Chapter 256 – To China (2)

It was an unbelievable piece of information, but given all they had seen until now, everyone in the room knew this must be true. Tension filled the room.

Gi-Gyu asked, “Are you sure about this?”

Go Hyung-Chul frowned at him and replied, “I discovered it while looking for clues about Adam Project. So, yes, I’m sure.

“I don’t know the exact details, but I’m absolutely certain Leviathan is being cloned. I haven’t seen it in person, but there are creatures in China exuding the same aura as Leviathan.”

“...”

“You’ve seen them too, haven’t you?” asked Go Hyung-Chul.

Go Hyung-Chul wasn’t present during the last battle, but he had seen TVH’s broadcast.

Gi-Gyu thought darkly, ‘

The two Belphegors.’?

Everyone had thought Belphegor was dead, but it had reappeared in Eden with a doppelganger. Therefore, no one in the room doubted Go Hyung-Chul’s finding.

Go Hyung-Chul continued, “They won’t be the same as the original since they are just replicas. But…”

His face turned more serious as he muttered, “I’m sure they are powerful. To find out more about them, you either have to go out there yourself or at least send a few strong enough to simultaneously take on several hell kings.”

But who was powerful enough for that other than Gi-Gyu? Well, there were a few options, but they weren’t feasible.

Gi-Gyu knew he would have to go himself to learn more about the situation.

“So they are the byproducts of Project Adam?” Gi-Gyu asked hesitantly.

Leviathan’s clone and Belphegor’s clone. Only something like that mysterious project could have such powerful byproducts.

Go Hyung-Chul replied, “Were you not listening? I said I discovered their existence while searching for Project Adam.”

“Pupil,” Soo-Jung said, “Ha Song-Su has most likely fully recovered.”

“...”

“This might have something to do with Ha Song-Su.”

Gi-Gyu nodded and looked at Soo-Jung.

A while back, when Gi-Gyu had told Soo-Jung about what happened to him, she had replied, “Sure. Whatever.” It was a baffling reaction, but how she treated him hadn’t changed.

Gi-Gyu decided not to worry about it because now wasn’t the time to be distracted. He said, “Looks like I’ll have to visit China to learn what’s going on because we can’t simply ignore the cloning of ruler-level creatures. Based on how Belphegor looked, we can assume they haven’t perfected their process, but we don’t know how things will progress in the future. So, this problem is too dangerous for other players to handle.”

The hell kings were powerful beings, so it was unbelievable that someone could clone them. Something was very wrong.

It was as if…

‘

Isn’t this similar to what God and Gaia did?’?

Gi-Gyu thought.

Lou muttered, “This sucks. I can’t believe I’ll have to see Leviathan again.”

Gi-Gyu wondered what had happened between Lou and Leviathan in the past.

‘

I can’t find much about this in Lou’s data.’?

He didn’t know if there was a specific incident that made Lou resent Leviathan. All in all, Gi-Gyu couldn’t find anything about it in Lou’s data, as if it was intentionally destroyed.

“Now, then…” Gi-Gyu turned toward Tao Chen slowly. It was time to head to China.

This time, he would be accompanied by Tao Chen.

***

Tao Chen spoke, “I guess the time has finally come.”

Gi-Gyu had previously announced that he would capture Ha Song-Su. And Tao Chen had decided to work with him mostly because of this. Since a battle like that needed much preparation, Tao Chen had been waiting patiently. And finally, Gi-Gyu decided it was time to go after Ha Song-Su.

“We will go to China together. There, you can do what you have to do, Tao Chen.”

Gi-Gyu was referring to the coup Tao Chen had planned. A demon had stolen the Chinese president’s body, so they had to bring him down for China’s future. They had to replace him hell for leather because of how things were progressing in China.

Tao Chen was still in contact with his colleagues. He explained, “They tell me more and more people are going missing. And recently, after that footage of Eden was released, the government’s oppression of the public and the players apparently worsened. Things aren’t okay in China. I’m glad it’s finally time.”

Tao Chen looked worried, indicating how stressed he was.

Gi-Gyu reassured him, “Everything will work out in the end.”

“Now…” Gi-Gyu turned toward the rest of the group and announced, “The trap has been set.”

He was talking about the trap to catch Ha Song-Su. In Korea, Rohan and Sung-Hoon would begin destabilizing the Iron Guild and the Caravan Guild. Meanwhile, Tao Chen’s coup would destroy the laboratories used to conduct human experiments in China.

And Gi-Gyu would support them both from the shadows. Gi-Gyu and his army were now strong enough to force the real mastermind, be it Andras, Ironshield, or Ha Song-Su, out of hiding.

“Our enemy will have to show themselves soon,” said Gi-Gyu confidently.

And once they were out in the open, Gi-Gyu would kill them in the cruelest way possible. An excited smile appeared on his lips, realizing he was closer than ever to his goal.

“Ah, and…” Gi-Gyu turned toward Go Hyung-Chul. For a while now, Gi-Gyu couldn’t come up with a task for the paparazzo. There was some minor stuff, but it didn’t require his expertise.

“There are two people I need you to find.”

“General Manager Oh Tae-Shik and Yoo Suk-Woo?” asked Go Hyung-Chul.

“No.” Gi-Gyu wasn’t going to search for Oh Tae-Shik or Yoo Suk-Woo out of respect. He was worried about his family, but he knew these two men would protect them with their lives.

Gi-Gyu knew he needed to wait patiently.

He replied, “Michael.”

