I Just Subscribed and It’s the Best Hunter of All Time - Chapter 55

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Chapter 55.
Brickline.
That was the name of this district.
In the past, it had earned its name from rows of brick-built, low-rise structures, but their original character was now nearly impossible to find.
Concrete buildings crumbled by the passage of time stood in chaotic disarray.
With poor zoning and numerous illegal constructions, the alleyways here twisted like a labyrinth.
“Huff, gasp—!”
A woman raced through those winding passages.
Her eyes clouded with moisture, she pushed forward, running and running still.
Tap, tap, tap—!
And behind her, measured footsteps followed in steady rhythm.
The woman found those footsteps terrifying.
Whether she’d been walking before noticing something amiss, or now sprinting with all her might, the footsteps maintained their constant interval.
Anyone with sense would understand.
That the owner of those footsteps had her in their sights. That they were toying with her.
Yet she couldn’t stop.
The moment she did, the outcome was obvious.
Tap!
But all things must end.
The woman’s foot caught on a stone, sending her airborne before she crashed down with a sickening thud, tumbling across the pavement.
Simultaneously, the footsteps ceased.
Instead, a chilling voice caressed her ears as she gasped in pain.
“My, that must hurt. Are you quite all right?”
A gentle, composed voice.
Hearing it alone, one might think a kind gentleman was addressing someone who’d stumbled on the street.
But the current situation was far removed from such warmth.
“P-please, stay back—!”
The woman crawled across the ground, trying to distance herself from that voice.
“Have no fear. I mean you no harm.”
Yet the figure continued unhurried, steadily closing the gap.
In that moment, a name surfaced in the woman’s mind.
Psycho Jack.
That name—the one who’d recently shrouded these streets in terror.
Thud!
The woman’s body, dragging across the ground in flight, struck a dead-end wall.
She spun around, trembling violently, to see who approached her.
And when she finally confirmed his appearance, her eyes widened in horror.
“Dear me. You appear to be in considerable pain. I shall attend to you appropriately.”
Yet Psycho Jack, indifferent to the woman’s reaction, continued forward and raised something sharp.
But at that very moment.
Thud!
Someone landed gracefully in front of the Woman.
The Woman, who had kept her eyes squeezed shut, opened them after the long silence and flinched.
She had only just noticed the person standing before her.
A man dressed in peculiar clothing.
“Hmm.”
And that person was none other than Jung Han-sung.
* * *
Jung Han-sung glanced back before turning his gaze forward again.
It seemed he hadn’t arrived too late.
‘Good thing I came straight here without asking around.’
If he’d been even a few minutes—no, just one minute—later, the situation would have already unfolded.
One look at the sinister weapon clutched in that creature’s hand made that clear.
―…Is that Psycho Jack?
At that moment, Onyx’s voice reached him.
It was a question Jung Han-sung had also entertained.
When he’d seen from a distance that the creature was about to harm the Woman, he’d rushed in to intercept—but Psycho Jack’s appearance was far different from what he’d imagined.
“Who are you?”
So Jung Han-sung couldn’t help but ask.
The figure standing with what looked like a sharp scalpel in hand then spoke in a measured, gentle tone—.
“I am JAK-317 model. An emergency rescue and medical response android manufactured by JA Biomecha Corporation.”
―in an emotionless voice.
“My functions include life support, emergency medical treatment, tissue restoration, rescue assistance, and threat elimination as circumstances require.”
The android stated this matter-of-factly.
Among the eyewitness accounts of Psycho Jack, there was mention of this.
An eerie appearance, as though the entire body were patched together like rags.
Standing face-to-face with it now, I could confirm that the rumors held some truth.
The android’s artificial skin, which should have covered its body to make it appear human, was torn and frayed.
Moreover, it bore the marks of countless repairs, looking as though human skin had been crudely stitched together across its frame.
“Current situation classified as high-risk. Initiating stabilization protocols.”
