Sand Mage of the Burnt Desert

Chapter 259

The First Sand Mage.

For some reason, the title felt uncomfortable to Zeon.

It was as if Kim Hyun-soo’s words were predicting that other Sand Mages would emerge after him. But Zeon knew the truth.

He was the first and the last Sand Mage.

The power was too immense and terrifying to be allowed to more than one person.

No one had to tell him this.

He simply knew from the start.

As if it were imprinted in his DNA.

That’s why Kim Hyun-soo’s words didn’t resonate with him, though Zeon understood what he was trying to say.

Kim Hyun-soo wished for more people like him, those who would protect their people with the same conviction.

Perhaps that desire had even sparked the awakening of the mechanized Awakened. But Zeon didn’t share Kim Hyun-soo’s ambitions.

He had no interest in expanding his influence, nor did he want others with powers like his to emerge.

He was fundamentally different from Kim Hyun-soo. But he didn’t feel the need to point that out.

Kim Hyun-soo continued speaking.

“Since acquiring Triox Five, we’ve been able to more efficiently manage and upgrade the mechanized Awakeneds. That’s why protecting Triox Five is of utmost importance to us.”

Even without Triox Five, mechanized Awakeneds would continue to be born and grow. But Triox Five had the ability to accelerate that growth.

That was why Triox Five was so crucial.

“Now you understand why you must keep this secret. If rumors about Triox Five begin to spread, I will erase every trace of you from Neo Seoul.”

Kim Hyun-soo’s warning wasn’t an idle threat.

It was the warning of someone who actually had the power to carry it out.

Zeon shrugged as he responded.

“There won’t be any leaks from our side. But if word spreads from your end, that’s not on us.”

For a brief moment, the bunker 100 meters underground had been exposed, revealing Triox Five’s true form. Some people must have seen it. Zeon couldn’t be held responsible for whatever might slip from their mouths.

Kim Hyun-soo replied.

“That won’t happen.”

“Then that’s fine. There won’t be any leaks from us, either.”

“You’re as arrogant as I’ve heard. But I’ll let it slide this time, since you’ve earned it.”

Kim Hyun-soo respected the strong.

If someone was powerful, they could be forgiven for being a little arrogant.

Zeon was certainly among the strong.

So Kim Hyun-soo could tolerate a bit of insolence.

Just then, the door opened, and a woman wearing a form-fitting outfit entered, pushing a cart of food.

She set the dishes on the table and left.

For something prepared on short notice in the middle of the night, the spread was quite impressive.

“Well, let’s eat.”

Kim Hyun-soo picked up a fork and began eating first.

Though he was a mechanized Awakened, parts of his body, including his face, were still human. Because of that, he still had to consume small amounts of food.

Zeon silently started eating as well.

Surprisingly, the food was quite good.

The ingredients were fresh, and the seasoning was just right.

Zeon took his time, savoring each bite.

For a while, the two ate in silence, the sound of their eating the only noise in the quiet room.

After Kim Hyun-soo finished his meal, he spoke.

“What do you plan to do next?”

“I’m heading home.”

“The slums?”

“Yes.”

“If you want, I can give you a home here. It would be much larger and grander than anything in the slums.”

“I don’t need a big house.”

“So, you have no intention of staying in Neo Seoul?”

“No.”

“Do you have a reason to stay in the slums? It must be inconvenient in many ways.”

“I feel more comfortable there than in Neo Seoul.”

“You don’t like being controlled, do you?”

“Maybe it’s just in my nature to seek freedom.”

“I hope you stick to that. If you refuse my offer only to settle in another district, I might take it personally.”

For someone like Kim Hyun-soo, power and prestige were everything.

If someone challenged his authority, he would have to destroy them. And if anyone caused his prestige to falter, he would kill not only them but their entire family to restore his honor.

That was one of the reasons Kim Hyun-soo remained at the top.

Zeon placed another bite of food in his mouth and said.

