Chapter 130

Chapter 130

Ear Collector.

That was the man’s nickname among the Scavengers.

Scavengers never revealed information such as their real names or occupations.

They knew very well that the moment their information leaked, their lives were over.

The Scavengers who operated inside Neo Seoul were in a different situation from the Scavengers active in the desert.

Normally, they lived like ordinary people while thoroughly hiding their desires.

It was an inevitable choice, since countless Awakened besides them existed in the city of Neo Seoul.

The moment they were exposed as Scavengers, their positions would change, and they would become prey for other Awakened.

That was why Scavengers like Ear Collector lived as parasites in Neo Seoul while hiding their identities with the utmost care.

The Scavengers who lived in Neo Seoul while concealing their identities had created a network of their own.

It was called the Black Network.

Through the Black Network, Scavengers shared information and hideouts with one another.

The underground space where Ear Collector was currently located was one such hideout.

Nest No. 7.

That was the name used for this hideout.

It meant there were at least six more hideouts like this one.

Nest No. 7 was an extremely important hideout.

Because it existed, they could hunt humans in the slums without worry.

No one would imagine that a Scavenger nest existed in Dongdaemun, the territory of fanatics.

Not even Johan, the ruler of Dongdaemun.

That was why Ear Collector and the other Scavengers made good use of Nest No. 7.

At present, a dozen or so Scavengers were resting inside Nest No. 7.

Whenever Scavengers met like this, they exchanged information while thoroughly hiding their identities.

Ear Collector had also entered Nest No. 7 to rest after finishing a human hunt when he discovered the intruders.

CRACKLE!

He thrust the electric baton toward Zeon’s face.

“I’ll ask one last time. How did you get in here?”

“We opened the door and came in.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. You opened a door with perception disruption magic and a special lock on it and came in? Do you take me for an idiot?”

“It’s true, but you won’t believe me.”

Zeon clicked his tongue.

If Briel had not been with him, even Zeon would not have found the Scavengers’ nest this easily.

So it was only natural that they could not believe it.

“There are always bastards who only come to their senses after experiencing hell.”

Ear Collector smirked and scorched Zeon’s face with the electric baton.

CRACKLE!

Blue sparks flew, and Zeon’s body trembled violently.

“Hehe! You bastard. That’s why you should have spoken obediently.”

Ear Collector laughed as he watched Zeon convulse.

He naturally thought Briel, who had been caught in the same net, would burst into tears and snot. But Briel merely stared blankly at Ear Collector with her eyes wide open.

Ear Collector muttered,

“What is this? Is this girl an idiot?”

“The idiot is you. Did you think Zeon would be shocked by something like that?”

“What?”

Only then did Ear Collector feel that something was wrong and look at Zeon.

He did not know when it had happened, but Zeon was no longer trembling.

Behind the flashing blue current, Zeon’s cold, sunken face was visible.

Ear Collector instinctively realized that something had gone wrong.

“Fuck!”

RIIIP!

At that instant, the net tightening around Zeon and Briel tore like paper, and a gauntleted hand shot out.

GRAB!

“Guh!”

Zeon’s hand seized Ear Collector’s throat.

It happened before Ear Collector could react. Zeon’s movement had surpassed Ear Collector’s reaction speed.

But Ear Collector did not go down obediently.

He threw away the useless high-voltage baton, drew the jungle machete at his waist, and stabbed toward Zeon’s abdomen.

Zeon twisted his waist slightly and avoided the large blade. Then he slammed Ear Collector’s body straight into the floor.

BANG!

“Guh!”

Ear Collector let out a short scream at the tremendous impact that struck his back. It was a shock strong enough to instantly incapacitate an ordinary person.

But Ear Collector was a Grade D martial-type Awakened.

He had a sturdy body and outstanding athletic ability.

He was not so weak that this level of impact would bring him down.

Ear Collector immediately tried to kick off the ground and launch a counterattack. But his body did not follow his will.

Because Zeon was already pressing down on his chest with one knee.

Enormous pressure crushed Ear Collector.

“Ghhh!”

Ear Collector’s eyes widened until they looked as though they would pop out.

His ribs felt as though they would break at any moment, and his internal organs felt as though they would be crushed.

No matter how he struggled or moved his mana, his body did not budge, as if it were pinned beneath a giant boulder.

In the end, Ear Collector gave up trying to escape and shouted,

“What are you? Why is this—”

“Air Shield!”

At that moment, Briel cast a spell and blocked the sound from spreading outside.

Ear Collector’s attempt to shout and call the other Scavengers failed.

Zeon smirked.

“That was a cute attempt.”

“You bastard......”

“As payment, I will take one of your ears.”

At Zeon’s words, Ear Collector’s eyes widened.

“N-no!”

SLICE!

At that instant, with a sharp sound, Ear Collector’s ear was cut off.

Ear Collector screamed at the pain spreading from his ear.

“Argh!”

“If you do not stay quiet, I will cut off the other one too.”

“F-fuck! Why are you doing this to me? We only met for the first time today.”

“The owners of all the ears you have collected so far were also people you had met for the first time, weren’t they?”

“You bastard!”

“It seems you still have not come to your senses.”

