The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low

Chapter 257

Honeybee’s gaze flicked up and down Uijae, her eyes filled with suspicion. A good posture to have—suspicion was a necessary skill for any Hunter. Uijae extended his bare hand, as if inviting her to check for herself.

However, instead of easing, the killing intent in the air only intensified, pricking at his skin.

"Don’t let your guard down. Do you want to die?" Honeybee snapped sharply. The shadow that had been moving behind her came to an abrupt stop. She didn’t lower her rapier, instead stepping back to increase the distance between them. There was no choice. Uijae raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

"It’s me, Honeybee."

But she wasn’t about to be convinced that easily. With a mocking snort, she pressed the rapier closer.

"Just because someone wears a mask doesn’t mean they’re J. Do you know how many impostors are out there?"

"......"

"Explain yourself properly. If anything sounds off, I’ll take your head."

"We met in front of the dungeon. You gave me the information about Lee Sa-young’s whereabouts back then."

"......"

The oppressive air that had been weighing down on Uijae lightened, just slightly. He took advantage of the moment and nodded toward the area behind him.

"Lee Sa-young is here with me. You can check for yourself. He’s right over there."

Hearing his name, Sa-young poked his head out from behind the rubble, wearing a crooked smile as he lazily waved a hand. Only after confirming Lee Sa-young’s presence did Honeybee slowly lower her weapon. Thankfully, things hadn’t escalated into a more dangerous situation. She sighed as she sheathed her rapier at her waist.

"Ha… Seeing that annoying face of yours, I guess it’s really you…."

"Are you talking about me?"

"Is there anyone else here with an annoying face besides you? Anyway, J, I’m sorry for attacking you out of the blue. There are monsters out there that can pull memories straight out of people’s heads…." 

Honeybee gave a brief bow, but Uijae waved it off.

"No need to apologize. I would have done the same thing."

They exchanged awkward laughter for a moment, but soon the smile disappeared from Honeybee’s face, replaced with a business-like expression. She pointed to the white ground.

"Let’s get to the point. Why are both of you here?"

"That’s what we should be asking you. What are you doing here?"

Sa-young had sidled up next to Uijae and now stood beside him. Honeybee shot him an exasperated glare.

"Isn’t it obvious? We’re here to investigate the Corrupted Dungeon. Then you two suddenly show up."

At that moment, the figure that had been lurking behind Honeybee stepped forward. It was a young man hunched under the weight of a large piece of equipment. Honeybee tapped the ground with her foot and shot Uijae a sharp look.

"I don’t think you’re that crazy, but… you didn’t enter our guild’s dungeon without permission, did you?"

"What a shame… I guess I didn’t live up to expectations. Next time, I’ll sneak in."

Sa-young smirked, pulling an ID card from his coat pocket and holding it up. It was the access card for the Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon. Honeybee crossed her arms as she read the card.

"So, you entered from the *Wave Guild* dungeon? Then why did we meet here?"

"That’s the strange part. You don’t know anything about it? Anything unusual?"

Honeybee glanced at the young man behind her. Clearing his throat, the man cautiously spoke up.

"Um… this place used to be a castle-type dungeon, full of vampiric monsters. But recently, part of the castle collapsed, revealing a path that leads to this white Corrupted Zone."

"When the new path appeared, we kept coming back to check it out. It used to be sealed off."

"Was the dungeon already undergoing corruption before?"

"No, not at all. Do you remember the day that giant-mouthed monster showed up? It was after that when the path opened."

"So the corruption…."

"It’s a relatively recent development."

"And you’re saying that the inside of your dungeon and ours are now connected…."

Sa-young tilted his head slightly.

"Is there any more information? Anything else that’s changed?"

Honeybee, who had been silently holding back, sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I’ll be honest. We’ve had a power vacuum since our guild leader disappeared. Team Leader Han and I have been running around trying to keep things together, but it’s been tough managing the guild members."

Sa-young tapped his chin thoughtfully before smiling.

"Ah… so you weren’t able to properly manage the dungeon. You didn’t even check it regularly."

"Hey, we did the minimum. Besides, it’s your guild that’s weird! You guys track everything down to the number of blades of grass growing on the ground."