“That won’t happen. I’ve already turned down offers from the other districts.”

“Is that so?”

“If you’re not stopping me, I plan to head back to the slums as soon as we finish eating.”

“Then you’ll be returning tonight.”

“Seems like it.”

“Good.”

Kim Hyun-soo nodded in approval.

Zeon was like a piece of hot chicken, too hot to eat comfortably. Forcing it down might just burn your mouth.

For now, it was best to keep some distance and watch from afar.

* * *

Jin Geum-ho stood with his hands behind his back, staring out the window.

His gaze was fixed on the western side of City Hall, toward the Western District.

Standing cautiously off to the side of the mayor’s office, Seo Tae-ran spoke up carefully.

“A large tremor was detected in the Western District a short while ago. It seems there was a major explosion at Mega Tower.”

“Mega Tower? That’s Kim Hyun-soo’s residence.”

“Yes. We’re investigating what happened.”

“It won’t be easy to get close.”

“We have people on the inside. Once we make contact with them, we’ll be able to get a general idea of what happened.”

“Handle it.”

There was no need for Jin Geum-ho to get involved in every minor detail.

That’s why he had a secretary.

Seo Tae-ran was quite a capable one.

She handled everything without needing explicit instructions from Jin Geum-ho, allowing him to focus on his own work.

Just then, Seo Tae-ran’s earpiece buzzed with someone’s voice.

After listening for a moment, she relayed the message to Jin Geum-ho.

“Lee Jung-ho would like to meet with you on the 20th underground level. What should I tell him?”

“If Jung-ho wants to meet, I’ll go. The 20th level... that’s the abandoned lab, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I see. I’ll go alone.”

“Understood.”

Leaving Seo Tae-ran behind, Jin Geum-ho entered the elevator by himself.

The elevator swiftly carried him down to the 20th underground level.

When the doors opened, the lab came into view.

This was a lab that had been shut down long ago.

Most of the equipment had been removed, leaving the space empty and desolate.

In the center of the lab stood a man wearing a wide, hooded robe.

The hilt of a sword peeked out from beneath his robe.

The man’s unfocused eyes stared straight at Jin Geum-ho.

“I’m sorry to make you come all the way down here, Mayor.”

“It’s fine. I was feeling a bit restless anyway.”

Jin Geum-ho replied calmly, as if it was no big deal.

Few people would even dare ask him to come to them.

In all of Neo Seoul, there were fewer than ten people who had the right to call for him.

The man in front of him was one of them.

He was Lee Jung-ho, a member of the Numbers.

A man who had blinded himself to gain the power of the Mind’s Eye.

Lee Jung-ho was more loyal to Jin Geum-ho than anyone.

If he had asked for this meeting, it wasn’t over something trivial.

“So, what’s going on?”

“Take a look at this.”

Lee Jung-ho gestured toward an object lying on the lab’s workbench.

It was a corpse, the head severed from the body.

The body’s eyes were wide open in disbelief, as if it couldn’t comprehend its own death.

It was the body of the murderer.

Jin Geum-ho examined the corpse and spoke.

“Subject 301?”

“Yes. He was one of the bio-soldiers that escaped from the lab.”

“He held out for quite some time, didn’t he? To have evaded capture for so long.”

Jin Geum-ho looked genuinely impressed.

Years ago, there had been an incident in which experimental subjects had escaped from a City Hall-run lab.

Most of the subjects had been recaptured, but a few had managed to stay on the run, evading capture.

The subject he referred to as 301 was one of those few.

But he was different from the others.

While most of the escapees had hidden underground or fled to the desert, 301 had committed murders in the slums. Recently, for reasons unknown, he had started committing murders in Neo Seoul itself.

To prevent the situation from escalating further, Jin Geum-ho had ordered Lee Jung-ho to track him down.

“It looks like he gave you some trouble. His head’s been cut off.”

“I wasn’t the one who cut it off.”

“Then who?”

