Early moning.
Several vehicles were parked in the vacant lot next to the entrance to Sangwonsa Temple on the slope of Chiaksan Mountain.
From expensive looking SUVs to old Korando jeeps and 1-ton trucks. Several cars were lined up side by side.
Hounds were loaded in the car and behind the truck.
The car owners were gathering to one side and talking. Older men in military or work clothes. It was the hunters.
“Did your brother come too? Aren’t you too big to be part of this board?”
“This bastard child. You’re still fine!”
A hunter made fun of an old-looking man, and the man became very angry.
“Did you come to know me? He’s a monster that doesn’t even shoot bullets. A few people have already been taken out.”
“I’ve been caught too. No problem with any guy as long as he has my dogs.”
The elderly man knocked on his car.
“Well then, you know what to do. But hasn’t anyone heard of the guy we’re going to have to catch this time?”
“They said they would explain it to you in a little while.”
“Draw? But, why did they come?”
While they were talking, they glanced at one side of the vacant lot.
“What about the on-site investigation?”
“Ahh, there are people like that at work. Things are starting to get weird.”
“It’s been weird since the mutants came out. What.”
A tent was set up on one side of the vacant lot, and a van and truck with the words [Animal Prevention] parked separately next to it.
Inside the tent, men and women in white robes were talking, and armed commandos were guarding them next to them.
Kyung-hoon was standing alone in a place a little far from the hunters.
The hunters were stunned when they saw Kyunghoon.
“What is that guy? You look like a novice.”
“well. They seem to have heard rumors about where the money is coming from.”
“No, shouldn’t we be banned from participating in such a thing? What do you do if you are a beginner in this?”
“It’s your life. What… … . And if there is a problem, the officials will be held accountable.”
He spoke small, but he heard it well in the ears of the strengthened Kyunghoon.
Kyunghoon laughed softly. It was natural for them. He didn’t care what they said to each other as long as he didn’t bother either.
Moments later, an officer in armbands called the crowd. As the crowd gathered, the man climbed into the cargo hold of the truck and picked up a loudspeaker.
“Let me explain for a moment and let’s get started.”
At the sound of the megaphone, people looked up at the truck.
“The mutation found this time appears to have been altered by the elk.”
At the official’s words, the hunters murmured.
The people who did this for the first time looked like it was no big deal, but the hunters who had experienced it even had a bad expression on their faces.
“If it’s a gorilla, it won’t matter.”
“You’re new to this.”
“Why?”
“So that’s what you say.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never seen a guy that big before. Until now, there were only little guys like raccoons and pheasants. Several people were injured while catching them.”
The official silenced the buzzing hunters and continued explaining.
“Hikers heading to Hyangnobong above 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’s going to be all right.”
“Still, if it’s an elk, I think it’ll be fine.”
Among the small whispers, the official continued speaking.
“Some people have been injured in the meantime, so this time we decided to pair up a few people. For your safety, please follow along.”
There were a few hunters who frowned, but they generally agreed with the official’s words.
“After we have formed a group, we will determine the search area. If possible, please give priority to driving over hunting.”
The official looked towards the commando and finished his speech.
After a while he made a group assignment.
There were three pairs of each. With people you like as much as possible. If not, officials coordinated the allocation of personnel.
I wondered if all the groups would be decided without any problems, but in the end, complaints broke out.
The group that complained about was the group that Kyunghoon belonged to.
“No, I mean, how are you going to work with a newbie?”
An elderly hunter was furious at the official.
Of course, being a beginner was referring to Kyung-hoon. Other hunters seemed to agree with him.
“Park! What do you guys say too? I haven’t said a word since before. what kind of sunglasses are there On this cloudy day.”
At his words, the other hunter in the same group only shrugged his shoulders.
“Ew, anyway, you can’t do the same with a beginner like this.”
At the hunter’s words, the official opened his mouth.
“He is a novice as a mound hunter, but he was mutated and caught by himself. He also has military experience, so he can do his part.”
This public official had also seen the training at the last factory. And no one who saw the inside of the factory at that time could ignore Kyunghoon.
Everyone looked at Kyunghoon in surprise at the official’s words.
It wasn’t just the hunter who looked at Kyunghoon. The two researchers, who were watching inside the tent, also looked at Kyung-hoon with different eyes.
At the official’s words, the old hunter looked up and down at Kyunghoon.
“Still, it looks like you have the right equipment. Even if there is a problem, I am not responsible.”
The old hunter mumbled back, and the other hunter didn’t care.
The group formation was completed after twists and turns.
Fortunately, the subsequent designation of the search area ended without any problems, and the hunters began to move the dog to the designated area.
Kung! Kung! Kung!
The sound of the dogs scattered in all directions. I don’t know how useful it would be against mutants, but there was nothing like hunting dogs for tracking and herding.
Kyunghoon’s Jodo moved with two hounds. They were dogs brought by an old hunter.
“Gaya Park, why didn’t you bring the dogs again?”
“I am injured and in the hospital.”
A short answer came to the hunter’s question. It was a harsh voice. Kyunghoon tilted his head, but the old hunter didn’t seem to notice anything more.
“Then you should rest, why are you here? A person with a weak body.”
Kyung-hoon looked at the hunter wearing sunglasses. No matter how he looked at him, he didn’t look like a weak person.
