The Ear Collector
The Ear Collector.
That was the nickname given to the man among the scavengers.
Scavengers never revealed their real names or occupations.
They knew all too well that the moment their information leaked, their lives were over.
Scavengers operating inside Neo Seoul were in a different situation from those in the desert.
They lived like normal people, thoroughly hiding their desires.
In a city like Neo Seoul, filled not just with them but with countless Awakeners, it was an unavoidable choice.
The instant their identity as scavengers was exposed, their status flipped—they became prey for other Awakeners.
And so, the Ear Collector and his fellow scavengers parasitized Neo Seoul, meticulously concealing their identities.
Scavengers hiding in plain sight within Neo Seoul had built their own network.
It was called the Black Network.
Through the Black Network, scavengers shared information and safe houses with each other.
The underground space where the Ear Collector now lurked was one such hideout.
Nest 7.
That was what they called their safe houses.
It implied there were at least six more like it.
Nest 7 was a particularly vital hideout.
Its existence allowed them to hunt humans freely in the Slum.
No one would ever imagine that scavengers had a nest in Dongdaemun, the fanatics' territory.
Not even Yohan, the ruler of Dongdaemun.
That's why the Ear Collector and the other scavengers made such good use of Nest 7.
Currently, over a dozen scavengers were resting inside Nest 7.
When scavengers like these crossed paths, they exchanged information while keeping their identities strictly hidden.
The Ear Collector had just finished a human hunt and come to Nest 7 for some rest when he discovered the intruders.
Zzzt!
He thrust the electric stun baton at Zeon's face.
"I'll ask one last time. How the hell did you get in here?"
"Through the door."
"Bullshit. You expect me to believe you opened a door with perception-blocking magic and a special lock? Who do you think you're talking to, you moron?"
"It's the truth, but you won't believe me."
Zeon clicked his tongue.
Without Briel, even he wouldn't have found the scavengers' nest so easily.
So it was only natural they didn't buy it.
"Some bastards only wise up after a taste of hell."
The Ear Collector smirked and jammed the stun baton into Zeon's face.
Zzzt!
Blue sparks flew, and Zeon's body shuddered violently.
"Heh heh! You little shit. Should've just spilled it sooner."
The Ear Collector laughed as he watched Zeon vibrate wildly.
He assumed Briel, tangled in the net with him, would be bawling her eyes out. But Briel just stared at him with wide, blank eyes.
The Ear Collector muttered.
"What the? Is this bitch retarded?"
"The retard's you. You think that shakes Zeon?"
"What?"
Only then did the Ear Collector sense something off and look at Zeon.
At some point, Zeon had stopped shaking.
Behind the flickering blue currents, Zeon's face had settled into cold composure.
Instinct told the Ear Collector something was wrong.
"Fuck!"
Riiip!
In an instant, the net squeezing Zeon and Briel tore like paper, and a gauntleted hand shot out.
Crack!
"Guh!"
Zeon's hand clamped around the Ear Collector's throat.
It happened before the Ear Collector could react. Zeon's speed had surpassed his response time.
But the Ear Collector didn't go down easy.
He tossed the useless high-voltage baton and drew a jungle knife from his waist, stabbing at Zeon's gut.
Zeon twisted his waist slightly to dodge the blade, then slammed the Ear Collector to the ground.
Boom!
"Kuh-huk!"
The massive impact to his back drew a short scream from the Ear Collector. It was enough to incapacitate a normal person instantly.
But the Ear Collector was a D-rank martial Awakener.
He had a sturdy build and exceptional physical prowess.
He wasn't weak enough to crumple from that.
The Ear Collector kicked off the ground to rise and counterattack. But his body wouldn't obey.
Zeon was already pinning his chest with a knee.
Immense pressure crushed down on him.
"Grk!"
The Ear Collector's eyes bulged like they might pop out.
His ribs felt ready to snap, his organs on the verge of bursting.
No matter how he struggled or circulated mana, it was like being pinned under a boulder—his body wouldn't budge.
Finally, he gave up escaping and yelled.
"W-what the hell are you? How is this...?"
"Air Shield!"
In that moment, Briel cast her spell, blocking the sound from escaping outward.
The Ear Collector's attempt to scream for the other scavengers failed.
Zeon chuckled.
"Cute try."
"You bastard..."
"As payment, I'll take one of your ears."
The Ear Collector's eyes widened at Zeon's words.
"N-no!"
Slice!
A sharp sound rang out, and the Ear Collector's ear was severed.
He screamed in agony from the pain.
"Argh!"
"Quiet, or I'll take the other one."
"F-fuck! Why are you doing this to me? We just met today."
"Weren't all the owners of the ears you've collected strangers to you too?"
