S Chapter 33

“Are you full?”

“Not at all. Give me more.”

Eve whined that she was hungry. It seemed taking a small bite only stimulated her appetite more. I shouldn’t have asked. Damn it.

‘Can’t you endure it for a bit?’

‘No. Do you have a conscience?’

‘Eve, I told you what would happen if you used that tone.’

‘You said you’d kill me.’

‘…When did I ever say that?’

‘Hmph.’

It couldn’t be helped. If he didn’t give her more, she would surely grumble all day. She’d probably torment him until he fell asleep. Shin Jukyeong briefly imagined it.

‘I’m hungry! I’m hungry! Hung-hung-hung-hung! So hungryyyyy!’

‘You eat three meals a day yourself!’

‘This is abuse. I’m going to report you. I’m reporting you right now!’

‘Poor Eve. Shin Jukyeong is mean. You’re poop, blegh blegh blegh.’

…Hm. It would be better to be physically tired.

“Just a little.”

‘Stingy. …Hmph.’

This brat? Just as he was thinking of showing her the meanness of giving and then taking away, Eve swiftly began to consume his internal energy. His lifespan was being extorted in real-time.

“Ugh…”

Shin Jukyeong stumbled greatly. Perhaps because it was an Ancient Artifact, even a slight share caused a significant impact. Dripping. He ended up seeing blood. Shin Jukyeong pressed his warm nose with the back of his hand, careful to stop the bleeding, then walked clumsily.

‘Damn it. I’ll have to buy some iron supplements.’

Then, he picked up the pen rolling on the floor and approached the man. The man’s dry lips were parting. He was probably saying something like “Save me,” or “I was wrong.” Why do criminals always regret their actions only when they’re on the verge of death? Why don’t they just live right from the start?

“Your name is… ah, you can’t speak, can you.”

He wanted to at least hear his name, as they had shared some private words, but it was a shame. Shin Jukyeong twirled the pen, lost in thought for a moment. Save him? Kill him?

“Sa… ve… me…”

Click! The pen stopped spinning in his hand. He had decided.

“Sorry. On second thought, I’ve told you too much about myself.”

His voice was bland, devoid of any guilt.

“You have to die.”

Still, thanks to him, Shin Jukyeong felt refreshed. Thank you.

“Farewell.”

Shin Jukyeong raised his hand high into the air.

B, the bodyguard of the VIP special room. He suddenly felt something was amiss.

‘It’s incredibly persistent today.’

The consultation, which should have ended by now, was taking longer than expected. The boss, who constantly droned on about “time is money,” must have gone mad.

‘What’s up with him? Does that mean it’s someone important?’

It seemed he was putting a lot of effort into it.

‘Damn it. I’m not getting anything out of this.’

B grumbled inwardly, full of dissatisfaction. Just finish up and leave, he thought. He wanted a cigarette! Just as he was slumping, dreaming of neglecting his duties, the door opened.

‘Agh!’

He hastily corrected his posture. It was because of the eccentric boss. Perhaps he’d been mocked for his “short education,” but he vehemently detested any display of what was commonly called “gangster vibes.” He claimed to be a businessman or something. Anyway, knowing how sensitive he was, B was cautious first. He didn’t want to get severely beaten just for irritating him.

In truth, violence was the very identity of a gangster, wasn’t it? But what did it matter? B wasn’t the type to ponder for long. His current life was tough enough, so he just wanted to live simply and comfortably. Live simply!

“You’re working hard!”

B bowed his upper body in greeting. The boss, as always, gave no reaction.

‘Son of a bitch. Never once acknowledges it. …Huh? I smell something metallic.’

Just as he instinctively tried to raise his head, a wide palm flew toward him and stopped precisely in front of his nose. Despite not being a long distance, his hair floated up and then settled down.

‘Do gangsters these days also have to know how to use qi blasts? The standard for gangsters has gone up again… Damn it.’

He hadn’t even finished yet. Now he was on the verge of having to read martial arts novels. Those were definitely long. B, the reading king, swallowed hard. Gulp! The sound was exceptionally loud.

“Straight back.”

The boss said, obscuring B’s vision. His voice was blunt and cold. B awkwardly obeyed the command. Uh-oh—he made a silly sound as he slowly retreated.

He was only permitted to raise his head after putting some distance between himself and the VIP room.

‘Blood?’

B noticed blood on the boss’s clothes. Moreover, it wasn’t a small area. The entire neck region was dark crimson. However, it was a fundamental rule in this business to pretend not to see what you saw and not to hear what you heard. Memorize it if you don’t want to die young.

