Chapter 290: Apple (4)'
Kang-hoo’s twisted mouth naturally returned to normal after he came back to the villa and started eating.
In the villa he returned to with the Celestial Assassin, warm rice and meat side dishes were already prepared.
He hadn’t particularly wanted to eat—he was thinking of just having a cup of instant noodles—but the situation changed.
“My daughter prepared it with care. Enjoy it. If I see even a hint of dissatisfaction on your face…”
The Celestial Assassin nudged Kang-hoo toward the table and gave him a sharp look. It was more playful than scary.
“Please eat.”
Ju Haemi even placed a freshly poured glass of cool water beside Kang-hoo, then stepped away.
Kang-hoo asked,
“Master, have you eaten? Is it really okay for me to eat this?”
“It was made for you, you punk. While you were out cold enough for your mouth to twist, we already ate.”At the Celestial Assassin’s words, Kang-hoo glanced toward the sink, where clean dishes and cups sat. It seemed quite a bit of time had passed.
“Then I’ll eat with gratitude.”
“As you should. Be grateful.”
Leaving behind the Celestial Assassin’s sharp gaze, Kang-hoo scooped a spoonful of steaming white rice.
‘Delicious.’
Maybe it was because he was eating after tough training, but even plain rice made his mouth water.
The grilled meat Ju Haemi had prepared was perfectly seasoned, making it even better.
He realized it had been ages since he’d had a proper home-cooked meal.
Ever since he possessed Shin Kang-hoo’s body, he’d lived far from anything like homemade food.
Even when he was living as the original author, Kang-hoo’s usual meals were instant or delivery food.
At best, instant rice meals heated in the microwave were the closest thing to homemade—and even those were rare.
“Master, this is really good.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
“Haha. That’s what you say.”
Apparently pleased by the compliment, the Celestial Assassin took a seat directly across from Kang-hoo.
But when the Celestial Assassin suddenly glared at him with fierce eyes, Kang-hoo tensed up instinctively.
The master gestured for him to eat comfortably, but with those blazing eyes watching, that was easier said than done.
Still, his hunger outweighed everything, so Kang-hoo scooped up another big spoonful of rice.
Even without side dishes, the rice alone tasted amazing. It felt like heaven.
The Celestial Assassin watched Kang-hoo eat for quite a while.
Then, once the bowl was nearly empty, he spoke seriously.
“Kang-hoo.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Your malice is learned and performed. That won’t do. You need malice that wells up from within.”
“……”
It was as if he had seen through Kang-hoo’s true nature as a possessor.
The Celestial Assassin’s words were laden with meaning. Learned, performed malice—had he seen that?
He wasn’t wrong.
After possessing the life of Shin Kang-hoo, his character had been overlaid and synchronized.
It wasn’t pure, innate malice. It was malice ‘performed’ through the existence of Shin Kang-hoo.
Of course, Kang-hoo wasn’t denying himself. Nor did he feel he was acting.
But if asked whether this was his truest self, he couldn’t confidently say yes.
Even if 98% of him was Shin Kang-hoo, the remaining 2% carried remnants of the original author’s life.
That was what kept him from acting in pure black or white—it made him walk in the gray.
So he continued living somewhere in that ambiguous boundary between good and evil.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
“You need to emphasize the ‘kill’ more than the ‘assassinate’ in assassination. That will make you much stronger than you are now.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You should devote yourself to emotions that stir anger. Enemies, revenge, fury, hatred—there are many emotions that can provoke you. But don’t become consumed by them.”
For now, Kang-hoo understood the Celestial Assassin’s words this way:
He couldn’t just see enemies as test subjects or data points. He had to truly want to rip them apart.
The Celestial Assassin added more.
“Even when cutting empty air, let it carry killing intent. Forget half-hearted experiments.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind again.”
“There will be no additional training until you become aware of your emotional changes. Understood?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Then rest. Do the dishes before going up. We have a rule—everyone cleans up after themselves.”
“Even what you eat, Master?”
“I clean up my own mess. Obviously. What a foolish question, you pitiful brat.”
Leaving Kang-hoo—now suddenly deemed a pitiful brat—behind, the Celestial Assassin clicked his tongue and headed to his room.
Silence returned to the dining table.
Looking at the now-empty bowl, Kang-hoo said something he’d never said before.
“I think I’ll have another bowl.”
Ju Haemi’s cooking was truly the best.
Late at night.
While Kang-hoo was resting comfortably in his room, a call came in.
It was quite a distance from civilization, and the night was extremely quiet, which made the vibration sound even louder.
The caller was Jeon Se-hyuk.
“Yes, this is Shin Kang-hoo.”
-I’ve secured a trustworthy insider within the Cheongmyeong Detention Center.
Knowing Kang-hoo dislikes flowery language, Jeon Se-hyuk got straight to the point.
Cheongmyeong Detention Center was currently one of Kang-hoo’s top concerns, and coincidentally, he had just been thinking about it.
“Could you tell me a bit more in detail?”
-Are you aware that Eclipse is currently fixated on the Cheongju Liberation Area?
“No, I’m not.”
It wasn’t just a vague idea—he had absolutely no knowledge of that.
