Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Scavengers Swarm Japan
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The supply routes to Pyongyang Undercity had been severed. This wasn't your run-of-the-mill crisis, so word reached Park Sukja, the boss ruling the place, in no time flat.
The supply line from perfectly fine Seoul got cut off. And with Neo Sinan Undercity's route sliced in two on top of that, their lifeline choked shut in an instant.
“What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I'm telling you, some ghost monsters popped up north of Kaesong and blocked everything. They sliced right through South Korea's northern border like they were building a damn Great Wall! Fix this for us, boss.”
“Jesus, what the hell is going on? I was only gone to Japan for a business trip...”
Stunned by the sudden emergency report, Park Sukja shot to her feet to check it out.
She pulled up footage from alert drones other scavengers had launched, and sure enough—spectral monsters she'd never seen around here before, plus a bunch of Japanese-style castles belching out eerie ghostly energy.
“What the hell is this doing here?”
“Well... it's tied to Hunter Yoo Seongwon. He summoned the remnants of Constellation 66 Heavenly Demons' forces for a showdown, but it just so happened right over the frontline city, so...”
“That bastard, is he insane? No... he did it on purpose! That son of a bitch!”
She saw right through the “final battle” excuse—it was obviously a ploy to isolate them.
With Korea blockaded, their options were Russia or Constellation Dragon-Phoenix King's territory, but those were low-reward compared to the effort. That left crossing the sea to China or Japan, which jacked up costs and prices compared to the short land routes they'd relied on.
“They're straight-up trying to cut us off. Those ghost types... they only drop magestones, right?”
“Yeah, that's right. They give some EXP too... but obviously it varies by monster rank...”
“So they're literally just worthless bone scraps with no nutritional value... Ugh, this is such a headache.”
The Slaughter King constellation craved blood and flesh—soulless skeletons like these weren't welcome offerings.
Same went for the monsters under Slaughter King, and the scavengers too. They hated these things the most; fighting them just burned time and resources with nothing to show for it.
But you couldn't just say, “Hey everyone, let's all pitch in and clear these money-losing pests?” Scavengers lived by their own rules, jumping to whoever paid best. No easy fix there.
“...What do we do? We could rush in supplies by sea, but the costs...”
“What about the guys in Yanbian? They know about this, right?”
“Yeah. Prices have already shot up 50 percent overnight. If you're pissed, go hit Russia or Dragon-Phoenix King's turf—or cross to South China or Japan... And they're jacking it another 50 percent tomorrow.”
“Fucking chink bastards...”
True to form in scavenger society—lawless without government or oversight—the economy was already a dumpster fire, and this crisis sent prices skyrocketing.
Sure, prices soaring meant scavengers would just rob each other blind as usual. But they all knew fracturing now would be bad for business.
“If we let this slide, Slaughter King-sama's gonna be pissed. That Yoo Seongwon guy drove out Constellation 66 Heavenly Demons in the end.”
“But didn't that fail?”
“Even a failure's 'experience' if you survive. We've got tons of cowards scared of Core Dungeons, so coming back alive is impressive enough.”
Almost no one cleared Core Dungeons, but even rarer were those who failed... and lived.
Most failures meant dying inside.
By that metric, Yoo Seongwon was the world's rarest hunter with the most unique experience.
“You went there too, boss.”
“That was an 'invitation' from our Slaughter King-sama! Argh! Those thick-headed idiots! Anyway, I'm heading out for a bit.”
“Huh? Where to? We're swamped right now.”
“The one guy who can fix this mess... wait, no he can't! Anyway, the only guy who matters!”
Park Sukja ditched her underlings and headed somewhere in downtown Pyongyang.
The old Kim Il-sung University grounds. Now, Pastor Lee—who'd ascended in human form to become Slaughter King's apostle—had set up shop there, tinkering away on his research.
The classic human cloning factory for mass-producing humans. One person took at least ten months in the womb, then 15-20 years to grow—his work slashed that timeline to crank out infinite sacrifices.
“...What's up?”
“Weird seeing you in human form today.”
“Heh, hooves make work a pain. Blessed form's great, but efficiency first.”
“Whatever floats your boat. How's the research?”
“Smooth sailing. Those Japanese really are guinea pig pros—tons of data. Their labs went nuts trying to clone Awakeners or force normals into them.”
Thanks to their recent Japanese haul, Pastor Lee's research leaped dozens of steps forward.
The labs they'd raided had done everything: genetic engineering on kids and low-rank Awakeners for cloning, artificially awakening normals—you name it.
