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Chapter 9
– Signal lost. We’ve completely lost them.
“What?”
At the voice coming through the communicator, Kim Hyunwoo scowled in irritation. Deep lines carved into his forehead as the discomfort spread through his entire body.
“You lost them? Even after deploying the family’s tracking system?”
– W-We apologize. But the lower residential zone is extremely crowded, and the number of signals being transmitted is overwhelming. Tracking all of them is….
“Tsk.”
As he listened to the surveillance officer’s report, Kim Hyunwoo let out an annoyed sigh and cut the communication.
Useless trash.
They didn’t even try to come up with alternatives, just repeated that it couldn’t be done. He couldn’t entrust anything to people like that.
These incompetents are the ones in charge of our family’s surveillance network?
His mind spun with thoughts of how best to deal with such useless subordinates.
“Master.”
But only for a moment.
At the voice from behind him, Kim Hyunwoo’s expression softened just slightly.
His bodyguard, Ho-chul.
One of the very few useful people he had managed to find among the sea of worthless vermin.
“The plan has failed. That bodyguard, Seo Taewoong, turned out to be far more capable than expected.”
“No. That’s not the only issue.”
A voice calm and precise, almost mechanical.
As he spoke, Ho-chul sent a video to Hyunwoo.
“This is…?”
Kim Hyunwoo’s eyes briefly filled with doubt, but that didn’t last long.
The moment he saw the footage, his eyes widened.
The video showed a missile slamming into the car Chang-woon had been riding in, followed by the battle that broke out afterward.
There was Chang-woon, wielding a military-grade compound bow like an extension of his own limbs.
Smooth, precise shots.
No one would mistake that for something learned in just a few days of training.
“Seo Taewoong has been loyal to the family for a long time. I know exactly what he’s capable of.”
Kim Hyunwoo nodded wordlessly.
He had reviewed Ho-chul’s ambush plan himself.
He knew the limits of Seo Taewoong, knew what actions he would take, and what it would take to bring him down.
It was a meticulously calculated operation, executed with the optimal team, accounting for every variable.
“Yet the plan failed. Which means…”
“The one who threw off the plan wasn’t Seo Taewoong, but Young Master Chang-woon,”
Ho-chul said, driving a spike into his master’s growing doubts.
“And on top of that, he even burned all the assassins, effectively covering up the attack on himself. This is… no ordinary behavior, Master.”
Tsk.
No ordinary behavior, huh.
Kim Hyunwoo clicked his tongue in displeasure.
The lowly creature he once pitied had not only humiliated him to his face, but now was scheming in ways Kim Hyun-woo couldn’t predict, outside of his plans entirely.
It was deeply, thoroughly aggravating.
It felt like a mosquito, once squirming helplessly in his palm, had suddenly vanished and was now buzzing in his ear.
“If word of this series of events reaches the His lordship, his opinion of Young Master Chang-woon may begin to…”
“Enough.”
With a single sharp word from Kim Hyunwoo, Ho-chul closed his mouth.
“Andong Kim is a noble and ancient house of gifted aura users. There’s no way a powerless whelp like Chang-woon would ever catch Father’s attention.”
“…You’re right. That was short-sighted of me.”
Kim Hyunwoo spoke in a rough, gravelly tone.
Sensing the tension in that voice, Ho-chul quietly stepped back.
He recognized the disturbance in his master’s mood.
Disturbance?
No—perhaps it was something more like…
‘Unease’ might be the more accurate word, thought Ho-chul, suppressing a faint smirk.
Just a little more.
Maybe he should push just a little more.
“Still, it’s certain that Young Master Chang-woon is up to something. Ignoring him completely like before wouldn’t be the wisest move.”
“…You’re right.”
Ho-chul continued, as if reading his master’s thoughts like a book.
And as he spoke, Kim Hyunwoo was able to organize his thoughts.
“Assign someone to him. Someone who can monitor his every move and report back.”
“……”
I won’t let him slip out of my sight like this again.
Understanding exactly what Hyunwoo meant, Ho-chul lowered his head respectfully.
“You’re ordering me to plant an insider. I’ll secure someone right away.”
By the time Kim Hyunwoo turned to look at him again, Ho-chul had already vanished.
“Hmph.”
He was a tool, one who didn’t question orders, had a sharp eye, and understood how to get things done.
If only he had one more like that, his plans would unfold with much greater ease.
But that thought only lingered for a moment. Kim Hyunwoo turned around and quickened his steps.
His destination: the Psionic Power Training Facility located at the very center of the estate.
A place where only the heir of the main family was permitted to enter.
“One month until the Audience Ceremony… Time is tight.”
-Crackle. Crackle.
As if mirroring his displeasure, faint electric currents shimmered around Kim Hyunwoo’s body.
There was only one thing he needed to do in that one-month window:
Secure a psionic power level even slightly higher than what he had now.
Because at the Audience Ceremony, a massive duel would take place.
And he needed to leave an indelible impression on the power brokers of Joseon who would gather to witness it.
To show them, clearly, who the next master of the Andong Kim Clan was.
And more than that… to show them who the true ruler of Joseon was.
***
“Nnghh–!”
It had already been a week since Moo-yeong signed the employment contract as a bodyguard.
At the peak of a skyscraper that seemed to pierce the heavens, sat the headquarters of the Andong Kim Clan.
Usually serene, the estate had become noticeably restless.
There was only one reason: preparations for the upcoming Audience Ceremony.
Held once every five years, the ceremony was a grand gathering of youths who had awakened psionic powers.
