White Blood (7)
After finishing his conversation with Seo Ji-eun, Yeon-woo checked the message from Han Hae-un.
So planting Jeon Gi-hun to sabotage White Blood's success really had been the groundwork for swallowing LN Entertainment whole.
Yeon-woo scrolled through the list Hae-un had sent, along with the dossiers on each company. They were mostly investment firms with murky funding sources, deployed as the tip of the spear. Riding the surge in trading volume that Yeon-woo's own success had generated, the amount of stock those people had quietly accumulated was considerable.
"Hmm. Best defense in a situation like this is a preemptive strike."
No matter how many hands they played, they could never break the controlling stake held by CEO Kim Ju-seong. Had the project flopped, though — given how violently entertainment stocks swing on the success or failure of a single project — the share price would have plummeted, and shareholders questioning Kim Ju-seong's management might have multiplied.
"In that case, we just push the company's stock even higher."
And for that, White Blood absolutely had to succeed.
This season brought all four leads together, expanded the world and the scale, and finally dove into the main story. Yeon-woo set his phone down and hit play again, returning to the monitoring feed.
The trade city of Thracia was vast.
While Akenaton made inquiries about the whereabouts of the Red Blood King of the Liver region and scoured the city for a small spacecraft that could get them into Cardiac, Do-jin and Ella headed out near the inn to do some shopping. Not for leisurely sightseeing — Do-jin's top was in tatters, so he planned to pick up a new one and, while he was at it, buy Ella a brooch.
Akenaton had given them a generous sum of oxygen, so they stepped into a clothing shop. The moment Do-jin tried something on, he froze.
"…Why is this changing color?"
"Of course it is! Every cell is born with its own color."
Seeing Do-jin's bewilderment, Ella puffed out her stomach and strutted, delighted to finally know something he didn't.
"You didn't even know that, mister? Hmph."
Do-jin ignored her and sank into thought. He had come into the shop hoping that wearing a red robe like the Red Bloods might lower the odds of being spotted by the White Blood Army, and had gone straight for the red garments — only for every piece to turn black the instant he put it on.
So that's why every Red Blood wore red, and why Akenaton treated me like a god just because I was dressed in black.
Red Bloods didn't choose red clothing. Whatever they wore simply became red.
It was a shame he couldn't blend in among them, but no matter where he hid, climbing higher would inevitably draw aggro.
"Ella. Pick out a brooch yet?"
"Umm. I'm stuck between this one and this one!"
She held up two options — a round socket set with a green gem, and a diamond-shaped piece with a white stone — one in each hand, agonizing over the choice.
"…Huh? Wait."
Do-jin casually brought the Black Sword near the white gem. No reaction, as expected.
"Figures. Something that supposedly sits at the bottom of the sea isn't going to be lying around in a place like this. Ella, I'll buy you both."
"Really?!"
Do-jin shrugged as if it were nothing and jangled the pouch Akenaton had given him.
"It's not my money. Who cares?"
And so, for the first time in six years, Do-jin changed into new clothes. Ella left the shop beaming, a brooch clutched in each hand. On the way back to the inn, they ran into Akenaton returning from his errands.
"You've changed your attire."
"Yeah, the old one was falling apart. Any luck?"
"Yes. I have confirmed with certainty that His Majesty of our kingdom also entered Cardiac — but there is no record of him after that."
Do-jin tilted his head.
"Strange. Do kings usually leave their posts this long?"
"Ordinarily, no. The Red Blood Kings' Council held in Cardiac every ten years concludes quite quickly."
"The Red Blood Kings' Council? Among the Red Blood kings you know, is there anyone named Cardiac?"
"Hmm. That is the first I have heard of such a name. Cardiac, you say."
Do-jin nodded and gestured for him to continue. Akenaton spoke again.
"After I lost access to the Hepatic Vein, I assumed His Majesty simply could not return for lack of a way back. But the fact that he has still not returned after entering Cardiac is decidedly abnormal."
"We'll look into that while we're in Cardiac. What about passage?"
"Secured. A small craft with a capacity of four."
If they hadn't brought him along, they would have been in real trouble. Akenaton was ruthlessly efficient.
"Good work. Let's head inside and rest for now."
Meanwhile, at that same hour —
Difangdal, who had been ferrying passengers, pulled his vehicle onto the shoulder and stared blankly at the sky, thinking of the foreign prince and his companions he had driven that morning.
"Love, huh…"
He shifted his gaze to the photograph of a young woman, and a feeling he had never known in his life surged up through him. It was so new he didn't even know what to call it.
Emiline, the friend in the photo, had grown up with him. They had never been apart for a moment. Six years ago, a sudden conscription had taken her to the world above, forcing them apart — but such things were common in a Red Blood's life, so he had tried hard to forget.
"Haa…"
He exhaled a long breath, trying to master the emotion, but something warm dripped onto the hand lying limp across his thigh.
"Huh?"
He checked the rearview mirror. Tears were already streaming from his eyes.
The words of the black-clad passenger who had ridden with the foreign prince would not leave his mind. His chest pounded as if he had caught some disease. A tingling sensation started at his fingertips and spread through his entire body until he could no longer bear it.
He missed Emiline so desperately. If he could only see her again, he felt he could sacrifice the life he had now.
The moment the thought fully formed, the tears stopped. Difangdal's eyes hardened with resolve. He swung the vehicle around toward the place where he had dropped those passengers off and floored the accelerator.
Back at the inn, resting, Do-jin sensed something wrong.
"Narrator. Check if any White Blood Army units are approaching."
Six years of being hunted every single day had sharpened his detection ability until it reacted with uncanny precision whenever they drew near.
"…Figures. What level?"
