Yoon Nana’s house and Seo Jung-woo’s house were in the same neighborhood.

After dropping off Yoon Nana, Seo Jung-woo parked the red compact car he had temporarily driven for the day in a public parking lot near his house.

As Seo Sora got out of the car, she spoke firmly.

“Don’t even dream about it!”

“About what?”

“My friend is off-limits!”

“Yeah. I think so too. No way.”

Seo Sora was taken aback. That wasn’t the response she had expected.

“Huh? That’s weird. You’re not usually like this. Didn’t you already start planning which wedding hall to book while looking at our Nana?”

“At least it’s better than family planning talk. It’s noisy, so let’s just go inside and order pizza.”

“How can you eat again after eating so much?”

The next afternoon, Seo Jung-woo crossed over to the other world, where war against monsters raged on.

There were no restrictions on his departure point when crossing over. Even if he suddenly appeared in the middle of a road, people would just mistake it for a rare teleportation skill.

However, when returning, he had to use a predetermined safe point to avoid drawing attention. His preferred spots were abandoned construction sites, though he also used his house at times.

After crossing over, he took a bus home.

“It’s a bit far, so it’s inconvenient.”

When he arrived home, Seo Sora hadn’t left for work yet.

Seo Jung-woo pulled out a pizza. The night before, he had been too full and could only eat one slice. He had stored the leftovers in the fridge, then packed them in an airtight container before crossing back.

Seo Sora’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow! A real pizza! I’ve only seen these in pictures!”

“You had pizza when you were really little. Though back then, we had to cut it up into small pieces for you.”

“I don’t remember that.”

With livestock industries in ruins, real cheese was practically nonexistent.

The "cheese" sold in stores was all synthetic, made from edible oil. Even that oil wasn’t extracted from grains.

Pizza dough was made from synthetic flour, and toppings consisted of ham made from monster meat.

Tomato sauce wasn’t used. Tomatoes could be grown in pots, but those were usually eaten by the growers themselves.

With such ingredients, it was impossible for pizza to taste good. But then again, most other food in that world tasted even worse.

Seo Jung-woo thought to himself,

‘Monsters are this world’s biggest problem, but food is just as serious.’

Thanks to hydroponically grown chlorella and meat from beast-type monsters, no one starved. However, food was tasteless.

People in that world ate to survive.

‘Medicine is easy to transport since it doesn’t take up much space, but there’s no way to bring flavorful ingredients in bulk. There’s really no solution to this.’

Seo Sora took a bite of the cold pizza. Her eyes widened.

“It’s really good!”

Last night, Seo Jung-woo had eaten the pizza fresh and hot in that world. Seeing his sister so moved by cold pizza made him feel uneasy.

“Ah, if you heat it in the microwave, it’ll taste a little better.”

Seo Sora quickly microwaved the pizza and ate happily.

Seo Jung-woo said,

“Eat as much as you want. Just take your time and drink some cola too.”

‘There’s no other choice. At least we can eat well.’

Deep within the Jeokseong Gate region in northern Gyeonggi Province, Hunter Park Cheol-woo was on high alert, scanning his surroundings.

“Damn. Where is it?”

Sweat trickled from his hands gripping the assault rifle. Thanks to his combat gloves, his grip didn’t slip, but the inner lining was already drenched.

Two other hunters, part of a makeshift team, stood beside Cheol-woo. Their weapons were different from the previous team. This time, they were armed with a light machine gun and a 12-round shotgun.

However, the shotgunner was bleeding from his abdomen.

“Shit. Who would’ve thought a chameleon bastard would pop out of this gate?”

Monsters of the same type always came from the same world.

It was common for a single world to have multiple connected gates, but a single gate never connected to multiple worlds simultaneously.

Javelin Chameleons weren’t supposed to appear in the Jeokseong Gate.

That gate primarily produced insect-type monsters. While the connected world wasn’t limited to just insects, it was rare for other types to emerge.

However, Javelin Chameleons were from a completely different world than Blade Mantises. According to conventional knowledge, those two species couldn’t come from the same gate.

Though, there were occasional cases where monsters from different worlds appeared in the same region.

Park Cheol-woo spoke up.

“I’ve heard of something like this before. There’s a chance another gate has recently opened near Jeokseong Gate…”

Suddenly, the light machine gunner spun around and squeezed the trigger.

