Chapter 3 …
Neighborhood Patrol (2)
“Whoa…”
The object the men pulled out of their bags was a steel cage.
As they took them out one by one and stacked them neatly, the client let out a sigh of admiration. Then, leaning their face close to the steel cage, they peered inside.
Inside the cage slept a monster.
If it weren’t asleep, it would have surely attacked the client who had thrust their face right up to the bars.
A sickle weasel, a bomb-tailed raccoon, a shadow ferret…
Even from a distance, spying secretly, Choi Yeon immediately recognized the monsters.
They were familiar from the F- to E-ranked dungeons in Daejeon.
So this wasn’t human trafficking—it was an illicit trade of wild monsters.
“Hmm…”
“……”
Once all the cages were out, the men who had been keeping their distance stared at the client suspiciously.
They couldn’t understand the client’s affectionate gaze at the monsters.
Though they tried not to reveal it—after all, the client was the one paying—they couldn’t control the feelings that had inadvertently slipped out.
If there was any luck in this, it was that the client was too absorbed in peering into the cages to pay attention to them.
“But… they’re all asleep, huh?”
“Yes. We used a sleeping fragrance we manufactured ourselves at the Haedream Detective Agency. There are no side effects, so no need to worry.”
“Ah. I like that method.”
“Thank you.”
The man on the left answered cautiously.
Even though the client complimented them, they couldn’t simply say thanks. They hadn’t fulfilled the promised quota by today.
And adding an apology would probably make things worse. So, following the old saying, “Silence is golden,” the men remained quiet.
Rustle…
At that moment, something scraped along the floor beneath their feet.
“Ugh…!”
Startled, one of the men looked down and froze.
A green snake was slithering across the floor toward the client.
Seeing it, the man let out a shrill shout.
“Ah, be careful!”
“It’s okay.”
But the client remained calm.
They even reached out their hand toward the snake that had slithered to their feet.
Slith, slith…
The snake climbed up the client’s right arm and soon coiled around their neck.
Its tail draped across their chest as naturally as if it were a single strand of hair.
Hiss, hiss!
The snake pressed its mouth near the client’s ear and hissed repeatedly.
It seemed as if it were speaking.
“Oh my. Is that so?”
The client answered, as if they hadn’t misheard.
Were they really having a conversation with a snake? Really?
Ignoring the men who looked at each other in bewilderment, the client focused on the snake’s hissing.
Occasionally, they would respond with a simple, “Mm, I see.”
Seconds passed like this.
Finally, the snake closed its mouth, as if it had conveyed all it needed to say.
“Hehe.”
The client suddenly laughed.
Turning their head, they looked over the men’s shoulders.
Their gaze landed on a pillar—where Choi Yeon was hiding.
“So you’ve been caught,” a voice drifted toward the disappointed Choi Yeon.
“Come out, uninvited guest. Or should I attack?”
Hoo…
Choi Yeon exhaled, thinking about the three options he could take.
First, leave quietly.
Second, leave while attacking.
Third, flee as fast as possible.
For human Choi Yeon, the choice was obviously the third.
It was best to get as far away as possible from a situation bound to be troublesome.
Unfortunately, Choi Yeon was a Dongdae Hunter.
He had been hired by the government to handle exactly these kinds of troublesome tasks.
He couldn’t just run away, so he decided to leave the pillar.
Naturally, the first option was out.
Would they handcuff themselves voluntarily? Of course not.
Choi Yeon pulled throwing daggers from his coat and threw them as he emerged.
Thunk! Thwack!
The daggers flew through the air, sinking into flesh with a sharp sound.
“Argh…!”
“Ugh…!”
But there were only two screams.
One dagger had failed to reach its target and had been bitten by the snake.
Crunch, gulp!
The snake chewed and swallowed it.
Seeing the client simply watch lovingly without intervening, Choi Yeon realized this must have happened often, and that there would be no real harm to the snake.