“A boy named Levin. He’s an Awakened with unusual abilities. He lost his family to Subject 301.”

“A family revenge, huh? The name Levin sounds familiar, though.”

“He’s the boy who lives with Zeon.”

“Haha! Is that so? What a coincidence.”

A smile appeared on Jin Geum-ho’s lips, but his eyes remained as cold and dark as a desert night.

“So, you’re telling me that Subject 301 crossed paths with the boy living with Zeon?”

“Yes. The boy has an ability that allows him to turn his body into a ghost-like state.”

“A fascinating power. So, does that power pose a problem?"

"While it\'s a unique ability, it doesn\'t pose any threat to me."

"Then why did you call me here?"

"Take a closer look at the cut on Subject 301\'s head."

"The cut?"

Jin Geum-ho picked up the murderer’s severed head and examined the cross-section of the neck.

A moment later, he let out a soft exclamation.

"Ho!"

"Yes. The tissue has changed. The bones have transformed into something like metal, and the muscle fibers have become tightly woven, almost like fiberglass."

It was exactly as Lee Jung-ho described.

"This didn\'t happen to the other experimental subjects, did it?"

"No. It seems the escapees have undergone some sort of mutation."

"Then they’ve evolved? Interesting. I didn’t foresee this."

The bio-soldiers had been part of a grand plan Jin Geum-ho had envisioned.

When they were deemed a failure, all subjects were ordered to be terminated. But it appeared that the surviving escapees had somehow evolved.

A completely unexpected outcome.

"What should we do?"

"You said there are still more escapees, right? Capture every last one of them."

"Understood."

"This development changes the game."

Jin Geum-ho murmured as he looked up at the ceiling of the lab.

The moment Zeon appeared, the tides of the world had started to shift drastically.

"It seems you really are the tipping point of this world."

* * *

When Zeon finished his meal with Kim Hyun-soo and returned to the lobby on the first floor, he found Brielle, Levin, and Mandy waiting for him.

"Zeon!"

"Hyung!"

"Are you alright?"

The three of them hurried over to Zeon.

Zeon smiled as he reassured them.

"As you can see, I’m perfectly fine."

"I\'m sorry, Hyung! This is all my fault…"

"Don’t worry about it. Let’s just head home. I need a good rest."

"Yes, Hyung."

Levin nodded in agreement.

He, too, was eager to get home and rest. Ever since arriving in the Western District, he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep.

He had spent all his energy hunting down the murderer.

All he wanted now was to lie in his own bed and sleep. At this point, he felt like he could sleep for three days straight.

Zeon turned to Mandy.

"What about you?"

"I’ll be heading back to my own home."

"You understand about what happened today…"

"I know. It’s a secret. I won’t tell anyone. But even if I don’t, the Mayor will already know."

"Will he?"

"He knows everything. There’s nothing that happens in Neo Seoul that he doesn’t keep track of."

"Whether he knows or not doesn’t matter. As long as you don’t say anything."

"Don’t worry. I’ve never had a reputation for having a loose tongue."

"That’s good. Let’s all get some rest, and we can talk again later."

"Sure. Good job, everyone. Take care."

After saying her farewells, Mandy headed off toward her home in the Central District.

Zeon, Brielle, and Levin also made their way toward the gates of Neo Seoul.

Suddenly, Zeon turned around.

Something was bothering him.

\'What exactly happened to Triox Five?\'

Triox Five had been housed in a bunker 100 meters underground. But the explosion had been so massive that it created a passage all the way to the surface.

A normal explosion couldn’t have caused such damage.

It was clear that some sort of magical item had been involved.

"Kim Hyun-soo will take care of it."

There were many things Zeon was curious about, but this wasn’t something he needed to get involved in.

Curiosity often led to crossing lines, and crossing lines only made things worse.

Zeon didn’t want the situation to escalate any further.

Suppressing his curiosity, Zeon headed home with Levin and Brielle.