#256. No Escape.
Kang Moo-hyuk steadily pushed forward amid the arrogance of various interest groups.
In this process, he didn't step to the forefront himself. Instead, he leveraged Hamilton's position and Joo Se-ah's rank, taking on only the role of mediator.
Thanks to that, even if there were some discord, raid preparations never halted due to any incidents.
"Every time things seem this smooth, something always goes wrong. The quiet is what's making me uneasy."
As if No Song-rin's words were a prophecy, ominous news arrived in the afternoon.
The bearer of that news was the Oort Cloud.
"I heard you're preparing a hive raid."
James Ulvert, the O.C.'s LA branch chief, got straight to the point the moment he arrived at the FBI office.
"Word's spread everywhere, I see."
"If you'd planned to keep it quiet, maybe. But hunters' mouths are the lightest things around."
"So, to what do I owe the visit? Are you interested in the unique item too?"
"We're decently sized, but we don't have the manpower to join a raid without HQ backup."
"Or are you here to get that support we promised notarized?"
"I wouldn't distract someone before a big fight. Actually, I'm here to help with the raid."
Kang Moo-hyuk tilted his head.
"Didn't you just say you're not joining?"
"Look at this first, then we'll talk. Bring it out."
Ulvert nodded to his subordinate, Billy. Billy placed the file folders he was carrying on the table.
"What's this?"
"Missing persons list."
At Ulvert's explanation, Kang Moo-hyuk examined the roster carefully.
Names and locations of disappearance were listed. The ranks indicated they were hunters.
"Quite a number. But why show this to me all of a sudden?"
"Billy here will explain. Billy."
At Ulvert's cue, Billy stepped forward and pointed to the list.
"This missing persons list covers hunter disappearances over the past six months. Mostly freelancers who hunted in outskirts zones."
"And?"
"At first, we suspected ties to the Butter I mentioned before."
"Butter… the hunter drug suspected to come from the Ithaca Guild?"
"Yes. Its raw material comes from dream moths, causing hallucinations. Addiction leads to sudden loss of reason and combat drops mid-hunt. We thought they got taken by monsters while messed up on it."
"But that wasn't the case?"
"Please see the next document."
Kang Moo-hyuk opened the other folder Billy handed him. It was a map dotted with countless points.
"Map of disappearance sites. Our investigation shows this isn't even all of them—we only checked some due to time, and it's already hundreds. Interviews revealed only a tiny fraction had Butter use traces."
"So, not Butter-related disappearances."
"Next page."
At Ulvert's words, Kang Moo-hyuk flipped the page. Another map of the same area, but with far fewer small squares marked.
"What's this?"
"Hearing about the hive raid, we scouted some entrances ourselves. Figured we could at least seal a few holes. Freelancers would suffer most if LA goes down."
Ulvert didn't need to explain further. Kang Moo-hyuk alternated between the two maps and quickly grasped the implication.
"Disappearance sites overlap with hive entrances. Within the carnivorous wasps' range."
"You get it."
"They're using hunters as feed?"
"Headache, right? But that's not even the real problem. The worse part is…"
"How smart they are."
"Exactly. Insect-types, no less."
It was common knowledge that insect monsters had lower intelligence than other types.
Yet evading detection for over six months while preying on hunters proved they were no ordinary foes. Beyond ordinary—dangerous.
"Reports from the Botsna incident noted the 5th-gen queen's high intelligence. Later papers on carnivorous wasp behavior detected coordinated group actions even in 2nd-gen. Six months…"
Kang Moo-hyuk swiftly scanned the list and asked Billy.
"Do you have a document sorted by disappearance date?"
"No… We rushed this. It's alphabetical. Why?"
"One moment."
Kang Moo-hyuk flipped pages at shutter speed. After finishing, he closed his eyes, muttering. Soon, he opened them, sweat beading on his forehead.
"By date, from six months ago to now, low rank first."
"Pardon?"
Billy was stunned—not by the content, but the feat.
He read the whole list and sorted it already?
Speed-reading was unbelievable enough; categorizing on the fly was impossible.
He assumed Kang had spotted a few anomalies. But the follow-up left him aghast.
"April 11th, Dickinson. D-rank. April 12th, Eric. D-. April 13th, Tom, Hank, Nikita, Francis. D-. Then steady same-rank climbs until July 1st: Gerrick, Bacon, Mark, Chiang, Catalina—39 D-ranks. Some full parties vanished, but mostly stepwise rank-ups. Intervals shortening too."
