Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Efficient Resource Management
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Jenny glared at Diana with eyes brimming with wariness.
"Why has someone as impressive as you come to see me?"
"I'm surprised you'd say something like that. There might be more people who know Flexhood than who know my name."
"…."
In terms of notoriety alone, that might be true.
The crimes Jenny had committed had made headlines in their own right. They weren't on the scale to draw out Lee Ha-seon, but three neighboring states had banded together to mobilize heroes and capture her.
Looking back now, it didn't seem worth the effort. Neither her crimes nor the massive undertaking to apprehend her.
"You must want something. Get to the point."
"Is this meeting making you uncomfortable? I came specifically during your labor hours to accommodate you."
"It doesn't matter. If I slip out alone, the other villains will kick up a fuss."
"…Was my consideration lacking?"
"Just stop wasting my time."
As she spat those words, Jenny realized just how meaningless and unfair they were.
A prisoner's time wasn't precious. No one treated it as such.
Sometimes she'd spend hours doing nothing but waiting, or staring blankly into space, lost in pointless rumination.
All of it was the punishment society inflicted on villains. She'd spend the rest of her life enduring it.
"Everything I'm about to tell you is classified."
"Do I get brainwashed after hearing it?"
America's technological prowess was the best in the world. Even after the world had been turned upside down by the emergence of the awakened, that fact hadn't changed.
From tech to support or capture the awakened, military tech to combat monsters and foreign powers, to even mind-control technology—they could proudly claim supremacy in all of it.
Brainwashing was one such technique.
It differed slightly from outright indoctrination. The latter had ethical issues and couldn't maintain a permanent, stable state without an awakened's ability, so it had been phased out.
But scrambling a human brain to erase memories or render them worthless? That was entirely feasible.
Jenny had experienced it exactly once. She couldn't clearly recall the circumstances, but she remembered one thing: she never wanted to go through it again.
It was like a dying message. If a chain of memories formed one's personality, then the Jenny before it had essentially died. That previous self had sent a signal to the current one—like scrawling a message in blood with her last breath.
'Never let this happen to you again.'
"If you refuse my offer… well, I can't say for sure. I'd prefer you didn't have to go through it, but I don't know how the higher-ups will decide."
Jenny snorted.
"The government wouldn't hesitate. They're not the type to let a villain walk away after hearing classified info."
"The higher-ups I'm referring to aren't the U.S. government. It's Humanity's Shield."
Jenny bit her lip hard.
"You're coming to me about your organization's problems? Why?"
It made no sense.
She knew there were politicians who openly declared, "I'm with Humanity's Shield."
But even if the organization was shady and full of secrets, it fundamentally operated for the good of the world.
There was no reason for them to approach her.
"Trying to hand me a suicide mission? Too bad to waste a hero's life on it?"
"You could see it that way, a little. But it'll be far safer than you think."
Diana flashed a faint smile.
"Can you promise to keep all this confidential?"
"I can't spread it around in here anyway. Prison's full of secrets floating around. They don't get out. It's not like I have SNS access."
"I know. Villains gossiping about secrets inside prison. But this isn't 'U.S. government classified'—it's 'Humanity's Shield classified.' Give me a firm answer. You won't tell anyone, right?"
U.S. government secrets were plentiful and commonplace.
Everything from heroes' or politicians' love lives and personal scandals, to ability details and forms, corporate corruption, or the government's dirty deeds.
But secrets designated by Humanity's Shield were different. If they leaked, humanity's very survival could be at stake.
"Fine. I won't tell a soul."
A spark of life flickered in Jenny's half-dead eyes.
It had already been two years since she'd been locked up here.
She had no future. She'd be trapped here for life anyway.
Training in prison wouldn't improve tomorrow's meals, earn money, or help others. She'd just live out meaningless days, one after another.
But hearing Diana's proposal felt like it could change something. Whether for better or worse, the moment she learned it, everything would shift.
"Tell me. What are you proposing?"
