Chapter 73: Interlude (2)

Chapter 73: Interlude (2)Deep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast

Tap, tap-tap-tap.

Click, click.

Dawn. In a silent office without even windows, only the timid sounds of keyboards being tapped and mice clicking float aimlessly through the air.

There are fifty-three people there. Fifty men in suits sitting in front of monitors, one who appears to be their superior, and two guards watching the door.

Four in the morning. While ordinary office workers would be enjoying sweet sleep in comfortable beds, preparing for tomorrow,

They are not.

Because they’re not ordinary office workers.

No ordinary office worker receives video feeds from submarines in the East Sea in a basement at four in the morning.

However, despite watching gloomy deep-sea footage where anything could pop out at any moment, in a windowless basement, for days on end in the early hours, their expressions were surprisingly fine.

No, more than fine – quite bright, actually.

Firstly, because they weren’t particularly tired. Instead of working at four in the morning, they slept when others worked.

Secondly, well.

“Hehe… hehehe…!!”

An unidentified, silly laugh filled the office.

They must have been checking their bank account balance.

It’s one of the ways these people motivate themselves.

Those who knew that this hefty pay included hazard pay due to their fervent viewing of Blue’s broadcast hastily backed out, but well.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

Anyway.

The reason they gather in the Hunter Association’s underground chamber at this ungodly hour to stare intently at monitors is obvious.

To explore the deep sea, specifically the East Sea.

The reason for choosing the time spanning from late night to dawn is to minimize the chances of encountering Blue.

It’s not like they want to be doing this creepy stuff at dawn.

In seas where Oceanos is less active, like the center of the Indian Ocean, the east coast of Africa, or around Australia, Hunter Association submarines openly cruise even during the day.

The Association President valued the deep sea much higher than Silo had initially anticipated.

Basic level exploration is already underway in all seas except the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans.

Surprisingly, the exploration is going smoothly.

As Natsuko predicted, the deep sea is truly teeming with monsters, to the point where you could say it’s half water, half fish.

Although combat-related data is non-existent due to the submarines’ limited capabilities, observational data is steadily accumulating.

Moreover, they are the Hunter Association after all.

Being far ahead of the World Government or Silo in terms of information related to monsters and gates, they could push forward with such exploration even more vigorously.

If there’s a minor issue, it’s that the performance in the East Sea, one of the most important exploration areas, is quite unsatisfactory.

While data and observational materials are pouring out abundantly from other seas, the data collection rate is notably low only in the East Sea.

“Aaargh!! S-shit, that scared me. Huff…”

One of the men sitting in the office jumped out of his chair as if he was about to break through the ceiling.

The monitor at his seat displayed a blood-red screen.

The submarine had been destroyed, attacked by a monster that had been hiding its body.

His superior approached him indifferently and helped him up.

“Ah, thank you, Section Chief.”

This is the reason for the low success rate of exploration in the East Sea.

There are far too many dangerous monsters.

With the world’s third-largest hive sleeping in that narrow sea, there are truly more monsters than water.

So they often fall victim to surprise attacks, and fundamentally, monsters look creepy.

To draw an analogy, it’s like playing a horror game full of jump scares.

A colleague looked mockingly at the man sprawled ungracefully on the floor.

Then, turning his gaze to his own monitor,

‘Huh?’

A body made of brass, with gears, levers, and an old-fashioned gun barrel.

Isn’t that a submarine that looks like it just jumped out of the Victorian era floating right in front of him?

It’s too bizarre-looking to be a monster, but too small to be an object.

‘No, why is something like this here….’

No, come to think of it, this might be the only place for something like this.

The man, momentarily confused, decides to follow the manual for now.

Maintaining a safe distance, he slowly approaches, turns on the precision detection camera, and…

Bang!!!

Just as he’s about to observe, a huge explosive sound erupts as flames burst from the massive old-fashioned gun barrel.

Startled, he quickly turns the body, but the submarine must have already been destroyed as only static noise fills the screen.

‘Ah, damn it…’

As if accustomed to it, he grabs a sheet of paper from the mountain of documents piled beside him and starts filling it out.

It’s a damage report form.

‘Reason… Monster, water pressure… hmm…’

Monster… is that right?

The man checks the ‘Unknown’ box for now.

After meticulously recording the characteristics of the submarine he saw in the detailed information section, he trudges over to his superior to submit the report.

