Episode 11 [Hunter (2)]
Early morning.
Several vehicles were parked in the vacant lot next to the entrance to Sangwonsa Temple on the hillside of Chiaksan Mountain.
From expensive-looking SUVs to old Korando Jeeps and 1-ton trucks. Several vehicles were lined up side by side.
There were hunting dogs in the car and in the back of the truck.
The car owners were gathered on one side and talking. Older men wearing military uniforms or work uniforms. They were hunters.
“Brother, are you here too? Isn’t it too much for you to join in on this?”
“You son of a bitch. He’s still fine!”
One of the hunters made fun of an older-looking man, and the man got angry.
“Did you know that you came here? It’s a monster that bullets can’t hit easily. “A few people have already been taken out.”
“I’ve caught one too. There’s no problem with any of them as long as my dogs are there.”
The older man knocked on his car.
“Then do whatever you want. But has anyone heard anything about the guy we need to catch this time?”
“They said they’ll explain later.”
“Really? But why did that Cheadle come?”
Even while chatting, they glanced at one side of the vacant lot.
“They said they were doing an on-site investigation or something.”
“Hey, while I’m working, people like that follow me. Things are getting more and more strange.”
“It’s been getting weird since the mutants came out. “Well,
there was a tent pitched on one side of the vacant lot, and a van and a truck with [Animal Quarantine] written on them were parked separately. Inside the
tent, a man and a woman in white gowns were talking, and next to them were armed commandos. He was guarding them.
Gyeong-hoon was standing alone and awkwardly at a distance from the hunters. When
the hunters saw Gyeong-hoon, they blushed.
“What is that guy?” Just by looking at him, he looks like a beginner.”
“Well, I guess I heard a rumor somewhere that it would make money.”
“No, shouldn’t something like that be prevented from participating? What if a newbie gets involved in this?”
“It’s my life. Well… and if a problem arises, the public officials will take responsibility.”
He said it quietly, but it was easily heard in Kyung-hoon’s strengthened ears.
Kyung-hoon smiled slightly. It was a natural thing for them to say. As long as he doesn’t interfere, they can say whatever they say among themselves. It didn’t really matter.
After a while, a civil servant wearing an armband gathered the people. As the people gathered, the man climbed into the truck bed and raised a loudspeaker.
“I’ll explain briefly and then we’ll get started.”
The sound of the loudspeaker made people look above the truck.
“The mutation discovered this time appears to have changed the elk.”
The hunters murmured at the official’s words.
People who did this for the first time looked like it was no big deal, but hunters who had experienced it even once did not look good.
“If it’s an elk, it’s no big deal.”
“This is your first time working here.”
“Why?”
“That’s why you’re saying that.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ve never seen anything this big before. Until now, there were only small ones like raccoons and pheasants. Even though we caught them, several people were injured.
The official quieted the noisy hunters and continued explaining.
“Hikers heading to Hyangnobong Peak found it and reported it. They said it looked twice the size of an ordinary elk.”
If it was twice the size of an elk, it was about the size of a giant reindeer.
“It must be very difficult.”
“But I guess it’s okay if it’s an elk.”
Amidst whispers, the civil servant continued,
“Some people have been injured so far, so this time we decided to pair up a few people. Please follow for your safety.”
There were a few hunters who frowned, but in general, they seemed to agree with the official’s words.
“After forming a team, we will determine the search area. If possible, please give priority to herding over direct hunting.
The civil servant finished speaking while looking towards the special forces.
After a while, we were assigned to groups.
We formed pairs of three people each. As much as possible, with like-minded people. If not, public officials coordinated and assigned personnel.
It seemed like all the groups had been decided without difficulty, but at the end, dissatisfaction broke out.
The group that complained was the group to which Kyung-hoon belonged.
“No, how can you work with a beginner?”
The elderly hunter became angry at the government official.
Of course, the newbie was referring to Kyung-hoon. Other hunters seemed to agree with what he said.
“Go away! You too, say something. You haven’t said a word since a while ago. Plus, what kind of sunglasses are you wearing? On this cloudy day.”
At his words, the other hunter in the same group just shrugged his shoulders.
“Eh, anyway, I can’t be in the same group as a beginner like this.”
The official opened his mouth at the hunter’s words.
“He may be a beginner as a hunter, but he confronted and caught a mutant on his own. He also has military experience, so he can do his part well.”
This civil servant had also seen Kyung-hoon at the factory last time. And, none of the people who saw inside the factory at that time could ignore Kyung-hoon. Everyone
looked at Kyung-hoon with surprised eyes at the civil servant’s words.
It was not only the hunter who looked at Kyung-hoon. The two researchers who were watching inside the tent also looked at Gyeong-hoon with different eyes.
Hearing the official’s words, the older hunter looked Gyeong-hoon up and down.
“But it looks like you have the right equipment. I’m not responsible if something goes wrong.”
The older hunter mumbled and stepped back, and the other hunters didn’t seem to care. The
group formation was completed after many twists and turns.
Fortunately, the subsequent designation of the search area ended without any problems, and the hunters began to move to the designated area with their dogs in tow.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
The sounds of the dogs were scattered in all directions. I don’t know how useful they would be against mutants, but there was nothing better than hunting dogs for tracking and herding.
Gyeonghun’s team also moved with two hunting dogs. They were dogs brought by an old hunter.
” Park Gaya, why didn’t you bring the dogs again?”
“I’m injured and I’m in the hospital.”
A short answer came to the hunter’s question. It was a harsh voice. Kyung-hoon shook his head, but the older hunter didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. “Then you should rest, why did you come out
? “A person with a weak body.”
