74
Chapter 74
The extreme end of Siberia. Frozen earth, a pure white world.
Down below the freezing tundra of the Far East, there was an out-of-place bunker.
There, Yoo Parang woke up.
"Ugh... Mmm."
Looking at the clock, it was eight-thirty in the morning.
'What time will it be when I get back to South Korea...'
Parang tried to calculate it with her half-asleep head, but gave up because it was too much of a bother.
'I'll need to arrive in South Korea before lunchtime.'
In this rural boonies where Elvira lived - actually, it couldn't even be called the boonies. Since no one lived there except Elvira. It would be more accurate to call it a remote backcountry. - there obviously wasn't a luxurious facility like a Warp Gate.
To get to South Korea, she had no choice but to swim.
Parang quietly turned the clock tick-tock in her mind and realized this was the final deadline to depart.
She skipped the breakfast Elvira made, jumped into the sea, and started swimming hard toward South Korea.
And so, she arrived in South Korea.
Popping up from the waters off Pohang, she opened the door to her missed home sweet home, and ta-da! It was nine in the morning.
In reality, it took about five hours.
'Since the appointment time is two o'clock...'
She had a lot more time to spare than she thought.
'If I knew this, maybe I should have just eaten breakfast before leaving.'
Her stomach rumbled. It was obvious, considering she had swum nonstop, super-fast for five hours on an empty stomach.
Just thinking about it made the steaming, home-cooked Russian meal flicker before her eyes.
But what could she do? Parang held back tears as she opened the refrigerator, scraped together the leftover side dishes, and roughly mixed them with rice to eat.
Right about the time she was munching away and finishing off the bowl of rice,
Buzz!!
'Huh.'
Buzz!!
The cellphone vibrated fiercely, signaling a text message, and upon checking, it was a message from Yuna.
Yuna: Hey hey
Yuna: (photo)
Yuna: Is this a Monster Fish?
At some point, the two had started speaking informally to each other in private.
When Parang looked at the photo carefully, it was... something.
As you might have guessed, the photo Yuna sent was of the submarine controlled by the Association.
At first, Yuna also thought it was just a submarine, but when over twenty identical things popped out from somewhere, she contacted Parang, wondering if they were Monster Fish.
You could argue that calling something with that appearance a Monster Fish is a bit of a stretch.
After all, anyone could see that it looked exactly like a machine, a submarine.
Besides, looking at Yuna's explanation,
Yuna: Saw this while roaming the East Sea at dawn, it made a whirring sound, moved with a Propeller, and when broken, it sank with a pop and a sizzle as it exploded.
No, this is just a machine. Didn't she unconsciously use the phrase when broken herself?
Parang: No, then it's just a machine ]_];
However,
Yuna: No, it could be a Monster Fish.
Parang was about to type asking what kind of nonsense that was, but stopped.
Thinking about it carefully, there was no real reason... why it couldn't be a Monster Fish.
'Ah shit, I don't know.'
Even to Parang, the self-proclaimed and widely recognized Monster Fish Expert, it felt like... it really could be one.
It had long been revealed to the world through Parang's broadcasts that trying to tell if something was a Monster Fish by its appearance was pointless.
There were plenty of Monster Fish that looked far more like machines than this did.
There were even Monster Fish that were literally machines. Though, of course, this was still a highly debated topic in academic circles.
So Parang paused her enthusiastically moving spoon, hesitated, and thought about it before replying.
Parang: I have no idea ]_];
She decided to just answer honestly.
That was just how the sea was.
They say you can know the depths of the water but not the depths of a human heart?
At least in this World, that was complete bullshit.
Clank- Clank-
Having scarfed down a bowl of rice in no time, Parang picked up her Cellphone and carefully stared at the Photo Yuna sent.
'She said she saw it while exploring the East Sea at dawn...'
It seemed worth spending about a day looking around for it herself.
'Hmm, but still...'
Her schedule was tighter than she thought.
Right away tomorrow, she had to go explore another Hive, and after returning from there and finishing her Dive, it would be roughly the time for the Evidence to be repaired.
And after that, she'd likely be busy doing something with the clues that came from it.
If she had to find a suitable time, it would be tonight.
'I should probably go take a look.'
Parang roughly set her schedule and checked the Clock again.
It was about time to leave.
To where?
To Seoul.
It was the day she was scheduled to meet with Branch Manager Seo Sunwoo.
'Surely it won't be that dizzying dual conversation again...'
Parang shivered slightly, recalling the Pain of the past.
Of all things, her eyes landed on the ballpoint pen she used to take notes on the calendar last time.
'Should I take one with me...'
Grabbing the ballpoint pen and tossing it into her Waterproof Bag for outings, Parang dove into the sea with a slightly uneasy feeling and headed for Seoul.