Zeon moved his hand toward Ear Collector’s remaining ear.

“Fuck! I’ll talk. I’ll tell you anything.”

“First, everyone inside is a Scavenger, correct?”

“Yes!”

“How many?”

“Eleven, including me.”

“How many lairs like this are there?”

“I don’t know!”

“Do you need to lose your other ear before you talk?”

“I really don’t know. All I know is that this place is Nest No. 7.”

“Seventh? Then that means there are at least six other nests like this.”

Zeon’s eyes gleamed.

He had not expected that so many lairs like this existed.

That meant the Scavengers were far more numerous and organized than he had thought.

As if making excuses, Ear Collector said,

“Yes! That’s what I know too.”

“Where are the other nests?”

“Two. Including this place, I only know two.”

“You are lying again.”

“Fuck! It’s true. One in Neo Seoul, one in the slums. The network only tells you about nests in the area where you operate.”

“The network? There is a network for Scavengers?”

“Yes! The Black Network. We all connect to it and get information.”

“Who operates it?”

“I don’t know!”

“You use the network, but you do not know?”

“No bastard knows that. We use it because it exists. How would we know who operates it? We don’t even care.”

“Fine. Then how do you connect to the network?”

“C-code! You need to receive a biometric code before you can connect.”

“A biometric code?”

Zeon tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.

At that moment,

BOOM!

Fireballs suddenly flew out of the darkness and struck the Air Shield Briel had cast.

A tremendous blaze engulfed Zeon and Briel.

The moment the Air Shield shattered, Zeon took Briel and retreated.

But Ear Collector was given no such chance.

“Argh!”

Struck directly by the flames, Ear Collector’s body burst into fire.

He suffered in the tremendous heat before his breath was cut off.

Zeon looked toward the place from which the fireballs had flown.

Heavily armed figures emerged from the darkness.

They were the Scavengers who had been resting in Nest No. 7.

“What a waste of the nickname Ear Collector. To chatter like a sparrow.”

“That bastard. He was babbling about everything.”

“That’s why you can’t trust rootless trash.”

The Scavengers laughed and talked as they looked at Ear Collector’s burning corpse.

Alarm magic that Zeon and Briel had failed to discover had been set up in the passage.

The moment the two intruded, the alarm rang, and the Scavengers had come running belatedly.

Zeon scratched his head and said,

“This was a rather important moment, but you all ruined it.”

“Hehe! How to receive a biometric code? That bastard probably didn’t know either.”

“Why not?”

“Because the memory of the moment you receive the biometric code is erased. It’s the same for me and the others. All our other memories are intact, but only the memory of receiving the biometric code was wiped clean. So it’s useless. Hehe!”

The Scavenger at the front bared his yellow teeth and laughed.

The other Scavengers agreed.

“Keke! Our world is not that sloppy, kid.”

“Now that I look, there’s a pretty little girl here too.”

“I’m first.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, bastard. I’m first.”

The Scavengers began arguing among themselves after seeing Briel.

“Humans worse than dogs.”

Briel looked disgusted.

She had suffered after being captured by human hunters.

She hated this kind of human more than anyone.

“Die, all of you!”

Briel shouted and cast magic.

SWISH!

A dozen or so Air Arrows flew toward the Scavengers.

“Oh? That’s a pretty cute attack.”

“Pointless.”

The Scavengers cast defensive skills and blocked her attack.

The clothes and armor they wore were all workshop-made items, or things stolen after killing other Awakened.

Naturally, their performance was excellent.

The attack magic of an immature young elf was not enough to injure them.

The Scavengers immediately counterattacked.

BOOM! BOOM!

The weapons of martial-type Awakened and the skills of magic-type Awakened filled the passage as they flew toward them.

“Eek!”

Briel’s eyes widened.

Her response to the enemies’ attacks was simple.

She hid behind Zeon.

Even as Zeon looked dumbfounded, he swung his fist. Then dozens of flame arrows poured forward.

He had cast Fire Arrow using the Gauntlet of Scorching Heat.

BOOM! BOOM!

Dozens of Fire Arrows collided with the attack skills filling the passage and exploded.

“Guh!”

“Ugh!”

The Scavengers screamed.

They had been swept up in the explosion and sent flying.

At that instant, Zeon moved.

PAAT!

He kicked off the floor and shot toward the Scavengers.

Zeon closed in on them in an instant and swung his fist.

His fist struck the Scavengers.

CRACK! CRASH!

It was like a storm sweeping through.

The Scavengers could not even react before being struck by Zeon’s fists.

Before Zeon’s attacks, even armor was useless.

Shields shattered, and armor made of special materials broke like glass.

Before the tidal wave named Zeon, the Scavengers were swept away without even being able to scream.

A moment later, the scene revealed was miserable.

All the Scavengers were lying on the floor, their limbs grotesquely twisted or their bodies bearing grievous wounds.

“Fuck!”

“Ghhh!”

The Scavengers’ desperate screams spread through the passage.

Zeon met the eyes of the Scavenger collapsed in front of him and said,

“Now I think we are ready to have a conversation. Right?”

“Fuuuck!”

Instead of answering, the Scavenger screamed.

Zeon nodded and said,

“I knew it.”