Myeongseo Elementary School
"H-Hey, what the hell is that?"
"A corpse?"
"M-Monster finger!"
The crowd recoiled in terror.
Go Cheon-su, having dismounted his motorcycle, glanced briefly at the Big Head's finger dangling from the rope tied behind him.
Spot on. It was a trophy. Though he did have an ulterior motive.
"M-Min-gyu?"
He'd planned to speak with the cop guarding the entrance first, but a middle-aged man approached Go Cheon-su instead.
"Min-gyu?"
He immediately knew who it was. After all, the guy had met a pretty memorable end.
Someone he knows.
It was a sigh-worthy situation, but no need to hide it.
"He's dead."
"D-Dead?"
"Yeah."
"Wh-What do you mean, dead?"
"Exactly what I said. I'm in a hurry, so excuse me."
Go Cheon-su moved past the man toward the cop behind him.
"Hey, is the person in charge here?"
"Person in charge?"
One of the cops exchanging glances stepped forward.
"The overall commander is separate, but for the entrance, that's me."
Three mugunghwa pips—inspector rank.
"I'm Lee Seo-jun, head of the Security Traffic Division."
"Go Cheon-su."
He responded to the immediate introduction.
Lee Seo-jun glanced behind Go Cheon-su.
"That gave me a shock. That corpse part—is it from the big-headed freak?"
"Yeah. You know it?"
"Oh, I know it alright."
Lee Seo-jun's face hardened.
"That thing killed several of my colleagues."
"Have you run into it yourself, sir?"
"Run into? More like saw it from afar. Couldn't even help."
Lee Seo-jun's interest in Go Cheon-su stemmed from something else.
"But... how the hell did you kill it?"
Pure curiosity about how he'd taken down such a monstrosity.
As expected.
Go Cheon-su swallowed dryly.
Good thing I brought it.
No one would believe mere words, which was why he'd hauled it along.
"I took it down."
"Pardon?"
Lee Seo-jun's face registered instant shock.
"T-Took it down...?"
"No way."
"That monster?"
The people in line reacted with equal surprise.
"Looks like some of you saw it up close."
Go Cheon-su approached the finger tied to his bike.
"This."
As he squatted and touched it, the crowd flinched in horror.
"Don't worry. It's dead. Though I didn't kill it myself."
"What do you mean?"
Lee Seo-jun stepped closer, prompting Go Cheon-su to point at his own head.
"It smashed itself and died."
"Huh? S-Smashed itself?"
"Can I explain the details later?"
Go Cheon-su stood, belatedly brushing dust from his clothes.
"I'm here to get inside too."
"Oh."
Lee Seo-jun glanced startled at the line. Many were still undergoing checks.
"G-Go first!"
"Yeah, he killed that monster!"
"He's like a hunter! Let him in quick!"
The onlooking civilians yielded the process.
No time to laugh at the silly chats. While submitting to the cops' belongings check, Go Cheon-su suddenly recalled a name.
Hero?
Come to think of it, that guy must have arrived here first.
"Uh, sir."
"Yes?"
"Is there a cop named Heo Young-woong here by any chance?"
Lee Seo-jun looked puzzled.
"Heo Young-woong?"
"Substation patrolman I met on the way. Said he was heading here."
"Hmm..."
Lee Seo-jun shook his head.
"Sounds like a newbie just assigned there. I wouldn't know. We could check the database, but..."
"Not possible right now, got it."
As Go Cheon-su finished the check and moved to enter, the dazed middle-aged man suddenly clung on.
"H-Hey, wait. Min-gyu really dead?"
"...I said he is. You know him?"
The man looked crestfallen at the question.
"I'm the head chef at the Chinese place where he worked..."
"Ah."
Go Cheon-su scratched his head.
"Meant to meet up and come together, but that monster got in the way."
"I see. Then the bike..."
"Yeah, he told me where it was, so I borrowed it. Didn't steal it, promise."
This was proof enough.
"That last mapo tofu he made? Unforgettable."
"Oh..."
He truly meant it. Never had mapo tofu that good before or since.
"Thanks to Min-gyu, I survived. If you knew him, please pass on my gratitude."
Go Cheon-su grabbed the man's hand.
"Thank you."
"Sniff."
The man couldn't speak.
As Go Cheon-su released and turned to leave, the man finally spoke.
