CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 54: ONE SHOT, ONE KILL

Zaen didn’t wait for the anomaly to make its next move. He had to kill it quickly before those weirdoes from before got a whiff of the situation from the men he just saved.

He was fairly sure that no one would believe those three drunkards and would most probably think they were trying to wriggle out of their drunk driving case by making up a tale.

However, the F.O.R.C.E. wasn’t like the other organizations.

If they reported the strange things, it would inevitably lead to the organization. The love-drunk Ann had already informed him how the organization worked.

Anything from the ramblings of a crazed beggar to the cheating scandal of a suddenly changed man. Every strange news inevitably found its way to the organization’s ears.

They’ll definitely investigate the mysterious sighting of a monster, even if it was a hoax. Not to mention that fucker who is following me.

Zaen had no idea before, but once again, thanks to Ann, he knew the truth.

From the moment he stepped into the forward base, everything he did, everywhere he went, was being reported back to Johann.

The strange thing was, no one was doing anything to him despite how strangely he behaved. But that wasn’t the only thing he was worried about.

I need to get strong before the next round of the games.

Ann had also told him about the true nature of the games. Once you’re invited, the only way to escape is death. On the first day of every month, the players would be summoned back into the game for another round.

In three days, Zaen would have to face those anomalies in their world. The confidence he had gained after slaying so many anomalies vanished in an instant.

It was because the anomalies he had been hunting were weak, but even the F-rank anomalies were dangerous inside the game, as it was their domain.

As for why they didn’t inform him about it, he had no idea. Perhaps they’d save him again ’properly’ this time in the hopes of gaining his loyalty.

But he didn’t want to be saved. Not until he was sure about the F.O.R.C.E. and, more importantly, that weird captain of theirs.

So, he was building his strength.

[Anomalies hunted: 4/5]

Just one more anomaly kill, and the stick would awaken.

"Despite the low visibility, I’m glad this anomaly isn’t hiding like Nishimiya. Makes it easier for me to kill it." Zaen mumbled, gripping his Boning Sword tightly.

He charged at the anomaly, who had a good chunk of his face covered up with scars. It didn’t back down either and flung its razor-sharp claws at Zaen’s face.

However, just before their fists collided, Zaen jumped over the anomaly and with all his strength slammed the stick viciously into its head with the precision of a marksman.

[Camouflaged Anomaly killed! Exp +100]

[Exp: 3,100/1,600]

"That was... too easy," Zaen whispered.

Zaen now understood why this quest was a side task and not like the ones he had risked his life for. If he could one-shot all of the anomalies like this, it wouldn’t take him much time to take care of the three remaining ones, either.

The only problem was their changing locations after each anomaly he killed. Unlike Mr. Nishimiya, this anomaly disintegrated into dust, leaving nothing behind.

"At least I won’t need to be concerned about disposing of the body," Zaen mumbled, waiting for a notification to appear.

[5/5 anomalies stored.]

[Proceeding with awakening.]

As soon as those notifications appeared, the stick in his hand began vibrating erratically. It was also shining, but it wasn’t like Zaen could notice that.

***

At the same time, at an unknown place.

"What do you mean there are no more specimens!? There were supposed to be five of them, at the very least!" Tom slammed his fists on the wooden desk, shattering it into minuscule bits. "Are you so incompetent that you can’t even recover a single live specimen!"

Nemesis just stood to the side, his head hung low. It had been a rough couple of days for them. He wasn’t the only one getting scolded.

There were five groups present in the room. Each of the groups except Nemesis’s had 3 members in them, yet none of them had an answer for their poor performance.

They had always been proud of their 100% success rate, but in that week alone, they failed task after task. Overall, it was just a small dent in their fame, but the missions they had failed were crucial for the cult’s future.

First, Nemesis was defeated by an unknown attacker. Then, a group failed to recover a crucial witness, who had proof that could jeopardize their operations in the long term, and now... the rest failed to recover a single alive specimen.

It was obvious why Tom, as their leader, was so upset. They needed to recover one living specimen to test their new product on, but all they could recover was a useless anomaly.

"Chief, turn the frown upside down!" A cheery voice came out of nowhere.

Everyone turned to a full-grown woman who was sitting on a tricycle while being pushed around by three muscular men. Noticing everyone’s gaze on her, she continued.

"Things aren’t as bad as you think they are. We’ll get new anomalies in no time. We just have to wait for a rift to open and—"

"You think of the dimensional rifts as supermarkets, do you, Mary?" Tom snarled at her, cutting her off. "Do you have any idea how many people lost their lives to open the last rift?"

"And? There are a lot of beggars on the street. Why don’t you clean them up, like the noble politician you are?" Mary scoffed and blew her tongue at him before turning around. "Always taking your anger out on others. Some division head you are!"

"You—" Tom gritted his teeth to let out his anger, only to get cut off by her.

"Don’t grit your teeth with such strength, or they’ll fall apart," Mary gave him a parting remark before disappearing in the dark.

Once she was gone, Tom released all the pent-up anger at the rest.

"What are you fucking waiting for? GO AND FIND THE BASTARD RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!!!"