It was the event where the next generation of Joseon’s future leaders, all the young Awakened, came together.
Naturally, it held immense significance for the ruling class.
Noble families, tycoons from Joseon’s business world, heads of Japanese corporate cities, even the warlords entrenched in Zhongyuan.
It was a colossal gathering of figures from every power sector imaginable.
And this year, the host of the Audience Ceremony was none other than the Andong Kim Clan, the single most powerful noble family in all of Joseon.
So it was expected that more honored guests than ever before would be in attendance.
Now then, with the entire household scrambling to prepare for this grand occasion… where was I and what was I doing?
“Phew…”
What else?
Making money, of course.
Inside my private quarters, tucked into one wing of the estate.
A spacious room, walls lined with monitors, their screens flashing with real-time market data from Joseon, Japan, and China’s stock exchanges.
Rows of shifting numbers and tangled graphs filled the displays.
I stared at the chaos of data for a while, then—
“This is just… impossible.”
With a sigh, I tore my gaze from the screens.
To be fair, my profits weren’t bad.
After a week of full immersion in the stock market, I’d gained about 10% on my invested capital.
Seeing my bank account balance swell gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside… but still, this was the limit.
“Making money isn’t that hard, honestly.”
This was my second life.
Armed with knowledge of the future, my paths to wealth were virtually limitless.
I could invest in promising companies or individuals, or even start my own enterprise and absorb them outright.
“The problem is time. It just takes too long.”
I rested my chin on my hand, sinking into thought.
Normally, I would’ve celebrated the slow rise in my account balance by humming a tune and kicking back.
But not now. Time wasn’t on my side.
Just one month remained until the Audience Ceremony.
If I didn’t acquire the equipment and weapons I needed within that timeframe, I couldn’t move forward with the plan.
“Even though I now have cards like Moo-yeong and Taewoong, I still don’t have enough people.”
There were two urgent matters demanding my attention.
First, the equipment to be used in the Audience Ceremony, or the funds to purchase it.
Second, talented individuals with righteous cause and goodwill, unbound by the influence of the noble families.
Even if he could find a solution to the first problem, the second was proving to be utterly impossible.
Goodwill?
In this wretched Joseon?
And not just anywhere, but here in Hanseong? He was supposed to find someone who was actually decent?
That had to be the most insane idea he’d ever heard.
Where in the world was he supposed to find someone like that?
He mulled it over for a while, but that thought didn’t last long.
“Young Master.”
At the voice from beyond the door, he lifted his head.
The door opened, and in came the bodyguard Taewoong.
Beside him stood Moo-yeong, now sharply dressed in a clean black martial uniform.
Just a week ago, that face had been a picture of gloom, but now, he looked quite presentable.
That pitch-black outfit was probably just his personal taste.
“Still missing an arm, huh? Not planning on getting a prosthetic or anything?”
He wasn’t going to force him either way, but he was curious, so he asked.
At his question, Moo-yeong hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod.
“I do think it’s necessary. However…”
It’s not like he couldn’t afford it.
Looking toward the right arm hidden beneath his sleeve, the young master added casually.
Moo-yeong glanced around the room, then lowered his voice.
“All the prosthetics I can access are under the control of the Administration.”
“…Ahh.”
The Administration.
At the mention of that name, the young master silently nodded and turned to look out the window.
The city lights of Hanseong twinkled beyond the glass.
At the very top of this colossal machine-city sat the supreme governing body: the Administration, which managed every function of the city.
Whoooom—
Countless buildings towered in the dark, with thousands of transport drones zipping ceaselessly between them.
Surveillance cameras were installed in every alley, monitoring every corner of the city, paired with enforcement bots patrolling the streets.
They didn’t just watch over the citizens of Hanseong, they monitored even their prosthetic limbs.
This was the nerve center of Joseon.
A place capable of overseeing, regulating, and even remotely disabling any electronic device in the country.
‘So since I told him my goal is revolution… he’s wary of using a prosthetic limb that’s managed by the Administration?’
Unexpected.
He had thought Moo-yeong was just a brute who knew how to swing a sword. But this? This showed depth.
Moo-yeong might be far more competent than he initially assumed.
“Still, doing bodyguard work with just one arm? Are you saying I’m so easy to protect that you don’t even need both arms? Huh?”
“N-No! That’s not what I meant at all…”
He teased him with a mischievous grin, but even while playfully needling Moo-yeong, his gaze never left that right arm.
“He’s right though. Thinking ahead, it’s the correct call.”
It wasn’t just about the upcoming Audience Ceremony.
The body in charge of overseeing the Administration was the Royal Inquisition Bureau.
And the ones who twisted the Royal Inquisition Bureau to their will were none other than the Sedo clans.
Using a prosthetic limb in Joseon meant surrendering your location and your very life into their hands, constantly monitored and remotely controllable.
“But a prosthetic limb not under the Administration’s surveillance? Where would you even find a doctor capable of that…”
“…Wait a second.”
As Taewoong murmured, Moo-yeong’s words echoed in the young master’s mind.
He sprang to his feet.
“Young Master?”
“…?”
There was one.
Someone who could create prosthetic limbs free from the Administration’s surveillance.
Someone who had even passed that technology to the revolutionaries, helping spark the rebellion in the first place.
“Get the car ready, Taewoong.”
“Where are we headed?”
Without question, Taewoong straightened his posture and asked.
The answer was obvious.
With a smile that practically broadcasted his confidence, the young master opened his mouth.
“To the bottom of Hanseong—the Waste Disposal Zone.”
---The End Of The Chapter---
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