Chapter 68: Interlude

Chapter 68: InterludeDeep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast – 68



Wooooong-

Boom!!!!

Crash!!

A monster fish that was a bit away from Parang suddenly shattered into pieces from a laser beam.

A 20-meter-long monster fish taken down in one shot.

Even in a dire state, the protagonist is still the protagonist, or something like that.

Parang carefully adjusted her speed.

Marian’s speed was slower than she had expected.

She maintained an appropriate distance while keeping Marian within her sight.

A catastrophe would occur if she lost track of Marian.

Current depth, 700 meters. They had just exited the monster fish layer.

“We have dropped the items at your current location. The green one is an EMP round, and the white ampoule is the sedative. Injecting one syringe’s worth should suffice.”

Originally, Parang planned to focus solely on luring Marian without conversing with the man from Silo Corporation.

Keeping her eyes forward, maintaining coordinates, watching Marian, removing obstacles, avoiding attacks…

Adding a strategy meeting on top of all that seemed overwhelming.

The man from Silo Corporation seemed to understand and continued the briefing without waiting for Parang’s response. However,

“EMP round?”

This was something she couldn’t help but ask about.

“Yes. It’s an EMP round. Detonating it will cause nearby machines to stop working for about five seconds.”

“No, but how…”

“It works.”

Parang decided not to think too deeply about it. Well, sure. If you say so.

Better than nothing, right?

“The dropped items have reached a depth of 100 meters. They should arrive in about a minute.”

“Anchoring!!”

Boom.

“Retrieve!!”

And then, after what felt like a year, the minute passed.

“Ah!!”

Parang finally spotted a plastic box sinking from above.

“Haaa!!”

With her eyes nearly rolling back, Parang charged straight at the box, broke it open, and retrieved the items inside.

The metal pieces inside the box fell endlessly into the deep sea.

What Parang managed to retrieve were a green sphere and three white syringes.

Parang quickly wedged the syringes between her fingers and grabbed the EMP round.

“If you grip it tightly, the round will detonate, and the connection will be cut off. Good luck.”

“…Got it.”

Crack!!

Boom!!!

Pzzz- Pzzzt!!

A blue wave burst out from around Parang, causing Marian’s railguns to simultaneously stop working and begin sinking into the sea.

Sizzle- Sizzle-

The earpiece seemed completely broken, emitting only noise.

“Hoo…”

Screeech!

Parang, with maximum speed and a bit of emotion, charged at Marian.

And then,

“Close your eyes!!!!”

Thud.

She jabbed the syringe into the back of Marian’s neck and injected the liquid inside.

Marian’s struggling movements gradually slowed down until finally, she went limp, her body flopping like a dead fish.

“Huaaah…”

Only then did Parang relax, taking a moment to catch her breath…

Gurgle-! Gurgle-!!

Just as she was about to rest.

Marian, who had lost consciousness, immediately showed signs of respiratory distress, forcing Parang to ascend to the surface.

When she finally emerged above the water, a Silo Corporation ship, waiting at the designated spot, picked up both her and Marian and transported them to the Falkland Islands.

After passing through the warp gate and returning home, it was August 8th, 4:30 a.m.

Parang, without even changing her clothes, plunged into the water tank.

She fell asleep as if she had fainted.

#

Meanwhile, at the same time, Shin Yuna.

Creak- Clank- Clunk-

“Hehehe… Hehehehe…!!”

With disheveled hair and dark circles under her eyes.

Eyes devoid of focus and a chilling madman’s laughter.

“It’s complete… It’s complete…”

A Nautilus No. 3, twice as large as before, was crafted by her hands.

“Those bastards… They’re all dead…”

Yuna rubbed her face against the brass body of the unmanned submarine with a happy expression,

“So… sleepy…”

and then she slid down and fell asleep.

#

Shivers-

‘Suddenly, a chill…’

Hunter Association Osaka Branch, Basement Level 5.

Branch Manager Dazai Soseki unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck.

Whether it was due to the overly intense indoor air conditioning or some other reason, he wasn’t sure.

For some reason, he kept wiping the cold sweat off his forehead with his hand as he brought his eyes to the electronic authentication device in front of him.

– Branch Manager, authorization confirmed. –

Beep-

After a warning beep, the massive iron door opened with a clunk.