“There you are!”

A storm of armor-piercing bullets shredded the trees. Sparks flew as rounds struck rocks.

Keeping the trigger held down, the gunner swept the area with the powerful rounds that could punch through steel.

Yet, the distinct cry of a wounded monster was absent.

Then, the gunfire ceased. The large-capacity 100-round magazine had run empty.

The gunner quickly detached the magazine and shouted,

“Reloading!”

Park Cheol-woo hadn’t fired his weapon.

With the shotgunner down, they needed to avoid depleting both of their magazines at the same time. If they both ran out of ammo, they’d be left with only their pistols.

While the machine gunner reloaded, Park Cheol-woo kept watch with his assault rifle.

Just then, a voice called from behind them.

“At least check if it’s a person before firing. What if you hit someone?”

The gunner reflexively reached for his pistol, but upon realizing the newcomer was human, he shouted,

“Who are you?!”

Before Seo Jung-woo could answer, Park Cheol-woo turned around with a beaming face and shouted,

“You’re here!”

Seo Jung-woo grumbled,

“Mister, you’re unbelievable. What the hell are you doing all the way out here? This area isn’t even properly scouted! It took me forever to find you.”

“You keep showing up so often, so I keep pushing my limits.”

“What if you end up in a mess like this on a day I don’t come? How are you gonna get out? Seriously, take care of yourself. Last time you got hurt when I wasn’t around, and now that your injury’s healed, you’re overdoing it again.”

Park Cheol-woo chuckled.

“Heh. Whatever, you’re here now. We’re saved.”

The light machine gunner finished reloading and spoke while keeping watch.

“The Javelin Chameleon is nearby. We don’t have time to chat. We need to retreat.”

Seo Jung-woo raised his assault rifle.

“Ah, that thing’s not a chameleon.”

“What?”

Detection skills sensed the killing intent of monsters when they targeted humans. With Seo Jung-woo’s high-level detection, he could pinpoint a monster’s location just from its killing intent.

He slightly adjusted his aim upward and pulled the trigger.

A burst of armor-piercing rounds shot into the air, embedding into a tree branch that was significantly thicker than the others.

At that moment, the branch let out a scream.

“Kyaaaah!”

The front of the branch split apart, revealing sharp teeth.

Armor-piercing rounds continued to fly, embedding themselves into the monster disguised as a branch. Its exoskeleton cracked apart with a dry sound, and bodily fluids splattered.

The monster, struck by the armor-piercing rounds, was pushed backward with each impact, before letting out a shriek and plummeting downward.

Seo Jung-woo’s gun muzzle followed the falling monster. Even as it fell through the air, the monster was riddled with more armor-piercing rounds before slamming into the ground.

Seo Jung-woo continued firing at the monster that had crashed into the ground. Its exoskeleton shattered with a loud noise.

The large-capacity magazine, originally filled with fifty armor-piercing rounds, was emptied entirely into the monster without a single missed shot. In an instant, the creature was torn to shreds.

As Seo Jung-woo reloaded an empty magazine, he spoke.

“It’s an insect-type with a camouflage skill.”

Camouflage skills allow a creature to alter its color and shape, making it appear like another object. In a forest like this, such a skill makes it nearly impossible to distinguish with the naked eye.

“It’s rare for an insect-type monster to have a camouflage skill, but when they do…”

The creature that had fallen to the ground wasn’t a Harpoon Chameleon. It was a slender, two-meter-long insect-type monster.

“Their exoskeletons are generally weaker compared to ordinary ones, so once you identify their location, they’re easy to take down.”

Seo Jung-woo had a detection skill, allowing him to pinpoint the monster’s exact position.

Those without such skills had to rely on infrared sensors or other equipment to locate camouflaged monsters. However, all three of their sensors had burned out long ago and were useless.

The machine gunner’s mouth hung open before he finally understood what had happened.

“A detection skill?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“You didn’t miss a single shot… Does that mean you also have a shooting skill?”

At that moment, he realized who he was speaking to.

“Ah, so you’re that Seo Jung-woo?”

Seo Jung-woo didn’t respond. Instead, he examined the shotgunner’s wound.

“Damn, your stomach’s completely punctured. We need to evacuate you immediately.”

The trauma treatment capabilities in this world were far superior to those in the other world.