“Michael?” Go Hyung-Chul seemed surprised.

“Yup. Michael told me he would return, but that was a long time ago. He still hasn’t contacted me. I can’t get any help from the association, and there isn’t anyone else who can look for him in my place.”

“So you want me to do the job?” Go Hyung-Chul sounded annoyed. He had only agreed to help Gi-Gyu learn more about Project Adam and Andras. He wasn’t here to be Gi-Gyu’s servant.

Gi-Gyu explained, “He’s more important than you think.”

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“What?”

“He might have something to do with Project Adam.”

Go Hyung-Chul became very serious. He knew Gi-Gyu never lied.

Michael had Gabriel’s appearance but El’s original name.

“Fine. And who’s the other one?” Go Hyung-Chul nodded and asked.

“Lee Sun-Ho. Please find him.”

Gi-Gyu suspected Lee Sun-Ho might be even more important than Michael. He was sure there was more to Lee Sun-Ho than just his mysterious power.

It was an unexpected request, but Go Hyung-Chul nodded. He replied, “I’ll do my best.”

Gi-Gyu was finally ready to head to China.

***

The world was still hectic, but Eden was peaceful, largely thanks to Gi-Gyu’s return. Rohan and Heo Sung-Hoon had left to negotiate with the Korean government, while Tao Chen was preparing for his journey back to China.

Meanwhile, Gi-Gyu was busy with another task.

Hwang Chae-Il, Old Man Hwang, and Hart stood before Gi-Gyu.

He asked, “Did you find out anything from Belphegor and Leviathan’s corpses?”

These three figures were the true brains of Eden.

“I found something extraordinary,” Old Man Hwang replied. “Leviathan’s body was too unstable. What Lou absorbed was fine, but after studying the leftover corpse, I learned that extracting anything more would be difficult.”

Old Man Hwang showed Gi-Gyu a complicated graph and continued, “And it was even worse with Belphegor’s corpse. Lou absorbed the most normal part of these demons, and whatever is left of them”—he closed the graph—“suggests they are made of clay.”

“Clay?”

“Their structures are too unstable. What I’m trying to say is that they could’ve collapsed at any point.”

“...”

“During the last battle, the Belphegors would’ve self-destructed even if you hadn’t killed them.”

Old Man Hwang’s explanation made sense. At a glance, it looked like the enemy had bet everything on this expedition, but Gi-Gyu quickly realized this wasn’t the case. It was more like the expedition was a test to try out their products.

“Even Leviathan from this battle…” Old Man Hwang added cautiously, “It might not be the one from before.”

“Hmm…” Gi-Gyu had expected this, so he didn’t react much. There was nothing he could do about this issue. This would have to wait until after Gi-Gyu found out more about it in China.

Until he returned, Old Man Hwang, Hwang Chae-Il, and Hart would have to continue their research.

“Grandmaster.” Hart had been quiet until now, but he finally opened his mouth. “May I use these corpses with your permission?”

“All three of them?”

“Yes. They will perish if we just leave them like this, so…”

“You want to experiment on them, don’t you?” asked Gi-Gyu.

Hart nodded his bony head.

“All right.” Gi-Gyu gave his permission. It would be a huge bonus if he could get anything out of it. He knew cloning them like Andras had would be difficult, but if they could even derive a secondary use…

“You’re free to do whatever you wish with the corpses.”

“I am forever grateful, Grandmaster.”

Now, there was one last thing to do.

Gi-Gyu announced, “Let’s go to Sephiroth now.”

The three creatures nodded. They had already discussed the changes in Eden, and it was time to explore them.

***

The top floor of the Sephiroth Tree was a separate space, which Hwang Chae-Il used as his control tower. In the middle of this tree was a new structure.

“Just like the name you gave, I made it look like a tree,” Old Man Hwang explained.

Gi-Gyu made this request a long time ago.

Old Man Hwang continued, “Min-Su helped me too. I would say that it’s a handsome product.”

Gi-Gyu nodded and patted the tree. As Old Man Hwang had stated, the Sephiroth Tree was a fantastic structure. It was a simple piece of wood, but its roots looked alive, and the branches were straight and strong. Even though it didn’t hold any power, Gi-Gyu could feel an inexplicable strength from it. It was as if it was connected to Eden.

“I love it.” Gi-Gyu caressed the tree. He was happy with the result, and it wasn’t just him who liked this tree.

-I like it too!

Brunheart took her physical form, sat on the tree, and exclaimed, “I love it!”

Brunheart looked happy, and everyone watched her proudly.

“Brun,” Gi-Gyu called out to her.

With a bright smile, Brunheart announced as her one-piece dress rustled, “Then I’ll begin now!”

Brunheart gradually turned into dust, and the Sephiroth Tree began absorbing the particles.

Now, Brunheart was undoubtedly a part of Eden.

Gi-Gyu said to her, “Congratulations on becoming Eden’s master, Brunheart.”

Of course, this didn’t change the fact that Gi-Gyu was the real master of Eden.

***

“Have you finished your preparation?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“What is there to prepare? I just needed a few more sparring matches to fine-tune my skills,” Tao Chen replied calmly.

It had only been a few days, but it seemed Tao Chen had become even stronger. It was no wonder he was a well-known high ranker. Gi-Gyu felt Tao Chen was better suited for training fields than real hunts.

“Then…” Gi-Gyu’s face brightened a little as he suggested, “Shall we head out?”

They didn’t have to sneak into the Tower for their trips anymore. This time, they would travel to China openly.