Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

021 – The First Hunt

In order to successfully carry out the hunt while avoiding the surveillance, the two of them meticulously planned their strategy. Using the information gathered by Soo-jeong as a foundation, Myung-jun estimated the approximate location of the gate and gathered information about the content of posts being uploaded nearby to collect information about the target of the hunt. They also collected information about nearby restaurants and motels to create an alibi for their movements. Finally, when all the information the two of them wanted had been collected, Myung-jun made his final decision.

Since there was a need to take risks at least once, Myung-jun decided to take a gamble this time. Even though he hadn’t obtained the Doll Master class he desired, stepping into the Gate Cleaver without it was undoubtedly a decision accompanied by risks. However, Myung-jun had confidence in himself. Even though he hadn’t been granted the class, he still possessed the Awakened ability of [Attribute Transformation]. This ability allowed him to manipulate the inherent attribute of objects within a certain range, even if he didn’t possess a specific class. With this ability, Myung-jun could potentially amplify the power of the slingshot to that of a cannon.

And now, the fateful day had arrived.

Myung-jun spread out the black case containing the slingshot on his lap and began assembling the pre-made slingshot. While the device was designed to launch circular projectiles using the elasticity of rubber bands, the specifications themselves were unique, specially crafted to withstand the elasticity of tens of thousands of rubber bands.

“Ah, seeing you assemble the slingshot like that makes you look like a special forces soldier from a movie. Especially with your short hair.”

“Are you making fun of me for looking like a military man?”

“No? Isn’t it a compliment for my fake boyfriend to look cool? But still, I wish your hair were a bit longer. With your current hairstyle… I can’t help but feel like the country will come and take you away again.”

“I’ll definitely make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Before he asked his next question, Myung-jun hesitated for a moment in his mind. Then, he looked at her with a serious tone.

“What if it becomes necessary for you to kill someone in order to save me?”

“Of course, I will do it.”

Seeing her answer so confidently, Myung-jun’s expression momentarily faltered, and Soo-jeong asked with a puzzled look.

“Were you expecting me to say no?”

“I didn’t think you’d be confident enough to boldly declare that you can even kill a person.”

“Then I’ll say it clearly here. Myung-jun, if the situation comes where I have to kill someone to save you, I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger of the gun I’m holding.”

Saying that, Soo-jeong added with a cute smile.

“Well, of course, I’ve never actually shot a gun before, so I can’t guarantee that I’ll hit accurately.”

“…Then I’ll be content with your intention.”

Myung-jun and Soo-jeong spread out their labels and began a thorough review of their plan. When Soo-jeong opened up the floor plan of the motel she had acquired in advance, Myung-jun drew lines on it and said,

“We are currently in room 503 of this motel, right?”

“Yes. And there are two ways to exit from here. One is to exit through the window, go around the back of the building, and enter the underground parking lot through a window again. The other is to take the normal route through the corridor, use the elevator, and go to the underground parking lot. To see if there’s anyone monitoring, we’ve installed mini cameras with motion detection sensor on the stairs at the corner of the motel corridor. We’ve also installed them near the lobby and elevator.”

As she manipulated the tablet, multiple CCTV screens appeared on the menu.

Soo-jeong, who checked it one by one, said to Myung-jun,

“For now, there’s no one on the path from here to the elevator. However, there’s a suspicious-looking man in a black suit sitting on the sofa in the lobby on the 1st floor. And there’s another man waiting near the Porsche parked in the parking lot.”

“Are they the observers?”

“They likely are, as they seem to resemble the people who have been tailing us recently. But the other vehicle we prepared in the parking lot two days ago for the hunt doesn’t have any surveillance on it. That was something I arranged with a subcontractor company, so they wouldn’t suspect that it’s our car.”

“So, regardless of the route we choose, if we can just get close to Starex, we can divert their attention successfully.”

“That’s right.”

After a moment of contemplation, Myung-jun made his final decision.

“Then we’ll go through the window.”

“Huh? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to go directly through the elevator? If we go straight to the underground parking lot instead of going through the 1st-floor lobby, we could easily shake off the observers if we’re careful.”

