By Zephyria 285
Jung-bin snatched the official ID and pocketed it. He jumped back, dodging the vines Min-gi Seo was extending, and said,
“What is it reacting to?”
“There are many possibilities. Light, sound, presence, human life force.”
The air blurred. White ash piled up as much as the vines approached. Gyu-Gyu put strength into his hand and snapped the Yeti’s arm with a crack. He easily ignored the Yeti’s grotesque scream and shrugged.
“Whatever it is, it’s troublesome~ It means the Invasion area widens the more we stimulate it.”
“…Gyu-Gyu.”
Jung-bin’s voice was low beneath the scream. Gyu-Gyu sneered.
“Why? Do you still see this as a human? It already has no ego.”
“Even so, he was once affiliated with the government. Don’t handle him roughly.”
“Geez~ You’re so kind…. Then, what. Should I carry him on my back~? For all the Jongno people to see?”
“……”
Jung-bin’s gaze turned to Min-gi Seo. Min-gi Seo, who had already moved far away and was watching their war of nerves, pushed up his sunglasses.
“I thought this would happen, but it’s me again. I get motion sickness when I confine things like that.”
“I’m sorry. I’m asking you a favor.”
Jung-bin bowed his head. Min-gi Seo sighed and placed his palm on the floor. Swish…. A jet-black shadow soared up and swallowed the Yeti. Gyu-Gyu whistled softly.
“It’s a convenient ability no matter how many times I see it~ Can I take your ability?”
“Don’t even think about touching it.”
Min-gi Seo retorted primly and melted into Jung-bin’s shadow. Gyu-Gyu grumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“How stingy.”
Jung-bin yanked on the hood of Gyu-Gyu’s field jacket. Already, the vines had stretched above their heads.
“Instead of thinking about stealing other people’s abilities, let’s run away.”
“Huh? Are we just going to run away~? Are we leaving this like this?”
“A Hunter who came into contact with that mutated. It’s right to eliminate as many risk factors as possible.”
“Shouldn’t we put up something like a barrier?”
“I’m calling for one anyway. I don’t know if we can block it with a barrier, but…. We can at least impose an entry ban.”
The two ran quickly and exited the underground passage. On the stairs leading to the surface, Jung-bin glanced back. The vines that had been chasing them were nowhere to be seen. They must react to presence. Jung-bin spoke into the noisy earpiece.
“The Invasion Dungeons in each region may be in the same situation. Please send out an inspection notice.”
—That’s not the problem right now, Team Leader!
“…Yes?”
—A mutating human was filmed on a live video on a video platform, it’s, it’s already a trending video….
“……”
Shoes covered in white ash stopped abruptly. Gyu-Gyu was already whistling, taking out his phone and turning on U-Tube.
“Ah~ Found it, found it.”
He kindly held the phone screen in front of him.
[Shock! Human Turns into Monster? You Must See This!]
It was a live video of someone setting up sound equipment on the street and looking for someone who could sing well. A young man stood in the center of the camera and sang a sweet ballad. People gathered in a circle, waving their arms and responding to the song. As the song ended and people cheered, a scream cut in from afar. The camera hurriedly turned towards the scream.
Someone was crouching on the street. A burst of white liquid spilled out. The body convulsed, then began to twist grotesquely. Pure white feathers sprouted from the gaps in the torn clothes. Cheers were replaced by screams.
What had been lying down stood up. As the giant bird spread its wings, the people who were running away were swept away by the wind and fell in a heap. It looked around and stared at the screen. Thump, thump, thump. The approaching Monster opened its pure white beak wide. The screen shook wildly. And then.
Thud, a squelching sound, and a black screen appeared. His face was reflected intact on the black screen. A coldly hardened face. Jung-bin pinched the bridge of his nose. Gyu-Gyu took the phone away and smiled wryly.
“2 million subscribers? Oh my, that’s a lot.”
“……”
“You can’t stop live broadcasts~ It’s the live era. It’ll be difficult to control information, too?”
Jung-bin roughly swept his face with both hands. He muttered quietly.
“…I need to return as soon as possible.”
The video was deleted shortly after. It was not reported on the news either. However, it was impossible to block all the videos uploaded to portal sites. Mackerel, who had been deleting all the videos at the request of the government, declared his abandonment. How am I supposed to block all of this!
“Guarantee freedom of the press~”
Mackerel went into hiding after saying those words. Eventually, the video was re-uploaded to U-Tube. The impact of the video was huge.
A ‘human’ turns into a Monster!
Some people argued about whether the mutated human was an Awakened or a civilian. After it was revealed that the Mutant was a civilian, it became even noisier.
“Wasn’t it only the Awakened who changed strangely?”
“If civilians are changing too….”
