Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 146

From that point, Suho’s series of group interviews began.

After informing the cell leaders of the inmates, Kim Goong-won guided them to meet Suho in order of their cell numbers.

As soon as Oh Yoon-ho, the leader of the first cell, Cell 1-1, stood before Suho, he immediately bowed his head in respect.

“My name is Oh Yoon-ho, leader of Cell 1-1. Let me introduce the others in order…”

The cells in Cheongok prison housed between six to eight people per cell.

Following Kim Goong-won’s instructions, each cell leader introduced themselves and the others in their cell, listing their names, crimes, and remaining sentences.

When the last introduction ended, Suho frowned and spoke.

“…Not a single person here seems human.”

He wasn’t wrong.

The eight inmates in Cell 1-1, starting with Oh Yoon-ho, had all committed heinous crimes—murder, rape, robbery, and arson were common offenses among them.

Among them, only one wasn’t a violent criminal—a young inmate imprisoned for theft.

Suho’s comment left the inmates silent. Though they quietly grumbled inside.

‘Says the guy…’

‘How many did he kill to end up here himself…’

‘Why’s he acting like this all of a sudden…?’

Suho examined their faces for a while, then pulled a small pill bottle from his pocket.

It looked like an ordinary bottle filled with small, white pellets that resembled BB gun bullets.

Suho counted out enough for each inmate in Cell 1-1 and handed them one by one.

He turned to the youngest inmate and asked.

“So, you’re here for theft?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What were you trying to steal?”

“A…car…”

“A car? Whose car?”

“A stranger’s…”

“Why did you steal it?”

“…I wanted to drive it.”

“Tsk, thought so.”

When he’d heard it was theft, he’d wondered if there might be something more, but no, of course not.

Even with this crowd, there could be no exceptions.

After handing out a pellet to each inmate, Suho spoke.

“Eat it.”

“…Y-yes?”

“What is this…?”

The inmates looked confused at the command to eat it.

Who wouldn’t be?

Someone suddenly telling them to consume something without explaining it was bound to make anyone uneasy.

But Suho had no intention of explaining.

“You’re not going to eat it?”

“Uh…at least tell us what it is…”

At that moment—

Wham!!

In response to Oh Yoon-ho’s question, Suho’s fist suddenly smashed into his face.

Oh Yoon-ho went flying across the floor, several teeth scattering as he tumbled.

As Oh Yoon-ho twitched on the ground, Suho shifted his gaze to the remaining inmates.

“Not going to eat it?”

“I-I’ll eat it!”

“I was just about to eat it!”

“Gulp!”

One of them swallowed it without a word.

After all seven had consumed the pellet, Suho gestured for someone to bring Oh Yoon-ho back.

He handed another pellet to the trembling Oh Yoon-ho, who reluctantly accepted and swallowed it.

“Next.”

That was the end of Suho’s explanation.

At his command, the inmates from Cell 1-1 quickly exited, and Oh Yoon-ho picked up his fallen teeth as he left.

Swallowing nervously, Kim Goong-won led the inmates from Cell 1-2 into the room.

The same process followed.

If anyone raised a question, they received the same treatment as Oh Yoon-ho, and after two or three were dealt with in this way, the others learned not to ask questions and simply swallowed the pellets.

The guards pretended not to see, but couldn’t hide their snickers, watching the beaten inmates with a certain satisfaction.

It was only natural.

Before Yoon Hyunchul took control of Cheongok, the guards here had suffered under the inmates, led by Jo Gwang-ho.

This was poetic justice.

***

Finally, Suho succeeded in making most of Cheongok’s inmates consume the pellets.

Kim Goong-won had been busy managing the process.

Of course, not every inmate was forced to eat one.

Distinctions were made, and certain prisoners with unique circumstances, like Yoon Hyunchul, were exempted from taking the pellets after verification.

Kim Goong-won was also among those exempted.

Once the pellet distribution was complete, Kim Goong-won nervously approached Suho and spoke.

“Uh…Hyung-nim?”

“What is it?”

“Uh…I have a question.”

“Don’t ask.”

“But… I haven’t even asked yet?”

“You were going to ask what I gave the inmates to eat.”

At Suho’s response, Kim Goong-won replied awkwardly.

“Haha…yes…how did you know?”

“Don’t be curious. If you find out, you’ll have to eat one too.”

Swallowing hard, Kim Goong-won avoided Suho’s gaze and muttered.

“…I’d rather not be curious or eat it.”

“Good thinking.”

Suho had no intention of making Kim Goong-won eat the pellets.

Because what he had given the inmates was not some harmless toy pellet but the eggs of a parasite.

These were called “Siphon Star Parasite Eggs.”

In his previous life, a player known as the “Insect Demon” used them frequently.

Siphon Star Parasites were a type of parasite that absorbed the essence of others.

“The Siphon Star Parasite is like a leech. It has a trait where it absorbs the vitality of its host.”

Vitality and life energy are different.

Vitality could be restored with food and rest, but life energy, called innate qi, was something that a person was born with, closer to one’s very life force.

The Siphon Star Parasite absorbed this innate qi to grow.

But Suho wasn’t interested in the inmates’ life energy.

Absorbing another’s life energy could grant powerful strength, but without skills to properly process it, the results would only bring harm.

