The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 255 investigation
“Watch out!”
A flat-heeled shoe swiftly kicked a stomach. “Ugh! Ack!” The brutal sound was followed by a body rolling off to the corner. And in the very spot where they had been standing—
Bang!
A thick white tail smashed down. The cement wall it hit crumbled, dust rising into the air. Through the haze, a faint neon yellow vest was visible. The person who kicked, Yang Hye-jin, clicked her tongue and raised her voice.
“Hey, you alright?”
“Ugh… I’m… I’m fine…”
As the dust settled a bit, the rookie could be seen clutching his stomach, coughing. She felt a small pang of guilt, but brushed it aside. Better to get hit by her leg than by that tail. Yang Hye-jin reached into the air and pulled out a pair of red hand axes. The weight settled perfectly into her hands.
The monster in front of her looked like a massive bipedal crocodile, though everything about it was white— even each rough scale. The crocodile opened its long jaws wide. Did even the inside of its mouth have to be white?
She cracked her neck from side to side, loosening up her muscles. This was her first time encountering a monster like this, so she needed to gather information. Yang Hye-jin gripped her axes and leapt high into the air. The first thing to check…
‘The monster’s strength!’
She raised both arms and brought them down on the crocodile’s neck with all her might. Squelch! The axes pierced through scales and flesh more easily than expected, breaking the bones. White liquid splattered. The crocodile howled, and Yang Hye-jin tightened her grip on the axes.
‘It’s not as tough as it looks…’
In fact, wasn’t it a bit too soft? A small doubt arose. The crocodile swung its tail in a last attempt to struggle, but her axes burrowed into its neck faster. Finally, its head dropped to the ground with a thud. As the giant body slumped, Yang Hye-jin steadied it against her back, clicked her tongue, and wiped the white liquid off her axes.
“Ah, I should’ve finished this more cleanly.”
“Is… is it over?”
“Yeah, it’s over. Do you have a collection vial on you? I think we need to have this stuff analyzed, too.”
“Just a moment…”
The rookie staggered to his feet and approached, handing her a small vial and a towel from his inventory. Yang Hye-jin wiped her hands with the towel, put on gloves, and collected the liquid seeping from the monster’s neck. A translucent, milky-white liquid with a consistency similar to blood. She frowned.
“Hasn’t the frequency of strange monsters like this one been increasing?”
“Yes! It’s definitely been on the rise compared to before. They’re similar to monsters from the eroded dungeons…”
Yang Hye-jin ran her hand along the monster’s skeletal frame. Hard bones and soft flesh covered in a white powder, from head to toe, even at the cut-off point. Its features were similar to those special monsters found only in the eroded dungeon. If these were wandering the streets…
Yang Hye-jin approached the crocodile’s severed head on the ground.
“Any reports of monsters leaking out from an eroded dungeon?”
“Uh… I think not. Actually, there are no reports!”
“Not a single one?”
“Yes! That’s correct.”
“Are the guilds hiding information again?”
“No way… After that last incident, they wouldn’t dare do that again, right?”
“Then why else would these things be appearing?”
“Could a rift have opened somewhere?”
“If a rift opened, we wouldn’t be just standing around here, would we? We’d have been sent there already. Ugh…”
Yang Hye-jin ruffled her hair in frustration, then gestured to the rookie hunter.
“For now… let’s just hand this over. They’ll figure something out.”
“Understood!”
“Once we’re done here, we’ll ask the guilds specializing in eroded dungeons for their cooperation. Get ready.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The rookie hunter quickly began to move. Yang Hye-jin crouched down in front of the monster’s gaping mouth, still wide open. She noticed something she hadn’t seen earlier.
“…”
Taking a small flashlight from her back pocket, she shined it into the creature’s mouth, running her fingers along the inside of its jaws. Yang Hye-jin glanced back at the rookie.
“Hey… crocodile teeth are sharp, right?”
“Uh? Yes, extremely sharp! They’re triangular.”
“Right? That’s what I thought…”
But the tooth under her fingers was blunt and rectangular, without a single sharp edge. Even what appeared to be its fangs were round compared to a crocodile’s. These teeth were more like…
“…”
Yang Hye-jin cautiously felt the creature’s dentition, then ran her tongue along her own molars. This wasn’t so much like a crocodile as…
Didn’t it resemble a human’s teeth structure?
***
“An investigation request for the eroded dungeon?”
Thud. Cha Eui-jae put down his pen and looked up. Bae Won-woo, standing with his hands behind his back in front of the guild leader’s desk, nodded.
“Yes, it’s an official notice from the Rift Management Bureau. They say they need detailed information on the monsters in the eroded dungeon.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“There were rumors about monsters similar to those reported only within the eroded dungeon appearing here… Hunter Yang Hye-jin apparently encountered one. It seems they need more detailed information.”
