MIT 7

“Damn it!”

Mu-hae gritted his teeth as if he were going crazy and rummaged through his waist.

He thought that even if he was out of his mind, he could at least judge the situation. Was it too much to ask of a guy who was drooling because he was hungry?

Krrrk- Krheoooong!

To make matters worse, the sturdy Thorn wolf withstood the shock of the Taser. The staggering Beast firmly planted its four feet on the ground and assumed an attack posture.

Even though Joo-oh was about to be completely screwed, he was still smiling.

He admired the wolf as if he were watching it, like someone who didn’t feel any sense of crisis.

‘I’m screwed.’

There’s no way to save Joo-oh without hurting him now. I shouldn’t have brought him here after all. No matter how much he acted up, even if I was confident in my fighting skills.

Mu-hae sighed and held a long, cylindrical bullet in his hand. Well, what can I do? I’ll leave the treatment to Teacher Jung later and just keep him alive for now.

“It’s going to hurt a bit.”

An Beast-capturing vibration bullet that he bought from Director Gil after haggling and haggling. If I throw this, I’ll be able to stop the Thorn wolf faster than with a lethal weapon.

The problem is that Joo-oh, who is nearby, will also get hurt, but having his eardrums blown and his insides shaken a little is better than having his head cut off.

‘I’m not paying for this treatment.’

He muttered to himself, but it was clear that this expense would also come out of Mu-hae’s pocket.

When you think about it, even this bullet that he’s about to throw isn’t cheap.

Yeah. It’s my fault for bringing him here. Jin Mu-hae sighed deeply and reached for the disposable activation button.

But at that moment.

Clang!

Suddenly, the wolf’s movements, which had been rushing in excitement, stopped abruptly.

The Beast’s eyes, which had been crying out almost screaming, widened so much that the whites of its eyes were visible.

‘……?’

Saliva began to drip from its mouth, which was densely filled with sharp teeth.

While frowning at the strange sensation, Mu-hae quickly shouldered his gun.

He had given up because he was worried that Joo-oh would be in danger because it was too close, but this time, for some reason, the target was docile.

As if it had a predator it shouldn’t have encountered right in front of it, the Thorn wolf’s tail was tucked between its legs, and its appearance, which had seemed like it would pounce at any moment, was gone.

‘What is it?’

The stiff, thorn-like fur was standing on end. The Beast was literally frozen. Mu-hae didn’t hesitate any longer and pulled the trigger.

Taang! Zzzzzzzz-.

Clang!

The Taser worked properly. With a moment of respite, Mu-hae switched guns and shot the paralyzed wolf.

Taaang! Bang!

With tremendous recoil, the bullet, which was lodged deeper than the Taser, burst the Beast’s chest.

Soon, the huge body collapsed as if crumbling, and a cloud of dust rose around it.

Kuoong-!

Jin Mu-hae approached the wolf step by step, still aiming his gun.

The giant was still twitching and shaking. He pressed down on the Beast’s neck with all his might until he heard a snapping sound.

Kiiiik…… With fading groans, it finally stopped breathing. Only then did Jin Mu-hae return his equipment to its original position.

“Hooo…….”

It was a short but precarious battle. It’s not like this Thorn wolf would be dangerous on its own, but I got a little stressed out from worrying about someone else.

Mu-hae, relieved, finally turned his head with a ferocious expression.

“You, you little bastard…….”

He strode over and grabbed Joo-oh by the collar.

“Chip.”

“What?”

“Chip. I have to find it.”

Then, his face, which was without a single scratch, smiled brightly and spoke.

His outstretched arm was pointing at the fallen Thorn wolf’s corpse.

The Beast’s belly looked heavy, as if it had eaten something heartily a day or two ago.

As if possessed, Jin Mu-hae released the collar he was holding and approached the blood-soaked fur Beast.

Poook!

Scrch, tssk!

“…….”

A gold ring, undigested in the filth that flowed out of its deeply cut belly, sparkled.

There are urban legends wherever people live.

Whether on land or in the water, inside or outside Comfort City, chilling stories pass from mouth to mouth as long as there are people.

Naturally, urban legends resemble the sphere of human life.

In the days when humans relied on nature and farmed, water ghosts popped out of reservoirs, and scarecrows often moved.

In an era when everyone flocked into the Dome, the ‘wrong’ secret area that existed somewhere in the city was a hot topic.

If not that, then stories of human experimentation that circulated among mercenaries…….

‘You don’t know, kid. Solar City used to be a damn big city. There were a lot of researchers, too. So that’s why they were arrogant. They thought they could get Blue more safely. That they could control the Beast or the Aberrant.’

