EP.19 Interlude

 

 

 

Author Note: (There is a scene where the lights go out midway. Watching from there with a black screen will enhance your immersion.)

 

Meanwhile, as Parang popped her head out of the water off the coast of Hong Kong, the world continued to face relentless waves of upheaval.

 

– Tap-tap –

 

Shin Yuna tapped her phone with a slightly gloomy expression, alone in her room.

 

It was because of the text conversation she had right after Parang’s broadcast ended.

 

Shin Yuna: Hunter, Hunter

 

Shin Yuna: (Photo of an unmanned submarine)

 

Shin Yuna: What do you think of this? It’s an unmanned submarine. I was thinking of sending it down to the sea. It can have a camera, a self-destruct function, and even torpedoes.

 

Yu Parang: No. It’s really unfortunate because it looks like you put a lot of effort into it, but it’s too dangerous.

 

Shin Yuna: But I’m not the one going down, right? It’s fine to see Galecus through the screen, isn’t it?

 

Yu Parang: No.

 

Shin Yuna: Okay.

 

Her ambitious attempt to venture into the deep sea was thwarted.

 

Of course, one might question why she needed Parang’s permission to do what she wanted. After all, Parang wasn’t her mother.

 

To put it simply, she needed permission. More accurately, Yuna herself had no intention of going down without Parang’s OK sign.

 

No matter how curious she was or how much fun it was to learn, if a professional who had spent years in that environment said not to do it, it was best not to.

 

If Parang said it was too dangerous to even send an unmanned submarine to view things from a screen, it meant there was something truly dangerous even to see from a screen.

 

Having encountered and been mesmerized by monsters, and having nearly died in the process, Yuna could make that judgment. If told not to, it was best not to.

 

So, she lay on her bed, tapping her phone.

 

She was feeling down because all her hard work had gone to waste.

 

Her mind understood that giving up was the right thing to do, but understanding and feeling were two different things.

 

Wondering what to watch, she entered the <Hunter Gallery>.

 

[ Today’s Yu Parang Broadcast Highlights ] [78]

 

[ Damn, I also want to watch Yu Parang’s broadcast till the end ] [51]

 

[ What’s this live thing, Hunter Gallery? ] [33]

 

[ Has Yu Parang’s next broadcast schedule been announced???? ] [45]

 

[ Lol, you scaredy-cats. I’m still diving. You guys can live on land forever. ] [34]

 

The community was burning with discussions about Yu Parang as usual.

 

The name <Hunter Gallery> became meaningless whenever Parang started her broadcast.

 

She slowly scrolled down, carefully reading the popular posts.

 

[ Today’s Yu Parang Broadcast Highlights ]

 

[ Author: ㅇㅇ ]

 

Combined with the first part ㅇㅇ

 

(GIF of Makula crawling around the first object in the East China Sea)

 

(GIF of Makula’s mouth)

 

(GIF of Makula exploding in a burst of flesh and blood)

 

…

 

(Screen capture GIF of Tubuka’s eye being pierced)

 

─They look really messed up

 

ㄴ Seriously, they look like they were designed by a madman

 

─So disgusting, damn it

 

─Why do the glimpses of her fingers look so pretty in the middle?

 

ㄴ This guy always writes praise posts about Yu Parang

 

“Hmm….”

 

What is this? Last time, just seeing Galecus’s egg made her turn off her phone immediately, but now it didn’t bother her at all.

 

Maybe she had gotten used to it from seeing it so often.

 

[ Damn, I also want to watch Yu Parang’s broadcast till the end ]

 

[ Author: ㅇㅇ ]

 

Last time with Galecus, it was really fun, but I had to leave halfway, so I never saw the monster finishing scenes, damn it.

 

─You too?

 

─Those clips are already uploaded by YouTube channels.

 

ㄴ I know, but they’re too disgusting to watch.

 

─I deliberately watch in 144p resolution.

 

ㄴ What about the sound then?

 

ㄴ That’s what I should have figured out earlier, damn it.

 

ㄴ Lolololololol

 

ㄴ What’s this, damn it, lolololol

 

[ What’s this live thing, Hunter Gallery? ]

 

[ Author: ㅇㅇ ]

 

(Photo of a black latex suit discarded at a recycling station. The zipper appears to have been forcibly torn apart as if someone tried to close it unsuccessfully.)

