The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 143

Cha Uijae opened his eyes.

He found himself standing in the middle of the familiar hangover soup restaurant. The warmth that had touched his hand moments ago had vanished like a mirage. Uijae absently fidgeted with his now empty hand. Even though he had returned to a place that felt like home, a strange emptiness lingered in his heart.

He wished he could have stayed just a bit longer. Even ten more minutes, or just five, would have been enough. It was the first time in a long while that he felt such longing.

What should he call this feeling?

“……”

Boom... The ground trembled. It seemed that debris had fallen nearby. A framed autograph on the wall shook before falling with a thud. It was Jung Bin’s autograph. Uijae blinked. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on unnamed emotions. He picked up the fallen autograph, dusted it off, and placed it back on the table.

He strode toward the counter. Beneath the POS system was J’s mask, with a small yellow sticky note attached to it. Written in neat calligraphy, it read:

**I left this at the soup restaurant because I knew the esteemed customer would surely return. No need to thank me. —Mingi**

Did this guy have the ability to see the future? Either way, Uijae was grateful. He put on the mask and expertly opened the drawer beneath the cash register. Inside were the ledger, a dusty bouncy ball that Haeun must have stashed away, a few colored pencils, and…

“……”

A watch.

Uijae carefully lifted the watch. It clinked slightly as he moved it. Unlike how he remembered it, the silver watch was now a wreck. The glass was cracked, and the entire piece was worn and rusty, as if it could crumble at any moment. The hour and minute hands were frozen.

'It seemed fine when I gave it to him as payment.’

Looking at it again, the design was unusual. Inside the watch, there were three circles, two of which were covered in something white, almost as if thick oil paint had been smeared over them. The last one, however, was a smaller clock inside the main one, and it was…

Tick.

…still moving. The second hand was slowly ticking, confirming Hong Yeseong's words from before:

**‘This is the third and final chance.’**

Uijae watched the ticking second hand intently. The only functioning part of the watch was pointing to 10 o’clock. Just then, a white window appeared in front of him.

---

**[??? Wristwatch (?)]**

**A reclusive artisan specially modified this item to extend its uses.**

**Even so, the flow of time and ?? could not be avoided.**

**It can no longer be used.**

**This is the last chance.**

**Modifier: ???**

---

‘Why does this item description feel so ominous?’

As he read it, a strange sense of déjà vu crept over him. A reclusive artisan—where had he heard that phrase before?

“Ah!”

Uijae put down the watch and pulled out the Basilisk’s Fang. The Fang had been silent ever since it refused to answer his questions. When he shook the sword, an information window appeared.

---

**[Basilisk’s Fang (S)]**

**A sword forged from the fang of a basilisk by a reclusive artisan. It will not allow itself to be wielded by anyone unworthy.**

**Creator: ???**

---

A reclusive ‘artisan.’ The same person who had forged the Basilisk’s Fang—who had been referred to as Hong Yeseong's father. The Fang even bore Hong Yeseong's engravings on the blade. However, the Hong Yeseong Uijae knew had claimed he never made the sword.

‘At first, I thought he was talking nonsense…’

It turned out Hong Yeseong wasn’t at fault. Both the Basilisk’s Fang and this watch were creations of the ‘Hong Yeseong’ they encountered in the Memorial Dungeon. Uijae clicked his tongue.

The Hong Yeseong he knew might have been a bit dense, but he wasn’t a bad guy. At least his desires and thoughts were as clear as a crystal lake, pure and simple.

‘Maybe I should be nicer to him next time…’

Uijae grasped the watch in his hand once more.

At that moment,

---

**[Conditions have been met.]**

**[Entering ???? ??.]**

---

His vision went dark. Uijae clenched his teeth.

‘What now, damn it!’

In the abyss, a man's voice echoed.

“This isn’t quite enough…”

The voice continued.

“The power of the person who became the core of this is strong, so there’s a little energy left. But it’s not enough. It’s like a single-use battery with just a bit of power remaining. Sure, it’s a miracle that any energy is left, but if you tried to turn back time with this, it wouldn’t work—you’d be doomed before you even began.”

“……”

“So… we can’t use it?”

Gradually, the darkness receded, and the surroundings came into view. They were in a messy workshop. The first person Uijae noticed was Hong Yeseong, peering intently at the watch through a magnifying glass. After a moment of groaning, he let out a heavy sigh.

“…You said this belonged to J? That J used this to turn back time once before?”

“Yes, that’s what I remember seeing,” came a clear voice—Yun Gaeul’s. She looked older than Uijae recalled, as she muttered under her breath.

“I’d appreciate it if you could give us a clear answer. Can we use this to turn back time, just like J did?”

“……”

“You know the truth. We managed to fend off the end, but too many were lost. This world won’t recover. It’s slowly heading toward its own destruction.”

“Ugh…”

Hong Yeseong glanced out of the small window.

“Please, Artisan. We need hope…” Gaeul’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke. A heavy silence followed. Eventually, Hong Yeseong sighed again, scratching his disheveled hair.

“It’s possible. But someone will have to be sacrificed… maybe even more than one person.”

“Sacrifice?”

“A more appropriate way to put it is that you’ll need to supplement the watch’s insufficient power with human energy. Honestly, I can’t guarantee it will work. I don’t know what side effects might occur or how long it’ll hold. We’re venturing into the unknown… But, are you willing to try?”

“—One thing.”

