Ch. 230 - I'll Make Sure You Get Out of Here Alive

The door opened shortly after the emergency power was activated. The class 1 agent, Martin, stepped inside.

"What's going on?"

"A nearby substation was attacked."

"An attack? A monster?"

"Yes. We're receiving reports from all over. It seems to be a large-scale assault."

"If it's that big... could an undiscovered gate have opened somewhere?"

"We aren't sure yet. For now, please take shelter in the bunker and wait."

Martin moved quickly, releasing the handcuffs on No Songrin's wrists. Kang Mu-hyuk followed, lowering his voice to ask discreetly.

"No matter how intelligent a monster is, it cannot learn enough about the human world to start destroying it by targeting human infrastructure. The attack must have been massive if a substation in the city centre had been destroyed. Considering LA's security system, it doesn't make sense that a gate of this size went unnoticed."

"We're assessing the situation. Please hurry."

Martin's tone was firm, shutting down further questions. The friendly demeanour the White House had shown earlier was gone. It wasn't irritation---just a clear boundary of jurisdiction.

'Well, I'm just an outsider. It'll seem like pointless meddling.'

As they moved to the bunker, Kang Mu-hyuk tried to contact Jang Deuk-goo, but his phone was dead. No signal, not even a single bar. The base station must have been hit too.

'Hunter Jang Deuk-goo should be fine. The real concern is Go Eul-ji. She's skilled enough to handle herself but... '

But she was still a teenager--- she was immature and the youngest in the guild which added to Kang Mu-hyuk's concerns. Kang Mu-hyuk wasn't the only one stuck at the Hunter Crime Force's LA branch. Hamilton, who last-minute negotiations with Kang Mu-hyuk had been delayed, was also taking refuge in the bunker.

"I ended up keeping you from returning to Washington. Sorry for tying up a busy man like you."

"Not at all. Honestly, it's better that I stayed. If I'd left on time, I might have run into trouble on the way to the airport. I'll just take this chance to rest. Haha." 

Seeing Hamilton's relaxed attitude, Kang Mu-hyuk felt reassured.

'So, it's not completely out of control, huh.'

But he soon realized he was miserably wrong.

"LA St. General Hospital was attacked."

Hamilton's aide whispered an update from the Hunter Crime Force's situation room.

Kang Mu-hyuk couldn't catch the details, but No Songrin, who was now freed, had retrieved the translation item from him.

"Guild Leader, I just heard St. General Hospital is in ruins. More than half the staff are dead. Something about...bee monsters? They're calling them flesh-eating wasps. Sophia Stadium, the baseball field, an observatory, Beverly Hills... the whole city is under attack. Instead of going on high alert, the city hall has declared a state of emergency."

Kang Mu-hyuk processed the information quickly, mentally mapping LA in his head.

'Flesh-eating wasps... A species that can launch a large-scale attack with just a single monster.'

The attack zones on the map were painted red. The picture was completed as a vast area with no known epicentre. The entire LA area was under attack. Kang Mu-hyuk immediately grasped the significance of the map forming in his mind.

'This is the absolute worst.'

If this level of destruction had occurred without an undiscovered gate opening, then this was the absolute worst situation he had anticipated. He approached Hamilton cautiously.

"Mr. Hamilton."

"What is it?"

"I happened to overhear the report. Are these attacks solely due to the flesh-eating wasps?"

Hamilton hesitated before answering. "That's right. That's what the report said. Flesh-eating wasps."

"And no other monster participated in the attacks?"

"No, it's just the wasps. Why do you ask?"

"Because it'sa serious problem."

"There's no such thing as a 'minor' problem when it comes to a monster attack. Our experts will handle it."

"Of course, I know North America's monster defence system is top-notch. But I'd like to offer some advice---just in case."

"Advice? Sorry, but I don't think I need any. Oh, it's not that I'm looking down on you, Guild Leader. I just trust our team more."

Despite his polite words, his attitude revealed Hamilton was looking down on the underdeveloped hunter-gatherers of Northeast Asia.

'Even if Northeast Asia has Rider Wolf and an S-Rank hunter, that's just the luck of a small guild. The U.S. has dealt with far more crises than they have. Why would we need advice from a mere guild leader?'

Kang Mu-hyuk could guess what he was thinking. Sensing Hamilton's arrogance, he softened his tone.

"Of course, the U.S. will respond quickly. But in the meantime, people will die. Entire districts could be wiped out. The whole city might be reduced to rubble. I'm speaking up out of concern."

"Fine, I suppose listening won't cost me anything. Unless you're charging a consulting fee?"

He tried to lighten the mood with a joke, covering up his initial dismissal. Kang Mu-hyuk forced an awkward smile, playing along.

"Thank you for listening. My concern is that these monsters are specifically flesh-eating wasps. As far as I know, they've never been encountered in the U.S. before."

The U.S. had vast territory and a strong hunting force, but it hadn't faced every type of monster in existence. There was no pattern to where monsters appeared, yet certain types were more common in specific regions.

