The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 216
“Would you come with me to find J? What do you say?”
Shut up.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that~ It was all their choice, you know.”
Shut up.
“I just helped them a little. They would’ve withered away there otherwise. Though I did gain something from the whole process. Let’s call it mutual benefit?”
Shut up!
“It would’ve been nice if they were still alive… I would’ve let them reunite with J.”
…What?
For a moment, my body lost all its strength. Ga-young murmured as if she felt sorry, and then looked at J. She clasped her hands and smiled brightly.
“Oh, there was an accident at the lab they were in… So, everyone died? The researchers, the test subjects… Although some data remains.”
‘Does she not know that Lee Sa-young is that kid?’
Could that be possible? My mind raced. Jung Bin and Bae Won-woo, who received intel and went to the lab, rescued Lee Sa-young, who melted the lab and escaped… Could Ga-young really not know? Or is what I know different from the truth?
Cha Eui-jae asked nonchalantly.
“…What kind of accident was it?”
“Hmm, I heard it was an explosion~ I was lucky to be at another location. The Awakened Management Bureau guarded the place so tightly that I couldn’t get a closer look…”
“…”
“If it weren’t for that, I would’ve shown you. Too bad, really. But~ this kind friend of mine here was created based on their data.”
It slowly turned its head and stared at Cha Eui-jae. Black poison dripped down beneath the filter. Its grotesquely distorted and mangled skin was probably due to the effects of the poison. Lee Sa-young had been the same.
Was this person someone’s family? Wouldn’t someone be desperately searching for him? But there was no will or self in its blurry eyes. It only remembered how to obey and fight…
“Aren’t you happy? You’re looking at the gift they left behind.”
“…”
Ga-young continued to provoke Cha Eui-jae, gently pressing his most vulnerable spot, hoping he would burst with anger, expecting a more violent reaction. If he hadn’t met Lee Sa-young, he might’ve fallen for her honeyed words. Lee Sa-young was Cha Eui-jae’s reverse scale, after all.
But…
Eui-jae glanced around. It was a good thing he had learned where the cameras were positioned when they were at the hangover soup restaurant. Cameras were now aimed at him from all directions.
‘Good thing I didn’t attack outright.’
Well, except for grabbing her by the collar.
‘I’ve still got a lot to learn…’
Without replying, Cha Eui-jae took a step back. Then, he placed his spear horizontally over his shoulders and asked.
“What did you call that kid?”
“…Huh? What did I call them?”
Ga-young smirked.
“You’re not expecting some cute name or nickname, are you?”
“…”
Ga-young stepped back with a bored expression. She raised both hands as if to say she was disappointed and answered.
“I called them No. 4. Because they were the fourth experiment… No, the fourth person I brought in.”
“…”
Number 4.
Number 4. Cha Eui-jae mulled over the name ‘Number 4.’ He thought of Lee Sa-young, who must’ve responded to that name, given to them without their consent. A strange ache stirred in his chest. Ga-young, who had been glancing around, spoke again.
“You’re holding back better than I expected. I’m impressed.”
“Did you want me to kill you?”
“I was hoping you’d come at me~ …a little more violently than just grabbing my collar.”
Ga-young smiled as she tidied up her rumpled collar.
“But I’ve already accomplished my goal~”
“What’s your goal?”
“Talking with J. Having a deep conversation.”
As Cha Eui-jae tensed his muscles to grab Ga-young, the creature beside her also prepared to move. The amount of poison dripping from it increased. It placed its hands on the asphalt, and where it touched, the ground melted in the shape of its hand. A grating sound, like someone scratching their throat, echoed.
“…”
If he rushed in, the whole area would be devastated. With poison. Cha Eui-jae frowned and glanced around. Being on the main street, there were many civilians who had taken refuge in nearby buildings…
“Hehe, it was so nice to see you after such a long time. We’ll meet again, for sure~”
Ga-young snapped her fingers. The creature grabbed her with one arm, leaped, and disappeared from sight. All that remained was the deeply gouged asphalt and the black puddle marking its presence.
‘…I should follow them.’
They would likely return to their base. Cha Eui-jae let out a short sigh, then prepared to leap after them. At that moment—
“Oh? It’s J!”
Red hair lightly landed in front of him. It was Kang Ji-soo. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were splattered with blood, indicating she had been through a battle. She roughly wiped the blood off her face with her sleeve. For once, he was glad to see her. He needed a distraction from his thoughts. Adjusting his mask from his awkward posture, Cha Eui-jae asked.