What was revealed was a long corridor.

Today, the corridor seemed even more eerie than usual.

Moreover, thinking about his destination and the person waiting there…

‘Ugh…’

He shook his head vigorously to dispel his idle thoughts.

Right. He was just going to report to his superior. The chill from earlier was probably just due to the air conditioning.

It must be because his body had become weak after turning forty.

His steps quickened involuntarily.

#

Thud, thud, thud.

Similarly, in a room located in a corner of the Hunter Association Osaka Branch, Basement Level 5.

“…Come in.”

Clunk-

A middle-aged man with a protruding belly entered through the thick iron door, and a woman with a chilling aura stared at him before giving a faint smile.

She tried to create a friendly atmosphere in her own way, but the Branch Manager who entered seemed even more anxious, not knowing where to direct his gaze.

“Please, have a seat. Thank you for your hard work until dawn.”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing, haha…”

Natsuko sighed quietly, making sure the Branch Manager couldn’t hear.

Being too charismatic could be a problem.

If even her subordinates trembled as if facing a predator.

Natsuko tried to put on the gentlest smile she could.

She didn’t want to be seen as a terrifying, monstrous person even by her subordinates.

That could lead to betrayal.

She approached the Branch Manager slowly, trying to convey with her entire body that she meant no harm, and sat down across from him.

However, despite Natsuko’s earnest efforts, the Branch Manager continued to tremble as if he were about to be devoured.

His attempts to maintain a composed expression were almost pitiful.

At this point, Natsuko decided to give up and send the Branch Manager away quickly.

It wasn’t that she had some uncontrollable skill that emitted a murderous aura.

A Branch Manager of the Hunter Association should be unfazed by such things.

So, the Branch Manager’s barely concealed reaction was purely out of fear.

Fear of Natsuko as a person.

‘He’s useless.’

He wouldn’t be of much use for long.

Natsuko reached out, took the file on the table, and spoke to the Branch Manager.

“You may go. You must be tired, so get some rest.”

“Ah, yes. Yes!! Then, take care.”

The Branch Manager fled the room as if he were escaping.

‘Would a hiking accident be appropriate?’

Natsuko elegantly and gently picked up the file and opened it.

There was no point in hiding it. The file the Branch Manager had handed over was none other than the exploration report of the monster fish layer.

“Hmmm…”

She hadn’t expected much, but there was still no noteworthy information.

The only thing somewhat worth noting was a monster fish called the ‘Ghost Ship.’

Natsuko rubbed her forehead.

Should they really continue the exploration of the monster fish layer?

Although it was still in the very early stages, the returns were significantly less than the costs incurred.

‘…’

Natsuko shook her head.

Her animalistic intuition was telling her that there was something in the sea.

It wasn’t just anyone, but Seo Sunwoo who had shown interest in this place.

There had to be something there.

Seo Sunwoo, Seo Sunwoo, Seo Sunwoo.

Just thinking about him gave her a headache.

His mind was like a dark, murky waterway, impossible to fathom.

Natsuko’s suspicion of Seo Sunwoo was almost at the level of an obsession.

It was because of something she had done long ago.

She had done something unforgivable to Seo Sunwoo and hidden something that should not have been hidden.

Her obsessive suspicion of Seo Sunwoo fundamentally stemmed from that point.

Whether or not Seo Sunwoo had discovered what she had done that day.

Natsuko still didn’t know.

That was why she had obsessively dug into Seo Sunwoo’s information.

The moment she caught even the slightest hint, she planned to kill him immediately.

If Seo Sunwoo had been even slightly less competent, Natsuko would have killed him and buried him somewhere without the need for any investigation.

And, as expected.

Throughout all that time, Seo Sunwoo never once showed any sign that he knew anything about the incident that day.

The scene from that day was still vivid in her mind.

Na…tsuko? Why on earth…?

Inside the burning, collapsing wooden building.

The flaming furniture, the crumbling structure, the shouts from outside.

And a woman looking at her in utter shock.

An old friend, a comrade, and a childhood friend who had sworn to dedicate her life to him.

Natsuko’s long-time friend and Seo Sunwoo’s other half.

Inside the burning building, Natsuko…

She devoured her. Sёarᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.