Chapter 359

Of course, those who suspected Bae Jaemin and those who still believed in Bae Jaemin's image were still deadlocked in a tight race, but the situation took a turn for the worse for the Priest faster than we had anticipated.

That was because Ryu Hyerin's family continued to engage in a PR battle to shake off the public's violent interest in them and their affairs.

[(Summary) We were contacted by HaHae's Legal team and informed in advance of what needed to be said during the interview. We were just reading what's on the script, and we weren't allowed to say anything unfavorable about Bae Jaemin-ssi...]

It turns out that the doubts casted on Ryu Hyerin's supposed death interview were validated.

Thus, the situation began to deteriorate again; people gradually began to think that Bae Jaemin was 'somewhat suspicious.'

Meanwhile, various Users who weren't on good terms with Bae Jaemin began to reveal themselves and expose various suspicions they had about the Priest.

In reality, among the high-ranking users, there were many who wanted to bring Bae Jaemin down due to the fierce competition in the Ranking world. The kind image of Bae Jaemin that the public had known until now was merely a facade the Priest had meticulously crafted for the camera. Therefore, some users who knew his true self decided that now was the time to reveal the truth, one by one.

On top of that, there were now allegations that pointed towards the deeds that Bae Jaemin did to hide his great evil of exterminating [Red Lotus]. For example, the dummy corporation he established to launder money. Bae Jaemin's image had fallen irreparably into the abyss as it was revealed that he had influenced and perhaps crafted documents pertaining to the [Red Lotus] incident.

User Society became agitated; the opinion that the [Red Lotus] incident should be investigated again began to rise.

Although [HaHae]'s legal team belatedly issued a press release to the media and released documents that protested their innocence in the face of the relentless legal and moral assault, public opinion remained cold.

So, as Bae Jaemin was struggling and in a hurry to respond, we started our approach.

Kim Olim gave a short briefing before we started our [Dungeon Making] project. "The person who was in charge of guarding the mansion was replaced by [HaHae] guild members after Park Hoseok's death. All outsourcing was cut. So, it will be hard to find a gap and squeeze in."

"Then..."

"However, the supplies used by the mansion and the security team are still outsourced. We're going to use that to hide Lackey in this box and use the box to enter the mansion's warehouse. They don't inspect the items that are stored separately in the warehouse."

We planned to replace some of the boxed consumables slated to enter Bae Jaemin's mansion and from his 'logistics warehouse.'

It was easy enough to enter the logistics warehouse that was near the gate. Wearing the [Human-skin Face], I was able to move confidently. During the warehouse staff's break time, we managed to access the boxed consumables intended for Bae Jaemin's mansion and the delivery vehicles.

[Clack Clack Clack Clack...]

[I don't want to be separated from master...]

Although Lackey quietly entered the box, it seemed reluctant. To be honest, I was a little anxious as well, but Lackey was the safest and most efficient choice to infiltrate the mansion.

Feeling a bit sorry, I patted its head; only then did Lackey stop biting its fingers in a dissatisfied tantrum and lay calmly, like a doll, in the small box.

A new necklace, made by the combined efforts of Choi Kyung-sik and Seo Dawon, dangled around Lackey's neck.

The necklace's pendant featured a large, green sapphire; the item was laid with an anti-vision skill just in case someone opened the box.

There must be an artifact within Bae Jaemin's mansion that monitored this sort of skill, but what we wanted from Lackey wasn't exactly a stealthy infiltration.

We knew nothing about the Priest's mansion other than the floor plan at the time of construction; even then, the inner structure may have changed if the interior was newly renovated. Moreover, it took too much effort to even enter the mansion. That was too large a venture to leave to the skeleton.

However, as with most mansions, security personnel only patrolled the grounds outside a few times...or there may be a CCTV installed. That's why we planned to send Lackey to an external warehouse and, from there, contaminate the grounds around the mansion in a large circle.

As Lackey lay quietly in the box, the skeleton carried a [contaminating/polluting reagent] made from Koo Hui-seo's blood in its thin hands.

We knew that Bae Jaemin's luxurious mansion had a pond and a water canal leading to it, so we planned to release this reagent in that water.

While it didn't directly affect living creatures, this reagent would play a crucial role when we triggered the [Dungeon] later. It would serve as a potent counter in hindering the [Declaration of Sanctuary].

"Just hide well for a day, alright?" I whispered.

[Clack Clack!]

[Yes!]

As I closed the box, my gaze was fixed on its red glow. I wasn't too worried as Lackey became a lot more reliable than when we first started.

Soon, we heard the employees returning, and I discreetly exited the logistics warehouse. Seo Da-won placed a light lock on the box, and the securely sealed box was soon buried among other boxes, going unnoticed.

* * *

That evening:

We waited near the logistics warehouse until we confirmed that the delivery vehicle carrying Lackey had begun to move and then slowly started chasing after the vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance with a van we had secured before the operation began.

