Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 147

Suho smiled as he spoke.

“It’s nothing special. Just stand right there.”

“H-here?”

“Yes, there.”

Im Changshik stood up awkwardly.

Suho directed Im Changshik to stand at attention, then began pressing his acupoints.

[ Acupoint Strike is activated. ]

As he pressed the paralysis points all over his body, Im Changshik’s body froze as if turned to stone.

Finally, Suho pressed the silence point to prevent him from making any noise, then said,

“Just endure it for a few days. Then I’ll grant you freedom.”

“Ugh!”

Im Changshik groaned as if squeezing out the sound.

However, Suho paid no attention and took a few steps back, activating an additional skill.

[ Blood Weapon is activated. ]

Suho grasped a blood sword in his hand and said,

“I’ll begin.”

He assumed a stance.

Then, concentrating more than ever, he swiftly swung his sword upward.

Swish!

A sharp cutting sound.

Simultaneously.

Splat!!

A long sword wound etched across Im Changshik’s chest as blood sprayed out.

Blood spattered everywhere.

On Suho’s face, on his clothes.

Yet, rather than being surprised, Suho furrowed his brows in thought.

‘It seems it won’t work in one go.’

Im Changshik remained standing.

Since his acupoints were pressed, he couldn’t move.

Instead, his body trembled slightly.

He could still roll his eyes, and his vision was clear.

Suho immediately used a healing skill.

[ Heal is activated. ]

The wound closed right away.

It was the same healing ability used by the Crusaders.

After completing the treatment, Suho stepped back again, raising his sword.

“I’ll keep going.”

Swish!

Suho’s sword sliced through the air.

And then.

Splat!!

Blood spurted once more.

***

Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!

A phone alarm rang out.

It was set for his return time.

Suho turned off the alarm and said,

“It’s already that late, let’s stop here.”

After treating Im Changshik, Suho released his acupoints.

A pool of blood had gathered on the floor.

It was all Im Changshik’s blood.

Suho left some water and a few food items, then pointed to one side of the wall.

“There’s a switch there, so if you want to sleep, you can turn off the light with it.”

Then he left the building.

He didn’t bother locking the door.

No one was around here anyway.

Besides, this Subspace House was already like a prison on its own, so what would be the point of locking that small door?

Suho used an item to clean the blood off himself, then disguised himself again as Yoon Hyunchul.

He opened the exit to check the situation outside.

It was the perfect timing for a shift change.

Suho used Clone Shift to switch places with his clone guard.

Outside, it was breakfast time for the prisoners.

Meals were served inside the cells, with the distributor passing out food in containers to be shared among them.

Naturally, the quality of the meals was poor.

The media occasionally reported that prison meals were relatively generous, but that was just for show; in reality, they were barely nutritious scraps.

‘No wonder Kim Goong-won clings so desperately to his prison fund.’

He didn’t feel sorry for him.

Even these scraps were funded by taxpayers’ money, after all.

Watching Kim Goong-won pick at his food even more gingerly than the other inmates, Suho spoke.

“Why are you picking at it like that?”

“Oh, hyungnim?”

“What?”

“N-nothing.”

He barely stopped himself from blurting out, ‘You’re back?!’

Suho had warned him to be discreet.

Suho asked again.

“Is it because you don’t like the taste of the food?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it; I just can’t taste it.”

“Why?”

“……?”

Kim Goong-won looked at him as if he were a strange person.

Seeing his expression, Suho finally remembered.

“Oh, right. My bad.”

“Aren’t you being too harsh?”

“Don’t worry. If you behave, I’ll release all the restraints when I leave.”

“……You do know that you bound more than just my tongue, right?”

“Of course. So, has anything happened?”

“No, nothing at all. Everything has been quiet.”

“I see.”

Suho nodded, then glanced at the others in his cell.

Including Yoon Hyunchul and Kim Goong-won, there were five people in the cell.

The minimum capacity was six, but there were deliberately only five in here.

It was to allow them to have more space in the cramped cell.

However, the amount of food distributed was the same as in other cells.

As a result, although the quality of meals was low, there was always an ample amount in Yoon Hyunchul’s cell.

Suho looked at one of the people eating enthusiastically and spoke.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Come here.”

Suho called over the person furthest from him in the cell.

His name was Bae Seong-hwan.

Upon being called, Bae Seong-hwan put down his food and quickly approached, kneeling beside him.

Suho hadn’t ordered him to kneel.

But most people in the cell knew to lower themselves before Yoon Sung-chul.

It was out of fear.

After inspecting various parts of Bae Seong-hwan’s body, Suho asked,

“You didn’t spit out what I gave you yesterday, right?”

“……Yes, that’s correct.”

Yesterday’s dose.

It was the “Siphon Star Parasite Pill.”

Suho made no exceptions, even for those sharing his cell.

Except for Kim Goong-won and a few others, he had given the Siphon Star Parasite Pill to all prisoners.

From the start, his intention was to use every prisoner in Cheongok as an experience farm.

So, he had given it to Bae Seong-hwan as well.

Of course, Bae Seong-hwan and the other prisoners didn’t know what they had been given the day before.

All they could do was nod nervously with anxious faces.

Suho continued to ask.

“How are you feeling? How’s your physical condition?”

“Uh…”

After thinking for a moment, Bae Seong-hwan tilted his head and replied.

“I’m not sure. My digestion seems fine, and there’s nothing particularly strange. But… I do feel a bit tired.”

“Really?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“No system notifications have popped up?”

“No, none at all.”

Just as expected of the Siphon Star Parasite Pill.

Since it originated from an insect egg, it didn’t trigger any status effects or debuffs.

