The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 297

The hurried steps of several pairs of shoes trampled over the white ash and vines. The beams of flashlights wavered wildly, sweeping across the floor and ceiling. The vines lashed out, writhing toward their legs, but with a sharp snap of fingers, they all burst into flames.

Jeong Bin bowed briefly to the man following behind him—Matthew—and raised his voice.

"This is Jeong Bin! Are you there?"

As if in response, a frustrated shout erupted from the end of the corridor.

"I told you, breaking it won’t solve anything! Damn it—!"

Boom!

The passage trembled with the impact. Jeong Bin and Matthew exchanged glances. The voice belonged to Gyu-gyu. Unlike his usual smooth and carefree tone, he sounded flustered. Something was definitely wrong. Jeong Bin quickly shone his flashlight toward the end of the corridor.

And what it revealed was…

"Are you listening? This thing’s reinforced, it won’t break easily—ah, damn it, why am I the only one getting attacked? Hey, listen to me! Wow, you’re really strong, huh—"

Thud!

"Ohhh, I get it now. You want to be buried alive, huh? Is that it? If you want to die, just say so—!"

It was Gyu-gyu, clinging desperately to someone’s arms, being dragged like a ragdoll. His fur-lined field jacket and messy, light blue hair bounced wildly as he was tossed around.

Jeong Bin called out, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"...Gyu-gyu-nim?"

Gyu-gyu whipped his head around and yelled,

"Someone stop this lunatic! He won’t listen!"

"What’s going on?"

"The dungeon entrance closed, so now he’s like this! Like breaking the wall is gonna magically reopen the dungeon—no, we’ll just get buried alive!"

Boom!

The person Gyu-gyu was holding onto kicked the blocked wall again, shaking the entire corridor. White ash and dust rained down. Jeong Bin handed his flashlight to Matthew, then wrapped a black chain around his hand.

"...J-nim, is that you?"

"......"

"It’s me, Jeong Bin. I came to escort you back."

The foot that had been raised to strike the wall froze mid-air. Slowly, the young man wearing a black mask turned his head. Under the flashlight’s glow, his ash-gray hair looked almost white.

Jeong Bin softened his voice, keeping it steady and reassuring.

"There’s a lot I’d like to ask you. And a lot I need to tell you."

"......"

"J-nim."

"...I’m listening."

J removed Gyu-gyu’s hands from his arms. Gyu-gyu shrugged and backed off without protest. Jeong Bin briefly thought that the round glow of the flashlight resembled a spotlight.

And under that spotlight—

Only J stood.

"So, I really am the only one who made it out."

Again.

The people left behind. The ones trapped inside. And J, who had escaped alone. It was just like the West Sea Rift. Jeong Bin swallowed hard.

After the West Sea Rift incident, J had vanished. He didn’t resurface until years later. Would it be the same this time? If J tried to run again, should he let him go?

But—

"...Yeah. It looks like I have a lot to hear as well."

J didn’t run.

Jeong Bin felt a weight lift from his chest. He crushed the vines still coiling around his ankles under his shoe and gestured behind him.

"For now... this place is dangerous. Let’s talk outside."

J nodded silently but didn’t move immediately. He lingered, running his fingers over the solid, unyielding wall where the dungeon entrance should have been. His posture was oddly sorrowful.

Meanwhile, Gyu-gyu sidled up next to Jeong Bin, rubbing his wrist and groaning exaggeratedly. The bitter scent of cigarette smoke clung to him. He pouted.

"Man… he’s strong as hell. Like a goddamn bull."

"You held on well."

"Nah~. If I had held on any longer, he really would’ve broken it. He was that close."

Gyu-gyu ruffled his already messy hair.

"He’s out of it right now. Completely gone."

The three of them turned to look at J, who was still tracing the wall with his fingers. That’s when Jeong Bin noticed something strange.

The white vines that had covered the passage, the ones constantly lashing at their legs—

"......"

They weren’t approaching J.

He stood in the midst of them, completely untouched. As if—

As if he was part of them.

A bad feeling stirred in Jeong Bin’s gut. He shook his head, pushing the thought away. There was no need to panic over uncertain information. Anxiety clouded rational thinking.

At last, J withdrew his hand from the wall and turned to them.

Step, step...

A long shadow stretched behind him, an oppressive weight pressing down on everything around them. The vines that had been wrapped around their legs suddenly went limp.

J tossed his crumpled cigarette pack into the air, caught it, and said—

"Let’s go."

***

Awakener Management Bureau, Director’s Office.

Four people sat in the room.

