Chapter 124

If Won Taebeom had to pick the most perplexing moment of the last few years, it would be right now.

For a moment, he even wondered if he was hallucinating.

Won Taebeom immediately went into a state of alert.

This was because he expected the Daeil Yeorae to be aimed at either Kwak Hanmuk or himself.

However, CEO Cha silently sheathed the Daeil Yeorae into its scabbard.

Kwak Hanmuk raised his eyebrows slightly.

“CEO Cha… Are you sick? Did you perhaps get hit by a gauntlet before I arrived?”

Even though he was openly provoking him, CEO Cha only spoke coldly.

“Where is Han Goyo?”

“Our Trainee Han is busy.”

Kwak Hanmuk and CEO Cha stared intently at each other.

Kwak Hanmuk grinned, revealing his fangs. However, his eyes remained unsmiling.

“CEO Cha, you need to play the prison warden well so things won’t get too busy. If the Chief of Security stages a coup, just pretend to go along with it. Done. Easy, right?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he spoke, then deliberately scratched at him one more time.

“I heard you’ve agreed to support Trainee Han, CEO Cha. If you can’t handle it, tell me right now. I’ll pass the message on to him.”

CEO Cha let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Me?”

He tilted his head slightly, keeping his gaze fixed on Kwak Hanmuk.

“Captain Kwak. I’m already playing along on my own. Don’t get on my nerves.”

A mechanical voice spat out a sarcastic warning.

“You should just keep acting like the TRA’s dog.”

Kwak Hanmuk let out a mocking bark as if he had been waiting for this moment.

However, CEO Cha didn’t even show a hint of disbelief.

“Yeah. He barks well.”

He tossed that remark out and walked straight out as if his business was finished.

Kwak Hanmuk let out a censored curse behind CEO Cha’s back.

Then, turning to Won Taebeom, he said:

“Lieutenant Won. Go to the medical officer’s quarters.”

He continued with idle chatter, saying he had to do what Trainee Han had ordered, and that Lieutenant Won should ask Trainee Han if he had eaten breakfast.

When Won Taebeom tried to brush it off and walk away, Kwak Hanmuk waved his hand and urged him again.

“I’m not just saying this; make sure you check on Trainee Han.”

“What kind of check are you talking about?”

“He looks quiet, but he’s quite the lunatic. It feels like he’s causing trouble right now, so keep a close eye on him.”

Did he hear this from Han Goyo?

His tone was strange, as if he had been relayed the situation without meeting him in person.

However, Won Taebeom did not bother to ask.

Gray eyes on an expressionless face turned toward Won Taebeom.

“Lieutenant Won, you don’t want to die a meaningless death here, do you? We need Trainee Han to get out, so don’t get any foolish thoughts right now. Put Trainee Han first and move. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Won Taebeom headed toward the medical officer’s quarters in obedience to his superior’s orders.

The hem of his black cassock fluttered as he took long strides.

As he walked alone down the dimly lit hallway, complex thoughts swirled in his mind.

The first question that came to mind was CEO Cha.

He had thought something was off since the terrorist attack on the TRA, but what just happened made it even clearer.

CEO Cha had shown a particularly lenient reaction toward Han Goyo.

No matter how useful Han Goyo was, it was strange for CEO Cha to act this way given his temperament.

It was also difficult to gauge Han Goyo’s intention in calling him now.

Up until now, Han Goyo had only asked him to gather information.

It was an instruction that conveyed he would not reveal too much to him.

It would not have been an exaggeration to say that Won Taebeom had been isolated during this mission, so he was simply puzzled that he suddenly sought him out first.

Just then, a whistling sound was heard.

Starting with a whistle, it was a mix of the hissing of a snake and giggling laughter.

Won Taebeom ignored it out of habit.

His own strangely twisted voice lingered in his ears.

“Whose turn is it this time? Who do you intend to sacrifice again to become the sole holy butcher?”

Since being infected with the BT-DFH virus, he had occasionally heard auditory hallucinations.

He had never mentioned this to anyone.

Because even if he did, he would only be isolated at the TRA as an infected person.

Won Taebeom reached the medical quarters, acting as if he could hear nothing.

“…….”

He was speechless for a moment.

Han Goyo was covered in blood.

Perhaps thinking the visitor was an intruder, Han Goyo was glaring intensely.

He was even holding an iron pipe in his hand.

He looked this way with a pale face, but as soon as he recognized Won Taebeom, he smoothed out his furrowed brow.

“Lieutenant Won?”

