The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low-Chapter 216

"'If you come with me, you can go save J. What do you think?'"

*Shut up.*

"Ah~ don't look at me like that~ It was all his choice, you know."

*Shut up.*

"I only helped him. If he had stayed there, he would have withered away. Well, I did get a few things out of it too. Mutual benefit, you might say."

*Shut up!*

"It would've been so nice if he had lived... I could have reunited him with J."

...What?

Suddenly, all the strength left Uijae’s body. Gayeong mumbled with apparent regret and looked at J. She clasped her hands together and smiled brightly.

"Oh, there was an accident at the lab where he was... Um, everyone died, didn’t they? The researchers, the test subjects... There are some remaining data, though."

‘Does she not know that Lee Sayoung is that child?’

How could she not? Uijae's thoughts raced. Jung Bin and Baewonwoo had gone to the lab after receiving intel, and they had rescued Sayoung, who had destroyed the lab and escaped. Could Gayeong not know this? Or is the truth different from what he knows?

Feigning ignorance, Uijae asked, "What kind of accident was it?"

"Hmm, I heard it was an explosion~ Luckily, I was in another location, so I survived. The Awakener Management Bureau was guarding it so tightly that I couldn’t look too deeply into it..."

"......"

"If that hadn’t happened, I would have shown you. Too bad. But~ this sweet friend here was created based on that boy's data."

The creature slowly turned its head and stared at Uijae. Black venom dripped from under the filter. The horribly disfigured skin was likely due to the effects of the poison. Lee Sayoung had suffered the same way.

Was this creature once someone’s family? Is there someone out there desperately searching for them? But there was no trace of identity or self in the creature's dull eyes—only the memory of obeying and fighting.

"Aren't you happy? You’re looking at the gift he left behind."

"......"

Gayeong continued to provoke Uijae, gently pressing on his most vulnerable spot, as if hoping to enrage him, to make him react violently. Perhaps if he hadn’t met Sayoung, he would have fallen for her manipulations. After all, Sayoung was Uijae’s weak point.

But...

Uijae glanced around. It had been wise to learn how to spot cameras during his time at the hangover soup restaurant. Lenses were now aimed at him from all angles.

'It’s a good thing I didn’t attack her.'

Well, apart from grabbing her by the throat.

‘I still have a long way to go...’

Uijae took a step back without responding. Then, resting his spear horizontally across his shoulders, he asked, "What did you call that boy?"

"Huh? What did I call him?"

Gayeong snorted.

"What, were you expecting a cute nickname or something?"

"......"

With a bored expression, Gayeong took a step back and raised her hands as if giving up.

"I called him Number Four. He was the fourth experiment... no, the fourth person I brought in."

"......"

Number Four.

*Sa Beon*. Uijae repeated the designation in his mind, imagining Sayoung responding to that name, a name given without his consent. His heart ached oddly. Gayeong, noticing Uijae's discomfort, smirked.

"You’re more patient than I thought. I’m impressed."

"Did you want me to kill you?"

"I thought you might attack me~ More aggressively than just grabbing my collar."

Gayeong straightened her crumpled collar with a smile.

"But I still accomplished my goal~"

"What was your goal?"

"To have a conversation with you, J. A nice, deep conversation."

As Uijae prepared to restrain her, the creature beside Gayeong also tensed up. The amount of black venom dripping from it increased. It placed its hands on the asphalt, which began to melt in the shape of its handprints. A grating sound, like something scratching its throat, emerged.

"......"

If he fought it here, the surrounding area would be decimated by its poison. Uijae frowned and glanced around. This was a main road, and many civilians had taken refuge in the nearby buildings...

“Hmph, it was so nice seeing you again. I’m sure we’ll meet again soon~”

Gayeong snapped her fingers. The creature grabbed her with one arm and leapt out of sight. All that was left was the deeply gouged asphalt and a pool of black venom marking where it had been.

‘...I should chase after them.’

They would likely return to their base. Uijae sighed briefly, readying himself to leap after them. But just then...

"Oh? It's J!"

