The First Hunter Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Item Production (1)  

1.

“How is it? Is it doable?”

“Yes sir, if it’s this much, it’s enough just to drive.”

“Okay.”

Hearing what the driver in the dump truck said, the soldier in the pa.s.senger’s seat yelled out the window.

“There’s no problem with driving!”

Kim Su Ji was where they had discussed earlier. She ordered the soldiers who were waiting.

“Organize the dump truck’s cargo compartment!”

The soldiers began to load cargo onto the dump truck.

“Pupillary reactions are normal. Do you feel dizzy or nauseous?”

“I feel fine.”

“What about your wounds?”

“They tickle a little. “

“Tickles….. is it unbearable? “

“Nope, it’s not that bad.”

In another area, Ahn Sun Mi was checking the conditions of the soldiers that were free.

‘Even if he were to have immediately undergone surgery he still would have been injured for a lifetime, it had only been an hour since his wounds were healed and the only side effects was tickling…… If it were just as useful on internal organs…… If the mud troll’s flesh and the liquid from the Goblet of Healing were used together, would the effects be even greater? I have to study this. I just need the right conditions to test it….. ‘

The conditions of the wounded was very good. The mud troll’s flesh was so effective that it made her feel a little helpless.

Puk, puk!

Meanwhile, Bang Hyun Wook was busy shoveling. He was shoveling away at the mud troll that had become nothing more than clay dirt.

It wasn’t easy. The mud troll’s flesh was much heavier than normal soil, and it was dense like compact mud. Of course, without a decent amount of force, he wouldn’t be able to dig through it. It was to the point where the regular soldiers had slightly sprained their wrists as a result.

So the task fell onto Bang Hyun Wook.

Puk, Puk!

Aside from Kim Tae Hoon, Bang Hyun Wook had the next highest level of strength.

”G.o.d d.a.m.n, look at that s.h.i.+t. “

“Yeah it’s pretty amazing. “

“Watching him move is scary. He’s gonna dig up a mountain at that pace.”

Bang Hyun Wook’s shoveling was amazing.

Amongst soldiers, even veterans wouldn’t be able to see his shoveling without batting an eye.

‘Shoveling away at this mound is such a waste time.’

However, Bang Hyun Wook didn’t feel to great.

It’s not that he didn’t know the importance of his shoveling. The mud troll’s flesh was literally an extra life, especially now when good health care was impossible to come access.

But it was a different story when comparing incentives for oneself and the needs of the whole.

So like that Bang Hyun Wook kept shoveling.

Death and despair had once pervaded the unit, but the nightmares had been done away with and vigor began to bloom.

Hololok.

Kim Tae Hoon was savoring the coffee he had made using a coffee dropper.

Standing in front of him was Jang Sung Hoon. He was also sipping coffee out of a paper cup.

”The fragrance seems really good. Is it Columbian?”

At the end of Chang Sung Hoon’s blurb, Kim Tae Hoon turned his gaze towards him.

“Or maybe it’s Ethiopian? You are skilled at making coffee. You would put all baristas to shame sir.”

Kim Tae Hoon still had coffee in his mouth.

On the verge of speaking some more, Chang Sung Hoon chose to stay silent.

Gulp!

Kim Tae Hoon swallowed the coffee that was in his mouth. A coffee fragrance having saturated his mouth, Kim Tae Hoon opened his mouth.

“What do you want?”

Chang Sung Hoon had an awkward smile on his face.

“Ha ha….. you aren’t any normal Joe. “

Kim Tae Hoon sipped more coffee instead of replying.

It was a signal.

A signal to careful carry on with what he wanted to say while he himself had his mouth shut to enjoy the coffee.

It was a signal that warned him of what would happen if Kim Tae Hoon didn’t like what he heard.

Taking Kim Tae Hoon’s mood into consideration, Chang Sung Hoon stopped with the brown nosing.

“I’ve already revealed my criminal career, what I have to say is in regards to that.”

Chang Sung Hoon had given Kim Tae Hoon information. He had revealed the existence of a museum in the nearby Bucheon Stadium.

There were no issues up to this point.

