Episode 60
A peaceful cafe street in Shangai, lined with classy terraces, had now turned into the center of the crack.
Thud-!
Dozens of arthropods crashed over the street. Someone screamed as he recognized what they were.
“Tri-horned Crabs!” the citizen stumbled backward in terror.
Tri-horned Crab – 2 stars (★★).
They were crayfishes about the size of a large dog, with claws the size of garden shears. These were considered one of the lowest-rated beasts inside the rift.
The citizens were trapped inside the cafes as they watched the arthropods orient themselves in their new surroundings.
“They are a lot smaller than what they showed us in the manual,” a man with full-sleeved tattoos observed.
Every citizen had been provided a manual that contained basic information about monsters and instructions regarding evacuation.
The tattooed man swallowed hard, then lifted an iron chair.
“Baby!” his companion screamed. “What are you doing?”
“Stay still. We can get to the shelter safely if we could eliminate those things,” the man replied.
He flexed his muscles. He was a gym rat, and was confident about his body. Besides, it wasn’t just him who would face the beasts.
“He’s right,” someone spoke out loud, while other men nodded in agreement.
“If we work together, we can get rid of them!”
The men started grabbing chairs, fire extinguishers, and any heavy metal they could use as blunt weapons. As people followed him, the tattooed man felt more confident.
Adrenaline was surging in his head. Every man had once dreamed of being a hunter who could kill monsters at will.
This was his chance.
“Haaa!”
The tattooed man charged at the Tri-horned Crab closest to him. With his muscular biceps, he swung the heavy iron chair at the Crab’s head.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"}) He already knew what would happen. Crab corpses piled up in front of the cafe. Then, he would lead the citizens towards the evacuation facility.
Like a hero, the man smiled.
Caang-!
A harsh sound woke him up from his daydream. It was the sound of metal crashing against another hard object.
Thud-!
“Arrgh” the tattooed man screamed as he felt an intense pain on his wrist.
He must have been injured from the impact. He had put all his weight on his swing, expecting to crush his enemy, but ended up suffering more.
The Crab didn’t seem to mind his attack at all.
Shuuk-!
The Crab’s front claws suddenly stretched forward. The tattooed man had above average reflexes and instinctively stepped back, despite the pain.
However, the tip of the claws caught his kneecap, cutting about 1-2 cm deep.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
The wound was enough to disable his knee completely. He thrashed helplessly on the ground, trying to get away.
The Tri-horned Crab was approaching him leisurely. Meanwhile, the men who rallied behind him were stunned.
How could these things, which were only about the size of a German Shepherd, defeat humans? They thought that even with only a suitable blunt weapon, they could easily smash these Crabs.
They were mistaken. They had underestimated the Tri-horned Crab based on its size and its low rank. These monsters were no threat to hunters, but a non-professional facing them?
The results would be disastrous.
The men started to fall back desperately, rushing back towards the safety of the cafes. As a result, the tattooed man was left behind.
Snip-!
The Tri-horned Crab cut his skull as if it was made of paper. Blood and brains splattered on the concrete.
The arthropods had simple brains, but they recognized the situation.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"}) These animals are weaker than themselves.
In the world beyond the cracks, they were scavengers, feeding off from whatever the predators left behind.
But here…
At this moment…
They were the predators.
“Lord, we’re dead!”
“Everyone, get inside!”
The streets were filled with panicked screams. However, it was already too late.
Several Crabs started attacking the entrance of the cafes. There was no one to stop them.
Over a hundred citizens who were out to enjoy a relaxing afternoon turned into a massacre. The Tri-horned Crabs thus began a mighty feast.
…
Yoo-seong’s Aura blade cut through the air.
Thank God, he thought, as a giant snake’s head crashed behind him.
With his damaged ear, he lost his sense of balance. Fortunately, Automatic Hunting still functions perfectly.
“What are we going to do?” Yang Biyeon’s miserable voice resonated in his head.
She, too, had just lopped off a snake’s head. Yoo-seong briefly lifted the Auto-hunt button and approached her with a determined look.
There were no monsters around. In the streets, people were screaming and running back and forth.
It was an environment that Yoo-seong had never experienced in any operation.
“I have something to ask of you,” Yoo-seong asked her.
Then, through simple gestures and English words, he explained to her what he needs.
Yang Biyeon looked surprised when she understood what Yoo-seong was trying to say. “Get your secretary from the hospital?”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"}) Biyeon couldn’t understand his point. Needless to say, they were in a dire emergency at the moment. She could kill a few more beasts and secure some citizens instead of driving to the hospital.
However, Yoo-seong’s eyes looked resolute.
“Trust me,” he said. “It’s the best we could do.”
Yang Biyeon had a strong will of her own. Even if she had any personal feelings for Yoo-seong, it wasn’t enough reason for her to follow him.
However, she found her feet moving towards her supercar.
Kurrung-!
The thunder-like engine roared alive and threaded its way among the countless cars and civilians on the street. Biyeon had only one thought in mind as she swerved to find the fastest route.
‘Bring Seoyu here.’
After watching Yang Biyeon’s car disappear from his view, Yoo-seong immediately took out his phone to text Seoyu.
-Where are you right now?! An unobserved crack…
-I know. I’m still at the hospital.
Yoo-seong then asked her a question he already knew the answer to.
-This city. Is there an emergency hotline or a control center that connects all hunters?
-Absolutely. No.
Yoo-seong shook his head.
The level of organization was much too different from what he was used to in Korea. The South Korean Special Defense Agency is obligated to establish and maintain a hotline to call all hunters to a specific area in case of an emergency.
