The Hunter Never Changes
The entrance to the Upo Wetland Gate.
Park Wonchang, the low-grade delivery dog, had arrived here about ten minutes ago.
Item delivery was supposed to be done personally.
That was the rule.
Because it was expensive.
If you're a dog, act like one. Take a delivery photo and get out?
The words that were almost murder-in-a-sentence floated around Park Wonchang's ears. They hurt more than the humiliation he had suffered from Tess-hyung.
Tess-hyung was a hunter of a completely different level from him.
A higher level.
But the guy talking like a delivery dog looked pathetic to anyone who saw it.
The natural law of strong-weak-strong had boiled him inside.
If it wasn't for the parole period, I would bury him in the Upo Wetland right now.
This place was perfect for hiding a body.
In the old days, I would have killed him on the spot. But now, under parole. He had somehow managed to suppress his instincts with his reason.
If he caused trouble now, he would be sent back to the special prison.
8:58 PM.
Why isn't he coming?
He had sent a text saying the delivery had arrived, but there was no reply.
Is he inside the gate?
He wanted to enter the gate and deliver it himself. But the electronic ankle monitor was the problem.
Restraining mana was one thing, but the moment he entered the gate, a signal would go to the probation officer.
If he was caught entering a gate during parole, it would immediately cancel the parole and send him back to the special prison.
The Hunter Special Prison.
The place where crazy guys who would have been treated as pets by someone like Tess-hyung were crowded together.
He never wanted to go back there.
Hold on for a few more days. Not now.
He looked back at the spam text he had received the day before.
The date on it was December 17.
There was still a lot left.
Flash.
At that moment, the gate glowed and a guy appeared.
He was wearing a bike suit and a helmet.
The guy approached with arrogant confidence, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and held out his hand.
On reflex, he handed over the box.
Whoosh.
The box suddenly disappeared.
And then, victory.
What?
Wait. Did I just deliver it properly?
Park Wonchang's scalp suddenly heated up.
The team leader had always emphasized to check the recipient code and hand over the item.
He hadn't checked it yesterday and had heard a scolding about it...
Because of that damn reborn bastard Kim Taesu.
Was that all?
He had also failed to take a delivery completion photo today.
If he kept doing this low-grade stuff, he would lose his job.
Parole was conditional on employment, so losing the job would be troublesome.
Hey, wait a second.
Park Wonchang grabbed the shoulder of the guy in the 55th spot who was about to leave.
But the guy ignored him.
Stop. Aren't you listening to me?
And the guy yesterday was different from them?
Now that he looked closely, his build was completely different.
This guy was a skinny bastard of a completely different level.
Among the guys he had seen yesterday, there was no one with this physique.
A word flashed through his head.
Delivery scam...?
Fuck!
It was over.
You damn scammer.
Park Wonchang grabbed the delivery guy's collar.
He needed to catch this guy too.
That way, he could at least have something to say later.
Hand over the item! You bastard!
After the rough scuffle, Park Wonchang succeeded in forcibly removing the 55th guy's helmet.
Uwah, shit, I got a shock!
The moment he saw the skull bag, a reflexive punch like Pavlov's dog flew out.
Thud.
Dust... dust...
?
Just one hit.
The guy disappeared, scattering dust.
All that was left in his hand was the meaningless helmet.
What? Where did he go!
It felt like he was under a ghost's spell.
Shit... shit, it's over.
He hadn't taken the delivery photo,
and he didn't even know who he had delivered the item to.
Nothing was left to defend himself with.
It was perfect for framing him with theft.
The judge's voice brushed by his ears.
Aggravated punishment for theft during parole period...
Uwa, shit! Shit!!
A shrill ringing also echoed in his ears.
It was truly over.
Now there were only two choices.
Go back to the special prison,
or run away.
I'm confident in running.
Yeah, running was the answer.
Park Wonchang's class was assassin.
He had used stealth to exploit crime.
That skill was also useful for fleeing.
Then where?
He could also run to the gate.
But once the investigation started, the Upo Wetland would be full of Hunterpol.
Incheon... I just need to hold on for a few days...
He had to go there anyway.
Somehow escape and hide his body at the Sorae Port Gate near Incheon Port.
Until December 17...
That was the only option.
Park Wonchang checked the electronic ankle monitor.
The moment he tore it off, the search would begin.
The starting point was this place.
He had to get as far away from here as possible.
