Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Suspicious Truck
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The woman, hurt by my words, shot a glance my way.
"Hey, hold on a sec. Are you still out of it...?"
I understood she needed time to pull herself together.
Her boyfriend was dead, and she'd spent days surrounded by those rotting corpses, terrified she might be next.
But we didn't have time to spare either. We couldn't just sit here forever.
Our goal was to clear at least three Rank-2 Erosion Cores before the black market opened.
"Here, drink this."
Han Sang-ah glanced at the woman, then handed her a steaming cup of tea. After taking a sip, the woman took a deep breath.
"Anything that comes to mind. Doesn't matter what."
The woman pressed her temples with her hands, then let out an "Ah."
"The monster holding me was a corpse. You probably already know that."
"Yeah, but there must be a reason you brought it up."
The woman nodded cautiously.
"If I wasn't hallucinating, a truck pulled up to the shrine where they were keeping me."
What? Monsters driving trucks?
I wasn't the only one baffled. Even the woman seemed to doubt her own words as she said it.
"Go on."
"Someone got out of the truck... looked human. But the monsters didn't attack them at all."
She said they selected a few captives and loaded them into the truck.
"There was someone who escaped."
The woman shuddered at my words, spitting out her response.
"I think I know who. They let him go on purpose."
According to her, the figure from the truck knocked out an old man, then implanted something in him.
Han Sang-ah looked horrified and turned to me.
"What's with the shock? It's obvious."
To escape this island, you have to cross the sea. Even if they somehow got a boat, the ghost ships were still patrolling back then.
Escaping successfully? Impossible.
"Maybe coming here was a trap from the start. You should've told me sooner."
I strongly agreed with Han Sang-ah.
"And what would that change? Were you planning not to come?"
I nodded toward the woman leaning against the cot.
"It was suspicious, sure, but I came without saying anything and saved these people anyway."
"..."
Han Sang-ah fell silent.
"And even if we'd known, what could we have done right then?"
It was just suspicion. No hard evidence. Hard to grill an escapee without proof.
Now that we had a clear statement, we could take action.
"If the goal was to let someone escape and lure us in, then we've already sprung the trap, right?"
I gave Han Sang-ah a pitiful look.
"Did you think you'd never fall into a trap doing this job?"
It's dangerous work. Living with unknown threats that could strike anytime.
I patted Han Sang-ah's shoulder and stood up.
"Falling into traps is fine. Not being able to get out? That's the problem."
Tigers don't fear mouse traps. I turned back to the woman on the cot.
"Anything else?"
She thought for a long moment, then muttered softly.
"Cat."
"Pardon?"
A random cat out of nowhere?
"The person from the truck had a cat mascot on their belt. Like this..."
I handed her paper and a pen. She sketched clumsily. Han Sang-ah spoke up.
"That's not a cat. It's a wildcat—called a yamane ko in Japan."
"You recognized it from this sloppy drawing?"
Han Sang-ah fiddled with her smartphone and showed me something.
"Tsushima Airport's mascot."
I thought it was rough, but glancing at the woman on the bed, it was spot-on. She clapped when she saw Han Sang-ah's screen.
"Yes! That's it."
"So the Erosion Core's probably at the airport."
If not, we'd search elsewhere. I addressed the exhausted woman.
"I understand you're heartbroken. Still, dragging up these painful memories—brave of you. Thank you."
"No, no. Glad I could help."
"If anything else comes to mind, text this number anytime."
I wrapped up, exchanged contacts, then met with the medical team.
"All victims recovered enough to board a ship?"
"Yes. We'd be fine joining them."
Perfect.
"Coast guard, victims, medical team—everyone leave the island."
We're heading straight to Tsushima Airport. No one left to guard here. Send them off first, then we move.
"Got it. Good luck."
As the ship carrying survivors, medics, and coast guard pulled away, Han Sang-ah asked.
"They could get attacked too, right?"
"No reason or point."
If the goal was luring hunters by releasing someone, it's already done.
"Just two of us. They might want more."
"So what? We're hitting the airport anyway."
Shaking their base? They'd care less about quotas. Like fussing over department stats when the company's bankrupt.
"What if it's not the airport?"
"You worry too much. Some things you can't control."
"But it feels like we're weighing lives."
I agreed readily.
"We are. Right now."
Han Sang-ah stiffened slightly.
"That's..."
"Not pretty, I know. Want only good, cute stuff? Stick to diapers and strollers."
Han Sang-ah clutched her head, pondered, then muttered as if swallowing something.
"Yeah... we have to choose."
"Exactly. And the worst-case odds aren't high."
That's why I cut her off coldly.
"How low we talking?"
"33% or less, for sure. And not leaving it to chance."
I pulled out the chip implanter from the scrap dealers.
"That?"
"Has tracking. Got permission and implanted chips in their clothes."
They'll ditch the clothes safely back in Korea.
"If they're kidnapped, we'll know."
Even where to. Han Sang-ah nodded, face relaxing.
"Say that first next time."
"Yeah."
Wanted to test her reaction. She's curious despite my low expectations.
Soft for a chaebol heir who wants the good life. People expect tougher.
We finished prepping and moved out fast. Midway, alarms blared on both our phones—no contest who checked first.
What now? Mandatory? I checked since Han Sang-ah was driving.
"What's that?"
"Monsters swarming near Hakata Port in Fukuoka City. Around three thousand."
"But we have our assignment."
Han Sang-ah pondered, sweeping back her hair.
"Worried about penalties."
"No penalties? It's mandatory."
She let out an "Ah" and glanced at me.
"No Korean hunter's ever been punished under the Jeonju International Treaty."
"The 'reasonable excuse' clause?"
She nodded.
"They even let slide 'was eating.'"
"Thugs."
"'In an important meeting,' they claim. We're global cops and gangsters now."
International police and thugs. Sounds like some Pacific nation's past.
Anyway, Japan doesn't expect active help; it's a desperate Hail Mary since Fukuoka's too big to abandon like Tsushima.
"Saving lives. Don't care about borders right now."
Han Sang-ah's take while driving. I replied simply.
"Fine. Floor it. Faster the better."
"Not back to the port?"
"The monsters popping up in Fukuoka? Same as the ones we fought."
Not similar—exact same type.
Han Sang-ah glanced over. The car swerved hard.
"Damn it, eyes front!"
She snapped back, staring ahead.
"Means monsters escaped Tsushima's Erosion Zone."
"Pretty much."
No clue how. Only one guess matters now.
"If we destroy this island's Erosion Core..."
"We might wipe out the ones that landed in Fukuoka too, no matter how they got there."
"Yep. Gonna floor it now?"
Either way, destroying the core erases its monsters. With her realization, the car roared louder, accelerating viciously.
Meanwhile, I called the Association.
"Hi, Yoo Chan-seok, the hunter who got the Fukushima alert just now."
― Ah, yes! Hunter Yoo Chan-seok? Heard the rumors. What's up?
Voice calm. Japan's the one panicking, not Korean HQ.
More surprised a rising star like me called.
"Can you connect me to the Japanese Association?"
― Sure. Right away?
Helpful. Issue is...
"I don't speak Japanese."
― No problem. All foreign hunter association staff speak Korean.
Like a lingua franca. Good.
..."