<h4>Chapter 119: ck Athena (3)</h4>
"Kuak!"
The masked man in a tux gripped his severed hand.
He looked at Chun Yeowun, who was looking down at him, with frightened eyes.
<i>''What the hell is he? A monster!''</i>
Those who dealt with information knew that Chun Yeowun was rted to the Sky Demon Order.
But they were overconfident in their own defense system, the gas and the poison, so they never imagined that things could turn out like this.
He remembered what happened 2 hours ago.
The ck Athena''s Second Master gathered all the people.
[The vice-chairman of the Yongchun Group mighte?]
The vice-chairman made headlines in the news.
The fact that the Yongchun Group was the descendant of the Demonic Cult couldn''t be unknown.
Recently, rumors that the Demonic Cult was being resurrected have caused a stir in the Murim world.
[Isn''t that Yongchun Group the Demonic Cult one?]
[Why would theye to ck Athena?]
For the Forces of Evil, the rtionship with the Demonic Cult was rather subtle.
Although they were known to be the evil kind just like the forces of Evil, they acted proud and said they were different.
Although they weren''t in direct confrontation, the Demonic Cult strongly despised others and never came in contact with the Forces of Evil.
[ording to the information, they are aiming for the wealth and power of the ck Athena to help with their resurrection.]
The Second Master warned that the Demonic Cult woulde in contact with them with ill intentions.
Thus, if they showed any signs of making a fuss in the pretext of a deal, the workers were ordered to expunge them.
[However, wouldn''t that make us enemies of the Demonic Cult?]
[They have the power to even take down the main office of the Association, shouldn''t we be more careful?]
Naturally, some people were concerned.
But the Second Master said,
[Don''t worry. If we do it, the Murim Association wille to our side.]
{The Murim Association? They will interfere?}
[Yes. The Demonic Cult and the Murim Association are currently at war. It wouldn''t be hard for them to interfere. Besides, the one called Chun Mu-seong is the biggest enemy of the Association, so they will make sure to use this chance to repay the disgrace they faced.]
As people heard it, no one felt concerned anymore.
In addition, in the absence of the Master, the Second Master held all powers in ck Athena, so everyone would have to obey his orders.
<i>''Kuak… If only the Master was here, this wouldn''t have happened.''</i>
It was toote to regret.
Things happened and this monster was now right in front of him.
"Guide me to the VIP room. You don''t want to lose your other arm, do you?"
Chun Yeowun gave a dauntingmand. At that, the masked man endured the pain and reminded,
"Yah, if you don''t take the antidote, you will die. Are you sure you can threaten me?"
The gas was stopped, but what about the poison?
No matter how strong the man was, in order to clear the poison with only cultivation, it would take a long time. At least, that was what he thought.
"Are you talking about this?"
When Chun Yeowun raised his hand, something like ck gas rose from his skin.
The ck liquid floated in the air. And Chun Yeowun snapped his finger.
<i>Pang!</i>
The ck liquid split into several directions and prated the bodies of the ck Athena staff who were struggling with anxious faces.
"Kuak!"
"W-what is this…"
Flustered, they touched the parts where the liquid entered and tried to squeeze it out.
"Ugh!"
"Poison?"
The poison was spreading through their bodies, so they tried to start cultivating. Six people sat on the floor at the same time. The masked man couldn''t help but be shocked.
"No way…"
The poison they were proud of was now inside their bodies. They weren''t sure, but it turned out that Chun Yeowun had cleared the poison.
At their shock, Chun Yeowun said.
"Last warning. If you want your other limbs to stay intact, guide me to the VIP room."
6th basement floor of ck Athena.
Unlike the normal hall, this was a huge circr hall.
In such a ce, a door made of tempered ss and about 10 meters of space was arranged outside the circle.
However, in this ce, people in tight-fitting grey tights locked up one by one were disyed like items.
What was peculiar was that the eyes of the people in that ss space were out of focus. They had nk expressions like they had lost it.
<i>Thud!</i>
A man in a blue tux with a mustache and pomade hair touched one of the sses.
"This is a 3rd generation improved model."
The man inside the ss was called to be a 3rd generation improved model.
There was a woman in a red dress waving her hand at the sight of the man in the ss, it was Im So-hye, the SS-ss keeper.
"Is he unconscious?"
"Without the owner''smand, thinking and cognition are still not possible. The risk can be regarded as zero. Hahaha."
The man who was smiling and exining was Byun Ho-young, the Second Master of ck Athena.
He was the second inmand and exclusive to the VIP members.
From Gold members with high loyalty and high purchase rates, the managerse down themselves and don''t just appear as holograms.
VIP members have many privileges, including their ability to bring in up to 5panions.
So Im So-hye''s team members came along.
"His chin is unique."
Im So-hye said while looking at the one in the ss.
Byun Ho-young answered with a smile.