 

Found this while taking out the recycling. Who the hell left this here, damn it?

 

─What the hell, lol

 

─Isn’t that the guy from the popular post last time?

 

ㄴ Who’s that guy?

 

ㄴ (Link)

 

ㄴ Damn, lolololololol

 

─Is that for women?

 

ㄴ No, it’s for men.

 

ㄴ Oh… Where is this place?

 

ㄴ Why are you asking, you crazy bastard?

 

ㄴ What’s with this guy, damn it, lolololol

 

[ Has Yu Parang’s next broadcast schedule been announced???? ]

 

[ Author: ㅇㅇ ]

 

There’s nothing like that. Just look at some gross pics.

 

(GIF of Makula crawling around the first object in the East China Sea)

 

…

 

…

 

(Screen capture GIF of Tubuka’s eye being pierced)

 

─Ah, gross, damn it

 

─? But something seems off

 

─It’s the same photos as the post above, lol

 

ㄴ Seriously, lol

 

ㄴ It’s really messed up, lolololol

 

─Every broadcast brings out gross pics…

 

Yuna chuckled as she browsed the community. Watching these funny posts was the best cure for her gloom.

 

Having skimmed through the popular posts, she decided to read a few recent general posts before logging off.

 

Switching to the general posts tab, she saw a shocking title at the very top.

 

[ Isn’t this Yu Parang’s house? ]

 

[ Author: ㅇㅇ ]

 

(A photo taken from a mountain, looking down at the village where Parang lives. The lens seems overly zoomed, making the photo a bit blurry. However, the distinct white exterior of Parang’s house is clearly visible.)

 

Took this while hiking. What is this?

 

There were no comments, and the post had only three views.

 

Judging by the upload time, Yuna had opened the page almost simultaneously with the post going up.

 

A cold shiver ran down her spine, and goosebumps covered her skin.

 

What if this person had malicious intentions? What if this photo spread and attracted people with ill intentions towards Yu Parang?

 

Objectively speaking, Parang was very beautiful.

 

Yuna, who had declared her all-in for Yu Parang, couldn’t stand the thought of such a scenario.

 

She quickly sent a message to Yu Parang and then pulled out her design papers, frantically sketching something.

 

She didn’t forget to contact her fellow hunter-engineers.

 

Meanwhile…

 

[ This post has been deleted. ]

 

“What the hell?”

 

A-rank hunter Kim Seojin felt something was off.

 

The post he had uploaded was deleted in less than two seconds.

 

The only excitement in his monotonous hunter life came from the attention he received on the community.

 

As unbelievable as it might sound, there were quite a few people like him in the world.

 

Anyway, he was puzzled.

 

‘Why isn’t this going up?’

 

He had driven all the way to Pohang to find Yu Parang’s house.

 

His plan was to first enjoy the reactions on the community and then report it to a second-rate magazine for some cash.

 

Isn’t that order reversed? No, it wasn’t. The attention he received from the community was his primary goal.

 

For an A-rank hunter, the fee from a magazine wasn’t even a day’s wage.

 

Surprisingly, there were quite a few people like him in the world.

 

Anyway, he was frustrated that he couldn’t upload his post.

 

He had tried to upload it right after taking the photo on the mountain, but it failed due to poor signal.

 

He tried again at home on his computer, but it was deleted in two seconds.

 

A post that would have received an enormous number of upvotes couldn’t be uploaded.

 

It wasn’t like the moderators, who didn’t even cut Galecus eggs, would delete this. It must have been a blind shot by an admin.

 

He tried to write the same post again on the community.

 

Or rather, he tried to.

 

[ You cannot write posts with a blocked account. ]

 

[ Reason for block: Stop it. ]

 

‘What the hell?’

 

Blocked? Why would he be blocked when he had never posted anything offensive?

 

Thinking it might be an IP error, he connected to a different Wi-Fi network, but still,

 

[ You cannot write posts with a blocked account. ]

 

[ Reason for block: Stop it. ]

 

“No, seriously, what is this?”

 

Did the server admin spill tteokbokki on the server computer again?

 

Fine, let’s see who wins. Determined, he quickly rewrote the post and hit the upload button.

 

Suddenly, the computer screen turned completely red, with large black letters appearing.

 

 

“Ah!!”

 

He was startled by the sudden appearance, something that was unlike him.

