“Hey.”His ears twitched at the call.“Snap out of it.”At those words, the red eyes slammed back and forth several times.It felt strange. Just watching Joo-o’s pupils contract and dilate made Muhae’s spine tingle as if a blade pressed at his throat.“I said, snap out of it.”Finally, Joo-o began to °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° understand. Each time Muhae spoke, his lips twitched slightly.Muhae gripped Joo-o’s cheeks with his bloodied hands. Warm flesh against his palms made Joo-o’s eyes shift again.“You’re not speaking, huh?”At the threatening tone, the rigid tension in Joo-o’s jaw eased. Muhae pressed a fingertip into his cheek; the glaring eyes softened bit by bit.“…No.”At last, Joo-o opened his mouth.“Good.”“I hate crushed Muhae.”“Okay, I get it.”Suppressing the creepy echo of those words, Muhae teased him. Dark red blood dripped from his fingertips.“I hate crushed Muhae.”“Please.”A wounded Muhae, Muhae with a broken bone, Muhae in perfect health—why that chilling word? The residue of battle’s adrenaline still stung. Better to be silent. After a moment’s hesitation, Muhae covered Joo-o’s mouth.Huff. Huff. Joo-o’s weak breath tickled the palm of Muhae’s hand.“Muhae… the smell.”Joo-o mumbled into his hand. Strangely, after saying that, he seemed to come fully to—his eyes narrowed.“Touch me.”So he was conscious again. Finally he spoke the words Muhae had been waiting for. Muhae raised an eyebrow, then tentatively moved his hand to Joo-o’s ear.It had to be done. To calm him, check his injuries, tidy the area. Muhae swept back his hair and gently stroked Joo-o’s ear.What on earth were they doing out here? Regardless of the oddness, the warmth and softness of the ear was comforting. The cartilage yielding under his fingertip sparked a strange urge in Muhae’s gut.“Hah.”Joo-o exhaled in satisfaction and gently closed his eyes. Leaning his head into Muhae’s palm, he rubbed his cheek on the same hand that held him. As if begging for more touches, purring for caresses.Creepy. It was truly odd. Another shiver climbed Muhae’s spine—but this time, he couldn’t tell if it was fear or peculiar delight.He pressed the soft earlobe with his nail. Too hard—his fingertip whitened. His mind heated, his shaking throat riveted his gaze downward.“Want to smell it?”Compelled, Muhae’s hand drifted to Joo-o’s nose. When his fingertips brushed it, the moist, pliant flesh tickled between his fingers.“Hah… fuck.”Joo-o, inhaling deeply again and again, began to nibble at the tender flesh.Heat surged through Muhae. Had he lost his mind? When the spine-tingling sensation pierced him, he yanked his hand back.“Don’t lick it—it’s disgusting.”“Huh?”Joo-o’s half-open eyes regained some lucidity, tinged with disappointment. Muhae, wiping his forehead in disgust, pulled away again.“I told you not to do weird stuff. If you’re awake, move.”Joo-o’s dazed eyes kept following Muhae’s hand.“Muhae. Tastes like blood.”“Yeah. You’re all nicked up and bleeding like crazy. Let’s go back.”“You hurt?”“It’s nothing. Check yourself.”Pushing Joo-o’s head aside, Muhae scanned him. Other than a few splatters of Anomaly ichor, he was fine. His clothes were dirty but unmarred.“I thought you’d be smashed.”“Stop saying that.”“I almost got mad.”“I’m the one who’s about to snap.”Muhae spoke coolly, but he felt no real anger. He knew that without Joo-o’s help, he might’ve been gravely injured. Terrifying as it sounded… he’d nearly been crushed. Then the Anomaly would’ve finished him off in its signature manner.Muhae caught his breath as Joo-o wrapped his arms around his waist. This time Muhae couldn’t push him away; his arms fell awkwardly.“This hide’s not supposed to be this hard to get.”Hearing Joo-o’s mutter, Muhae remembered why they’d come. Damn—it was about the hide. Instead, they’d fought another Anomaly. His bike had gone flying, too. Remembering it, Muhae whipped his head around.“Smoke.”