31
Ch.31 I was tricked.
“I didn’t throw it for you to drink.”
“No, hmm, whatever. Actually, it’s fine. It just means you’re a man with high adaptability… Ouch.”
Gu Seo-ryong lightly tapped my foot under the table.
Wondering what she was up to, I stepped on her foot to tell her to stop bothering me.
Gu Seo-ryong smoothly pulled her foot free and then wrapped one of her legs around mine.
“Why do you keep clinging to me?”
“You don’t know what this means? How innocent.”
Since she didn’t seem hostile, I decided to ignore her leg and devoured the newly served barbecue in five bites.
Then, Gu Seo-ryong placed another piece of meat in front of me and said,
“By the way, how did you escape from the lab?”
“I woke up in W-City.”
“Huh? What? You mean you just opened your eyes and you were here?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell? So, were you disposed of?”
“They did call me a failure.”
“CXI, a failure…? Did they succeed in creating a monster stronger than you?”
“I don’t know.”
Even right before I killed the researchers, the lab had released other monsters injected with stimulants in front of me, but none of them felt particularly threatening.
“Then why were you disposed of?”
“Probably because I didn’t listen to them.”
“Hmm, well, even the sharpest knife is useless without a handle… Still, I’m a little disappointed. I thought CXI escaped like I did.”
“Did you escape on your own?”
“Yeah, curious how?”
When I nodded, Gu Seo-ryong made a mysterious expression, stood up, and sat on my thigh.
“It’s nothing special~ Researchers are still human, right? Those who’ve spent their lives studying until wrinkles form can’t resist women. Seduce them, tame them—tell them you’ll do anything they say, get them to take you out of here, say you love them~ And then, oh my, they start listening to you bit by bit. I slowly manipulated a high-ranking researcher who listened to me well, then the others one by one… By the time they realized, ta-da! Test subject Gu Seo-ryong was already outside.”
“You got lucky.”
“Oh my, can’t you call it skill? Seduction is a woman’s weapon, tsk…”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Boss!”
I grabbed Gu Seo-ryong’s neck as she tried to embrace my head.
Immediately, the suited men serving nearby flared their superpower, but when Gu Seo-ryong raised a finger to her lips, they all froze.
“Hmm, so CXI doesn’t like being touched?”
“No, I don’t care.”
“Then what’s this about? Our sturdy one, won’t you tell me why you’re upset?”
“Your hands smell unpleasant.”
“Oh my, how sharp.”
Gu Seo-ryong pulled her hand away from my head and flicked the poison gathered at her fingertips onto the floor.
I carefully examined her fingertips.
“I got a little playful thinking about those times while talking, sorry. It wasn’t even lethal poison, just something to make you… A little more obedient?”
“I’ll let it slide just this once.”
That’s the extent of what I’ll pay for this meal.
As I chewed through the meat bones after setting Gu Seo-ryong down, she let out an excited voice.
“Oho… What should I do? I want you more and more…”
“Boss… I-I’m sorry to interrupt your meal.”
“Oh my, looks like they’re here. Bring him.”
Then, a suited man who had come up the stairs at the corner of the rooftop approached the table and bowed.
I quietly watched the loan shark who followed behind him, his eyelids swollen as if he’d been beaten. When he saw Gu Seo-ryong and me sitting beside her, his eyes widened in shock.
The loan shark was forced to his knees in front of me by the suited men, his head pressed to the ground.
“I-I’m sorry…! I didn’t know you were someone important! I-I was rude…!”
“Where’s the necklace?”
“I-I just took the tribute…! I didn’t steal it! I…!”
“Sweetie? Didn’t you understand the question? I asked where the necklace is.”
“Answer properly!”
When the loan shark tried to explain his innocence rather than the necklace’s whereabouts, Gu Seo-ryong signaled the suited men.
Immediately, one of them grabbed the loan shark’s head and slammed it into the floor again. Blood spilled from his broken front teeth.
“Guh! Ughhh… I-It wasn’t me…! It wasn’t me…!”
“Where’s the necklace?”
Seeing he still wouldn’t answer properly, I stood up and crouched in front of him.
The loan shark trembled in fear as our eyes met, his mouth foaming with blood as he finally gave a proper answer.
“I-It’s… I-I’m sorry… I already gave it to… That bitch Min Ji-hee…”
“Who’s Min Ji-hee?”
“Min Ji-hee… She’s the caretaker of Building 108.”
“Looks like he gave the necklace as payment for a prostitute. Didn’t I say? Only take cash.”
“I’m sorry. We’ll re-educate him…”
“Go find Min Ji-hee and drag her here too. Check if she has the necklace.”
As Gu Seo-ryong said this, she gathered poison at her fingertips again and approached the loan shark.
Feeling a faint killing intent from her subtly raised lips, I stopped her.
“Are you planning to kill him?”
“Huh? Of course? He stole something important from a valued guest.”
“That’s excessive punishment for theft.”