He would have to run day and night.
The phone was the same. It would be tracked.
Park Wonchang took out his phone and read the last spam message again.
Code: INCU9283121
INCU9283121. INCU9283121... damn, how do I remember this!
He ran toward the 5-ton truck, looked for paper and a pen.
Bitching. He found the paper, but no pen.
No choice.
Blood letter.
Park Wonchang bit his index finger.
Plop.
Ah, tsk.
INCU9283121... blood letter complete.
Immediately tore off the electronic ankle monitor and threw the smashed phone along with it into the swamp.
Splash.
He had already done it.
The probation officer and nearby Hunterpol would have received an abnormal situation report.
There was no time to hesitate now.
First, get out to the road, steal a vehicle, and head to Incheon. But the moment he tried to run...
What is this?
An eye suddenly floated in the empty air.
How long had it been there? Had it been watching everything?
Goosebumps prickled all over his body.
Park Wonchang quickly started to run away.
With high agility stats, his legs were fast.
Park Wonchang was an assassin.
Agility was the foundation.
Tatak tak tak.
But the flying eye above him was hard to escape.
Park Wonchang decided to deal with the eye first.
He picked up a rock.
Dark Blade.
Swoosh.
The black-powered rock rushed forward.
Dark Blade skill maximum range about 300 meters.
A considerable distance,
but Oculus's eye maximum manipulation distance 1 km.
The eye disappeared high in the sky.
It was invisible.
Did I hit it?
He couldn't tell.
Tatak tak.
But this time, something was running from far away.
Clop clop clop.
The sound of footsteps was rough.
Like a four-legged beast.
Uwa, what the hell is that!
A scary-looking dog.
Skeleton?
Krr...
It looked like it had crawled out of the abyss of hell with nothing but bones.
Park Wonchang's head rang from the extreme stress he had accumulated in a short time.
Was it revenge for the skeleton he had killed earlier?
He couldn't run with a tail.
First, remove that too.
Park Wonchang was nominally a B-class hunter.
An assassin of a high level that could use all types of close-range attacks.
He held another rock again.
Shadow Strike. This one couldn't be dodged.
The range was short at 100 meters, but Shadow Strike was a guidance skill.
Whoosh-
The rock twisted like a snake and rushed toward the hellhound.
The hellhound tried to dodge,
but bang.
Headshot.
One shot, one kill.
It disappeared into dust.
What? Why is it so weak?
He ran again,
but thump thump thump.
Footsteps were heard again.
This time, many.
Crazy.
This time, a group of skeletons.
More than thirty of them.
Crazy... stealth.
Park Wonchang's figure melted into the surroundings like a chameleon and completely disappeared.
His moving speed would decrease, but it was better to get out of this place first.
But the prickling gaze was felt again.
He looked up at the sky...
Shit, that eye again.
It was clearly seeing through the stealth.
[Detection. Stealth power weakened.]
Fuck! There's no end to it.
Chase had started the moment he ran away.
It was ruined. He had been wrecked badly.
Where exactly had it all gone wrong?
Who exactly was it?
That didn't matter.
The skeletons chasing him were far more important right now.
But among the skeletons, he saw a familiar guy.
Bike suit.
He was wearing the helmet he had stolen again.
That guy. The delivery thief.
Victory.
Everything was because of that bastard.
Because of that bastard, all this had happened.
You damn bastard!!
Victory.
Park Wonchang's eyes rolled back.
* * *
What are you doing?
The moment the younger brother realized he had been tricked, Oculus's eye was sent outside the gate.
What he saw was a 5-ton truck. And...
Park Wonchang?
Yes? It seems Park Wonchang had come.
But why is he acting like that?
Why?
The guy holding the younger brother's helmet looked flustered.
He was fidgeting and biting his nails.
Whatever he was muttering couldn't be heard.
What is he trying to do?
Suddenly, he took out his phone.
He checked a message.
Slyly, glancing over his shoulder...
What spam message...
+
[Web sender] (advertisement)
♪ This week's sports lotto special event!
★ December 17, Incheon United's ...
+
He carefully read the meaningless spam message.
Then suddenly irritated, he ran toward the 5-ton truck.
There, he found paper and bit his index finger.
Having done it once, a blood letter.
Every action of this guy was incomprehensible.
What exactly is he trying to do?
INCU9283121?
