Chapter 23

Chapter 23
## Chapter 23

### Chapter Title: The Suspicious Truck

—

The young woman, visibly stung by the bluntness of my words, cast a sharp look in my direction.

“Wait a minute. Are you still not thinking straight…?”

I was fully aware that she required a moment to collect her shattered nerves.

Her partner was gone, and she had spent days trapped among decaying remains, haunted by the constant dread that she would be the next to die.

However, our schedule was tight. Lingering indefinitely wasn’t an option.

Our objective remained firm: we had to neutralize at least three Rank-2 Erosion Cores before the start of the black market.

“Take this. Drink it slowly.”

Han Sang-ah spared a sympathetic glance for the woman and offered her a cup of warm tea. After a small swallow, the survivor managed to steady her breathing.

“Just tell us whatever you can recall. Even the smallest detail helps.”

The woman rubbed her temples firmly, then let out a soft gasp of realization.

“The creature that took me… it was a walking corpse. You’ve likely gathered that much.”

“Correct, but I assume there is a specific reason you are mentioning it now.”

The woman gave a tentative nod.

“Unless my mind was playing tricks on me, I saw a truck pull up to the shrine where I was being held captive.”

I was stunned. Monsters operating motor vehicles?

The absurdity wasn’t lost on me, and even the woman seemed to question her own memory as she spoke.

“Continue.”

“Someone stepped out of that truck… they looked like a regular human. But the strange part was that the monsters didn’t even try to attack them.”

She explained that this individual picked out a few of the prisoners and forced them into the back of the vehicle.

“There was a person who managed to get away.”

At my mention of the escapee, the woman began to tremble, her words coming out in a rush.

“I think I know who you mean. They let that man go on purpose.”

According to her account, the person from the truck had knocked an elderly man unconscious before inserting something into his body.

Han Sang-ah’s expression shifted to one of pure horror as she looked at me.

“Why the look of surprise? It’s perfectly logical.”

To leave this island, one has to traverse the open ocean. Even if they had secured a boat, the ghost ships were actively patrolling the waters during that time.

Making a clean getaway? It was a statistical impossibility.

“It’s possible that coming to this location was a setup from the very beginning. You really should have informed me of this sooner.”

I found myself in complete agreement with Han Sang-ah.

“And what exactly would that have accomplished? Would you have chosen to stay away?”

I gestured toward the woman resting against the cot.

“The situation was undeniably fishy, but I kept my mouth shut, came here anyway, and saved these people regardless.”

“…”

Han Sang-ah fell into a thoughtful silence.

“Besides, even if we were certain of a trap, what was our alternative at that moment?”

Back then, it was mere intuition without any concrete proof. You can’t exactly interrogate a survivor based on a hunch.

Now, however, we had a formal statement to act upon.

“If the plan was to release a survivor to bait us into coming here, then we’ve already walked right into it, haven’t we?”

I shot Han Sang-ah a look of mock pity.

“Did you honestly believe you could do this kind of work without ever falling into an ambush?”

This is a high-stakes profession. You live with the reality of hidden dangers that can spring at any second.

I gave Han Sang-ah a reassuring pat on the shoulder and rose to my feet.

“Walking into a trap is part of the game. The only real failure is not being strong enough to break out of it.”

A tiger doesn’t lose sleep over a trap meant for a mouse. I turned my attention back to the woman on the bed.

“Is there anything else?”

She sat in deep thought for a long beat before whispering a single word.

“Cat.”

“I’m sorry?”

The mention of a cat seemed completely disconnected from everything else.

“The individual from the truck… they had a cat mascot hanging from their belt. It looked like this…”

I provided her with a pen and some paper. She produced a shaky, amateurish sketch. Han Sang-ah leaned in to look.

“That isn’t a house cat. It’s a wildcat—specifically known as a yamane ko in Japan.”

“You can actually tell what that is from this mess of a drawing?”

Han Sang-ah tapped away at her smartphone for a second before showing me the screen.

“It’s the official mascot for Tsushima Airport.”

I had thought the sketch was poor, but looking at the woman’s reaction, it was a perfect match. She began to clap as soon as she saw the image on Han Sang-ah’s phone.

“Yes! That’s exactly what I saw.”

“Then the Erosion Core is most likely located at the airport.”

If it wasn’t there, we would simply move on to the next lead. I spoke gently to the exhausted survivor.

“I know this is a painful time for you. Reliving these memories took a lot of courage. Thank you for your help.”

“No, please. I’m just glad I could contribute.”

“If you remember anything else at all, send a message to this number at any time.”

I finished the conversation, swapped contact info, and then went to meet with the on-site medical staff.

“Are all the survivors stable enough to be moved onto a ship?”

“Yes. We are prepared to depart with them immediately.”

That was the best news I’d heard all day.

“The coast guard, the victims, and the medical personnel—everyone needs to evacuate the island now.”

Our next stop was Tsushima Airport. There would be no one left here to protect them. I wanted them safely out at sea before we made our move.

“Understood. Be careful out there.”

As the vessel carrying the survivors, the doctors, and the guards began to pull away from the dock, Han Sang-ah spoke up.

“Is there a chance they’ll be targeted on the water?”

“There’s no tactical reason for it.”