Could that… snake actually be a monster?
Choi Yeon stopped his attack.
Attacking an unknown monster recklessly would be useless.
Identifying what the snake truly was took priority.
At that moment, the snake whispered into the client’s ear again.
Hiss, hiss.
“Oh my. Really? Are you okay?”
A concerned expression appeared on the client’s face.
The snake nodded.
“Yes, that’s a relief.”
Swish, swish.
The client stroked under the snake’s jaw and looked down at the men.
They lay sprawled on the floor, groaning in pain, clutching the daggers lodged in their bodies.
Despite being attacked, they neither drew out the daggers nor treated their wounds.
Even former hunters would not behave like that unless they were incapacitated.
The reason was clear…
“I’ve never seen a Dongdae Hunter using poisoned weapons before. Ah, you are a Dongdae Hunter, right? Mr. Silmyeon?”
“…Dongdae Hunter Choi Yeon.”
Choi Yeon answered willingly.
There was nothing to hide; it was all publicly available on the Dongdae website.
“Nice to meet you. I’m… um, a tamer. My name is a secret.”
“Yeah, I guessed as much.”
No surprise there.
Would a criminal encountered at a crime scene obediently reveal their name?
If they did, it would be more surprising—perhaps they were a bit naive.
“This is tricky… Honestly, I’d like to avoid unnecessary battles.”
“Then come with us to Dongdae. If you turn yourself in, there’s room for leniency. If you have a record, it’s different, but… you don’t, right?”
“Haha.”
The tamer smiled briefly.
It was a pure smile, but clearly signaled refusal.
“How about this? I’ll take these kids and leave quietly. I promise not to return.”
“So, can I just pretend I didn’t see anything?”
“That’s it exactly.”
“Honestly tempting, but if I do that, Captain Kim would scold me. I’d also have to write a report disguised as a reflection statement.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Well… can’t be helped, then.”
The only option left was to leave and forget it.
The androgynous voice echoed under the Hyeonam Bridge.
The snake unwound from around the client’s neck.
With each coil released, it moved faster, like the blade of a chainsaw spinning.
Even that was startling—but it wasn’t over.
The snake’s body had grown.
As if compressed and released, it stretched to reach where Choi Yeon stood with his dagger drawn.
Thwack!
The log-like tail struck Choi Yeon’s body.
He was sent flying, but he reacted immediately.
In an instant, he leapt powerfully in the direction the tail would hit.
Late, but it was the best he could do. His refusal to give up paid off.
Without panicking, he pulled a capsule from his hip holster and pressed the button on the oval-shaped device.
Peeeew, pop!
A wire shot out like an arrow.
Anchoring like tree roots into the concrete pillar, the wire tightened and redirected Choi Yeon’s trajectory.
It bent around one nearby pillar, then another.
As a result, Choi Yeon, who had been thrown by the snake’s tail, was now rushing toward the tamer instead.
Releasing the wire, Choi Yeon aimed his dagger at the tamer.
“…!”
The tamer stared in surprise.
He stood still, but Choi Yeon’s attack didn’t reach him. The approaching snake tail struck the dagger aside.
Swish!
The swinging tail surged toward Choi Yeon again.
“Whoa…”
The tamer gasped.
He was quite surprised to see a Dongdae Hunter dodging his partner’s attacks.
Though his cheek and thigh were grazed, it was far better than the initial hit that sent him flying.
And it wasn’t over.
With each clash, the hunter gradually avoided the tail more easily.
At this rate, he might not only evade but counterattack.
The Dongdae Hunter’s movements looked almost fluid, and that thought even crossed his mind.
Was it too much to think that way?
“…”
He couldn’t say no.
The partner’s attacks no longer touched the hunter.
It was strange—too strange.
“…Enough.”
The snake froze. It coiled back around its master.
Choi Yeon exhaled, watching the scene.
