Knight of Mu-yeol
"Huff...! Heave! Guh!"
He ran with every ounce of strength he had left. Tree branches and leaves whipped across his face and body, leaving countless scratches, and his bare feet stomped over sharp shards and debris, but he didn't stop.
Pew-!
"Eek!"
When the whistling sound of an arrow slicing through the air echoed from far behind, he panicked even more and picked up his pace. But no matter how fast a naked, unarmed man could run, he couldn't outpace an arrow.
"S-save...!"
Thwack.
"...!"
In the end, an arrow from behind pierced straight through his head, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"Guhk... Uh... Ugh..."
He lay there pathetically, staring up at the arrowhead protruding from between his eyes as his life faded away.
A moment later, a man in a black suit emerged, pushing through the underbrush where the victim had fled. He inspected the corpse, confirmed the arrow's entry point, and immediately reported in.
"Dead center in the head. Instant kill confirmed."
Without any respect for the dead, he roughly stuffed the body into a body bag with crude motions.
.
Beep-!
"Dead center in the head! 11 points!!"
A man atop a massive vehicle custom-designed for hunting shouted out. The suited men, who had been watching nervously, erupted in applause and cheers all at once.
"Nice shot, Director!!"
"As expected from the director! Incredible!!"
Clap clap clap clap.
Nearly ten people cheering and clapping with all their might was a bizarre, grotesque sight. Especially their expressions—smiling and whooping, but so forced it was almost pitiful.
Yet the star of the show, the woman who had loosed the arrow, kept drawing her bow with a satisfied grin, laughing freely.
"Aw, you're all hyping me up too much. It's all because Teacher likes it."
She flashed a bright smile, set down her massive bow and arrow, and twisted open a chilled drink with a satisfying pop.
Chik!
"To our invincible gold medalist Teacher An, your humble student raises a glass~."
"Ah... Th-thank you, thank you..."
The woman in uniform took the glass with trembling hands. She fretted over spilling even a drop, desperately trying to steady herself.
"Cheers!"
"Ch-cheers...!"
'Crazy bitch...!'
She'd come along thinking it was just some casual hunt, maybe bagging a deer or something normal. But no—it was hunting live humans. And they even scored it.
Dead center between the eyes for 11 points, anywhere else on the head for 10, the neck for 9. They competed by body part like that.
'At least stop smiling about it.'
What shocked him most was doing all this with a straight face, looking so innocently pure it sent chills down his spine.
"Alright~, throats quenched. Shall we move on to the next one~?"
Go Min-ji stretched, loosening up, then picked up her bow and arrows again.
"D-Director."
At that moment, a man approached her with a troubled look.
"There's been an issue in Nonsan."
"Huh? What kind of issue?"
"A trainee knight was found with his testicles and penis ruptured. No immediate threat to his life, but he's been castrated—"
"Hold up. Nonsan? You mean the knight training camp?"
"Yes."
Her giggling smile vanished, turning serious.
"That's where Mu-yeol went. Was there an accident? What happened to him?? Is he hurt???"
"It's not exactly an accident, more like..."
"Spit it out. Is he hurt or not."
"N-No, Young Master is fine."
Go Min-ji let out a sigh of relief. "You should've led with that, you idiot... But."
"It... appears the Young Master is responsible for castrating the trainee knight. Via his exclusive knight."
Go Min-ji set down her bow and arrows.
"So, to clarify: Mu-yeol had his brand-new exclusive knight castrate a trainee knight?"
"Precisely, there's a romantic entanglement between the exclusive knight Baekseol and the trainee, but given the circumstances, it's highly likely the Young Master orchestrated it."
The man sent her the mind-scan data on Jinguok.
"Hm."
Baekseol had indeed taken the lead in crushing the trainee's balls. But seeing Mu-yeol clap like a seal and cheer it on, plus all the needless provocations before that—it screamed Mu-yeol's intent.
Especially that scene. When the trainee sneaked into Baekseol's quarters, Mu-yeol had deliberately fucked her right there.
- Aren't you her stalker? Feels exactly like it.
- Think that'll draw him out?
- Hmm, nothing? Not coming?
