Xiao Lin/Counter Case

## Exemplary Sniper

> *This document was written for the talent hunt.*
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In a recorded interview, an interviewee from the Underground described ALT Squad as a highly determined mercenary group that drove other mercenaries out of their jobs. He singles out Xiao Lin as a "literally a monster" for her astonishing marksmen skills, recounting the time she killed an armored Corrupted Object from a mile away by consecutively firing three of her rounds on top of each other to penetrate the armor. This particular incident made her famous, and she received recruitment offers from multiple clients. Yet, Lin turned them all down because she reportedly was not interested in money.

## [Appendix] Video Record #1

> *A reconstruction based on the internal surveillance system records.*
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Using the Administration's prototype Memory Reader, Xiao Lin has a brief but traumatic flashback of her sniper training days at an undisclosed facility. Olivie Park asks if Lin was able to remember anything, but Lin says she isn't sure and thinks the device wasn't functioning properly. As she leaves the Lab, Lin mumbles to herself that she didn't want to recall that particular memory.

## [Appendix] Video Record #2

> *A reconstruction based on the internal surveillance system records.*
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ALT Squad celebrates another successful mission, but Seo Yoon notices that Lin, who just came back from the Lab, is looking troubled. Eujin sarcastically tells her to work out more and if walking to the Lab was too exhausting for her, but to everyone's surprise Lin agrees with the statement with apparent sincerity. Lin assures her squad members that nothing is wrong, so Yoon dismisses her. The memory Lin had is then depicted in greater detail:

At the facility, a young Lin and her teacher saw that a bird had set up its nest near the laboratory area. Since the researchers couldn't allow any possible nuisances in the lab, Lin's teacher suggests Lin to relocate the nest elsewhere. However, she also subsequently makes her promise that she'll "pull the trigger."

Back in the present, Lin reminisces the past as she walks home and quietly calls her teacher a liar.

## [Appendix] Contact Testimony

> *For an uncensored copy, please contact Beta admin.*
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The next day, Lin comes into work and finds her squad members worrying for her. Seo Yoon asks her again if she's alright, and Lin admits she'd been looking back on the things that happened at the research facility (which the group call "school"). She explains that she tested out the memory reader to see if their pasts could be uncovered by outside parties and assures everyone that the device was defective. Eujin is enraged that Lin would go out and risk compromising the squad without their knowledge. Lin apologizes and says she won't make another mistake, making Eujin worry for her again. Seo yoon tells her not to worry, saying Lin always hits her target at the end.

## [Record] Interview Details

> *Viewing is restricted under instructions of Alpha admin.*
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The Machine G.A.P. is closing the Coffin Company building for the night when Lin asks if she can have a private talk with him. She takes him to a secluded room and starts off by stating she knows that the Machine G.A.P. is just a proxy for the real CEO. After requesting him to turn off any recording devices he has equipped, Lin begins recounting her most traumatic memory.

During her "school" days, Lin used to care for a bird with her teacher despite strict regulations stating that any animal that came inside the facility was to be killed and disposed of. She lagged behind her classmates because the bird was more important (and enjoyable) to her than her schoolwork. Some time after the bird grew and had offspring, Lin was ordered by her teacher to shoot them dead— it turned out the facility researchers wanted Lin to toughen up, so they prepared to her kill something that she raised and cherished. Lin couldn't bring herself to kill the birds, so "that woman" did so instead. After the incident, she started taking her classes more seriously.

The Machine G.A.P. asks why Lin is confiding her story to him and not her friends at ALT Squad, and she answers that a sniper should stay calm and cold and asserts her squad members wouldn't be able to trust someone who couldn't kill out of attachment. The Machine G.A.P. thinks that ALT Squad would understand her position given that they all attended at the same school. Lin nevertheless thanks her boss for listening to her story.

After Lin leaves, the Machine G.A.P. wonders if "that woman" killed the birds so that Lin wouldn't have been disposed of for her stubbornness.