Bee-type monsters had never been recorded in North or Central America. A few reports existed from South America, but they had never escalated into a significant threat. In other words, there was no real combat experience with these creatures in the Americas.

Bee-type monsters primarily appeared in Africa and occasionally in Asia, with only a handful of countries having actual battle records. Hearing about them was one thing---fighting them was a whole other matter. No matter how much information was available, real battles were fought by humans, not theories. If knowledge alone could prevent disasters, the term man-made catastrophe wouldn't exist. This was the point Kang Mu-hyuk wanted to drive home. Hamilton turned to his aide.

"Is this the first time flesh-eating wasps have been spotted in the U.S.?"

"I'm not sure about that either... "

"I'm pretty sure it's the first."

Kang Mu-hyuk had an extraordinary memory. He was confident in his extensive knowledge from his time as a strategy team leader he got from the intel posted on the network. Finally, Hamilton's interest was piqued.

"So we're dealing with an unknown. But if we already have information on them, why should we be worried?"

"With a standard response, you can probably handle the initial wave."

"You're implying there's more to come?"

"If you look at the map, you'll see that the attack zones are scattered all over the city."

Hamilton's aide unconsciously nodded.

"Most bee-type monsters don't expand their territory unless their hive is full. That's why they're usually exterminated before they can get past the mid-term. But these flesh-eating wasps are different. They're more persistent and tenacious. They expand their territory secretly as long as they know their hive is secure. And they do it underground."

"Underground... Then, if they're appearing all over the city, does that mean..."

Hamilton understood exactly what Kang Mu-hyuk was implying. Kang Mu-hyuk voiced out exactly what he was thinking.

"Yes. That means the entire underground of this city is already a wasp's nest."

"!!"

"We need to do two things: defend the city and destroy the hive. Both must happen simultaneously if we want to save the city."

* * *

Jang Deuk-goo, who was leisurely sipping from the mini-bar in his hotel room, suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of urgency. Years of dealing with villains had sharpened his instincts---he could always sense the true murderous intent.

'But this... this isn't a hunter.'

Unlike an assassin's calculated intent to kill, the enemy was keen on locking on a specific target. This was the life force flowing from a monster. Just as Jang Deuk-goo reached for his sword, the glass window shattered into a thousand shards. A massive wasp, larger than himself, charged at him, its stinger sticking out.

'Flesh-eating wasp?!'

A blinding flash filled the room. In a split second, the wasp was sliced into dozens of pieces, thick fluids splattering across the carpet. More followed, but they met the same fate. Jang Deuk-goo burst through the bedroom door where Thomas was sleeping. A wasp was already hovering over him, ready to strike---but he didn't have to do anything.

"You're awake."

The wasp fell sideways with a hole in its chest.

"Woke up with a monster's mouth in my face. Thought I was dreaming."

Thomas replied, still half-asleep, eyes half-open. Jang Deuk-goo stepped to the shattered window, peering outside. Screams echoed in the distance. The buzzing of countless wasps filled the air, vibrating and tickling his ears.

"They're everywhere. Staying up high will just draw more of them. We need to get out of the hotel. Can you move?"

"My potion wore off, so I can't use magic. I feel like crap. I can manage one spell, but that's about it."

"That's such a long way of saying you can't get up."

"Please."

Jang Deuk-goo hoisted Thomas over his left shoulder. The moment he stepped into the hallway, the room next door burst open. A man stumbled out, screaming---a wasp lunged at his back, its stinger aimed for the kill. Jang Deuk-goo shouted while swinging down, "GET DOWN!"

But the man was too panicked to react. Jang Deuk-goo had no choice---he adjusted his swing mid-motion, shifting from a slash to a precise stab. A gust of wind sliced past the man's right ear. A searing heat tickled the back of his neck. Warm liquid dripped onto his shoulder.

"B-Blood...!"

The man collapsed in shock, only to realise that a portion of his ear was missing. But thanks to the adrenaline, he felt no pain.

"Be grateful you're still breathing. A second later, and you'd turn into that wasp's shit."

At Jang Deuk-gu's nod, the man turned around and saw the wasp's headless body twitching behind him.n Terror struck him anew, and he scrambled backwards on all fours.

"If you want to live, stick with me."

It was only then that the man realized that the Asian man giving him orders was a hunter. The man nodded frantically and pressed in close.

"Keep your distance. Unless you want to get stabbed by my sword instead of a monster."

He immediately took two steps back.

"Good boy."

Jang Deukgoo was relieved that this burden he'd picked up on the way at least had some common sense. Sometimes, civilians panicked so much they wouldn't listen to orders and acted strangely. In cases like that, knocking them out and carrying them was the best option.

"Please just don't leave me here."

In the U.S., where large-scale disasters were common, quite a few civilians had been exposed to disaster. So, evacuation training was taught from childhood. This man knew the golden rule to survive: stick to the hunter and be obedient.

"A hunter never abandons someone. The ones who do? They're not hunters. So don't worry---stick with me, and I'll make sure you get out of here alive."

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