Kyung-hoon looked at the hunter wearing sunglasses. No matter how I looked at him, he didn’t look like a weak person.
You can’t see it because of the pants and jumper, but just by looking at the way he walks, it’s clear that he can use more strength than a young person.
After a brief conversation, the three rode up the mountain at high speed. The older hunter was out of breath, but neither Kyung-hoon nor the sunglasses-wearing hunter showed signs of exhaustion.
“Oh my, have I really gotten older? I’m the only one having a hard time.”
The hunter, who was drinking water and shaking his head, opened his mouth to Kyung-hoon.
“No, but you young man, why did you come here? It’s not like I’ve ever been a hunter before.”
It was a question that only came out now. Kyung-hoon was a little dumbfounded, but he answered.
“After running into a guy named Mutant the other day, I was advised to try becoming a hunter. I happened to be on break, so I was curious about what happened, so I participated.”
There wasn’t a single lie in what he said. After making statements so many times, I became accustomed to keeping secrets.
“I don’t know what I saw and recommended. Anyway, since we’re together, follow along and keep an eye on what’s going on. “Don’t just go out and cause an accident.”
“All right.”
Since Kyung-hoon had no intention of coming forward, he was able to answer comfortably.
After that, the three people made a full statement. The older hunter was Bok-gil, and the hunter wearing sunglasses was Park Hyeong-sik. Kyung-hoon also told me his name.
After hearing the name, Gyeong-hoon asked Hunter Jeong a question.
“But did hunts like this happen often?”
A hunter wearing sunglasses responds to Kyung-hoon’s words. Park Hyung-sik glanced at Kyung-hoon.
Fortunately, Hunter Jeong didn’t look bothered.
“Phew, it seems like there are more and more.”
“But there weren’t any rumors going around.”
“It’s because those idiots are blocking everything. I’ll be very careful when I go back this time. If you tell people around you or post it on the internet, you could end up in jail.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know if it will actually end up in a prison cell, but I heard that someone posted it and it was immediately deleted and the hunter’s registration was cancelled.”
It seemed like the government was working harder to prevent it than expected.
“But they probably won’t be able to stop everything.”
“Well, if it gets worse, I’ll give up. “It seems like they thought it was some sort of contagious disease and stopped it, but no matter how you look at it, it’s not an infectious disease.”
Unfortunately, the conversation ended there. Hunter Jeong was so out of breath that it was difficult to even speak.
Afterwards, the three men continued their walk in silence, and soon arrived at their target point.
2km south of Hyangnobong Peak. They were planning to head south from here, searching.
“Phew, it’s hard. Let’s take a short break and then go. But I don’t know if we can catch it. The reward isn’t bad just for participating, but I hope I can find and catch it if possible.”
Hunter Park, who had been quiet at Hunter Jeong’s words, opened his mouth.
“I will catch it.”
He had been twitching his nose for a while. It seemed as if he was smelling something with his nose.
Kyung-hoon also checked the weapons he had. New shotgun and ammunition. And, a dagger and a long sword.
Lastly, a pistol hidden deep in my chest.
It was an embarrassing item if discovered, but it was necessary as a last resort.
“It’s a long sword for hunting. Could it be that you killed a mutant with that sword?”
In fact, although I had never caught a monster with this long sword, it seemed like such a misunderstanding could have occurred.
Kyung-Hoon was annoyed so he nodded.
“Is it like a kendo master? “It’s amazing,”
Hunter Jeong muttered to himself, and Hunter Park also looked at the long sword in wonder.
After a while, the three people and the two dogs started going down the mountain.
The dogs continued to move forward, sniffing. ，The hunters also looked around nervously.
Gyeong-hoon was also very nervous and moved along with the two people.
Time passed. The sun was well past lunch time, and the three people kept moving while eating rice balls for lunch. It
was better than expected . It was much more boring. If I had been in my old body, it would have been more difficult than boring, but now I was just bored. I
encountered rabbits and mountain animals a few times, but I didn’t see any elk, let alone mutants.
Fortunately, I was able to hear various stories about hunting while moving.
Park The hunter remained silent, but the older hunter Jeong took the time to explain some basic know-how.
“It looks like it will take quite some time. “It will take a few days.”
“I guess it won’t work in one day.”
“It’s not something that can be done in one day. Even if it takes a few days, I’ll be grateful if I can catch it.”
Kyunghoon took a deep breath and relaxed. It took more time than expected.
Time has passed again. The days in the mountains were very short. Mutant hunting was dangerous to continue into the night. It was time to go back.
At that moment, Kyung-Hoon felt a strange energy passing through his body. Kyung-Hoon looked towards the east where he felt energy.
While Kyung-hoon was looking towards the east, Hunter Park also trembled.
bang! bang!
At the same time, gunshots rang out from the east.
[Crackling We found it. Damn it, the bullet doesn’t seem to work!]
The voice of a hunter in a hurry was heard on the radio, followed by the voices of other hunters saying they were going that way.
“Luckily, it will be over on the first day. Come on, let’s go.”
As Hunter Jeong moved with the dog in front, Hunter Park jumped forward next to him.
“Hey, let’s go together!”
The sunglasses had already come off the face of the Park hunter who was running. His eyes had turned red as if they were bloodshot.
“I’ll go first too.”
Kyung-hoon followed suit and ran forward.
“No, you two are so fast.”
Hunter Jeong saw the two people running ahead and opened his mouth wide.
“Oh my, am I really that old? “Guys, let’s move quickly.”
He sighed and started following behind with the dogs.
Bang! Bang!
As they ran, gunshots continued to be heard from in front.
