A Veteran Player is Needed in the Apocalypse

Chapter 29. Pure White

‘…Not yet.’

Plato waited for Hayden to appear, hiding his body behind the terrain near the flag as planned.

Judging by the loud noise coming from afar, it seemed like his teammates were doing well, so Hayden would soon show himself.

‘As Father said, Hayden is no ordinary child.’

Plato’s father, Anton, and the leader of the pro-Daphne faction had warned him before today’s training simulation.

He warned him not to underestimate Hayden as just a child.

If he let his guard down even a little, he would suffer the humiliation of losing to a child.

At first, Plato, like the other cadets, had only thought of taking down this ten-year-old who dared provoke him.

But after hearing Anton’s warning, he was able to think calmly, and as a result of carefully observing Hayden, whom he encountered in the training field afterward…

He realized that Hayden was also observing the reactions of the cadets.

The moment he realized that, Plato couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

‘He was definitely… enjoying our reactions.’

The other cadets seemed to think that look in his eyes was simply one of disdain.

But to Plato, it was far from the gaze one would give to another human being.

‘The look of a predator eyeing its prey.’

And not the gaze of a predator right before a hunt.

It was the gaze of a predator overlooking a feast already prepared.

‘Even though His Excellency educated him as his successor, I heard Hayden had only recently returned from wandering in the slums… Is it true that even a cub is still a tiger?’

Despite being wrapped up in such thoughts, Plato did not neglect listening carefully to the surrounding noises. Then, suddenly, he realized.

‘It’s gone quiet…’

After thinking that absentmindedly, Plato sharply turned his head to look toward Hayden’s camp.

‘What? Why has it gone quiet?’

Were they tired of causing a ruckus?

The silence was dragging on.

‘Or could it be that they ran into Hayden halfway and ended it?’

As ominous thoughts raced through Plato’s mind, he couldn’t understand why the silence persisted.

It would be difficult to keep up the chatter while moving, but was there a reason for such prolonged silence?

Had Hayden been careless in his movements and been caught by the team members?

But if Hayden had been declared dead, the buzzer signaling the end of the training should have sounded…

At that moment, Plato felt an inexplicable chill and instinctively rolled to the side.

Thwack! Thwack!

No sooner had he rolled aside than two paint bullets whizzed toward the spot where he had been waiting.

“Close.”

The young voice that muttered those words no longer sounded like a child’s to Plato.

There wasn’t a single paint mark on Hayden Goodman, who was dressed in a snow-white uniform to blend in with the snowy landscape.

Even though his face was hidden by goggles to protect his eyes and a mask to prevent his breath from escaping, Plato had the distinct feeling that the eyes behind those goggles were smiling.

‘How did he pinpoint where I was hiding and approach from behind?!’

Moreover, he hadn’t even detected Hayden’s presence until he was within shooting range.

Plato had been slogging through this training ground like a dog for the past six years.

‘Move.’

He found himself dumbfounded, rolling sideways in a panic, staring up at Hayden.

The more humiliating part was that Hayden simply stood there, looking down at him.

It seemed as though Hayden was confident he could shoot and hit him at any moment.

In fact, Hayden’s gun was still pointed at him, and though the distance between them was considerable, Plato had no doubt that the bullet would find its mark.

After thinking quickly for a brief moment, Plato slowly put down his gun and raised both hands above his head.

‘He probably would’ve shot the moment I raised my gun.’

At this distance, in this situation, Plato was convinced that he would be hit, so he decided to steer the situation toward hand-to-hand combat rather than a gunfight.

It might seem a bit unfair to use any means necessary to win against a child barely reaching his waist, but Plato was determined to win no matter what.

“…How did you know I was lying in ambush here?”

“Because Plato was the only one missing among the people who came to my camp. Since you’re a cadet specialized in long-range sniping, I figured you’d be hiding behind the cover furthest from the flag.”

“…”

Plato was momentarily at a loss for words before asking again.

It wouldn’t have been difficult to find out that his specialty was long-range sniping.

Anyone could have told him that if asked.

But…

“How did you know I wasn’t part of the assault team? Everyone was wearing goggles and masks.”

“You can’t change your build or gait.”

“No way…”

It was ridiculous.

There was some difference in the cadets’ builds, but not so much as to make a significant distinction.

There was even a cadet with the exact same height as Plato.

And what, his gait?

Hayden would have had only a few seconds to observe their gaits.

Yet, Hayden claimed to have identified that Plato wasn’t among them just by sight.

“Oh, but I was a bit confused when I saw them in person, so I checked by taking off each mask one by one.”

“Pardon?”

“That’s why it took me a bit of time to get here.”

“What are you…?”

It sounded as if he was saying that he had taken out all of Plato’s team members on his way here.

But Hayden, shaking his head as if he had no intention of explaining further, continued.

“Anyway, I’m aiming for the fastest clear time, so I can’t spend more time on you. Shall we settle this with close combat?”

“…What?”

“You seem reluctant to just take a paint bullet and finish this quickly, so I’m guessing you won’t accept the result if you lose like this.”

“…”

‘I must not get provoked.’

From what Plato had gathered in this short time, Hayden was the type of predator who enjoyed toying with his prey, much like a big cat.

He was sure that if he had gotten provoked, Hayden would have shot.

That would have been the most humiliating way for him to be taken down.

‘Anyway, if he’s not mocking me and is offering to settle this with close combat first, I have no reason to refuse.’

Plato wasn’t a swordsman or martial artist, but a soldier.

He didn’t care about things like honor when it came to using whatever advantage was given to him.

