Ch.160160. Byproducts of the Ancient Species

In the future I saw, there was no monster like that. Even if it was an animal or plant, it would only be attached to an animal. Or perhaps artificially modified by mutants?

In other words, it was just an obstacle, not a real threat.

But this plant monster before me was different.

Its vines whipped around with incredible speed.

Even I, an evolved being, perceived it as fast.

[Curse Erosion, Poison, Paralysis]

Debuffs threatening an evolved being’s body were being sprayed everywhere.

I could see massive petals fluttering before me.

This was a first—fighting an enemy without any prior information.

The mechanical werewolf’s circuits were activating.

[Wild Judgment]

The current surroundings were displayed, showing me the optimal route.

Especially since the black spider kept creating obstacles in the environment with its webs.

[Trait Comprehender]

-Ignores the opponent’s traits.

[Steel Roar]

-Reduces the power of opponent’s skills

My traits began to shine all at once.

I was calculating how to move.

[Skills]

-Wolf Blade

-Mana Charge

-High-Speed Movement

In an instant, as my skills illuminated, my claws merged into the form of a sword.

The spider webs hanging before me were all blocking the path to that plant.

It’s not about removing debuffs. It’s about ignoring the opponent’s traits.

Spider webs are clearly obstacles.

“I’ll blow them away.”

The missile batteries on my shoulders and waist moved in unison.

I fired missiles precisely at the locations Wild Judgment indicated.

The moment the spider webs were engulfed in flames, my body moved.

I didn’t care about the spider. I needed to eliminate that flower.

[Sub Cards]

-Attribute Conversion

-Heat Ray Laser

Using my Attribute Conversion sub card to change to fire attribute, I equipped the Heat Ray Laser card.

My other hand transformed, emitting a hot laser.

The sight of the laser firing in a straight line was satisfying.

Not as powerful as against the whale, but a clearly intense beam of light was heading toward that plant monster.

But before my eyes, the plant turned red. It wasn’t burning.

It was absorbing the energy I fired while swinging its tentacles.

[Output reduced due to current debuffs]

The moment I blocked with my sword, I felt the heat of the laser.

Was the opponent capable of absorbing the energy I fired?

Thinking quickly, I immediately replaced the Attribute Conversion card.

[Stat Up]

To compensate for my debuff-reduced movement, I used the Stat Up card.

But at that moment, the petals suddenly moved.

The grotesquely twisted flower stem turned toward me.

I understood what it was.

Though the enemy’s identity was unknown, I recognized that attack.

As I tried to escape, spider webs were already falling from above.

So what? I slashed through them with my sword as I jumped.

A massive laser was suddenly firing at where I had just been.

[Monster fighting techniques are useful even against unfamiliar enemies. Observe their traits, throw out some probing attacks, then establish countermeasures.]

My former self would have been shaken by an unfamiliar enemy.

But now, I found an opening with just that one attack.

I fired the Heat Ray Laser again to buy time.

To make it attack again.

The target now should be the spider.

My batteries fired toward the spider as the Heat Ray Laser stopped functioning.

[Black Spider eliminated!]

Points came in, and just as the monster began to move, I approached immediately with High-Speed Movement.

If it wants to release my energy, it needs to go through the same process as before. That’s the opening.

I deliberately lured and targeted it.

The moment it extended its head, my sword immediately severed its neck.

[Trait Nullification]

Confirming that the opponent had some defensive measures, I finally brought it down.

[Ancient Plant Species eliminated!]

“Ancient Plant Species?”

An enemy I’d never seen before was an ancient plant species? For a moment, I recalled the vision shown by the Awakening Card.

But aren’t ancient species supposed to be enormous? This was just a slightly larger monster.

No, this isn’t the time to worry about that. The important thing is rescuing the kidnapped children.

Hastily slicing through the tightly closed barrier with my sword, a hidden place was revealed.

The writhing terrain soon quieted, and I was searching for my destination using Wild Judgment.

It was more normally structured than it appeared. There was even light inside the underground area.

So this is where the kidnappings happened. But my senses told me something was strange beyond that door.

It was noisy.

I could hear loud sounds. At that moment, I sliced through the wall instead of the door.

As I kicked it open, I saw a camera. Weren’t they only kidnapping children? Or did something change?

“Can you see this now? A wolf monster has appeared before us. Why is it doing this?”

As the voice rang in my ears, I realized one thing. The mutant was backing away as if protecting humans while watching me.

Using ordinary people as shields to preserve its life?

What a joke.

I didn’t hesitate. I do what needs to be done. That’s all.

I couldn’t leave them be.

As I approached, the mutant was putting on a poor act.

[You! I will protect these people! The people you kidnapped!]

It was spouting an implausible scenario. So it was trying to make me look like a villain?

I understood the general approach.

But that didn’t make me hesitate. I killed the mutant in one swift move.

The reporter, cameraman, and others screamed.

“It killed the person who was protecting us!”

They shrieked while clutching the microphone. Such professional dedication.

My priority was checking if there were other enemies. Above all, if this was planned, there was likely no hostage threat.