However, in China, communication was difficult even among hunters in the same operation.
Hisssss-!
A giant snake popped out from Yoo-seong’s right. It was the size of a house.
Yoo-seong could have used Auto-hunt but instead opted for a Spider Walk. He coated his legs with Aura and bounced around to dodge the snake’s attack while continuing to text Seoyu.
-Stay in the hospital. Yang Biyeon is going to pick you up soon.
Bang-!
As soon as he typed that in, he leaped, sending the snake crashing against the building behind him. Then, he continued typing.
-We’ll exchange location information in real-time.
The giant snake lunged toward him once more with its mouth wide open.
Without letting go of the phone, Yoo-seong spread his legs apart and wedged his feet in the snake’s mouth. His foot was at the roof of the snake’s mouth, while the other was pressing down on its tongue, effectively stopping the snake from closing its jaws.
Then, he read Seoyu’s response.
-Why? What are you up to?
Yoo-seong shook his head and typed a reply.
-Just come.
As soon as he pressed ‘send,’ he pressed the Auto-hunt button as well. An Aura blade sprang out of his other hand and reached down the snake’s throat.
“What is that?” a hunter, who was watching the scene, yelled in surprise.
“Is that an Aura sword?” his companion, also a hunter, was stunned as well.
Yoo-seong and Yang Biyeon weren’t alone. The two hunters were also enjoying their free time in the food street when disaster struck.
All over the city, there were hunters who were off-duty, but were now fighting against beasts with no preparation and no equipment.
They had to rely on pure Aura.
“That guy, he’s got a death wish,” the first hunter sighed as they watched Yoo-seong come out of the snake’s mouth.
“Should we hunt together?” his companion asked him.
“It’s not a bad idea, but… it’s probably better if we spread out.”
It was not just because of their individualistic tendencies. Of course, hunting together could make it easier and safer for them.
However, there were beasts all over the city right now. There was no time to think about easier hunting. They should spread out and catch as many as they can.
“Okay, it’s better to spread out,” his companion agreed as they began walking.
“Right. Hey! We’re going to… Huh?” the hunter look confused as he saw Yoo-seong’s face.
“Can’t you speak Chinese?”
Yoo-seong is still under Auto-hunt’s control, walking towards the two hunters purposefully.
Go-oh-oh-oh!
Yoo-seong’s hand filled with Aura. Before the hunters could even react…
Wooong-!
Yoo-seong’s hands had gone over their faces.
***
“Honestly, I don’t understand either,” Seoyu admitted to Yang Biyeon.
She had no idea why she was taken from the hospital. Why Yoo-seong needed her during this dangerous situation.
“What do you think?” she asked Yang Biyeon. “Why would he need me? You were there, and you’re a lot stronger than I am.”
There was no answer.
Yang Biyeon merely nodded her affirmation. All her focus and concentration was on the steering wheel and the road in front of them.
At their speed, with that much pandemonium on the streets, they would have crashed against several pedestrians and vehicles already, if not for Biyeon’s control. Seoyu sighed as she realized Yang Biyeon couldn’t answer her.
“Okay. I won’t disturb you,” she told her.
She looked out the window. The scene outside looked straight out of hell.
On top of that, the city streets were almost paralyzed by the crowd, as well as the vehicles that were all trying to escape.
Seoyu heard from the news here and there that the defense agency does not even have a list of available hunters prepared.
Control center, Seoyu remembered the word Yoo-seong texted her. I wish there was a thing here. Really.
Seoyu bit her lips.
Meanwhile, the vehicle suddenly broke into a drift and stopped abruptly. It had arrived at the location Yoo-seong sent them a minute ago.
Even before she stepped out of the car, Seoyu’s eyes were already wide open.
The reason why the car had to swerve was because of giant monster corpses along the street. Yoo-seong was standing in the middle of it.
Seoyu trembled as she observed his face from where she stood. At first glance, he didn’t seem to have any injury.
However, that expression…
Cold sweat dripping over a pale face…
Any hunter could recognize the symptoms of excessive Aura control.
Yoo-seong was obviously over fatigued.
Seoyu rummaged to type in her phone, but she heard Yoo-seong stop him.
“You can just talk,” he said. “I can now… hear it.”
“What do you need me to do?” Seoyu asked politely.
She couldn’t afford to be sarcastic in front of this man, who had obviously suffered so much.
“Take this,” Yoo-seong said, holding out his empty hand.
“What?” Seoyu frowned.
Then, she was surprised as she felt it.
From the hands of Yoo-seong, dozens of fine Aura threads twirled into two spirals.
“One branch is for listening… the other is for speaking,” Yoo-seong explained.
It was the technique he learned from Yang Jeong-cheon, combined with the Parasitic Bee he learned from Sung-wook.
“I’ve linked it to all the hunters I’ve encountered so far.”
Seoyu looked at her hand. On the other end of the thread, she was holding were several hunters moving all over the city.
Seoyu trembled at the incredible scope of Yoo-seong’s technique.
“I didn’t call you to fight with us,” Yoo-seong spoke. “You just need to listen and deliver information from a secure location. Yang Biyeon will escort you.”
Yang Biyeon nodded. Her authority was also recognized in Shanghai, beyond the Red Dragon Society.
Seoyu began to understand why she was called. It was because of her basic knowledge of hunting operations, as well as her expertise in both Chinese and Korean languages.
Yoo-seong raised his cellphone in front of him and told Seoyu:
“I’ll give the orders.”
