Chapter 78

43. Dilemma (5)

"There's no answer except for a headshot."

Baek Seung-hyun's lips trembled.

"How can I hit it? It's already hard to hit the torso."

For a human, I don't know.

At a distance of 150 meters, a human appears as small as an ant and moves as slowly as one.

But even that human is hard to hit when they move around.

150 meters is quite a distance.

The red-furred monkey, Red, moves in a way that can't be compared to a human.

With its long arms, it grabs the concrete rebar like tree branches, leaps up, jumps down, and grabs another rebar, disappearing behind the ruins.

Its movements are unpredictable.

Considering that long-range sniping mostly involves predicting and controlling variables, it's an extremely difficult target to hit.

While Baek Seung-hyun hesitated, the mutation landed on the ground with a thud, dragging its long arms and hopping around, approaching Cheon Yeong-jae.

It's a strange way of moving, but it's faster than a human.

"Why aren't you shooting! Shoot!"

Cheon Yeong-jae shouted as he ran at full speed, but Red had already caught up to him.

Cheon Yeong-jae drew his machete and turned around.

"Come on, you little bastard."

Even as he steeled himself, he glanced back.

Baek Seung-hyun, with his serious face and gun aimed, might be somewhat reliable.

But Baek Seung-hyun was hesitating.

Baek Seung-hyun's finger was on the trigger, wearing a leather glove.

The finger tried to pull the trigger.

But the trigger wasn't pulled all the way.

He let go halfway.

"Kiiiik!"

In the midst of this, Red swung its long arms violently.

The length of its red-furred arms was about 2 meters.

Almost like a small crane.

It even had a glove on its elbow.

A custom-made glove plate made by twisting and weaving steel wire.

Even if it were a smart chimpanzee, it couldn't reach the level of making full plate mail like a human.

There are exposed weaknesses.

The face, neck, and parts of the arms, hands, and feet not protected by the wrist guards.

But asking Baek Seung-hyun to hit those exposed parts is too cruel.

Unless it's Kim Daram, who was the best shot among us, even I would find it hard to hit the weaknesses of a target that moves so fast and unpredictably.

To make matters worse, this area is a zombie zone.

The zombies already know we've entered and are warming up.

If the gunfire continues, they will come in waves and push us back.

It means the operation is over.

These harsh conditions seemed to be the reason Baek Seung-hyun gave up on shooting.

No, there was one more thing.

Jeju Island.

One of Baek Seung-hyun's feet was on Jeju Island.

The promised land that Kim Daram, whom he so envied and hated, couldn't reach.

Looking into his trembling eyes, I said coldly,

"What are you doing? Shoot."

"The angle isn't right."

"If you don't shoot, that guy will die."

"I can't do it."

"Why not?"

"How can I shoot when the angle isn't right? Damn it!"

Baek Seung-hyun shouted.

"Look at the angle of that monkey! Damn it, he's doing this on purpose."

That's true.

The creature is using Cheon Yeong-jae as a shield, placing him between itself and us.

Cheon Yeong-jae, aware of this, tried to create an angle by swinging his machete, but it was a futile movement against the smart and agile mutation.

The creature seemed to be enjoying the situation, making strange noises and taunting us with its frenzied movements.

"Kiiik!"

The situation rapidly worsened.

The creature, already difficult to aim at due to its armor, now had Cheon Yeong-jae as a shield.

"Move to the side!"

When Baek Seung-hyun shouted, Cheon Yeong-jae responded with a shout.

"I'll use a feint!"

He seemed to be moving to the left, but then he suddenly sprinted to the right.

An angle appeared.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out as expected.

It was a rare old-school hunter's combo.

The shot itself was accurate.

It hit the mutation's torso precisely.

However, the creature was armored.

Clang!

The bullet sparked and left a small scratch on the chimpanzee's armor before disappearing.

"Kiiik! Kiiik!"

The chimpanzee pouted its large lips and suddenly raised its 2-meter-long arms.

What is it doing?

"?"

Baek Seung-hyun's face turned pale.

It was a middle finger.

Red was showing us its middle finger with both hands.

"Kiiik!!!!"

After raising its middle finger, it extended its index finger and pointed to its head.

Baek Seung-hyun gritted his teeth.

"You little monkey..."

Cheon Yeong-jae started sprinting.

The distance closed to within 100 meters.

A distance he could cover in one leap.

If we give it space, not only Cheon Yeong-jae but all of us are in danger.

But Baek Seung-hyun was hesitating about the next shot.

"Shoot! Old man!!!!"

Cheon Yeong-jae's sharp shout rang out.

Red was reaching out from behind Cheon Yeong-jae.

If Cheon Yeong-jae hadn't swung his machete in time, he would have been caught and dragged up to the building, then dropped to his death.

"Shoot!"

80 meters.

Now it's really close.

At this critical moment, Baek Seung-hyun proved why he wasn't chosen by Kim Daram.

"I can't do it."

Baek Seung-hyun lowered his gun.

He abandoned his mission.