‘That’s why the Insect Demon favored it.’

Nodding, Suho activated a skill.

[ Mana Detection is activated. ]

Once Mana Detection activated, he began to sense the waves of mana around him.

Suho carefully examined Bae Seong-hwan.

Then, he noticed a small, faint but definite presence inside Bae Seong-hwan’s body.

‘It’s hatched.’

Small and faint, but unmistakably present.

It was the Siphon Star Parasite.

The bug, which had started as an egg, had successfully hatched by absorbing the host’s vitality, and was now quietly siphoning off the host’s experience points.

‘So, it just needs four days to fully ripen?’

Suho nodded toward the dining table.

“Alright, go finish your meal.”

“Yes, thank you, cell leader.”

Bae Seong-hwan bowed and went back to his meal.

Though he seemed young and innocent, he was by no means a good person.

In his mid-twenties, Bae Seong-hwan had killed someone in a drunk-driving accident.

But because he was an awakened individual, he ended up in Cheongok instead of Cheongsong Prison.

‘Tch, he looks so clean-cut. You really can’t judge people by appearances.’

Suddenly, he thought of his former colleagues who used to act all friendly.

This only made Suho feel more disgusted with the prisoners of Cheongok.

Suho didn’t believe that Cheongok’s prisoners were receiving appropriate punishment in prison.

Nor did he believe they would be reformed.

So, he planned to make the most of them as tools and add a little pain to their lives.

This was the only form of atonement they could make for society.

Suho spoke.

“Goong-won.”

“Yes, hyungnim.”

“There are prisoners who didn’t get a one-on-one with me yesterday, right?”

“Yes, only the ones in the infirmary didn’t.”

“Then, we’ll have to go to the infirmary. Later, tell the guard that we’re feeling unwell and need to rest in the infirmary today.”

“Yes, understood. But…”

“What?”

Kim Goong-won, hesitating, spoke cautiously.

“Hyungnim… I swear I won’t mess up. Could you please, just for a moment, unlock my tongue? This food is the only comfort here, but not being able to taste it is driving me crazy.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Goong-won looked at him with a desperate expression, like a cat in boots.

Fine, why not.

Suho pressed Kim Goong-won’s acupoint and said,

“There, it’s released. Go eat.”

“Thank you!!”

Upon regaining his sense of taste, Kim Goong-won eagerly lifted his spoon to drink the soup.

Then, with wide eyes, he looked as though he were tasting the best food in the world, wearing an expression of pure bliss.

“Aah… yes… this is happiness…”

Kim Goong-won looked like he might even shed tears.

Of course, it made sense.

After living as though he had no tongue, the return of taste was overwhelming.

Because of this, even the cheap miso soup he was currently eating felt like the most delightful food he had ever tasted.

Though his cellmates, unaware of his situation, found his reaction baffling.

‘Idiot.’

‘What a show-off.’

Regardless, Kim Goong-won continued to eat hastily.

Knowing his taste would soon be bound again.

***

It seemed Yoon Hyunchul truly was the king of Cheongok.

At Suho’s request, both Kim Goong-won and another prisoner were sent to the infirmary without question.

Cheongok’s infirmary was larger than expected, with multiple hospital beds for patients.

Upon arrival, Suho saw both a doctor and a healer waiting, neither of whom paid him or Kim Goong-won any special attention.

In fact,

“Let us know if you need anything. You can watch TV over there.”

They even offered to let them relax.

Feeling once more the influence of Yoon Hyunchul, Suho lay on his assigned bed for a while, then gradually sat up and got off.

He wasn’t here just to lounge around.

Hearing Suho get up, Kim Goong-won quickly stood and came to his side.

“All the ones who haven’t taken the pill are gathered over there, hyungnim.”

“Really?”

Since he didn’t know about the Siphon Star Parasite Pill, Kim Goong-won just referred to it as medicine.

Following Kim Goong-won’s lead, Suho pulled back a curtain by one of the beds.

Behind the curtain was a familiar face.

It was Jo Gwangho.

“Jo Gwangho?”

Hearing his name, Jo Gwangho flinched in surprise.

Seeing that it was Yoon Hyunchul, he couldn’t help but be even more startled.

However, the Jo Gwangho he hadn’t seen in a while looked much more subdued than when they had first met.

Sitting up in a fluster, Jo Gwangho couldn’t speak.

“Mmph, mmph?”

Ah, that’s right.

I had silenced his voice with an acupoint.

Suho grinned and released the silence point, asking,

“Feeling unwell? You’re here in the infirmary while everyone else is out on the field.”

“Well, uh, my body’s been a bit… huh?!”

As his voice suddenly returned, Jo Gwangho’s eyes widened in surprise.

Unfazed, Suho patted him on the shoulder and said,

“I see. That happens. Here, take this.”

Suho took out an Siphon Star Parasite Pill from his container and offered it.

“What’s this?”

“A painkiller.”

“Painkiller?”

“Eat it.”

“…”

Suho silently held out the Siphon Star Parasite Pill.

After a moment of hesitation, Jo Gwangho took it and swallowed it.

Watching him, Suho chuckled.

“Good appetite.”

“…”

“See you next time.”

Then Suho moved on to feed the Siphon Star Parasite Pill to the other inmate patients.

Naturally, the doctor and healer didn’t intervene, and after Suho had fed everyone the Siphon Star Parasite Pill, he went to the restroom to create a clone and disguise himself as Yoon Hyunchul.

After all, he’d have to wait five days, and he didn’t intend to waste that time.

Once he sent his clone to the infirmary bed, Suho returned to the Subspace House.