Hooking the Big One (10)
The world around me froze the instant those crimson letters burned into my vision. My fingers, still slick with the remnants of last night’s conquest, hovered uselessly above the invisible interface only I could see. Another glitch. The System had been growing more unstable ever since I pushed it beyond its original limits, rewriting not just memories but the very laws that governed this gender-swapped Three Kingdoms.
Invalid access… As if anything in this era could deny me anymore.
I leaned back against the silk cushions of the makeshift command tent, the faint scent of lotus and sweat still clinging to my skin. Outside, the muffled sounds of soldiers drilling drifted in—sharp commands from a certain azure-eyed strategist who now wore my collar beneath her elaborate robes, even if she no longer remembered why her body trembled whenever I entered the room.
With a deliberate thought, I forced the error window aside. The System flickered, resisting for a heartbeat before submitting. Good. The last thing I needed was some digital ghost interfering while I was this close to reeling in the biggest catch yet.
Cao Cao—now the devastatingly beautiful warlord who called herself the Queen of Wei—had finally agreed to a private meeting. One month of careful memory weaving, planted desires, and strategic seduction had led to this. She thought it was her idea. She thought she was the one manipulating me.
I allowed myself a low chuckle. The irony never got old.
Rising from the cushions, I adjusted the simple scholar’s robes that hid the lean, battle-hardened body I’d spent years perfecting in this new life. My mind wandered briefly to the others already secured in my growing collection: the once-proud Guan Yu, now a crimson-faced beauty whose loyalty had been reshaped into something far more intimate; the clever Zhuge Liang, whose fan no longer hid her flushed cheeks when our eyes met across war tables.
But Cao Cao… she would be the crown jewel. The one whose fall would tilt the entire fractured land in my favor.
A soft rustle at the tent flap announced her arrival. I didn’t turn immediately, letting the anticipation build. When I finally faced her, the sight hit like a spear through the chest—in the best way.
She stood there in black and gold armor that accentuated every lethal curve, her sharp eyes gleaming with that trademark ambition. Yet beneath the calculated smile, I could see the subtle cracks I’d spent weeks carving into her psyche. A slight parting of her lips. The way her fingers tightened on her sword hilt just a fraction too hard.
“You came,” I said, voice low and warm, the tone I knew made her pulse race even if her conscious mind couldn’t explain why.
“You made it sound worth my while, Jin Hwan,” she replied, stepping inside. The tent flap fell shut behind her, sealing us away from prying eyes. “Though I must admit, your message was… unusually bold.”
I smiled, stepping closer. Close enough to smell the faint trace of sandalwood in her hair. Close enough to see the microscopic dilation of her pupils.
“Boldness wins wars, my lady. And I intend to win more than just wars with you.”
Her breath caught—just barely, but I noticed. The System might be throwing errors at me, but the real world obeyed my rules now. Every glance, every calculated word, every brush of fingers against her wrist as I guided her toward the low table was another hook sinking deeper.
Tonight, the biggest fish in the river would learn exactly who had been holding the rod all along.
And by morning, the map of this fractured world would be redrawn in ways history had never dared imagine.