The First Hunter Chapter 39

Chapter 39 – Eyes (2)

5.

It was nighttime, and the survivors’ seemingly endless celebration had finally started to wind down.

The cold night prompted the survivors to once again move towards a warmer area for the sake of their survival.

Kim Tae Hoon was also preparing to brave the night.

Kim Tae Hoon’s bed was the inside of a car. A Benz S500, Kim Tae Hoon who had taken up residence in the driver’s seat of an over-expensive car, rolled down the window and looked out.

He could see the Black Snake’s body.

Looking at the snake, Kim Tae Hoon held up a mug. His partner spoke, white steam rapidly rising out of his mouth. He did not want to spend the night sleeping.

"Boss."

"Hyungnim!"

Chang Sung Hoon and Bang Hyun Wook appeared.

"Would you like to drink some beer with us? We were thinking about it, and it should be very refres.h.i.+ng. We also brought some snacks."

Before he could even answer, Chang Sung Hoon entered the pa.s.senger seat and Bang Hyun Wook entered the back seat.

Chang Sung Hoon put a hand in the black plastic bag that he was holding.

"Do you have a favorite brand?"

"I don’t need any of it."

"Hyung, pa.s.s me a Miller. I want a Miller."

Chang Sung Hoon handed Bang Hyun Wook some Miller beer cans.

"So a kid who just graduated high school knows how to choose beer brands? Huh?"

"Haha, didn’t you know that everyone’s like that nowadays?"

Bang Hyun Wook received the beer can, an awkward smile on his face.

Kim Tae Hoon took a sip from his coffee while watching the two. He started to enjoy the silence.

"You’ve really worked hard."

Chang Sung Hoon said, seeking to fill in the silence.

"Ja, let me get to the point. Now is the time to make a clan."

He didn’t add any unnecessary fluff at the start or the end.

"A clan? Hyung, are you talking about our clan? What clan are you saying should we make?"

"I mean that we should allow for the creation of another clan within our territory. We’ve become the head clan of all the other rabble that have gathered. For example, what if we take our clan a step farther, and become a guild with other clans under us? The clan would then be running several parties internally."

It was a concept that anyone who had played mmorpg could understand.

Therefore, Bang Hyun Wook immediately asked a question.

"That’s dangerous isn’t it? What if betrayal······."

"If they kill boss, then only one of them could occupy the top seat. After that, they would be the ones responsible for killing all of the strong monsters, but would they be willing to?"

Grasping the situation, Bang Hyun Wook took a sip of his beer instead of replying.

Chang Sung Hoon took a look at Kim Tae Hoon.

"To be honest we’re not just a clan anymore, some of the hunting parties have a considerable amount of power. We’ll need a system to regulate as they get bigger and bigger. I think that it’s necessary to have a gun we could use in case of emergencies. A war is waged with many people after all. Of course, this isn’t an urgent thing right now. The immediate problem is with the public. We need a representative."

Chang Sung Hoon took a sip then began to talk again.

"The most at risk, ready-to-explode bomb at the moment is exactly the public. The survivors now solely rely on the awakened. As a result, the public is not in a good position. Two or three out of every ten female patients who visits Ahn Sun Mi noonim are victims of s.e.xual a.s.sault. There are also similar victims amongst men. And naturally, there is no one willing to confess to it."

Chang Sung Hoon’s expression became more grim as he continued to speak.

This was the reality.

"Are you saying that you want an election for a public representative?"

The people do need a voice after all.

It would be absolutely necessary if order and balance were to be maintained.

"No, an election is impossible. It would be impossible to hold an election considering the circ.u.mstances. Plus, it’s not necessary to do it. It wouldn’t be hard to just appoint one. Boss should just go and pick them. The question is who to choose. So with that in mind, could you possibly hand me that snake?"

Hearing those words, Kim Tae Hoon downed his coffee.

"There’s an old man by the name of Park Gabsu. He’s a man who has been making leather shoes for the past 40 years, but his skill is unquestionable. I want to let him make some items out of the snake parts. At the moment, various engineers and craftsmen have been itching to air their skills and wares at any given opportunity. We should make studios and workshops. If we want to bridge the relations.h.i.+ps between ordinary people and the awakened, it would be necessary to form a mutually complementary relations.h.i.+p with these people."

He didn’t intend for politicians with the backing of the public sentiment to come forth.

Complementary.

They needed people with skills to support the others who were hunting monsters with their life on the line. They needed laborers, engineers, planners, and others who had the relevant skill sets.

However, they also needed a symbol.

A symbol that anyone would be able to reference from the records in the future.

The corpse of the Black Snake would fit the role quite nicely.

"I plan to gift items made from the Black Snake’s skin to any newly formed clans."

Listening to Chang Sung Hoon, Kim Tae Hoon held his coffee while silently looking at the Black Snake’s corpse.

Of course, Kim Tae Hoon didn’t want to oppose Chang Sung Hoon’s ideas. His silence was his own tacit consent.

"Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch."

Knowing that, Chang Sung Hoon pulled out a folded map with a smile on his face that softened the serious atmosphere.

It was a map of Bucheon City.

"Since I’ll be taking the prey you hunted, I’ll offer my own spoils."

Chang Sung Hoon began to point out various places he had marked and written about on the map.

"There’s a high chance that Baek Sung Taek’s warehouse is here."

"Who is that person exactly?"

"He’s Whale, just Whale."

"Whale?"

"Whale."

Listening to Bang Hyun Wook and Chang Sung Hoon’s exchange, Kim Tae Hoon swallowed the coffee in his mouth and spoke.

"Who is he?"