The dead are silent, and the ruined city becomes a hotbed of fabrication.

When sad news flew in from a distant city that they had never been to and would never go to, the background of the urban legends changed to that place as if by agreement.

Thanks to this, Jin Mu-hae had heard several rumors about forbidden experiments in Solar City across the sea. They were trying to create ‘evolved humans’ for the adaptation and prosperity of mankind.

Then something went wrong and the Comfort zone was half-destroyed, and after that, the whereabouts of the Experiment were unknown……. This urban legend, with no basis or purpose, always ended with someone scoffing.

‘Hey, have you ever been to Solar City?’

‘No.’

‘Then what are you talking about? I heard the same story in Shinkyo City 20 years ago.’

So Mu-hae naturally didn’t believe in urban legends. He didn’t believe that there was a ‘gap in the world’ twisted by Blue’s energy somewhere in the city, or that byproducts of human experimentation were wandering around here and there.

He had become mature too early to be thrilled by mere nonsense. His life was so hard that he didn’t need to join the mercenary crowd looking for excitement.

“Haaap, euuum…….”

“Wow, it all fits in there. Huh? What, this? Do you want more meatballs too?”

“Yeah. Meatballs.”

“Okay, two more servings of meatballs!”

……Or so I thought.

Mu-hae sighed, pressing down on his cracked forehead. Conspiracy theories that he had never even looked at in his life were swirling around in his head.

It’s only been three days since I met Joo-oh. I don’t know why so many suspicious things have happened in the blink of an eye in the 70 or so hours that have passed.

The pure white figure standing blankly in the middle of the disaster flashed through my mind. The smooth skin, unlike the clothes that were torn here and there.

The eyes that instantly identified the location of the Thorn wolf among the many Beasts, even the one with the chip. The face that was fine even with the clear murderous intent that made my neck tingle.

The Beast that was terrified for some inexplicable reason in the moment of crisis, and…….

“Five servings.”

“Okay, five servings!”

A stomach that has already eaten 12 servings and still doesn’t know the end.

“Don’t order any more.”

“Why?”

“Old man, stop selling so much. You’ve already made your daily sales.”

Clatter, as a plate piled high with meatballs came out, a vein bulged on Jin Mu-hae’s forehead.

Jin Mu-hae is definitely a stingy person, but this time he really wasn’t doing it because of money.

As he said, he is now more affluent and well-off than ever before.

The reward he received for handing over the remains of a human being that had been digested to a rich man in Central. That lump sum was immediately deposited into his account.

‘How can I just hand over an item with more money at stake?’

He could easily guess from the atmosphere that there was a dispute over inheritance between them.

Instead of the eldest son who had originally offered the reward, Mu-hae received a whopping 50,000 Deal for handing over the chip to the second son.

Thanks to this, he also went to the pawnshop before sunrise. He got his hands on his father’s keepsake that he had been waiting for so long.

What was in the leather case of unknown origin was a storage device the size of a little fingernail.

I didn’t think it would contain magic spells or a fortune, but it was quite bland for something worth over 200,000 Deal.

“Just eat this much. We have to go back.”

“Okay.”

“Chew and swallow. Don’t just swallow it.”

Anyway, Jin Mu-hae achieved his goal. And he still had over 10,000 Deal left.

It was entirely thanks to Joo-oh. Feeding him well was perhaps a natural price to pay.

The decision to release him as soon as he returned to the city quickly melted away.

To put it nicely, I still owe him a debt, and it’s dangerous to leave a faltering human being in the slums.

To put it calculatingly, I haven’t received the reward yet, and unexpectedly, he seems to be a little useful.

‘How did he find the wolf, especially the one with the chip?’

‘I just know.’

‘Do you know anything else besides this?’

‘Umm…… Maybe?’

I don’t believe in urban legends or anything like that. I haven’t lived a soft and bland life enough to believe in such things.

Still, anyone with a brain could easily tell that Joo-oh was unusual.

The feeling that it might be dangerous to show him off anywhere also brushes against my neck.

If Joo-oh is even 1 percent involved in that urban legend, even Mu-hae, who has him, will have a hard time.

My life is already hovering outside the Comfort zone, and I might disappear without anyone knowing…….

“I’m done eating.”

“……Shake off your clothes and stand up.”

Nevertheless, I suppressed my anxiety and brought Joo-oh with me.

As soon as I left the pawnshop, I bought him clothes and equipment, and even laid a mattress in the room that used to be my father’s study for him to rest on.

I felt a little sorry for him, who looked at even a simple Link Watch with curious eyes.

I’ll say it again, I don’t believe in rumors, but if Joo-oh is really involved in that…….

Mu-hae felt that it was a very pitiful thing.