A head of red hair landed lightly in front of him. It was Kang Jisoo. She looked disheveled, her hair tousled, and her clothes splattered with blood, as if she’d just fought a battle. Kang Jisoo wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve. Uijae felt oddly relieved to see her—he needed a distraction. Adjusting his mask, he asked awkwardly,

"Did you just come from a fight?"

"Yeah, something like that. I just cleaned up the mess Bu-Giljjang made and tossed him aside."

"There was an accident?"

"His arm started shaking out of nowhere, and he collapsed right onto the steering wheel. And while driving, no less..."

Kang Jisoo knocked her fists together, implying there had been a crash. Uijae recalled that in the previous world, Baewonwoo had lost an arm... His face darkened behind the mask. It seemed Baewonwoo had not escaped the shock of the apocalypse either.

"Is Baewonwoo okay? Was anyone hurt?"

"Luckily, no. I blacked out for a moment too, but I woke up before he did."

"...That’s fortunate."

"Anyway, strange things keep falling from the sky, so I helped evacuate civilians and Baewonwoo. Weren’t you at the meeting?"

"Yes, but everyone else... passed out. I came out to try and handle things myself."

"Oh, that’s a relief. But I don’t think there’s much left for you to handle."

"What?"

Uijae’s eyes widened. Monsters were falling from the sky, devouring people, and there wasn’t much to handle? Kang Jisoo began fiddling with her tangled hair in frustration.

"Strange people showed up and started taking care of the monsters."

"......"

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"They moved like zombies, but they fought well. They told me to move aside, saying they’d handle it. People were even clapping for them. Can you believe that?"

Kang Jisoo snorted and stuffed her hands into her hoodie pockets. A bad feeling washed over Uijae.

‘They just wanted to have a conversation with J. A very deep conversation.’

"Kang Jisoo, what did those people look like?"

"Huh? They were wearing white. Didn’t look like Hunters. They called themselves a vigilante group or something. How are civilians supposed to fight monsters, though? Even when I tried to help, they just told me to leave."

Kang Jisoo pouted like a duck. Uijae ruffled his already messy, ash-gray hair in frustration.

'Was it just a distraction...?'

He had been too shaken to see through such a simple trick. Uijae stared down at his cracked phone screen, then turned to Kang Jisoo, who was still grumbling.

"Could you call your guild leader?"

---

"Get~ up~"

"......"

"It's really urgent. Come on. Not waking up? This is unavoidable, right? If you complain ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) later, you’re a wimp."

*Slap.* A palm smacked a cheek with a sharp sound, but the pale cheek only reddened, showing no signs of stirring. *Slap slap slap slap.* After several more slaps, there was still no response. Hong Yeseong scratched his head in frustration.

"Agh~... This is bad. Why won’t he wake up? Lee Sayoung, where are you?"

He was crouched in front of Lee Sayoung, who was lying down, unmoving. The only sign of life was his slow, steady breathing. Jung Bin approached, holding a phone with a concerned look.

"I’ve received a call from Kang Jisoo. Should I answer?"

"Can’t you just impersonate him?"

"Would that work...? Why not just answer normally?"

"No way, J is terrifying when he’s angry."

For once, Jung Bin’s usually warm expression turned cold. The grand meeting hall, once bustling, had grown quieter. Most of the attendees had left as soon as they regained consciousness, rushing out after seeing their backlog of messages. Song Joheon had fled like he’d seen a ghost, and Ham Seokjeong had limped out to manage the situation outside.

In the end, the only ones left were...

"Lee~ Sa~ young!"

A craftsman who was completely useless in battle.

"Calling his name like that won’t wake him. It seems something else is the problem."

And Jung Bin, who was just as helpless against monsters and had been assigned to protect Hong Yeseong, who was in charge of the meeting.

And finally...

"......"

Lee Sayoung, who remained fast asleep.

"So, why haven’t you left yet, Gyu-Gyu?"

"Hmm? Well..."

*Click click

click.* Gyu-Gyu swiftly completed a cube puzzle, then placed it on the table with a satisfied smile.

"It’s more fun in here than out there~"

"......"

"Go on, handle your business. I’ll leave when I feel like it~"

Gyu-Gyu began to hum a cheerful tune.