Ch.1515. Life as the Wager (2)

“Hiiieek.”

Whiiiiing!!

Seeing the electric drill spinning with an intense motor sound, the guests seemed to have snapped to attention.

“Who’s going first?”

“There are six of us, so each person only needs to go one round.”

“Going first is advantageous! Someone should volunteer!”

“Then you go first!”

The guests fell into confusion.

“I’ll decide the order. Let’s see. You, with the straight eyebrows. You’re number one.”

“M-me?! Ugh…”

The chubby man reluctantly steps forward. He’s sweating profusely. The henchmen position him in the coffin opposite Ji Se-hwa.

“The body part at stake is the right arm. Not too burdensome, right? Then let’s start round one!”

Lee Lu-a declares without giving time to think.

“Hey, Executive Director. Like we discussed, just give up your right arm. It’s only one hole. I’ve had my gut pierced a hundred times fighting the Dark Kingdom.”

“T-then maybe one more time…”

“Don’t you fucking get it? You bastards only need to get pierced once, but I have to do it six times! Six times! Even I’ll die if I get pierced six times! I’m not transformed right now, you piece of shit!”

Ji Se-hwa immediately unleashes a barrage of curses.

“Huff. If you have any conscience, if you’re human, let’s make a sacrifice, okay? I have absolutely no cash. Who carries cash these days? I’ll write down 10,000 won, so you write 1,000 won.”

“W-what? 1,000 won?”

“I said it clearly. Write 1,000 won. If you write anything else, I’ll be truly disappointed in you, Executive Director, if I make it out alive.”

Ji Se-hwa has such intense eyes. She could probably kill with just her gaze.

“Ugh, but a drill? A drill through the right arm? And the hole. It’s right in the middle. It’ll go through the bone. Ughh.”

The man was sweating so much he was on the verge of dehydration.

“…Hmm? Excuse me.”

One of the other guests, an intelligent-looking man, tried to speak. Lu-a put her index finger to her lips.

“Quiet during the round~ I’ll let it slide this time, but speak again and I’ll kill you, okay?”

The guest immediately shut his mouth.

“That’s nothing, so just write 1,000 won! You’ll heal quickly anyway!”

“Ugh, ughhh.”

“Answer me! Say you’ll do as I tell you!”

The man squeezed his eyes shut. He still wouldn’t answer.

This is over. He can’t answer because his conscience won’t let him lie.

“Hey! I told you! I’m writing 10,000 won here? If my arm gets a hole in it, it’s your responsibility! If I can’t fight properly because of it and lose to the Galaxy Empire, it’s your fault!”

“Alright, that’s enough. Both of you, shut up. Write down your bids.”

Pens were placed in their right hands extending from the coffins. The henchmen brought notepads, blocking their view of each other.

Ji Se-hwa clicked her tongue and wrote down a number without hesitation. The man hesitated for a long time before writing a number with trembling hands.

“The results are in. Hmm~? Ahah. Blue, you’re better than I thought?”

“Fuck off, bitch.”

“I wish we could do something about that filthy mouth of yours. Everyone confirmed there was no manipulation, right? These notes never left your sight, and you can verify the handwriting. Now I’ll reveal them? First round.”

Lu-a turned the notes in both hands.

The amount Ji Se-hwa wrote was indeed 10,000 won.

Meanwhile, the man’s amount:

112,000 won.

“The guest wins.”

“You fucking bastard—!!”

“Hiiiek. I’m sorry, I’m sorry! But I had no choice! I have heart disease, and that kind of pain could give me a heart attack!”

The man makes pathetic excuses.

“Of course I know how hard Blue Saber works as a hero. I’m always grateful! I struggled with the decision until the end. But I was just too scared…”

“What struggle, you piece of shit! Is that number the result of struggling?! It’s not enough to be ten times more, you added two safety measures!!”

That was true.

To counter Ji Se-hwa’s potential lie, he multiplied by ten. And to ensure victory beyond that, he came up with 112,000 won.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Fine. Now get out.”

The henchmen released the chubby man. Lu-a dismissed him as if she didn’t care.

Whether from relief or shame, the man quickly left the VIP room.

Of course, he couldn’t go home right away. He would continue to be tormented by fear.

There was no particular reason to take his life, but I had no intention of telling him that.

“Now for the execution?”

“You fucking bitch! Just wait until I’m free! I’ll drill that thing through your fucking forehead!”

Ji Se-hwa cursed viciously. The henchmen mercilessly brought the drill to the spot on her right arm.

Whiiiiing— Crunch!!

“Kugh…! Urgh!”

Ji Se-hwa endured without screaming. Her eyes filled with murderous intent.

The procedure ended quickly. Bone fragments fell through the hole along with blood.

The guests turned away from the gruesome sight.

One person, the intelligent-looking man who had tried to speak earlier, raised his hand.

“Yes? What is it? You can speak now.”

“I have a question. What happens if Blue Saber and the guest bid the same amount?”

Lu-a smiled.

“R-right. That method was available.”