Cheongju did have a Liberation Area. It was quite large too, almost on par with the Kimcheon Liberation Area.
But Cheongju was already tightly controlled by the criminal organization ‘Black,’ so there were no notable disputes there.
For Eclipse to suddenly crash into a place with an already well-established power structure?
- Seems like Eclipse has been putting in the work for a long time to take over. Just like us, they secured a reliable insider. And yesterday, the leader of Black was killed.
“You mean the boss?”
- Yes, Boss Park Min-gwon is dead. And the factions supported by Eclipse have completed their takeover.
“Then Eclipse must’ve mobilized a fair number of personnel.”
- Correct. They pulled out all their members stationed in the southern Gyeonggi region and Cheonan.
The area isn’t fully subdued yet, so combat is ongoing within the Liberation Area.
“And in the midst of all that, they’re trying to seize a Liberation Area…”
- After losing the Pyeongtaek branch, they likely felt the pressure of their shrinking power and made a bold move.
“Sounds like it. From Kang Dong-hyun’s point of view, he probably needed an issue to appease internal dissatisfaction.”
- Right. Because of that, Eclipse’s focus and forces are currently heavily concentrated in Cheongju.
“A fair number of staff must’ve also been pulled from Cheongmyeong Detention Center.”
- We’ve maintained the headcount on the surface, but the quality of the guards has definitely declined. Their power has weakened too.
“Hm…”
If Jeon Se-hyuk was right, now was the best time to strike Cheongmyeong Detention Center.
Eclipse had its hands full elsewhere, making it even more opportune.
Besides, Cheongmyeong had never once been attacked from the outside.
That’s how strong Eclipse’s grip was, and there were many forces afraid to oppose them.
But that wasn’t the case anymore.
Perhaps realizing the weight behind Kang-hoo’s brief silence, Jeon Se-hyuk continued without hesitation.
“The Cheong-an Mercenary Corps and Heuksaja are already prepared to move.”
Of course, the reason I’m telling you this isn’t because we want you to move with us.
Even if you act independently, we want you to be aware that this movement is happening.
“You’re being considerate.”
“I appreciate you seeing it that way. It’s just a very slim possibility, but…”
If you were to eliminate Jo Hwan-seong, the current warden of the detention center…
“Eliminate him?”
“If you take over the center and our alliance secures rights to the mana stone mine, we’ll guarantee 8% of the net profit.”
“It’s a tempting offer, but it also feels like walking a tightrope.”
“We’re not asking you to push yourself. Haha.”
Jo Hwan-seong, warden of Cheongmyeong Detention Center.
He ranks 7th in Eclipse’s hierarchy.
A powerful fighter who freely wields dual axes—just by appearance, he belongs in the same league as Jeon Jong-du and Ma Jin-ho.
Considering Go Gyeong-ho, who was killed earlier, was ranked 8th, there’s no doubt Jo Hwan-seong is far stronger.
Jo Hwan-seong.
He was certainly someone worth targeting.
And it was also true that Kang-hoo had grown much stronger since fighting Go Gyeong-ho.
As a brute-force type opponent, Kang-hoo had his own ways to handle someone like Jo Hwan-seong.
If his memory served right, the net profit from mana stone mining in Cheongmyeong was about 1 billion won per day.
That meant 30 billion won a month—and 8% of that would be 2.4 billion won per month.
That was by no means a small amount.
But Kang-hoo wanted something more than just money.
Honestly, if he wanted, he could make 2.4 billion won in a few hours.
“I’d like to make a counterproposal.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Let’s reduce the profit share to 4%.”
“Hm?”
“In exchange, if the alliance fully takes control of Cheongmyeong Detention Center, allow me to challenge every dungeon inside at least once.”
-You want permanent access rights?
“No. Just one chance to challenge each is enough.”
There were a total of seven dungeons inside Cheongmyeong Detention Center.
Their difficulty ranged from beginner (recommended level under 100) to very difficult (above level 500).
What Kang-hoo was aiming for was the chance to kill the mid- and main bosses in each dungeon and steal their skills.
With just two bosses per dungeon, he could acquire up to 14 different skills. That much was guaranteed.
-Is that all you’re asking for?
“Yes. Of course, this needs to be formalized in writing, not just a verbal agreement. But if it’s guaranteed, I don’t care even if the profit is halved.”
-Just one condition…
“Oh, I know. That I have to kill Jo Hwan-seong myself.”
The outcome of that battle was something he could only know once they actually fought. It couldn’t be predicted in advance.
But Kang-hoo had a reason he could confidently say he could take on Jo Hwan-seong.
There was no one who knew the layout of Cheongmyeong Detention Center better than him.
To Shin Kang-hoo, the “villain” of the original story, Cheongmyeong was the cradle and womb of evil.
Because of that, as the original author, he had poured everything into crafting the setting, and he knew all its secret areas and passageways.
From an escapee’s perspective, usable routes might be limited.
But as an infiltrator—an attacker—he had a wealth of options.
In fact, he likely knew far more of the detention center than even its executive staff.
The entire facility was practically in the palm of his hand. As for infiltration, he had full confidence.