Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

Although she asked that question, Ivy could probably guess what Vector wanted to do at such a late hour, not exactly midnight but still quite late. While on the phone, she walked to the tidy yet cold side of her room and took the Electronic Angel Armor and IWS-2000, which she had prepared in advance, down from the wall.

The change of clothes didn't take too long either, as the Cyber ​​Angel Armor's outer garment was the same casual clothes Ivyson usually wore when going out. However, just as her hand lightly touched the IWS-2000, Vector suddenly spoke up to stop her.

"Don't use that. This should be an infiltration operation. You need a pistol that can be almost completely silenced in combat within a ten-meter range, as well as the necessary electronic warfare equipment."

The voice in the headphones remained quite indifferent, but Ivy seemed to detect a deep-seated concern.

“Okay, then Ivy will be carrying an FN-57 and a certain amount of explosives. Can you tell me the details of this operation, Vivi?” She hung the IWS-2000 back up, put on a belt with a holster, and sat back on the bed. “As for the infiltration operation… now that you’ve found Ivy, your target is that guy, what’s his name, ‘Death Gun’?”

“To be precise, it’s the real Death Gun. I’ll explain that to you later. Wait a bit at home, I’ll be there soon.” Vector’s voice sounded a bit noisy; she seemed to be talking to Ivy while driving. “A lot is going to happen tonight, so act as quickly as possible.”

Ivy didn't reply, but silently continued organizing her gear—she wasn't keen on carrying a heavy backpack, but unfortunately, she didn't have Vector's ability to hide all her tactical gear under her skirt. Of course, she wasn't carrying much: a set of 5.7mm magazines, two fragmentation grenades, a claymore, two explosive charges… well, that was already a rather excessive load.

She checked her equipment once, and just as she opened the door to walk out, she saw Yuna standing guard at the door, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Got to go?"

Yuna looked at the fully armed Ivy, then suddenly sighed. Ivy also felt uneasy; if she had to describe it… it was like Peter Parker being discovered by his family to be Spider-Man.

"Um... Ivy will be careful, Mom." It took Ivy a while to finally manage to say this. "Vivi... she's still on her way, she should be here soon."

Yuna shook her head helplessly, gently took Ivy's hand, and led her into her bedroom. Lately, Yuna had been feeling that many things had given her the illusion that a long time had passed, one of which was Ivy, who had grown to look about the same age as her.

"Mom? Is something wrong?" Ivy tilted her head in confusion, looking at Youna, and noticed a serious and irresistible look in the latter's eyes. She watched as Youna rummaged through the cabinet for a while, then solemnly took out a long, azure dagger about the length of her forearm and carefully hung it on her waist.

"Be careful, be cautious... Even though you won't really die, Mom will still worry about you, so be careful." Yuna said, hugging Ivy, who seemed a little taller than her, with some effort, and gently stroking her long, bright silver hair. "Wait patiently for your friend to come, and remember to tell Dad, okay?"

"Hmm... Vivi seems to be here soon." Ivy said softly, wriggling out of Yuna's embrace and walking briskly to the door to open it for Vector.

"Good evening, Ivy, and Miss Yuna, I'm Vector... Waaah!"

Vector first bowed politely to Ivy and Yuna, but then Ivy suddenly hugged him so tightly that he swallowed the rest of his self-introduction, leaving only "woo woo woo woo woo woo" sounds.

This action didn't last long, but after Vector's commotion, his originally expressionless face was flushed, and his expression towards Ivy became somewhat unnatural.

“Don’t worry about it. I just think Vivi doesn’t show much expression. Actually, Vivi must look really pretty when she smiles,” Ivy said to Vector with a smile, then pointed to her pack. “Should we check the equipment I’m carrying?”

“No need. I don’t know if you’ll even need what you brought.” Vector’s face flushed slightly upon hearing Ivy’s words, but then returned to its original coldness. “Miss Yuna, I’ll be leaving with Ivy now. There’s something else I need to tell Mr. Mo: do everything you can to stop Death Gun’s actions. We’ll explain the details to him later.”

"I understand. Be careful, Miss Vector."

Yuna smiled and touched Vector's short, choppy silver-gray hair, watching her quickly take several steps back, cover her head, and give her a few more instructions. The scene was rather incongruous; it looked like a mother telling her child who was out playing with friends to be careful... and in fact, it seemed pretty much the same thing.