"The 3rd gen has improved structure and genes, so the body changes are more unique and colorful. As the jaw moves, it turns into arger mouth."
"Ohh."
The man with sses frowned when he heard the thing about the jaw, it just felt pretty creepy.
"Although the mutant does look pretty ugly, it has amazing abilities. I can guarantee that. It is far superior to the 2nd gen models with carnivorous mammalian genes."
The people in the ss space that Byun Ho-young pointed to were unusual.
Some had long ears and others had leopard patterns.
ording to him, these were gically engineered humans.
"The price is obviously higher than the 2nd gen. one B-ss core per object."
"Ha!"
At Byun Ho-young''s words, Im So-hye''s team members were shocked.
Unlike other transactions, this floor would only ept cores as a form of payment.
Even a B-ss core was known to be very expensive.
"Ah, it isn''t that expensive. This 3rd Gen model can easily deal with Super Master level Murims and A-ss keepers."
"Dealing with an A-ss keeper? Isn''t it unreasonable to think that engineered humans could exhibit such crazy things?"
One of Im So-hye''s team members, a 2-meter tall man, said while clicking his tongue.
As an A-ss keeper, it felt like Byun Ho-young''s words were targeted at him.
Super Masters and A-ss Keepers were those in charge of people''s safety.
"You don''t seem to believe it."
"I won''t believe it unless I see it with my own eyes."
"Huhuhu, then shall we take time to check out the product? No.27 ss restraint released."
<i>Whiing!</i>
At Byun Ho-young''s words, the ss went up and opened.
As the door opened, the muscr man inside stepped forward.
"If the A-ss Keeper Pa Jin-sang checks it, he might be able to trust us more."
At Byun Ho-young''s words, Pa Jin-sang''s eyes turned sharp.
Although they hade here several times before, no one knew their names, but since this ce dealt with information, they knew who the guests were.
Pa Jin-sang looked at Im So-hye asking for permission.
"Good."
Pa Jin-sang took off his tux and walked to the middle.
"I believe that you won''t ask me topensate you if the product is defiled?"
"Of course not. However, be careful not to get hurt."
"Huh. Doesn''t apply to me."
Pa Jin-sang spoke in a confident voice.
His ability was super strength. He could exert force up to 100 tons.
With that strength, he could easily crush steel. He was a Keeper who defeated dangerous Gate entities with just his fists.
"You can order the product right now too. And if it doesn''t work, you can ask for a change too. No. 23, defeat him."
As soon as Byun Ho-young''s words fell, the man in grey tights ran towards him.
The movement was incredibly fast. Like bouncing off the floor and reaching the middle of the room at once.
<i>Puck!</i>
The man in tights who was hit by Pa Jin-sang bounced back.
The Keepers who watched it cheered.
"Wowh!"
They assumed that the gically made model was of no match to them.
However, Pa Jin-sang''s expressions changed.
He clenched his fist, but it didn''t exactly feel like he hit something.
<i>''What is this? This weird feeling?''</i>
It felt more foreign than dealing with Gate objects.
A very bad feeling.
<i>Phat!</i>
The guy in grey tights, who bounced back, flew towards the man as soon as his foot touched the ground.
He raised his fists upwards and tried to smash Pa Jin-sang.
Pa Jin-sang, who stopped it, tried tond a hit, but somethingpletely different happened.
<i>Swosh!</i>
"Gasp!"
From the elbow, the arms were split open.
And then long arms which seemed made of saw des came out.
The same with legs as well.
<i>Swosh!</i>
He opened his mouth, and the chin cracked.
The ugly appearance didn''t look human at all.
It literally seemed like an insect.
"Mantis?"
Im So-hye mumbled.
The Second Master Byun Hi-young smiled and answered.
"Right answer."
This man was a human with a mantis gene.
Honestly, calling him human was ridiculous.
<i>''Th-this is a monster!''</i>
Pa Jin-sang had outstanding durability and strength, but he didn''t want to block those long arms, so he tried to avoid being hit.
<i>Shhhh!</i>
Just by spreading the long arms, he managed to grab the opponent at once.
"This bastard!"
<i>Grab!</i>
Pa Jin-sang tried to grab the arm and break it. However, despite his ability, he couldn''t break off the mantis man''s arms.
<i>''What power does this one have?''</i>
Rather, the area around the hand changed.
<i>sh!</i>
"Kuak!"
Pa Jin-sang''s palm tore.
The moment he released his hand in shock, the mantis opened the forked jaw and bit Pa Jin-sang''s shoulder.
<i>Crack!</i>
The ferocious teeth hurt the man. They dug in so easily that it was as if the mantis tried to rip it off.
"Ack!"
As Pa Jin-sang screamed, Second Master Byun Ho-young snapped his fingers and shouted.
<i>Snap!</i>
"Stop!"
As soon as themand fell, the mantis opened its mouth.