For a moment, hope flashed across Ji Se-hwa’s face. End all rounds in a draw. The intelligent man had thought of this method when Ji Se-hwa bid 10,000 won.

“Simple. The guest wins.”

But Lu-a immediately crushed that hope.

“You noticed that point too? You’re quite capable.”

The man didn’t respond.

“Next. You, woman, come forward.”

“Ugh…”

The woman looked like she might cry at any moment. She was completely consumed by fear. Click, click. The coffin’s locks engaged.

“Let’s start round 2~ This time it’s the left leg. The center of the thigh, see? The tool isn’t much. Just a skewer.”

Lu-a announced with a grin. The henchmen entered carrying a skewer heated by fire.

“Um, excuse me. Blue Saber.”

“Ten thousand.”

“W-what?”

“I’m writing 10,000 won.”

Ji Se-hwa said that while frowning from the pain and sweating.

“Ah, Blue Saber…”

The woman finally burst into tears.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t… something like that.”

Ji Se-hwa gritted her teeth.

“It’s too, too painful. I can’t handle it. I can’t… I’m just an ordinary person.”

The woman began to sob. Her lamentations continued. Something about her children, how hard life was.

Ji Se-hwa, perhaps too weakened by the first injury to shout, just listened.

“Alright, time’s up. Write your bids.”

The second round of bidding. The results came in.

“Hmm~ Interesting, interesting. Shall I reveal them?”

The woman crying endlessly and Ji Se-hwa silent.

I could understand the woman’s feelings.

She probably thought Ji Se-hwa would write 10,000 won again.

That guilt was why she was shedding tears like that.

And the result:

“Guest, 212,000. Blue, 1,642,000.”

“…Huh?”

The woman’s mouth fell open when she saw those numbers.

“W-wait a minute. Hundred? You said 10,000 won, Blue Saber. The previous person was in the tens of thousands. Suddenly hundreds? What?”

Ji Se-hwa glared at the woman.

“Fuck off, bitch. Die or don’t, I don’t care.”

“No, wait. Wait!! You lied! You lied to me!!”

The woman began to freak out. Lu-a waved her hand. The henchmen immediately thrust the skewer into the woman.

“Aaaaargh! Liar! Aaaaaaaargh!!”

The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Lu-a, seemingly disgusted, secretly held her nose. After a brief scream, the woman fainted. The henchmen dragged her out and threw her outside the door.

“Urgh.”

“Good Lord.”

The remaining guests were horrified. The intelligent man seemed lost in thought.

“She just wrote one hundred sixty thousand, right?”

“Yes. Seems like she’s almost out of money, doesn’t it?”

“Psychologically, doesn’t it feel like she’s used half?”

“People don’t usually carry more than 500,000 won in cash. Does anyone here? I never have a reason to.”

“I don’t.”

“I don’t even carry 100,000 won.”

“I have my driver manage my wallet and always keep it at 200,000 won.”

The guests whispered among themselves.

They were starting to understand.

To put it simply, this game was designed extremely favorably for Ji Se-hwa.

This game isn’t about bidding higher amounts to win. It’s about matching Ji Se-hwa’s remaining balance.

So Ji Se-hwa’s initial strategy of declaring 10,000 won and actually bidding that amount was, conventionally speaking, useless.

But she’s no fool.

She’s quite clever, actually.

If my guess is correct, Ji Se-hwa understands this game perfectly.

“Round 3. The body part is the right leg. The knee. The tool is a bone spear.”

Negotiations were no longer necessary at this stage. Only pure psychological warfare remained.

And the result:

“Guest, 1,210,000. Blue, 6,240,000.”

“Six hundred thousand?”

“Hey. Is that really just cash you happened to have, not something you prepared?”

With a terrible scream, the guest’s knee was shattered.

He was thrown out of the room, now crippled.

Ji Se-hwa grinned.

“Next is you. You were confident, weren’t you? Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Lu-a called the intelligent man. Sweating, he was positioned in the coffin.

“Round 4’s body part is the stomach. The tool is this.”

The henchmen brought out the tool. A blue sashimi knife appeared.

“Urgh! T-that’s!”

The man was flustered. Ji Se-hwa, on the other hand, showed no change in expression.

“Sigh. Fine. I’m in the tiger’s den, so I need to focus. Blue Saber. I understand your intention.”

“What?”

Ji Se-hwa’s eyebrow twitched.

“You took that first hit because you didn’t want to raise the unit, right? Once you exceed the range of cash people normally carry, a psychological barrier goes up. A calculation dividing your cash over six limited trials.”

“What are you talking about, trash?”

“Thinking that way, you must be carrying quite a lot. Not cash you’d carry daily. I see. It’s lobbying money, isn’t it?”

Ji Se-hwa frowned at those words. She glared at the man as if she wanted to devour him.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m trying to negotiate. Let me ask differently.”

The man smiled leisurely.

“How much would you pay me to take the knife in your place?”

Interesting.

He’s definitely a smart one.

It’s natural to want to swallow something sweet.

What will you do, Ji Se-hwa?

Swallow or spit it out?