NIS Agent Reincarnated as a Genius Actor - Chapter 332

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 332. Limited Thinking

Thudududu─.

As the helicopter door opened, the sound of the spinning propeller hit their ears.

After Yeon-woo and his team members got off the helicopter and moved some distance away through the loud noise and wind, a staff member carrying something black the size of a tablet PC followed them down.

“Please take this!”

The staff member’s voice could be heard shouting over the helicopter’s loud noise.

As Yeon-woo received the item the staff member handed over, he continued speaking.

“This is an operation pad that delivers progress updates and various instructions! Once the helicopter takes off again, please move according to the guidance from this pad! Until then, moving to other locations will result in disqualification!”

When Yeon-woo nodded in understanding, the staff member got back on the helicopter, which soon rose into the sky with loud noise and wind.

Meanwhile, Yeon-woo and his team members looked around their surroundings.

Naturally, there wouldn’t be enemies within visible range, but assessing the nearby terrain was something they had to do immediately after landing.

To the left stretched an endless emerald sea, and they could see coastal dunes that had developed along the beach toward the center of the island.

And in the distance toward the horizon, they could see dense forests, giving them a clear sense that this was an island with various mixed environments.

Then Kim Su-hyeok spoke first.

“While coming down, I saw helicopters carrying other teams, and when I checked as we lowered altitude, the closest team was about 700 meters away from us.”

Yeon-woo nodded after hearing Kim Su-hyeok’s words.

Being a sniper, his ability to measure distances by eye was far superior to ordinary people, so the margin of error wouldn’t be large.

The straight-line distance of a typical school playground in Korea is about 70 meters.

To run 100 meters, you usually have to run diagonally or start from outside the playground.

A straight-line distance of 700 meters would mean running from end to end of such a playground ten times, which is quite a long distance.

Yeon-woo finished his mental calculations in a brief moment.

“Then with one team eliminated and nineteen teams total having landed, the island’s circumference must be at least 13.3 kilometers, no matter how small. If we cross the island diagonally, the minimum straight-line distance would be roughly 4.2 kilometers.”

Kim Su-hyeok, being a sniper, was also quick with basic calculations, so he immediately understood and nodded.

At the same time, he was impressed by Yeon-woo’s rapid mental arithmetic speed.

“You calculated the circumference with 700 meters and nineteen teams, then divided by pi to find the diameter.”

“Yes. Of course, I thought about it assuming the island is circular. The high terrain located in the center looked like it was formed by volcanic activity.”

The helicopter flew too low to grasp the overall shape of the island.

It was likely they deliberately flew low to avoid providing information to the players.

Then the operation pad Yeon-woo was holding lit up.

“It looks like a message has arrived.”

Yeon-woo read the message displayed on the operation pad.

– Welcome to the nineteen teams of players who have arrived at “Survival Island – Global Match”! The team leader holding this operation pad must immediately move at least 30 meters away from other team members. Your location is being tracked by GPS signal, and when you are more than 30 meters apart, the indicator light at the top will turn green.

“Hmm, they want us to separate by at least 30 meters for now.”

The two people nodded at Yeon-woo’s words.

They had already received related instructions before departure.

The rule that when it’s time for the team leader to make tactical choices, they must separate from team members and think and choose alone.

Yeon-woo took the operation pad and distanced himself from his team members.

When they were sufficiently apart, the red circle at the top of the screen turned green.

And two numbers appeared next to the green circle.

– 32m

– 31m

‘Hmm, one must be the distance to Kim Su-hyeok, and the other to Park Jung-hyeon.’

It seemed to be displayed so the team leader could easily find them when separated from team members.

‘As expected, the team members are indeed playing the role of babysitters for the team leader players.’

The production team was probably quite anxious about whether the participating celebrities might get into trouble if left alone.

Zzzing─.

Then the operation pad vibrated and displayed a new screen.

It was a screen showing the field with a green grid pattern on a black background.

The visual was like a green desk rubber mat with a grid pattern that you’d place on a desk.

