However, Sawon pulled Ji Hayeon into his arms faster than the thing could lunge. Sawon yanked the tethered Ji Hayeon into his chest and aimed the gun downward.Even with the presence felt right below, he saw nothing in the pitch-black darkness. But Sawon calmly lined up the barrel.– Look who you’re rushing at.Click.Thud!The muzzle jammed into the open mouth of the deep-sea-fish Deater. When Sawon pulled the trigger, the deep-sea fish’s body began to swell like a balloon.Gurgle, boom!With a heavy vibration, the deep-sea fish tore apart and turned into fragments. Without slowing his descent, Sawon whipped his hands through the water as if he could clearly see the invisible chunks of flesh.– Ugh, fish stink.Seo Hansu snorted.– Bullshit. What stink.〈-330m〉〈-340m〉〈-350m〉The hologram showed in numbers that they still hadn’t stopped descending. At some point, Sawon switched the communication back to a line just for the two of them.– Chief. I’m reliable, right?– …– No? I just saved you, Chief.– We’re in the ocean. Don’t let your guard down.– Harsh.Even as he answered coldly, maybe because of what had just happened, Ji Hayeon didn’t bother trying to pull out of Sawon’s arms.A moment later, the radar in his vision blinked with a red dot. It was the signal that they’d arrived at the destination.Vmmm.With the sound of a wave spreading, small bubbles began to rise. The Gate cut into the sunken rock lay on its side, facing the surface, writhing as if begging to be noticed.Static.Snot-nosed rookie hunter Jin Jeonghae spoke.– They really buried it properly…Mok Geonho replied like a true leader.– Don’t get scared, kid. I’ll go first, so everyone follow me in.Mok Geonho went into the pitch-black space that looked like an underwater cave. The others entered after him, and once again, Sawon went last, holding Ji Hayeon tight as they descended.Because Jin Jeonghae had spoken, Sawon’s current channel had automatically switched back to full mode.– Chief, you gotta hold me tight. We’re about to go in.Sawon’s line spread over the communicator. Seo Hansu shuddered and snapped.– What the hell is that bastard Gu Sawon doing.– Don’t ask me. Guess he’s lost it.Unbothered, Sawon only hugged Ji Hayeon tighter. And though he said nothing, Ji Hayeon also wrapped his arms around him. Feeling each other’s warmth in the cold water, the last of the Awakened vanished into the Gate.Even after passing through the Gate, the underwater scene didn’t change. It was just as dark as the descent they’d come down. That didn’t change much even when they emerged from the water.When Sawon stuck his head out of the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} surface, there was a small boat in front of him. It was identical to the one they had ridden in on. But there was no captain on board. None of the Awakened found this strange.– The one we set afloat a year ago is still here. Last year’s team at least did that part right.Mok Geonho was the first to climb onto the boat. It was caked in old dust like junk pulled out of a warehouse. Seo Hansu asked:– Who was the expedition leader last year again?The Hinari expeditions carried enough risk that they rotated in whoever had the highest firepower from the rescue teams to build the squads. Climbing up onto the boat, Kim Wujeong answered.– Me.– Huh? You? So you’re coming two years in a row?– If they tell me to go, what else am I supposed to do.Ignoring his classmates’ conversation, Sawon boosted Ji Hayeon up onto the boat first. When he climbed up after him, the first thing he saw was Ji Hayeon’s face with a nosebleed running.There wasn’t a single light or a sliver of moon in the sky, but in Sawon’s eyes, the view here was as clear as a nighttime cityscape in the human world. He slowly reached out his arm.– Come on. Again?His hand passed through the transparent Metena helmet and wiped away the blood on Ji Hayeon’s nose. Startled, Ji Hayeon quickly grabbed his hand and pushed it away.But Sawon didn’t care and reached out with his other hand, wiping Ji Hayeon’s face clean. His own hand, meanwhile, he only bothered to rinse once in the seawater.The Awakened moved across the open sea guided only by hologram coordinates.By the time the boat touched the shore, Ji Hayeon had been staring blankly ahead for a while. With his eyes adapted to the dark, the scene spread before him was identical to the human world.A hotel facing the beach, signs, parasols and convenience stores, rocks and sand. There was nothing at all different from a human-world coastline.If he had to pick differences, it would be that there wasn’t a single human here, there was no breathable air, and a few Deaters drifting around moved listlessly like zombies. They didn’t react at all even when they saw the human Awakened.