Because they themselves could become Monsters. People were afraid. It was then that Prometheus’s relief organization stood out. They gathered the anxious people and gave speeches.
“We can fight back. The more anxious you are, the more vulnerable you become! We will help you….”
Prometheus’s influence grew day by day. People wearing white clothes and desperately praying for salvation could be seen everywhere. It was like a new religion.
The government opened its mouth only after the chaos had continued for quite some time.
In the form of handing over all the burdens to the Seowon Guild.
—Citizens, please rest assured. The Seowon Guild is developing a vaccine….
Beep. A gaunt hand pressed the power button on the remote control, and the screen went black. Silence flowed. Nam Woo-jin sipped the coffee that had gone completely cold.
“Yeah, we’ll have to hang someone on a stake, no matter who it is.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Jung-bin bowed his head with a mournful face. Nam Woo-jin waved his hand irritably.
“That’s enough! It’s not like anything changes just because you apologize.”
“……”
“But vaccines and cures don’t just pop out. I don’t know how long it will take.”
“I know.”
“It could take years.”
“…Isn’t the Prometheus side also researching together?”
Nam Woo-jin retorted curtly.
“They’ve hit a wall. Both sides, them and us.”
“……”
“Besides, they don’t understand the laws of the System. Their artificial Awakened? They’re just bizarre lumps made haphazardly without even understanding the edges of the System’s laws. How can those guys be of any help?”
“About that…. I have information I received from Yoon Ga-eul.”
Jung-bin took out a small, folded piece of paper from his suit jacket pocket and handed it over. Nam Woo-jin raised his eyebrows and unfolded the paper. One side was a mess, as if it had been torn from a notebook. Nam Woo-jin slowly read the neat handwriting.
“…Notebook?”
“Yes. She said she saw you, Nam Woo-jin, recording something in a dream. It seemed like you were recording something about a disease and a cure.”
“So.”
Nam Woo-jin tried to clench his fist, then unfolded it, and asked back in a voice that suppressed his anger.
“You’re saying that the past me might have left something behind? In a notebook that might be somewhere? Find even that and make a vaccine as soon as possible? Or else I’ll get hit with a bamboo spear?”
“The expression is a bit extreme, but…. That’s right.”
“Haa….”
Nam Woo-jin rubbed his temples irritably. He frowned deeply and raised his voice.
“Did you hear that? Go and see if it’s in the library! It’s supposed to look like a notebook.”
“Yes, Master.”
The boy disappeared with hurried steps without a word of complaint. Nam Woo-jin closed his eyes and snapped curtly.
“If it’s not in my library, it doesn’t exist.”
“I know.”
Jung-bin gave a troubled smile and took a sip of his coffee. It was already lukewarm.
Before long, the sound of hurried footsteps was heard again. Jung-bin and Nam Woo-jin stared at the door at the same time. The boy approached, holding an old notebook.
“It’s here.”
“…It really exists?”
Jung-bin muttered in surprise. Nam Woo-jin received the old notebook and turned it around. It was definitely a strange book that came out as a Dungeon reward and was put up for auction. He had bought it for quite a sum of money at the time. But….
Nam Woo-jin flipped through the pages and tossed the notebook down with a snort.
“I can’t read it.”
“Yes?”
“It’s all written in strange letters, so I can’t read it. It’s either contaminated by the Dungeon’s magic, or it was like this from the beginning. I can at least recognize the pictures.”
“……”
Jung-bin carefully picked up the notebook and scanned it. As Nam Woo-jin said, there wasn’t a single letter that could be recognized. It was almost like hieroglyphics. Nam Woo-jin was about to grumble again. The boy said in a clear voice.
“Hunter J, who visited recently, found and read this book.”
“…What?”
The two raised their heads at the same time. The boy blinked his glass bead-like eyes.
“He couldn’t read it either, but I think there’s a reason why he encountered this book among the many books in the library.”
“……”
“…Why are you saying that now?”
The boy smiled brightly.
“It’s to help Master, Master.”
Nam Woo-jin, who was about to snap back, swallowed his words and sighed deeply. Jung-bin soothed Nam Woo-jin with a gentle smile.
“I’ll ask the Management Bureau to find someone who can decipher it. Please.”
“…Do that.”
Nam Woo-jin drank the cold coffee in one gulp and got up from his seat. Then he dragged his Crox and gestured to the boy.
“Let’s go, we don’t have time to be doing this.”
The boy followed Nam Woo-jin and bowed to Jung-bin. Jung-bin waved back.
48 hours until Cha Eui-jae’s death.
At the moment when only two days were left until his death, Cha Eui-jae was….
“…Sa-young.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re heavy.”
“Don’t exaggerate….”
He was being held by Lee Sa-young, who was clinging to him like a sloth. For half a day straight.