Blood kept dripping down the pierced shoulder and the teeth marks were visible.
"Kuak… kuak…"
Pa Jin-sang''s eyes tinged with fear as he groaned. It was the first time he had experienced this kind of fear since the Gate battles.
“Strong Pa Jin-sang like this?”
"Sigh…"
His colleagues were shocked and so was Im so-hye.
Byun Ho-young smiled and said to her,
"How was it? Enough?"
This was a super amount of power, so admiringly she said,
"Is there anything stronger than this?"
"There is a 4th gen improved version."
Shockingly, there was a stronger one.
If the 3rd gen made with insect genes were this strong how strong could the next gen be?
"The 4th gen is really expensive and we have a limited number."
"How many?"
"I was only asked to sell 2 of them and the two aren''t up for brokering."
"Reason?"
"Up to the 3rd gen, they are possible to produce when the genes are avable, but when ites to the 4th gen, it is tough."
Hearing that, Im So-hye was curious.
"How much?"
"3 A-ss cores."
"Huh?"
The outrageous payment shocked her.
It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that getting a single A-ss core was almost impossible, but three?
"How can the price go up like that?"
"Because it is worthy. You did see this one right? A 3rd gen can easily overwhelm an A-ss Keeper. And that one can easily surpass it."
"Nevertheless. The payment is so…"
"The Japanese, Russians and Americans have bought 14 of them at a higher price in the auction markers. Comparatively, this is a lower price."
At those words, Im So-hye''s eyes lit up.
It was said that the price paid for it was extremely high, but it was something else that drew her attention.
"Oh my. Are you going to auction them on the market?"
At that, Byun Ho-young realized he had said something he shouldn''t have and went silent.
The auction wasn''t something he had the liberty to speak about.
"Ahh, I made a mistake. There is so muchpetition in the ck market rather than auctions…"
<i>Click!</i>
The earpiece which was plugged in his ear beforehand suddenly began to give static.
-Second Master, we have a problem.
It was a call from the Control Room. In response, Byun Ho-young looked at Im So-hye and said,
"Could you give me a moment?"
And then, he moved slightly away from them.
"What is it?"
-He is on the way to the 6th-floor basement.
"He?"
-The vice-chairman of the Yongchun group.
"What?"
Byun Ho-young couldn''t hide his shock. To get here means to pass through several defense systems.
If he wanted to get here, he would have been blocked by the other rooms. So how?
"What about the poison?"
-I don''t know sir. We didn''t know until he even got into the elevator.
"What are you spouting now? How did he?"
-Seeing that Cooper is apanying him, it seems like he is taking the manager''s aisle.
The paths for guests and managers were different.
Despite the tight surveince, the cameras in the manager path were few.
And there was an elevator there.
"Stop the elevator!"
The elevator was made of superalloy just in case. It had the strength to even withstand an explosion.
-Already shut it and send fighters to the elevator…
It was then.
<i>sh!</i>
The entrance of the elevator at the entrance of the hall split and then,
<i>Bang!</i>
Broke.
Someone appeared from the smoke.
It was Chun Yeowun in his usual attire.
<i>''Vice-chairman Chun Mu-seong?''</i>
Im So-hye couldn''t hide her curiosity.
The man who appeared after breaking an elevator definitely didn''t have good intentions.
Chun Yeowun said as he walked in.
"Are you the representative of ck Athena?"
Chun Yeowun''s eyes went to Byun Ho-young, and the man''s face contorted.
<i>''In the middle of the most important deal!''</i>
Everything was disturbed.
At that time, a man with curly hair, one of Im So-hye''s team members, stepped ahead and said.
"Our deal isn''t done yet, what is this now? Go back and…"
<i>Swish!</i>
Chun Yeowun ignored him and passed by.
Angry at that, the curly-haired man tried to show off his abilities.
"Cheeky bastard…"
"Don''t bother me."
<i>Swish!</i>
Chun Yeowun lightly waved his hand and the man''s body bowed to the side.
<i>Woong!</i>
"Euk!"
<i>Bang!</i>
His upper body went into the tempered ss and stuck into it.
The entire team couldn''t hide their shock at the sight of an A-ss Keeper being taken down in an instant.
"No. 23, get rid of him!"
Second Master shouted in panic.
The mantis man in the middle flew for Chun Yeowun with the jaws wide open.
<i>Phat</i>!
"What kind of joke is this?"
Chun Yeowun stretched out his right hand.
The mantis man who was aiming to attack him stopped mid-air and the legs shuddered.
In that state, Chun Yeowun clenched his fist.
<i>Crack!</i>
"Kuaaak!"
The mantis man''s body folded like a ball and rolled on the ground.
<i>''W-what is that…''</i>
At that scene, Pa Jin-sang fell into despair. It was absurd to see the mantis which caused him pain and anguish die at a single gesture.