Instead, he pulled out a metal rod from his pocket.

It was a U.S.-made suicide blade drone.

When set on a target, the drone flies to the enemy and explodes, releasing shrapnel.

It seemed he brought it for the final moment.

But I have doubts.

Whether this toy will work against that monster.

Even if it does, Cheon Yeong-jae will definitely die.

"Senior."

I grabbed his arm and shook my head.

Baek Seung-hyun looked at me with tired eyes.

"Park Gyu."

In the era when old-school hunters dominated, there was a debate about what the true qualities of a hunter were.

In my mentor's case, he argued that the most important quality was a heart that didn't fear death, a new but old-fashioned term he coined as "hunter's heart."

Jang Gi-yeong also had a rival.

A once strong rival, but one who fell to a secondary role due to factional politics, Ko Jong-beom.

Unlike Jang Gi-yeong, Ko Jong-beom went to China and sold the know-how of K-hunters, arguing that the ability to adapt flexibly to crisis situations was the most important quality of a hunter.

There were many other virtues that came and went with their own logic.

I'm not particularly interested in establishing a theory, but through repeated practical experience, I developed an eye for what is important and what is not.

In my case, I would say this:

Can you let go of yourself?

In other words, can you objectify yourself?

I believe that seeing the world from a third-person perspective and being able to use yourself as a pawn is what determines the fate of us old-school hunters.

I always instilled this in my team members.

In extreme situations, anyone can be sacrificed, and there are no exceptions.

I even said I would be sacrificed.

I built my credibility by taking the lead and taking on the most dangerous roles.

I used myself as a pawn to be sent to the most dangerous areas.

But I didn't just use myself as a pawn.

I also abandoned and sacrificed my comrades.

I didn't feel guilty.

Didn't they teach us in school?

We move as one, a thousand people as one.

So, I was just discarding a part that made up that one.

That's all.

Of course, I couldn't escape the fate of being a part.

When I lost to a general-type in the other world.

My bones were almost broken, and I was stuck in a corner of the other world.

White fog covered everything, and my comrades left me behind.

I had to wait for death, stuck in a corner with broken limbs.

Thanks to a few strokes of luck and caprice, I managed to survive, but I had truly faced death.

Some people whispered that this terrifying experience led to my retirement.

That's not true.

I have no resentment about being abandoned.

But the circumstances and process that led to my abandonment negated all my actions, leaving me no choice but to retire.

But I don't want to see my team members die in front of me.

Even if it's a hastily formed team, I don't want to see this Professor's team fall meaninglessly.

I told Baek Seung-hyun,

"I'll shoot."

He handed me the gun without a word.

When I took the gun, I felt its heavy weight, enough to make my arm drop.

No matter how much they use advanced lightweight materials, this is a gun that uses 12.7mm ammunition.

The reduced weight is 8kg.

It's practically a personal heavy weapon.

That's our fate, to fight with such crude weapons.

"Stay still."

I quietly aimed the gun and put both Cheon Yeong-jae and Red, who were getting larger, in my sights.

60 meters to the target.

I assessed the environment.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!"

Cheon Yeong-jae shouted.

55 meters.

Red reached out.

50 meters.

Cheon Yeong-jae swung his machete but it deflected off the wrist guard.

48 meters.

Cheon Yeong-jae was caught.

"What are you doing?!"

Baek Seung-hyun looked at me, but I didn't flinch, keeping my eyes on the target.

Cheon Yeong-jae was dragged away by the creature.

No matter how skilled a hunter he was, there was no way to deal with such an unconventional monster.

I wouldn't have been much different.

"What are you doing?! Park Gyu!"

Baek Seung-hyun shouted.

I ignored him and aimed the gun.

The creature's movements were extremely fast and different from anything we had faced, making it hard to predict.

Moreover, it was wearing a helmet, and its torso and back were covered with a patchwork of armor.

There wasn't much we could do against it unless we had an Awakened.

But I had information from Baek Seung-hyun.

"Aaaah! Save me! Damn it!"

"Park Gyu!"

The chimpanzee grabbed a bent street lamp and leaped, reaching out to the concrete rebar.

"Stay quiet."

I calmly said and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

At the moment of firing, I felt a strong recoil like a hammer hitting my body, but I kept my eyes on the target.

The 12.7mm bullet, carrying heavy destructive power, pierced the air filled with the stench of zombies and hit the exact spot I wanted.

Thud!

"Kiiiiik!!!!"

The bullet hit the chimpanzee's hand, an unprotected part.

But it was a part I hadn't even considered as a target due to its speed.

"What, how?"

Baek Seung-hyun asked, surprised.

"Didn't you say, Senior?"

I handed the gun back to him and ran towards Cheon Yeong-jae.

"That little bastard likes to drag people up high and drop them."

"So you were waiting for Cheon Yeong-jae to be caught?"

Baek Seung-hyun followed with the heavy rifle and asked.

"Anyway, the point where the creature climbs the building is fixed, right?"

The concrete rebar.