By Zephyria Shiiiiiing-!
The Hover Car, with its speed cranked up to the maximum, narrowly avoided the terrain.
Mu-hae’s brow furrowed with veins popping out due to the heart-stopping speed.
However, the red dot on the radar wasn’t receding; instead, it was gradually getting closer.
As if the rocks and trees it brushed past on purpose were no obstacle at all. At this rate, it was clear they would be caught.
“Joo-oh! Get the pad out of my bag.”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Put it in my hand.”
“Here.”
Jin Mu-hae unlocked the pad with a palm-shaped pattern and opened the functions of the equipment he had.
Jiuwoong- Kwagwang!
Kaaaak-!
The weapon installed in the loop before departure fired an electric shock.
The rapidly moving Hover Car couldn’t withstand the vibration and was half-flipped before being thrown out.
“Heueok! Heueok!”
The chassis, spinning wildly off course, regained its balance. Fortunately, it didn’t crash into anything, but it was a damn reckless attempt.
Still, the red dot that had been closely pursuing them receded sharply. It seemed they had landed a valid hit.
Mu-hae, staring intently at the radar, raised his voice without turning his head.
“Do you remember what I told you?”
“Heueok! Wh-what! What…”
“Don’t get out of the car. No matter what!”
The Class 3 vehicle they were in was, strictly speaking, more for marathons than sprints.
They had gained some distance for a moment, but it wouldn’t be long before the pursuer caught up again.
If it were just a Beast, it wouldn’t matter, but ‘that’ couldn’t be taken down with just an electric shock.
It seemed a battle was about to break out. Mu-hae, instinctively grasping the situation that would follow, began to look for a suitable location.
“You too! Stay put.”
He hadn’t made eye contact, but it was clearly a shout directed at Joo-oh. He was silent, as if he had never chattered away.
Was he going to suddenly jump out in front of the enemy like last time? Thinking that, Mu-hae’s mouth felt dry, and he glared at Joo-oh with a scowl.
“I’m good at fighting.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I don’t lie.”
The eyes he briefly met were excessively red and vivid. Was it an illusion? It felt as if they were swirling with a fierce energy, drawing his gaze in.
The surging anger subsided as if by magic. Mu-hae ignored the persistent sensation and focused on the front again.
Thump. Thump. The heart that had been about to fly away with tension began to beat with weight.
The feeling of blood flowing powerfully through his entire body was exhilarating enough to make his hair stand on end.
In that instant, what flashed through Jin Mu-hae’s mind was the experiment of Solar City, which was rumored like a ghost story.
That destroyed city… had tried to create ‘evolved humans’?
To control Blue Energy and the Aberrant…
Shiiiiiing-.
“Hiiiik, heueok!”
As the car slowed down, the client inhaled with a scream.
Jin Mu-hae checked the equipment mounted on his back and opened the tightly closed car door.
“Don’t act up.”
Perhaps realizing that the quiet warning was a conditional permission. Joo-oh nodded excessively and grabbed the passenger seat door.
“Okay!”
His cheerful voice echoed across the quiet and desolate land.
Kiaaaak-.
The screech that had been distant for a moment gradually approached.
Jin Mu-hae set up lights here and there to draw attention, keeping his distance from the car.
Kiaaak-!
Listening to the screech that seemed to twist and scrape the vocal cords, he was rather glad that this hostile life form was noisy.
If something fast and powerful was also quiet, they would have been attacked unexpectedly, and their means of transportation would have been destroyed.
“He’s excited.”
Joo-oh suddenly spoke.
“Because he can hunt after a long time.”
As if reading his thoughts, he murmured that it was deliberately coming while shouting.
Even though Mu-hae knew that Joo-oh often talked nonsense, he somehow couldn’t ignore those words.
If he scolded him as usual, asking how he knew that, he felt like he would hear a confirmation like, ‘I just know.’
He tried to look away, but in fact, every time that happened, Mu-hae felt a strange sensation as if he were stepping into a dangerous place.
It was as if that answer wasn’t a lie. Unfounded speculation kept touching his instincts.
“…Damn it.”
Certainly, those things don’t always approach while making noise.
Aberrant. The strange creatures that appeared with Crystal Blue.
They had some level of intelligence for each individual, making them more difficult than Beasts.
A wild predator shouting and approaching like this was toying with its prey, so it wanted more than just a meal’s worth of fun.
For a monster with such a haphazard appearance, it was incredibly arrogant.
Shwaaaaa-.
At some point, the surroundings became quiet. Only the rough wind touched his ears.