"That’s not weird, it’s called being thorough."

"Oh, is that what you call it?"

Uijae tugged on the back of Sa-young’s coat, signaling him to stop picking fights. Thankfully, Sa-young glanced down at Uijae and shifted the topic.

"Is it still in the same state? *Matthew*?"

The mention of *Matthew* soured the mood. Honeybee’s face darkened, as did the young man carrying the equipment. The air grew tense. There was the sound of grinding teeth. Honeybee clenched her jaw tightly before responding.

"It’s still the same."

Her voice was so strained it sounded like she was forcing out the words through gritted teeth. Uijae quickly tried to shift the conversation again.

"Oh, I see… Have you encountered any monsters—"

"I wanted to confront Song Joheon and ask him what the hell he did, but Jeongbin kept getting in the way. What, did he think I was going to kill him?"

"You probably would have. I would’ve stopped you too."

"What?"

Sa-young’s reply was swift. Damn, this guy wasn’t trying to diffuse the situation—he was pouring fuel on the fire! Uijae jabbed Sa-young in the side with his fist, hard. Sa-young flinched slightly, turning his gaze toward Uijae in confusion, but Uijae quickly shook his head.

But Sa-young didn’t stop. With a snort, he carried on.

"After I gave you the location of the Prometheus lab, instead of smartly gathering information, you stormed in with Gyu-Gyu, made a mess, and made it impossible to track them down."

"..."

"If you want to hunt, you need to leave a few tunnels for traps. When are you going to stop acting before thinking?"

Honeybee lowered her head slightly. Uijae, listening in, did the same. From the sound of it, Honeybee’s impulsive behavior was very similar to his own—acting on instinct without thinking things through. Uijae’s conscience ached, pricking him like a thorn.

Eventually, Honeybee lifted her head again, a look of determination on her face.

"I’m sorry. I got caught up in my emotions."

"..."

"At the time, I thought it was the best option… even though it wasn’t."

"Knowing that is enough. It’s not something I can’t understand."

Sa-young sighed softly and took a step back. He pressed closer to Uijae and slid his hand under his jacket, resting it against his back. This guy…. Uijae tried to ignore the hand feeling around his back, keeping his face calm as he asked,

"Did you see any monsters on your way here?"

"No, we didn’t see a single one. It’s strange. It’s like they all disappeared just when we needed to find them."

"Same here. Were there any monsters inside the castle?"

"No, not one. It’s like they all vanished. Or escaped somewhere…."

"..."

Uijae used his *Tracker’s Eye* to quickly scan the area. But aside from the people gathered here, there wasn’t a single sign of life—not even the slightest trace of a bug crawling on the ground. The once separate dungeons, now connected, had become a barren wasteland, void of any living presence. It felt like all that was left was a hollow shell.

...A shell?

A creeping unease settled over Uijae. Corrupted dungeons represented the intrusion of a world that had already collapsed. And now that the Gatekeeper was gone, that invasion would only accelerate.

What would happen if this collapsed world merged completely with the present one?

Uijae gazed up at the hazy sky. White ash was falling.

---

Rush hour, bus stop. A middle-aged man sat slumped on a bench, his head hanging low. *Cough, cough,* his body shook violently with each rough cough. People in masks stood a few steps away, stealing nervous glances at him. Green letters flickered on a small sign overhead, displaying the bus arrival times.

[Cold season is here. Be sure to wear your mask…]

*Cough, cough, cough.* The man’s shoulders heaved more violently. One of the onlookers, a man in a suit, hesitated before stepping forward cautiously. He gently touched the man’s shoulder.

"Sir, are you okay…?"

The middle-aged man slowly raised his head. The first thing the suited man saw was the man’s mask, wet and clinging to his mouth. A thick, white liquid dripped from the man’s chin. His eyes were clouded, an opaque white. And then the man

—not a man anymore—opened its mouth.

*Screeeeech.*

A blood-curdling screech echoed out. The suited man collapsed onto the ground. "Ah, ah, aaah." His jaw clenched shut, chattering. He couldn’t move. The creature's body began to twist, shedding its human shape.

And then, its jaws opened wide.