novelraw Chapter 176 : Mission 11: Come Back to Busan Port (2)
Chapter 176 : Mission 11: Come Back to Busan Port (2)
Vwoooooo!
It was a colossal whale.
A whale the size of a skyscraper, swimming through the sky as if it were the sea.
Descending slowly from the distant heavens, it circled once above the fishing boat. That single, leisurely movement was enough to whip up a tremendous gale, churning the waves around the vessel.
The boat, caught in the squall, pitched and rolled like a leaf.
“Son of a fuck!”
The panicked captain scrambled into the cabin and returned with a shotgun he kept stowed away for emergencies.
“Why the hell are you messing with us just for catching a few fish?!”
Crack!
The shotgun’s muzzle spat fire at the sky.
The pellets did nothing to harm the whale, but they were more than enough to piss it off.
VWOOOOOOO!
The whale’s roar unleashed a furious wind, and a massive waterspout erupted from the sea below. The small fishing boat was caught in its grip, lifted effortlessly, and shot upward.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“Somebody help!”
The two fishermen shrieked as their boat was carried into the air, spiraling within the vortex of seawater.
As if gravity had reversed, the vessel ascended endlessly, finally vanishing beyond the clouds. The screams faded with it.
The whale, which had been hovering at the center of the vortex, began its slow ascent back into the sky.
Through the sun-drenched clouds.
Toward the space now occupied by the land that had once been called Busan.
***
December 30, 2050.
The newly formed Monster Unit was deployed sooner than expected.
Summoned by Commander Seo, Ghost and Jae-hee rushed to her office before dawn.
“An anomaly has been detected in the waters near Busan,” Hae-eun said, cutting straight to the chase without so much as a greeting. “Watch this.”
The video she played was from a fishing boat’s VDR—a voyage data recorder, basically a black box.
«Son of a fuck!»
«Why the hell are you messing with us just for catching a few fish?!»
«VWOOOOOOO!»
«Aaaahhhhh!»
«Somebody help!»
The footage was shaking too violently to make out every detail, but the gist was clear: a giant whale had descended from the sky and launched the entire boat into the air.
Ghost stared intently at the video… or more precisely, at the whale in it.
She asked, “How did you recover this footage?”
“The boat crashed in Gyeonggi Province. We found the black box in the shattered wreckage.”
“…A boat that shot into the sky off the coast of Busan flew all the way to Gyeonggi Province and crashed?”
“That’s right.” Hae-eun pointed at the screen with her cane. “Without a doubt, it was this whale’s doing.”
“A flying whale that looks to be over fifty meters long… Has anything like this ever been observed before?”
“Never. And the Gate particle levels in the area are stable.”
“Which means…”
“It didn’t crawl out of a new Gate. This is the work of something that came from an existing one.” Hae-eun nodded, then jutted her chin toward the sky. “There’s a high probability it descended from ‘Busan.’”
Jae-hee blinked. “When you say Busan…”
“Yes. The Busan of the Three Hellholes.”
It was one of the three monster-infested zones humanity had declared impossible to retake: Daejeon, a field of zombies; Gangneung, where it rained potatoes; and Busan, a city swept up in a vortex and hurled into the sky.
“Busan is currently floating at an altitude of about ten kilometers. It’s literally a city above the clouds.”
Jae-hee asked cautiously, “Are… are the people of Busan still alive?”
“The low atmospheric pressure would make breathing difficult, and the temperature would be close to minus fifty degrees Celsius. I can’t say with absolute certainty that survival is impossible… but the chances are slim.”
Images flashed through Jae-hee’s mind.
Daejeon, the city he had seen with his own eyes.
Then Gangneung, with its endless downpour of potatoes.
Survival wasn’t theoretically impossible, but the conditions were brutally harsh.
“The area is surrounded by extreme turbulence, and the city itself is caught in a massive vortex, making it inaccessible by any aircraft,” Hae-eun continued.
“We’ve sent reconnaissance teams, but we’ve never been able to determine the exact situation. And now, this whale has suddenly appeared.”
“Do you think… this whale is what did that to Busan?”
“There’s a very high probability. It’s definitely connected, which means we might finally get some information. But… well, you can see how dangerous it is, can’t you?”
Hae-eun stared down the massive eye of the whale on the screen.
“This is a monster that can send a ten-ton fishing boat flying from Busan to Gyeonggi. And if it’s the same creature that did that to the city, it means it possesses enough power not just to lift a boat, but to rip an entire city from the earth and send it into the sky.”
“That’s insane…”
“In other words, the risk is too great to deploy the New Five Heroes. Which is why…” Hae-eun met Jae-hee’s gaze. “It’s the perfect opportunity to throw our own monster bastards at it.”
Jae-hee muttered, looking sour. “But the Monster Unit was just formed, like, a day ago…”
“Since when have you ever had time to form a team and practice? You’ve always just winged it, haven’t you?”
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
“Therefore, the mission area is Busan. Or, more accurately, where Busan used to be.”
With the entire region torn from the earth and sent airborne, the area had mostly become part of the sea.
“Our ship is still docked at Geoje, so Busan is just a stone’s throw away. Go investigate this whale and bring back any information you can find, no matter how trivial.”
Ghost gestured with her chin. “And if it’s more than we can handle?”
“Throw the Monster Unit at it as bait and get the hell out of there.”
Jae-hee made a low groaning sound. “Commander, you treat your unit members’ lives so lightly!”
“…It can’t be helped, Boy.”
Hae-eun laced her fingers together, a faint smile playing on her scarred face.