“Eek, ah, AAAAAAH!”
Before Gu Seo-ryong could act, I grabbed the loan shark’s hands and crushed them.
With a sound like chewing crispy pork belly, his hands crumpled limply. The loan shark screamed before his eyes rolled back and he passed out. I stood up and looked at Gu Seo-ryong.
“People say thieves get their fingers cut off as punishment.”
Among the workers I’d met, this was what they did to those who stole from others.
This much punishment was enough for theft.
As I left the unconscious loan shark behind, Gu Seo-ryong frowned.
“Why not just kill him? He stole something precious from you.”
“This is enough.”
“Punishment is for those who’ll change after being disciplined. The ones in Guryongseong aren’t that cute.”
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
Since I, the victim, said this was enough, that was it.
If she insisted on unnecessary killing, I’d be quite displeased. Staring at her with that intent, Gu Seo-ryong licked her fingertip with a long tongue.
“Hmm… Fine. Tsk, why do you smell so manly?”
“Impossible. I bathed today.”
“Ahh…? What’s that supposed to mean? Are you seducing me now?”
“What nonsense.”
I returned to the table and picked up meat with my blood-stained hands.
The suited men grew even more terrified as I stuffed my mouth full of meat.
Their gazes were fixed on my hands, but I paid no mind and kept eating.
To a monster, human blood is like chicken stock—it enhances the flavor of food.
“That was delicious.”
“You’re done already? There’s still alcohol and dessert.”
“The necklace comes first.”
“Hmm, how inconsiderate of me. Of course, you can’t relax knowing your precious item is in some woman’s hands.”
“By the way, what’s the dessert?”
“Want some?”
Weighing the necklace and dessert in my mind, I nodded.
The necklace could be retrieved anytime, but free dessert was like the ice cream the foreman would sometimes buy after work—if you didn’t take it when offered, it vanished like smoke.
“Ice cream, cake, and… Ohoho, chewy, sweet honey-filled rice cakes?”
“Rice cakes.”
Suddenly remembering the taste of honey rice cakes from my childhood, I swallowed my saliva.
Gu Seo-ryong smirked and said something strange.
“Ah… After seeing blood, you’re craving it, right? How about it? Want to go eat dessert together? Let’s leave the necklace to be retrieved from that Min Ji-hee woman.”
“Hmm… Fine.”
Maybe it was the scent of blood sharpening my appetite, but I didn’t mind the idea and accepted his offer.
“Ohoho… Great. Then, follow me. You guys? Bring the necklace after cleaning it properly.”
“Yes!”
“Aren’t you going to wipe your hands? Or do you enjoy leaving handprints?”
Gu Seo-ryong stuck close to me, leading the way. As we boarded the elevator, she handed me a tissue.
I wiped the blood and grease from my hands and tossed it aside.
“Oh my, I liked that one… Well, whatever.”
“How dare he treat boss's handkerchief like that…”
“Tsk… Boss, why someone tall, handsome, fit, and with superpowers… Damn unfair world.”
The suited men whispered among themselves as they followed behind.
Guided by Gu Seo-ryong, I headed toward the apartment building.
Inside, I could sense countless people and animalistic moans echoed throughout.
“Is the entire apartment in the middle of mating?”
“Hehe, that’s exactly what this place is. This is Guryongseong’s brothel. As long as you pay, anyone can enter. Of course… Except me.”
“So humans pay to mate too.”
“Oh my, have you never… Ah, how exciting~”
Gu Seo-ryong clung to me unpleasantly, rubbing against me.
Since she wasn’t using her nails this time, I let her be and followed her to an apartment, stopping in front of one.
Even the shared hallway was different—dragon and snake statues stood at the entrance.
“I’m going to my room, so don’t disturb me. Ah, the necklace… If anyone brings it, send it up.”
“Understood.”
“Now… Shall we go up?”
The elevator felt oddly sticky as we boarded. Gu Seo-ryong wrapped herself around my arm.
Annoyed by her clinging, I peeled her off and said,
“You’ve been clinging too much since earlier.”
“Ahaha! How cute, are you embarrassed now?”
Ding. As the elevator arrived, a massive room unfolded before us.
The top floor, seemingly remodeled into a single expansive space, was filled with black, gold, and red.
Snake-shaped sculptures, carpets woven with serpents, a bed encircled by nine intertwined dragons, a window overlooking the entire fortress, and dragon-shaped humidifiers releasing moist steam throughout the room.
No wonder the elevator felt sticky—the humidity here was overwhelming.
Peeling Gu Seo-ryong off, I looked around for the dessert.
“Where are the rice cakes?”
“Here~?”
At that moment, I heard the sound of fabric sliding to the floor behind me.
Turning around, I saw Gu Seo-ryong, now completely naked, her pale body on display. I frowned.
She stroked her own curves as if showing off.
In sync with the club’s vibrations outside, her monster core pulsed.
Unable to hide my disappointment, I sighed.
“You… Tricked me.”