As the superior carefully but somewhat indifferently reads through the report, the image of a submarine he’d seen somewhere flashes through his mind with an ‘Oh?’

His expression quickly turns serious as he calls five submarines closest to the damaged coordinates, instructing them to move to that location, observe the target, and engage in combat if necessary.

And so, an untimely battle broke out at the bottom of the sea,

Bang- Kaboom!!

“Aaaaargh!!! Shiiiiiiit!!!!!”

Yuna’s Nautilus 3 sank gloriously to the ocean floor after sinking 23 Hunter Association submarines,

And Silo received three phone calls.

#

The next morning.

Seoul Branch of the Association, Branch Director’s office.

“Alright, go ahead. Let’s grab a drink later. Good work.”

Seo Sunwoo casually put down his phone after finishing a routine call with a friend, as he always did.

‘The wiretap device…’

His gaze turned to the potted plant on his desk,

and stopped on the faint green light glowing amidst the lush moss.

‘It’s working properly.’

He quietly brewed tea while recalling the contents of the call.

‘In four days…’

Four days.

In four days, the repairs on ‘Evidence’ will be completed.

‘It’s finally time to sever our long-standing ill-fated relationship.’

This time, his gaze settled on a small frame on the desk.

It was a photo of three high school students in uniforms.

On the left was his face, on the right was Natsuko’s face.

The face in the middle was obscured by reflected sunlight.

The people in the photo were smiling brightly, as if something had made them incredibly happy.

The feeling was strange.

The sense that his life as a human being was reaching its grand finale.

It wasn’t as bad as he had thought.

After staring intently at the photo, he picked up his mobile phone again and called someone.

Ring ring- ring ring.

The dial tone echoed in the room for a moment-

Click.

“Natsuko. Yes. It’s me, Sunwoo.”

Bubble bubble bubble.

“Can we meet for a moment to talk? I have something urgent I’d like to discuss.”

The water in the electric teapot boiled fiercely, as if it would overflow at any moment.

Natsuko flew to Seoul like the wind, less than 30 minutes after the call ended,

and she could only blink with a dumbfounded expression.

“Let’s go out and get some fresh air.”

We’ll be wiretapped here. Follow me.

The words her friend uttered after leading her to a closed basement were too shocking.

“…Do you know about the artifact called ‘Evidence’?”

“I do. But why?”

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

“…”

“…”

“…So, they’re going to use that to…”

“Yes. They plan to assassinate you.”

“Oh my God…”

The story Seo Sunwoo told her was utterly shocking.

To think that Silo Corporation was planning to assassinate her.

And in a way she could never have imagined.

Her long-time friend, Branch Manager Seo Sunwoo, had found out about it in advance and kindly informed her.

After the conversation ended, Natsuko left the basement.

As she walked alone down the quiet corridor, two intense emotions swirled violently inside her.

The relief of being alive, and,

‘They didn’t find out. They didn’t find out…!!! They didn’t find out!!!! Ah, they didn’t find out!!’

Exhilaration. An electrifying exhilaration that made her whole body tingle.

The certainty that Seo Sunwoo didn’t know what she had done.

The assassination plan he had shared was so detailed and seemed highly likely to succeed.

If he knew what she had done, he would never have shared such a plan.

The anxiety that had been chasing her all her life had completely vanished.

Seo Sunwoo is an ally. Sёarᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

And when he’s an ally, there’s no one more reliable.

The being she feared most in the world was actually on her side.

Seo Sunwoo knows nothing.

To him, that day’s incident was just an unfortunate accident.

“Huh… Haa… Hah…”

A shrill moan escaped her lips.

The feeling of the monster that had been chasing her for 20 years disappearing was indescribably ecstatic.

Natsuko walked down the corridor with trembling, excited steps.

#

Meanwhile, after Natsuko left the room, Seo Sunwoo.

“Phew…”

He slumped into his office chair and held his forehead.

Seeing Natsuko’s expression, he was certain.

Natsuko now trusts him.

He had been acting for 20 years to gain this one moment of trust.

There’s no turning back now.

One week.

In one week, he will kill his best friend and the sworn enemy he hates most in his life.

And then, he will quietly close his eyes beside the precious person he couldn’t protect long ago.

A bitter green tea scent slowly spread through the empty office.