He is invisible because of his trousers and jacket, but just by the way he walks, it is clear that he has more power than a young man.
After a brief conversation, the three of them climbed the mountain at high speed. The old hunter was panting, but neither Kyung-hoon nor the sunglasses-clad hunter showed signs of weary.
“Hey, are you really old? I’m the only one having a hard time.”
The hunter shook his head as he drank water and opened his mouth to Kyung-hoon.
“No, but why did you, a young man, come here? I haven’t been a hunter since before.”
It was just a question that came up. Kyung-hoon was a little ridiculous, but he answered.
“After I ran into a mutant the other day, I was invited to become a hunter. I was on a break, so I was curious to see how things were going, so I participated.”
There was no lie in anything he said. As he has made several statements over the years, he has become accustomed to hiding secrets.
“I don’t know what I saw and recommended. He’s got along anyway, so keep an eye on what he’s doing as he comes along. Don’t go out there and get into an accident.”
“All right.”
Kyung-hoon had no intention of going out, so he was able to answer comfortably.
After that, the three of them made a clear statement. The older hunter was Bok-gil, and the hunter wearing sunglasses was Park Hyung-sik. Kyunghoon also said his name.
Kyung-hoon heard the name and asked Hunter Jung.
“By the way, was this kind of hunting frequent?”
Park Hyung-sik, a hunter wearing sunglasses, glanced at Kyung-hoon at Kyung-hoon’s words.
Fortunately, Jung Hunter didn’t seem to be bothered.
“Huh, it seems to be getting more and more.”
“By the way, there weren’t even any rumors going around.”
“They are all blocking it. I’ll pay close attention when I go back this time too. If you tell people around you or post it on the Internet, you can go to jail.”
“Really?”
“Well, I don’t know if I’ll actually end up in jail, but I heard that someone posted it and immediately deleted it, and the hunter registration was cancelled.”
The government seemed to be working harder than expected.
“Still, I can’t stop everything.”
“Well, if it gets worse, I’ll give up. It seems that they knew it was some kind of epidemic and stopped it, but no matter how you look at it, it’s not an epidemic.”
Unfortunately, the conversation ended there. Jung was out of breath to the point that it was hard to say.
Afterwards, the three of them hurried their steps without saying a word, and were able to arrive at their target point in no time.
2km south of Hyangnobong Peak. They were to descend from here, searching south.
“Hey, it’s hard. Let’s rest for a while and then go. But I don’t know if we can catch it. The rewards aren’t bad just for participating, but I’d like to find them and catch them if possible.”
Hunter Park, who had been quiet at Jung’s words, opened his mouth.
“I will catch you.”
He’s been biting his nose for a while. He looked as if he was sniffing with his nose.
Kyung-hoon also checked the weapon he had. New shotguns and ammunition. And daggers and long swords.
Finally, the pistol he hid deep in his chest.
It was a difficult thing to find out, but the last bastion was necessary.
“It’s a long sword for hunting, did you really catch a mutant with that sword?”
On the contrary, he had never caught a monster with this long sword, but it seemed that such a misunderstanding could arise.
Kyung-hoon nodded his head in annoyance.
“Are you like a kendo juror? It’s amazing.”
Hunter Jung muttered to himself, and Hunter Park looked at the long sword curiously.
After a while, the three men and two dogs started going down the mountain.
The dogs kept sniffing and moving forward, and the hunters looked around nervously.
Kyunghoon was also very nervous and followed the two of them.
Time has passed. The sun had passed lunch time for a long time, and the three of them continued to move around eating lunch with rice balls.
It was much more boring than expected. In the old days, it would have been harder than boring, but now it’s just boring.
The rabbit and the wild animals met a few times, but never saw an elk, let alone a mutant.
Fortunately, I was able to hear many stories about hunting while traveling.
Hunter Park remained silent, but the old Hunter Jung spoke of basic know-how from time to time.
“It looks like it will take a while. It will take a few days.”
“It doesn’t look like it can be done in one day.”
“It is not something that will happen in one day. Even if it takes a few days, if you catch it, I am just grateful.”
Kyunghoon took a deep breath and relaxed his body. It was taking more time than expected.
Time has passed again. The years in the mountains were very short. Mutant hunting was dangerous until night. It was time to go back.
At that moment, Kyunghoon felt a strange energy passing through his body. Kyunghoon looked to the east, where he felt the energy.
While Kyung-hoon looked east, Hunter Park trembled.
bang! bang!
At the same time, gunshots rang out from the east.
[Chijik, we found it. Damn, the bullets don’t seem to work!]A hunter’s voice was heard from the walkie-talkie, followed by the voices of other hunters who wanted to go there.
“Fortunately, it will be over on the first day. Come on.”
Hunter Jung moved with the dog in front, and Hunter Park jumped forward from the side.
“Hey, let’s go together!”
On the face of Hunter Park, who was running, the sunglasses were taken off. His eyes turned red as if bloodshot.
“I will go first.”
Kyunghoon followed behind and sprinted forward.
“No, both of them are so fast.”
Hunter Jung saw the two men running ahead and opened his mouth wide.
“Hey, am I really that old? Guys, let’s move quickly.”
Taking a deep breath, he started following with the dogs.
bang! bang!
Gunfire continued to be heard in front of them as they ran.