 

“What, what is this, damn it.”

 

What is this? An error?

 

No, it was too eerie to be just an error.

 

“Damn it. This is creepy. My luck is really bad today.”

 

He decided to think of it as a simple machine malfunction. It was easier on his mind that way.

 

It was late at night, so he decided to call someone to fix it tomorrow. He would just turn it off and go to bed.

 

However,

 

– Click, click. –

 

“What, what is this? Why won’t it turn off?”

 

The computer, displaying the red screen, showed no signs of shutting down.

 

Just the red screen.

 

And suddenly, the lights in the house went out.

 

“What, what the hell!”

 

A power outage? But why didn’t the computer turn off?

 

In the pitch-black house, the red screen and black letters stood out ominously.

 

Even for an A-rank hunter like him, the scene was unsettling.

 

He decided he would sleep outside tonight. As he made up his mind and tried to leave the room,

 

“Stop it.”

 

“Ah, ahhh!!”

 

A voice suddenly echoed.

 

“What, what the hell!! Who’s there, come out!!!”

 

Seojin grabbed whatever he could find and scanned his surroundings.

 

But the voice showed no signs of stopping.

 

“Stop it.”

 

“Stop it.”

 

“Stop it.”

 

“Stop it.”

 

The voices sounded like a chaotic choir of people of all ages, but unlike a harmonious choir, the voices were jumbled and forcibly mixed together.

 

“Damn it!! Come out!! I’m an A-rank hunter. Who’s playing tricks here!!”

 

Listening closely, it seemed the sound was coming from the computer. Maybe it was some kind of hacking tool.

 

Hacking a computer made by Silo Corporation was practically impossible. Even the highly skilled Shin Yuna couldn’t breach its basic security.

 

So, it was definitely not the work of a hacker, but Seojin decided to think of it that way.

 

It was much less terrifying to believe he had been targeted by a mischievous hacker.

 

Regaining some of his confidence, he shouted,

 

“You little rat, only good at messing with machines. You’re dead if I catch you.”

 

He blurted out whatever came to mind.

 

But it didn’t matter.

 

“Stop it.”

 

This time, the voice came from the living room.

 

With trembling steps, he walked over and kicked open the door, only to find the dark living room illuminated solely by the TV.

 

The same voice emanated from the TV, just like from the computer.

 

Seojin’s legs and arms began to shake uncontrollably.

 

 

And it wasn’t just the TV. Other appliances started one by one.

 

The washing machine, water purifier, rice cooker, robot vacuum, air purifier, Bluetooth speaker.

 

Every appliance in the house that could speak started talking from all directions.

 

All Silo Corporation products.

 

“Stop it.”

 

– Buzzzzz!!! Buzzzzz!!!!! Buzzzzz!!!! –

 

His phone, which was supposed to be on silent, buzzed madly.

 

With trembling hands, he looked at the phone screen and saw 999 missed messages.

 

Stop it.

 

Stop it.

 

Stop it.

 

Stop it.

 

Stop it.

 

At this point, he was too terrified to bear it.

 

The moment the safest place turned into a scene of horror, humans feel extreme fear.

 

In his pajamas, he ran to the front door.

 

“Ah, ahhhhh!!!”

 

From his phone, which he hadn’t even answered, came the same voice.

 

“Stop it.”

 

He frantically struggled to open the electronic door lock.

 

A simple push from inside should open it.

 

However, even his last hope, the door lock, spoke to him.

 

“Stop it.”

 

The door wouldn’t open. He banged on it, rammed it with his body, pleaded, and raged.

 

For a full 30 minutes.

 

For 30 minutes, no one came to Seojin’s aid.

 

“Stop it.”

 

“Ahhhhh!!! Damn it!!!! Why are you doing this to meeeee!!!!!!!!”

 

Finally, he collapsed in front of the door, clutching his head.

 

And then, silence. Nothing could be heard or seen.

 

The last whisper from the door lock,

 

“Stop it.”

 

The lights in the house turned on, and all the appliances returned to their normal state, as if nothing had happened.

 

“Ha… ha… damn it…”

 

From that day on, Kim Seojin quit the community and lost all interest in Yu Parang the hunter.

 

He tried to throw out all the appliances in his house and replace them with non-Silo Corporation products, but he failed.

 

He couldn’t find any appliances that weren’t made by Silo Corporation.