A low, grim voice interrupted. The voice belonged to someone leaning against the corner of the workshop, arms crossed. Pale complexion, sharp, tense features, a long leather coat, and a black longsword at his waist. His violet eyes shone through his tousled hair.

It was Lee Sayoung.

“If we succeed in turning back time with this…”

“……”

“Are you sure… they’ll come back?”

Even though Sayoung didn’t name the person, everyone knew who he meant. Even Cha Uijae, watching passively, knew. Yun Gaeul nodded slowly but firmly.

“Yes. J succeeded… and that’s why we’re here now.”

“…Is that so?”

Sayoung uncrossed his arms.

“Then that’s all I need.”

Without hesitation, his blackened hand reached out and grasped the watch.

In that instant.

The surroundings were painted in shades of black and white, freezing everyone’s movements. Uijae, having experienced this once before, didn’t panic this time. He waited calmly as golden patterns appeared over Hong Yeseong's pupils. The spinning sigil of insight brushed against Uijae, carrying with it an odd sense of empathy. Hong Yeseong muttered quietly:

“It seems it’s your turn this time.”

Uijae blinked and found himself back in the hangover soup restaurant, greeted by the POS system and the cash drawer. It seemed his consciousness had been pulled away while standing there.

‘My turn this time?’

What was that supposed to mean? Of course, ‘Hong Yeseong’ had always been vague in his explanations.

‘At least I got something out of it…’

Uijae fiddled with the watch, piecing things together. The watch had originally been a single-use item, but because of Uijae’s immense power as the initial core, it didn’t disintegrate after the first use. That’s why when the second end came, Yun Gaeul and Lee Sayoung used J’s watch to turn back time.

Since they used a single-use item for the second time under less-than-ideal conditions, side effects were bound to happen. Sayoung had taken on those burdens as a ‘shackle,’ enduring them alone, but…

‘It must have been too much for one person to bear.’

In the end, the ruined world affected this one, causing the erosion phenomena. Uijae ruffled his hair in frustration. The thought made him sick. After all, Uijae understood the pain of being left behind better than anyone else.

Wandering a desolate world alone, never knowing when the end would come.

‘That’s just… ridiculous.’

There was still something bothering him. If the merging of the ruined world began in earnest after Sayoung disappeared, where did he go? And why?

At that moment, the sound of voices chatting slipped through the door crack. Instinctively, Uijae ducked beneath the counter. A tired voice spoke:

“Let’s check this area, then move on to the next. Make sure no one’s still in

 need of evacuation, clear out the debris, and if you see any of those addicts, wipe them out. Once we’re done, report back to Team Leader Jung.”

“Okay. But Deputy Leader, is the Guild Leader still in that state?”

“Seems like it. I left a message for him to call me when he woke up, but… no response so far.”

“You don’t think he’s just ignoring it, like usual?”

“Given the seriousness of the situation, Sayoung’s not the type to ignore things like this.”

The voices belonged to two regulars from the soup restaurant—Baewonwoo and Kang Jisu. Uijae held his breath and listened to their conversation. Something felt off. Hadn’t Lee Sayoung already woken up earlier? Did he collapse again? Uijae quickly turned his phone to silent and called Sayoung.

No answer.

Meanwhile, the conversation outside had shifted. Kang Jisu was grumbling.

“Did you see the message from the Bureau? Ever since the whale appeared, the addicts have become more aggressive. The debris is falling faster and in larger quantities. Shouldn’t we be focusing on taking down the whale first?”

“You think Jung Bin hasn’t considered that? But that thing flies, and it’s tricky to capture. If we make one wrong move, the whole city will be in ruins. And there aren’t any high-ranking Awakeners with flight abilities. That’s got to be a headache for them, too.”

“What if we threw a spear at it?”

“A spear isn’t an easy weapon to use. Only someone like J—… wait a second.”

Baewonwoo’s voice dropped, and a sharp aura filled the room. Both of them were staring at the soup restaurant’s entrance. Damn, had they noticed? But then Uijae reconsidered.

‘No… The whale has to be dealt with anyway.’

That’s why he left Sayoung's side in the first place. If he dealt with it quickly, he could return and check on Sayoung himself. Ever since the warmth left his hand, unease had settled in his heart.

‘I hope it’s just needless worry…’

But Uijae’s instincts were usually spot-on, which only made him more anxious. He stood up suddenly. With the mask already on, there was nothing to hide.

‘Worst case, I’ll just call Mingi.’

With that in mind, Uijae flung open the sliding door.

Creeeeak.

A drug-addled man, who had been facing Baewonwoo and Kang Jisu outside, turned his head 180 degrees to stare at Uijae.

Thwack!

Without thinking, Uijae instinctively kicked the man. Regret followed a moment later, as usual—his body always reacted faster than his mind in most situations.

‘Oh well.’

The man made a strangled sound before crashing into the wall with a loud thud.

After a moment of twitching, his body stilled. The sharp spikes protruding from his back retracted. Baewonwoo and Kang Jisu stared at Uijae in stunned silence. Baewonwoo’s mouth kept forming the words, "J-J-J…" but Uijae decided to ignore him.

‘Whatever, let’s wrap this up quickly.’

Uijae pointed his index finger toward the sky. The two followed the motion with their eyes.

Booooo…. The whale floating in the sky let out a long roar. A distorted voice said,

“I’m going to take that thing down. Could you help me?”

Baewonwoo swallowed hard.

“H-how can we help?”

Cha Uijae—J—jerked his chin toward the tall building they had just come from, where Sayoung was.

“Let me borrow the roof of the Wave Guild building.”