Episode 8: Killing Yun Seong-ho [End]

It was a 1-hour and 20-minute long drive, but thanks to the self-driving feature, I could comfortably catch some sleep.

Fortunately, the car alerted me 5 km before reaching the destination-otherwise, I would’ve likely overslept by 30 minutes even after arriving at the meeting spot.

‘Even if they were the worst parents, the car they gifted is nice.’

Money really does make the world go round, huh.

‘In the game, Yuseong Group monopolized the global potion market by securing overwhelming potion production technology.’

For a moment, I wondered what would happen if other guilds banded together for price-fixing… but sure enough, looking at the records, they had suffered no small losses from such collusion.

‘At least they covered production costs and labor expenses. It’s structured so they don’t lose money the more they sell-their business acumen is impressive in many ways.’

“Well, you’ve become so weak that even other guilds look down on you now.”

“Yun Se-ah, you bitch……”

-Bang!

“Aaaaah!!”

‘Five bullets left.’

Using telekinesis, I lifted Yun Seong-ho’s car into the air, letting it float midair. His eyes widened in shock.

Going through Yun Seong-ho’s smartphone, I found records of various corrupt dealings-enough to shock the entire industry and bring down most major guilds and Yuseong Group if leaked.

For instance, he had hired an African ability-hunting group to assassinate the guild master of Naseon Guild-one of the major guilds-simply because they led potion price-fixing.

What a petty man.

‘Instead of all this, they could’ve just done this.’

Yuseong Group holds the patent rights for potions. They could’ve temporarily taken the loss and cut off potion supplies to major South Korean guilds…

There might be rumors about diverting potions overseas instead of selling them domestically, but considering exports… in the end, the major guilds would be the ones crawling on the ground.

“Your bodyguards-no, researchers-were all orphans with no identities. That was quite innovative. Since they don’t even have IDs, you could just kill them off if things went wrong. How convenient.”

Indeed, most of Yun Seong-ho’s bodyguards had no official identities. Easy to dispose of, and even if any escaped and tried to expose him, who would believe someone without an ID? They’d just be dismissed as lunatics.

They were probably picked up from orphanages and subjected to continuous brainwashing… Had I been under hypnosis longer, I might have ended up like those bodyguards, completely indoctrinated by Yun Seong-ho.

“Now, you there-stand up. Your name is……”

“Ah, my name is Kim Deok-bae.”

“You’ve worked hard, Mr. Deok-bae. Has my father ever taken his anger out on you unfairly?”

“Kim Deok-bae, you damn bastard…!!”

I lifted the driver with telekinesis and placed him in a safe spot. Yun Seong-ho stared at me with pleading eyes, begging to be saved.

Even now, he was trying to hypnotize me-how utterly pathetic.

“Se-ah, if you kill me now, suspicion will fall on you! Spare me, I beg you!”

“Hmm~? There are no CCTV cameras around here, and I’ve already tampered with your car. The world will believe you died in a sudden acceleration accident. Thanks to Mr. Deok-bae here for his hard work.”

‘If I kill Yun Seong-ho now, the protagonist Yu Hyeon won’t get the enhancement materials to strengthen his weapon in the mid-to-late game.’

But what does that matter? I can just “find” and hand them over later.

‘Both the maternal and paternal sides are probably salivating over taking over Yuseong Group without Yun Seong-ho… but unfortunately, he holds 65% of the shares alone.’

Thanks to Yun Se-ah’s birth mother, who completely withdrew from the business, I can inherit the full 65% stake.

‘The inheritance laws in this world are refreshingly simple. Since Seolhwa ran away, I can smoothly take half the shares. Yun Se-ah’s birth mother is holed up in her room, tired of corporate politics and scandals… so I’ll probably get 100% anyway.’

Then, to counter any nonsense about me being underage, I’ll just appoint a figurehead.

‘Mr. Kim Deok-bae here is crucial.’

I plan to use him for that role.

As for the risk of betrayal-continuous brainwashing will take care of that. I’ll handle the actual operations, so it’s not a big deal.

“It’d be too boring to just let you go like this… Let’s play a simple game. If you win all rounds, I’ll spare you.”

“……..!”

At the mention of being spared, Yun Seong-ho’s eyes widened.

“There are four bullets left in this gun. With my Evil Eye’s power, you’ll experience the same pain I endured during all those experiments. If you withstand all four shocks, I’ll forgive you.”

“………..”

