Evolution Theory of the Hunter - Chapter 100

Evolution Theory of the Hunter (ETH)
Volume 1 Chapter 100

“But I don’t see anyone.”

“Do you really think that hunters would remain in their homes in the light of day? They’re probably all out hunting or…”

“Since the Ezekiel guys were headed in this direction, they’re probably fighting it out somewhere nearby.”

Everyone nodded at my words. Anyway, this was our chance.

There were over a hundred houses that we could see.

Even if I said they were all out hunting, there was still a possibility of some hunters staying behind out of all those houses.

If there was anyone still here, we needed to be prepared to battle it out with them.

“I don’t see our truck.”

While we were all distracted by the houses in the treetops, Park Hanbum spoke up with the very reason we were here in the first place.

The trail looped around this area and continue ahead.

I pondered for a moment.

Should we spend some time here to look through all of the houses for something useful. Or do we chase after our truck first.

It didn’t take long for me to decide.

“This is a great opportunity for us to snoop through all the houses here. We could always chase after the truck after we do our search here.”

“Hopefully there isn’t anyone left behind.”

“If there are any, let’s make sure we get rid of them. Our target is the largest house you see over there. If they have anyone important or really useful, I’m sure they would have stored it there.”

I pointed at the large and beautiful tree that was over 30 meters tall. As large as the house was, the tree beneath it (which was used to built the house) was just as large.

The house looked highly unstable, but seeing that it didn’t shake a bit from the large winds that blew against it…it was safer than it seemed.

“Kelby, if you spy anybody other than us..make sure to bark loudly so we can here. Got it?”

Yeonkyoung cooed at Kelby as she held him close to her.

Nod nod.

Smart dog. Instead of barking, he had nodded his head to show that he understood. Everytime he did something like this, it stirred a weird feeling in me because it just seemed so human.

So we let Kelby run free through the forest ahead of us. Since he was a dog, even if someone spotted him first, it probably wouldn’t alarm them.

After we let him go, we started on our way as well. Rather than moving separately here, it was better for us to move as a group.

This was because if some trouble appeared, we would be better equipped to fight than if we moved independently.

***

“No one is here.”

It seemed that climbing up to the houses in the trees was generally done so by using fringed ropes that hung down.

Since I was physically superior in the group, I climbed up the rope to do the checking. There was definitely evidence of people living there.

It was almost as if I could still feel their energy here.

But there wasn’t a hide or hair to be seen.

Just from a glance, it was evident that there were probably about 2-300 people living in all the houses. But the fact that there was not even one person here meant that there was something going on.

“There is a high chance that they are somewhere nearby engaging in an all out battle with the Ezekiel guys.”

“But it could also be something else entirely. We can’t rule anything out.”

I added at Han Joonseok’s speculation. This was the new land…anything could happen.

“Do you mean an irregular?”

“Yes, I’m sure there will be an irregular lurking around somewhere here too.”

“But do you really think several hundred hunters will mobilize because of just one irregular?”

“…hm…I guess not.”

He was right. No matter what kind of irregular it was, it would probably be a level 4-5 maximum. They wouldn’t need several hundred hunters to take care of one irregular like that.

“For now, let’s move over there.”

I pointed to the large house. It was sitting atop a very large baeksong tree.

Though this type of tree normally doesn’t grow taller than 5 meters, for some reason this particular tree was over 30 meters tall.

And because the house was probably built from that same tree, it was a white color – the same shade as the bark of the baeksong tree.

“Sh.”

I detected a small movement just now.

I sent Kelby up Baeksong tree from behind while I had everyone else hide in nearby trees.

I looked to Han Joonseok and asked.

“Do you see anything?”

Han Joonseok had the Optical Ruby Ring which enhances vision by 30% so he squinted his eyes as he looked toward the white building.

There were a lot of branches and leaves in the way, so it was hard for me to see anything.

“It looks like….a person. But I really can’t be sure.”

I nodded my head.

I did think it was strange that there was nobody here, but it seems they had left at least one person behind. Which was good for us.

Now we had someone who could give us some information on what was going on.

“Krrawr!”

Kelby barked loudly from above.

Were we seen? Or was something wrong?

“Yaaaaa!”

Just when I thought I heard something, someone fell from out of a tree about 30 meters high to the ground.

Slam!

Crack!

“Hm…”

Just from the sound of it, it was obvious that was instant death for the unlucky guys. It seemed that the enemy who had discovered Kelby decided to attack. Unfortunate for him.

But I guess anyone would find it strange that a dog was so high up in the trees in the middle of nowhere.

“Hm? That guy is holding a bunch of stuff.”

Cho Youngoo said as he poked at the dead body. His neck was twisted at a weird angle and the blood dripping from his mouth was not a pretty sight, but I picked up the leader bag he had on him.

It looked like briefcase. When I opened it, there were two books inside.

Though the writing was in simplified Chinese, it looked like one of them contained data.

There were over 200 names and data for each person written inside.

Next to each name was also age, address and something else drawn next to it.

It looked like numbers…maybe marks earned in the forest for something?

My best guess was that each mark represented a monster they had hunted in the forest.

I wondered why they would do something so arcane…until I considered how they were in an area with no electricity or power. This made sense.

They didn’t have a city like us for us to return to, so they could only rely on more primitive ways to record things like that.

“Lieutenant Aram?”

“Yes?”

“I think you can take this. I’m sure the higher ups would like it.”

This was concrete proof that tied the Chinese hunters to the invasion of the forested area.

“This is…”

“Record kept by the hunters who were stationed here. It contains names, age, and their address…It even has record of all their earnings so I’m sure it will be a big headache for them if this disappears.”

What I was most interested in though was the second book. In simplified Chinese, the cover stated “Equipment List”.

I opened it up.

“This is……we hit a goldmine….”