"He’s a bottom feeder whose main focus was stolen artifacts and dealing in stolen goods. He goes by Whale since he takes everything. He can’t keep everything in his house, so he goes by common practice of storing things in a warehouse, and the warehouse is in Bucheon."

"So is this star where he is?"

"It’s one of the possible areas."

"You don’t know the exact location?"

"If the location were known, it would have been ransacked a long time ago."

"But then how do you know it could be here?"

"That man is very faithful to feng shui. Would such a man have his warehouse located just anywhere? The problem is······."

Tuk tuk.

Chang Sung Hoon tapped the areas around the star marker. He had pointed out various apartment complexes.

Seeing it from the back seat, Bang Hyun Wook frowned.

"Huh, why are there so many apartment complexes?"

Apartment complex.

Normally, it wouldn’t have meant anything, but now that monsters freely roamed the Earth, the circ.u.mstances have changed.

It was a h.e.l.l, and for good reason.

"Looks like it’s a total monster’s den. And powerful monsters at that."

There would be food everywhere.

Literally.

The population density within the apartment complexes would be higher than anywhere else. December 31st was when the monsters first appeared. It was a time where most people would be spending their time at home, waiting for the year to end.

So any place where food is abundant would be a place where predators could fill their stomachs.

That was the reason why Kim Tae Hoon and Messiah had not easily explored apartment complexes······ but the places that Chang Sung Hoon had pointed out were exactly that.

"But I don’t think there’ll be many people going in, right?"

It was a place they would normally not have approached.

Even if there were people who wanted to enter, they would have to rely on the Mek Clan’s power.

"I’ll go, first thing tomorrow morning."

However, the situation is different now.

"Boss, wouldn’t it be difficult to set out first thing tomorrow morning? We have to clean the area first······."

"I’ll be going alone."

The Kim Tae Hoon of now was different from the Kim Tae Hoon of yesterday.

And the Kim Tae Hoon of tomorrow would be different from the Kim Tae Hoon of today.

6.

Keureureu!

Black furred werewolves were meandering about on a dilapidated road, their footsteps masked by the wind.

Seuuk!

After the winds subsided, the sounds of werewolf feet crunching down on the snow could be heard.

Seuk, seuk!

There was more than one.

In fact, there were six!

The two meter tall werewolves and their gigantic physiques exercised calm steps that were unthinkable given their size.

Along with their footsteps were their pale red eyes.

There were many things that their eyes told. The desire to kill the intruder that entered their domain, and a desire to drink the hot blood that flowed through their soon to be prey.

Their prey was walking along the road completely unaware.

Bbodeudeuk, Bbodeudeuk.

The prey did not make any attempts to hide its footsteps, its footprints, or its presence.

Kong!

Soon, the six werewolves revealed themselves to their prey.

The werewolves quickly went into formation, lifting their pointed snouts up to the sky.

Awooooh!

The sound of howls resounded all throughout.

The howls were short.

The black werewolves rushed their prey as soon as their howls ended, seemingly not even giving their prey time to feel fear.

Three of them ran on two legs, while the other two ran on four.

Puhbuk, puhbuk!

The sight of six werewolves swiftly approaching was terrifying. The sight of the werewolves pus.h.i.+ng off the floor and crus.h.i.+ng the earth was enough to stop the prey’s breathing.

Awoooh!

Meanwhile, two of the werewolves used Howling. They were mocking their prey, performing a premature celebration before they even reached their prey.

However, the prey that was at the center of the werewolves’ formation, its eyes began to turn black.

It was at that moment.

Ggeng!

The first werewolf to be affected by the black eyes let out a whimper that not even dogs would let out.

The man rolled his black eyes.

To be honest, n.o.body would know. The world before his blackened eyes was like a canvas, and in that world black strokes began to fly about.

The wolves would never be able to see it.

It was at that moment.

Hwik!

From the man’s waist shot out an unadorned arrow. It moved like lightning, like a silent killer making only the slightest sound.

It would have looked like an irregular copper lightning bolt when looked at from above.

However, there was a clear method to the arrow’s trajectory.

Chulpuk!

The black werewolves’ brains were impaled on it.

Chulpuk, chulpuk!

The black werewolves who had been hoping for a meal had instead fell onto the floor, their momentum carrying their bodies forward before finally rolling to a stop.

The fallen werewolves did not get back up.

The man, Kim Tae Hoon, took a look at the black werewolves’ bodies. The world he saw through the Black Snake’s Eyes was not too different from the normal world.

It’s just that everything was clearer.

It was the same before.

When the black werewolves were running at him, it seemed as though they had stopped.

In that world, Kim Tae Hoon could paint even clearer pictures than before.

However, Kim Tae Hoon did feel any sort of special satisfaction.

On the contrary, it was the opposite.

'It’s lacking.'

In the clear and crisp world, Kim Tae Hoon could perceive his own flaws even more clearly.

Keuhaaang!

At that moment, a huge black wolf appeared to Kim Tae Hoon’s left.

The huge, orange-eyed wolf was large enough to even eat a bear.

It was enraged. It’s anger was directed to the being that had turned its kin into nothing more than lumps of flesh.

Kim Tae Hoon turned his head towards the source of the rage.

He looked at the Black Wolf with the Black Snake’s Eyes.

Keureureu, kuk!

As soon as their gazes crossed, a choked whimper came out of the Black Wolf’s mouth, and its body froze.

It was trying to fight against the immense invisible power that was pulling at its limbs.

Cheureung!

Under those circ.u.mstances, Kim Tae Hoon pulled out a sword from the sheath strapped to his back.

It flew on its own towards the Black Wolf’s neck.

Suhguk!

It cut through without any impediments.

Seeing the scene, Kim Tae Hoon could once more perceive it clearly.

'This feels wrong.'

That he was still lacking.