"If you die in the game, you'll die in real life."
This tragic situation occurred in the VR game Sword Art Online.
As a result, it seemed like VR games would die out,
but with the appearance of the admin package "the Seed,"
VR games regained their popularity, and many safe games were created.
One such VR game has a particularly grim worldview, and won its core popularity
with player versus player duels that use guns instead of swords.
The roar of gunshots in a barren wasteland becomes a dry gale that sweeps over the land.
The name of that game is...
All players logged into Gun Gale Online, your attention, please.
Beginning today at 14:00, we're hosting the team battle royale tournament, Squad Jam!
Each team has a maximum of six players, and 23 teams are participating.
Which team will survive in a devastated world?
You're really fired up, huh?
I wasn't going to participate if I got a ticket for Elsa Kanzaki's concert, but...
You couldn't score a ticket, huh?
So... let's do this!
Let's do our best, P-chan!
Squad Jam... game, start!
Squad Jam
So our start point is in a forest, huh?
That's a disadvantage.
Because we can't make use of your sharpshooting, and my outfit stands out?
Right.
Cover up before we leave the forest.
I don't mind if you shoot through the poncho with your P90.
I'll check the map.
So, we're right here?
No enemies within a 1 km range. We can ignore the north and east.
So, which way?
M?
We'll head due south.
I prefer an urban area.
Follow ten meters behind me.
Roger. I'll follow you.
Stop. Get down.
That's a 5.56 mm-class assault rifle.
Someone else is using a submachine gun.
You can tell?
Yeah.
They probably tried for a tactical position, but were unlucky and clashed with each other.
The forest to the west. It's not far.
I see.
We'll take it slowly. LLENN, take the lead.
This direction.
I'll tell you if you go off course.
R-Roger.
P-Please let me not run into any enemies.
M, the gunfire's stopped. Could they be heading this way?
Don't ask pointless questions. Keep going.
If there's an enemy behind that tree...
If a sniper sets their sights on me...
Enough! Come and get me!
We might shoot each other, but my P-chan will rip you apart!
Stop!
Get down.
Stay alert.
Don't turn around.
I'm 300 meters behind you.
It's almost been nine minutes.
Once the satellite scan starts, your position will be revealed to the enemy.
That's why I kept my distance.
I see. Because only the leader's position is revealed.
If we're unlucky and the enemy's close, they'll definitely attack you after the scan.
A-And if they do?
Let out a generous spray of gunfire, follow the forest's edge, and fall back.
I'll circle around to the left and shoot whoever's pursuing you.
So I'm a decoy? That's a cruel strategy!
You don't have to look at the scan. Just stay alert.
Rog—
M-M, I spotted the enemy.
Thirty seconds until the scan. Describe them as best you can.
U-Um, on the far side of the highway!
In the city! I think it's over 200 meters away!
Calm down. How many do you see? What guns?
At least five people.
I can't identify their guns. But they're not small!
They're behind rubble.
They just stopped.
Wh-What should I do? O-Open fire?
Your P90 won't hit them from that distance. The scan is starting. Wait there.
Even though I found them first!
What do I do? What should I do?
Confirmed.
There's one team on the border between the urban area and the highway.
The distance is over 200 meters.
A-Anything else?
It's okay.
At that distance, they shouldn't be able to engage you in combat right away.
M! I'm being targeted!
M! They're firing randomly at me!
I'm scared! Help!
They're using machine guns. 7.62 mm-class generic machine guns.
Going by the sound of the rapid-fire, they're probably MAGs. Multiple weapons.
Because of the speed of the rapid-fire, I can hear the reverberation too,
so a 56 mm is mixed in there as well.
A Minimi.
Stop analyzing and help me!
If you're safe now, stay hidden and you'll be fine.
Seriously?
Dammit!
Any time now.
Any time for what?
It's nothing. Stay there.
Rapid-fire, rapid-fire! Strafe! Ack-ack! Random fire!
As long as we've got bullets, keep firing!
That's the way of life for the All-Japan Machine Gun Lovers!
Hey! Cease fir—
Sniper!
From behind—
Take cover!
What happened?
Another team picked them off from behind.
That helped.
I'm on my way. Don't accidentally shoot me.
S-Saved.
I was about to die without firing a single shot.
M...
Use it. I didn't tell you earlier,
but the scan showed one more team that was close enough to engage.
So, they're the ones who attacked?
Yeah. Maybe the machine gunners checked the scan and thought they were far enough away,
or they were surprised by how close you were and overlooked the other team.
Either way, they were careless.
Th-Then you knew and used me as a decoy?
That's right.
"That's right"?
Let's observe from here for a bit.
There were five machine gun guys.
Three are dead already.
Those two aren't looking over here at all.
You should shoot them!
No.
I'm not going to attack right now.
Here they come. The wider street on the left.
Behind the bus on its side.
Nice moves. They're in sync.
Four of them?
No, there's more.
How?
Can you see them? Where?
I don't see them yet,
but those four are taking the shortest route to the last machine gunners while staying under cover.
There's probably two more high up in a building giving those four instructions.
I bet they have sniper rifles, too.
They're the ones who picked off the machine gunners.
I don't see them!
They won't be somewhere easy to spot.
If you ever have to reveal your rifle or yourself, you've failed as a sniper.
But splitting up with only six players on your team is a bold strategy.
A team that does so without hesitating is tough.
Those two are goners.
Dammit!
They're wide open. Now's your chance, M.
No.
I could take out one of them, but then the others would hide.
I'll let them go past.
They probably think we retreated deeper into the forest.
The four are on the move!
There.
Look at the building with the arching exterior design.
What is that? Amazing!
Rappelling. Using a rope to descend a vertical surface.
Oh? I didn't know about that skill. I kind of want it.
