Chapter 47

Episode 47

(Time remaining: 00: 04: 45: 32)

Yoo-seong had been asleep for more than 14 hours.

“What the hell…”

He quickly tried to stand up, but his legs felt like they were as heavy as iron.

For the first time since he had gotten Auto-Hunting, he remained stuck to the ground.

He had pushed himself daily with hard training, past the limits of exhaustion, in order to build stamina. This was because he had collapsed at both of the past operations he went through.

However, for now, it seemed that the training he endured was useless.

Fortunately, there seemed to be no danger around him. He looked around.

Most of the Monkey Viper carcasses appeared to be torn and severely damaged. It seemed that predators and scavengers had gone through the bodies.

The only reason Yoo-seong was able to survive unscathed was because of his armor. The Queen’s Hug could hardly be penetrated by common monsters.

There was no reason for scavengers to struggle against it when there was an abundance of meat around him.

Yoo-seong took a deep breath and tried to organize his thoughts. He started by concentrating on his body.

His core and veins, which had almost exploded with raging energy, seemed alright.

‘Nothing changed’, Yoo-seong thought with a bit of disappointment, as he continued his inspection. He moved his fingertips, then his toes, before trying out his legs and arms once more.

There appeared to be no pain.

‘But why couldn’t I move?’ Yoo-seong thought.

It was a problem, one that he could not understand. That was, until he realized something.

“The Queen’s Hug…”

Its size was custom-made for Yoo-seong, but it now felt too tight against his body, thus limiting his movements. He began to take off his suit, starting from his helmet.

As soon as he loosened the seams of the tight armor, a disgusting smell assaulted his nostrils.

“Uck!”

Yoo-seong suppressed the nausea that rose in his throat.

‘This is not the smell of blood,’ he realized.

He was covered in Monkey Viper blood from the vicious battle he endured. However, even dried monster blood did not give off this odor.

‘What is this?’

As he continued to peel off parts of his armor, he uncovered dark red stains on his body. It seemed to be the source of the foul smell.

Although he was quite baffled by it, he did not stop and continued to remove his armor.

Once he had taken it all off, he placed the dirty armor into his Slot.

Then, he took out a disinfectant and some tissues from his backpack, along with a spare inner suit. The suit was full-body underwear worn inside the armor, made of tough rubber.

As the material hugged his figure tightly, he noticed the change.

“This… it’s not my body.”

Yoo-seong’s muscles had undergone numerous changes in the months that he spent training.

However, this time, the difference was more significant.

The change also happened in a short period of 14 hours, all while he slept. The thick rot-smelling liquid that filled his armor was probably a by-product of the change.

‘Pity I didn’t bring a mirror,’ Yoo-seong thought. He felt uncomfortable.

He stretched his arms and legs and gauged the situation.

In four hours and forty minutes, he had to cover a distance of about 50 kilometers.

Hunters possessed superhuman abilities. There was enough time. However, this was the world beyond the crack. The terrain between the exit crack and Yoo-seong was unfamiliar, and there was always the possibility of encountering monsters along the way.

Another battle would mean losing more precious time. He started to run, turning on his recorder as he did so.

“Hunter Oh Yoo-seong. Current time, 14 hours and 35 minutes after diving.”

His voice trembled slightly as he realized something.

Even if he was able to survive, the operation is already a failure.

“An unexpected situation occurred 27 minutes after starting…”

The goal set for Dives was not just pure survival. It was to investigate the ecology of the alien world, to collect samples, and find evidence that could explain the cause of the recent abnormalities in the cracks.

Yoo-seong’s performance was only slightly better than getting injured or disappearing entirely. There were countless expectations on his Dive from the companies, the media, and the general public.

“After that, I lost consciousness due to poison gas for about 14 hours. No abnormalities in current physical condition.”

He was indeed a hero before the Dive.

However difficult it was to just return alive; he could almost see the reaction he would get when he returned. Everything would change.

There were people who waited for him to fall, and it seems as if they have found their chance.

“Currently moving toward the exit coordinates,” he said before turning the recorder off.

Countless questions filled his mind.

Why did Auto-Hunting take the medicine as soon as the button was pressed?

Even without it, Yoo-seong could have defeated the Monkey Vipers and proceeded with exploration.

Taking in the medicine was what brought the unforeseen results.

Yoo-seong shook his head to clear his mind. It had already happened, and he had no one to blame.

Whatever the outcome was, he had to accept it and do the best he could to face the consequence. Now, what he needed to do was reach the exit.

He ran as hard as he could.

…

The rush team moved skillfully.

As soon as they squeezed through the rift, they immediately subdued the monsters within the vicinity by their organized teamwork.

The team members wore Anonymous suits.

Like the ones worn during the licensure test, the suits hide the wearer’s face and figure. However, these were modified for combat and had higher durability and star-rating than those that the examinees had. It was the trademark of Team Quartz, one of the teams in 2F4T.

They were known for wearing Anonymous suits in their operations. Schoolchildren even wore black stockings and leggings, trying to imitate the famous hunters.

As soon as the pulse breaker was fully charged, they fired flares at the sky to guide Yoo-seong to their location.

However, the monsters would also notice the flare and may try to approach them. It was a risk they had to take because it was their job to escort Yoo-seong out of the crack.

They didn’t have to wait long.

Yoo-seong arrived after a few minutes, gasping for air.

“Nice to meet you…” he greeted the team members.

He looked fine, without any injuries. However, the team members were surprised at his appearance.

He wasn’t wearing the Queen’s Hug. Instead, he wore a simple inner armor, with vines knotted over his knees, elbows, and fists.

They approached him slowly, and Yoo-seong walked towards them, expecting to be supported.

However…

Tang-!

Yoo-seong was thrown back in an instant. He rolled on the ground a few times before finally hitting a tree.

“It would be useless to resist,” one of the men in the Anonymous suits said as he took off his helmet.

Yoo-seong didn’t need to see his face to realize that he was not from Team Quartz.

He knew it as soon as he heard that Chinese accent.

The Chinese companies had been reaching towards the Korean industry. They must have reached an agreement with this famous team.

“Damn,” he muttered to himself.

“Where is the medicine case?”

“What?”

“We saw the footage of you and Jin Wei-baek,” the man said in a cold voice. “There is no way you’re getting out of here alive.”

They were inside the crack, and they weren’t wearing action cameras.

No one would find it suspicious if Yoo-seong failed to make it back alive from such a dangerous mission.

“So…” the man continued, “Where is the medicine case? Otherwise, we’ll make sure you’ll suffer before you die.”

Yoo-seong felt anger rising from him.

They didn’t know how much they looked forward to and prepared for this Dive.

He wouldn’t allow it to end this way.

“We are going to tear you from limb to limb until we get what we need…”

“Shut up,” Yoo-seong snapped.

“What?”

The Chinese man was stunned at his reaction. It was not what he expected.

Then, he began to approach Yoo-seong with murderous energy in his clenched fists.

Yoo-seong stood up and faced the man.

Luckily, he hadn’t encountered a monster on his way to the exit.

He felt refreshed after hours of rest.

“Where is the medicine case?!” the Chinese man yelled at him.

Aura rose within Yoo-seong as he prepared himself for battle.

In his mind, it would have been better if he faced a monster rather than fight with another human. However, it seemed as if there wasn’t much difference between these people and monsters in terms of viciousness.

Yoo-seong pressed the button.