His sharp gaze, which had been wary, softened slightly, revealing a hint of familiarity toward someone he knew.

Not a trace of negative emotion regarding the unreasonable and terrifying situation he was currently in was visible.

Even in his disheveled state.

At that moment, Won Taebeom felt a suffocating tightness in his chest.

Emotions are not important to the greater good.

The sacrifice of the few for the many is inevitable.

If paying the price of a single person’s misfortune could save countless others, there is even less reason to hesitate.

However, no matter how clear his rational judgment was, he could not suppress the emotions that arose in the moment.

The illusory pain of his collar constricting his neck blocked his airway.

A cruel whisper was heard as if it had been waiting for this moment.

“That child is your new victim!”

I had drunk Neo in the new prison guard training room, but my memory of that time was unclear.

I concluded that my return to normal was merely a stroke of luck caused by a system error.

Therefore, I thought that if I consumed Neo again, the probability of becoming a prison guard was very high.

However, it wasn’t a certainty.

I decided it was worth taking a bet.

In fact, that was practically the only option available.

Although Kwak Hanmuk possessed the neutralizing agent, it was difficult to meet him before the transformation into a prison guard was complete due to circumstances.

And Dominic’s remark recommending Neo gave me my final certainty.

“Haven’t you already done this once? The second time will be even easier. Maybe it won’t even bother you.”

As soon as I heard Dominic’s words, I thought of DeZonDeal’s zombie virus.

The zombie virus was neutralized on its own inside me.

What if I had been the one to neutralize Neo earlier as well?

I decided it was a gamble worth taking, so I drank Neo.

Three bottles, no less.

The Chief of Security wasn’t satisfied with just one bottle, so he made me drink three.

When I drank the last bottle, it was so disgusting I couldn’t even swallow it properly, but the Chief of Security was incredibly kind and poured it directly into my mouth himself.

There was only one benefit to drinking Neo.

That the torn wound on my head healed instantly.

Aside from that, everything else was the worst.

I barely managed to pretend to be fine in front of the Chief of Security, but from the moment I left the interrogation room, I could no longer bear the pain.

A burning heat surged from my chest and spread throughout my entire body.

Sweating profusely, I barely made it to the medic’s quarters.

As soon as I opened the door, I collapsed onto the floor.

Crouching up tightly, I trembled violently and gasped for breath.

“Hah, hah….”

It was hot and agonizing, as if someone had set my heart on fire.

How did I endure it when I drank Neo at the new guard training center before?

But even when I tried to recall the memory, it was only hazy, like a thick fog.

My mind wouldn’t function properly because of the pain.

It wasn’t just my heart that was suffering.

The heat radiating from my heart traveled through my veins and burned my entire body, and my eyes throbbed with a burning sensation.

I gasped for breath, tormented by the fever that wouldn’t subside.

I couldn’t bear this unpleasant sensation.
I wanted to get rid of it immediately.

“Roasted Chestnut.”

Gagging from the fever, I looked at Dominic.

A blue light filled my blurry vision. A shimmer like a cosmic nebula stole my gaze.

“I wish to quickly drive away this unpleasant sensation.”

It feels awful.

“It is natural. After all, it is not yours, Roasted Chestnut.”

A pleasant voice slurred softly.

“You can do it. Go ahead and try. It will be easier than before.”

I thought, intoxicated by the fever.

I had desperately searched for a way to get rid of Neo, but suddenly, a certain instinct led me in a different direction.

A realization struck me like a light suddenly turning on.

There was no reason for me to act.

For a moment, my eyes burned.

I gave an order.

“Get out.”

The pounding in my heart subsided.

The heat that felt like it was burning my veins also slowly vanished.

I could sense it instinctively. Neo, who had been stirring up my insides at will, had evaporated.

Without realizing it, the corners of my mouth curled up slightly.

At that moment, a soft touch slapped against my cheek.

Having been suffering from a fever just moments before, the cool sensation sent a shiver down my spine, causing me to squint one eye.

“You did a great job. You are becoming more and more skilled. As expected, you learn quickly.”

At his endlessly affectionate praise, I opened my mouth.

“Dominic-ssi.”

And then I was terrified.

“Um, what is going on? My voice…!”

I was so shocked that it felt as if even my hair was standing on end.

It was clearly my voice, yet it sounded bizarre.

No, perhaps saying I ‘heard’ it was inaccurate.

It wasn’t a voice.

It felt as if something with form was pouring its will directly into my brain.

Moreover, for some reason, the voice sounded endlessly childlike.

Watching me in my astonishment, Dominic let out a low laugh.

“You will return to normal soon, so it won’t interfere with your daily life.”

“Really…?”

“Of course. It will be easier to converse with me from now on.”

He praised my rapid progress once again.

Listening to his praise, I waited for my voice to return.

“…Ah.”

Fortunately, I regained my normal voice not long after.

I let out a huge sigh of relief.

I was so shocked that I could still feel my heart pounding.

After calming down a bit, I sent a message to Kwak Hanmuk and Je Hyun-oh first.

After handling the urgent matter, I thought with a calm mind.

I drank Neo for the second time, following the new prison guard training center.

However, I was not infected by Neo this time either.

Just as I had recovered from DeZonDeal’s zombie virus.

The infection mechanism, and the residue and zombies.

There was a feeling that DeZonDeal and Cell-X were somewhat similar. I pondered it deeply, but nothing immediately struck me.

‘It’s kind of funny that the virus disappeared just because I spoke in a strange voice, though.’

It did seem like I had driven Neo out with the power I possessed.

However, the more I ruminated, the stranger the feeling became.

My mind was completely hazy from the fever, but my consciousness was clear for the brief moment I said, ‘Get out.’

At that moment… it was as if something was connected.

But I couldn’t tell what was connected.

I pondered it for a moment, but I couldn’t find an answer. In fact, it was a problem with no solution.

Thinking that I hoped things wouldn’t get any stranger here, I shifted my thoughts in a different direction.

The bait I offered the Chief of Security was simple.

It was to act as a double agent.

The main point was that I would drive out the Warden and make the Chief of Security the top dog here.

However, there was one thing I couldn’t understand.

"Dominic-ssi, why did they keep a subordinate like the Chief of Security in a position like that?"

I couldn’t understand why he had been left in that spot, even though the Chief of Security wanted the Warden’s position.

If I were the Octopus Tentacle, I would have seated him in the highest position.

Because of that, I didn’t realize sooner that he was a subordinate of the Octopus Tentacle.

Come to think of it, it didn’t seem like he heard the ‘Voice of God’ very often.

I had no idea while playing the game, and even after entering Cell-X in reality, I didn’t sense any such indication at all.

As someone who uses messages several times a day, almost like chatting, it was something I couldn’t understand.

Dominic explained it to me simply.

"Because a subordinate is merely a being to be commanded."

It meant there was no need or reason to meticulously examine every single detail like that and treat them well.

I felt a strong sense of defiance.

‘They entrusted their life and death to me, so shouldn’t I naturally treat them well?’

I thought it was right to do everything I could for them.

However, since it would be useless to tell Dominic about this, I kept it to myself and let it go.

I should have slowly gotten up and started to sort out this disastrous situation one by one, but…

I really just wanted to close my eyes for a little while, just ten minutes.

Having been tormented since morning without even eating, I had absolutely no strength left in my body.

I was in a state where I couldn’t even knead pudding slime.

I glanced at the bed, then just flopped down onto the floor.

I was in such a filthy state that I didn’t even feel like lying on the bed.

“Dominic-ssi… please wake me up if I sleep too long.”

As soon as I mumbled those words, I fell asleep almost as if I had fainted.

Having fallen asleep as if sucked in, I suddenly opened my eyes wide.

At first, I thought I had woken up.

But I soon realized I was still in a dream.

I was on a vast ocean.

Floating in mid-air, I surveyed my surroundings.

Under the dark sky, everything around me was filled with dark blue water. It was a boundless ocean, its width and depth unknown.

Something that makes you feel strange just by looking at it.

Suddenly, the surface of the water rippled. I looked down at my feet.

From the deepest part of the turbulent sea, something surged rapidly upward.

A massive water shadow drew closer, then tore through the surface to reveal its true form.

It was like a mountain.

Hundreds of tentacles tangled and wriggled amidst the shattered waves, but they were only a fraction of it.

I could easily imagine the form that stretched endlessly beneath the surface.

And its eyes.

The eyes of the deep sea, revealed between the tentacles, stared at me.

The pitch-black pupils dilated to take in my existence.

Primordial terror, a living abyss, darkness that sucks in all the light of the world.

It perceived me.

Having fully realized my existence, it extended its tentacles.

The hand reaching out toward me was greedy, yet I felt no threat.

On the contrary, I could not hold back and burst into laughter.

A golden light flashed, piercing through the darkness.

I, too, perceived it.

That was it.

The one that had touched my subordinate.