Deep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast - Chapter 42: Brachium Shock (3)

Deep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast – 42

EP.42 Brachium Shock (3)

In conclusion, Silo’s decision to shut down the internet was correct.

That measure significantly contributed to preventing the spread of the incident.

Despite it being a weekday afternoon, the number of people watching Parang’s broadcast outdoors was relatively very low.

This is because Parang’s main audience consists of Hunters.

Due to the nature of their job, on days when they don’t enter gates, they mostly stay at home.

The murderous heat of July also played a part in keeping Hunters from going out.

In such a situation, shutting down the internet meant that it couldn’t affect the outside world.

And surprisingly, even the Hunters watching Parang’s broadcast outdoors, specifically inside gates, were mostly safe.

Sometimes, Hunters enter gates that are significantly below their required skill level.

They might be tired of life-and-death battles, have earned enough money, and enter gates as a pastime.

Since it gets boring to go through gates all day, they often play Parang’s broadcast like a radio because of her pleasant voice.

These Hunters didn’t directly watch the screen. Hence, they never made eye contact with Brachium.

Perhaps because of this, they weren’t affected by the ‘Open Eyes’ status effect.

However, Silo couldn’t do much for non-awakened viewers watching the broadcast outside, such as at work or school.

They tried to control the information, but it was inevitable that the world government and the Hunter Association would notice.

An incident like this, an awareness disaster targeting an unspecified large number of people via an internet broadcast, was bound to be noticed.

This information would undoubtedly reach both the world government and the Hunter Association.

But this was an outcome that Silo Corporation had anticipated.

At first glance, it might seem like such information reaching the world government would be a fatal blow to Silo.

But upon closer inspection? Even from the world government’s perspective, something about it doesn’t sit well.

It was good that Silo caused an incident, but unfortunately, it happened underwater.

To publicize it would mean informing the world about terrifying monsters living in the deep sea.

To cover it up would mean missing an opportunity to hit Silo.

A dilemma. The term “hot potato” fits perfectly.

This was exactly what Silo relied on. They could pretend nothing happened even if incidents kept popping up underwater all day.

The real concern was the Hunter Association.

While the world government consistently acted with a ‘sea! people! put them in!’ approach, the Association was unpredictable.

It wasn’t strange that Silo’s attention was focused on the Association during this incident.

That day, Seo Sunwoo received three green teas.

Anyway.

The isolated personnel who had been affected by the status effect fell asleep immediately after the duration ended and woke up 30 minutes later, stating, ‘I don’t remember.’

They were aware they had been under a status effect called ‘Open Eyes,’ but they had forgotten all memories from those three minutes.

Additional tests were conducted just in case, but nothing unusual was found.

It could be said that Silo had taken all possible preemptive measures regarding the ‘Brachium Shock.’

What remained were the post-incident measures.

It was time to watch the world’s reaction.

#

“Phew….”

Meanwhile, Yu Parang.

The superstar who drove both fans and critics (literally) crazy poked her head out of the waters off the coast of Pohang.

“Inhale- exhale….”

She let out a sigh filled with many meanings.

Her first broadcast accident.

To be honest, she really didn’t want to admit it, but…

She had let her guard down.

She could have been more attentive.

She could have kept a closer watch on her surroundings.

She could have done better.

She felt upset.

The broadcast, which was meant to inform people about the dangers of the deep sea, ended up putting them in danger instead.

Of course, anyone who watched the series of events might side with Parang.

Who could have known that the arm embedded in the ground would move?

Who could have guessed that what the hands were holding up would be an eye?

Who could have predicted that Brachium would penetrate the monitor and launch a mental attack?

Moreover, Parang handled the aftermath quite well.

She quickly assessed the situation and dealt with Brachium.

It was just a small lapse in vigilance.

A tiny lapse that anyone could make, leading to the worst outcome.

So, one could argue that Parang wasn’t at fault.

But human thinking doesn’t work that way.

People were harmed because of her mistake, and they could have been seriously injured.

And these were people who liked her.