"There's no change in reaction or plans-they'll be at the warehouse soon." Jung Garam displayed a map populated with blue dots and showed it to everyone. According to that map, Lackey had safely arrived at the external warehouse connected with Bae Jaemin's mansion.

And, under the deserted, remote cover of dawn:

Lackey quietly opened his box, left the warehouse, and hid in the garden to avoid the patrol's eyes. The skeleton was able to easily avoid detection because I was able to relay instructions to Lackey after seeing the movements of a couple red dots-representing the guards-on Jung Garam's map.

Following my instructions, Lackey moved agilely, avoiding any possible encounters, and approached the small lake. Then, taking out the reagent, the skeleton carefully poured it into the water.

[Distilled cursed blood is polluting the land.]

[The current progress rate is 2%... Perhaps more blood is needed.]

However, the problem was that there wasn't enough blood in the [Contaminated Reagent] to contaminate the mansion's vast garden.

Lackey, having completed its task, had safely retreated, but we were concerned about the vastly lower level of contamination than we had expected.

"Can't we just throw the whole Koo Hui-seo in?" Jung Garam said jokingly, but his expression was rigid.

We agonized over how to solve this dilemma.

Though Bae Jaemin bought us time by being so elusive, the 2% rate meant that 50 reagents and opportunities to pour those reagents were needed to complete our task.

Moreover, Koo Hui-seo's [Contaminated Blood] wasn't something we could just willfully extract. That man was suffering from an illness. Though he was currently being treated, he wasn't healthy enough to donate large amounts of blood.

"What else can we contaminate?"

"Mmm... Can I give you my honest opinion?" Choi Kyung-sik, hesitating a little, opened his mouth. The Mage nodded.

"Ryu Hyerin-ssi's body. We still have it, right?"

"And?"

"After we clean the corpse thoroughly, we can grind some mana stones and place them inside alongside plenty of ingredients for the curse reagent. And then-"

"......"

"If you plunge it deep into the pond, the contamination rate should rise sharply..." Choi Kyung-sik stared at me as he spoke. He looked as if he wanted my decision.

However, Woo Ragi was the one to respond, "In that case, why don't you just pick up any corpse at a hospital morgue and drop it in?"

"We already have this one-that's why I offered this opinion."

"Isn't it better to have more corpses?"

"The pond isn't too deep, so it would be overkill to put in several bodies."

My head shook from side to side as I watched their war of words. Then, I said, "For now, Ryu Hyerin's corpse... let's try to preserve it as best we can. We may have a need for it later, and our attempts to preserve the corpse may become complicated if we process it any further."

"Hmmm..."

"Anyway, we know we'll need a larger contaminated specimen or another dead body, so we'll have to find another way."

Jung Garam, after listening to me quietly, peered at me while trying to gauge my expression. He raised his right hand slightly and said, "About... Park Hoseok... I took a few parts as a souvenir? Should I give them to you?"

"....Well." Troubled and flustered, I momentarily forgot how to speak.

Choi Kyung-sik spoke instead, "What parts?"

"Eyeballs and heart."

"Hmm, they are the most symbolic pieces... Give them to me for now. I think we can soak them in the reagents. If we get another corpse, we can add the pieces to the overall package."

"Haah... I care about them, but it can't be helped."

I wanted to ask why on earth he had been holding onto those parts all this time, but in the end, I gave up on asking. At this point, I didn't think I would be particularly surprised even if Garam-ie told me he had a person stored in our inventory.

At that moment, Eunji made a pensive expression and asked Choi Kyung-sik, "Does the corpse have to be a human corpse?"

"That would increase the contamination rate the most. A human body is more valuable in the art of cursing than a dead animal."

"To raise the contamination with an animal corpse, you'd need to dig the pond at least twice as deep. It has to be completely filled to have any effect," Seo Dawon quickly added, as if he had also contemplated using animals.

As I listened to their conversation, I pulled on Dawon-ie's arm slightly and asked, "Then what... What do you need to increase the contamination the most? Does it just need to be human?"

"The curse we're trying to implement is called [Reproduction of Nightmares], which aims to create the best environment for the dead. Like the [Tower of Command]."

"Then..."

"So, I believe a corpse of a high-level User with attributes that opposes evil, like a holy-attribute User, might have a significant impact on the contamination level."

Upon hearing that, Ryu Hye-rin's corpse seemed to perfectly fit the bill. However, since we already wanted Ryu Hye-rin as part of the dungeon's "reward," we needed another offering to place in the pond.

A high-level holy-attribute User who deserved to be sacrificed...

"...What about Moon Isak?" As soon as I blurted those words out, I felt as if I misspoke.

However, Seo Dawon replied with a gentle smile, as if he were waiting for those words, "I was thinking the same thing, Lee-kyung-ah."

Become a member!

TL: Omg I'm proud of you Lee-kyung-ah. You thought of Moon Issak first! That would be, ngl, such a fitting revenge.

If everyone else has their own revenge targets, Lee-kyung-ie should have his own as well.