The Traitor Chen
The traitor is Chen…
“What are you doing here?” The man guarding the entrance to the mountain stronghold blocked my path with a suspicious glare. “You haven’t been here long enough to wander outside alone. If you want to leave, take a squad leader with you.”
After more than a month living as a bandit, I had learned one undeniable truth: in a world without law or order, the strongest voice and the biggest fist always win.
“Are you joking? Don’t you know who I am? I’m the guy who dragged Marcus back here after he got injured a few weeks ago. You think I’m going to run away now? If I wanted to run, I would’ve done it then. Why would I bother now? Still treating me like some fresh recruit, huh?”
I twisted my face into a vicious scowl, yanked the blade from its leather sheath, and swung it like I was about to cleave him in half. The man flinched and shuffled aside, stammering.
“S-sorry. I must’ve been mistaken for a second. You’re not a recruit anymore. I forgot.”
Punching the 4th squad leader in the face had apparently spread through the entire camp, earning me a reputation as a nasty piece of work. Sometimes that reputation came in handy. The guard stepped aside and waved me through.
“Don’t worry, I won’t be long.”
I descended the mountain at an easy pace. Once the stronghold vanished from sight, I pulled the map from my coat. It was crumpled and crudely stitched back together where it had been torn in half—Phelton’s final gift before he died.
‘Combine the two and go where the map points.’
‘What’s there?’
‘My entire fortune.’
I followed the map’s directions up the slope. Using the fine sword I had taken from the knight, I hacked through undergrowth, climbed over rocks, and pushed between dense trees until I found the cave. Its entrance was cleverly disguised; without careful searching, it would have been impossible to spot. I cut away vines with the blade, cleared branches and stones by hand, and finally stood before the opening.
The cave faced south, letting in plenty of sunlight, and was shallow enough that the interior remained bright. It stretched only about five meters deep. At the very back lay a surprisingly comfortable space that looked almost like a furnished room: a bookshelf, a table, a four-drawer chest, a chair, a sleeping bag in the corner, and the charred remains of an old campfire in the center. Sketches of landscapes drawn in pen covered the walls.
So Phelton could draw, too.
After a quick look around, I flipped the map over and read the message on the back.
—Move the chest and check the floor.
Following the instructions, I shifted the chest that reached to my thighs and found wooden floorboards underneath. Lifting them revealed a sunken pit containing a sack. I pulled it out and opened it.
My eyes nearly popped out of my head.
Gold coins. Ninety-nine of them—identical to the ones Phelton had carried.
“How much is this worth?”
I kept only a single coin, returned the sack to its hiding place, replaced the boards, and left the cave, carefully concealing the entrance once more before heading back to the stronghold.
Back at the 15th squad barracks, I acted as though nothing had happened and practiced throwing darts at a wooden target while thinking about how best to use the gold and the cave. I had wanted to ask Marcus about the coins, but he had been gone since morning. With the camp in such disarray lately, Bernhardt had been calling frequent squad-leader meetings. I figured he was probably at the great squad leader’s tent and decided to wait until he returned.
Before that could happen, an unwelcome visitor arrived.
“Hard at work again, I see.”
I glanced at her once, then turned my attention back to the target. Nancy approached with a smile.
“Your skin’s gotten so tanned it’s almost bronze. You look like a completely different person—much more masculine and solid. I like it.”
I ignored her chatter and kept throwing. Today, however, her outfit was impossible to overlook: a top that barely covered her nipples and hot pants cut so low her hip bones showed. It was far more revealing than anything I had seen her wear before. Even her voice carried a sticky, suggestive tone.
“Listen, I’ve been under a lot of stress lately with all this work, and I’ve got nowhere to let it out. So… Hyunwoo, would you help me out?”
She slowly licked her upper lip in a deliberate, seductive gesture.
What the hell is wrong with her? Is she in heat?
“Find someone else.”
“Every other man in this bandit group is filthy and ugly. I don’t like any of them. And they’re all so pathetic it doesn’t even excite me.”
I stopped throwing and turned to face her. Her cheeks were flushed—definitely aroused. While I stood still, her hand had already found its way to my chest, fingers brushing and rubbing.
I grabbed her wrist, pushed it away, and glared at her with narrowed eyes.
“What’s gotten into you today?”
“We’re both adults. What’s wrong with having a little fun?”
“I’m not interested. Especially not with you.”
“Don’t lie to yourself. It’s been a long time for you too. A whole month since you were with that slave girl. You must be pretty pent up by now.”
Her job was gathering intelligence, so maybe it was an occupational hazard—keeping track of how many times other people had sex.
“There are plenty of other men here. If you’re giving it away for free, I’m sure any of them would be happy to oblige. Go grab one.”
“I told you before, didn’t I? I don’t associate with weak-looking men.”
“Then go find Bernhardt or Ision.”
“Those two have no future. Getting involved with them would only drag me into the gutter. They seem content with this pathetic bandit life.”
“And I’m any different? Then go take care of yourself.”
“That only works for so long. I’ve been holding out with just that since I got here, and I’ve reached my limit.”