By extracting specific substances from monsters, refining them, and combining them with existing medicines, they had developed advanced wound-healing agents that allowed even gravely injured individuals to recover without major aftereffects.

Of course, for injuries this severe, hospitalization was still necessary for proper treatment. No matter how advanced medicine became, hospitals and doctors remained essential—especially with the frequency of severe monster-related injuries.

Seo Jung-woo made a suggestion to the shotgunner.

“If you have a Red Potion, you should just use it now. It’ll save everyone a lot of trouble.”

The Red Potion was a miraculous wound-healing agent that could treat a penetrating abdominal wound on the spot, eliminating the need for hospitalization.

The grenade launcher operator gritted his teeth through the pain and responded.

“I tried to get one, but they’re nearly impossible to find.”

“Yeah, they’re incredibly rare. In that case, we’ll have to staple it shut.”

Seo Jung-woo pulled an emergency stapler from his bag. He sprayed medicine onto the injured man’s stomach and used the stapler to clamp the wound shut, temporarily sealing it. Over that, he applied a medical treatment sheet infused with monster-derived substances, designed to protect the wound and prevent infection.

“This is just emergency first aid. We need to retreat immediately. Oh, and let me borrow your gun.”

Seo Jung-woo held out his hand to the machine gunner.

Without hesitation, the other man handed over his machine gun. In situations like this, it was best to give the most powerful weapon to the strongest fighter.

“The magazine is fully loaded.”

Park Cheol-woo and the machine gunner helped support the grenade launcher operator.

Seo Jung-woo slung his original assault rifle over his shoulder, securing it behind his back, then gripped the machine gun with both hands.

As he led the way, he muttered to Park Cheol-woo.

“Seriously, old man, you need to be more careful. This keeps happening.”

“Heh. If I don’t take risks, who else is supposed to scout and assess the state of the gate? Just keep moving.”

On their way out of the defensive line, they encountered insect-type monsters twice. Each time, Seo Jung-woo obliterated them with the machine gun. Other than that, they faced no significant threats.

Once they exited the defensive perimeter, they headed straight to the field hospital. Inside a modified container, a doctor examined the shotgunner’s wound and spoke.

“There’s considerable organ damage. It’ll take about a month to fully heal. Though with good medicine, the recovery time can be shortened.”

The shotgunner replied.

“Reduce it as much as possible. There are still too many monsters left to kill.”

“If you’re willing to pay ten times the usual fee, I can use a high-concentration treatment to cut it down to a week.”

“I’ll pay.”

The doctor didn’t even mention the Red Potion. If they had one, they wouldn’t have needed to come here in the first place.

After admitting the shotgunner to the hospital, the machine gunner and Seo Jung-woo simply shook hands and parted ways.

Seo Jung-woo then moved toward Park Cheol-woo’s private tent.

Park Cheol-woo asked, “You seem pissed about something. Doesn’t look like it’s just because you had a hard time finding me.”

“I’m not exactly pissed, but something outside did annoy me a bit. I’ll need at least one more song to clear my mind.”

“Two weren’t enough?”

“I need at least three to make sure I don’t get ignored.”

“Really?”

Park Cheol-woo turned on his laptop and played a track.

“How about this one?”

It was an instrumental piece, no lyrics—just the sound of the instruments.

“This one is really good.”

But it was a song Seo Jung-woo had never heard before.

“Is this an unreleased track?”

“Yeah. You’re the first person to hear it.”

Seo Jung-woo hesitated.

‘Taking an unreleased song feels a little wrong…’

At first, he thought that, but then quickly realized how pointless the concern was.

‘Wait, no. Even if I take this song to the other world, it’ll still be unreleased here.’

Seo Jung-woo grinned.

“I won’t be releasing this song to the public anywhere. So you can still sell it to another artist if you want. There won’t be any problems.”

Park Cheol-woo shook his head.

“No, I never planned on giving this song to anyone else.”

“Huh?”

Park Cheol-woo glanced at his monitor’s desktop. A photo of a much younger Park Ha-yeon and Park Da-yeon, along with his wife, was displayed.

“I wrote this song for my twins’ debut as singers.”

His eyes half-closed as he spoke.

“I never got to hear them sing it.”

Then his eyes opened again, and his expression brightened.

“But those four girls you’re pushing… Two of them remind me of my twins. Now, I want to hear them sing it.”