Do-jin shook Akenaton awake — the man had dozed off after a full day of running around.
"Akenaton, get up. We're leaving."
"…Ugh, y-yes? Already? It's still evening."
"White Blood Army is approaching. Their objective is to eliminate me."
Akenaton's expression hardened as the gravity of the situation sank in.
"…I'll prepare at once."
He pulled a crystal orb and a card from his robes and scattered them into the air.
"I'll conceal our position temporarily so the White Blood Army cannot identify us immediately."
Akenaton wove complex hand signs and chanted an incantation. A green barrier unfurled in every direction, and in the space it bought them, they packed their belongings.
"Grab Ella."
"Yes."
Akenaton stepped into the corridor to call Ella from the adjacent room — but the door was locked, and there was no sign of life inside. He came back looking flustered.
"…She appears to be asleep."
"No choice, then."
The fact that the White Blood Army was heading straight for this building meant they almost certainly had full intelligence. Leaving Ella behind would mean capture, and there was no telling what would happen to her then.
Do-jin drove his fist into the wall on Ella's side of the room.
Krrrr—.
A section of wall large enough for a person to pass through crumbled away. Ella bolted upright on the bed, eyes round with shock at the thunderous crash.
"Hwehng — mister?"
"Get up. We're leaving right now."
"You can't just smash other people's houses!"
"If we don't leave this second, the entire building is going to cease to exist."
Meanwhile, on the first-floor lobby, White Blood Army units entered, scanned the surroundings, and approached the front desk.
Hearing the mechanical voice issue the command through a holographic projection, the desk clerk frowned.
"This is the trade city of Thracia. It is not under White Blood Army control. We cannot provide a guest's personal information."
The White Blood unit drew a laser gun from its coat and aimed it between the clerk's eyes.
Watching the exchange, the bellboy pulled a laser gun from inside his own jacket and swung the muzzle toward the White Blood unit.
"I've been hearing from guests from the lower regions that the White Blood Army's tyranny has gotten extreme — but you've completely lost your minds. I just told you Thracia is not your jurisdiction."
The bellboy's face was the polar opposite of the gentle smile he had worn when he took Do-jin and his party's luggage.
Then the desk clerk hauled out an enormous railgun and leveled it at the White Blood units, and armed staff poured out from every direction.
"Our hotel caters to first-class clientele. Our security is excellent."
Watching the scene unfold beside her mother, Han So-hyun bounced on the couch.
"Aaaah! What do I do?! I'm on screen!"
"You're a multi-year veteran actress and you're still this dramatic?"
"But I've never done a shoot like that before…"
Han So-hyun covered her eyes with both hands, then peeked through a crack between her fingers.
— This is the trade city of Thracia. It is not under White Blood Army control…
— Our hotel caters to first-class clientele…
Hearing her own lines play back, her face flushed red.
"Uuuugh… I look like an idiot, but it's kind of cool."
Sitting on the sofa watching the same scene, Yeon-woo let out a quiet snort of laughter.
"Both of them had so much fun shooting that sequence."
He had shared a cameo with Son Jin-uk during Star Beyond the River, and co-starred with Han So-hyun as leads in Master Plan. But the three of them hadn't shared a frame since their debut project, so both had thrown themselves into the shoot with nostalgia.
"It's already been three years since we debuted."
Thinking back to those early days naturally led his mind to Jeong Cheol-min. For all his talent, the man had been stuck in roles far too small to let him spread his wings. Even in Sketch, he had only appeared briefly. From here on, it was his time to shine as Difangdal.
On screen, Han So-hyun and Son Jin-uk were locked in a standoff with the White Blood Army in the lobby when the balcony above them exploded outward — and Do-jin leapt down, Ella in one hand and Akenaton in the other.
"What, they're all Level 1s?"
He set the two of them on the ground, then accelerated so fast he left afterimages, sword in hand, and began carving through the White Blood units in the lobby.
Paht—.
Pajijik—.
Paht—.
Pajijik—.
Every time Do-jin moved, blue current crackled outward like lightning. It wasn't coming from him — it was the electricity released when the White Blood units he cut down burst apart. In the blink of an eye, he had slaughtered every last one in the lobby.
He approached the staff member who stood frozen, railgun still in hand, stunned by the overwhelming display.
"Thanks for buying us time. This should cover the damage to your facilities."
The clerk absently accepted the pouch Do-jin held out — stuffed full of oxygen orbs.
"We'll be going before this place turns into even more of a wreck."
Do-jin turned, gestured, and broke into a run. Akenaton and Ella sprinted after him.
"Wait, just a moment! This isn't enough! Our hotel facilities are expensive!"
The clerk called after them desperately, but the three were already racing into the distance.
With the advance team destroyed, the White Blood Army raised the wanted level and began summoning higher-tier units.
Wiiing—.
From far off came the oddly familiar sound of engines.
"Hmm? They sent Level 3s right away."
They were riding the magnetic levitation bikes Do-jin had looted before reaching the Thigh. Right now, though — with his mobility compromised and Akenaton and Ella in tow — he was far from glad to see them. Their attack power wasn't high, but they were quick and slippery; once they started hit-and-run tactics, shaking them off was a genuine headache.
"Mister, where are we going?"
"Good question. Akenaton — where's the ship you arranged?"
"Hmm, it's quite a distance from here. There was no airfield nearby."
Just then —
Screeech—.
A magnetic levitation taxi hanging in midair drifted so hard its undercarriage nearly scraped the ground, skidding to a stop right in front of Do-jin.
Click—.
The taxi door swung open. It was Difangdal.
"Passenger! I'm certain now — it was love!"
"……"
Do-jin's face twisted at the completely out-of-nowhere declaration.
"…What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden."