By Zephyria 
Becoming a celebrity wasn’t such a bad feeling.
When he was a mercenary, he tried to ignore the annoying attention, but after leaving the slums, it became a kind of privilege.
The people of Jaegang District still remembered Jin Mu-hae from the park. Sometimes when he bought things in the city, there was a little extra in the package. The store where he bought Joo-oh’s clothes even gave him a cheap cufflink as a Gift.
When going in and out of Central, he no longer felt as self-conscious as before. It was also good that he now had a decent job here, so he wouldn’t be restricted even if he stayed up all night.
So, even the ominous rumors within the defense force were bearable. It was so absurd to hear nonsense about how he had once stayed outside and roamed among the Aberrants like a wild man, or that he had been bitten by an Aberrant and become a mutant.
Even if they acted like they were protecting Goryeo City, the low-ranking members were only in their early to mid-20s. Being of a similar age, Mu-hae could read their minds a little easier.
“They like you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
While reflexively arguing with Joo-oh’s opinion, he somewhat agreed. It wasn’t just that some of them were horrified by the training methods Mu-hae had set up.
In particular, those who had seen a close comrade being carried away injured were even more focused and immersed in the unfamiliar survival methods.
Without missing the opportunity, Jin Mu-hae requested training equipment from the technology department. It wasn’t a high-quality hologram like during joint training, but a projector that could randomly set and project the surrounding environment.
The vice director’s words that he could request anything he needed weren’t an exaggeration, and surprisingly, the technicians who had ignored Mu-hae sent proper support in just two days.
Each time they were divided and attended the training sessions two or three times a day, the defense force members had to devise their own combat methods in simplified forest or rocky terrains.
“Trees with withered leaves are likely to be rotten inside. The price for using a pillar weaker than an old man’s wrist as cover is, at best, a penetrating abdominal wound, and at worst, a headless corpse.”
“Kghack!”
Jin Mu-hae walked around among the training members, swinging his hand whenever he saw a gap.
Ordinary forests, forests densely packed with Blue Energy-transformed plants, beaches, gravel paths, rocky hills, etc… The defense force members already had basic knowledge of the various terrains they could encounter in the external environment.
However, they had never paid attention to elements such as the height of the weeds indicating strong winds, or the arrangement of rocks suggesting a change in the habitat of nearby Beasts. When these elements were pointed out and used to attack, everyone was helplessly hit in the stomach or shoulder at least once.
He never showed any sign of smiling during training… but honestly, Mu-hae found it a little fun. He was so satisfied with their faces writhing with spite that he wondered if he had such a bad taste.
Then, after a week, an incident occurred that required several members of the defense force to be urgently dispatched. Mercenaries had reported that a Class 2 Aberrant had been sighted within a 3-kilometer radius of Goryeo City.
His footsteps, which had been heading to the cafeteria for lunch, stopped abruptly. Turning to the side, Joo-oh’s gaze, which had been cheerful at the thought of food, was also directed at Mu-hae.
“Are you going?”
“I don’t know. What should I do?”
“Do whatever Jin Mu-hae wants to do.”
That guy, who hasn’t even eaten yet, is saying something admirable. Mu-hae quietly looked out the window and unfolded the pad on his waist to grasp the detailed situation.
〈Class 2〉 Hangman: [1] Individual
First discovered in Cheongmoe-gil District 4
According to survivor testimony, highly likely to have passed through Cheongmoe-gil District 1 and headed straight for the vicinity of Goryeo City
No sightings in the vicinity for the past 15 years: Registered as a contingency individual and tracked for surveillance
All personnel except those dispatched to regularly control the number of Beast individuals are summoned
He wondered why the training ground felt deserted today, but it seemed they had gone out to manage the suddenly increased number of Beasts.
At this hour, the remaining personnel were one 4-year member, one 3-year member, and the three low-ranking members receiving Mu-hae’s training.
It was enough manpower to catch one Class 2 Beast, but he was curious about the combat power of the defense force. Mu-hae returned to the office and put on the protective gear he had stored in the cabinet one by one.
“You wear a helmet too.”
“I don’t need it.”
“To cover your face.”
Joo-oh grumbled but completed his armament as instructed. Instead of his loose hoodie jacket, he wore the defense force’s uniform, and his always fluttering appearance somehow resembled a veteran member.
“We have reported to the higher-ups and joined.”
The defense force members, who were checking the vehicle, looked puzzled at the two people who had suddenly appeared.
There was no one who would object since adding manpower couldn’t hurt. It was just that the 3-year defense force member glanced at Mu-hae and Joo-oh several times.
“That area is a relatively safe zone where Beasts hardly appear.”
“That’s what I know, but in recent years, this kind of thing happens a couple of times a year.”
The one who responded calmly to the conversation was a familiar face, 2-year member Park Young-chan. The sight of him shuddering from acupuncture was still vivid in his mind, but surprisingly, he didn’t have a resentful expression.
“It’s an area where trade and civilian vehicles are likely to pass. Based on the beacon information installed by the Company, we have marked two current estimated locations on the GPS. We will wait at the midpoint, search, and then kill the target as soon as it is identified.”
With the 3-year member’s briefing, the mobility vehicle departs. Reaching the entrance of Goryeo City at high speed, the members boarded a hover van parked nearby and headed for the wilderness.
Saaa-.
Chirping- Chirp-.
The sounds from outside the vehicle were vividly transmitted through the speakers on the ceiling. It was a much more comfortable and convenient method than riding a bike.
After driving for a long time, the hover van soon braked at the designated point. Various devices inside the vehicle received signals coming from all directions, displaying living organisms and environmental changes in detail.
How long had they waited, listening to the fearless chirping of the grasshoppers?
Beep-! Beep-! Beep-!
An alarm that made his heart skip a beat rang, and a red dot appeared on the radar he was carrying. The parked vehicle moved again, and the defense force members packed their equipment in an orderly manner.
Armed members poured out of the hover van, which had stopped near the marked point. They installed setting-type Tasers and obstacles to suit the terrain and created noise to stimulate the Aberrant by turning on the speakers.
Soon, the dot marked on the radar gradually approached, and then, crack!
A thick tree branch nearby visibly shook. What could be seen through the gaps in the leaves was an Aberrant dangling from the branch with bizarrely long and thin arms.
Grrr…….
The way it tilted its head looked like a hanged man, making it eerie. 〈Class 2〉 Hangman. The monkey-like Aberrant with disproportionately elongated limbs moved its flexible limbs, crossing from branch to branch.
Pajijijik!
Kaaack!
Unfortunately, the enemy it would face today was the defense force, which had plenty of human and material resources. Sparks had been flying from the sticks that had been stuck between the trees long ago.
The Aberrant’s body was sizzling and twisting as if it had been paralyzed. The Hangman, which had been screaming, stretched out its long arm like a whip!
Taang-!
The black arm barely missed the gun and swept past the members’ eyes. The tree branch that was grabbed instead was crushed by the constricting force like a snake.
Kigigik, gigik, whether it was grinding its teeth or there was an organ in its neck that made such sounds, an unpleasant friction sound covered the quieted forest.
Soon, the lush leaves slowly swayed, allowing them to guess the Aberrant’s path of movement.
Clang.
However, unlike the low-ranking members who turned their heads accordingly, the remaining members only fixed their gazes while pressing the buttons on their goggles.
Thud. Mu-hae tapped the new member’s shoulder, making him look in the direction where the movement had started. At the same time, paak! A mouth filled with awl-like teeth popped out from between the trees he was pointing at.
The Hangman was using its long arms to lure human attention and suddenly pouncing!
The members who had not activated the thermal imaging mode poured attacks with clear vision. The Aberrant, with bullets embedded below its eyes, thrashed and disappeared into the bushes.
But its location had already been identified. Since there was plenty of manpower, one or two guarded the surroundings, and the remaining members thoroughly blocked the attacks that came suddenly.
Puhwung- Zzzzzz!
Waiting for the right moment, Mu-hae fired a net. The electric spikes tore through the Aberrant’s skin, effectively binding its movements.
After a long standoff, the fight was settled for the time being, and now all that was left was to wrestle a little more and cut off its breath.
Joo-oh suddenly whispered in his ear.
“Hmm. Made a sound for no reason.”
“……What?”
“That thing, it was trying to run away to a weird place.”
Perhaps because he was familiar with the habits of the Aberrant, Mu-hae began to picture the situation in his mind like a painting, even after hearing only the explanation that cut out all the context.
The Hangman was an Aberrant with no vision problems. Its intelligence was somewhat low, but it was eerily good at judging seemingly safe paths.
Nevertheless, it left the left side, which had relatively few traps, and jumped into the bushes close to the defense force.
The opposite direction happened to be the dense forest where the Aberrant had appeared…….
“Is there something there?”
“The smell of burning fur is so bad that I can’t smell anything else.”
Unless it was an unusual situation, high-ranking Aberrants rarely appeared near Goryeo City.
It was a Comfort zone built to avoid such places in the first place. The newly created Crystal Zone was also still located far away from Goryeo City.
Nevertheless, the ecology of the Aberrant was something that could not be clearly judged, so dangerous individuals would sometimes loiter once every few decades.
If the Hangman, which had settled in the Crystal Zone near the beach, had come all the way up here, the reason would be. And if that exceptional condition was a more powerful and ferocious creature that had invaded its habitat.
“Send a support request to headquarters.”
“Yes?”
“Can I borrow the van for a moment while you guys clean up? No, just take it, so please send manpower to the parked location.”
If a 〈Class 1〉 Aberrant was lurking around, running away was the best tactic and the secret to longevity.
But now Mu-hae was wearing the defense force’s uniform. If they missed such a monster in a place like this, it would be like opening an automatic door and sending it to Goryeo City.
Of course, it was not a definite assumption that there was a new Aberrant. He had just sensed it by looking into Joo-oh’s eyes.
He had told him several times not to do that, but he seemed to have completely forgotten and was excitedly showing his red eyes with interest…….
“There may be additional attacks.”
After finishing his words and getting into the vehicle, someone followed behind Mu-hae. The guy who always followed him had already run ahead and taken the central seat, so unless there was something like a doppelganger in the world, it wasn’t Joo-oh.
“Member Park Young-chan.”
“The Hangman cleanup will be sufficient without me. Rather, the possibility of Aberrant appearances seems to be a more important issue.”
He didn’t know what he believed in to come forward when they had never even had a proper conversation.
Still, unlike the other members whose expressions had turned bewildered, he seemed to understand Mu-hae’s conjecture.
Shiiing-!
Following the direction Joo-oh was pointing, the hover van left the forest path. Even though he would be disciplined along with the crazy instructor if he didn’t find any particular problems, Park Young-chan was silently looking at the radar.
“He’s nice. Right.”
“Stop talking nonsense and focus on your work.”
“I wonder if he likes figures?”
Joo-oh’s nonsense didn’t last long. Less than 10 minutes later, the inside of the car became noisy.
Beep-! Beep-! Beep-!
The radar was crying out with a red dot displayed.