NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19
(There’s a scene where the lights go out in the middle. If you watch from there on a black screen, you can immerse yourself even more.)
Meanwhile, as Parang peeked out from the sea off Hong Kong, the world was facing waves of turmoil without growing tired of it.
Tok-tok—
Yuna was tapping on her phone alone in her room with a slightly gloomy expression.
It was because of the text they exchanged right after Parang’s broadcast ended.
Shin Yuna: Hunter! Hunter!
Shin Yuna: (Picture of an unmanned submarine)
Shin Yuna: What do you think? It’s an unmanned submarine, I was thinking of piloting it down into the sea. I can attach a camera, it has a self-destruct feature, and I can equip it with torpedoes.
Yu Parang: No. It seems like you put a lot of effort into it, but it’s still too dangerous.
Shin Yuna: I’m not the one going down, right? Galecus looks fine from the screen too.
Yu Parang: No.
Shin Yuna: Okay.
Her ambitious deep-sea venture was thwarted.
Of course, Parang wasn’t Yuna’s mom, and one could argue that she shouldn’t need permission to do what she wants.
To conclude, she did need permission. To be exact, Yuna had no intention of going into the sea without Parang’s OK.
No matter how curious or excited she felt, it was correct not to proceed if a pro who had rolled around in those depths for years said not to.
If Parang said no even for just sending an unmanned submarine to look at it from the screen, it meant there was truly something dangerous beyond that screen.
Having met and been enchanted by a monster fish and having gone through the experience of nearly dying, her judgment was clear. If she said not to do it, it was best not to.
So, she lay on her bed tap-tapping her phone.
Her painstakingly made project had fallen through, leaving her feeling down.
She understood with her head that giving up was the right choice, but understanding and feeling were two separate things.
What to watch… As she pondered, she entered the [Hunter Gallery].
[Today’s Yu Parang Broadcast Highlights] [78]
[Dammit, I want to watch Yu Parang’s broadcast to the end too] [51]
[What the hell is this in real-time, Hunter??] [33]
[Has Yu Parang’s next broadcast schedule come out????] [45]
[Lol, you scaredy-cats, I’ll still dive. You can stay on land for life] [34]
The community was ablaze with Yu Parang again today.
When Parang started her broadcast, the name [Hunter Gallery] became irrelevant.
She slowly scrolled down, reading popular posts carefully.
[Today’s Yu Parang Broadcast Highlights]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
I combined the first part and uploaded it ㅇㅇ
(GIF of Makula crawling around Dongting Lake 1)
(GIF of Makula’s mouth)
(GIF of Makula bursting and spewing flesh and blood)
…
(Screenshot GIF that pokes at Tubuka’s eyes)
– They really look like shit
– No, I mean they honestly look ridiculous
– The little glimpse of fingers in the middle, why is it so pretty?
– This kid only writes praise for Yu Parang
“Hmm….”
What’s going on? Last time, just seeing Galecus’s egg was enough to make me turn off my phone, but now I feel nothing.
Have I gotten used to it because I see it often?
[Dammit, I want to watch Yu Parang’s broadcast to the end too]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
Last time with Galecus, it was incredibly fun, but I had to leave in the middle and didn’t see the monster fish finalize, dammit
– You too?
– Those already uploaded on YouTube by various channels
– I know, but it’s too gross to watch
– I purposely watch it in 144p
– Then what about the sound?
– I should have figured that out sooner, dammit
– Hahaha
– What the hell, dammit
[What the hell is this in real-time, Hunter??]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
(A photo of a black latex suit sprawled in a recycling center. It looks like someone failed to forcibly zip it up, leaving a jagged tear at the connection.)
I came out to recycle and someone left this here, dammit, what the hell is this?
– Dammit, what is this?
– Is that the guy from last time’s popular post?
– Who’s that?
– (link)
– Dammit, hahaha
– Is that for women?
– No, no, it’s for men.
– Oh… where is that?
– Why the hell are you asking where, you crazy bastard
– What the hell is wrong with this guy, dammit
[Has Yu Parang’s next broadcast schedule come out????]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
There’s nothing like that, just go look at disturbingly gross posts
(GIF of Makula crawling around Dongting Lake 1)
…
…
(Screenshot GIF that pokes at Tubuka’s eyes)
– Ugh, that’s disgusting
– ? But what’s weird about it?
– It’s just the same photo as the one above, lol
– It’s true, lol
– This is ridiculous, lol
– Every time the broadcast happens, this annoying stuff pops up…
Yuna chuckled as she watched the community. When feeling down, watching funny people is the best.
Having skimmed through the popular posts, she decided to read a few recent normal posts before shutting off her phone.
Then, on her transition to the normal post tab, she saw a shocking title at the top of the community.
[Isn’t this Yu Parang’s house?]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
(A photo taken from a mountain looking down at the village where Parang resides. The lens appears overly zoomed, making the picture slightly blurry. However, the distinctive pure white exterior of Parang’s house is clear.)
I took this while hiking, what’s this?
There were no comments, and the view count was 3.
Judging by the upload time, it seemed that Yuna opened the page almost simultaneously as the post went up.
A chill ran down her neck and goosebumps spread everywhere.
What if this person had bad intentions? If this photo spread and people with bad thoughts towards Yu Parang started popping up like mushrooms after rain?
Objectively speaking, Parang was indeed very beautiful.
Yuna, who had already declared all-in for Yu Parang, could never let that happen.
