A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 39. Turmoil

B Team, heading towards A Team’s base, hadn’t advanced far before they spotted a signal flare fired from their own base. In a panic, they hurried back.

There, they found Haydam, alone, guarding the flag.

‘The flag is safe.’

But it was eerily quiet…

“…Haydam? Are you really here by yourself?”

The sinking feeling that two of their teammates had vanished quickly overtook them.

Then, B Team’s cadets noticed something about Haydam—he was covered in paint.

And it was orange, the paint color of A Team.

One of the cadets, startled, approached Haydam.

“Haydam! What happened?”

“Well…”

Haydam spoke as he slowly released his grip on the flag.

“Suddenly, members of our team showed up and tried to seize the flag.”

“You mean they ambushed you?!”

“The other two tried to stop them, but they were overpowered. As soon as the flare went off, they took Harry and Cohen with them and disappeared…”

They had almost fallen victim to a sneak attack.

As the cadets looked at each other in dismay, Haydam awkwardly added:

“Um… at least I protected the flag. Teammates hitting or shooting me wouldn’t count as a death, so I just covered the flag with my body, and they left.”

“Haydam…”

A few cadets began to feel a pang of emotion toward him.

“No way.”

Someone raised an objection.

It was Bones, who had been suspicious of Haydam ever since they found him.

“How did Haydam fend off seven of those guys all by himself? This… this feels staged. Aren’t we being tricked?”

“How can you say that? He’s the one who protected our flag, look at him!”

But Bones wasn’t the only one who found the situation strange.

“No, honestly, I had my doubts too. We wasted some time bringing Haydam here. If you think about it, those guys had enough time to hide around our base.”

“Are you guys serious? Now you’re doubting Haydam?”

“Let’s just kill him now. Then this training session will end.”

“Just try to shoot Haydam. I’ll grab the flag and hand it to him myself before you even get the chance.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Stop it.”

It was Lucas who intervened.

“Is this really the time for us to fight among ourselves? We’ve been ambushed, and Harry and Cohen are missing.”

“So, what should we do?”

“Let’s stop doubting Haydam. If he was trying to trick us, he would’ve just taken the flag.”

“Well… but still…”

Despite Lucas’s reasoning, Bones continued to shoot Haydam suspicious glances.

“More importantly, those guys might still be nearby. We need to search the area. I’ll stay with Haydam this time.”

“You’re staying behind alone?”

As Bones started to object, Lucas loaded his gun and aimed it directly at Haydam’s head.

“I’ll be like this, keeping my gun pointed at Haydam. If anyone tries to ambush us again, I’ll fire and end the training session right then.”

“If it’s something like that…”

“Lucas, I’m counting on you.”

With that, the rest of the team left the base once more. Lucas then noticed that Haydam’s shoulders, with the gun pointed at him, were trembling slightly.

‘He’s shaking…’

After all, he was only a ten-year-old child.

It would be terrifying to be betrayed by teammates and subjected to a group beating, no matter how young you were.

Moreover, despite his efforts to protect the flag, he was being doubted…

Lucas opened his mouth to comfort him.

“Haydam.”

“Yes…?”

“You don’t have to feel so guilty. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Lucas…”

Haydam responded, still trembling.

“You’re right… everyone makes mistakes.”

“Yes, so—”

“So, Lucas, you don’t need to feel guilty either.”

For a moment, Lucas felt a brief sense of cognitive dissonance before he answered, a beat too late.

“…What?”

And in the next moment—

Whack!

A paintball shot from A Team hit Lucas square in the shoulder blade.

—

The B Team cadets, startled by the second signal flare, rushed back to their base.

All that greeted them was a lone flag standing tall.

“What’s going on?”

“Now Lucas isn’t here either… and Haydam is missing, too.”

“But the flag is still safe.”

The team was momentarily thrown into confusion.

If A Team had launched another surprise attack…

Why was the flag still intact this time as well?

“Hmm… maybe while we were gone, they attacked again, and Lucas chased after them?”

“Leaving the flag unguarded?”

“Then where’s Haydam?”

“Either he chased after Lucas or got captured by A Team again.”

“Aren’t you guys idiots?”

Bones, who had been doubting Haydam all along, couldn’t hold back his irritation any longer and burst out in frustration.

“We were played!! By that kid! I knew it—he was too polite. General Max once said that kid’s got no manners!”

“Why do you keep doubting Haydam? Is it because your stepdad’s one of the pro-Daphne faction leaders?”

“And are you seriously telling me there’s nothing wrong with this? Three people have died already!”

“Lucas might still be alive.”

“Oh, you’re annoyingly optimistic!”

“Even if we were fooled by Haydam, that means we, eight people, were tricked by a ten-year-old kid.”

“……”

Silence fell for a moment.

The senior-most cadet opened his mouth, trying to restore some order to the gloomy atmosphere.

“Let’s calm down. In the end, we just need to kill one more person to win, right? We still have the advantage.”

“Advantage? We’re down to five people. Lucas is missing, and they still have eight.”

“Well, um, two people will guard the flag, and the remaining three will search the area again…”

“Didn’t you hear? They have eight people left. Do you want to fight them at 2 versus 8 or 3 versus 8?”