"Jang Man-cheol. I'm Jang Man-cheol."
"Pardon?"
"You're one who remembers his last moments. We should know each other's names."
"Right."
Go Cheon-su gave an awkward smile.
"I'm Go Cheon-su."
"Go Cheon-su..."
"See you."
Ending the talk, Go Cheon-su headed straight for the main school building.
Heo Young-woong hasn't arrived?
Growing more suspicious.
"Info window."
[Info 1: Protect the police station chief at Myeongseo Elementary School. If he dies in tonight's crisis, city security will deteriorate sharply.]
The chief needed protection tonight.
Sunset's almost here...
If that guy was truly the villain, this was trouble. Without grasping the situation here, dragging something in could spell disaster.
"Folks, we'll meet the police station chief first."
Go Cheon-su pushed through the playground crowd, quickening his pace.
Not at all. In games like this, crumbling city security meant more human villains. Could seriously hinder escape from the city.
"You viewers are trap masters."
Those who'd seen this game plenty knew it well.
"Don't worry. Won't be boring."
"Everyone! Food's being served—gather up!"
A cop shouted from the playground platform. Scattered people began converging.
"Around 150, maybe..."
Go Cheon-su tilted his head, gauging numbers.
How to neutralize that many and hit the chief?
"Hey, you there!"
The cop on the platform spotted him.
"Food's this way! That's the main building!"
"I'm good."
Go Cheon-su waved it off. Food wasn't priority.
Approaching the main building entrance, the guarding cop spoke up.
"What do you need?"
"To see the police station chief."
The guard looked flustered.
"The chief?"
"Yes. ...Something wrong?"
"Well..."
The guard sighed.
"Hard to say."
"Why?"
"Hard to say... because it is."
Clearly vital info here. Go Cheon-su pointed to the guard's radio.
"Telling me would help. Radio Inspector Lee Seo-jun."
"Pardon?"
"Say Go Cheon-su wants the chief—okay to tell?"
If not, he'd glean from the response anyway.
The guard radioed reluctantly.
"Yes, sir. Oh, he says tell you?"
He explained and got the answer Go Cheon-su wanted.
"Inspector says okay... You catch a monster or something?"
"Yeah."
"Ah, figures..."
The guard sighed.
"We were gonna recruit anyone capable anyway."
"What's going on?"
"The police station chief's missing."
Missing. Go Cheon-su's expression hardened.
"Went out and vanished. Planning a search with returnees."
"I see. When's the search?"
"After picking helpers. After dinner, probably."
The chief was already in peril.
Go Cheon-su probed further.
"Why not search now?"
"Well... With only the chief gone, hard to decide how many to send."
Civilians outnumbered cops here by far. The guard explained.
"We've got 30 cops. Awkward number."
Hardly.
30...
Go Cheon-su glanced at the playground. A few armed cops controlling masses was doable. But no heavy weapons beyond pistols yet. Insufficient. 30 was too few to split between search and control.
"Mind if I see where the chief was?"
"Temp office? But even if you go in..."
"Nothing to hide from me now. I'm joining the search."
"R-Right."
Go Cheon-su pressed the flustered guard.
"No time. To predict his solo moves, I need info."
"Y-Yeah."
The guard stepped aside.
"Guess only block the clueless. Head up to the principal's office."
"Thanks."
Go Cheon-su entered the main building.
Temp office anyway. Few traces, and headless? Chaos inevitable.
"They're desperate."
No bandwidth to stop eager help. Just soulless protocol.
Headless in a pinch? Predictable outcome.
"Hold up."
Go Cheon-su reached the crudely marked "Police Chief's Office" door.
"Office here. Viewers, note anything useful. Might need your help."
Chats filled with 'no way lol,' but he ignored and entered.
As expected, empty.
"What."
And nothing there. Just table, sofa set, desk. Wall bulletin board at most.
"Still..."
A map on the desk. Red circle near where he'd gone for his house.
"Clue at least."
Why there? Unknown. But post-Big Head, search should be safe.
Just fetch the living chief...
Knock knock.
Someone at the door. Go Cheon-su turned.
Knock knock knock.
"Who is it?"
He approached slowly.
Cops knowing the chief's absence wouldn't knock. But only cops could come here.
"Who is it?"
『Looking for Patrolman Heo Young-woong?』
Police uniform faintly visible through the frosted small window.
『No answer? Coming in.』