A rustling sound came from Lee Sa-young. Cha Eui-jae took the tablet Bae Won-woo handed him and checked it. Attached was a photo of a huge monster with its neck separated from its body. A completely white monster. It resembled the ones he’d seen in the West Sea rift. Bae Won-woo scratched his head.
“Honeybee said that they sent this notice not only to our guild but to every guild managing an eroded dungeon. And, well, there’s no reason to decline, so it might be best to go ahead with the investigation…”
“…”
Cha Eui-jae zoomed in on the photo. The teeth visible in its gaping mouth were shaped like enlarged human teeth. A comment was attached, noting how different this was from an alligator-like monster. Cha Eui-jae let out a small sigh. Bae Won-woo, still with his hands behind his back, cleared his throat.
“Ahem. But, uh, J?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you sitting at the guild leader’s desk?”
Cha Eui-jae glanced over at the sofa in the guild leader’s office. Following his gaze, Bae Won-woo walked over to the sofa. On it, Lee Sa-young was sprawled out under a checkered microfiber blanket. Lee Sa-young blinked and shamelessly responded.
“What’re you looking at?”
“…What are you doing here?”
“I’m sick.”
“Then shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”
“I’m not that sick, just feeling unwell.”
“So you’re letting J sit at the guild leader’s desk while you lie there?”
Lee Sa-young nodded up and down. Bae Won-woo rubbed his forehead, clearly at a loss for words. He seemed to have more to say, his lips moving as if to speak… but in the end, he held back.
He must be in shock. Honestly, I’m in shock too.
A prickling gaze met Cha Eui-jae’s from above his mask. When he glanced in its direction, Lee Sa-young was looking at him with a lazy smile. Damn. Cha Eui-jae quickly turned his head away. He could tell Lee Sa-young was annoyed by how he’d rushed to the chair the moment someone knocked, leaving Lee Sa-young behind.
‘I absolutely cannot let that slip.’
The fact that, just before that, he had been lending Lee Sa-young his lap as a pillow. Cha Eui-jae pretended to ignore everything and swiped through the tablet.
“So, what’s the investigation about? Monsters?”
“Yes, that’s right. They’re suggesting we either go to the site with investigators from the Seowon Guild or the Rift Management Bureau and conduct a dissection on the spot, or capture the monster alive and bring it in… We have those two options.”
“…Neither seems easy.”
“Honeybee chose the latter, to capture it alive.”
“Then tell them we’ll go with the latter as well.”
“Huh? Uh…”
Bae Won-woo glanced at Lee Sa-young. Oh, right, I shouldn’t have been the one to answer that. Cha Eui-jae also turned his gaze toward Lee Sa-young, who was lying on the sofa. He sat up with the blanket around his shoulders and yawned, waving dismissively with his back turned.
“Do what J says.”
“Are you sure?”
“He’s got twice my experience; if not him, who?”
“R-right. Well… So, who are you planning to send for the investigation? If it’s for capturing, maybe Hunter Kang Ji-soo would be…”
“I’ll go myself. No need for anyone else.”
“Huh?”
“…What?”
Lee Sa-young whipped his head around to stare at Cha Eui-jae, practically glaring. Damn. Is he planning to make a scene again? Before Lee Sa-young could throw a fit, Cha Eui-jae quickly raised his hand.
“Wait! There’s a reason.”
“Oh… a reason?”
Lee Sa-young tilted his chin slightly, gesturing for Cha Eui-jae to explain. Cha Eui-jae calmly continued.
“First of all, it’s easier for me to work alone.”
A scoff came from Lee Sa-young, who had turned around fully in his seat to face him, resting his arms on the back of the chair with a smirk.
“Since when does anyone get to do only what’s easy? Isn’t that right?”
“Uh? Uh, yeah. Life isn’t fun if you only do what’s easy.”
Ignoring the interruptions, Cha Eui-jae continued resolutely.
“I’m more than capable of capturing it on my own.”
“From what I see… You’ll end up killing it rather than capturing it, because you can’t control your strength.”
“…”
That stung. Admittedly, it was much faster and easier to kill than capture. Cha Eui-jae knew over a hundred ways to efficiently kill these white monsters, but capturing them was a different story…
As he held the tablet and prepared to counter, Lee Sa-young lazily leaned over, stretching his arm over Cha Eui-jae’s shoulder, and smoothly took the tablet from his grasp, handing it back to Bae Won-woo.
“Reply that I’m going with him.”
“…Huh?”
The darkened fingertips brushed the back of his neck as they retracted. A low, amused voice whispered.
“Won’t it be faster if we go together?”
‘I… don’t want that.’
“Then it’s settled?”
“I’ll be at ease with the two of you going! I’m counting on you!”
Oblivious to the situation, Bae Won-woo gave a cheerful thumbs-up. Cha Eui-jae closed his eyes tightly. He’d wanted to take this opportunity to look into what Hong Ye-seong mentioned!
Whether or not they understood his complicated feelings, the loud laughter and low chuckles echoed through the guild leader’s office.
