Chapter 334

Jinseong, having obtained good information, finished his formal conversation with the production crew and went back home.

Not to the mansion where the people of the Lee Clan were waiting, but to the desolate building where only he existed alone.

On returning to the building, Jinseong rode the elevator to the top floor. He then walked up the stairs leading to the rooftop that he had cleverly hidden using an illusion so that it would not be visible, and headed toward the secluded corner of the rooftop. Before reaching the rooftop, he picked up a flower that he had prepared in advance and held it in his hand as he went towards a secluded spot.

In the secluded part of the rooftop, there was a small Container painted in shades of blue.

Around the Container, assorted bits and pieces were scattered, and anyone seeing them would probably guess that they were placed there to use the Container as a Warehouse.

Jinseong opened the door of the Container that seemed like a simple storage space.

He entered the first door by entering the password of the electronic lock installed on the Container and opened the second door, which was a sliding type, by placing his fingerprint on the next door inside.

Then he neutralized the third security system, an intangible energy barrier, by drawing a specific energy pattern, pulling in yin and yang energy.

Having done this, the interior of the Container was… bizarre.

The inside of the Container was not just an ordinary storage space but instead gave off the feeling of a room decorated with madness by a lunatic. There were tiny light bulbs illuminated near the central area, seemingly to light up the interior of the Container, but their appearance was rather strange.

Wires were tangled all around and stood rigidly like the roots of a tree, while bulbs sprouting from these wires hung loosely on the floor, resembling luminous fruits hanging on a tree.

Had it not been for the corpses at the base of the tree formed by these tiny bulbs, one might have thought this setup was merely a peculiar interior decoration.

At the base of these “tiny bulb trees,” there were heaps of animal corpses.

Even though the Container’s interior was filled with intense heat, the mole corpses were piled without decay as if they formed a small hill, while wires were embedded into the moles, sucking them dry of their blood. Sometimes, the moles’ bodies would twitch or vibrate faintly, most likely due to electric shocks stimulating their muscles.

Moreover, surrounding the grotesque heap of mole corpses, a geometric pattern appeared to be drawn, seemingly with blood. The pattern stretched in complex ways, not just across the floor but also across the walls and the ceiling, creating an incredibly strange atmosphere.

The pattern was curvy, splitting into several branches and merging back in others, creating a bizarre, almost organic appearance. It looked as if either the tree of tiny lights had its roots expanding throughout the Container or as if the veins from the corpses extended everywhere.

Upon seeing this scene, anyone would be tempted to call the police assuming a sinister ritual of some邪教 (cult) was taking place.

Jinseong moved his footsteps toward the twitching corpses of the moles.

Looking at the moles that twitched even in death, he began to speak.

“It is said that the soul is noble and only humans possess it, whereas animals and plants do not. This is a privilege given by the Creator to mankind.”

As Jinseong spoke, he slowly moved his hand holding the flower as if he were moving through a heavy liquid, extremely slowly.

“However, there was someone who sought knowledge to understand this. His wisdom reached the heavens, spreading widely across the heavenly kingdom. When a seeker asked a scholar about the soul, the scholar replied that the soul can be divided into three distinct parts: the vegetative soul known as Anima Vegetativa, the sensitive soul called Anima Sensitiva, and the rational soul referred to as Anima Rationalis.”

Jinseong swung the flower in slow arcs near the carcass of the mole, as if allowing the dead animal to receive its fragrance.

“The scholar explained further, stating that the most noble one is Anima Rationalis, capable of understanding and having free will, living eternally. The seeker then asked if the vegetative soul is nothing more than the life force causing activity, and whether the sensitive soul, which includes but transcends the vegetative soul, is also merely the life force behind activity. How should the deaths of plants and animals be distinguished?”

As if responding to the flower moving in strange patterns, the head of the mole began to move. Its nostrils twitched and moved as if it were smelling something.

With Jinseong continuing to swing the flower, the movements became more intense. Eventually, the mole began moving as if it were alive.

The mole’s head began to turn, following the flower’s motion, nostrils contracting as the flower moved away and expanding when the flower approached, undergoing constant changes.

“People leave behind their souls even after death, returning to the Lord, achieving eternal immortality. Animals and plants, however, do not possess the same ability. Plants simply wither and die, and animals’ lives end when they stop moving and their hearts cease to beat.”

Jinseong continued his incantation-like speech and used the ritual’s effects to make the mole respond as part of the ceremony.

“Every group must have a king, and above even the king exists God. O mighty God who guards the ruler of moles; a companion, chosen from the heavenly realms, is present.”

Jinseong then waved the flower he held.

“Here is the Princess of Knomen, her form a brilliant yellow, carrying within her the strength of the sun, and her essence strong as ice, unwavering like the ancient ones. In return for reuniting the Princess with her companion, grant me the authority to command the moles.”

Jinseong pushed the flower towards the mole’s body as if teasing it, and then dropped the flower into the mole’s embrace, where it melted into the mole’s body.

Shuddering then began to emerge from the mole that absorbed the flower.

The trembling eventually spread to all the moles stacked into a heap. The bodies of the moles separated, their skin, flesh, intestines, and bones all disintegrating into different piles.

The skin slid down smooth as if on an inclined ice surface, the flesh scattered in several chunks across the floor, and the innards broke apart, dispersing like powder across the ground. Meanwhile, the bones remained, forming a kind of structural framework for the heap.

And in the middle of this pile of countless bones…

A flower bloomed.

A bright yellow flower, brighter even than the one Jinseong had placed before, bloomed.

Jinseong took this flower and placed it in his bosom.

He then used the Samādhi True Fire to incinerate the mole’s skin and the grotesque flesh chunks, and left the Container.

He observed the sky to determine the direction and turned his body accordingly.

He then waved the flower as he recited the incantation.

“O moles, the divine command has been revealed. You must see me as your king and follow my orders appropriately…”

For a very successful broadcast preparation.

*

Hwangjangsan Mountain in Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

The first outdoor shooting began on a hot but clear day.

An excessive number of people had gathered for the shoot.

“Huff. It’s really hot today.”

“Yeah, but at least the weather’s good, so it’s fine.”

“True. If we were shooting in the mountains and it also rained…ugh. I don’t even want to imagine it.”

“Not really. Even if it rained, the footage would probably have been good, though we’d have suffered a lot.”

The production crew were gathered near the bus, chatting.

All of them were dressed in hiking gear, looking more like a mountaineering club than a broadcasting station if it weren’t for the equipment they held.

On the other side, there was an unremarkable white bus.

A group of people gathered near the bus, distinct from the broadcasting station crew as they wore drab-colored outfits.

Their outfits, in so-called ‘Olive Drab’ color, clearly indicated that they were soldiers.