His face turned pale at the thought of enduring the pain I suffered, but I immediately fired the first bullet into his shoulder.

-Bang!

“………Gyaaaaah!!”

Without giving him time to recover, the second bullet pierced his right knee.

Then, the third bullet tore through his left knee. Yun Seong-ho’s agonized screams echoed.

‘And this isn’t even the main course yet. So noisy.’

“Come on, get up. There’s still one bullet left, you know?”

I opened the cap of the highest-grade potion I had prepared for Mr. Deok-bae and forced it down Yun Seong-ho’s throat before pulling him back up.

“Here’s the fourth bullet. Tell me if it hurts-I’ll listen.”

-Baaang!

“Gyaaaaaaaah!!!”

The fourth bullet pierced his abdomen, and Yun Seong-ho screamed louder than ever before.

His shrieks were so loud they could be heard 5 km away.

‘A little louder and it would’ve been dangerous.’

A hero with keen hearing might have followed the sound here.

As I considered cutting his vocal cords, Yun Seong-ho finally seemed to have endured the pain and began begging for his life.

“There, I took all four! Now let me go!”

“………..”

“What now?! Hurry up and release me!”

“Did you really think you’ve experienced all the pain I’ve endured?”

As I said this, I reloaded the gun. Yun Seong-ho’s face turned deathly pale.

‘There were five bullets from the start. The four I shot into him were just appetizers.’

If the pain I endured was 100%, bullets one through four contained 1%, 1%, 1%, and 2% respectively-totaling just 5%. This fifth bullet carries the remaining 95%.

-Click!

“Se-Se-ah, please, just spare me this once……”

-Beep

[“Merry Christmas, Chairman Yun Seong-ho.”]

Right on cue, an alert from Yun Seong-ho’s car announced that it was now December 25th.

“Mr. Yun Seong-ho, Merry Christmas. Since Yun Se-ah couldn’t deliver it, I’ll give you this gift in her place.”

-Baaaang!

The fifth bullet struck Yun Seong-ho, and he collapsed limply. It would look like he died from shock, unable to withstand the pain… but he must have experienced every ounce of suffering I endured.

Holding Yun Seong-ho’s lifeless body with telekinesis, I reached out to Mr. Deok-bae, who had been watching.

“You brought the gloves I asked for, I see. Shall we begin the cleanup?”

I placed Yun Seong-ho’s corpse in the driver’s seat and erased all traces of him from the back seat.

-Splash!

Using telekinesis, I hurled the car as if it had suddenly accelerated, sending it crashing through the guardrail and down the cliff.

Watching the red blood spill below, I fell into complicated thoughts but quickly snapped out of it.

‘I still have to clean up the corpses in the lab. So much to do.’

There’s still a lot left.

‘By the way, that car was a two-seater.’

I turned my head to look at the car we had arrived in.

There was a seat in the back, but… it was only spacious enough for someone as small as a child.

-Whoosh!

“Let’s see your driving skills.”

“Y-yes!”

With no other choice, I had Mr. Deok-bae take the driver’s seat while I sat in the passenger seat for the return trip.

Regretting not bringing an SUV, I endured an hour-long uncomfortable drive with Mr. Deok-bae before arriving at the main house-now my home, not Yun Seong-ho’s. But something felt off.

“Mr. Deok-bae, did you leave the air conditioner or fridge open by any chance?”

“Hmm… Even if the fridge was left open, I doubt it could freeze the entire mansion like this.”

“True. Leaving the fridge open wouldn’t coat the whole mansion in ice.”

“Sigh… I left her alone because she locked herself in her room no matter what happened, but…”

This anomaly was so blatant that it only made me angrier.

‘I forgot to hypnotize Yun Se-ah’s birth mother into staying quiet.’

I thought she’d stay trembling in her room like she did when Yun Seong-ho conducted human experiments or when Seolhwa subjected her to harsh training disguised as discipline. But it seems she called Seolhwa for help.

‘Seolhwa knows the entrance to the lab. Even if it’s password-locked, she could easily break in with her abilities.’

This complicates things.

Even if I explain there were circumstances, she’s likely already checked the CCTV footage.

‘Who knew winter ice could be this inconvenient.’

In summer, I could’ve gauged how long ago she arrived by how much the ice had melted.

“Can you head to the parking lot first?”

“Yes, Miss.”

I decided to park the car first and assess the situation carefully. But…

“…….Se-ah?”

‘Damn, too late.’

Unfortunately, I ran into Seolhwa at the worst possible time.