The android, still holding the scalpel, gazed at the Woman behind Jung Han-sung.
Even after Jung Han-sung’s arrival, the android had not once shifted its gaze from the Woman.
The Woman trembled under that emotionless stare.
Jung Han-sung then spoke to the android again.
“Apart from the injuries from falling, she looks fine to me.”
“That is incorrect. Minute vibrational anomalies have been detected in portions of her internal organs, along with minor distortions in blood flow patterns. These conditions carry potential for hemorrhagic shock development, which my ‘risk classification algorithm’ evaluates as moderate severity or higher.”
A complex explanation followed. On the surface, it sounded plausible.
“Therefore, hepatic microvascular system maintenance, renal pressure relief, and left diaphragm stabilization procedures must be prioritized. This unit can complete said procedures within 3 minutes and 42 seconds. During the procedure, 92% of patients maintain consciousness—.”
The android stepped forward again, scalpel in hand, continuing its explanation.
But Jung Han-sung interrupted once more.
“Before that—did you ‘treat’ those patients who were found with their organs scattered about, or with their heads severed?”
“Yes. That is correct. It was appropriate medical intervention for those patients.
JAK-317—Psycho Jack, as he was called—slowly rotated the scalpel in his grip until the blade faced downward, then continued his explanation in measured tones.
“Their internal blood pressure readings and lipid concentrations exceeded safe thresholds. I determined this to be an early symptom of organ dysfunction, necessitating preventative excision.”
Now I understood what he meant.
He was talking about hypertension and hyperlipidemia.
“Following the procedure, all damaged tissue was removed, and all abnormal indicators disappeared.”
And this monster had removed their organs to “prevent” the problem, then laid them out.
Jung Han-sung started to ask about the severed heads, then stopped himself. There seemed little point in hearing more.
“From what you’re saying, I don’t think you need to do any more treating.”
Jung Han-sung flicked his hand, and a sword materialized in his grasp.
The moment Psycho Jack saw it, he lowered his stance and muttered under his breath.
“Structural obstruction detected. Will remove and resume construction.”
And with that, he kicked off the ground and lunged toward Jung Han-sung.
Clang!
Silver flashed, and I felt a surprisingly heavy impact reverberate through the blade.
“Huh.”
It was just a surgical scalpel, barely two finger-widths in length. Yet the force behind it was anything but ordinary.
Screech!
And the speed was beyond expectation.
An Awakener of middling ability wouldn’t have reacted to that first strike.
‘He’s far stronger than I anticipated. Can other Awakeners even break through this?’
Such thoughts crossed my mind, but truthfully, some of this was my own fault.
The reason this mission had been given 120 hours—such an extensive time limit—wasn’t simply because the arena was vast.
Normally, one should methodically investigate, gather detailed intelligence on Psycho Jack, fully comprehend his structure and weaknesses, and only then engage in combat.
But I had skipped all those steps and rushed directly to face the enemy.
And usually, the price for such carelessness was steep.
Clang, clang, clang—!
Fortunately, I possessed the strength to turn mistakes into non-mistakes.
Psycho Jack wielded his scalpel at an absolutely tremendous speed, yet I stood my ground and moved only my sword, deflecting every single attack.
And I didn’t stop there—I forced an opening and drove my blade through it.
Clang—!
But the sword bounced away far too easily.
It wasn’t that he’d blocked the attack. The blade tip had clearly made contact with his torso, yet the strike had no effect.
Thwip!
Seizing that moment, he thrust his scalpel between the gaps in my armor, carving a fresh wound into my flesh.
I retreated once more, searching for an opening while analyzing the flow of combat, attempting to land a killing blow.
Clang, clang!
But every successive attack failed. It felt like pounding a solid wall with my bare fists.
Meanwhile, Psycho Jack’s attacks continued to carve multiple new wounds across my body.
‘If I unleash a more powerful attack, I might be able to land a solid hit.’