“If you look at the route, even if it seems that way, it would be difficult to establish an alibi. Apart from the CCTV that Senior installed, there are also hotel-owned CCTV cameras. If someone reviews those later, they’ll be able to confirm that I left room 503, went down the stairs, and took the elevator.”

Upon hearing this, Soo-jeong stood up from her seat, opened her travel bag, and took out a coiled object with a strong wire attached to it.

“This can withstand a load of up to 200 kg when attached to a flat surface without any special anchoring. It also has an automatic retraction feature when you press the switch. So, after we’re done, we just need to go back up through the window.”

“Did you make this yourself, Senior?”

“I specially crafted it for this operation.”

“So, this also has a secret feature somewhere?”

“It’s not something I invented to take on a technical challenge. It’s not like that at all. If you don’t trust it, do you want to try tying the rope to a towel hanger in the bathroom and see if you can make it down without the anchoring piece breaking before you even get 5 meters down?”

“I trust the inventions of the great Senior.”

“Good. Keep that favourable attitude. And take this too.”

What Soo-jeong took out of her bag was the ‘Shock Reflection Shield’ that Myung-jun had perfected with his ability when they first met. Originally, it was an item that could only reflect the power of a kindergarten-level punch, but now it was capable of bouncing even anti-tank shells without any impact. Taking the shield, Myung-jun asked her,

“You brought this?”

“I don’t know what might happen. Honestly, Myung-jun. I want to go with you too. No matter how dangerous the place you’re going is, no matter how great the risk I might face there. In fact, the greater the danger, the stronger the feeling that I don’t want to send you alone. But if I say I want to go with you, you’ll refuse, right? There are safety concerns and alibi issues.”

“That’s correct. Having one person move draws less attention than two. And strictly speaking, Senior, your combat capabilities are close to zero. Even my combat capabilities are not in the stable range. It would be difficult for me to fight and protect you at the same time. So, please stay here. For me, and also for Senior.”

“Still, if you gain a Crystal stone through this monster hunt and become stronger, you’ll eventually take me with you, won’t you? If you become strong enough to fight against these monsters, you’ll let me come, right?”

“Well, if the battle between an Awakeners and a monster is worth watching in its own right, then if I can become strong enough to the point where I can protect you while fighting, I’ll let you watch from the VIP seats.”

“In that case, fine. Allow me to grant you special permission to go out. Cha Myung-jun, a reserve sergeant of Korea, and my loyal knight. Tonight, go out and unleash your bravery against those wicked monsters.”

Sitting on the bed, Soo-jeong extended her hand like a princess from a fairy tale and spoke, causing Myung-jun to chuckle. Then, he knelt down like a knight from a fairy tale, pressing his lips to the back of Soo-jeong’s hand.

“Yes, My Lord.”

After that, he installed the retraction device that she had brought onto the motel wall and descended underground using the cable. As Myung-jun, clad entirely in black to not attract attention in the darkness, disappeared from view, Soo-jeong, who had been leaning on the window frame watching him, let out a small sigh.

“Now I just have to wait patiently…”

Then, she gently tapped her chin with her white palm and muttered softly,

“It seems the role of a princess might not suit me…”

*********

In the darkness, Myung-jun cautiously recalled the motel floor plan that Soo-jeong had shown him, and roughly sketched the placement of the observers. Then, he slowly moved within an area where he thought his line of sight wouldn’t reach. What was fortunate for Myung-jun was that there were only two observers keeping an eye on them. Even that, there was only one person guarding the Porsche in the parking lot.

The vehicle Soo-jeong had prepared was placed far away from Myung-jun’s Porsche, so he easily reached the pre-arranged vehicle. However, instead of immediately driving off upon getting into the car, Myung-jun waited for the first signal from Soo-jeong. The places the observers were focusing on were the locations of Myung-jun’s Porsche and the elevator coming down from above, and nothing else. In the empty parking lot, suddenly, the car that had been hidden in a corner drew suspicion, which could raise doubts for anyone observing.

To avoid such suspicions, Soo-jeong had placed two collaborators who had previously checked in. And shortly after, it seemed like an ordinary couple was coming down the elevator. The two people, who walked directly towards the direction of Myung-jun’s car, started talking as soon as they got into the car.