Those guys are a little different.
With the GGO rappelling skill, you can't descend that fast.
I've done it, so I know.
Then...
That's not a skill they learned in the game. Those guys know how to rappel for real.
Amazing. Maybe they're mountain climbers?
I wish that were the case.
M, it almost sounds like you know what they do in the real world.
It's a guess, but they move with disciplined precision and can rappel quickly.
Those guys may be combat pros.
Pros?
Like the name implies, they're people whose job it is to fight.
Cops, Japan Coast Guard special forces, or Self-Defense Force soldiers.
Isn't that basically cheating?
Pros aren't allowed to play!
There's no rule against it.
It wouldn't be strange if pros used GGO to train, and participate in Squad Jam to test their skills.
What do we do?
If we don't take them out, we won't be able to secure a position in the city.
Do we even stand a chance against them?
- It's impossible. - So blunt!
Then what do we do?
What are we supposed to do now?
Are you lucky, LLENN?
What?
In your life up to now, have you been blessed with good luck?
Let's see...
Uh, yeah, I've been lucky.
I'm a lucky girl!
Probably.
Good enough. We're gonna bet on that luck.
We'll check the next scan here.
If we're lucky, we'll make our move right away.
Make our move?
I'm betting the exccessive gunfire from before is attracting a lot of the other teams.
We'll let the pro team handle them, while we make a beeline to the end of the highway.
Instead of hiding at the edge of the city, we'll head for a central residential area.
I see.
The threat is any enemies within 3 km of us that we may encounter in the next ten minutes.
Seven teams have been wiped out, 16 remain.
M! There are three marks near that pro team.
We're lucky then.
And those poor bastards are out of luck.
Then...
Yeah. We'll let the three unlucky teams buy us time as we get out of here.
The battle's started.
All right! Go, go, go!
I shouldn't get too far ahead, right?
I'll tell you when to stop.
Am I a decoy again?
Even though I'm team leader, I'm being exploited!
I somehow survived that.
Hey! Is anybody else around?
Yeah! I'm alive!
Where are you?
Are you okay?
Let's regroup and get out of here!
I can't do that.
After all, I'm...
...the enemy.
Idiot. You could've checked the status of your teammates.
Well, I'm the last one on my te—
All right! We profit while others fight!
We let them murder each other and then sweep up the rest.
This is what I love about battle royales.
Bravo, Charlie, Delta. Elimination confirmed. No losses.
Roger. We'll check the next scan from here. Stand by for further instructions, but stay alert.
What should we do about the pink girl and the big guy dashing down the highway?
Man, what a run!
Well, we made it.
Without getting shot.
Yeah.
When's the next scan?
It's about to start. Get ready.
Eight teams were annihilated in the desert area.
That's the result of teams fighting for the advantageous terrain in the central ruins.
Amazing.
You mean the pro team's ability?
And your predictions.
It's reached the residential district.
No one.
Thank goodness!
The scan's complete.
Fifteen teams have been annihilated.
There are eight teams left.
We're lucky.
M, who are our next opponents?
To start, the two teams in the forest are close, but we'll ignore them.
Neither side is giving in, so it's a standoff.
They're both lying in wait to ambush the other, so they're waiting in vain.
I think we can count on this team to attack the forest teams from behind.
The team by the spaceship in the marshland has a tactical advantage,
so unless something happens, they're gonna stay put.
Hm.
To be honest, I can't predict what the team in the desert or in the prairie will do.
Especially the team near the ruins.
They could enter the ruins, so why haven't they set up camp there?
I was thinking the same thing.
Anyway, we can ignore them until the next scan.
The problem is...
You mean... those pros?
If their objective isn't to win, but to gain combat experience,
it's unlikely they'll wait to spring an ambush. I'm sure they'll come for us.
But they're tough, right? We can't beat them, right?
Well...
If things go our way, we may be able to beat them.
But for that, we need the ability of the compact, quick-witted and agile LLENN.
Sure! I'm up for anything!
Tell me the plan!
All right.
First...
They're a distance away. We'll need to move.
Alert everyone.
We'll move to the residential district in the next ten minutes.
We've confirmed that only the desert pink munchkin and the big guy were on the highway.
Weapons haven't been confirmed.
Scan in 40 seconds.
Halt.
Stay alert.
Scan starting.
They're close! Due north! 80 meters!
I don't see them!
I don't have a visual either!
Not finding them.
There's no vehicles in the intersection.
Advance.
Roger!
The scan doesn't give us the height.
There's a high possibility they're down a manhole.
Be careful.
We're there.
I don't see any manholes in the intersection.
None over here either.
Facing northwest, on guard.
No sign of the enemy.
Facing northeast, on guard. No visible holes or enemies.
Facing north, on guard. Likewise, no sign of the enemy.
The wasn't an error in the scan, was there?
A system error is extremely unlikely.
List everything you see in the intersection.
Cracked asphalt.
A rusty bike on its side.
A car tire laying flat on its side.
Two fallen tree trunks.
A suitcase.
An empty can. Actually, three of them.
A shopping cart on the sidewalk.
It's empty.
No holes in the ground.
I keep looking, but there's no trace of them.
Everyone! Shoot the suitcase!
Right, at a 45 degree angle! Seven meters ahead!
What?
If possible, use the enemy corpses as a shield.
According to Squad Jam rules, bodies remain in the field as "Immortal Objects."
She's too small!
Why, you!
Are you human?
Yeah, you don't have to fire.
Is it over?
That's not normal human speed.
It doesn't help us.
And so, this training exercise is over.
Amazing!
All killed within moments!
Against real pros!
This is the famous...
I still can't believe it.
The person with the avatar "LLENN"...
is Ms. Karen!
Stop it. You're embarrassing me.
Next time: GGO.