– I know they’re not going to jump us, but this is still creepy.Jin Jeonghae rubbed his arms and shuddered.There was one solid fact they’d learned after long years of Deater research. For some reason, Deaters craved light.That was why, even while taking attacks from hunters, they struggled desperately to crawl into the human world through fissures. But in contrast to that craving, their cells couldn’t endure the human world for long.Another fact revealed was that for Deaters to endure on Earth, they had to eat humans. Their reaction to light and humans both came from that.But in Hinari, it was different.– These guys will never eat humans here, so don’t worry.Mok Geonho explained flatly. The only thing necessary for survival in Hinari was Metena. Metena served the role of air, water, and food.This was the reason only Awakened could survive in another world. Metena veins flowed through Awakened bodies as well.– Sometimes you do run into one with a temper, but that’s just them picking a fight, so just kill it.Of course, there was the handicap that their strength and physical power were lower than on Earth. But since there was almost never any real fighting, it didn’t matter much.Deaters in Hinari generally didn’t even glance at human invaders. When raw Metena flowed all over the place, they didn’t need to.Vroom, vroom.The engine turned over and cut out. Up on the coastal road, Kim Wujeong was trying to start a car.– Hey. The engine won’t turn over. What do we do?After a few more tries, he thumped the hood with his fist. Then Researcher Lee Seorim, standing beside him, spoke up carefully.– Um… I’ll try.***Intellect-types and stamina-types handled Metena in fundamentally different ways.The researchers, unable to watch the hunters try to brute-force everything, took the wheel themselves. They fed the Metena flowing through the ground into the car in place of fuel, and spun it in the proper flow to move the vehicle.All the while, Researcher Lee Seorim patiently explained the principle of operation to Kim Wujeong, but by the time she got to the second part, his soul had already left his body.Hinari’s advantage was its pleasant roads. In the human world, they had to detour around otherworldized zones and got bogged down in traffic jams, doubling the travel time.Hinari’s roads had highways and national routes just like Earth, but there were no people or cars, and no areas they had to avoid. Split between two jeeps, the Awakened took Hinari’s Yeongdong Expressway and entered the S5 District in an hour and a half.On the sign with the place names “Seoul” and “Pangyo” were also written the district names S5 and S9. Sitting in the back seat, Sawon watched the sign recede and sank into thought.S9… S9 District…In the human world, it had become a place they could no longer go, and yet here it was, written in plain view on a Hinari sign.The city where Sawon was born and raised. But at the same time, the district where all his past had been taken from him.Just as he let the back of his head fall lightly against the seat’s headrest, the protective gear on one arm turned into a small baby long-armed monkey.– Nine. Why’d you come out again.As a being born a Deater, Nine’s fundamental energy was Metena. Because of that, in whatever form, he could move freely through Hinari.Nine climbed up Sawon’s arm and stared endlessly at the sign that had passed.What is it.Sawon asked in his head. Nine looked at him and pointed toward the sign with a small finger, as if to say, Look at that.“Squeee.”Yeah. If we go that way, we can get to the S9 District.Nine looked back and forth between Sawon and the sign.If we can go, should we? Would I be able to get my memories back?Then Nine crawled down to Sawon’s chest and stared up at him.“Squeak.”The small lifeform gazed at him with a dejected expression. For some reason, Nine looked even sadder than usual today. No—more precisely, the moment he saw Nine, loneliness surged up in Sawon’s chest.His chest ached with a loneliness like it was being torn open, and then suddenly a searing longing followed it. Sawon had no reason to feel lonely, and no one to long for like that.Startled by the sudden wave of emotion, he calmed himself and held Nine tightly.It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll be fine. Right?He muttered the thought silently, not even sure who he was saying it to. As if he understood, Nine rubbed his cheek against Sawon’s chest. Gradually, he settled down.Moments like these made Sawon feel to his bones how deeply they were connected. It felt like Nine’s heart and his own had been switched. Otherwise, he could never be swept up so suddenly in emotions that weren’t his.Static.– Arrival in five minutes.In the middle of Sawon’s confusion, Mok Geonho’s voice came through his ear. A hologram popped up.〈Target coordinates: 52SCG21416 (37.564297°, 126.977970°)〉They were the coordinates of the burger place in front of the Central Hunter Bureau. The very spot where Sawon and Ji Hayeon had faced the mutated fissure.

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