Matthew sat properly upright. Jeong Bin slouched, a laptop on his knees. Gyu-gyu lounged lazily, one leg crossed over the other. And J, Cha Uijae, leaned back against the couch, fingers absently running over a cold teacup.

He organized the information Jeong Bin had just relayed.

The fact that people were turning into monsters had been classified, kept as tightly under wraps as possible. But then, a YouTuber had accidentally live-streamed an entire transformation process. After that, it was impossible to contain.

Researchers and doctors announced that a vaccine was in development, but that did little to quell the growing panic. More and more people were showing symptoms.

People were terrified.

It had been tolerable when only Awakeners transformed. That had nothing to do with ordinary civilians—Hunters would take care of it. But now, it was different.

The people transforming weren’t Awakeners. They were civilians.

No one knew who would turn, or when. A simple cough was enough to draw wary, suspicious stares.

No one trusted anyone. Not even Jeong Bin, the supposed icon of faith. Hunters could kill monsters, but they couldn’t stop the transformation.

An era of fear and distrust.

And in that chaos, a group had taken advantage of the situation.

"Prometheus?"

"Yes. A small community that presented itself as a volunteer and relief organization. But they’ve… well, essentially become a cult. They gather to listen to the ‘Prophet’s’ words."

"What, do they claim praying will stop the transformation?"

"They say the faithful will receive an injection of the cure."

"A cure?"

Matthew pushed up his silver-framed glasses.

"You know someone named Ga-young, don’t you, J?"

J stiffened slightly. Matthew smirked.

"I have history with her as well. She’s working alongside the researchers, supposedly developing a vaccine and cure. But I never heard anything about a completed product. My guess is they’re injecting prototype versions and monitoring the effects."

"Is it working?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes not. When it fails, they claim the patient needs ‘additional treatments’—a convenient excuse."

"...So they’re testing experimental drugs on civilians."

"Exactly."

"And that’s allowed?"

"Technically, that is part of vaccine development. But… deceiving people and injecting them under false pretenses is the problem. They’re gathering data that way."

J exhaled through his nose.

"So I came back at the worst possible time."

"If you consider this the worst, then yes."

Not surprising. J’s life had always been a series of worst-case scenarios. He clicked his tongue.

Jeong Bin, after finishing his notes, finally stretched and loosened his tie.

"...By the way, the Eroded Dungeon situation is looking grim. A Memorial Dungeon—made from the memories of a ruined world."

"Yeah."

"You returned first because… well, sorry to put it this way, but you died early."

"Probably. The others were still alive."

Cha Uijae’s death didn’t erase the world. That fact, oddly enough, was comforting.

But one thing kept nagging at him.

Lee Sa-young.

Could he endure it? The endless solitude?

Then Matthew cautiously asked,

"...Is Honeybee safe?"

"Yeah. At least, the last time I saw her."

"...That’s a relief."

Matthew pressed a hand to his temple, exhaling in relief.

"The absence of the Hunters who entered the Eroded Dungeon hasn't been made public. Well, as you can imagine, people might start thinking about the West Sea Rift…"

Ah, here we go again.

Uijae swallowed back the nausea rising in his throat. Eating a monster was one thing. But remembering that those monsters had once been human—even he couldn’t suppress the sickness that came with that thought.

"…J? Are you feeling unwell?"

"…No, I’m fine. That was a reasonable decision."

"It was a choice made from experience. Though, I’m sure it wasn’t easy on any of you."

A low, commanding voice entered the conversation. Ham Seok-jeong.

Jeong Bin and Matthew immediately stood up. Uijae hesitated before rising as well, though more sluggishly. The only one who remained seated, still casually crossing his legs, was Gyu-gyu. Seok-jeong waved a hand dismissively, signaling for them to sit. Then, she took the seat at the head of the table and spoke in her usual flat tone.

"People have been making a lot of noise about this situation. Complaining, demanding answers. They want to know where the hell the number one and two ranked Hunters have been. You two have been getting quite the backlash."

Matthew added gravely, "Honeybee’s advertisements were pulled."

Ah, shit.

The atmosphere in the room took a sharp turn. Uijae lowered his head slightly in silent resignation.

Rolling a die between his fingers, Gyu-gyu smirked.

"Lee Sa-young got cut too~ That weird public service announcement sequel."

"The one that felt like a psychic attack on viewers?"

"Yeah, that one."

…Uijae forgot his silent mourning and snapped his head up.

Lee Sa-young’s PSA was canceled? When was he even working on a sequel? No—more importantly—

"…That’s actually a relief."

He blurted it out without thinking.

The heavy silence in the room confirmed that everyone agreed.