Vector coughed twice, turned her head away, said a hasty goodbye, and pulled Ivy out the door. Her impression of Ivy was limited to her second awakening and joining the Azure Eyes team; she seemed to be a similar "three-nothing" character to Vector. However, Vector now realized that she might have been overthinking things, and quite wrongly at that.

“Your hospitality is truly unique… ah.” Vector gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, although this isn’t our first meeting, let me introduce myself properly. I am Vector, an SMG tactical android. I won’t reveal my age. My tactical expertise is infiltration and sabotage. I’m not very good at electronic warfare, so I’ll leave that to you in a bit. Now, let me explain the specifics of the mission.”

"The current information is that Dead Gun is not a lone individual but a gang. We need to locate their position first and then conduct reconnaissance in the vicinity. According to what the commander just said, Dead Gun is just a clown brought to the forefront. There are still many mysteries surrounding this incident for us."

"Commander... are you referring to Chu Ziyu?" Ivy asked thoughtfully. "And if it's just about finding out the location, I should be able to help."

232. Showdown?

"Oh, it doesn't matter. Ivy is all grown up now. It's understandable that she goes out with her classmates or friends. Don't worry too much."

Sorin looked at the five-second countdown in front of him, hurriedly hung up the phone, and then looked at Sinon in front of him—his opponent in the final round.

He and Shino are both undefeated so far, so it's not surprising that they'd meet in the final round. This time, the terrain is a straight highway, a one-kilometer-long monorail. However, there are countless transport vehicles, wrecked helicopters, and bulging road surfaces acting as obstacles, so it's impossible to see the end of the road at a glance.

In such a complex, linear terrain, it's hard to say who has the upper hand. On one hand, if Sinon finds a reliable position to lock down a one-way passage, Sorin, playing the lone wolf Cassidy, will have virtually no chance of charging through the overwhelming firepower of Dead Eye and sniper fire. On the other hand, if Sinon doesn't find a one-way passage, or if Sorin sneaks in through another hidden passage while Sinon has sealed off the passage, the situation could be reversed.

However, neither side actually thought that much about it. Because they had already made contact with each other when they entered the map.

"Should we make a peace agreement or fight?" Solin was the first to ask.

"No need to say more, I have reasons to win, even if you are the strongest I know, Sorin." Sinon's tone was quite resolute. She had already found her position and was observing the road through the sniper scope, her finger constantly on the trigger.

However, the next moment, when she saw that silver-white figure swaggering over, she instantly forgot her self-control as a sniper and made a sound.

"Ah... does this mean that even without a ballistic prediction line, you can evade my sniping at any time?"

Sinon couldn't help but think this. Because Sorin wasn't running at all, or rather, he wasn't trying to hide his body at all. He was just walking slowly in the middle of the highway, looking completely unprepared.

She didn't understand why Solin would do this. If she didn't intend to settle this dispute, then the two sides would still have to compete. But Solin was acting as if he was just going to give it away for nothing.

Of course, she didn't know that the truth was actually like this. Solin said there was no need to worry too much about Aivixin, but in reality… if you had to describe him, the phrase "a tsundere who's a doting father" would be perfect. So he asked Shino beforehand if she wanted to make a date; if she did, all the better, and even if she didn't, he didn't want to fight anymore.

"So thank you for the ten rockets from the leader of the Sinon-chan fan club. Please go easy on me later, okay? Okay, I got it... Don't stop, leader!"

Since there was now a legitimate reason to let him win, he walked out openly and honestly, without any particularly sophisticated maneuvers, and even seemed somewhat absent-minded.

"Why..." Sinon stared at Sorin for a while, feeling that something was wrong behind him. So she didn't fire her gun, but continued to watch Sorin through her binoculars, ready to fire a shot if he made any sudden movement.

What's going on? Is it really okay for Grandpa Su to leave so openly?

[It seems someone in Uncle Suo's live stream just now sent him a rocket, asking him to go easy on him.]

"No, I still feel like there's something wrong... This isn't right." Shino thought for a long time, her right hand on the trigger loosening and tightening several times, before finally finding an opening, aiming at Sorin and firing a shot.

The shot missed. Firstly, Sinon only wanted to test the waters with the gun and hadn't actually aimed at Sorin's head. Secondly, even if Sorin wanted to hold back, he would have done it properly, at least not like he was obviously throwing the match. So, when he realized Sinon was sniping at him, he immediately began to leap forward, his movement speed increasing significantly, and his movements becoming serpentine.

"I thought he had some trick up his sleeve, but it turns out a headshot was enough to kill him instantly..."