Everything he had said up to that point was something that anyone could say. The information regarding the museum wasn’t exactly a secret.

However, he had also revealed his criminal past.

From there, problems would arise.

No matter how badly society has crumbled, there still wasn’t any merit to confess to any sort of crime.

What more, the probability of Chang Sung Hoon not having been caught for said crimes was huge.

He was only twenty two years old.

If he was able to forge art pieces like he said, smuggled, and sold stolen goods, then he would have gone to prison a few times already if he had been caught. If the amount of time he spent in prison was long, he wouldn’t be in the army.

His colleagues were unaware of the fact that he was a criminal.

You could tell just by looking at the other soldiers’ expressions when he revealed himself.

In other words, it was the  first time he ever confessed to his crimes.

So then why did he do it?

Why did he reveal the fact that he was a criminal out loud?

“Regardless of whether or not I knew the location of the museum, there are many others who also know. Quite frankly, that information doesn’t really help much. However, I have something to say. There aren’t many people who know which wealthy patron smuggled art work, which pieces donated to museums are counterfeit, who is in possession of authentic pieces, and who has been paying bribes to take away certain pieces. There aren’t many people who know where everything is stored or hidden.”

It was a very simple reason.

He had information available to criminals, and credible information at that.

“I desire only two things. One, I want a lifeline. If I’m useful, then I know that boss will cover for me. For example, I have a lot of good information. “

Instead of replying back, Kim Tae Hoon let out the fragrance that was in his mouth out his nose. A strong coffee aroma pervaded the air.

“Two, I want a share in the loot. “

While enjoying the aroma of the coffee, Kim Tae Hoon simply gazed at Chang Sung Hoon while he continued to speak.

At that moment, Chang Sung Hoon’s eyes did not fit with his rat-like appearance. His eyes were burning like that of a savage beast.

“I don’t want to pointlessly hide. Now that the old society had collapsed, a new one will eventually rise. Even after the Korean War, society eventually improved beyond what it could have been before the war. A new order will be established. You called yourself a hunter? Perhaps it’ll be the hunters who establish a new world order.”

Tuk, tuk.

When he finished speaking, Chang Sung Hoon tapped his right hand with his left index finger. The back of his right hand was blank.

“But despite it all, I can’t become a hunter. And even if I could, I wouldn’t be able to become a hunter as great as boss. Therefore I can only cling onto you. Isn’t it possible to at least become a fox by sticking onto a tiger’s back?”

Gulp!

The sound of Kim Tae Hoon swallowing coffee resounded in Chang Sung Hoon’s ear.

“My goal is to survive. Therefore, it is my priority to consume enough monster stones to build up my strength to a level where none can compete with me. I don’t intend to share.”

Gulp!

Chang Sung Hoon swallowed his saliva.

‘d.a.m.n it, does he actually want to save the world? Does he think he’ll become a mighty warrior?’

He began to think that by exposing his selfish motives, he had sparked Kim Tae Hoon’s anger.

This human by the name of Kim Tae Hoon, perhaps for the sake of the world, perhaps for the sake of justice, he was working towards world peace.

“So if you want a share, then get it yourself. I’m not going to babysit you.”

Kim Tae Hoon gave a curt reply.

“Huuu……….”

Chang Sung Hoon could only sigh.

At that moment, Kim Su Ji approached them.

“We’ve finished retrofitting the dump truck, sir. “

“Alright, operation starts in thirty minutes.”

Having said that, Kim Tae Hoon pulled out a bag that he was using to store the coffee, coffee dropper, and portable pots, from which he pulled something out.

“Rest until then. Divide these amongst yourselves.”

He had taken out nothing but cigarettes.

2.

There were so many monsters in Unit 1121’s barracks, that it wasn’t wrong to call it a monster’s lair.

Most of them were brown goblins.

They possessed a tough physique and an aggressive combative nature that green skinned goblins and general goblins could not compare with.

Unless they destroyed their head or their heart, the soldiers had to waste dozens of bullets just to take one of them down.

Aware of that reality, Kim Tae Hoon brought something along with him to help him.

Vroom, Vroom!

The dump truck, a tremendous beast.

The sole purpose of the dump truck wasn’t just to take care of mud trolls.

Using the dump truck’s s.p.a.ce as a portable storage and shooting platform factor was a huge deciding factor for why Kim Tae Hoon decided to bring the dump truck.

The retrofitted dump truck had an absolute presence.

Ggiii! [TN: Normal goblin cry]

Ggiiieh! [TN: Canadian goblin cry]

It’s not that the goblins were any less aggressive when facing the dump truck, but the combat power of the soldiers was much greater with the dump truck.

TuTu!

The brown goblins collapsed at a rapid pace, the same madness that had overwhelmed the soldiers in the past was nowhere to be seen.

Tututu!

Furthermore, there was a great sense of security for the soldiers when they were shooting from atop the dump truck.

“Don’t lose your composure and shoot accurately! Conserve ammunition!”

”Yes sir!”

The high ground was an overwhelming advantage.

It gave the soldiers an incomparably higher psychological stability than before.

TuTu!

Ever since they had been brought under Kim Tae Hoon’s command, the condition of the troop had improved. Facing these monsters, something inside them snapped, and their anger began to overflow.

“I’m going to kill all of you sons of b.i.t.c.hes!”

“Kill their families!”

In the wake of the dump truck, there were piles of brown goblins littered all over the ground.

However, Kim Tae Hoon and Bang Hyun Wook were nowhere to be seen.

3.

Tututu!

Kim Tae Hoon and Bang Hyun Wook had moved far away from the dump truck, the gunshots nothing more than vague murmurs in the distance.

The images of their movements displayed full vigilance.

From what they could see, the brown goblins were running towards the dump truck.

‘It’s just as hyungnim said, they don’t move around aimlessly.’

It was clear that the brown goblins were moving in accordance to someone’s orders.

It was a completely different dynamic compared to the monster who simply attacked targets that entered their line of sight.

That was why Kim Tae Hoon and Bang Hyun Wook had separated from the dump truck.

‘Just like hyungnim said, there is definitely something behind them. Amazing. How does he know these things?’

Kim Tae Hoon had somewhat recognized that there was a commander the moment he had laid eyes on the battle between the soldiers and the goblins.

There was chief.

There was a pattern about the way they battled. It meant that there was something behind them commanding them.

So naturally, Kim Tae Hoon’s first plan of action was to go look for the chief.

He was tracking the routes the goblins took towards the dump truck.

”Stop.”

He was able to find it. There was a crowd of goblins outside the barracks.

“About 400 meters in front of us.”

” ….. Yes, I see it.”

The scene was a bit fuzzy.

However, it was enough to allow them to feel the bizarre nature of the scene.

Kal Shya Shyashnia!

A tall brown goblin, if you could even call it a goblin, with orange eyes and a height of 180 centimeters could barely be seen.

A horned goblin was chanting something in what presumably was some sort of goblin tongue. As it finished, a red snake-like breath came out of the horned goblin, and burrowed itself into the mouths of the surrounding goblins.

The surrounding brown goblins’ red eyes turned fierce, after which the goblins ran after the dump truck.

‘Well s.h.i.+t, now I’ve seen it all….. .. ‘

Looking at the scene before him, Bang Hyun Wook unknowingly gulped down his saliva.

‘Even hyungnim wouldn’t be able to kill that.’

Looking at that bizarre scene, it seemed like an impossible situation even for Kim Tae Hoon since there were so many enemies.

It seemed impossible to kill an enemy from a distance of 400 meters with an automatic rifle instead of a sniper rifle.

Even if he were able to successfully get a shot off, it would also reveal his location to everyone around him.

It seemed like a wise choice to retreat and meet up with the soldiers who were moving forward in the dump truck.

But Kim Tae Hoon thought differently.

Tang!

A sudden gunshot.

“Euhuk!”

Kim Tae Hoon turned and told Bang Hyun Wook who was worrying about the gunshots.

”Let’s go back.”

The horned goblin was no longer within Bang Hyun Wook’s vision. Only the fl.u.s.tered goblins were visible.