Instead of relief, an eerie atmosphere descended. A starry night without the sound of insects…
It was an intentional silence. The Aberrant had come close and was holding its breath.
Jin Mu-hae shouldered his loaded gun and leaned his back against the rugged stone wall.
Fortunately, there was a rocky hill nearby. Considering the tree that cleverly concealed the side, the direction from which the Aberrant could suddenly pounce on him was roughly less than 120 degrees.
“Go to the left.”
Mu-hae gestured with his chin towards the tree.
His irrational senses were still shouting that Joo-oh was safe, but rationally speaking, he was someone he had to protect.
“No.”
Of course, Joo-oh shook his head.
With a clear face that showed no sign of tension, he tilted his head slightly.
“No. Not left or right…”
Suddenly, he raised his gaze.
“Above.”
A chill ran down his spine in an instant.
As Jin Mu-hae raised his head like lightning, he made eye contact with the Aberrant that was quietly crawling down the stone wall.
Mu-hae’s neck tingled at the sight of its glossy yellow eyes.
“Shit.”
Kiki- Kiaaaak-!
The screech, which was very similar to a human scream, echoed as it was reflected off the stone wall.
The four-legged monster with shaggy fur jumped in front of Mu-hae.
Tang-!
The quickly aimed gun spat fire, but narrowly missed its body.
Agile movements, a unique screech, and a silent approach.
It was a 〈Class 4〉 Aberrant, a ‘Twilight Cat’.
Tang! Tang-!
Mu-hae calmly raised his gun again as if he had never been surprised.
The last bullet fired pierced the Aberrant’s side.
Kaaaak!
Blood gushed out, stickily staining the dirt floor.
Swaeak, Jin Mu-hae, skillfully dodging the swiftly swung front paw as if he had foreseen it, threw a cylindrical bullet at the frantically flailing fur ball.
“Eyes!”
At the same time as Joo-oh closed his eyes, an intense flash of light erupted.
Kiaaaak-!
The Twilight Cat temporarily lost its sight and flailed its front paws as if struggling.
Tak! Tak! The mouth resembling a human face snapped several times, following the smell and sound.
Jin Mu-hae narrowly avoided the attacks and gradually moved his steps. Then, at a certain point, he threw himself and jumped back in a refreshing arc.
“Haa, ha, you son of a bitch.”
Chwaak!
As he pressed his wrist, a wide net fell over the head of the Aberrant that was running towards him.
It was a device that had been attached to the tree branch in advance. Chijijijik! Electricity flowed through the net, and the smell of burning protein spread intensely.
Kahak-!
The Twilight Cat twisted its body and tore a corner of the net. Thinking about the repair costs, Mu-hae couldn’t help but curse.
As the monster bared its sharp claws through the gap,
Paak!
Joo-oh, who had been standing and watching, approached without him noticing and kicked the Aberrant with the toe of his boot.
Tang, tang, tang, three more shots were added to the Twilight Cat’s neck, which was dangling its arms.
Kieek……!
The chilling screech subsided, and the sound of blood bubbling mixed in.
The reverse eyes, with black pupils instead of whites, rolled back.
It had moved a lot, but it was a battle that ended in an instant.
“Hu, huu…”
Jin Mu-hae wiped away the sweat and turned to look at Joo-oh. To shatter the Aberrant’s bones with a single kick.
He was worried that he might be hurt, but he was perfectly fine, taking off his boots and examining them for scratches.
“You…”
Still, hearing his call, he immediately focused on Mu-hae.
“Did you say that knowing something?”
“What?”
“This time, you said an Aberrant would come out. Not just empty words, but did you say that knowing something?”
Joo-oh was silent for a moment as if thinking about something.
Then, he showed a reaction as if he understood, saying ah, and smiled brightly.
“I’m hungry.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“The net. Shall I clean it up?”
Whether he couldn’t understand or was pretending not to understand.
Mu-hae gave up asking further and gathered the equipment he had spread out.
There would be plenty more opportunities to question the strange points. As much as they had made a mess and drawn attention to the surroundings, it was better to leave this place first if he didn’t want to wrestle with Beasts again.
While Jin Mu-hae checked the safety of his gun and turned off the lights, Joo-oh cleaned up the net and looked at his back.
Keureuk…….
As the Aberrant wriggled as if it hadn’t completely stopped breathing, Joo-oh’s red eyes briefly looked down.
Oh dear. Jin Mu-hae would be annoyed. The man, muttering softly, reached out his white and smooth hand and pressed down on the Aberrant’s cervical spine.
Kwajik.
The surroundings fell silent again.