As soon as the ergency contact network was activated, a ssage was sent to the Gyodong Island assignnt officers. It was from the sa superior who had just been yelling.
[All Gyodong Island officers report to the situation room within 30 minutes. Anyone late gets their skull cracked. If you think you’ll be late, flash your ID and ride a police car if you have to.]
"…"
“Why did I have to be on duty today,” was not a thought in the officer’s head. Right now, the Hunters participating in the assignnt were in danger of suffering major casualties.
There was already a shortage of Hunters. They couldn’t afford to lose them to sothing so senseless.
“Let’s hurry… hurry up.”
While quickly putting together briefing materials, the officer compiled a list of Hunters who had agreed to assist and who were capable of handling the current situation.
“I’m here!”
One by one, the other officers arrived.
“We’ve just about finished the list of Hunters who responded to the ergency call. Go secure transportation, fast.”
“I’ll guide the Hunters to the rally point, so you handle sothing else!”
“What about dical support?!”
“We’ve requested assistance from Ganghwa-do General Hospital!”
“Hey, are you seriously not taking that facial mask off?!”
“Huh? Aaah! I totally forgot!”
The officers moved frantically without a second to spare, but even so, every task required a minimum amount of ti to complete. Just being in a rush wouldn’t make things finish any faster.
“Fourth confird casualty!”
“Are you even guiding the Hunters properly?! You want them all dead?!”
At that mont, one of the officers on the phone turned pale and spoke up.
“The Hunters who responded to the reinforcent request just arrived on Gyodong Island… but they encountered monsters. They can’t make landfall due to interference.”
Silence fell over the situation room. If they had at least landed, they could hold their ground and wait for backup, but even that wasn’t possible now.
“Change the rally point.”
“If we redirect them to the new rally point now…”
“I know, damn it. But there’s no other option.”
Everyone swallowed hard and followed the order to change the rally point. It was inevitable that more injuries or deaths would follow.
As tension filled the room, one staffer suddenly shouted out in an oddly cheerful voice.
“We just received a report that the monsters are disappearing!”
That sparked murmuring. A sudden mass disappearance of monsters could only an one thing.
The Erosion Zone had been destroyed. Just as the control officer prepared to issue orders to confirm the cause, another report ca in.
“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, who had first gone missing, sent a ssage!”
“What? Didn’t he go into the Erosion Zone? His signal shouldn’t be reachable.”
“This is critical! Putting the ssage on the main screen now!”
With a pop, the rookie Hunter’s ssage appeared on screen.
[Alpha Erosion Zone on Gyodong Island has been dealt with as of this ti.]
Everyone rubbed their eyes and reread the ssage on the screen.
“Do we have a location on Hunter Yoo Chan-seok?”
The lost signal had been recovered.
“He’s located exactly where the Alpha Erosion Zone was.”
“This is… what the hell…”
Every officer who had been working busily froze in place, stunned. He dealt with the Erosion Zone alone? A Hunter on his first mission?
A first-ti Hunter eliminating a grade 3 Erosion Zone.
No Hunter had ever done such a thing. No one except one, the very first Hunter, who had already beco a legend.
And now this Hunter, Yoo Chan-seok, has done the sa thing.
In a way, this might have had even more significance than the title of “first.”
* * *
Not long after sending the ssage, a call ca in.
“Yes, this is Yoo Chan-seok.”
— Hunter Yoo Chan-seok. First, I’d like to offer my gratitude.
As I listened, the flood of text ssages from earlier flashed through my mind.
“Seems like a lot happened while I was away.”
— Would it be alright if we continued the conversation after your return?
That sounded like sothing the police would say to a drunk person.
“The mood really lightened up, huh.”
Earlier, even during the day, this island had felt gloomy. But now, even though it was night, the air felt completely different. It had that fresh atmosphere you only feel in untouched nature.
Maybe it was because the Alpha Erosion Zone had vanished. I checked the rally point via ssage and headed there.
When I arrived, not only were Hunters waiting, but dical staff were standing by as well.
“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, you’re… unhurt.”
With an exhausted expression, Kim Minjae spoke to . He looked a bit awkward.
He wasn’t the only one. The other Hunters were giving looks that made uncomfortable.
“You saved our lives.”
Kim Minjae was injured. In fact, hardly any Hunter at the rally point had co out unscathed.
“No one ever taught us that monsters from a grade 3 Erosion Zone could move that strategically.”
Then, Han Sang-ah hobbled over and greeted . Her awkward gait was oddly morable, so I tossed out a joke.
“What, did you catch a whale or sothing?”
“Korea officially banned whaling on November 1st, 1985.”
“I didn’t an that kind of whale… never mind.”
Not like you needed to catch one anyway.
It had only been about a day since we started moving together, but I felt like I could see right through her. She was a strange woman, blunt and transparent.
“Hunter Han Sang-ah was amazing too. She handled more than her share, at least the work of three or four people.”
