Capitalist Monster Hunter

Shouting for help in a world without Hopes or Dreams (4)

Ding!

As Yuseong was walking towards the Lamdon Central Research Institute, a new chat popped up in front of him.

[Trickster Goddess: Oh~ still alive, huh?]

“What’s with this? Does she want me dead or something?”

Yuseong frowned at the irritating message from the Trickster Goddess.

[Trickster Goddess: Why the long face? If it weren’t for me, you’d have kicked the bucket ages ago~]

She had a point. Without the salvation stone she sponsored, Yuseong might’ve been dead by now.

[Trickster Goddess: Can’t say anything when I hit you with facts, huh? LOL!]

[Trickster Goddess: Keep working hard. I’m not typing right now, but there are plenty of others lurking and watching you. Everyone was getting bored with all the Hunters just roaming around Earth, grinding in dungeons, so if you do well, maybe I’ll hook you up with some serious support!]

Yuseong was getting some attention.

Various gods and deities watched over the Hunters, and when they found one they liked, they would help or sponsor them.

Hunters called this the “Hunter Channel.” It was named because, like TV channels, gods and deities could watch different Hunters and switch between them.

Hunters casually came up with this name, but the gods seemed to like it, so it stuck and became a common term among them.

While watching the Hunter Channel, the gods often passed the time, but just like getting tired of the same delicious dish every day, they were getting bored of the repetitive lives of the Hunters.

Then Yuseong showed up. Due to a mistake by a support fairy, he ended up in a strange dimension that was completely different, with no magic or martial arts. Now he was a hot topic among the gods and deities.

This dimension was a parallel world to Earth, with no foundation for them to help him, making the gods very curious about how he would navigate this challenge.

To them, Yuseong was like a refreshing drink that eased their boredom.

Even if they weren’t saying anything now, many gods and deities were watching him closely.

[Trickster Goddess: If someone starts to like you, they might give you a great gift or even meet you in person! And you know those SSS-level Hunters, right?]

Of course he knew. He’d seen the strong ones on TV; SSS-level Hunters were ridiculously powerful and wealthy. Some kept their identities hidden, but most appeared on various TV shows.

In today’s world, even someone totally clueless would remember the names of their country’s SSS-level Hunters.

[Trickster Goddess: They got to that level because a few gods pushed them hard. Jealous, huh?]

“Of course I’m jealous.”

Who wouldn’t be? It was natural to envy them.

Superhuman strength!

Endless wealth!

A power that made even presidents and lawmakers feel small!

High-ranked Hunters had it all.

And…

“If I become strong, I could get revenge on that monster who killed my parents.”

Revenge was definitely possible.

Yuseong watched the news every day, checking if “that monster” who killed his parents had been taken down by the Hunters. He prayed that they’d succeed in avenging him.

If he became a strong Hunter, he could take revenge himself. It was completely understandable to be jealous.

[Trickster Goddess: If you impress us, you could end up like them. So make us laugh, okay? Hehehe!]

“Yeah, if I catch the gods’ attention, I could get strong too. But for now, I just need to survive here for a month.”

It was important to get strong enough to catch the gods’ attention, but if he died, it wouldn’t matter at all. For Yuseong, who had nothing to his name, surviving came first. He needed to live in order to get stronger.

Getting stronger could wait until he had survived here for a month.

“All right, forget everything else! Surviving for a month is the priority right now.”

Just as Yuseong made that promise, he heard Eve’s voice.

[We’ve arrived. This is the Lamdon Central Research Institute.]

Yuseong looked at the institute. It looked horrifying.

Through thick iron bars, he could see the corpses of people. Some were in white lab coats, and others were in combat suits.

The ones in lab coats were probably researchers, while the ones in combat suits were likely soldiers or security guards.

The corpses looked mangled, as if something had been feasting on them.

“Are you saying I have to go in there?”

[Yes. Research data is stored in the lab at the very back of the institute.]

Eve said this while projecting a holographic screen. The hologram appeared from a device on the right wrist of his suit.

Eve’s hologram displayed a 3D map of the institute’s layout.

[You are currently near the main entrance. Go through the entrance into the institute, and then head to the lab located at the back, as shown on the map. I’ve marked the fastest route, so just follow it.]

Following Eve’s guidance, Yuseong carefully entered the institute.