#
Meanwhile, in Daejeon. The Laboratory owned by Cylo Corporation.
Slam-!!
...Well, maybe not quite that loud, but someone opened the door with an ambiguously intense force.
That is to say, intensely enough to give the impression that they wanted to throw it open, but holding back just enough so as not to be a nuisance to the people inside.
With a thump, the door opened and someone stepped inside.
Black bobbed hair and golden eyes.
An S-Rank Production Hunter, and one of the few officially designated as a Cooperative Hunter by Cylo.
It was Shin Yuna.
With the gazes of all the Researchers in White Coats fixed on her, she strode over and tossed something down with a thud.
She brought about a dozen rolled-up pieces of Paper, dumped them onto the largest table in the center, and began to flatten them out.
The Researchers, already acquainted with her, cautiously approached with eyes half full of curiosity and half looking at her like a crazy woman. Upon seeing the contents of the unrolled Paper,
they collectively wiped away their curiosity and stared at her with a look one-hundred percent reserved for a crazy woman.
What she had brought were designs and Blueprints.
The Blueprint of a heavily armed Submarine, about 100 meters in length.
Even at a glance, the Gun Barrels numbered one, two, three... there were so many it was impossible to count, the energy efficiency was practically thrown to the fishes due to that damn steampunk design, and on top of that, there was more than just a couple of other problems.
However, looking into Yuna's eyes, the Researchers already sensed their impending doom.
It had been a while since they saw those completely unhinged eyes.
Ah, I want to quit.
"Let's build this."
Blazing flames were already roaring within Yuna's eyes.
#
Gurgle-
Splash!!
Parang popped her head out from under a bridge on the Han River.
The current time was twelve o'clock.
She had arrived with time to spare.
She arrived at the meeting place with a slightly fluttering heart.
'Huh? This isn't the Association building?'
The meeting spot she arrived at wasn't the Association, but some high-end Restaurant.
The entrance wasn't ostentatious, but its elegant and neat appearance gave off a much more luxurious feel, as did the exterior of the building.
Parang, who loved delicious food, would occasionally visit upscale dining establishments to enjoy a good meal whenever she came to Seoul, and judging from her past experiences, this place was undoubtedly very expensive and high-class.
'Right. Surely he won't pull that stunt while we're eating.'
Feeling a bit relieved, Parang stepped inside the Restaurant.
Heading further in, it definitely had a premium vibe.
After making a mental note of the Restaurant's location, Parang followed the Employee's guidance deeper inside.
And then, she arrived at a place that looked exactly like a VIP Room!
Upon entering, Branch Manager Seo Sunwoo sat neatly, welcoming Parang with a smiling face.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. Even though this is only our second time, it feels familiar. Perhaps because I frequently watch your broadcasts."
"Ahaha... Thank you for enjoying them."
Parang sat down and quickly scanned the table.
No pens, no Paper!
'Heck yes!!'
She barely managed to hide her joy.
Not long after, an endless stream of mouthwatering, luxurious dishes began to be brought in, and Parang stared at the food with a starry sky drawn in her eyes.
"Let's eat first. I also dislike talking about work during a meal."
"Ah, thank you for the food."
Wow, it's anime meat, anime meat. Parang happily scarfed down the piled-up food, munching and gulping it all down.
#
"That was a great meal. This Restaurant is really nice."
"I am glad it suited your taste."
Seo Sunwoo spoke quietly, looking at the empty plates where the food had completely disappeared without a trace.
"Now then, about the main topic..."
Parang nervously swallowed a gulp of saliva once more.
It felt like Seo Sunwoo would pull out Paper and a pen from his Pouch at any moment.
For now, Parang took out the Document she had brought from her Waterproof Bag and placed it on the table.
The ecology, characteristics, strength, size, and so on of several species of Monster Fish. It was a File Folder filled with detailed information that looked like it had been dug up through stalking.
It was material she had received after asking Bertea.
These were the Monster Fish that would appear in the Undersea Hunter rank exam they had discussed when she met Seo Sunwoo before.
They were scheduled to be implemented as a Hologram that could somehow physically interact, a staple in Hunter stories, to appear at the testing site and fight against the Hunter.
This was the reason Parang had come to Seoul today.
After Seo Sunwoo took the Document and tucked it away, he pulled out something else and handed it to Parang.
It wasn't Paper and a pen... but a small Metal Box.
"What is this?"
"Open it alone in a safe situation. After taking only the contents, throw the Metal Box into the sea."
'Huh...'
Sensing that another headache-inducing event was about to happen, Parang just pocketed the Metal Box for now.
And after talking a little bit about business, and the real business.
"W-Wait a minute. Is it okay to just talk freely like this? Aren't we being wiretapped or something?"
"It is fine. I have already taken care of that part."
"Ah, I see..."
She returned home without any issues.