Finding no additional threats, I left the place.

Having understood their scheme, I couldn’t just stand by.

When I arrived back home, the TV was already in chaos.

*

The entire country was in an uproar. An emergency broadcast had begun—reporters and cameramen kidnapped by monsters had started broadcasting.

There were questions about how they still had their broadcast vehicle despite being kidnapped, but everyone focused on the shocking footage.

A monster killing a mutant trying to protect humans. It was the same wolf monster seen at Incheon Airport.

It killed a mutant trying to protect people, then left.

Criticism of the monster (Do Jong-hyun) grew across the internet.

-It’s killing those trying to save us?

-Is it jealous of other monsters?

-It kidnapped people! That’s its true nature!

-It was deceiving us and planning to betray us…!

People were extremely angry. Minor questions were buried in the emotional whirlwind, and Do Jong-hyun became literally a villain.

Additionally, the broadcasting station secured a surprising interview.

The mutant had spoken before Do Jong-hyun’s intrusion.

[That monster is different from us. We are monsters who help humans. We understand human language and can communicate like this. That monster cannot speak human language. It pretends to help people to gain favor, but secretly kills people. We came to stop it.]

Then it was killed by Do Jong-hyun. From Do Jong-hyun’s perspective, it was utter garbage, but how could others know the inside story?

-I feel dizzy. So it was trying to betray us all along?

-But it helped us too well for that.

-The more it sacrifices itself, the stronger our trust becomes. Now we know the truth about that garbage monster.

-Shouldn’t we help the hero monsters? They’re being attacked by that thing.

Public opinion was turning extremely negative. Yoon Dong-ha’s scenario was unfolding as planned.

As the situation developed, another perspective emerged.

[Dokgo Jun questions government about current situation]

Dokgo Jun had taken a stand.

“The situation is getting interesting, but I have no need for monsters. If they use human sentiment as bait to manipulate people, I will simply kill them.”

In this situation, Dokgo Jun clearly expressed his intention to hunt them down.

However, this declaration confused Yoon Dong-ha.

“So what are we supposed to do?”

What he wanted was to make Do Jong-hyun look foolish through one-sided public opinion, then show reality through the trusted mutants.

Then Dokgo Jun could kill them all freely. The lives of mutants could be sacrificed for the greater cause and more could always be created.

But Dokgo Jun’s actions were faster than expected.

Moreover, it was ambiguous whether he meant to catch the wolf, or if he included them as well.

‘Well, whatever. We shouldn’t be confused.’

He checked on the mutants’ survival status.

“Ah, was this one the surveillance unit for that kid?”

He had set up surveillance just in case, but there was no special news.

So he tried to contact them to recall them. But when the mutant returned, there was a child sleeping in its arms.

“What is that?”

[Sir! I kidnapped this child!]

“What?”

Yoon Dong-ha was shocked.

“I ‘ordered’ you to simply watch! What have you done!”

His ability didn’t work? Amid the bewilderment, a shabby-looking man appeared.

Jun-hoo was unconscious, and Yoon Dong-ha’s head throbbed.

‘Is the scenario going wrong?’

Yoon Dong-ha checked the orders given to this mutant, but discovered something surprising.

‘They’re intact?’

Surprisingly, his orders were still valid. Of course, they weren’t as powerful as brainwashing, just maintaining discipline, so some deviation from orders was possible.

But this was beyond common sense.

“This… this child was looking at me! I was hiding but…”

“…In what situation did you discover him?”

“Strangely, whenever I changed positions to hide, he seemed to be secretly checking from beyond. So I kidnapped him when he went outside.”

Yoon Dong-ha rubbed his forehead. He knew about children’s unpredictable behavior, and it wasn’t certain the child had actually found him.

But to immediately kidnap him?

‘The police have likely been notified of the kidnapping, and there’s probably CCTV footage. The appearance can be dismissed as just a monster, but doesn’t this create disagreement with their own plans?’

Sending him back after kidnapping him was nonsensical.

‘Well, things never go exactly as planned.’

A person worthy of an executive position should be able to handle unexpected situations.

“And… and this child had a connection with Do Jong-hyun!”

“What?”

Yoon Dong-ha turned back.

“From what I observed, the child’s sister is acquainted with Do Jong-hyun. They seemed close.”

“Wait?”

At this moment, Yoon Dong-ha recalled that this boy had been present on the day he deliberately attacked.

‘My sense of unease wasn’t wrong.’

Yoon Dong-ha smirked. A boy being in the park wasn’t strange, but it was different if he was connected to Do Jong-hyun, who was suspected of being a monster.

“When did they meet?”

And Yoon Dong-ha remembered that their hideout was attacked after Do Jong-hyun met the boy.

At the same time, he recalled the meeting that had been abuzz with talk of a precognitive ability user and an informant.

The mutant spoke to him flatteringly.

“How did he know where I was, sir? You’ll spare me, right?”

“…No.”

Yoon Dong-ha instantly took control of the other’s will with his command.

‘This might be a golden discovery if handled well.’

Now, a new scenario was forming in his mind.