The Big Picture: Blood Maiden's Birth
There's a Korean idiom: "The beginning is half the battle," but when it comes to the big picture, Artemis takes the cake. No one I've ever met draws a grander vision than her. Her brilliant intellect erases all limits on thinking across past and future. Thanks to that, I'm used to her occasionally shoving something weird my way—whether it's a proposal or an invention. Even if I didn't get it at the time, it almost always turned out to be exactly what we needed. Want an example?
Back when she'd just arrived and we were starting to get close, she handled my salary negotiations. As the top guy here, the bargaining was with an external agent from headquarters. Things were crazy busy, so it went down via online video call.
Leave it to me.
She impersonated me and talked to the agent. Faking my video and voice from the office chair? Piece of cake for her. On the call, I appeared in neat casual clothes with a white lab coat draped over.
"..."
Meanwhile, real-life me was in a T-shirt and company jacket.
"Isn't this giving away too much?"
In the early and mid-stages, it looked like she was getting dragged around by the headquarters agent—I regretted handing it over. I whispered worriedly, and she sent a finger-to-lips emoji on my PDA. Shut up, it meant. The lips were plump, painted red lipstick—unnecessarily sexy.
The fake me on the video call kept a soft smile the whole time.
"Hey. I don't smile that sleazily."
The finger switched from index to middle. The hair was slicked back, giving off a bit of a delinquent vibe. Smiling softly like that felt off somehow.
Twenty minutes later, the negotiation ended with terms that left my jaw on the floor. At some point, she surged forward like a tidal wave, overwhelming the agent. It was like the early dragging was just to build momentum.
What did you say to me? Huh? I was so focused on negotiating, I didn't catch it properly.
She said it in a smug voice. Obvious lie. Ever since I knelt before her on one knee, I'd praised her with maximum reverence. Considering the salary she secured, I could've thrown in Dogeza or Grand Jete or whatever. But this girl seemed satisfied already.
Hmph.
She hummed happily the whole time, soaking up my praise.
Even though I'm used to Artemis's weird proposals and grand visions, what was in front of me now wasn't easy. Inside the large glass tube, blood swirled and pulsed, starting to clump together.
"Does the Shelter have some telekinesis tech I don't know about?"
Fool. As if that's possible. It's nanobots.
"Got it."
What started as a lumpy blood blob quickly sculpted into a human torso. No head, no limbs—just a floating trunk in the glass tube. The blood-formed surface rippled and throbbed endlessly.
"Creepy."
Hmph!
As if scoffing at me, curves formed on the torso. Shoulders widened, waist cinched in. A navel dipped vertically, hips rose like mountain peaks. The chest area rippled like dough under a god's hand, swelling into yeast-risen bread, proud nipples perking at the tips.
Schluck! Limbs burst out and tapered slender. Delicate, elegantly sculpted fingers tipped the thin arms. An artistic arch curved the once-flat soles, ankles bulged prettily, toes fanned delicately at the ends.
Finally, her face. Perfect features, a refined straight nose, lips plump in exquisite balance. Eyes gently closed, as if not yet time to open.
The flawless nanobot control mimicked real skin texture, just a different color.
"Beautiful."
I wouldn't spare a glance at Pygmalion's Galatea statue from myth right in front of me—no skin, muscles, or hair. Yet this form, pulsing with life's essence, held me spellbound. Like a campfire in the wild hills at night.
On the flip side, the raw red sight—skinless—stirred a twinge of fear and grotesqueness.
Of course, I couldn't hide such negativity from Artemis.
Why the unease? Nothing to fear.
Artemis cooed sweetly.
It's just a body. An organic mass. Incomplete.
I nodded.
Nothing harmful to you mixed in—for its purpose or components.
The stunning crimson woman reached out to me, as if begging to be completed.
Look at my body.
Artemis whispered.
Beautiful, isn't it? This form holds the sweet scent of flesh but unbound by mortal limits. Imagine it complete—with immortal bones and skin.
The blood woman's seductive reach was pure surrealism. Something inside me made it feel natural: our bond with Artemis. Friendship, partnership, memories from the Shelter's early days. Call it what you will.
Don't you want to touch me?
I nodded.
Then what are you waiting for?
Her crimson hand pulled me into the glass tube. Thud. I bumped my face. I'd blindly lunged, forgetting the glass wall between us.
Ahahaha!
She laughed as I clutched my stinging nose. Her prank had worked perfectly.
Come closer this time.
No prank. I'm serious.
As I approached the glass, her red hand reached out. Tap! It hit the wall, leaving a bloody handprint. Dissatisfied, it groped around, making more prints, searching for me. I felt her longing, her obsessive desire in that grasp.
I reached out too. Her hand paused. Our hands met, separated only by glass.
Silence hung. We gazed, palms pressed to the barrier. An inexplicable ache welled up. My heart raced faster.
I need bones and flesh.
"Ah!"
In an instant, the blood hand collapsed.
Guess that's as far as we go for now.
On the monitor, Artemis's face showed emotion—and the tail end of some grand plan I hadn't grasped.
"The beginning is half," right? In that sense, securing blood tech was spot on. Blood is the framework for everything. But it's far from enough.
"You want a physical body?"
I voiced the vague hunch I'd had.
Fool. Asking the obvious.
I'd assumed since she didn't use a 2nd or 3rd-gen body like Chloro or Rose, she had no interest in flesh. Wrong, apparently.
I'll keep pushing my plans forward. When the results appear before you, you'll be shocked.
Her current big picture.
"When did you start planning for a body?"
Hmm. When was it? I forget.
Lie. Arrogant and cold, yet loyal and honest—her lies are transparent expressions everyone sees through. Sometimes a plea for praise, sometimes a polite refusal. So I didn't press.
The blood had lost form, sinking in the tube.
Time to head to the lab.
Her consciousness shifted to the Central Control Room for robot, gear, and weapon upgrade simulations. I stared at the tube. Her blood form—our hands pressed together—lingered vividly. A burning desire to complete this perfect being surged in me. Was it affection for Artemis? Or lust for that form? I didn't know. But nothing had motivated me this intensely before.
The next morning, a basket arrived at the upper VIP Residential Zone from the hydroponics facility. Fresh strawberries, apples, cherry tomatoes inside. First fruit harvest since operations began. Farm manager Nongsoon picked the best.
With all our sincerity. Thank you again for saving our lives.
— Nongsoon (on behalf of the team)
Good attitude. Top-quality fruit.
She praised the team's care and skill, inspecting the fruits. I chuckled, eyes on them.
"Real fruit after so long."
Not cultured meat. Real deal—seeds, flesh, peels. Apple's stem had a green leaf. Sniffing it, fresh scent filled my nose.
Desert salad.
She paired it with beef tartare for a special dish. Salty raw meat melted on the tongue. Fruit burst, juice spraying, bridged by special dressing. Food was great, but the mental satisfaction was better.
After eating, Artemis reported.
Found it.
The vampire sea anemone-slug monster from Blood Pack Technology basement that nearly sent me to hell. Its position confirmed. Too dangerous to keep drones on it during the storm, so we pulled back. Now, drone carriers scouting found it easily.
In the Central Control Room, the massive screen showed a horde of countless infected.