‘There were plenty of corpses outside, so why is it so quiet inside?’

The inside of the institute was eerily silent. But despite the quiet, it was a mess. Machines of unknown purpose lay scattered on the floor, and various equipment was scattered about. It looked like a storm had torn through the place.

He instinctively tensed up. Yuseong gripped his weapon tightly, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.

As he moved towards the lab, following Eve’s guidance, he suddenly stopped.

There was a metallic smell. A sharp, iron-like scent wafted through the air.

Yuseong pressed himself against the wall and peeked around the corner.

Crack! Crackle!

Under the flickering lights of the institute, he spotted the corpse of a researcher sprawled out. Two massive cockroaches were feasting on the body.

“Ugh!”

Having worked as a cleaner and dealt with pest control before, seeing cockroaches the size of medium-sized dogs was disgusting and revolting.

While the previous mansstag he’d seen was horrifying and scary, these cockroaches were just plain gross.

[Those are Croaches.]

‘Croaches…?’

They were evolved creatures created by mixing the genes of cockroaches and grasshoppers, so they looked totally different from the cockroaches he was used to. Their back legs were huge, and they seemed like they could jump right at his face.

‘Ugh, damn.’

Imagine a giant cockroach jumping at him was horrifying.

[Currently, only two Croaches have been confirmed, but more might come due to the gunfire, so let’s handle them with close-range weapons.]

“Use the energy sword?”

[Yes. If you attack the Croaches with the energy sword, you can take them out quietly and cleanly. A little of their bodily fluid might splatter on your suit, but you’ll have to deal with that.]

“Got it.”

As Yuseong finished his response, the suit activated and something wrapped around his head. It was a helmet.

[I’ve activated the helmet installed inside the suit as a precaution. It might feel a bit uncomfortable, but you’ll need to get used to it.]

No wonder his head felt oddly empty—the helmet was stored inside the suit. He didn’t know how it worked, but the technology here was impressive.

Tap! Tap tap!

Yuseong flicked his fingers against the wall to make some noise. The Croaches’ antennae started to twitch.

Shak! Shak!

The Croaches scurried around the corpse of the dead researcher, moving quickly as if searching for the source of the sound. They circled around the corpse and turned in Yuseong’s direction.

‘Come on.’

The Croaches, with their giant back legs, jumped right toward Yuseong’s hiding spot.

‘Now!’

Vwoooom!

Slash!

The Croach was sliced cleanly in half by Yuseong’s energy sword. After taking out one Croach, he immediately rushed towards another one lurking near the corpse.

Splat!

With a sickening crunch, something burst underfoot, and green fluid splattered onto his helmet.

“Ugh!”

Thank goodness he was wearing the helmet; just thinking about that fluid hitting his face made him feel like he might throw up.

“Ugh, that’s so sticky.”

As Yuseong lifted his foot from the squished Croach, sticky fluids clung to his suit, stretching out in long strands. He rubbed his foot against the wall a few times to wipe the Croach’s fluids off.

After taking care of the two Croaches, Yuseong looked down at the corpse of the dead researcher.

It seemed the Croaches had gnawed at the researcher’s face, making it almost unrecognizable. The skin covering his features was nearly ripped away.

[User Han Yuseong. Please find the ID card from the researcher’s corpse. The lab door can only be opened with an ID card.]

Yuseong picked up the ID card hanging from the dead researcher’s neck. The photo on the ID card showed a handsome Western-looking guy, likely quite popular with women.

“Hope you’re reborn in a world without bugs next time.”

Yuseong offered a short prayer as he looked down at the dead researcher.

He continued deeper into the institute, passing more corpses. The deeper he went, the more bodies he found.

Corpses of guards, researchers, even some looked like cleaners…

There were so many bodies, yet strangely, he didn’t see any more Croaches. Aside from the ones he had seen around the gnawed researcher, he couldn’t find any others.

“Something feels off.”

There were so many bodies, yet the ones responsible for all this hadn’t shown themselves. A sense of unease crept over Yuseong.

“Please don’t tell me they’ll all jump out at once later?”

In movies, monsters often sprang out from vents or exhausts. But that was just in movies. Still, Yuseong kept walking, hoping it wouldn’t happen to him.

Clunk!

Without hearing the ominous sound coming from the vent…