“Damn it! Let go.”Hoisting the reluctant Joo-o at his hip, Muhae dragged him to the bike.The wrecked machine was badly dented but, to his relief, the frame seemed intact.Vroooom—It even started up. The vital components were luckily unharmed. But it wouldn’t hold up for travel. They’d have to spend another fortune on repairs.“Can’t sell that?”Joo-o peered at the bike with an equally serious expression, then pointed at the Anomaly corpse. The mangled body lay useless in a pool of ichor.Who knew? Unlike beasts whose parts were industrial commodities, Anomalies had limited uses. Muhae considered salvaging the bones—when a chilling thought struck.“I hope it killed a lot of people.”“What?”“Then they’ll pay us.”Only after staring between Joo-o and the corpse did Muhae grasp Joo-o’s grim intent: if this Grade 1 had harmed humans near the Comfort Zone, the city would reward them.“I’ve never heard of that.”If a bounty had been posted, Seogyeong City would’ve known. Muhae—who’d come from there to hunt a 귀호—surely would’ve heard. Yet a flicker of hope remained in him—he checked his watch, paused.Welcome!Location ▶ [Seogyeong City]Today’s Weather: Clear/DryLately, aside from long-term Company contracts, credible jobs had been scarce. But that was thinking only of income. If he included hintless gigs, something worthwhile would surface.Scrolling the list expertly, Muhae soon raised an eyebrow.!Notice![Seogyeong City] Within a 100 km radius, Grade 1 Anomalies have appeared, causing progressive damage to Central Company personnel and assets.Grade 1: Stone Carver ▶ View footage (Click)Capture or elimination of target9,980 dil…Coincidence?A hot, fresh notice, less than a day old, blinked before Muhae. He’d thought the Anomaly they’d killed had never ventured this close, but now it fit perfectly.“Muhae. I’m kinda hungry.”Again. Another unlucky disaster struck, they resolved it somehow, and an unexpected reward followed. Events that might happen once in years had begun occurring routinely.Muhae stared at the hologram for a long moment, then shifted his gaze slowly. Joo-o’s red eyes, now steady, met his quietly.It felt strange. Since exploring the Kan Rano disaster site, he’d felt caught in a force far beyond him. Was it all imagination? Was stress pushing him over the edge?“It’s raining.”Patter. Patter. Large drops hit Muhae’s crown. No wonder the sky had looked overcast—they were getting rain after all.Gulp—Joo-o swallowed, washing the foul ichor from his hand.‘I’ll help you.’That strange sensation he’d felt when he first viewed his father’s records—the hazy, bright feeling—had returned around Joo-o.“You heading home?”Joo-o’s red eyes, now lucid, fixed fully on Muhae. Though Muhae had found him and brought him home, he felt ‘choice’ wasn’t his own.“No.”Banishing the thought, Muhae closed his eyes. When he wiped his wet face and opened them again, Joo-o was simply an extraordinary, unidentified housemate.“My small craft’s rental period isn’t up.”“So?”“I might as well visit somewhere else while I get paid.”Yet that surreal, cultish feeling—that everything had been preordained—wouldn’t go away.“Let’s go to Seogyeong City.”Raising his soaked voice, Muhae turned and stared off into the distance.Seogyeong City was one of the later-built domed cities. After Goryeo City prospered, some executives moved here to establish a new hub.Lush mutated plants and the resulting food chains thrived. A major metropolis within easy reach.Designed as an industrial zone for primary and secondary industries, it once produced all the consumer goods sent out from Goryeo City.But over the last decade, aggressive beasts began roaming between the two Comfort Zones. Even without a nearby crystal zone, Anomalies lurked, virtually halting civilian travel.Still, drones and mercs continued trading between the cities. Humans might be trapped under domes, but money and goods kept flowing.Central—the concentration of Seogyeong City’s wealth and power. Gigantic billboards on skyscrapers blasted flashy ads; expensive hover cars lined the streets.“Wow.”Fresh off the train, Joo-o let out a gasp. The night-shrouded city before him glittered in rainbow lights.

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