Jung Han-sung hadn’t yet drawn upon his full strength.
However, after a moment’s consideration, Jung Han-sung decided to take a different approach—to make better use of his own abilities.
[You have subscribed to the ‘Universal Android Structure Analysis’ channel using a Bronze Ticket]
[You have subscribed to the ‘Essence of Engineering Knowledge’ channel using a Bronze Ticket]
Thus, Jung Han-sung quickly opened the subscription window and selected customized channels tailored to his opponent. The selection wasn’t difficult—they were already prominently displayed in the recommendations tab.
Both channels had a validity period of merely ten minutes or so, but that didn’t matter.
‘I can see it now.’
As long as I finish this within ten minutes.
And the effects of the subscribed channels were undeniable.
The android’s structure, which had seemed foreign before, now came into sharp focus, and its principles were thoroughly analyzed within my mind.
Why were all my attacks missing?
‘It wasn’t simply a matter of being hard.’
Though invisible to the eye, a faint defensive barrier was layered across the enemy’s body.
By analyzing the enemy’s structure, Jung Han-sung was able to deduce this fact.
Moreover, Jung Han-sung discovered one more thing.
‘It’s not using full power.’
It was the synergy between the newly subscribed channels and intuition.
Instinctively sensing that the menacing scalpel strikes weren’t everything, Jung Han-sung immediately poured more force into his blade.
Crackle-crack-crack!
The electrified sword swung toward Psycho Jack.
The concentrated electricity at the blade’s tip was designed to pierce through the enemy’s sturdy defensive barrier and deliver damage beyond it.
A customized attack for the opponent.
Psycho Jack’s response was straightforward.
To counterattack with the weapon he’d been concealing all this time.
Boom!
But Jung Han-sung, having anticipated the counterattack, twisted his head sharply and evaded the assault.
‘A gun? No, it’s different.’
Something like energy shot toward me at a terrifying speed.
Had I not anticipated and prepared beforehand, it would have been nearly impossible to dodge.
Rather than lamenting the missed attack, the creature began to actively deploy that weapon.
Boom-boom-boom-boom―!
Even as he continued his scalpel strikes, blue trajectories of energy hurtled toward Jung Han-sung.
Jung Han-sung found himself smiling despite himself.
Just when I thought I was getting accustomed to The Tower, it kept throwing new challenges at me.
Truly, there was never a dull moment.
Thud!
After evading several attacks, Jung Han-sung suddenly burst forward.
Psycho Jack seemed to have been waiting, preparing to unleash a full-power assault.
But Jung Han-sung’s charge wasn’t simply born from exhausted patience.
Whoooosh!
Crash!
The moment of attack came, and I dropped my body low, sliding backward in one fluid motion.
“Fast, sure—but it’s hard to stop mid-charge, isn’t it?”
Understanding the structure wasn’t merely about reading movements or anything so superficial.
I had already analyzed everything about this creature.
Whoosh!
When the attack missed, it abandoned the beam—which took time to recharge—and brought a scalpel down in a vicious arc instead.
Clang!
But I read that too, deflecting the strike with effortless grace.
Those two movements left its entire front exposed.
Yet it didn’t care.
It must have judged that even a blade wreathed in lightning could be endured once. All that mattered was delivering a more lethal blow in the meantime.
That was its reasoning.
“You should have dodged.”
That was its greatest mistake.
Without hesitation, I thrust my blade forward. It pierced through the joint of its left shoulder as if drawn by an invisible force.
The wound itself wasn’t fatal.
Crack!
But that location lay dangerously close to its vital components.
Crackle—crackle—crackle!
Thunder roared from my blade. Lightning spread outward from where the sword had wedged itself into the joint.
Electricity that would incinerate everything.
—Guh, guh, guh.
From the android Psycho Jack’s mouth—silent until now—something that wasn’t quite speech spilled forth.
Then its head snapped back sharply.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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