The Hunter's Gonna Lay Low-Chapter 210

"Wake up the ones sleeping next to you. We haven't even had lunch yet, so why are they dozing off?"

*Click,* the sound of a pen being clicked. *Scratch, scratch,* the sound of someone doodling on paper. *Rustle,* the sound of clothes brushing against each other. *Snap,* the sound of a hand mirror being closed. *Giggle, giggle,* soft laughter exchanged in whispers.

The classroom was filled with noise, not just the teacher’s voice.

‘This is distracting...’

*Snap,* the lead of the mechanical pencil broke. Gaeul sighed softly. She pressed the end of the pencil to release more lead. The spring clicked back into place. Ever since her awakening, this had been one of the most uncomfortable things—having to hear sounds she didn’t want to hear. Resisting the urge to cover her ears, Gaeul glanced out the window. The wind blew through the half-open window, causing the curtain to flutter.

As the wind died down, the curtain settled.

"......."

Dayeon, who sat by the window, was staring blankly outside, her hand grazing her neck, a troubled expression on her face. *What’s she looking at? Is there something out there?* Curious, Gaeul followed her gaze outside. And then—

She saw a crowd dressed in white.

**We must stop the end with human strength.**

Her breath caught in her throat. The red letters etched into her vision like a bolt of lightning. *The End.* Instinct screamed at her—*No one must see this.* But how could she stop it? There was still plenty of time left in class.

At that moment, the teacher tapped on the blackboard.

"Come on, stop staring out the window and focus here. Did an idol show up outside?"

Gaeul snapped her head up, but it was already too late. The students’ attention had shifted to the window. At the same time, Gaeul put down her pencil. *This is bad!* She stood up abruptly from her seat. But then—

"......."

She froze.

In the sky, a bright white hole, brighter than the sun, glowed ominously. It was blinding, as if she were staring at the sun directly. Gaeul squinted.

This was the third end to approach after two prior cataclysms. Even though time had been rewound, her soul remained the same, and with it, the fear engraved into it. An instinctive fear.

A chill ran down her spine. Her stomach churned, and cold sweat broke out. Every tiny hair on her body stood on end. Gaeul glanced around the room. Everyone else wore similarly uncomfortable expressions.

Some were rubbing their necks, others their arms, some even covered their eyes or tapped their feet nervously. Everyone was touching a part of their body, unaware of what they were doing.

Gaeul realized she had been rubbing her chest, and quickly stopped. *This isn’t the time for this.* She rushed to the window and yanked the curtains shut. *Shrrr,* the sound was harsh, but no one paid her any attention.

With the curtains drawn, she gripped the fabric tightly, catching her breath. It was eerily quiet. The world spun around her. *Am I scared right now?*

No. It wasn’t her. Not exactly.

It was the remnants of Yoon Gaeul, the one who had witnessed the end, seeping into her.

*I’m scared...*

Yoon Gaeul, who had survived the end twice, was terrified. Her instincts were warning her—the end was near.

Frantically, Gaeul pulled out her phone, though her vision kept flickering.

---

*Boom!*

A cloud of white dust rose like a puff of smoke before slowly settling. A massive goat, entangled in thick vines, collapsed to the ground. Kang Jisoo brushed the dirt off her hands while Bae Wonwoo lowered the shield he had been holding in front of them. Behind them, the research team rushed toward the fallen goat, followed closely «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» by the gathering guilds they had hired. Bae Wonwoo scratched his head.

“...Should we have gone with them?”

“Why bother? You’re the deputy guild leader, not a babysitter.”

“Still, it’s a little worrying, leaving Sayoung on his own. Who knows whose shoulder he might break this time...”

“Yeah, that is kind of concerning...”

Kang Jisoo scratched her head. While Lee Sayoung had been unconscious, Bae Wonwoo had attended the General Assembly in his place. Thanks to Bae’s generally friendly relationship with most hunters, there hadn’t been any problems, but with Sayoung... Bae Wonwoo glanced at Jisoo with a worried expression.

“He wouldn’t pick a fight, would he?”

“Didn’t the Director herself organize this assembly? I doubt she’d let things get out of hand.”

“Well, still...”

“Honestly, you’re overprotective. Instead of worrying about that, think about what we should eat for lunch.”

“Hangover...”

“Ugh. The hangover soup restaurant is closed.”

“I know, that’s why I stopped myself from saying it.”

Bae Wonwoo stared at the goat being quickly disassembled with a troubled look. The skilled gatherers were efficiently separating the goat’s hide, horns, bones, organs, and mana stones. The research team from Wave Guild eagerly watched, their eyes gleaming with anticipation. Yawning in boredom, Kang Jisoo muttered,

“Let’s just make some cup ramen. I’m too lazy for anything else.”

“Sure...”

“You’re okay with cup ramen? What’s gotten into you? Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about the guild leader?”