"You memorized the whole list in that time? Impossible."
Ulvert asked in shock. Kang ignored, focusing on the monsters.
"These carnivorous wasps might be more intelligent than prior specimens. Rapid evolution based on feed quantity and quality—who knows how they've changed."
Billy snapped to at Kang's speculation.
"Could be, as you say."
"Any leads?"
"Linking Butter to missing hunters to wasps led us to trace six-month-old paths. Raised a question."
Kang read Billy's mind. He had the same doubt.
"Where the carnivorous wasps came from?"
"Yes. How such dangerous things nested undetected in a city underground—second only to New York in hunter density."
"Found the origin?"
"Seven months ago. March this year—a red gate outbreaking."
Kang recalled the overseas news. Big incident, but he was focused on raids and Makyung ops—no bandwidth for distant events.
Go Eul-ji's fretting over BTA concert cancellation stuck, though. Monsters hid and rampaged, delaying August show to October—she wailed.
Come to think, this concert got interrupted too. Could milk that later. Show reschedules—next bait idea?
Using the explanation lull for scheming, Kang asked.
"From that red gate?"
"Yes. Eyewitnesses spotted wasp monsters. I dug through old files."
"Carnivorous wasps are priority extermination targets. Why leave them?"
"Buried under post-outbreak chaos and guardian chases."
"Didn't catch the guardian?"
Kang was shocked.
In Korea, guardians were gatekeepers.
Gates had three axes: gatekeeper (key holder), gate boss (ruler), guardian (core protector).
Defeat boss, remove guardian, destroy core to close. Guardians often trickier than bosses.
A loose guardian meant a boss-level monster free.
"Officially closed, but incidents from escapees persist. These wasps might be survivors. Most logical link now."
Kang's face paled.
"Just checking—the guardian wasn't a carnivorous wasp?"
"No. Unknown. Still at large, unnamed."
"Small mercy. If wasps were guardians… nightmare averted? No, half-nightmare already."
Kang needed plan tweaks.
Blitz needed. But blind assault risky. Shake hive with S-rank guild master first, gauge reaction…
As he reformulated, Ulvert spoke.
"Helpful?"
"Invaluable."
"Glad. Don't forget—pay up later."
"If LA survives."
"Jinx… Tch! Call if issues."
Ulvert scowled, tongue-clicked, and left. Billy gave an awkward smile and bow before following.
Alone, Kang thought preparations needed tightening beyond original plan.
Other guilds won't lead risks. Must move guild master. Support team…
Go Eul-ji, Jang Deok-gu, No Song-rin.
Thomas risky on meds—bench him. Johanna instead?
Johanna would freak, but Kang concluded.
"Need to solidify party beyond guild master."
* * *
"Oh? The one ignoring my meet request now calls first and visits? Four whole hours since landing in LA."
Ayla's lips smiled, eyes didn't.
She's pissed.
Kang's senses read her perfectly. He panicked inwardly. Elves sulk?
Beautiful, otherworldly eyes, mana-breathing aside, seemed human-like emotionally. But facing it flustered him.
He showed none, replying calmly.
"Busy."
"Not anymore? Raid prep guy?"
"Busy, but you warrant carved time."
"Rising intonation? Sounds improvised."
"No?"
"Hmm…"
"Really busy. Worse than Russia."
Offense flipped. Ayla averted eyes.
"Carnivorous wasp hive attacking city. Queen likely 5th-gen. Scenario hard to engineer. Federation test? Survival iffy."
"Didn't foresee this… Came personally to LA… Ensured safe exit…"
"Abandon like this? Millions might die?"
"Leave to LA guilds. You're civilian…"
Ayla knew her pitch wouldn't land.
She suggested escape due to Russia precedent and her safety promise.
Kang wouldn't miss that leverage.
"Heard? I'm leading hive raid. Core is S-rank Joo Se-ah. If I bail, raid collapses?"
"Uh, yeah… it would?"
"Your rising end? You knew."
"No. I know. Just suggesting escape since you needn't risk it."
"You know my answer."
Ayla nodded. The Kang she knew had decided.
"No escape."
"Sigh… So, other reason for visit?"
"Your absolute support promise if issues. Remember?"
"Of course. What?"
"Open this safe."