Diana beamed brightly.
"Would you like to become someone else's sex slave?"
"What?"
Jenny gaped, speechless.
Her brain refused to process it.
"Sorry. I know it's hard to take in. Feel free to think it over slowly."
"You're serious? That's ridiculous."
If it had just been "offer your body to some guy," Jenny wouldn't have been this flustered.
Prison life meant hearing all sorts of stories.
She'd heard that in the past, politicians, executives, or even famous heroes were invited to prison to take female villains' bodies.
Extreme tales even claimed a hero who captured a specific villain had raped them like a conqueror.
Humanity's Shield had put a stop to it. They'd imposed ethical standards bordering on interference in domestic affairs, and America couldn't ignore them.
Of course, they only banned "villains directly having sex with sponsors," leaving other loopholes unregulated. So prisons still made money selling photos of villains masturbating or striking lewd poses.
If it had been that kind of deal, Jenny could have understood Diana's words. She wouldn't have accepted, but she wouldn't have found the proposal absurd either.
"Sex slave… What, go pick cotton somewhere? When master calls, crawl over, spread my legs, and kneel?"
"Who knows."
"Or is it BDSM? They force your mouth open with that thing, then when master whips you, you scream, 'Thank you, Master!'?"
"No idea about that."
"If you don't know, who does?"
Diana gave a wry smile.
"My information is limited. I know the person who'll be your master is a man, wields terrifying power, and you'll be unable to refuse his commands."
"How big a deal is this guy?"
"Your questions are getting dangerous. Whether I like it or not, the odds of you getting brainwashed are rising."
"Just tell me. How impressive are we talking?"
Jenny couldn't contain her surging curiosity.
"Stronger than Nafre? In terms of power, I mean."
This wasn't something to brush off as a joke.
"Who'd fall for a lie like that?"
"Think about it the other way. If he weren't that impressive, why would Humanity's Shield go to the trouble of offering up a woman?"
Absurdity piled on absurdity somehow made it feel real.
"I want you to accept his mental control ability—with the simple constraint of becoming his sex slave."
"That's really all?"
"Of course he wants more. I hope you'll do heroic work that benefits society and enjoy the world outside instead of rotting in this stuffy prison."
"Sounds inefficient. America's not short on heroes to begin with."
"From here on, it's truly secret, so I can't explain properly, but I think it'll be effective."
Jenny snorted.
"Who're you trying to convince with that…? Is he handsome?"
"Ah."
A brief silence fell.
"I can't recall precisely, but he was probably handsome."
"What? You've never even seen him?"
"I've seen him plenty. I just can't remember. I'm under brainwashing to prevent recalling specific features."
"What?"
"I get it every day while preparing for this. Not pleasant, honestly… but what can you do? It's my choice."
Jenny bit her lip tightly.
This was far more dangerous than she'd thought. No upside for someone like her to get involved.
Even one brainwashing session meant she had to back out now. She'd already learned too much.
"Thanks for the offer. You should find someone else. There are prettier awakened out there than me…."
"Don't you feel regret?"
A smile played on Diana's lips. Unchanged from the start, almost ominous in its consistency.
"About what?"
"You. You made such an important decision that landed you in prison… and nothing's changed. You couldn't change it. Doesn't that make you sad?"
Jenny bit her lip hard.
"That's got nothing to do with you."
"I'm a politician. Sadly, nothing's unrelated to politicians. If the neighbor Hans starves to death, it's the politicians' fault. If Mary next door gets hit by a car, it's the politicians' fault."
Diana suddenly loomed large. Until moments ago, Jenny had viewed her with disdain as just another "corrupt politician."
"If I accept this deal, something changes?"
"I told you. He's strong. If you can earn his affection, you might finish what Villain Flexhood couldn't."
Jenny froze in place, as if turned to ice.
Her buried failure and past flickered before her eyes.
"…I'll do it."
She couldn't refuse this offer.
"You've made the right choice."
Diana smiled radiantly.