Look at that. Even while acting like a slut, she has some kind of principle. Or maybe it’s just her rule about only sleeping with impressive men.
“I’m not asking you to date me or cling to me. I just want us to find each other when we feel like it. Is that really so difficult?”
An enjoy-partner arrangement. Not a bad idea. I was a man with a healthy sex drive, after all. Releasing the tension regularly would probably make life more bearable.
Marcus’s words suddenly came back to me.
“Guilt, shame, conscience—those are just creative inventions born from human fear. They’re also tools the ruling class uses to protect their wealth and privileges. People like us, living in the underworld, don’t need to obsess over conscience.”
In the outside world, people pointed fingers at anyone who enjoyed a promiscuous sex life. I had been taught the same on Earth. But I had already decided to become a bandit free of guilt. Fate had placed me in a position where I had no choice but to live this way. Maybe it was time to cut the first tape and become a beast.
On Earth, my moral compass would have stopped me from sleeping with just anyone. Here, however, only desire and instinct existed. Two people could enjoy each other briefly and then go their separate ways. There was no one around to judge or condemn.
Still, the woman in front of me was Nancy—the same woman who had once betrayed me.
“What’s your angle this time? Why do you suddenly want to sleep with me?”
“Women have days when their desire surges once a month. Today just happens to be that day. It’s also the day I feel it the strongest in my entire life.”
“Because it’s been so long?”
Nancy let out a small sigh and nodded. Judging by how desperate she looked, she probably wasn’t scheming anything. She simply had a strong libido. If she was chasing me this hard, there was no point refusing.
I was about to say “Fine, let’s do it” when the impatient Nancy suddenly made an offer.
“If you take care of me, I’ll give you some very useful information. Two pieces you’ll definitely want to hear.”
Killing two birds with one stone. I accepted immediately.
We headed straight into the 15th squad barracks. I tied the entrance shut with rope. Nancy lunged forward, trying to kiss me, but I blocked her lips with my palm.
“No kissing.”
“You’re really picky.”
She frowned slightly, clearly annoyed by how expensive I was being. It was the first time I had seen that expression on her face. I had accidentally discovered a new source of amusement—watching the usually calculating Nancy grow desperate.
“Think of me as a princess,” she said. “And you’re a knight who has secretly loved her for years. When you hear she’s going to marry a prince from a neighboring kingdom, you lose control. Drunk, you burst into her room and take her roughly, like you’re ravishing her.”
She had even prepared a dramatic scenario for a quick tumble. She could have been a writer.
Feeling absurd, I still played along. The moment our clothes came off, we tumbled onto the bed in a feverish tangle. I became the jealous, furious knight she wanted, and she became the pure, delicate princess.
“Ah! Hnn! We shouldn’t do this, Sir Hyunwoo! If the ministers find out—! Haaang! We can’t…! Sir Hyunwoo! Hnn! It feels… good!”
So she liked being conquered in bed. While we raced toward climax, a yowling stray cat could be heard outside the tent.
That was how I took Nancy for the first time. Given our purely transactional relationship, “took” felt like the right word.
“All right, talk.”
Having finally released her pent-up desire, Nancy looked far calmer. She lit Marcus’s pipe, took a slow drag, and exhaled smoke before curling her lips into a smile.
“Don’t be surprised. Marcus announced at the squad leaders’ meeting that he’s stepping down as leader of the 15th squad. He wants you to take his place.”
“Really?”
I was genuinely shocked. He hadn’t said a word to me. What was that old man thinking? I would have to ask him later.
“But the 4th squad leader objected, so it’s on hold for now. The rule is that every squad leader has to agree unanimously before someone can become a leader.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. That petty bastard.
“What’s the other piece of information?”
“This one’s going to be troublesome. You’re in for a rough time.”
She grinned at me.
“We’re about to go to war with Chen’s bandit group. Remember when we were attacked by soldiers last time?”
“How could I forget?”
“Turns out Chen was the one who gave the Lionheart unit the list of shops we do business with. The boss is furious.”
Chen? That bastard sold us out and got the 15th squad attacked? So Phelton and Harry died because of him. Marcus ended up with a permanent limp and became a has-been in the group because of him. And I got branded a bandit because of him.
I swallowed the anger rising in my throat and clenched my fists. Because of Chen, I had been marked by soldiers and had my new life in this world ruined.
“Tell me everything you know about Chen. Right now.”
I stared at her intensely, but Nancy’s reply was not what I expected.
“Why should I give you information?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“You didn’t seriously think I’d give it to you for free, did you? I basically paid for sex too, you know.”
I had completely forgotten. Of course. We operated strictly on mutual benefit. When she saw the surprise on my face, Nancy smiled and offered to let me pay on credit.
I gave up. Once the war with Chen started, the camp would be flooded with related information anyway. There was no need to pay in advance.
“Nancy.”
“Yeah?”
“If you’re done, get out.”
War was coming. I didn’t have time to waste. If I wanted to survive the coming slaughter, I needed to sharpen my skills immediately.
After Nancy left, I went outside to train.