The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 228
“The situation?”
A clear, boyish voice answered.
“90% of the patients have completed treatment, and the critically injured are being treated in collaboration with local hospitals. Still, the medical system hasn’t collapsed like before. Most of the lightly injured are being treated in tents.”
“Even trash has its use.”
“That expression is inappropriate, master.”
“Then what expression fits?”
“A more fitting expression would be, ‘Even a dung beetle has the skill to roll itself around.’”
The man chuckled softly.
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
Crrr… crocs slid to a stop in front of the sliding door.
Click, a button was pressed, and a blinding light poured out. The light illuminated the massive corpse of a monster slumped on the floor. A white coat and long white hair tied beneath it swayed. Delicate fingers pushed up a pair of glasses. Nam Woo-jin put on the gloves and mask handed to him by the boy, then dragged his crocs toward the monster’s face. The monster lay dead, its tongue hanging out.
“You brought it back in pretty good shape. I thought it’d be in pieces.”
“…”
From a shadowed corner of the operating room, Honeybee, who had been leaning against the wall, gave a slight nod. Nam Woo-jin touched the monster’s massive mouth and teeth. The blood and dust that clung to it hadn’t yet dried. Blood from its mouth pooled on the floor in a small puddle. It likely wasn’t the monster’s own blood.
“So why was a Ranker assigned to deliver this? I expected the Rift Management Bureau to send someone.”
“…What was I supposed to do when they told me to go? Orders are orders.”
Honeybee wore an unusually gloomy expression. Nam Woo-jin glanced at her briefly before looking away. He knew exactly why the director had assigned the delivery to her. There were too many things out there related to Prometheus. With her quick temper and rash actions, who knew what she might do?
‘So they want me to keep her in check.’
The director certainly knew how to manage people. Nam Woo-jin gestured to the boy. The boy scurried over and easily pried the monster’s mouth wide open. Nam Woo-jin shined a light into the gaping maw. Blood and shattered fragments of some kind clung together inside.
A grotesquely large mouth, paired with abnormally small eyes. Its eyes had likely atrophied and weren’t functional. Nam Woo-jin picked up a sharp scalpel.
“We should thank those guys. Thanks to them, I get time to dissect this thing piece by piece.”
“…”
Honeybee shot Nam Woo-jin a cold glare. He responded indifferently.
“It was a joke, so relax.”
“Oh, a joke? I thought you were trying to get on my nerves.”
“My apologies.”
The sound of skin, fat, and flesh being cut reverberated sharply.
Honeybee let out an irritated sigh, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. She felt a simmering anger within her. She wanted to grab those responsible and make them talk. Who were they? Was there really an antidote? Was Matthew okay…?
At that moment, Nam Woo-jin, who had been quietly working, spoke.
“Honeybee. I have something to ask.”
Honeybee slowly opened her eyes.
“What is it?”
“Did you catch this thing immediately after it fell from the sky? Without it causing any damage?”
Honeybee, twisting a strand of her hair, raised an eyebrow.
“Huh? I caught it while it was gnawing on anything in sight. You saw its mouth, right? It was covered in blood.”
“…Really? But if that’s the case…”
Nam Woo-jin’s voice echoed hollowly from behind the monster’s massive body.
“There’s nothing inside.”
“What? What are you talking about…?”
As Honeybee approached, the boy stepped in front of her, holding out a white mask and gloves with his clear eyes. Honeybee smirked, but obediently put them on and stood beside him. Nam Woo-jin opened the monster’s massive belly with his gloved hands.
There was nothing. Just as he said.
Honeybee blinked several times in surprise, covering her mouth with a shocked expression.
“…Wait a minute. This doesn’t make sense physically. I saw it with my own eyes. It was chewing on telephone poles, swallowing cars. It even ate people.”
“…”
There weren’t even fragments of the telephone poles or cars, not even a trace of the flesh or bones of the people it had supposedly swallowed. It was a perfect void inside the monster’s stomach. Nam Woo-jin’s face showed rare signs of discomfort. He gazed into the emptiness with his pale eyes.
