B2 Basement.
Having cleaned up the entities at an incredible speed, Lee Taeseong had recovered a considerable amount of energy through constant consumption.
Moreover, because he grew stronger the more he devoured, the total amount of power he possessed had increased slightly as well.
If it had been in the early stages, his growth would have been exponential, but at present, half of his strength was sealed due to restrictions. Even so, compared to the entities here, he was overwhelmingly strong.
If he were to liken this situation to an RPG game, it was as if a high-level player were massacring monsters in a low-level hunting ground. As one levels up, the experience pool grows larger, inevitably slowing growth.
To grow faster, one naturally needed to hunt monsters appropriate to their level.
Of course, this was reality, and the game comparison was merely for analogy.
However, since some administrators possessed “status windows,” it was an easy way to explain how they perceived the world.
“Directions.”
[Turn around that corner and walk a little further ahead — you should find the stairs leading down to the third basement level.]
Looking over at Wairang, who was tearing apart a beast-type entity’s head in the distance, Taeseong called out.
“Wairang. Stop playing around and get over here.”
[Woof woof!]
Wairang wagged his massive tail and jumped into Taeseong’s shadow. Having thoroughly filled his belly, he planned to take a comfortable nap.
Wairang was growing bigger and stronger by the day.
“Wait. What’s that place over there?”
[I don’t know.]
“If you’re lying… I’ll crush and swallow your skull immediately.”
Anna shrieked in panic.
[I’m telling the truth! I really don’t know! Think about it! I was trapped in a container until recently — how would I know the layout of this place after wandering for just a little bit before you caught me?!]
“…Makes sense. So who freed you?”
[I don’t know their name. They were just a human-shaped entity.]
“A human-type entity?”
[Yes.]
“Did that thing free all the others too?”
[Not all of them — just a few key entities on the fourth basement floor. As you know, once a few strong entities are freed, they usually release the others too. It’s better for them that way.]
Taeseong recalled a conversation he had had with Choi Harin.
—There’s been an incident. Apparently, an entity disguised as an administrator was aboard the ship carrying the transported entities.
—It seems that entity possessed a mind-control-type ability. Plus, it’s estimated to be of Beta grade…
‘An entity disguised as an administrator. Beta-grade.’
The bastard who freed the entities on the fourth basement floor, including Anna Kreuzen, was the root cause of this entire disaster.
‘Lee Eunha and Go Young-hee aren’t on the second floor either. That means they’re probably on the third or fourth basement level…’
The further down, the stronger the entities were likely to be.
‘I need to pick up the pace.’
They were talents Taeseong had personally scouted for Management Team 0. He couldn’t afford to lose them so meaninglessly.
Just then—
With a clunking sound, the door to the room Taeseong had asked Anna about earlier opened, and two men in black suits appeared.
Upon spotting Taeseong, they immediately took on a defensive stance, scanning him suspiciously from head to toe.
Since he was wearing the standard black suit reserved for administrators, they seemed to decide not to attack immediately.
The man in the lead mumbled, staring at Taeseong with an unpleasant gaze.
“Asian?”
“…American branch administrators supposed to assist with this operation, huh.”
Taeseong pulled out ‘The King’s Ears Are Donkey’s Ears,’ an epsilon-grade entity, from his coat. The men, realizing that Taeseong was Korean, also attached a device to aid with translation.
The lead administrator asked in a rather overbearing tone.
He was impressively tall — nearly two heads taller than Taeseong — and his blue eyes stood out.
“Who are you?”
Taeseong handed over his ID badge, newly issued when he was promoted to team leader of Special Management Team 0.
【Namu Korean Branch】
Special Management Team Leader Lee Taeseong .
Grade: Beta.
The white man who took the ID badge frowned and asked.
“Special Management Team? Team Leader Lee Taeseong? What, the Korean branch has a team like this?”
“I’m the Special Management Team leader sent to assist with the entity transfer operation.”
“Where’s the rest of your team?”
“Right here.”
Catching on to what Taeseong meant a beat later, the tall man scowled and said gruffly.
“You messing with me? You said you came to assist. And it’s just you? That’s it?”
Taeseong briefly considered the unpleasant thought that crossed his mind but brushed it away and calmly answered.
“I’m enough on my own.”
The tall man clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t believe it and muttered under his breath.
“Typical Asians… All flash, no substance.”
Hearing the derogatory comment, it was clear the tall bastard was a hardcore racist.
Normally, a beating would be the best medicine for guys like him, but seeing the companion next to him, Taeseong decided to endure it once.
“Team leader! That’s an incredibly disrespectful thing to say to someone who came to support us! And don’t forget — even Team Leader Choi from the neighboring team, who recently passed the Alpha-grade promotion exam, is Asian too! You didn’t dare say a word in front of him!”
“That guy’s different.”
“What’s so different about him?!”
The man who scolded his superior had a warm smile and strikingly handsome features. His neatly braided dreadlocks were particularly memorable.