He thought of attacking but decided against it. Just evading was already taxing enough. There was no need to chase the snake through the forest unnecessarily.
“Hmm…”
Tap, tap.
The tamer crossed his arms and tapped his lower lip with his index finger, clearly pondering.
Stopping the snake?
Catching off guard, Choi Yeon stopped reaching for another throwing dagger.
Unlike its master, the giant snake was watching him closely.
Throwing a dagger would only serve as a treat for the snake.
The paralysis poison on the blade hadn’t even worked.
“…This is really strange.”
The usually quiet tamer spoke.
The tapping finger on his lower lip remained, showing his deliberation was not yet complete.
“The people from that detective agency said the Dongdae Hunters here are incompetent.”
What?
Choi Yeon’s eyes twitched with rising anger.
Seeing him glaring at the sprawled men, the tamer chuckled softly.
“I looked into it just in case, and their nickname is really ‘Incompetent Dongdae.’ They’ve been called that since they failed to disband the vigilante group… is that right?”
“Ugh…”
Choi Yeon groaned. Not denying it, but effectively acknowledging it.
“I left this job to them instead of the top secret societies or Red Blood Society, and arranged a meeting at this hour… and now we’ve been caught. What timing…”
Thunk.
The tamer’s finger pointed at Choi Yeon.
“For some reason, to someone as skilled as you, Choi Yeon…”
“Skilled? I don’t know why anyone would say that. I was caught while spying, attacked, hit by your partner, and barely returned. You just saw me scrambling to evade, didn’t you?”
“Oh my, how curious. That does make you sound incompetent. But in reality, we know it’s not true, right?”
“Well… I don’t really know.”
Hehe.
The tamer smiled and stepped forward.
Choi Yeon’s expression twisted. He knew this would happen…
At that moment:
“…?”
The tamer’s gaze shifted away from Choi Yeon.
The relaxed eyes were gone, replaced with a sharp focus on a distant point.
Hiss!
The snake hissed loudly.
Choi Yeon didn’t understand the words, but he knew what it meant:
A dangerous presence was approaching.
“Ah, so that’s why you’ve only been evading—you’ve already called for backup, right?”
The tamer looked back at Choi Yeon.
Naturally, he assumed someone arriving would be the hunter’s allies.
In truth, no one had been called.
Choi Yeon had been caught hiding behind the pillar and had no time to notify anyone.
Yet he believed without doubt.
Even without reports reaching the tailing agent, how would Captain Kim Jae-sang and Choi Hee-seok act?
Instead of revealing the truth, Choi Yeon shrugged, a plausible smile on his face.
“Really… who on earth came up with the nickname ‘Incompetent Dongdae’…?”
“……”
Sigh… can’t be helped.
The tamer shook his head.
Then, with a spring, he leapt onto the snake’s back.
The neatly stacked steel cages were left untouched.
“This time, I’ll give up cleanly. See you next time, Choi Yeon.”
“If you turn yourself in.”
“You’re teasing!”
With that, the tamer departed from Hyeonam Bridge.
The massive snake leapt and disappeared into the distance in an instant.
“…There’s no way I can chase that.”
Choi Yeon muttered in disbelief. His voice quietly echoed through the courtyard.
BANG!
It was drowned out by someone leaping from Hyeonam Bridge.
The undisputed ace of Seonhwa Dongdae, a 27-year veteran.
B-rank Hunter Choi Hee-seok.
“If it were me…”
With a large horn strapped to his right shoulder, Choi Hee-seok sprinted forward.
He didn’t look back once, and in a flash, he became too small to see.
“Now, then…”
Choi Yeon turned his body.
He put away the dagger in his hand and pulled out throwing daggers.
He spoke to the men who were still paralyzed.
“Shall we have a leisurely chat?”
The blades of his throwing daggers gleamed sharply.
Or perhaps the gleam came from the poison on them.
Or… maybe it wasn’t poison at all.
