take him seriously too. His Excellency allowed this training to show Hayden-nim that the academy isn’t a waste of time. And this training will benefit us as well.”

“What benefit do you mean?”

“Do you have the confidence that you wouldn’t let your guard down or show sympathy when you encounter a child from another zone during a real hunt?”

“Ah……”

“That’s why we must do our best to defeat Hayden-nim. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir, we understand!”

As the cadets responded energetically, Plato smiled faintly.

As long as they didn’t let their guard down, there was no way they’d lose to a ten-year-old child.

“I’ll hide near the flag and snipe Hayden-nim when he shows up. The rest of you, make as much noise as possible and act as if you’re heading towards Hayden-nim’s base in a rage. For Hayden-nim to feel safe sneaking near the flag, he needs to think that our entire team is on the move, so stick close together so he can’t count your numbers.”

“Yes, sir.”

“It would be easy to plant the flag in Hayden-nim’s base while he’s away, but that wouldn’t teach him anything. So let’s pretend to follow his plan and then ambush him.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the buzzer signaling the start of the training rang.

Nodding as if signaling the start of the operation, Plato spoke.

“Go. Go flush out the rabbit.”

“Roger that!”

* * *

When I spotted the cadets approaching my base, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

‘What the heck?’

Why were they moving together like that, making it easy to kill them?