“This monster… you said it devoured everything in its path?”
“…Yes. Its vision is poor, but its ability to sense presence is exceptional.”
“When I first heard that, I thought it would stop once its stomach was full. It needs time to digest. Monsters that operate under the system’s rules… didn’t deviate too far from the traits of ordinary living creatures, so that was a reasonable assumption.”
“It was.”
“I thought that if we timed it right, even lower-ranked hunters could take it down.”
Indeed. Dungeon monsters, regardless of their appearance or savagery, followed patterns similar to Earth’s other animals; eat, sleep, move. But the monster before them was entirely different.
A being that defied the rules and laws.
“But…”
Honeybee’s face hardened as she sensed the words that were coming. Nam Woo-jin touched the void. He felt nothing.
“What if this thing feels hunger no matter how much it eats?”
“…”
“What if it continues the act of devouring, endlessly, without ever stopping…”
“…That would be a real problem.”
Honeybee nervously bit her lip.
“Is this the end? Are these strange monsters part of it?”
“There’s no way.”
A shadow fell over Nam Woo-jin’s pale face.
“It probably hasn’t even truly begun yet.”
***
Swaaah…
Amid the sound of pouring water, black liquid splashed into the bucket with a squelch. Ugh… Gripping the bucket, Lee Sa-young gagged, blinking his wet eyelashes. He roughly wiped his lips with the back of his hand before staggering to his feet. Bloodshot purple eyes were glaring at him.
The bathroom light flickered. He felt dizzy. Lee Sa-young tried to steady his breath but couldn’t hold it in anymore and threw whatever he could grab at the light.
Crash— Crackle, something shattered with a sound, followed by small sparks as the light went out. As darkness fell, his mind somewhat calmed. Gasping for breath, Lee Sa-young lifted his head.
Bang, bang, bang, loud knocking echoed through the door.
“Hey! What are you doing in there? You okay?”
“…”
“Should I call Nam Woo-jin? Huh? Do you want to go to the Seowon Guild?”
“I already sent a message, Vice-Guild Leader…”
“…Shut up.”
Lee Sa-young growled, snapping back at them. His neck and forehead were sticky with cold sweat. Ever since he had opened his eyes in the meeting room, he couldn’t regain his focus. His heart was racing uncontrollably, and nausea kept surging up.
“Ah…”
It’s irritating.
Lee Sa-young dunked his face into the overflowing sink. Water spilled onto the floor, soaking his feet. Only then did the world grow quiet. Finally, he could think clearly.
Cha Eui-jae.
Seo Min-gi should be handling it well. If anything had happened, he would’ve contacted him immediately…
His fingertips trembled. Lee Sa-young pressed his face harder into the water. He knew better than anyone why his body was in this state. Just recalling a fragment of his past had brought him to this. It was laughable. He could almost hear mocking voices, asking if he couldn’t handle even this.
“Still so young.”
‘Shut up…’
Clenching his teeth, Lee Sa-young lifted his head. He roughly wiped his soaked face with both hands and swung the door open. Bae Won-woo and Kang Ji-soo, who had been leaning against the door, tumbled in. The two, now sprawled on the floor, looked up at Lee Sa-young in shock. Bae Won-woo, covered in band-aids, stammered as he asked.
“Hey, are you… really okay?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m fine…”
Lee Sa-young, looking tired, brushed his wet hair back.
“The light’s broken, so replace it.”
“Oh, uh, sure.”
“Has Seo Min-gi contacted us yet?”
“Huh? No, there’s been no word. Where did you send him?”
“…”
Lee Sa-young walked barefoot across the slick floor.
“I sent him out for a bit. There’s someone he needs to find.”
“…”
“Handle the request for cooperation with the Awakened Management Bureau on your own…”
“Where are you going, Guild Leader?”
Kang Ji-soo craned her neck, asking. Lee Sa-young lazily dragged out his words.
“To find a runaway dog.”