“Did you wait long?”

“No, it didn’t take too long. Did you feel suspicious about anything?”

“No, I didn’t feel that way. Although, when I entered the lobby on the 1st floor, I did feel like the man in the black suit was watching us. But he withdrew his attention as soon as he realized we weren’t the ones they are observe.”

“The man near the Porsche was the same. He probably thought we came to the parking lot to enjoy the night view of the ocean.”

Feeling reassured, Myung-jun started the car’s engine and smoothly exited the parking lot without raising any suspicion. Once outside the motel, he drove towards the coastline for a while, finding a place where there was no one around and parked the car, then let the two passengers disembark.

“Please wait here.”

“How long will it take?”

“I’m not sure either. If it ends quickly, it might take about two hours.”

After setting down the two passengers, Myung-jun turned the car around 180 degrees, facing it towards the direction of the mountain.

‘Please let it be here…’

To be honest, coming here was a bit like gambling. The report of an attack nearby was about an attack on ‘chickens,’ not large livestock like cattle or pigs. It was only natural, but if brutal attacks on livestock like ‘cows’ or ‘pigs’ occurred in a Korea where large wild animals like tigers were extinct, it would naturally draw attention.

However, attacks on relatively small animals like cats or dogs, even if they were of the same threat level, were naturally treated as “possible events.” This meant that there was a good chance that the Ministry of National Defense wouldn’t take action with only a few chickens being attacked.

Myung-jun’s aim was precisely that point.

When information about an attack on cows or humans is obtained, the Ministry of National Defense would naturally act quickly, but with information only about chickens being attacked, there was a high chance they wouldn’t move. While there was a possibility that the attack was indeed by a cat, Myung-jun chose to search places with uncertain information, even if it meant risking being discovered, rather than taking the chance of a wasted effort.

And so, deep within the forest, Myung-jun got out of the car, desperately hoping his choice was right.

“Shall we go?”

Searching for this monster within this deep forest? Myung-jun had never done such a thing before. Despite being the highest-ranked Awakener in the world before regression, he was only in the category of a production class.

In reality, Myung-jun had never directly participated in hunting these creatures or clearing gates, unlike other Awakeners. He had to rely on the indirect knowledge he gained through TV to find this monster.

Feeling the twitching from the backpack on his back, Myung-jun quietly opened it. Then, from within, he took out a snow-white rabbit that looked like snow.

Myung-jun watched the rabbit, which looked at him with innocent eyes, for a moment. Then, he gently stroked its back while speaking.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try my best to let you survive.”

And then, he tied the rabbit to a nearby tree and began diligently preparing something from a black plastic bag nearby.

“Uh… the feeling of touching it is really…”

What Myung-jun was handling was an unfamiliar scent.

Together with a living bait and the base that would emit the scent of blood, Myung-jun, who tried to make everything as clean as possible by alternating between mineral water and alcohol to wash his hands, started waiting quietly by the nearby bushes.

Desperately hoping that the intruder who attacked a small chicken coop located a bit away from their current location was indeed a Rank 1 Monster, not a dog or any other animal. And as a potential bait, the rabbit, now covered in a strong smell of blood, struggled hard to break free from the rope Myung-jun had tied it with.

And in the process, unknowingly, the stubborn blood got smeared all over Myung-jun’s body. However, the rabbit, unaware of what kind of threat was approaching, struggled fiercely to gnaw at the rope, ignoring the dried blood covering its body.

Occasionally, it pricked up its ears, on guard against its surroundings. And then, suddenly, the rabbit, which had been moving so frantically, stopped its actions.

And then, with eyes filled with fear, it began to huddle its body, trembling.

“Bingo.”

Myung-jun placed a metal bead on the rubber band of a slingshot he had pulled taut in advance.

And then, looking towards the direction from which the giant presence was slowly approaching, which was larger than a tiger and seemed to be dripping with saliva, Myung-jun watched.

Unlike a tiger, which would probably drool if it had contracted rabies, this creature was larger than a tiger. The beast, its mouth oozing sticky saliva, was a creature Myung-jun had been eagerly waiting for, a ‘creature that should not exist in the real world’.

It was none other than a Rank 1 Monster.

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