Life Mission

From afar, Park Jin Hyuk picked his ear with his finger.

“We don’t need to think so deeply into it. I mean someone will become the bait.”

The expressions of the party members hardened at the mention of bait. If they had not heard wrong, he meant for someone to become live bait to lure the mutants.

“It’s a joke. If we make a small wound and put the blood in a specific location, I’m sure they’ll come looking for it. We can follow after hiding.”

They would have come up with a precise operation if the opponent were human, but there was no need to go that far with mutants. This was a simple, yet effective method.

“The person who will make the wound.....?”

“Since I brought it up, I’ll do it. Let’s look for a location.”

As Lloyd claimed it, Hicks’ people brightened. They were not scared of making a wound, but they did not like the thought of what could happen if the mutants caught scent of the wound.

Tatak.

The party’s movement became active as they now had a task to complete. They would save time if they succeeded or would have to keep looking if they did not. There was nothing to lose.

***

The party members hid behind a boulder and tree. They had chosen the location to lure the mutants to as an open place about 30m away.

Seukuk.

Lloyd cut his hand with a dagger.

As the sharp blade cut along his palm, blood flowed out.

The flow became stronger as he squeezed his wrist. A small amount might not carry the smell very far even with the wind. and he needed to make it count.

Seuk.

He wiped his hands with a clean cloth and put ointment on it. As soon as he put the medicine on, a scab formed.

He stayed on the spot and used the odorless spray. If he cleaned the blood while he moved, they would not be able to control the smell. He needed to take care of it in one spot.

The party members were waiting behind a projection. The projection was a camouflage item that let objects pass through while hiding up to 10 people.

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Lloyd’s party had invested 1000 points on the projection. They had survived a few times because of it. It was compatible with the odorless spray.

“That’s fascinating.”

“There are a lot of cool things when you look through the store.”

It was impossible to look inside from outside, but the reverse was possible. Just as there were items necessary in battle, there were items necessary to survival.

Jiing.

Lloyd joined them. When Henry covered them with the projection, a boulder and tree appeared, erasing all traces of the party. Perfect camouflaging.

From then, they waited in silence for the mutants to appear.

***

They started getting hungry 2 hours after they set up the trap. A strange sound came from one side of the forest. No one suspected that it was a mutant.

Hwak.

There was a fishy smell. The smell of blood. It had been long since Lloyd’s blood had hardened. This was fresh – like that of an animal that had just been slaughtered.

The human sense of smell was not sensitive. But it was clear that it was nearby. And then, in a matter of a few blinks, there was a mutant in front of them.

It is a biped and similar to a human being. The differences were in its sharp teeth, awl-like fingers and toenails, and arms and legs that seemed a bit too long.

‘Cannibal!’

‘There’s no way all 1500 mutants mentioned in the scenario are cannibals?’

Cannibal.

It was the strongest creature in Level 1. Its physical ability was that of a sturdy man, but its speed was supreme.

With a crafty personality, it had the habit of figuring out the opponent’s disadvantage while fighting.

Facing one cannibal was like going up against 3 or 4 mid-Level 1 mutants.

Sniff sniff.

The cannibal looked around and put his nose to Lloyd’s blood. It seemed to like the smell by the way it kept flaring its nose.

Its bumpy tongue licked the blood. The party members shivered when thinking about something so hideous running its tongue along their skin.

Kwajik.

The cannibal ate something it had been holding in its hand. It had been chewed to the point where it was unrecognizable, but it looked like a mutant.

He ate it ravenously. The large piece of meat was gone in seconds and its stomach bulged. It was an amount that a person would not have been able to eat.

It did not leave even after eating the meat. Looking at it closely, it was hesitating around the area where Lloyd’s blood had fallen. It wanted more.

The party members watched this for dozens of minutes while hiding behind the projection. Every second felt like a minute. They just wanted for it to go away.

Seuk.

Their desperation was rewarded when the cannibal left the blood and turned its back.

‘Are we going to follow it?’

‘Not yet.’

Lloyd shook his head. If the cannibal was using its head, they would be caught as soon as they went out. They needed to take some time instead of going out right away.

30 minutes passed after the cannibal disappeared. At that point, they put the projection away.

There was a limit to how long they could hide. With this much time, it was okay for them to slowly follow it.

Lloyd searched the ground. Since it had not been long since it left, it left its trace in broken twigs and footsteps.

“Let’s go.”

The party got their equipment together and followed Lloyd. The search had started.

Rustle.

It was after the cannibal and Lloyd’s party had disappeared. Bushes nearby rustled as something raised its head.

Kiki!

A rough face drew a dark line. Another cannibal was looking in the direction that the party had gone in. It was a horrific scene.

Papat!

The cannibal hid its trace. It looked like the party who had set up a trap to lure the mutants were the ones being lured instead.

***

“What is that?”

“A trap.”

“Not that. Why is it so smart? It would put Zhuge Liang to shame.”

If Zhuge Liang had heard this, he would have been astonished. One of the most accomplished strategists of the past being compared to cannibals.

Cha Jun Sung and Park Jin Hyuk had witnessed everything from the start to finish.

When the first cannibal appeared, the second had settled in the bushes without moving. It looked like a lookout just in case it was a trap.

It seemed to be a case where they knew of the party’s existence but did not know its exact location. Its smile when the party folded the projection proved this.

The situation was like a snake luring itself with its own tail and ripping it apart to get eaten. The party thought that it had succeeded in luring the cannibal, but it had dug its own grave.

They were Lifers who had gone through everything, but they could not have dreamed that a Level 1 would use such strategy like a high level mutant.

They had gotten caught in a trap so easily. Cha Jun Sung did not consider them stupid. He would have fallen for it as well if he had been in their position.

“Don’t we need to go and tell them? They’ll be annihilated like that.”

Park Jin Hyuk was right. If left alone, they would get trapped and become the cannibals’ food. If they ran to tell them now, they could stop it.

“They might be able to find the military base too.”

“That’s so, but I feel wrong about using people as live bait.”

Park Jin Hyuk was pure like his young age. Cha Jun Sung did not want to do it either, but they could get dragged into it as well if they acted too quickly.

“We don’t have the responsibility of saving them just because we saw what happened.”

It may have sounded cold, but it was the truth. To put their lives on the line for others? They could do that, but only as long as they were people worth doing that for.

At this moment, Cha Jun Sung was not bothered by being on the sidelines.

He was just sorry that just as the party had lured the mutant to find the base, he was using the party though it could be dangerous.

“Let’s help them if we get the chance. Then we’ll have to follow them, won’t we?”

“Yes!”

Park Jin Hyuk’s face brightened. Cha Jun Sung did not want them to be killed either. It was better the more Lifers there were. If they had the chance, they would help in any way they could.

If not...... they would leave them.