Chapter 38: The Day You Go Is the Market Day
"Squawk!"
At the same time, inside the rift, a giant pterosaur, struck in the throat, flapped its wings frantically before going limp. Cha Eui-jae twisted the neck of the pterosaur, which resembled a bird but exuded an unpleasant aura, with the decisiveness of wringing a chicken's neck on a hot day.
Before entering the rift, he felt nauseous, but after fighting off a few monsters, he started to feel better. Since he didn't sense any more presence, it seemed he had dealt with most of the monsters around. After stacking the pterosaur corpses neatly in a corner, he dusted off his hands.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the people swept into the rift seemed to have scattered. Thanks to that, he could slaughter the attacking monsters without hesitation. He stood over the dead pterosaur, rubbing his chin.
"It doesn't seem like a particularly dangerous rift... but should I reduce the number of monsters?"
He had to keep his identity hidden, so he couldn't openly rescue people, but he could indirectly ensure their safety by killing the monsters. He couldn't let innocent people get hurt because he didn't do what he could. Cha Eui-jae adjusted his misaligned shoes and started walking.
After wandering around for a while and destroying 24 pterosaurs and three herds of horned buffalo, he found a half-buried office chair with two wheels missing, a broken desk, and a half-buried cutout of Lee Sa-young near a field of blue reeds.
With a puzzled expression, Cha Eui-jae inspected the cutout. Despite being a thick piece of wood, it hadn't broken.
"Should I throw this away or not..."
After a moment of contemplation, he decided to keep the cutout. Even though it was just a familiar face, or rather, a familiar gas mask, it had become somewhat endearing due to frequent appearances in public service announcements. Recently, Park Ha-eun had been mimicking Lee Sa-young's strange hand gestures, making Cha Eui-jae acutely aware of the impact media could have on children.
In the end, he yanked out the familiar cutout and tucked it under his arm. He then stood the dirt-covered cutout upright under a tree shade and sat down on the broken chair. Though his body wobbled, his face was seriously pensive.
"Will the rescue team... come?"