“Are you saying we should settle this with close combat?”

“Of course, on one condition.”

“I expected that. Go ahead and state your condition.”

Plato assumed that Hayden, who was at a physical disadvantage, would demand that Plato fight with only one hand, or something similar.

But what came out of Hayden’s mouth was unexpected.

“Promise me that you’ll become my adjutant after graduation.”

“…Excuse me?”

“To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this operation, but after seeing you dodge that bullet, I’ve changed my mind. I’m sure I didn’t make any noise, so you dodged purely on instinct, didn’t you?”

“That… I did, but…”

Plato looked at Hayden with wavering eyes.

“Isn’t that a very favorable condition for me? To become your adjutant means…”

Becoming the adjutant to the next commander.

In other words, it meant achieving the same position as the current Major Meursault Pendleton.

“Are you aware that my father is General Anton?”

“Haven’t you heard from your father? I know not only the close associates of the officers but also the names of the neighbor’s dogs.”

‘That’s not just boasting?’

Plato fell silent for a moment before, despite the embarrassment, cautiously asking.

“…Then can you tell me the name of the dog in our neighbor’s yard?”

“Pfft!”

When Hayden burst out laughing for a long time, Plato flushed with shame.

“Sorry, it’s just that no one has ever asked me that seriously before.”

“So it was just a metaphor…”

“Winter. It was probably named that because it was born in the winter.”

“…”

‘I didn’t even know the name of the neighbor’s dog…’

The fact that Hayden actually knew the name of the dog in their neighbor’s yard, which Plato himself didn’t know, was terrifying.

But what was truly frightening was that, even while laughing and chatting like that, the gun aimed at him hadn’t wavered in the slightest.

Even a skilled cadet couldn’t manage that.

‘I’d rather believe he’s a bio-weapon created by the military.’

“Anyway. Hurry up and decide. I have only a few minutes left to set the fastest clear time.”

Though Plato felt uneasy about Hayden’s confidence that he could defeat him in a matter of minutes…

Since rejecting close combat would only result in a paint bullet coming his way, he had no choice but to agree.

Plato had originally intended to suggest close combat himself, but somehow the situation had reversed.

“I agree to settle this with close combat.”

“Great. Then stand up slowly. Kick the gun you placed in front of you over there.”

Thorough and meticulous.

As he stood up, Plato kicked the gun with all his strength, sending it far away, then looked at Hayden.

As soon as the gun was out of sight, Hayden casually threw away his own gun as well.

‘He really discarded his gun.’

Plato had expected him to keep it on hand, ready to shoot if needed.

Unless Hayden was really a bio-weapon created by the military, it was nearly impossible for him to win against Plato.

‘Could it be that his goal isn’t to win this training

?’

The thought crossed Plato’s mind that perhaps all of this was just a ploy to recruit him as his adjutant.

Realizing this, Plato nodded as if he had come to a great understanding.

‘If he’s shown this level of ability, I could serve Hayden without any prejudice… Indeed, as my father said, he’s no ordinary person.’

“…Stop overthinking and come at me.”

Even Hayden’s reluctance as he spoke sounded to Plato as if he was shy.

“Then, here I go.”

Plato drew a training dagger from his waist and charged at Hayden.

The training dagger was designed so that when it touched the skin, the rubber blade would retract into the handle, leaving a paint mark.

Since he didn’t want to torment a child by leaving paint marks all over, he aimed to stab him in the neck in one swift move.

But then.

“One-pattern move.”

Beep—

A sound signaling a fatal strike rang in Plato’s ear.

Hayden, as if anticipating where Plato would strike, easily dodged and thrust his own dagger into Plato’s abdomen.

When Plato instinctively looked down at his abdomen, he saw multiple paint marks layered over each other.

In that brief moment, Hayden had stabbed him several times in rapid succession.

Just then, Plato felt a small but firm hand gripping his wrist, the one holding the dagger.

“Huh?”

As he felt his balance shift, Plato was slammed into the ground.

Hayden had used Plato’s weight against him to toss him to the ground.

Luckily, he didn’t lose his grip on the dagger, but he felt Hayden pressing down on his right wrist with his full weight.

‘Heavy…?!’

It felt as if Hayden was wearing ankle weights, the weight on his wrist was definitely not that of a child.

‘So he lured me into attacking first?’

Before he could even process that thought, Hayden’s dagger came flying toward him, and as Plato twisted his wrist to grab it with his left hand, he saw Hayden’s dagger switch from his right to his left hand in midair.

“What the…!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

He felt the dagger strike his vital points in quick succession.

The sound signaling fatal hits echoed in his ears, nearly causing tinnitus, and Plato concluded that further resistance was pointless.

‘I’ve lost…’

At that moment, Hayden’s eyes, visible through the goggles, were staring straight into his as he drove the dagger into him.

Eyes devoid of any emotion, chillingly cold.

Plato didn’t know whether to feel relieved that Hayden wasn’t enjoying the situation or to be disturbed by the thought that a human shouldn’t have such an expression while stabbing another human.

Though it was only for a brief moment, Hayden continued his mechanical movements until the signal for Plato’s death was given.

Shortly after the death signal rang out, the buzzer signaling the end of the training echoed throughout the training ground.

And then a broadcast, which Plato could hardly believe, flowed through the air.

[A Team: All Dead. B Team: Victory.]

‘He really killed them all and came back…?’

As Plato sat there in a daze, covered in paint marks, he watched as Hayden walked toward their flag and calmly replaced it with his own flag.

Still spotless, without a single paint mark.

It was a pure white uniform.