‘What do I care if there’s blood on him or if he’s spilling blood?’

B, whose role model was a longevity turtle, lowered his gaze. Then the boss spoke.

“I think I need to go to the cage…”

“Excuse me? The cage?”

“…”

The returning gaze was icy. It probably meant, “Don’t be presumptuous.” B was well aware of that.

‘What a pain in the ass.’

B quickly added, “Oh!” realizing his mistake.

“Yes, yes. Let’s go. Sir.”

“Before that, a small errand…”

“Yes?”

“Our most important VIP customer, um… his boyfriend is waiting in the lounge, you know, the most handsome and youngest… ahem.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“Please guide him to another private room…”

The end of his sentence was subtly vague. It was an odd way of speaking, neither formal nor informal. However, B didn’t question it. Or rather, he tried not to. Curiosity killed the cat, as the saying goes, so pointless questions were forbidden. He just needed to do his job well.

After all, the relationship between employer and employee was like that of master and slave, or Aladdin and the Lamp Genie. Of course, the latter was the hopeful scenario… Still, he comforted himself, at least the boss wasn’t like a certain dictator.

“Yes. Understood. I’ll radio it in right away.”

B turned on his radio. Since the boss was watching, he exaggerated slightly.

“There should be the most handsome and youngest customer in the lounge, guide him to VIP Room 2 and serve him a table of drinks!”

“Drinks… should be omitted… ahem!”

“Excuse me? Oh, yes. Not drinks, but coffee and sandwiches—”

“Orange juice.”

“…The order is for orange juice and simple snacks.”

“…”

“Um… Sir.”

“…”

“Should I make it organic?”

“Yes. DeLXe.”

‘Your face looks terrible right now. It’s messed up.’

Eve grumbled.

‘Where on earth do you learn such words? You should use proper and polite language.’

‘Then what should I say?’

‘Your facial features are minced.’

‘…?’

‘…They look mashed?’

‘Do you know what pure evil is?’

‘I don’t want to hear it from you.’

‘Tee hee~’

A skull bomb exploded right in Shin Jukyeong’s face. That demon, seriously. As he frowned, Eve hurriedly vanished, claiming he was starting to nag. Did she think he’d go easy on her for that? Just wait until they got home, she’d be scolded twice as much.

Shin Jukyeong looked at the man walking ahead with a sullen expression. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice the transformation. Thanks to that, he was able to reach the place called the cage without suspicion.

‘I even wore the dead guy’s clothes in preparation for guard dogs. It seems I didn’t need to go that far.’

The structure was complex, but the security was lax.

“Does he feel confident because he’s hidden them away so tightly?”

“Yes?”

When he mumbled without realizing it, the subordinate immediately reacted. “Yes?” What kind of “yes”? Shin Jukyeong glared at the subordinate with a look of disgust, then surveyed the surroundings. Two outer entrances, two staircases, one next to them. …Hm. I can finish this quickly.

Wham!

“Ugh?!”

He precisely struck a pressure point. The man collapsed without even resisting. At most, he’d last 30 seconds. He wouldn’t go far. Farewell, and pay for your wrongs in the next life. That’s an extra 30 years of Community Service.

“Speaking of which…”

He never imagined there would be so many. He had seen many crime scenes, but this was unprecedented.

‘The stench is incredible.’

The area was filled with cages. Rusty iron bars were stacked high, layer upon layer, like an illegal breeding farm. The only difference was that the confined beings were humans, not animals.

He had expected at most ten or so people, but he was completely wrong. Moreover, the smell of rotting corpses wafted heavily, reinforcing the certainty that they were treated worse than slaves.

‘Justice Realization is desperately needed.’

This again ignites the fire in the chest of an amateur human rights activist.

‘I’ve decided on utter destruction for every single one of them.’

A shadow fell across Shin Jukyeong’s face. A chill settled low. If he were Rakun, his tail would have puffed up completely. That’s how incredibly displeased he was.

“Hung… ry… so… hungry.”

A thin, emaciated arm suddenly protruded. Shin Jukyeong silently gazed at the person. Sunken eyes and yellowed teeth were visible. It was a pathetic sight, having received not even minimal care. The person waved their arm a few times, then finally burst into tears.

“Hic… My stomach… I’m hungry… Hic!”

“…”

An awakened individual is not a god or a monster. They are merely blessed humans. Therefore, if they don’t eat, they die. If they don’t drink, they die. Abilities can only be used if the body can endure it.

Shin Jukyeong scanned his surroundings. Malnutrition, dehydration, beatings, skin necrosis… There were simply too many symptoms visible. Some even bore explicit traces of torture.