53. Corporate Destruction (3)

Boom! Boom! BOOM!!!

The entrance shook violently.

Elena had single-handedly broken through to the 5th underground floor of HP Bio’s headquarters.

Ever since obtaining the Book of Immortality, she could already be considered an S-rank Hunter. The number of miscellaneous skills she possessed was no joke, and her combat prowess was immense.

The researchers at HP Bio had no idea how to respond to Elena’s invasion.

With most of their hard-earned mutants already slaughtered, their only remaining hope was HP Bio’s secret weapon-S-rank Hunter Han Yoo-sung.

‘Fuck.’

Standing before the 5th-floor entrance as everyone’s last hope, the fire-attribute Awakened Han Yoo-sung felt chills run down his spine as he watched the entity smashing through a door that even most monsters couldn’t breach.

Because he knew all too well that he couldn’t stop this woman.

‘How the hell am I supposed to defeat that monster alone?’

He had already seen everything through the CCTV. His opponent was equipped with stealth-type skills and perception-disrupting items.

Meaning she could vanish right before his eyes. Not to mention, no matter how many times he killed her, she wouldn’t stay dead. In fact, the more he tried, the more violently berserk she became.

‘An immortal monster. I heard there’s a similar being in the Vatican. Of all places, I had to run into her as an enemy here…’

Han Yoo-sung ignited flames in both hands.

This opponent was as strong as the immortal residing in the Vatican. He knew all too well that he stood no chance.

‘Then I should at least save myself.’

Not long ago, he had achieved his 5th Awakening. Not only could he wield fire-attribute skills, but he could now turn his entire body into flames.

‘If I fight, I’ll just exhaust myself first. So I’ll set everything on fire and escape.’

Han Yoo-sung’s plan was simple. The moment the entrance was breached, he would blast flames forward, turn himself into plasma, and escape the scene.

After all, his opponent was an immortal monster who wouldn’t die no matter how many times she was burned. Fighting her would just drain his magic power first.

‘Come on.’

KWA-BOOOOOM!!!!!

Finally, the last barrier collapsed.

A hazy silhouette appeared beyond the rising dust.

‘Now!’

Han Yoo-sung stretched his hand forward to unleash flames…

FWOOOSH!!!!!

Han Yoo-sung’s head spun through the air before flying off.

His headless body soon collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

“300 points.”

As the quiet mutter echoed, the horrified researchers’ heads began flying off one after another.

“KYAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

“Shi, shit…!”

Elena left exactly three survivors. The rest-about 100 researchers needed to complete the quest-were all slaughtered.

The skill she used was the Exorcism Method – Food God Extermination.

Elena had already been observing the entire 5th-floor situation through shadow snakes in the narrow ventilation ducts.

Thus, she spared only the key figures-Dr. Guseok-jin, Dr. Natae-hwan, and Professor Lee Young-hee-while eliminating the rest in an instant.

“Oh.”

A notification appeared before her eyes, signaling the quest’s completion.

Immediately, 5,000 points were deposited as the quest reward, and Rahma’s Solitude and Rahma’s Accelerator dropped.

[Rahma’s Solitude: Upon consumption, the body becomes swarm-like. Reconstructed by insects, the user cannot die unless 80% of their body is lost.]

[Rahma’s Accelerator: Grants skills to Solitude. Can enhance Solitude.]

“Hmm.”

Elena found the rewards somewhat underwhelming.

She had already achieved imperfect immortality. She had no desire to consume this and turn her body into insects. She thought it would be better to feed it to Number 2.

‘Number 2 has regenerative healing. If I feed this to them, I can extract their heart without needing them to read the Book of Immortality.’

Moreover, with the Accelerator, Number 2-previously only useful as a heart shuttle-could be utilized more effectively.

Having finalized her thoughts, Elena pointed her axe at the trembling Dr. Guseok-jin and asked:

“Where’s everything you stole from my place?”

First, she would retrieve all the stolen items.

Next, she planned to use these people to create mutants for point farming.

“Th-that is…”

“Stop stalling. Take a hit first.”

“Aah, w-wait, AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Pressing her palms against Dr. Guseok-jin’s temples, Elena activated Other World Infiltration.

Immediately, the taming percentage surged rapidly, and Dr. Guseok-jin trembled violently before losing consciousness.

“Next, you?”

“Eeek!! P-please! I’ll tell you everything I know, AHHHH!!”

Elena didn’t bother listening to their words.

She already knew the truth-humans were liars.

Thus, it was safer and better to first subjugate them into slaves and then command them to speak only the truth. Humans lie, but slaves cannot.

“Done.”

After finishing the taming process on the last remaining Professor Lee Young-hee, Elena splashed water on their faces.

“Ugh…”

“Huff… Huff…”

“Damn it…”

The best part about Other World Infiltration was the minimal aftereffects. Unlike Number 2, who had his mind shattered under torture, this method allowed immediate use.

Elena seriously asked them where all her belongings had disappeared to.

******

For me, the most important things are my items and subordinates.

The items obtained from the general store are irreplaceable, and the subordinates I gathered were all unique individuals-I didn’t want to lose them like this.

But a problem arose.

“What?”

“W-well… The Osung Group bribed their way in and took them…”

“So, you’re telling me those motherfuckers took all my items?”

“Yes…”

Numbers 1 and 2, the Divine Tree Cult Leader, Jin Seon-mi, Number 3, and the Frozen Seal Stone were still in the lab. But apparently, the Osung Group had intercepted all the other items.

“….”

I had planned to destroy the Osung Group. But I didn’t expect the timing to be pushed forward this quickly.

“Sigh. First, bring out all my subordinates.”

“Yes…”

Soon, Dr. Natae-hwan opened a wall panel in the lab, revealing my subordinates floating inside large glass tubes.

All of them were suspended in the tanks with breathing apparatuses attached. They seemed to be under analysis.

“Pull them all out.”

“Yes…”

The blue liquid inside the tanks gradually drained, revealing my subordinates.

“Haah…”

All I could do was sigh. No matter what, they shouldn’t have been captured this easily.

“Don’t you agree?”

“W-we have no excuse.”

Number 1 pressed his forehead against the floor. He banged his head hard enough to draw blood, begging for his life and apologizing for his failure.

Number 1 knew all too well that I would kill him without hesitation if he became useless, hence his reaction.

In contrast, the still-dumb-looking Number 2 stared blankly into space, while Number 3 coughed up some foreign substance from his mouth in pain.

Jin Seon-mi was curled up in a corner, continuously shedding tears, and the Divine Tree Cult Leader flailed helplessly without limbs.

Pathetic. These idiots are my subordinates?

All I can do is sigh. Is this for real? Why are my subordinates the most useless ones?

“Hey, Number 1. Stop. I don’t even have the energy to get mad.”

Due to my trait, prolonged exposure to others rapidly builds fatigue. Misfortune would also accumulate, so it’s better to end things at an appropriate point.

“First, you glasses-wearing trio.”

I decided to call Dr. Guseok-jin, Dr. Natae-hwan, and Professor Lee Young-hee the “Glasses Trio” since they all wore glasses.

“Listen carefully. From now on, you’re my subordinates. Understood?”

“Y-yes!”

“Understood!”

“L-loyalty!”

“Good. You’ll keep doing what you were originally doing.”

“Huh?”

“Continue your mutant research.”

“Ah.”

“I’ll provide support if you need anything.”

“U-understood.”

“And this.”

I handed Rahma’s Solitude and Accelerator to the doctors.

“This is…”

“Items called Rahma’s Solitude and Accelerator. Analyze their components and research them properly. From what I see, they might help suppress the bodily collapse of mutants.”

I had initially considered feeding it to Number 2, but upon reflection, HP Bio’s researchers were masters of biotechnology. So I hoped they could mass-produce it.

If they could mass-produce Solitude and distribute it to mutants along with the Accelerator, they’d become even stronger.

Moreover, since mutants were forcibly fused humans turned into multi-ability wielders, suppressing bodily collapse with Rahma’s Solitude would likely produce even more overpowered mutants.

Then I’d have both mutant troops and livestock for point farming.

‘And to properly utilize such livestock, I’ll need humans.’

I know of those optimized for hunting humans.

‘Pax Company.’

I’ll crush them. Then enslave them to form a human-hunting unit.

Since I killed most of HP Bio’s researchers for the quest, the lab’s workforce can be replenished from the Osung Group.

For reference, there are currently five major factions remaining in Seoul.

First, the Osung Group. The strongest faction.

Next is the aforementioned Pax Company. They’re replenishing their forces to dominate Seoul.

Third is the Blue Cross Group. Rumors say they’re so obsessed with hunting heretics that they’ve abandoned rescuing civilians. A gathering of insane powerhouses.

‘Fourth is the Hunter Association.’

They’re no pushovers either. Though quiet now, they possess the largest number of Hunters. They’re probably busy with civilian rescue and maintaining order.

‘And the last…’

The Hunter Academy. Where Jang Yi-sang resides. By the time I possessed this body, it was called the Golden Generation-a gathering of exceptionally strong students. In other words, the protagonist faction of this world.

Jang Yi-sang alone is a monster on par with me, and with all the protagonist-buffed heroines around him…

‘But so what?’

Who could possibly stop me after obtaining the Book of Immortality? Especially since I’ve already consumed Jin Seon-mi, the most troublesome sniper-shaman. No need to hold back anymore.

‘The military forces will descend through Paju, and there’s the Gatekeeper stationed in North Korea.’

Even in cramped Korea, there are this many factions. There must be even more abroad. But right now, the world is in chaos. No need to worry about foreign matters yet.

First, let’s take Seoul.