– The screen you are currently viewing is the island where you are located.

Along with the instruction text, red dots appeared on the field.

Without counting, there would naturally be 19 of them.

Then one of them turned golden.

‘That must be me.’

It was an intuitive interface that could be understood without explanation.

The golden dot representing Yeon-woo was positioned at the bottom among the numerous red dots that surrounded the island in a circular formation.

If compared to a clock, it was at the 5 o’clock position.

The spacing between the red dots was relatively consistent.

As Yeon-woo had expected, the island was circular, and if Kim Su-hyeok’s estimate was accurate, the island’s perimeter was likely around 13 kilometers.

Having grasped the island’s shape and overall size, he was in a slightly more advantageous position than some teams that hadn’t made these assessments.

– Before starting the game, we will guide you through several rules.

1. Every 3 hours, when ‘Strategy Time’ like now begins, your tactical pad will notify you. During this time, you cannot attack each other.

2. All players have five lives each. Each time you are hit, one life is consumed.

3. If a team leader is eliminated, that team will be eliminated when the next ‘Strategy Time’ begins, regardless of whether team members are still alive.

4. Remaining lives can only be transferred from team members to the team leader. (Lives cannot exceed a maximum of 5.)

‘Hmm.’

Yeon-woo stroked his chin while reading the rules displayed on the tactical pad.

So ultimately, there were two ways to be eliminated from the game.

‘Failing to reach the position you designated during Strategy Time – that is, a point more than 500 meters away. And being eliminated when the team leader’s lives are all consumed.’

If the team leader was eliminated, they couldn’t designate a position during the next Strategy Time, so they would automatically be eliminated – the two scenarios were essentially connected.

Ultimately, the ‘points designated during each Strategy Time’ were the most important game rule.

‘Then if I eliminate an enemy team leader, it would be best to retreat immediately.’

If the team leader was eliminated, it meant everyone would be eliminated when the next Strategy Time began, so the remaining team members would likely go all-out with reckless attacks.

If the enemy acted that way, there was no need to engage in unnecessary attrition warfare.

Then the tactical pad vibrated again and the golden dot indicating Yeon-woo’s position on the field glowed.

Then a circular range around the golden dot was displayed in white.

‘This must be the 500-meter radius.’

Looking at the positions of the nearest red dots, they were located just outside the white circle centered on him.

Kim Su-hyeok’s estimate of about 700 meters seemed quite accurate.

– The white zone displayed on the screen is an unselectable area. Please touch any other location. However, if you fail to reach that location within three hours, you will be eliminated, so choose carefully. If you don’t select within 10 minutes, you will be automatically eliminated.

Along with the message, a countdown began at the top of the tactical pad.

‘So I need to choose an area outside the circle currently displayed, but most people will probably choose the area closest to the circle to minimize travel distance.’

Yeon-woo stared intently at the tactical pad.

‘First, this map shows no terrain features at all. It’s just filled with vertical and horizontal lines. No matter where I choose, I can’t tell if that actual location is an open field or a forest thick with trees.’

The other eighteen team leaders were probably racking their brains just as hard as Yeon-woo about where to choose.

Their options could be predicted to be about two types.

‘First, there’s the method of following the perimeter of the island.’

If they chose that method, depending on their position, they would advance in a circular pattern along the coastline, either clockwise or counterclockwise around the island. The advantage of this case was that one side faced the sea and the back was the path they had walked, so they only needed to watch the front and one remaining side.

‘But the disadvantage is that they would encounter enemies with relatively high probability.’

If the opponent also advanced in reverse along the coastline, they would inevitably collide head-on.

In such cases, one side would be annihilated, and the surviving team would also suffer massive damage.

Besides the method of circling the island’s perimeter, there was a second method.

The advancing method.

‘For now, comparing the two, this is the better strategy.’

The distance from teams starting on either side was 700 meters. The distance he needed to advance was 500 meters.

Just as a white circle appeared for him, ranges would have been displayed for others too.

There definitely existed spaces where those circles didn’t overlap with each other.

‘If I advance straight toward the center of the island, there’s almost no possibility of encountering enemies in the first selection.’

Early combat had to be avoided.

In 「Survival Island」, it was individual combat, so even when encountering others, he could overwhelm them physically by rushing in first and taking the initiative.

However, 「Global Match」 was team combat, and in many-versus-many battles, there was no telling where a stray bullet might come from to hit him.

As the game progressed to later stages, the number of lives would become more important, so combat had to be avoided in the very early stages.

‘And this 500-meter rule is quite an interesting rule indeed.’

Yeon-woo chuckled as he thought about the think tank at Blue Whale Gate who must have planned this rule.

***

Meanwhile, watching Yeon-woo from afar as he looked at the tactical pad 30 meters away, Kim Su-hyeok emphasized once more to Park Jung-hyeon.

“He’s smart and learns quickly, but since he lacks real combat experience, he might make strange choices. Even so, it’s more important to join forces and move in one direction rather than having too many cooks in the kitchen, so follow orders and assist him faithfully.”

“Understood.”

Since they had thoroughly studied the briefing materials about the rules before departure, both men knew they had to advance to at least 500 meters away from now.

Soon, having finished making his choice, Yeon-woo walked over to the two men.

“Which direction will we advance?”

To Kim Su-hyeok’s question, Yeon-woo smiled and answered.

“We’re heading to the center of the island.”

Kim Su-hyeok nodded at that answer.

When he had received the briefing about the rules, he had run simulations in his head, and among the two options, he judged that advancing toward the center was the better choice since it could avoid early engagements.

But Kim Su-hyeok’s face turned bewildered at the words that followed.

“The travel distance will be at least 3 kilometers, so we’ll need to run hard to reach it within three hours. Let’s hurry and depart.”

“…Excuse me?”

Wait, why would the travel distance exceed 3 kilometers when going to an area 500 meters away?

Kim Su-hyeok asked back with a confused expression.

“3 kilometers?”

Then Park Jung-hyeon tapped Kim Su-hyeok’s back.

“Don’t question the Team Leader’s decisions and faithfully carry them out while assisting him. Isn’t that right?”

“…Hmm. Right.”

Since those were the words he had spoken just minutes ago, Kim Su-hyeok scratched his head and answered.

Then Yeon-woo briefly explained to satisfy their curiosity.

“We’re not heading in the ‘direction of the center’ but to the ‘center’ itself. Eventually, whether we circle the island’s perimeter or gradually advance toward the center, the distance between us will shrink, so even if not with this choice, we’ll inevitably encounter enemies with the next choice.”

Seeing the two agents nodding at those words, Yeon-woo continued.

“The 500-meter rule is a trap. It naturally instills in players the fixed notion that moving more is dangerous, limiting their thinking to the option of advancing exactly 500 meters. Doing that drastically reduces early survival rates. While others are fighting chaotically in cramped spaces, we’ll advance more than 3 kilometers and secure the center.”

Once during the game.

There’s a moment when survival rates dramatically increase the farther you move.

Right now.

When the game has started.

The farthest place from everyone who started surrounding the circular island’s edge is the center of the circle.

In other words, the center of the island.

By rapidly advancing and securing the center, they would temporarily escape from all the numerous combat zones that would chaotically emerge as all other teams moved around during at least the next two or three strategy times.

‘Secure the center in advance and easily hunt enemies who break through the mayhem.’

Kim Su-hyeok and Park Jung-hyeon naturally nodded after hearing Yeon-woo’s explanation.

They realized that their own thinking had also been limited to 500 meters.

“Will our position also be displayed to surviving enemies during the next strategy time?”

To Kim Su-hyeok’s question, Yeon-woo nodded.

“Yes. It will probably be displayed as a red dot on a black screen.”

Then Kim Su-hyeok became curious about the faces of other team leaders when they would see a red dot glowing in an unbelievable position during the next strategy time.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————