She hurriedly sent a message to Parang and pulled out her drafting paper to start drawing something like a madwoman.
She didn’t forget to reach out to fellow crafting hunters as well.
Meanwhile.
[Post Deleted.]
‘What the hell is this?’
A-grade hunter, Kim Seojin, sensed something was off.
The post he uploaded to the community was deleted in under 2 seconds after it was posted.
It was the only thrill he felt in his mundane and repetitive hunter lifestyle.
The attention he received from the community made up most of the dopamine he felt.
It sounds unbelievable, but there are quite a few people in the world like that.
Anyhow, he was puzzled.
‘Why isn’t this going up?’
He drove all the way to Pohang to find Yu Parang’s house.
His first plan was to share it on the community for reactions, and his second was to tip an entertainment magazine for some money.
Why is the order reversed? It’s not. The interest he felt from the community was his top priority.
For an A-grade hunter, the payment from a magazine wouldn’t even amount to a day’s wage.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few people like this in the world.
Regardless, it was immensely unfair that he couldn’t post on the community now.
He attempted to upload the same content again to the community.
To be precise, he was about to.
[You cannot post from a blocked account.]
[Block reason: Stop it..]
‘What the hell?’
Blocked? He, who has never even shared anything disturbing, was met with a block.
Maybe it was an IP error, so he tried connecting to a different Wi-Fi, but,
[You cannot post from a blocked account.]
[Block reason: Stop it..]
‘No, seriously, what the hell is this?’
Was the server admin spilling tteokbokki on the server computer again or something?
Fine, let’s see who wins. He rapidly finished writing again and hit the upload button.
Suddenly, the computer’s screen turned completely red, and big black letters appeared.
“Ugh!!”
He was unpleasantly surprised by the sudden appearance.
‘What is this, damn it?’
What the hell? Is it an error?
No, it’s too creepy to be just an error.
‘Ugh, seriously. This is eerie. Today’s luck really sucks.’
He decided to think of it as a simple machine malfunction. It seemed like the easier option for his peace of mind.
Since it was late at night, he would just call someone tomorrow. He figured he would shut it down and go to bed.
However.
Clunk, clunk.
‘What, what is this? Why won’t it turn off?’
The computer, filled with the red screen, showed no sign of shutting down.
Only the red screen.
And suddenly, all the lights in the house went out.
“What the hell!”
Is this a blackout? But why isn’t the computer turning off?
In the pitch-black house, the red screen and black letters were a chilling sight even for an A-grade hunter.
He decided to sleep outside. Just as he was about to leave the room…
“Stop it.”
“Ugh, aah!!”
The sudden voice startled him.
“What, what is this?! Who the hell are you?! Show yourself!!!”
Seojin, grabbing whatever he could find, looked around.
But the voice showed no signs of stopping.
“Stop it.”
“Stop it.”
“Stop it.”
The voices seemed to gather without regard for gender or age, mixing chaotically, as if forced together.
“Dammit! Show yourself! I’m an A-grade hunter. What kind of joke is this!!”
Upon listening closely, it sounded like it came from the computer, perhaps caught by some hacking tool.
Hacking a computer made by Silo Corp was virtually impossible. Even skilled Shin Yuna couldn’t breach its basic security.
So, it was clear it wasn’t a hacker’s doing, but Seojin decided to think that way.
It was far less scary to think he got tangled up with an annoying hacker.
Having regained a bit of confidence, he shouted back.
“You little rat who can only fiddle with machines. You’re dead if caught!”
He rambled on without thinking.
As if it meant anything.
“Stop it.”
This time the sound came from the living room.
He walked shakily towards it, pushing open the door. Sure enough, the dark living room was lit only by the TV.
From the TV flowed out the same voice as from the computer.
Seojin’s legs and arms started to tremble.
And one by one, not just the TV, but other appliances too.
Washing machine, water purifier, rice cooker, robot vacuum, air purifier, Bluetooth speaker.
Every electronic device in the house began to speak.
All Silo Corporation products.
“Stop it.”
Woowooow!!! Woooong!!!!! Woowooow!!!!!
The phone, which should have been mute, wailed like crazy.
Shaking, he looked at the phone screen, seeing 999 missed messages.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
At this point, he couldn’t bear it out of fear.
The coziest place was now engulfed in horror. Humans feel extreme terror in such moments.
In his pajamas, he sprinted towards the front door.
“Ugh, aahhhh!!!”
Suddenly, through the phone, the same voice echoed from an unanswered call.
“Stop it.”
He frantically tried to unlock the door.
The electronic door lock which only required a gentle push to open.
However, the last hope to let him out also spoke to him.
“Stop it.”
The door wouldn’t budge. He knocked and rammed against it, begging for forgiveness, screaming in anger, but.
For a whole 30 minutes.
For 30 minutes, no one came to help Seojin.
“Stop it.”
“Aaaahhh!!! Dammit!!!! Why are you doing this to me!!!!!!!!”
Finally, he sat down in front of the door, tearing at his hair.
Then, in an instant, silence fell. Nothing could be heard or seen.
And with the last whisper of the door lock, the voice faded.
“Stop it.”
The lights in the house turned back on, and all the appliances returned to their usual peace as if nothing had happened.
As if it had been nothing.
“Huff… huff… dammit….”
Kim Seojin cut off his connection to the community that day, losing all interest in Yu Parang, the hunter.
And he tried to throw away all the Silo Corporation products in his house, failing miserably.
Because he couldn’t find any appliances that hadn’t been made by Silo.