Sinon was now feeling a bit regretful, but all she could do now was anticipate Sorin's movements and continue attacking. Of course, if she continued attacking here, it would inevitably reveal Sorin's approximate location, which was unavoidable. After all, she hadn't used her full power in her first shot.

"Once it's over, I have to ask him why... It can't really be because of those guys who spammed rockets, right?" Sinon shook her head, banishing these random guesses from her mind, her hands still moving, firing several 12.7mm rounds from the Devil and Heel sniper rifles in succession, grazing the steel plate next to Sorin's feet and sparking a series of fireballs.

“As long as we run fast enough and use the most cunning tactics, bullets won’t be able to catch us. You see, that’s how it is.” Sorin kept changing direction while taking the time to pinpoint Shino’s approximate location. “Let me tell you, there’s a trick to holding back. Look at that empty city tactic we just used. What do you call it? It’s like I held back and nobody paid any attention to me. What could I do?”

His words were quite unserious, but his actions betrayed him. Those familiar with him, like Old Ass, could tell that he was now completely serious, a return to his true self.

"It's time to reveal the final trump card... Doesn't that line sound a bit off?"

------

"This is Dokkaebi. Ivyxin, what happened?"

Grace sat in front of her PC, a jumble of data streams before her eyes, dazzling to behold. Her hands flew across the keyboard, typing line after line of code, as if engaged in a fierce battle; even her replies sounded rushed.

“I’ve located Death Gun, but his login location is rather…high-end. At least we can’t get into this place without an official search warrant.” Ivy’s tone suddenly became subtle as she said this. “Although it’s just a private company, it has an official background from the United States. It’s quite difficult to take action against them.”

As she finished speaking, she sent a map to the Rainbow Team's PC, along with a document that listed "Amherst Biopharmaceuticals" and related information.

“…I understand. Try your best to conduct the search without alerting them. I can indeed provide you with a search warrant, but that would alert them. Good luck.”

233. Hesitation leads to defeat.

Sinon instantly felt an immense pressure bearing down on her. Even Sorin himself probably hadn't expected that when he got serious, he would exude such a formidable aura. From Sinon's perspective, Sorin's previously harmless figure resembled that of a seasoned soldier, battle-hardened and experienced, his eyes revealing a detachment from the meaning of life.

"So this is what he looks like when he's completely serious? Oh right, he's an SAO survivor..." Sinon's thoughts suddenly drifted to a distant place, and she looked at Sorin with a hint of curiosity. "Maybe he can answer my questions, but for now... let's finish this match first."

At this moment, she had closed the distance to Sorin to within fifty meters. This was a very dangerous line for a sniper. After activating her anti-scan at high altitude and locating Sorin, she used her grappling hook to move to another high position and simultaneously threw a landmine onto the ground nearby.

When Sorin saw the landmine fly out, he immediately drew Cassidy from his back and detonated it in mid-air. Then, he deployed the grappling hook hanging from the bottom of his combat suit and performed a vertical maneuver along the side of the truck where Sinon was standing. This maneuver was somewhat risky, but after being shot in the shoulder by Sinon, Sorin activated his survivor link and, despite the damage from the explosions caused by Sinon's two sniper rifles switching back and forth with full buffs, forced his way through, ultimately managing to flip onto the roof just in time for his second first-aid kit's cooldown.

As Sorin climbed onto the vehicle, Shino attached her grappling hook to the roof, then leaped backward, detaching herself mid-air before using another grappling hook to attach to another vehicle. However, she didn't notice that Sorin seemed to have stuck something to her.

“You have a special package!” Sorin said with a smile from the top of the truck, a detonator appearing in his hand out of nowhere. “Remember, hesitation leads to defeat.”

“But decisively, he’ll still give it away for free.” Sinon said this as if to mock him.

Sorin suddenly looked down and saw that Shino had left a landmine where she had been standing before, before leaving the rooftop. The two of them pressed the detonator almost simultaneously, and the battlefield ultimately couldn't determine who detonated the bomb first. Thus, although there hadn't been any prior agreement, the battle ended in a draw.

"That's really frustrating. A victory that was within my grasp turned into a draw. Although you're incredibly strong... Hey! Just you wait, I'll definitely beat you next time!"

After leaving the battle arena and returning to the underground area of ​​the White House, the first thing Sinon did was run to Sorin's side and say something that sounded like a declaration of war. However, Sorin didn't react much, or rather, from the very beginning, his thoughts were filled with worry for his little angel.

Seeing that the guy didn't react at all, Shino first went up and shook his shoulder, then shook it harder until Sorin reached out and pressed her wrist down, stopping her movement.