“No... it’s just, if Sayoung throws a fit, the Director might call us in. That would be... unpleasant.”

“Think of it this way—you being there wouldn’t stop him from causing trouble anyway.”

“Deputy Guild Leader.”

The team leader from the research team hurried over. Wearing a thick white protective suit, the team leader nodded respectfully, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“We’ve finished gathering the samples! Thank you for bringing us here. We believe we’ll be able to extract significant comparative data from this.”

“Oh, well, good job. Is there anything else we need to check? Last time, you were even collecting rock fragments.”

“The gathering guilds are taking care of that for us. Haha, life is finally looking up, and it’s all thanks to you sticking by the guild leader to get the permit.”

“Nah, it was the guild leader who signed the papers.”

Bae Wonwoo waved dismissively. The middle-aged team leader smiled brightly, looking more like a child than a man his age.

“We’ll take the samples straight to the lab. Thank you again!”

“Sure, we’ll be on our way now.”

The two of them walked leisurely out of the dungeon and climbed into the van parked near the entrance. As Bae Wonwoo started the engine, he let out a long yawn. Jisoo, sitting in the passenger seat, shrugged.

“How about we go get some pasta?”

“I don’t eat that foreign crap.”

“Alright then, go stuff yourself with banquet noodles or whatever.”

The black van pulled out smoothly. Kang Jisoo, seated cross-legged in the passenger seat, began searching for restaurants on her phone. With all the “foreign” foods excluded, there wasn’t much left to choose from.

Sure, the hangover soup restaurant was reliable, but they’d eaten there so often it had gotten boring. She smacked her lips. Then she noticed something odd. The van was speeding up.

“What are you doing, Deputy Guild Leader? Trying to get a ticket?”

"......."

“...Deputy Guild Leader?”

Jisoo glanced to her side. Bae Wonwoo’s face was contorted strangely, sweat glistening on his temples. His hands on the steering wheel were trembling badly. And then, without warning, he slumped over onto the steering wheel. *Beeeeep!* The horn blared.

“Oh, crap! What the hell, Bae Wonwoo! Hey! You idiot!”

Frantically, Kang Jisoo shoved her hand under Bae’s collapsed body and grabbed the steering wheel. The pedestrian crossing was just ahead, and there were white shapes on the road, but she didn’t have time to figure out what they were. Right now, stopping the van from crashing was the priority. There was no way she could hit people or other cars!

“Dammit, I don’t even have a driver’s license!”

She gritted her teeth and yanked the wheel as hard as she could. *Screech!* The vehicle swerved violently, and thick vines shot up, obstructing her view. Screams were drowned out by the noise.

---

Meanwhile, Uijae glanced down at the wristwatch on his arm. Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell the time—only that the hands were constantly moving. Uijae puffed his cheeks in frustration behind his mask. The General Assembly, despite its name, was nothing but shouting matches and endless repetition of the same complaints. Most of it came from small and mid-sized guilds that had lost their hunters. Someone raised their voice angrily.

“At this point, the Bureau should be looking for a solution. What, are you just going to wait until only the rankers are left? Are low-ranked hunters not even considered hunters anymore?”

“Please, calm down...”

“You think we don’t know? Laughing at us behind our backs, saying hunters who get kidnapped deserve it!”

“That’s not it at all. I don’t know where you heard that, but...”

“Sure, sure. I understand how you feel. Many hunters from guild

s affiliated with our Samra Guild have also been kidnapped...”

Song Joheon interjected with a sad expression. He stood up and approached the disgruntled hunter, patting him on the shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

“We, meaning both myself and the Awakener Management Bureau, have searched in many ways, but we’ve been unable to find them. It’s our failure.”

"......."

“I apologize on behalf of all of us. Truly.”

“N-no, it’s not...”

Song Joheon bowed deeply. At the same time, Ham Seok-jeong spoke up.

“So, Samra Guild hasn’t been able to find anything?”

"......."

Song Joheon straightened up, glaring sharply at Ham Seok-jeong. She shook her head slightly.

“What I’m saying is...”

“The Awakener Management Bureau has identified the group responsible for kidnapping the hunters. However, we’ve been hesitant to pursue them recklessly. You’re all aware of the drugs circulating among the hunters, aren’t you?”

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

"......."

“You’ve likely heard rumors. It’s known as the drug that gifts hunters with peaceful sleep.”

Uijae glanced at Ham Seok-jeong, then shifted his gaze to Jung Bin, who stood behind her.

“The group responsible for kidnapping the hunters is connected to the ones manufacturing and distributing the drug.”

Jung Bin was rubbing his neck.

"......."

No, he wasn’t just rubbing his neck. He was gripping it tightly, as if strangling himself. His face had turned a ghastly shade of pale. Uijae quickly turned to look at Sayoung, who was sitting next to him.

"......."

Sayoung had his head bowed, as if he were about to collapse onto the table.

______________________

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