"You son of a bitch!"
"Looks like you still haven't learned."
Zeon placed his hand on the Ear Collector's other ear.
"Fuck! I'll talk. Anything you want."
"Everyone inside here—they're all scavengers, right?"
"Yeah!"
"How many?"
"Eleven, including me."
"How many dens like this are there?"
"I don't know!"
"Need the other ear cut off before you talk?"
"I really don't know. All I know is this is Nest 7."
"Seventh? So there are at least six more like this?"
Zeon's eyes gleamed.
He hadn't anticipated so many such dens.
It meant the scavengers were far more numerous and organized than he'd thought.
The Ear Collector added defensively.
"Yeah, that's what I know too."
"What about the locations of the other nests?"
"Two, including this one."
"Lying again."
"Fuck! It's true. One in Neo Seoul, one in the Slum. The network only tells you the nest in your active area."
"Network? You scavengers have a network?"
"Yeah! The Black Network. We all connect there for info."
"Who's running it?"
"Don't know!"
"You use it but don't know who runs it?"
"Nobody knows that shit. It just exists, so we use it. Who cares who's behind it?"
"Fine. How do you access the network?"
"C-code! You need a biometric code to connect."
"Biometric code?"
Zeon tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.
Boom!
Suddenly, fireballs flew from the darkness, slamming into Briel's Air Shield.
A massive blaze engulfed Zeon and Briel.
The moment the shield shattered, Zeon pulled Briel back.
But the Ear Collector got no such chance.
"Arrrgh!"
His body, hit directly by the flames, erupted in fire.
He writhed in the intense heat until his breath gave out.
Zeon looked toward where the fireballs had come from.
Heavily armed figures emerged from the shadows.
They were the scavengers who had been resting in Nest 7.
"What a waste of the Ear Collector name. Chattering like a rat."
"Fucking snitch, spilling everything."
"Never trust rootless scum."
The scavengers laughed and jeered at the Ear Collector's burning corpse.
An alarm spell Zeon and Briel had missed was installed in the passage.
It had triggered the moment they entered, summoning the scavengers belatedly.
Zeon scratched his head.
"This was a pretty crucial moment, and you all ruined it."
"Heh heh! Biometric code? That idiot didn't even know how to get one."
"Why not?"
"Your memory of receiving it gets wiped. Mine, everyone else's—everything else is fine, but that moment? Clean slate. Useless, see? Heh heh!"
The lead scavenger grinned, baring yellow teeth.
The others nodded in agreement.
"Kek! Our world's not that sloppy, kiddo!"
"Speaking of, a cute little one tagged along."
"Mine first."
"Fuck off! I called dibs."
The scavengers who spotted Briel started bickering.
"Worse than dogs, these humans."
Briel grimaced in disgust.
She had suffered at the hands of human hunters like these.
She hated their kind more than anyone.
"Die, all of you!"
Briel shouted and unleashed her magic.
Whoosh!
A dozen Air Arrows shot toward the scavengers.
"Oho, not bad for a little stunt."
"Pointless."
The scavengers blocked her attack with defensive skills.
Their clothes and armor were all workshop items or looted from slain Awakeners.
Top-notch performance, naturally.
An immature young elf's attack magic couldn't dent them.
The scavengers counterattacked immediately.
Boom boom boom!
Weapons from martial Awakeners and skills from magic ones filled the passage.
"Shit!"
Briel's eyes widened.
Her response to the onslaught was simple: hide behind Zeon.
Zeon gave her an exasperated look but swung his fist anyway. Dozens of flame arrows poured forward.
He had unleashed Fire Arrow with the Superheat Gauntlet.
Boom boom boom!
The dozens of Fire Arrows clashed with the incoming attacks, exploding spectacularly.
"Urk!"
"Gah!"
The scavengers screamed.
The blasts had hurled them back.
That's when Zeon moved.
Whoosh!
He kicked off the ground and charged the scavengers.
Zeon was upon them in a flash, swinging his fists.
His punches hammered the scavengers.
Crack crack crack!
It was like a storm sweeping through.
The scavengers couldn't even react before his fists connected.
No armor held up against Zeon's onslaught.
Shields shattered, special-material plate armor crumbled like glass.
Before the tidal wave that was Zeon, the scavengers were swept away without a scream.
The scene that emerged moments later was gruesome.
All the scavengers lay crumpled on the ground, limbs twisted unnaturally or bearing massive wounds.
"Fuck!"
"Grraaah!"
Their agonized cries echoed through the passage.
Zeon locked eyes with the scavenger in front of him.
"Looks like we're finally ready to talk. Right?"
"Fuuuuck!"
The scavenger screamed back instead of answering.
Zeon nodded.
"Yeah, figured as much."