"Can I ask you a question, Sinon?" After a moment of hesitation, Sorin quickly ended the stream and asked in a low voice, "What kind of situation do you think would cause someone who is shot by a specific player in a game to die simultaneously in real life?"

“This kind of thing…it’s impossible, right? AmuSphere should be a pretty safe gaming console; this shouldn’t happen.” Sinon sat down next to Sorin, lowered her head to think for a moment, and hesitated before answering, “It sounds more like…”

"Yeah, it sounds more like the mechanics from SAO that forced me, a battlefield player, into becoming a PvE player. That's really interesting." Sorin's tone was clearly tinged with resentment as he said this. "Turn off the stream, thanks."

"Oh... I see. That's all for today's live stream~ Goodnight." Shino nodded subconsciously, said goodnight to the viewers in her live stream, and then followed Sorin's practiced technique to end the stream at lightning speed, leaving them no time to react. "Actually, there are some things I've always been curious about, about that game... If it's inconvenient to talk about, then never mind."

"There's nothing inconvenient to talk about. After all, this is the most memorable period of my life, although I would never want to go through it again." Suolin sighed, his expression showing a hint of melancholy. "So, play less games and go out and experience more. Young people who stay at home all the time have no future."

"It sounds like something an older man would say," Shino chuckled, but her next question suddenly turned serious. "If... I mean, if in that world, if you didn't kill someone, and either you or someone you valued highly would be killed, would you still act without hesitation?"

"Nonsense, if I fight, he dies; if I don't, I die. Anyone would choose that, right?" Sorin answered with an air of self-righteousness. Shino was quite surprised by his answer, but her eyes immediately turned suspicious.

"I know what you're hesitating about. Let me tell you a story, it was probably right after I graduated from university. You might not believe it, but even in 2020, there were still bank robberies in Japan. I've been back to Japan so many times and this is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. The thing is, I was actually there..."

When Sinon heard Sorin say that, her pupils widened suddenly, and her body trembled. Fortunately, Sorin noticed Sinon's unusual behavior in time and stopped, but his gaze towards Sinon became even more puzzled.

"...Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. By the way, that Dead Gun seems to have the ability to fire shots in the game and have the effects on his real body. I don't know how he does it, but it's best to be careful. See you next time."

He hastily left those words and exited the game. Kirito seemed to have woken up long ago; he covered him with the blanket and then lay quietly on his side, appearing to be asleep. He gently crawled out from under the covers, took out his Raider combat suit and the matching AA-12 and AUG-A2 from the cabinet, and went into the living room.

"Let's go, Yuna, come with me to find Ivy, and there are other things to do as well."

234. Past Events

————2020————

"I guess I'll become a full-time streamer after graduation... plus a professional poker player, this kind of life suits me quite well."

Mo Yulan leaned back comfortably in his chair, looking at the number in his hand, then glanced up at the number on the window and pondered for a moment. The number on the window was still two digits shorter than the one in his hand, causing him to sigh in despair.

"There are about ten more. Why is it that in this rural area there isn't even an ATM or anything like that? You have to queue to withdraw money."

He ruthlessly criticized the backwardness of this rural bank, then began to look at other things. This was his graduation trip. Although he often traveled around the world even before graduating, this was truly the first time he had taken a trip purely for the purpose of not having a competition in mind.

He's starting to feel that this kind of tourism model—just carrying money around between different attractions and spending it—isn't quite right. At least it's not as fun as spending an afternoon playing Magic: The Gathering at a card shop somewhere.

"God, please make my life more exciting, it's so boring!"

As if the heavens had heard Mo Yulan's call, after he finished speaking, he suddenly heard a small door opening and then curiously looked up. It was a thin, middle-aged man dressed in gray-black clothing, holding a leather bag in one hand. His pupils were unfocused and unusually dilated—Mo Yulan vaguely remembered a pharmacy senior saying that this was a sign of drug use.

"Holy crap? This guy's got a crazy fangirl vibe and's at the bank... Something doesn't feel right."

As Mo Yulan was pondering this, she saw the man walk directly to the window, forcefully grab the wrist of a woman who was processing a remittance, and then shove her away violently with his left hand. A little girl who appeared to be her daughter immediately stood up, about to protest the rude violence her mother had suffered, when the man actually pulled out a black Tokarev pistol from his bag and fired a shot into the air as a deterrent.

"Put the money in your bag! Keep both hands on the table! Don't try to press the alarm—and nobody else should move!"