The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 330
Scree… the sharp axe blade scraped across the floor, emitting a chilling sound. Ga-young twisted her lips.
“Ha, how disgusting! It’s not even a spider…!”
She swung her belt and flung the strapped vials toward the floor. With a crash— purple liquid poured out, and something rose from the simmering liquid. It was a bulging, twisted, monstrous figure.
Shhhh… The marble floor and walls began to melt. Ga-young pulled out her gas mask and shouted.
“Stop it! I don’t care if you kill it!”
Ga-young ran. There wasn’t much time left! She quickly grabbed the doorknob and turned it. It wasn’t even locked. With a bang, she swung the laboratory door open.
The laboratory was empty. There were not even the captured mutants, or the researchers. They had all gone to respond to the situation outside. Ga-young quickly scanned her surroundings.
‘They also injected the chemical in gas form…’
Then the chemical must have been connected to a pipe. Ga-young opened the iron door marked ‘Engine Room.’ And inside, with its complex pipes connected to machines, an ampoule filled with a transparent, white liquid was fixed to a pedestal.
This was it!
She smiled brightly and extended her hand.
Human salvation? She didn’t care about that.
“Do you hate Hunters?”
Ga-young nodded. The man’s smile deepened.
“Then we can be together.”
“Who are you?”
“Someone who hates the Awakened.”
A large hand offered a handshake. Ga-young looked up. The man…
He was tall. Very, very tall.
The man’s face was hidden by the backlight…
I just need to achieve my goal!
She snatched the bottle.
At that moment.
Snap.
A large hand gripped hers, covering it. Ga-young’s eyes widened, her gaze flitted from the hand to the arm, to the shoulder, then finally to the face. Her surprised face was reflected back in dark sunglasses. A shadow crept up from beneath her feet. The black shadow enveloped her limbs, even the hand holding the ampoule. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn’t budge.
“Ugh…!”
An indifferent voice spoke.
“Surely you don’t think they would’ve left such an important place empty. They’ve taken the bare minimum—”
The man in the sunglasses, A Small Miracle Seo Min-gi, took the ampoule from her hand.
“—Such as… contacting a specialist in infiltration and stealth and ask them to protect it.”
Ga-young twisted her body and glared through gritted teeth.
“You, you damn bastard…!”
Seo Min-gi put the ampoule in his jacket pocket and raised both hands in surrender.
“Didn’t you think it was too easy coming in? I would have had the slightest doubt. I guess you were in a hurry. Well, the doctor’s assistant is a bit scary. I’ve experienced it myself, but when they chase you with an axe, it really makes your heart race. Have you seen the spider show? Did you know they can run on walls?”
The man in sunglasses, A Small Miracle Seo Min-gi, snapped his fingers. The shadow began to envelop her, starting with her toes.
“Then… let’s go together, Red-Handed Offender-ssi.”
Ga-young struggled with all her might.
“Let go of me…! Where are you taking me?!”
“Where? To the room of time and spirit.”
His eyes winked behind the black lenses.
“For your information, I’m not a police officer, so I don’t know the Miranda Rights. So…”
Ga-young’s wide eyes were swallowed by the shadow. Seo Min-gi waved gently and added.
“It means that you shouldn’t even dream of hiring a lawyer.”
***
The Awakened Management Bureau, Director’s Office.
Matthew, Honeybee, Bae Won-woo, Yoon Ga-eul, Jung Bin, Gyu-Gyu, and Director Ham were gathered in the director’s office. Apparently, due to the urgency, they’d only summoned the rankers who could contact the S-ranks. Yoon Ga-eul was still wearing the cloak Kang Ji-soo had given her. Cha Eui-jae sat down in the empty seat, holding Kkokko in his arms. Ham Seok-jeong asked Jung Bin.
“The doctor?”
“He’s not answering.”
“His assistant too?”
“Yes. Perhaps he’s handling the situation…”
“Then, let’s proceed.”
Ham Seok-jeong nodded at Cha Eui-jae. Everyone’s attention turned to him. Cha Eui-jae took a deep breath and began to tell his story.
In the past, when the apocalypse first came to this world, J faced it alone, but was unable to defeat it and turned back time to escape.
The White Hole is the ‘eye’ of the apocalypse. The Black Hole was just its eye closed.
Since the Day of Change, it had been watching this world with its eye wide open. Hong Ye-seong of the first world sacrificed himself to turn its attention away and buy time, but it seemed that had also ended.
The ‘eye’ had gained consciousness and began to operate. The final stage was approaching.
Every time he said a word, the complexions of the people’s faces changed. Honeybee interjected in astonishment.
“Wait, why do you know so much? You know better than us, don’t you?”
“…I just happened to remember.”
“What? How? What memory?”
“We’ll talk about that story later.”