This is true of all medicines.

The line between medicine and poison is thin, and improper absorption can cause more harm than not using it at all.

The Siphon Star Parasite was such a medicine.

The ones Suho gave to the inmates didn’t absorb life energy, but rather their “experience points” and “vitality.”

Yes, Suho’s true plan was to use Cheongok’s inmates as experience farms.

“Once they’re released, they’ll only go back to committing crimes. So they may as well contribute experience points for the world’s sake.”

Though the Siphon Star Parasite took their experience, it wouldn’t cause a level down.

However, to level up again, they would need to make up for the lost experience.

“All that’s left now is to wait.”

It would take a minimum of four days for the parasite eggs to hatch and reach maturity.

That was why Suho planned to stay in Cheongok for five days.

Five days would be plenty of time for them to grow.

After checking the time, Suho spoke to Kim Goong-won.

“Goong-won.”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

“I’m going to step out for a bit. Take care of things while I’m gone.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, understood.”

He didn’t fully understand, but he agreed since Suho told him to manage things well.

After all, they shared the same cell.

Suho entered the cell’s restroom and accessed his Subspace House.

Then he used the Legion Summoning skill to create another clone soldier, disguised it as Yoon Hyunchul, commanded it with mental orders, and sent it out to the prison.

Creak.

The clone soldier left the restroom.

It leaned quietly against the wall outside, and Kim Goong-won sidled up to it to keep an eye on it.

Observant as he was, Kim Goong-won quickly noticed.

The figure beside him wasn’t the “big hyung” he knew.

This left Kim Goong-won flabbergasted at Suho’s audacity.

‘Is this guy really insane…?’

Did he know where he was, going in and out as if this were his own house?

But the more he saw, the firmer Kim Goong-won’s resolve grew.

The more he observed, the more he knew—never mess with Suho.

***

“I thought I’d die of boredom.”

As Suho entered the Subspace House, he immediately dispelled his disguise.

After all, comfort was best in his own domain.

He set an alarm on his phone for when he needed to switch back with the clone and changed into a comfortable training suit.

Then, he entered a building he’d set up in one of the Subspace House’s streets.

This building was some distance away from the cafe where the Yoon siblings were kept. Suho had no intention of idly wasting time while the parasites matured.

As he opened the door to the building, darkness greeted him.

Trembling.

A presence stirred from within.

Suho felt along the wall for the switch.

The lights powered by magic stones flickered on, illuminating the presence—Im Changshik, the former boss of the Changshik Gang.

He was a ruin of a man.

It couldn’t be helped.

Since the Changshik Gang had been dismantled, he had been trapped in the Subspace House, undergoing punishment from Suho.

Suho looked at him with a dry gaze.

Surprisingly, his physical health was in perfect condition.

Naturally so, given that Suho, a healer, was personally taking care of him.

Instead, his mind was nearly destroyed.

This couldn’t be helped.

Suho’s healing skills didn’t extend to the mind.

Why was Suho putting Im Changshik through this?

Nothing special.

Just a case of reaping what one had sown.

In his past life, Im Changshik had tormented Nam Haewon for two years in much the same way.

If Nam Haewon hadn’t been an alchemist, he’d likely have succumbed to drugs and met an early end.

Of course, Nam Haewon wasn’t aware of any of this.

This was entirely Suho’s personal punishment—it wasn’t for Nam Haewon’s sake.

Plus, Im Changshik had treated many others in this same way.

‘That’s why he’s being treated like this.’

The victims were many, but there was only one perpetrator.

Thus, he had to endure a concentrated amount of suffering, personally administered by Suho.

Suho spoke to the shivering Im Changshik.

“Chang-shik.”

“I-I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry! I know I deserve to die! Please!”

Just hearing his name made Im Changshik beg, as though he were having a seizure.

Hm.

Normal conversation seemed impossible.

But it wasn’t as if Suho was without options.

He knew how to communicate with a broken mind.

Suho raised his hand and activated a skill.

[ The Ring of Emotions reacts to the target’s most intense feeling. ]

[ The absorbable emotion is ‘black.’ ]

[ Absorbing the target’s emotion. ]

When he used the ring’s power, it absorbed all the negative emotions eating away at Im Changshik.

Im Changshik’s mind briefly returned to clarity.

Even so, Im Changshik didn’t dare speak.

The restored clarity in his mind only made him more fearful, looking up at Suho with lips pressed tightly together.

He was terrified.

He didn’t know what this devil before him might do next.

Suho smiled and spoke.

“Well, how’s the stay here?”

Stay here?

The question stirred a brief surge of anger in Im Changshik.

But he could do nothing.

So he calmly asked.

“…What do I need to do to be released from here? Or is that even possible?”

“Of course it is. Why wouldn’t it be? Do you think I plan to keep you here forever? Managing you is a hassle.”

Im Changshik’s face briefly lit with hope, which Suho saw and smiled.

“So, let’s make a deal.”

“A…deal?”

“Yes, a deal. If you accept my proposal, I’ll grant you freedom.”

Freedom.

At that word, Im Changshik swallowed hard and asked.

“…What are the terms of this deal?”

At this, Suho’s lips curled into a smile.