“Then what? Should we just sit here and guard the flag forever?”

“That’s probably the safest bet for now. At least until we come up with a better plan.”

“Well, instead of…”

“No, maybe we should…”

As the group continued to struggle with indecision, Bones let out a sigh, grabbed his gear, and began to walk away.

“Hey, Bones! Where are you going?”

“I’m going to catch that brat, Haydam.”

“What? Do you even know where he is?”

“No, but I’m not just going to sit here and take this. At least I’ll catch that kid.”

“Bones. Don’t act alone. We’re already outnumbered as it is.”

“Damn it!”

Bones, enraged, glared at the cadet trying to stop him, jabbing his finger in their direction.

“If you guys hadn’t covered for that kid, none of this would’ve happened!”

“This isn’t the time for us to be fighting each other. Bones, I understand how you feel, but can’t you just stay with us?”

“……”

Bones narrowed his eyes at his teammates before speaking as if spitting out his words.

“If you want me to stay, then promise me one thing.”

“What promise?”

“If you see even a single strand of Haydam’s hair, shoot him immediately.”

“What? Hey, we’re not even sure if Haydam really tricked us or not… Ah, whatever. I’ll shoot. Even if I just see a strand of his hair, I’ll fire.”

Despite saying that, Bones shook his head and turned around, walking steadily out of the base.

“Hey! Where are you going? I said I’d shoot! I promised!”

Even though a desperate voice tried to stop him, Bones didn’t slow down.

“Judging by the way you’re talking, you’ll never pull the trigger. I’ll go kill him myself.”

“Hey!”

The cadet called out urgently, but the only response was Bones’s raised middle finger as he walked away.

—

“Damn it!”

Bones, who had been searching every corner for Haydam, eventually cursed under his breath as he realized he needed to return to his base.

There was a commotion coming from the direction he had just walked away from.

‘I thought they’d target the smaller group! Was I wrong?!’

There were four people left in the base, and he had gone out alone. If A Team had been watching them, it made sense they’d go after him.

But as Bones sprinted back toward the base, his pace gradually slowed.

The base, which had been noisy just a moment ago, was now eerily silent.

‘No way…’

Could the four people left behind have been taken out in such a short time?

He tried to hold onto the hope that his teammates had overpowered the ambushing A Team, but that seemed unlikely.

When Bones got close enough to observe the base, he hid behind some cover and glanced toward the flag.

There, sitting next to it with a relaxed expression, was the person he had been searching for—Haydam.

Bones immediately stepped out of his cover.

“Haydam.”

“Welcome back.”

Haydam grinned, baring his teeth as he aimed his gun at Bones.

Bones instinctively flinched as the barrel pointed at him, but he kept his composure and cautiously approached.

‘Paint guns have a short range. As long as I don’t get too close, I’ll be fine.’

Trying to maintain his calm, Bones asked, “Where are my idiot teammates?”

“Well, one thing’s for sure…”

The polite demeanor Haydam had shown earlier was now gone. He spoke casually, almost mockingly.

“You’re the only one left, Bones.”

“You’ve got to be kidding…”

Bones quickly scanned the area, but neither his teammates nor any of A Team were anywhere to be seen.

The base, where just moments ago a battle had taken place, looked pristine and untouched.

“Where are your teammates?”

Still wary of his surroundings, Bones asked.

“No matter what underhanded tricks you used… I’d win in a one-on-one.”

Haydam smirked.

“You’re waiting for my teammates to arrive, right? If you manage to hit one of them during the chaos, you might still have a chance to win.”

“…”

Bones didn’t respond, realizing Haydam had hit the nail on the head.

Haydam tilted his head slightly.

“You talked so much about shooting me… but now that you’re here, it seems you don’t actually plan on doing it. I guess, after all, you don’t really want to win by shooting a kid like me.”

As much as Bones hated to admit it, Haydam wasn’t wrong.

Even after losing all his teammates, Bones had been more focused on catching an A Team member than winning by shooting Haydam.

“I’ve never met a brat as annoying as you.”

“And I’ve met plenty of people just like you.”

“What?”

“There’s this one guy I know who complains about everything, just like you.”

“You little…”

For a moment, Bones flared up in anger.

But he quickly realized that Haydam was deliberately provoking him and kept his cool.

“With that smart mouth of yours, you must be scared. If you’re not planning to call your teammates, why don’t you fight me one-on-one?”

“Of course, I’m not calling them.”

Not calling them?

What’s he thinking?

‘Do I really have to kill this brat?’

That thought crossed his mind.

But it was too late.

Haydam continued speaking.

“Because they’re already here.”

“…What?”

By the time Bones realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

A Team members, who had been hiding under snow-covered blankets and blending in with the surroundings, suddenly rose and aimed their guns at Bones.

“Damn it…”

The sound of multiple gunshots, signaling the end of the training, echoed through the area.

—

The day after the training simulation ended.

“There was a lot of talk even before this training started. People were saying it was impossible for your team to win, Haydam.”

“Yes, they were.”

“Now, tell me.”

The commander asked in a voice full of interest.

“How did you make the impossible possible?”