From Jinguok's viewpoint, he only saw Baekseol's face peeking out the door, but the sounds and Mu-yeol's lines made it obvious. He'd fucked her blatantly to bait the stalker.
And everything after was the same—deliberate taunts to provoke the trainee.
She sighed deeply.
"What a pain in the ass, messing with a multi-billion project on his whim. Five years in the lab, fifteen in training. Twenty years down the drain... Ugh, I just wanna smack his cheeks red till he bawls 'I'm sorryyy.' The little punk's blood hasn't even dried yet."
She waved her hand, dismissing the hologram.
"Send this irregular to the lab."
"Shall we re-brainwash him? If we leave him with that backdoor, the whole conditioning could unravel."
Go Min-ji shrugged indifferently.
"Why bother? Let him be. It's his loss without it."
"..."
"They're knights—live or die on command. We spend a fortune brainwashing them out of the goodness of our hearts, and instead of gratitude, they harbor resentment? Why would I treat them nice after that?"
"..."
"No need to reconstruct his dick either. Just roll him into experiments. Then even this idiot will get it—how grateful he should be for the brainwashing. We gave him life, abilities, even kept his feelings in check. We did everything. So why pull this shit?"
The un-brainwashed regular guy fell silent before replying.
"...Understood, Director."
+++
"Welcome back, Young Master."
"Yep."
I arrived at the house I'd set up in Ganghwa. Calling it a house was generous—it was just the top floor of a Goryeo Entertainment office.
Thanks to the AV, it only took about an hour time-wise, but the distance still left me oddly fatigued.
'Or is it the sex?'
"Oh, introductions. This is my exclusive knight, Baekseol. And this is Seo Eun-mi, my secretary."
"Baekseol at your service."
"...Seo Eun-mi."
Baekseol greeted confidently, but Eun-mi looked reluctant, almost tense.
'Wary, huh? Makes sense. She's an NIS spy. Can't blame her for being on edge with a knight suddenly around.'
Now that I had a fully trustworthy limb, it was time to deal with Eun-mi.
Until now, with Sua and the others, Eun-mi had the highest specs among those around me, so there was no one reliable enough to assign. Sticking her in Prestige would've blown it up too big.
But now I had a knight. Someone I could spill everything to and order anything from.
I introduced Baekseol around casually, then took her alone to my room.
"No bugs or anything?"
She scanned the room thoroughly before answering.
"No, all clear."
I sat on the bed and patted the spot next to me.
For some reason, Baekseol blushed and approached, starting to undress—
"Just sit."
"? Y-Yes."
After railing her in her room and in the AV, she apparently saw me as some sex-crazed demon. Not entirely wrong, but still.
"Remember the girl I introduced? Seo Eun-mi."
"Yes."
"She's a spy."
"??"
"No proof, though. Keep an eye on her and report anything suspicious. If you catch solid evidence, use your judgment."
"Kill her?"
"Nah. Once you've got proof, grab her and train her up."
"..."
She didn't get it.
"If you're so sure, why not take her now? Plenty of ways to make her talk."
"Sure, but no visible evidence means grabbing her out of nowhere would spook the others. They're already paranoid every second."
"Ah."
"Told you yesterday? They're basically slaves. Unlike you."
"Yes, you did."
"Exactly. So watch her close. And don't tell a soul. You're the only one I've told."
"Understood. I'll keep it in mind."
Conversation wrapped, I called Sua.
"You called?"
"Seti'll handle the PMC setup. Knights get a free pass on that stuff, right?"
"Not total free pass, but it'll be way easier. Basic training maybe? I'll look into details."
"Seti sets up the PMC, I hire them. Perfect. Once I dump the stocks, we'll incorporate right away—get ready."
"Yes, Master."
"And prep for Sinan Islands this Saturday. Bringing all the jotjip."
"Sinan? All of them?"
"Yeah. Got something to find. Plus, it'll build some camaraderie in the Pussy Association."
"..."
Next week was Chuseok. Grandpa gave me a knight, White Sis gave the AV—can't show up empty-handed.
Since Grandpa loves Go, I'd grab a master's Go board from Sinan.
As for Sis's gift... talking it over with the girls should spark ideas, right?