Ham Seok-jeong raised a hand to stop him. Her hawk-like gaze scrutinized him.
“I’ll listen to the source of the information later, but let me ask you this one thing instead.”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
Ham Seok-jeong sometimes seemed to be able to read the face beneath the mask. Her gaze was that sharp. Finally, she nodded and turned to the other hunters.
“So, that’s what he say. Everyone, prepare to face the end.”
“Um, but…”
Bae Won-woo raised his hand. Then burdened by the gazes that fell on him, he coughed, and then spoke cautiously.
“If we fight… can we win?”
“After all, it’s in the sky.”
Gyu-Gyu shrugged and said.
“How can we fight something in the sky~? Even the all-powerful Artisan is dead…”
“His death hasn’t been confirmed yet. He’s missing.”
Jung Bin cut him off with a gentle smile. Their gazes clashed like lightning in the air. Gyu-Gyu shrugged and crossed his arms, as if he’d lost.
“Yeah, but this is quite the predicament. Well, If the artisan was here, we could’ve asked him to build a ladder to the eye or something. But that’s not going to work now, is it? And you’re not going to take a helicopter there, are you~?”
It was sarcastic, but he had a point. Cha Eui-jae searched his memory.
‘…Right. How did I fight the end?’
Cha Eui-jae had definitely faced the two eyes alone. On the ground. That was for sure. What conditions must be met for the eyes to descend? Or was there another reason…
Cha Eui-jae nudged Kkokko with his finger, who was sitting quietly in his arms. Kkokko, who had been dozing off, opened its eyes and glanced up. It had an offended look as if asking why were you waking it up? Unlike before, there was no sign of it wanting to show something. Cha Eui-jae clicked his tongue.
‘You’re not helping.’
Ham Seok-jeong gestured to Jung Bin.
“Visit the Seowon Guild and check on the situation. Also, check on the progress of vaccine development.”
“Understood.”
“I ask other guilds to cooperate in capturing mutants and evacuating civilians. I’ll send the official document right away. And Gyu-Gyu. Don’t run off alone.”
“I’m not a member of any guild~”
“And you’re a South Korean ranker, you should at least do that much. Or do you want me to go to church this Sunday?”
“Ah, so cruel~”
Gyu-gyu hurried out of the director’s office. The other hunters also stood up one by one and greeted each other. Matthew, who was rising with Honeybee, caught Yoon Ga-eul’s gaze, who was pulling her hood down tightly.
“Come to think of it… I’ve never seen this hunter before. Wasn’t this a gathering for rankers only, Director?”
“Oh, you…”
“That’s, that’s a new member of our guild! No, a new recruit!”
Bae Won-woo put his arm around Yoon Ga-eul’s shoulder and shouted. Jung Bin, smiling brightly, agreed.
“That’s right. I heard that Kang Ji-soo couldn’t make it, so he brought her in her place instead. Isn’t that right, Bae Won-woo-nim?”
“Yes, that’s right, Capta– I mean, Team Leader Jung! New recruits need to gain experience, right? Right, rookie?”
Yoon Ga-eul, with her hood pulled down, nodded hastily.
“Is that so? It’s hard to find good hunters these days, so congratulations.”
Matthew nodded and left the director’s office. Honeybee, who was following behind, glared at Bae Won-woo with a suspicious look. She poked her head out the door, then whispered to him.
“Hey, hey, what are you talking about? Isn’t she Ga-eul? Why is she your new recruit? Did she agree to it? Isn’t this kidnapping?”
“Shhh! Shhhh!”
Bae Won-woo raised his index finger to his lips and made a snake-like sound. Jung Bin sighed softly, ran his hand through his hair, and answered in his stead.
“For Yoon Ga-eul’s safety, she had to stay in Hong Ye-seong-nim’s space… However, it has collapsed. So we’ve decided it would be best for her to stay in Pado Guild, even if only for a little while.”
“What? You don’t trust our guild? I can take good care of you, too!”
“This is a result of respecting Yoon Ga-eul’s wishes, so I ask for your understanding, Honeybee.”
Honeybee eyed both Bae Won-woo and Yoon Ga-eul with a suspicious look. Yoon Ga-eul slightly removed her hood and smiled bashfully.
“Ehehe… It’s just as Team Leader Jung Bin said. Thank you for your concern.”
“…If that’s true, then there’s nothing I can do.”
Honeybee gave Bae Won-woo a final clenched fist and left the Director’s office. After the storm had finally passed, peace finally returned to the Director’s office. Cha Eui-jae slowly stood up.
At that moment, Jung Bin, who was listening to something from his in-ear monitor, grabbed him.
“J-nim.”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to go to the Seowon Guild with me?”
“The Seowon Guild? Why?”
“A Small Miracle Seo Min-gi says he caught the intruder.”
“…”
“It’s Ga-young.”
