novel
| ← Ch.022 | Ch.024 → |
Cha Jun Sung scanned the area with his goggles and slowly followed. If a battle ensued, an explosion would go off and their location would be revealed anyway.
He was a beginner at chasing but since he knew the direction that the cannibals and party had gone, he could just go straight without going off route.
The interval of time between Cha Jun Sung and the party members was 10 minutes.
They thought that the party would be slow because it was a forest but the thermographic goggles could not detect them.
"What do you think Field of Meat means? It seems to be related to cannibals."
"As in meat."
The mission name was the mission itself. In explicit situations, they could figure out what mutant it was before being summoned. Field of Meat lacked that kind of hint.
"Should we try figuring out the meaning?"
"He he!"
There was no need to figure it out too deeply. Meat referred to the meat of cattle, and the field meant land to grow crops on.
Putting the words together, it was Field of Meat. It was a strange combination.
"Meat farm?"
"Could be since they can't have just eaten whatever they wanted on this isolated island for years. My thoughts are a little different though."
Cultivating could be used to mean herding. It could be possible from the behavior they just showed, but their patience would not allow for it.
Park Jin Hyuk's eye shone. He wanted Cha Jun Sung to hurry up and tell him because he was curious.
"It seems like a meat warehouse."
"Farm or warehouse, same thing."
"There's a difference between cultivating it and saving it. I'm positive the cannibals have a warehouse where they gathered their provisions. All we have to do is confirm that and escape."
"That's random."
"What is?"
"It doesn't matter for missions like annihilation because you can just kill everyone, but there was always a fair reason for ones where the goal was attainment. It's too random."
Annihilation and escape was just killing and running away, so the mission scenarios were not complex. In attainment, they needed to complete a duty to complete the mission.
In the attainment missions that Park Jin Hyuk had completed until now, there had always been a fair reason.
Situations like destroying mutant hatcheries to stop their breeding, connecting the electricity in a demolished building, or quickly reaching another area.
However, Field of Meat was to check a plantation, warehouse, whatever it was, and escape.
This was where his question arose. What were they supposed to do once they checked it?
He had just thought that was how it was just in the beginning, but this was an island and there were cannibals - he realized that it was not just a regular attainment mission when he linked the food issue.
"What's it to us if it's random? Did we pay attention to things like that when we accepted missions?"
"That's true!"
All they had to do was complete it to go on to Level D. The rest did not matter.
"It seems they went pretty far."
"I'll say. I think it's been an hour since we started following them and we still haven't caught up to them."
With the search range on the goggles, they could speedily prepare for any danger.
Therefore, they were moving pretty fast. Under the pressure that they needed to follow the cannibal, the party members in comparison could not help but be slow. At this point, they needed to catch up to them.
Ack!
Cha Jun Sung and Park Jin Hyuk hid behind a large tree. One of the party members was screaming. Something had happened. Had they gotten caught in the cannibals' trap?
"I can't catch them on the thermographics."
"That means they're at least 50m away."
"I'll go left."
"I'll go right."
It was better to share the work instead of setting up an unnecessary boundary. The two went along each of their routes and carefully approached where the sound came from.
He controlled the distance with the thermographic goggles in mind. After advancing a few dozen meters, it flushed in heat with the detection of several living beings.
There are a lot. It is difficult to count the exact number in these circumstances, but an estimated 50 or 60 mutants were closing in on the party members.
'Jun Sung, what is that solid thing? The thing that's tying the Lifers down. '
'A net?'
The party was caught in a net woven intricately like a spider web so that they could not move. Like a net tightening in on its prize, it made movement awkward.
Hihi!
Kyakya!
The cannibals did not attack the party members. They acted as if they were observing monkeys at a zoo. It seemed they had no intention to kill them.
'Save them?'
Cha Jun Sung contemplated it. As his thoughts turned, he calculated their gains and losses.
50 mutants?
They could win if they attacked. If Park Jin Hyuk just covered him well, he could cut the net and work with the party members.
'I'm reluctant. '
'Jun Sung?'
'If they're going to kill them, they'll act on it. Wait until they move. '
They caught the Lifers but were not killing them. He could not figure out the cannibals' plans.
Who could tell if that was also a trap?
There was an impending flow and they need to figure out what that flow was. Caution was key.
***
'Save us!'
'I don't want to die like this!'
'Ack!'
The party screamed like crazy.
To be rescued.
To be helped.
Their voices just echoed inside because they were being shocked by the electrical net. They only had their five senses. They were paralyzed except for their eyes flitting back and forth.
'How could something like a cannibal have an item like this.... . '
Lloyd felt as if what had happened to the party was a dream.
Cannibals that had been waiting high in trees had dropped the net. A shocking current had gone through their bodies and they were unable to move.
Where could they have gone wrong? It was all so sudden. They were trying to lure the mutants, but they had been lured instead.
Electric net.
It is a capture item that can be bought in the store for 500 points.
A mutant under Level 2 becomes paralyzed under the net and is not able to get out. But he himself had been caught under it instead of a mutant.
'You laid out the method! Figure out a solution!'
Hicks looked at Lloyd with despair and resentment. He did not care about politeness or courtesy when they were about to be killed like dogs.
Lloyd accepted Hicks' resentment. There was no solution.
They could not speak and their bodies were not listening. They had not imagined that the cannibals would be so smart. An electric net on top of that.
'I'm sure he'll be watching?'
Lloyd suddenly thought about Cha Jun Sung. He was by far the best Lifer he has seen thus far. His comrade Park Jin Hyuk was no joke either.
Since they had spoken as if they would follow from behind, they could have been watching the scene. He hoped that they would come to the rescue, but the reality was the gutter. There were too many cannibals.
Cha Jun Sung needed to take some risk if they wanted to save the party. If any of the party members had to make the same choice, they would choose safety instead.
'Why aren't they killing us?'
The cannibals did not do anything other than observe them.
They played around and yelled. It felt like they were subordinates who had completed their tasks and were waiting to report to their seniors.
Keureung!
Kik!
They heard an uncanny cry.
The cannibals straightened their shoulders and stood to either side.
A mutant 2 heads taller than the cannibals came and walked over to the party members. Their expressions were that of horror.
'Evil Cannibal!'
'We're done. '
It was a desperate situation - the evil cannibal was an adult cannibal. Visually, it just looked longer, but it actually had 3 times the physical strength of a regular cannibal.
They could not guarantee beating it even if they had full use of their equipment.
Kuku!
The evil cannibal pushed its face toward the party members. They wanted to die every time the vicious pupil scanned over their entire bodies.
That would've been better than being ripped apart in a painful death.
Kwak!
Kyak!
The evil cannibal waved its hands and laid down orders. The cannibals were going to take them out of the net and take them to headquarters.
"Let me go, you assholes!"
"Ack!"
Puk puk!
As soon as the shock was released, Smith and Jamie struggled. The cannibals swung at their heads with their primitive bodies.
Since they were hit without their equipment, they just fell like corpses. This anger was vented on others as well.
All 8 people who were hit because of the 2 who struggled became quiet.
Kukya!
The cannibals were returning. They seemed to be happy because they succeeded in their hunt. A few even danced.
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