If the enemy’s goal was to draw in hunters by releasing a captive, that objective had already been met.

“There are only two of us. They might be holding out for a larger group.”

“And? We’re heading for the airport regardless.”

If we destroy their base of operations, they won’t care about meeting quotas anymore. It’s like worrying about a store’s daily sales targets while the entire building is being demolished.

“But what if the core isn’t at the airport?”

“You’re overthinking. There are factors in this world you simply cannot dictate.”

“It just feels like we are gambling with people’s lives.”

I didn’t disagree.

“We are. That is exactly what we’re doing right now.”

Han Sang-ah went rigid for a moment.

“That’s a horrible way to put it…”

“It’s the reality of the situation. If you only want to deal with safe, pleasant things, you should go sell baby supplies.”

Han Sang-ah gripped her head in her hands, wrestling with the thought, before finally speaking as if forcing down a bitter pill.

“You’re right… choices have to be made.”

“Exactly. And the probability of the worst-case scenario isn’t actually that high.”

I kept my tone cold to snap her out of her hesitation.

“How low are the chances?”

“Less than 33%, certainly. And I’m not just leaving it to luck.”

I pulled out the tracking chip implanter I had acquired from the junk dealers.

“What is that for?”

“It has a GPS function. I got the necessary consent and hid chips in the survivors’ clothing.”

Once they are safe in Korea, they can just toss the clothes.

“If they get snatched, we’ll see the signal.”

We’d even know exactly where they were being taken. Han Sang-ah’s face finally began to lose its tension.

“You really should have led with that.”

“Yeah, probably.”

I wanted to see how she’d handle the pressure. Despite my low expectations, she continues to surprise me with her curiosity.

She’s surprisingly soft-hearted for a wealthy heiress who could be living a life of leisure. Most people assume someone in her position would be colder.

We finished our final checks and hit the road. Partway through the drive, emergency alerts screamed from both our phones—predictably, she was the first to check hers.

What was it this time? A mandatory call to arms? I checked the notification since Han Sang-ah was busy steering.

“What’s the alert say?”

“A massive wave of monsters is converging on Hakata Port in Fukuoka City. Estimated count is around three thousand.”

“But we have our own mission here.”

Han Sang-ah bit her lip, pushing her hair back nervously.

“I’m worried about the repercussions if we don’t respond.”

“You mean penalties? It says it’s a mandatory request.”

She let out a soft “Ah” and glanced over at me.

“To be honest, no Korean hunter has ever actually been punished under the Jeonju International Treaty.”

“Because of the ‘reasonable excuse’ loophole?”

She nodded in confirmation.

“They’ve let people off the hook for being in the middle of a meal.”

“What a bunch of criminals.”

“They usually claim they were in an ‘essential briefing.’ We’re basically the world’s police and its mafia rolled into one.”

International law enforcement and organized crime. It reminded me of the history of certain Pacific powers.

Regardless, Japan wasn’t expecting a miracle; this was a desperate plea for help because Fukuoka was far too significant to be abandoned like Tsushima.

“People are in danger. Borders shouldn’t matter right now.”

That was Han Sang-ah’s take while she gripped the wheel. I kept my response brief.

“Fine. Then push the engine. The sooner we finish here, the better.”

“We aren’t turning back to the port?”

“The monsters showing up in Fukuoka? They’re the same ones we’ve been killing here.”

Not just a similar species—they are identical.

Han Sang-ah’s head whipped toward me. The car veered sharply to the side.

“Watch the road, for God’s sake!”

She yanked the wheel back, focusing on the path ahead.

“That means the monsters found a way out of the Tsushima Erosion Zone.”

“Precisely.”

How they managed it was a mystery, but only one conclusion mattered.

“If we take down the Erosion Core on this island…”

“Then we might eliminate the ones that reached Fukuoka as well, regardless of how they traveled there.”

“Correct. Now, are you going to step on it?”

One way or another, killing the core destroys its spawn. With that realization, the engine roared as she slammed her foot down, the car surging forward with newfound aggression.

In the meantime, I dialed the Association.

“This is Yoo Chan-seok. I’m the hunter who just received the Fukuoka emergency alert.”

― Ah, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok! I’ve heard great things. How can I help you?

The coordinator sounded relaxed. Japan was the one in a state of emergency, not the Korean branch.

They seemed mostly surprised that a high-profile newcomer like me was calling in.

“Can you put me through to the Japanese Association?”

― Certainly. Would you like the connection immediately?

They were being very cooperative. There was just one minor hurdle.

“I don’t actually speak Japanese.”

― That won’t be an issue. All personnel handling international hunter relations are required to be fluent in Korean.

It had become the universal language of the industry. Convenient.

⚙ EMERGENCY ALERT ⚙
※ Japanese Government Emergency Request: A massive monster outbreak has occurred at Hakata Port, Fukuoka City. All Korean hunters receiving this broadcast: You are requested to respond immediately, with priority given to those nearest the location. Details regarding rewards and monster specifications are attached. This is a mandatory summons under the Jeonju International Convention. Failure to comply without a valid justification may result in legal penalties. Responding hunters are guaranteed full compensation as per the treaty, to be settled by the Japanese government within one week of the incident’s resolution. Relevant documentation is attached below.
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