“It just can’t be helped.”
***
And so…
Thwup-thwup-thwup—
A transport helicopter carrying the Monster Unit—two humans and three monsters—lifted off from the prison cruise. With Ghost and Jae-hee perched in front of the mobile lavatory containing the three creatures, they set off for Busan.
“We’re outsiiide!”
As soon as they left the cruise ship, the Flying Tentacle God beamed with its single eye, overjoyed.
“Wah-wah-wah!”
Crying-X raised its arms and bounced on the spot.
“Stay put. One wrong move and I’ll slit your throats,” Ghost warned, though it was an empty threat.
The mobile lavatory itself functioned on the same principle as an Awakening Inhibitor, preventing them from using their abilities while inside.
Unlike the other two ecstatic monsters, the Rose Princess was sulking, huddled in a corner of her lavatory.
Why’s she so down? Jae-hee wondered.
Then their eyes met, and the Rose Princess opened her mouth wide.
“Aaaah~”
He saw rows of sharp, pointed teeth, dense as a shark’s.
Jae-hee yelped, clutching the back of his neck as a shiver ran down his spine.
Ghost just snorted at the sight.
“By the way, I get the other two, but…” Jae-hee began, still glancing worriedly at the vampire in the lavatory. “Is it really okay to let the Rose Princess out? I feel like she’ll go on a rampage the second she gets a taste of blood.”
“She’ll be fitted with a special muzzle, she’s covered in inhibitors, and we’ve planted bombs in each of her joints. We’ll be able to subdue her,” Ghost muttered dismissively.
“Besides, why do you think they sent the two of us, both Domain Break users? It means we’re supposed to kill them if things go south.”
“Ah.”
Still, isn’t the risk too high?
As Jae-hee tilted his head in thought, Ghost continued her explanation.
“A test like this is necessary. I’m talking about using monsters on our side.”
“Huh?”
“One way or another, we’re going to have to live alongside monsters from now on.” Ghost surveyed the three creatures. “The operational data we gather on the Monster Unit might be more important than the success or failure of this mission.”
Jae-hee looked puzzled. “If the world is going to end in ten years anyway, why do we need data on using monsters as unit members?”
“…Because we have to prepare for what comes after the end.”
“What?”
After the end?
Jae-hee tilted his head again. If it ends, isn’t that it?
“Ever heard the term ‘post-apocalypse’?”
“Not really…”
“It means the world after the end.” Ghost let out a low sigh. “It’s not like everything just ends cleanly. The messy, pathetic world that comes after is the real deal.”
“…”
“If we know the end is coming, we have to prepare for it somehow, don’t we?”
Does Master know exactly what form the end will take?
While Jae-hee was puzzling over this, Ghost gestured with her chin and asked, “Kid. If you had to live in the messed-up world after the end… what would you want to do?”
“Um… if people are still alive after the end, will there still be good restaurants?”
“If a place is still in business then, it’s gotta be good.” Ghost nodded. “Survival is its own mark of quality.”
“Then I’ll go on a food tour.”
Instead of scolding him for his brazenly frivolous answer, Ghost propped her chin on her hand and considered it seriously.
“A food tour in the post-apocalyptic world, huh…”
“Wanna come with me, Master?”
“…That doesn’t sound half bad.”
As they exchanged such idle chatter, a communication came through from Hae-eun.
«All personnel, we are approaching the destination. Prepare for landing.»
***
Below the transport, the islands that had been densely scattered along the southern coast suddenly vanished, replaced by a vast, desolate expanse of churning winter sea.
A coastline lined with sheer cliffs, as if someone had scooped out the entire area with a giant shovel. It was impossible to believe that land had once been here.
Busan.
The transport arrived at the empty space where a city of that name had once stood.
“Every time I see it…”
Busan had been swept into the sky by the vortex before Jae-hee was even born, so the landscape didn’t feel particularly strange to him. It was as if it had always been a region of cliffs.
For Ghost, however, it was a different story.
“A horrible sight,” she murmured, looking down from the air at the gouged-out land.
She extended a hand, explaining, “The second-largest city in this country used to be here. There was a huge bridge, and this area was packed with buildings…”
The transport was approaching a runway overgrown with weeds.
Ghost pointed toward it. “That’s where Gimhae International Airport used to be. It was torn away along with Busan, leaving only a piece of the runway behind.”
“Whoa, Gimhae got sent flying too?”
“Gimhae Airport was in Busan, not Gimhae. The city of Gimhae is over there, still intact… or, relatively intact.”
Jae-hee tilted his head. “Why was Gimhae Airport in Busan and not Gimhae…?”
“Gimpo Airport is in Seoul, not Gimpo. Same principle.”
“I don’t get it at all…”
“…The big guy always takes the good stuff, right?”
“Ah.”
“That’s how it is. Seoul and Busan were bigger, so…”
Ghost had a way of simplifying complex reasons, but thanks to her, it clicked.
Thwup-thwup-thwup—
The transport touched down on the weed-choked runway of the former Gimhae Airport.
“Let’s go.” Ghost led the way through the opening hatch. “It’s whale-hunting time.”
Jae-hee hurried to her side. “Is whale meat any good?”
“Never had it. Before the world went to hell, hunting whales was illegal, so it was pretty rare.”
Ghost gave him a look. “If you get the chance, you can find out for yourself.”
“Sweet!”
Master and disciple walked out of the transport side by side.
In later years, Jae-hee would recall this as the final mission of 2050, a time when the world, as he remembered it, was still a place worth living.