“Anyway, they're why we're almost there. Just need growth acceleration, cost reduction, and knowledge retention. Hmm... human brains are the real bitch. I've eaten plenty, but their fine structure? No clue. Decode the electrical signals and flows, and it'd be perfect... But I'm short on expertise, so I gotta snag a specialist—or learn it myself for now. So, what's the business?”
“Yoo Seongwon that prick just screwed us big time. Check this out.”
“Hmm... Ho, this is~ a problem. We still need tons of slaves for tech development.”
Pastor Lee scowled the second he saw the spectral legion line forming south.
Seoul supplied the most slaves, electronics, and raw materials. Block that off, and his research ground to a halt.
Not ideal, so he shifted back to his bovine beastman form with a sigh.
[Moo-oo, this is serious. Leaves us sea routes, Russia, or targeting 'Constellation Dragon-Phoenix King'...]
“What's the play?”
[Mmoooo~ Surprisingly simple answer. 66 Heavenly Demons' specters coming here means Japan's wide open, right?]
“But can we go to Japan? Core Dungeon entrance would be totally exposed.”
[Only Yoo Seongwon could've hit our Slaughter King-sama's 'Core Dungeon' anyway... Think you can stop him now? He's failed once, so no quick retry. Plus, hordes of subordinate demons guard it—no worries. Hell, with most S-Rank hunters gone, everyone's gunning for Japan's underworld throne. Can't miss this shot.]
Pastor Lee's take: Yoo Seongwon was unstoppable anyway. First to plant the flag in vacant Japan wins.
Core Dungeon area empties, but Slaughter King's apostles still held it—no easy breach.
It made sense, so Park Sukja radioed ahead, scouting sea routes to Japan via the East Sea.
“Hmm, we can go, but how do you move all this?”
[Mmoo, no sweat. Acquiring stuff's hard—transport's easy. Stash it in my Core Dungeon shrine and go. Time to pack.]
“Being an apostle's damn convenient. I'll line up ships. Round up the crew~”
Under Pastor Lee's plan, Slaughter King's scavengers skipped infighting, organizing a mass exodus via ships and flights to Japan—like a full ethnic migration.
They weren't the only ones eyeing Japan. Russian and Chinese mafias piled in to claim new turf too.
Korea ended up safer, left with locals and small fry scavengers. The government could finally breathe, eyeing Yoo Seongwon while rolling out policies.
***
One month later. Japan, Tokyo.
They say if flowers bloom too pretty, bugs swarm 'em.
Japan should've been safe post-66 Heavenly Demons, but now it was scavenger and mafia paradise—shuddering in agony.
“You chink fuck! Die!”
“Comrade...! Motherfucker! Die!”
“What the hell! You demonic bastard! I'll kill you!”
“Shut your mouth!”
“Goddamn monkeys! Kill 'em all!”
Boom! Bang! Rat-tat-tat!
Even broad daylight, Tokyo streets echoed foreign tongues.
Gunfights were baseline; Awakeners' powers and national scavenger gear exploded as they slaughtered each other.
Civilian casualties? Scavengers didn't give a damn.
Crack down? A- and B-Rank chumps couldn't touch this all-star slaughterfest.
“No way. Four Undercity bosses? Those man-eating Chosun scum! And one's a freaking constellation apostle!”
Slaughter King's human hunters nearby.
Scavengers who'd tagged along on Pastor Lee's pitch inflicted the worst visible damage.
Kidnapping folks for sacrifice was their gig. Hunters fetched premium, so they hunted normals and task force Awakeners alike—driving everyone mad.
“And China's Communist Party and Russia's are straight-up government hunters pretending to be scavengers. Captain Miura, no diplomatic protests?”
“Protest what? They play dumb and wipe their mouths clean!”
Worse, South China communists and Russians ran ops with state special forces posing as scavengers for national gain.
No protesting that—the evidence was scrubbed beforehand.
“US sent infamous 'Evil Company' and 'Money First Money Money' mega-scavenger corps, screwing markets with cash and muscle...”
“And Vietnam, Singapore, India, Australia... Might as well host the Scavenger Games here!”
“Sigh~ Anyway, Captain Miura, reinforcements incoming. Association's requesting foreign hunter aid too, so let's hold out.”
“Yeah. Damn it! That's all we've got! If those three S-Rank bastards were here... Argh!”
“...A crossbow? Bolts? H-human hunters! R-run! They strip your bones and flesh for offerings if they catch you!”
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Task force guys lamented missing their unit's S-Ranks, but what was done was done.
A blink, and a Slaughter King scavenger's crossbow bolt hit. They fired back while retreating.
Japan devolved into a hunter-scavenger warzone.