62
Chapter 62
Meanwhile, at the exact moment Parang and the Titan were engaged in a life-or-death duel.
"Alright~! That's it for today's stream! I'll be taking tomorrow off, and I'll turn the stream back on the day after tomorrow to finish making this."
S-Rank Production Hunter, Shin Yuna.
She was preparing to end the stream.
- Upvote if today's stream was packed haha
- I'm Shin Yuna and I hit upvote
- Don't go don't go don't go don't go
- Why are you taking tomorrow off???
"Why am I taking tomorrow off, you ask? Ah, well......."
- She's starting her Shin Yuna-style bullshit again
- Smash!!! Her?!! Head in!!
"Alright~! It was fun! See you next time!!!"
Click.
[ This stream has ended. ]
"Hoo......nghh......."
Looking at the Screen indicating the stream had ended that popped up before her eyes, Shin Yuna stretched thoroughly.
She did some stretches, reaching her arms as high as she could.
Normally, her routine would be to check the community forums right after ending the stream, but lately she had picked up a new hobby.
'Heck yeah!! Time to dive!!'
That hobby was diving.
Exploring the Monster Fish Zone with the Unmanned Submersible she built herself.
Since there was no longer a risk of suffering a Mental Attack, she had practically begged Hunter Yoo Parang—who had turned into a timid mess once out of the water—to get permission.
"Never approach here, here, or here. Anywhere else is fine, I guess......."
It wasn't an easy permission to obtain, as she had to promise to keep whatever she saw down there an absolute secret and swear never to approach the areas Parang pointed out.
It was closer to a safety clearance than permission, but......anyway.
She had the submersible, and she had received her guidelines from Parang.
With nothing left to stop Yuna, it was no surprise that her desire to dive pierced straight through the ocean floor.
Yesterday, it was too late, so she only managed to dive for four hours. Today, she had intentionally ended her stream early, so she was fully prepared and practically bursting with anticipation.
Without even a glance at the community forums, she quickly headed to the Basement.
Riding the Victorian-style Elevator all the way down, she was greeted by a door made of brass.
She pulled, turned, and lowered the various circular valves and Levers attached to it. Clank, clunk, clatter. As she operated them, the door opened with a hiss- of escaping steam.
Once the door opened, a massive Water Tank came into view.
Yuna put on the Full-Body Decompression Diving Suit hanging next to the door and waddled down into the Water Tank.
At the bottom was a chair made of brass, along with a desk-shaped Controller designed to be operated while seated.
Next to it rested the Unmanned Submersible that Yuna had built herself.
Thud.
Yuna sat in the brass chair and thumped on the fist-sized buttons, causing a massive Monitor to rise from the Floor and turn on.
The Screen displayed the inside of the Water Tank she was currently in.
It was a video feed transmitted from Yuna's custom Unmanned Submersible.
She placed her hands back on the Controller. Thump, clank, clatter, whir!!
As she pushed, pulled, and turned various controls, one wall of the Water Tank opened to reveal a passage, and the Submersible began to move toward it.
It was a passage directly connected to the ocean.
There was nothing an S-Rank Hunter couldn't make with a mega-corporation backing them.
Gurgle-
With the sound of the Propeller spinning, the Submersible set off!
It exited the passage, entered the East Sea, and descended deeper and deeper.
The surface layer had long been ejected from her mind. Only the Monster Fish Zone held Yuna's interest.
Descending vertically, Yuna quickly reached a depth of 700 meters, arriving at the Monster Fish Zone, and,
■■■■■■■--
She finally encountered a Monster Fish.
It was the first Monster Fish she met today.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly the first.
She thought she saw something resembling a red handle on the way down, but she suddenly felt the urge to pretend she hadn't seen it and skipped it.
So, practically speaking, it was the first Monster Fish she met today.
And what a stubborn coincidence it was. The Monster Fish that appeared before her was none other than Galecus.
The insolent and wicked Hairtail that had driven her to the brink of death.
Just thinking about how she almost died in vain still sent shivers down her spine.
So Yuna carried out a ruthless revenge.
Which was to meticulously examine the stationary Galecus, down to every single Scale and Fin.
Since she couldn't hunt a Monster Fish with the Weapons equipped on a mere Unmanned Submersible.
Yuna also wanted nothing more than to tear Galecus apart, crush it, and strip the flesh from its bones, but what could she do when the situation didn't allow it?
Besides, observing something suited her tastes better than hunting it.
And so, the ruthless Monster Fish stalker Shin Yuna's atrocities continued for a while.
How much time had passed? Yuna's Unmanned Submersible had already dived to a depth of 1.2 kilometers.
Its maximum diving depth was 2 kilometers, but for various reasons, Yuna never went below 1.5 kilometers.
It was partly to prepare for unexpected situations, and, well...... other things.
Plus, she could fully experience the Deep Sea she wanted to explore by just descending about 1.5 kilometers.
[ Skill, Waterproof Sanity is active. ]
'Phew.......'
Hastily turning the Submersible around to escape the Monster Fish's maw, Yuna let out a sigh.
Goosebumps erupted all over her body, and her legs were trembling.
