Chapter 6 - Bounty Hunt (1)

Bounty Hunt (1)

Il-hyun took the piece of wood into the taxi’s corner so the driver couldn’t see it.

Then, he used his Transformation ability.

He turned it into a small, gray mouse. It was hard to tell from a real rat.

He then focused his power on his Summoning ability.

After a few seconds…

The little mouse squeaked and smelled Il-hyun’s hand.

He hurriedly covered the mouse so that it would not make a sound, as he felt proud of what he had just made.

It looked just like the picture of the rat he had at home, the shape was exactly right, and he didn’t have to worry about someone finding it.

It looked natural.

The reason why he made a mouse is to help him find the monster.

He heard that a mouse’s sense of smell is as developed as a dog’s.

It is also unnoticeable, as it is small.

The problem is whether the wooden mouse can also perceive.

“Hey,” Il-hyun whispered at it. “Can you smell?”

He shook his palm.

The rat nodded as if it understood his words.

Il-hyun was usually disgusted by mice, but he felt differently for this one because he had created it himself.

“Okay, I only believe in you,” he murmured as he placed it in his shirt pocket.

He felt that the taxi driver was looking at him strangely from the rearview mirror, but he didn’t seem like a threat to Il-hyun.

He looked on the Internet for news about the situation.

Uh, it looks really disgusting.

Il-hyun stared at the monster’s photo on the screen.

It’s a monster called Balak, he gathered from the comments and information under the photo.

It has never appeared in Korea, but there was information about it because it has appeared several times in the Middle East.

The government set a bounty of 4 million per monster, apart from the ether value, the information disclosed.

I bet it would be hard to find it…

If not, the low-grade Awakeners, who obtained permission to enter the site, would have caught the monster already, given the bounty.

The mouse in his pocket was his only chance of finding the monster.

The odds are not good.

However, finding the monster would be easier than stealing ether from the government and private companies on the site.

He had no intention of giving up.

“Are you an Awakener?” the taxi driver glanced at the rearview mirror as he spoke to Il-hyun.

Il-hyun nodded after a little pause.

There seemed to be no need to hide.

The taxi driver asked him. “Why go into that place? Do you have a good reason?”

“…No, nothing.”

The taxi driver shook his gray head and continued.

“The money is good, but take care. My daughter Naomi was also seriously hurt while working there… I thought my life would change once I was awakened.”

“Ah…” Il-hyun nodded.

It was common.

Stories like the taxi driver’s were buried in the dark, while brilliant and prominent Awakeners attracted the public’s attention.

The taxi went around the alley and stopped.

“I can’t go further. If you go down this hill, you’ll get to Ilyeon-dong, so go that way.”

“Thank you,” Il-hyun said.

He wore the coat he had packed, got off the taxi, and looked around.

Overall, the scene looked fine, as if there were no monsters that arrived.

But he noticed that the road was broken in one part. There were also a few cards and people moving around the usually crowded city.

I hope they haven’t recovered all the bodies yet…

Il-hyun, feeling a little anxious, hastened to step.

He needs a monster’s body to be on the scene so he could be able to track the missing ones.

It was still early in the morning; he could feel the chilly air of autumn.

However, it was possible that the squads handling the bodies worked faster because it was an emergency.

As he moved closer, he began to see more people.

It was still a quiet street. Most of the people around are Awakeners or special police personnel dressed in coats.

They were searching across buildings and alleys.

Il-hyun looked with interest at the scene before him.

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him:

“Good morning.”

He was surprised and turned around to see a woman smiling.

Strange – he didn’t feel any sign of her approaching him.

It was the first time it happened since he had awakened.

“You gave me a shock!” he said.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she smiled comfortably and stepped back a little.

She looked beautiful. She had smooth, brown hair and was wearing a casual suit.

There was a large camera in one of her hands.

Considering her attire, she doesn’t seem to be an Awakener.

Suddenly, she went closer.

“I was wondering what you were doing with a fake coat,” she said, looking at him up and down.

Il-hyun stuttered as he thought of an excuse.

“I… I d-don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hmm… There is no defensive coat with such a design.”

“How do you know that?” he asked her, embarrassed.

There are hundreds of different types of defensive coats around the world.

She couldn’t have known all designs.

The woman shrugged and suddenly grabbed one side of Il-hyun’s collar. She turned it over.

The embarrassed Il-hyun was startled.

“There should be a barrier machine here, but why is there nothing?” She pointed to the back of the collar.

Barrier machines, which should be located in various places of clothes, were essential parts for the protection function.

Without barrier machines, of course, it could not be called a defense coat.

When Il-hyun couldn’t answer, the woman adjusted his collar back to its position.

“You don’t look stupid to play as an Awakener… are you an average citizen?”

“No, I’m an Awakener. It’s been a while since the equipment was…”

Il-hyun, who was trying to make defensive excuses, suddenly paused.

“By the way… who are you?” he asked.

“Oh, me? I’m Park So-yeon, a reporter at the JTR gate.”

He looked at the big camera she was holding in one hand.

“Ah…”

JTR is one of the five biggest broadcasters in Korea…

As he looked at her, he felt like she was someone running the field, rather than a reporter.

Why do I feel that way? He thought.

“Are you a member of a private company? Fighting without equipment is dangerous. How about joining a team?”

“I haven’t joined a company yet. But being a reporter, aren’t you in more danger than me?”, Il-hyun asked.

It was more dangerous for the general public to come to this place alone.

“Huh, I don’t have to worry,” Park So-yeon smiled pleasantly.

Park So-yeon smiled pleasantly and passed it.

“I couldn’t keep still while this incident happens. Anyway, I’m glad you’re an Awakener. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people who rush at this place looking for monsters.”

She explained that there are ordinary people who want to hunt monsters because they long for Awakening or because they urgently need money.

In a well-prepared country, the citizens should have no actual encounters with monsters, as much as possible.

In some movies and cartoons, though, monsters can be caught by an average person, so some stupid ones end up thinking they can do it, too.

They arm themselves with bombs, air guns, and such, and they started hunting.

Obviously, it would not go well for them.

Il-hyun remembered his urgent need. “Oh, right. Have you seen a monster corpse around here?”

If she were a reporter covering the incident, she would have seen the monster bodies in the area. Meeting her is a good opportunity.

“Monster corpse? They recovered it. The public opinion is already not good, do you think the government would leave corpses on the street?”

“…”

Monster corpses have strong toxicity and may leave pathogens that can affect the citizens.

Therefore, since the treatment team has already recovered the corpses, it was over.

Not even its smell would remain once the team has finished their job.

The answer was a disappointing one, and Il-hyun sighed.

Without a monster corpse, the mouse wriggling hard in his pocket was useless.

Like everyone else, he had to go around and look for the monsters the hard way.

“I’m not sure what you need the monster’s body for, but I’m sorry. The cleanup was over two hours ago.” Park So-yeon continued.

“Yeah… Thank you. There is no use. I will go. I have to find the monsters quickly,” Il-hyun said as he turned to leave.

But Park So-yeon stopped him. “May I know your name? Sorry, I didn’t catch it earlier.”

“Oh, I’m Kang Il-hyun.”

“Kang Il-hyun… Il-hyun… Il-hyun? Okay, I remembered.”

She repeated it as if to ingrain it in her memory. Then, she continued.

“Maybe I will see you again, Kang Il-hyun. I think you will succeed.”

“Haha, thank you.”

Il-hyun smiled as he left her.

Park So-yeon smiled back and watched him thoughtfully as he walked away.