“Did you just finish a fight?”
“Yeah, something like that. I just threw down the Vice-Guild Leader after sorting out the mess they caused.”
“A mess?”
“Yeah, he started shaking, then collapsed onto the steering wheel… But while driving.”
Kang Ji-soo bumped her fists together. It seemed there had been an accident. In the previous world, Bae Won-woo had lost one arm… His face darkened behind the mask. It seemed Bae Won-woo hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of the apocalypse either.
“Is Bae Won-woo okay? Any other injuries?”
“Luckily, no~ I passed out for a bit too, but I woke up before the Vice-Guild Leader.”
“…That’s good.”
“Anyway, some weird things fell from the sky, so I evacuated the civilians and the Vice-Guild Leader before coming here. Weren’t you at the conference?”
“Yes, but everyone else… passed out. I thought I’d try to handle the situation myself.”
“Oh, that’s a relief. But there’s probably not much left to handle.”
“Excuse me?”
Cha Eui-jae’s eyes widened. Monsters that devour humans were falling from the sky, and there was nothing to handle? Kang Ji-soo started to untangle her messy hair with her fingers, looking annoyed.
“No, some weird guys showed up and started dealing with the monsters.”
“…”
“They move like zombies, but they fight well. They told me to get out of the way and let them handle it. People are even clapping for them, saying they’re doing a great job. Ridiculous.”
Kang Ji-soo snorted and shoved her hands into her hoodie pockets. A bad feeling crept over him.
“Talking with J. Having a deep conversation.”
“Kang Ji-soo, what did those guys look like?”
“Huh? Oh, they were just wearing white. But they didn’t look like hunters. They said they were some kind of militia… I mean, how can civilians take down monsters? Even when I tried to help, they just kept telling me to go away, go away.”
Kang Ji-soo pouted in frustration. Cha Eui-jae ran a rough hand through his hair. His ash-gray hair, which could almost look white in certain lights, was now a tangled mess.
‘They were just buying time…’
How could he not notice such a simple scheme? His emotions must have been really shaken. Staring down at his broken phone, he turned to Kang Ji-soo, who was still grumbling, and said,
“Could you call your Guild Leader for me?”
***
“Wa~ke~up.”
“…”
“I’m telling you, this is really urgent. Come on, wake up. Huh? Not waking up? This is unavoidable. If you complain about it later, you’re petty.”
Slap! A hand sharply tapped against a pale cheek. However, the person whose cheek was hit showed no sign of getting up, though the cheek turned red. Slap slap slap slap. Despite repeated slaps, the result was the same. Hong Ye-seong scratched his head in frustration after pulling back his hand.
“Aww… this is troublesome. Why isn’t he waking up? Lee Sa-young, where did you go?”
He was crouched in front of Lee Sa-young, who was lying flat on the ground, completely still. Only the slow rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was alive. Hong Ye-seong, now sitting cross-legged, glanced over as Jung Bin approached, holding a phone with a troubled expression.
“This time, it’s a call from Kang Ji-soo. Should I answer it?”
“Ah, can’t I just imitate his voice?”
“Would that really work? Why not just answer it?”
“No way, no way! It’s terrifying to respond to J.”
Jung Bin’s gaze turned unusually cold. The Round Table conference room, once bustling, had quieted down since most people had run out as soon as they regained consciousness and checked their messages. Song Jo-heon had rushed out with a face like he’d seen a ghost, and Ham Seok-jeong, limping heavily, went out to oversee the situation.
As a result, the only ones left here were…
“Lee~ Sa~ Young!”
An artisan who was utterly useless in combat.
“Calling him like that won’t make him wake up. There must be another issue.”
Jung Bin, who was also powerless against monsters, was there because his main task was to guard Hong Ye-seong, with Ham Seok-jeong in charge of overall command. And,
“…”
Lee Sa-young, lying fast asleep.
“But, why haven’t you left yet, Gyu-Gyu?”
“Hmm? Well…”
Click, click, click. A series of quick clicks echoed as Gyu-Gyu swiftly completed a Rubik’s cube, then smiled and placed it on the table with a tap.
“Because this place seems like it’s going to be more fun than outside~?”
“…”
“Go ahead and do your thing, I’ll go out on my own when I’m done relaxing~”
Gyu-Gyu started humming a little tune.