She had approached a small, pretty, glowing fish, only to find the little fish completely gone, replaced by a massive Anglerfish.
The Submersible she had stayed up night after night to build had almost been swallowed whole by the Anglerfish's maw, which would have been a disaster.
Even setting aside the issue with the Submersible, the experience Yuna just had was chilling enough.
The only light visible in the deep, dark void had vanished, and a giant maw had suddenly appeared right before her eyes.
From inside the maw came a sound like men, women, and children all screaming in Pain, while Eyeballs were densely packed across its palate and tongue.
To top it all off, a Notification Window popped up right on cue, making it the perfect cherry on top.
"Gasp......gasp......haaa......."
It felt like she could get addicted to this.
Once again, this crazy girl proved she was out of her mind.
Anyway.
Yuna caught her breath and was about to resume her exploration when......she froze.
She had discovered something incredibly out of place.
It wasn't a Monster Fish, nor was it an Objet.
She looked closely to see what that thing was- floating in the water and blowing gurgle- bubbles.
'A Submersible......?'
It was an Unmanned Submersible.
Unlike the steampunk-style Submersible Yuna built, this one had a somewhat cybernetic vibe.
A black body with red neon lights, featuring a sleek, diamond-shaped design.
It looked like a villain's ship straight out of a sci-fi Movie.
Her curiosity piqued, Yuna inspected the Submersible from various angles.
Seeing its Camera follow her movements, it was definitely operational.
'Hmmmm..........'
#
Meanwhile.
"Uh....... Branch Manager. I think you need to take a look at this."
"Huh? What is it."
Hunter Association Fukuoka Branch, underground Secret Room.
A young man in a Suit peeked his head over the Monitor and called out to his Superior.
Filling the Screen he was looking at was a steampunk-style Submersible made of brass.
It belonged to Shin Yuna.
An unexpected encounter while secretly exploring the Monster Fish Zone of the East Sea.
At this point, it is necessary to trace back to the fundamental reason how this encounter came to be.
Since August 4th, when Parang appeared at the Hunter Association.
"Well, we lost her. Because she suddenly jumped into the Han River......."
Realizing that Yoo Parang had slipped through their tracking network, Natsuko immediately searched for information on her.
Shouldn't she pay at least that much attention to the Hunter that Seo Sunwoo had called to the Branch Manager's Office?
And when Natsuko searched for Parang, the very first thing that popped up was, naturally, Parang's stream.
It was no coincidence that Natsuko ended up watching her stream clips-
And naturally, she came across information on Monster Fishes living in the Deep Sea, such as Galecus and Brachium.
Having discovered what was in the Deep Sea, Natsuko's eyes immediately rolled back as she devised a plan to throw people into the Deep Sea......not exactly.
Because honestly, the whole thing was somehow, in a way, a bit ambiguous.
Sure, it would be a huge benefit if she hunted and absorbed a Monster Fish that had eaten a lot of people.
But how in the world was she supposed to do that?
To do that, Natsuko would have to pinpoint the specific Monster Fish to hunt, feed people to exactly 'that Monster Fish', and then track down and hunt exactly 'that Monster Fish'.
It meant feeding and raising 'just one' fish in the vast ocean before eating it.
It goes without saying how utterly absurd this idea was.
It wasn't like a Monster Fish was some sashimi fish that could be caught and farmed.
Even if that were possible, putting in an unimaginable amount of effort just to eat a Galecus? Lassus? Brachium??
Natsuko was crazy, but she wasn't stupid.
She knew how to calculate the costs and benefits at least that much.
Unless there was a Monster Fish so incredibly strong that it was worth absorbing at any cost, or an environment where they could actually trap a Monster Fish and 'farm' it by feeding it people, the Deep Sea was practically a barren wasteland to Natsuko.
This was a fact that Cylo and Parang also already knew. That was also why they prioritized stopping Natsuko from approaching whatever killed the Slayers.
Still, Natsuko couldn't completely ignore this honeypot-like space either, so she had built a Submersible and started sending it down to the Monster Fish Zone bit by bit.
And in the midst of that, they bumped into Yuna in the East Sea.
Naturally, everyone in the Situation Room panicked.
It was like running into a tourist while carrying out a secret mission in the middle of the Sahara Desert.
It was bewildering for Yuna as well, but for the Hunter Association, it was absolutely mind-blowing.
They tried to retreat but she kept following, and they couldn't just stay in a standoff either.
They hadn't anticipated this kind of situation at all, leaving them in a dilemma without even a way to send a threat or a warning message!
So they came to a conclusion, shoot it.
Looking at the design, it didn't seem to be a Submersible from Cylo or the World Government, and since it looked like something a private individual built and was diving in, they decided to just shoot it and sweep the incident under the rug.
Since this was a World in a Hunter novel, you could say it was a fairly authentic way to handle things.
And so, boom, ba-boom.
"Huh? Huh?!! Hey!! Hey! Wait!!"
In the Water Tank, a panicked Yuna thumped all over the Instrument Panel.
"What the f!!!uck!!! My Submarine!!!!"
Soon, her scream echoed inside the Full-Body Decompression Diving Suit.