When that happens, people shrink back. They lose confidence and become discouraged.

No one can shamelessly say, ‘I made a mistake, but it wasn’t that big of a deal,’ with confidence.

No matter how many lifetimes one has lived, such emotions aren’t easily experienced.

She almost caused irreversible chaos in society due to a single mistake.

These are not emotions that a person can normally experience in everyday life, regardless of being a reincarnator or not.

Depression, disappointment, guilt.

These were the emotions Parang was feeling.

Falling into depression is like sinking into deep water; if you don’t swim out, you keep sinking deeper.

Downward, downward.

There’s a reason why depression is often compared to submersion.

What pulled Parang out of her deepening depression was a single text message.

It was from Xiao.

─Parang.

─I just received the skull from Silo. I did a preliminary dive.

─The situation is quite serious. It would be good if you could see it as soon as possible.

─Tomorrow would be best. What do you think?

That message snapped Parang back to her senses.

Right. She couldn’t let herself be paralyzed by this incident.

The beings who reached the pinnacle of humanity and became gods were dead, and the world was now in danger. Almost certainly.

And Parang had the ability to save the world in crisis.

Sometimes, the fact that one ‘can’ do something equates to the obligation that one ‘must’ do it.

Saving the world is one of those things.

So, Parang had the duty to save the world.

What good would it do to sit here and wallow?

Yet, ignoring her mistakes wasn’t in Parang’s nature either.

Whether it was a mistake or a lapse in vigilance, it was still her fault.

So, she should take responsibility for her mistakes and apologize.

Finally, her mind felt a bit clearer.

Why had she been agonizing over this?

She emerged from the water with renewed vigor and stood confidently on the pier.

Then she typed a message on her phone.

─Got it. Let’s meet at my place tomorrow. All of Oceanos. It’ll be much better to watch it together.

On August 4th, Parang had to meet Seo Sunwoo.

The fact that Parang, who could now easily contact key personnel in Silo, was being specifically summoned meant that there was still something only Seo Sunwoo could offer or request. Most likely, it was related to the Hunter Association.

After that, she had to decide whether to accept the invitation from the world government.

The more information she had, the better.

Thus, the dive into Alexandra Carmen’s memories was scheduled for August 3rd.

#

Meanwhile, at a branch of the Hunter Association somewhere in the world.

“Please leave it there.”

“Oh, yes.”

Another document was placed on the desk of a woman sitting in a plush-looking chair, reviewing papers.

The man who placed the document bowed once and then walked out of the office.

Red eyes and long black hair.

The Association President, Natsuko, turned her gaze to the document the man had left.

It was a confidential document from Silo.

Although Natsuko was often evaluated as lacking in strategy compared to her overwhelming combat power, she wasn’t so foolish as to rely solely on Seo Sunwoo for all information about Silo.

She had someone on her side secretly extracting information from Silo as well.

Of course, the information wasn’t as detailed or high-quality as what Seo Sunwoo provided.

It was vague, blurry, and of lower quality.

So, these pieces of information were for verification.

They were used to cross-check and roughly determine the authenticity of the information Seo Sunwoo brought.

And eventually.

As Natsuko carefully scanned the document, she came across a name that caught her eye.

‘Yu Parang….’

Her bright red eyes fixated on the name.

‘An underwater Hunter, huh.’

It seemed necessary to investigate further.

#

And the next day.

Saturday, August 3rd.

The six members of Oceanos gathered at Parang’s house, around the tank.

Xiao looked down at the skull in her hand.

It belonged to the world’s strongest druid, the woman who became a god, Alexandra Carmen.

“The condition is worse than I thought. We can only see up to three hours before her death.”

Xiao said as she looked around at the group.

“…Are you ready? I’m telling you in advance because I’m worried, you should brace yourselves.”

A tense silence filled the room. What had she seen to make her say this?

“…Phew.”

She let out a tense sigh and activated her skill.

“Dive.”

Splash!

Soon, everyone’s consciousness plunged into Alexandra’s memories.