He bowed politely at a 90-degree angle to Taeseong.
“Team Leader Lee Taeseong! I sincerely apologize on his behalf. My name is Mark Dwayne from the Tree U.S. Branch’s Management Team 3. I’m a Gamma-grade administrator! Our team leader had a terrible experience with an East Asian in the past and still holds a grudge about it. I’m very sorry.”
He was a polite and likable man. Taeseong was pleased.
“I didn’t—”
“Please be quiet, sir!”
“Why is it always me getting yelled at…”
Despite the subordinate snapping at him, the team leader didn’t argue back, suggesting that their relationship was better than it seemed.
“If my guess is correct, this gentleman is not someone our team leader should speak to so carelessly.”
“Who is he then?”
“Administrator Lee Taeseong.”
“Say it.”
“Did you, by any chance, recently go on assignment to Japan?”
Taeseong nodded.
“I did.”
Mark shouted in surprise.
“Of course! You’re Manager Lee Taeseong, the Delta-grade manager who single-handedly subjugated the Aokigahara Sea of Trees! This is truly an honor!”
Then he grabbed Lee Taeseong’s hand with his large hands and shook it vigorously.
The team leader, who had been wearing a disinterested expression, asked.
“Who’s that?”
“You haven’t even heard the news, Team Leader? A Delta-grade manager from Korea was dispatched to Japan and single-handedly conquered the Aokigahara Sea of Trees, which was once called a demon realm! I also heard the head of the Japan branch personally tried to scout him. Is that true?”
“It’s true.”
“See? Isn’t that amazing? And he was originally an Epsilon-grade! But in less than a year, he got promoted straight to Beta-grade!”
Mark excitedly chattered on, almost as if he had been the one to conquer Aokigahara himself.
‘The more I see him, the more likable he is.’
The team leader spoke in a dismissive tone.
“……I did about that much when I was younger too.”
“You, Team Leader? Come on. I know better than anyone how great you are, but even you weren’t that amazing. You’re not fooling anyone.”
Ignoring his subordinate’s remark, the lanky team leader continued.
“Manager of Tree’s America Branch Management Team 2, Jameson Carter.”
“Quick with the introductions, huh.”
“What’s that thing in your hand?”
“A specimen.”
“Don’t tell me, it’s the Corpse-Peddling Saintess?”
“Yeah.”
“Jesus! Why are you even carrying around something so grotesque? Hand it over. We need to dispose of it immediately!”
Lee Taeseong answered firmly.
“Stay out of it. I’m handling it myself.”
The way this guy kept butting into his business was starting to seriously get on his nerves.
“And that thing next to you? Is that also a specimen?”
Without them noticing, Wairang had flopped down next to Lee Taeseong, lazily wagging his tail.
“My pet dog.”
“A pet?”
[Growl.]
“Don’t eat it. Sit. Stay.”
“Sit? What’s that? Good game?”
“Something like that. Anyway, are these all the managers from your team?”
Mark answered in his place.
“N-No, sir! The other team members have scattered to search for the managers on board.”
“Which floors are they on?”
“Two on the deck, three on the first floor, three on the second floor, and on the fourth floor…….”
At that moment—
Chhhzzzt. Chhhzzzt.
[Ah, ah. Mic test.]
Amid the crackling static, a voice flowed out from the speaker installed on the ceiling.
[I am Jameson Carter, Beta-grade manager and the one in charge of this operation. Most of the specimens on board have been subjugated. All surviving managers, please assemble in the staff lounge located on Basement 4. I repeat, I…….]
Hearing that voice, Jameson Carter, the lanky man, scowled and cursed.
“What the hell, fuck. That’s my voice?”
At the same time.
Panting heavily, Lee Eunha looked at Go Young-hee and asked.
“Haah…… Haah…… Go Young-hee, are you okay?”
“……No. I’m not okay.”
Go Young-hee’s face was deathly pale, as if she could collapse at any moment. Her right arm was completely gone, and blood was gushing from the severed stump.
Lee Eunha had also lost her right leg to a chainsaw. Though they had both lost parts of their bodies, this was not the time to worry about injuries.
Even now—
Zzzzzzzzzzzzt!
[Ladies, where shall I cut next? I recommend the intestines course. Haven’t you ever been curious to see your own guts with your own two eyes?]
Step. Step.
The sound of the chainsaw grew closer. Every time they heard that insane voice, their wounds throbbed in agony.
Lee Eunha spat out a curse.
“That crazy bastard……!”
She hurriedly picked up her brush and tried to draw something, but there wasn’t enough time.
Jack had already approached and swung the chainsaw toward Lee Eunha’s abdomen.
“Go Young-hee!”
Go Young-hee shoved Lee Eunha out of the way, and her own head was severed instead.
Thud.
Roll, roll, roll.
[Oh. I was planning to show you the intestines course, but you went and chose the head course yourself. That’s fine too!]
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