To that, Han Sang-ah shook her head.
“I received a lot of help.”
“I don’t think I did anything that helpful, really.”
Their back-and-forth was very heartwarming. Are they planning to rent a room together tonight? If we’re just talking about looks, Han Sang-ah deserves better.
Thinking that, I turned my gaze elsewhere. Amid the crowd of wounded Hunters, five people in suits spotted and began walking over.
They looked exhausted. The one walking in front greeted .
“I’m Byun Jeong-tae, branch chief of the Korea Operations Corporation, Northern Incheon Division 3. Are you Hunter Yoo Chan-seok?”
A branch chief? In police terms, what kind of rank would that be?
“Yes, nice to et you. I’m Yoo Chan-seok.”
“Do you have a mont?”
Byun Jeong-tae guided to a temporary tent nearby.
He cleared his throat and spoke.
“In the resolution of this sudden ergency, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok played a key role.”
I responded with a gentle tone.
“To be honest, if my initial ssage had been taken more seriously, the damage might’ve been reduced.”
I had clearly warned them, and they ignored it. Byun Jeong-tae went silent.
“There will definitely be formal consequences regarding that.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“This assignnt was conducted under my supervision. Naturally, I’ll take responsibility for the situation. I’ll be submitting an official statent and will be demoted for a certain period.”
What, does he not have a family? This is a public corporation, right? For soone of his rank, it’s rare to willingly accept a stain on their na.
“Even if I don’t file a complaint, will that punishnt still happen?”
If he had spewed so empty promise about improvent or lessons learned, I wouldn’t have bothered asking. But instead, he took personal responsibility instead of blaming others. A rare species. And rare species are worth forgiving once or twice.
“If you don’t file a complaint, I may avoid the demotion, but I will still submit a formal statent.”
I nodded.
“Ah, will the docked salary be transferred to my bank account? If so, I might consider filing a complaint.”
Byun Jeong-tae gave a faint smile and shook his head.
“Then I won’t.”
Truthfully, it wasn’t just the Operations Corporation that ignored . The Hunters did too.
They all dismissed what I said, so it would be weird to punish only the branch chief.
“You look tired.”
“Huh? Ah, yes. I ca straight here after overseeing field operations.”
Guess his job’s hell too.
“I lost a night of sleep myself. How about we chat over so coffee?”
“That sounds great. Just a mont. We have supplies here that were distributed to Hunters operating on Gyodong Island.”
Byun Jeong-tae stood up and soon returned with two cups of instant coffee.
“The Incheon City Hall has likely received a report on Hunter Yoo Chan-seok.”
“I hope only the good parts made it into that report.”
He scratched his head and made a vague face.
“You did ignore ssages and acted independently by entering the Alpha Erosion Zone, but the result was a good one. Both the unified Incheon branch and the city are paying attention.”
I looked at him and said,
“You seem uneasy.”
After a brief glance, he made up his mind and asked,
“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, would you mind telling why you do this work?”
I answered without hesitation.
“If there’s a clogged toilet overflowing with sewage, soone has to jump in and unclog it.”
“…I see.”
He responded cautiously after hearing my answer.
“You’re going to beco famous. Skilled Hunters attract enormous attention. Companies may approach you for ads, and TV shows may offer you appearances.”
City Hall might send a fancy certificate of appreciation, and reporters would line up to write articles. I got the gist of what he was trying to say.
“You’re worried I’ll go off the rails huh.”
Byun Jeong-tae drained his coffee and set the cup down.
“Yes. Many promising Hunters have lost their way after getting drunk on fa and popularity.”
He scratched his head again.
“Just past the DMZ, there are monsters roaming the Erosion Zones. It’s hell out there.”
Everyone knew how dangerous the front line near the DMZ was. He continued.
“Korea is the only place completely safe from those monsters and Erosion Zones.”
“It’s called the last safe haven on Earth after all.”
He nodded.
“Back to the point. What you did today was monuntal. Many people in desperate situations will look to you for hope. That’s what worries .”
Like young athletes who take too many ad gigs and lose practice ti, Hunters can be affected the sa way. He was worried that public attention would make forget my role and diminish my value.
“Thanks for the advice.”
To be honest, I had lived through too much to get swayed by that kind of thing.
We were about to continue the conversation, but Byun Jeong-tae’s phone rang.
“Excuse for a mont.”
After a short call, he looked at and said,
“The mayor would like to et you.”
The mayor of Incheon? So Byun Jeong-tae wasn’t exaggerating. It seed what I’d done really left an impression on people.
“Sounds good. Besides, we never agreed on the extra compensation for handling a grade 3 Erosion Zone, right?”
My assignnt had only been to patrol Gyodong Island and report or respond to any new Erosion Zones.
There had been no ntion of additional paynt for dealing with a grade 3 zone. Now that the mayor wants to see , I’ll have the chance to negotiate.
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