A blood letter to write something grand? Did he think it was a suicide note? But it was just a serial number.
Just in case, he told Hansik.
Hansik, memorize INCU9283121.
AI Hansik. Input. Save.
Sweet.
Huh? Eh?
But suddenly, Park Wonchang stomped his phone with his foot and tore off the electronic ankle monitor with his strength.
Hyung, why?
Park Wonchang tore off the electronic ankle monitor.
He's trying to run?
He's not in his right mind?
Park Wonchang was in complete panic, his eyes half-rolled back.
This time, he threw the phone and the electronic ankle monitor into the swamp.
He's trying to run.
Hah.
Why?!
Then Oculus's eye met Park Wonchang's eyes.
Park Wonchang picked up a rock from the ground.
Feeling the killing intent, he hurriedly sent Oculus's eye flying high into the sky.
He didn't know why, but Park Wonchang had decided to run.
Tess-hyung had said so.
That guy was a rapist.
There was no evidence, but it was highly likely he had committed many more crimes. An extremely vicious guy.
He couldn't be allowed to walk free in society.
The recidivism rate for rapists was said to be enormous.
First, stop him.
That could be considered a duty of a good citizen.
Skeletons, go chase Park Wonchang. Run.
The skeletons ran toward the gate according to his command.
The fastest was always Hodu.
Hyung, what's going on?
Park Wonchang is running away. Let's go to the gate entrance too. Ah... but since the skeletons left, I can't move the throne.
It's okay. I'll take you with me.
Are you sure?
I leveled up my strength stats just for this.
Thanks. I'll give you a Busan full course next time.
[Skeleton soldier dies and his stats transfer to an adjacent skeleton soldier.]
Summon.
Kung kung.
This bastard... he stole our Hodu...
* * *
Busan Nam-gu Hunter Police Station
Hunterpol detective Kim Taesu burst into the chief's office.
Bang!
Again you?
No, Chief. Park Wonchang definitely has connections with that bastard Bae Hyeongsin! Arrest him right now and throw him back into prison!
Ha, head... Taesu, I investigated that case thoroughly while Park Wonchang was in prison. You even met him in person, right? And Park Wonchang is a model prisoner. The prison has good evaluations, so why would you throw him back into prison when he's already been granted parole?
Model prisoners are bullshit. The dog doesn't stop shitting.
Taesu, did you read this document? He has been diligently doing community service during parole, attending education faithfully, and has perfect attendance at work. He is a guy trying to live a better life again. Why are you reacting so strongly just because he's a little connected to Bae Hyeongsin...
Bang!
Fuck. These worthless documents. If you do 28 hours of community service, does that wash away a rape crime? There is no evidence, so that's why. That bastard probably committed murder too...
Hey, man, this is a rule-of-law country. There's no legal problem. If you're aggrieved, bring the evidence and do it by the law!
The law is crazy.
What? This bastard!
Bibi bibi.
At that moment, the walkie-talkie interrupted.
- Probationary Park Wonchang. Electronic ankle monitor removed. High risk of escape. Origin near Upo Wetland Gate. Urgent dispatch of all available Hunterpol to Upo Wetland.
This shit. Did you hear that? You saw it, right? That Park Wonchang bastard is running away! You said model prisoner!
Er...
Bang!
Kim Taesu's fist sank into the chief's desk.
- The Park Wonchang who was on parole...
Heh heh...
The chief became speechless.
If you miss Park Wonchang, you'll be an accomplice too, Chief.
What? Accomplice? This bastard can't even distinguish right and wrong. Kim Taesu, no matter how good your record is, if you do this kind of thing, your personnel evaluation...
Personnel evaluation my ass.
Hey! Hey! Kim Taesu, you're not going to stay there, are you?
Bang!
This time, he slammed the door and left.
The hinges came off because he slammed it so hard.
That crazy bastard. Hey! Kim Taesu!
The chief's face was flushed red as he shouted, but it was just an empty echo.
Tatak tak.
Kim Taesu came out of the office.
The police cars with Hunterpol were all heading in one direction.
Whee whee-
The loud sirens made his ears deaf.
Kim Taesu also got into a police car and called [Skeleton Crazy Guy].
- No connection, beep sound then sound sample...
This bastard. Nothing wrong, right?
But his intuition said otherwise.
The origin was the Upo Wetland.
And Lee Doosik...
That crazy bastard...
He must be involved.