The Seduction System

Poison Wind's eyes were lost in the depths of the dark warehouse. His arms were bound with ropes, his body hung from the ceiling like a piece of meat. With each breath, he inhaled pain instead of air and it penetrated his lungs like poison. Each breath pulled him deeper and deeper into darkness.

The fire burning just below his feet penetrated his skinned feet. The crackle of the fire, combined with the screams echoing in his ears, shattered his reality. Every cell beneath his skin trembled with desperation. His eyelids strained, feeling as if they would close a little more each moment.

His kneecaps, elbows and shoulders were impaled with iron stakes. This made it impossible for him to move. Every reaction to pain hurt him even more.

The blood that spilled onto the ground with the screams coming out of Black Poison's mouth seemed to disappear into the fire burning just below them.

Baek Yisoo took his time and with the help of the dagger, he removed Black Poison's fingernails. The blood from the fingernails fell into the burning fire and quickly evaporated.

Black Poison's howls were ear-splitting. The tears in his eyes were an indication that he had reached the limit.

"Why are you making it difficult for me? Tell me which organization you are from. I can help you..." Baek Yisoo said as he wiped the blood from the dagger on a rag. He was completely covered in blood and dirt, but he did not feel the slightest disgust.

This was nothing compared to what had been done to him yesterday. After all, he was just a guard, while Poison Wind and Black Poison were trained assassins. Their pain resistance was on a very different level.

And yet he had said nothing.

'Torture will not make them say anything.'

If even a guard like him relied on his will and endured to the end, physical pain was useless.

"Well, I wanted to handle this like a man, but you left me no choice."

Baek Yisoo tore a piece of paper from his notebook and began to write something in Poison Wind's blood. Poison Wind tried to see the paper with unconscious eyes.

Baek Yisoo turned his head to the duo and asked with a troubled expression: "I don't know the brothels in Yulin very well, do you know any place famous for male prostitutes?"

Poison Wind heard this clearly, although Black Poison could not perceive anything because of the pain he was in. For the first time, since the beginning of the torture, all the blood drained from his face. Fear appeared in his eyes. Physical pain was nothing. He had trained for it in the organization. And he was an ex-soldier, his will tempered by dozens of battles. He had nerves of steel. He also had incredible pride. This pride was the main reason why he didn't speak.

But the physical pain was over. This man had such a disgusting mentality that he ignored the honor of martial artists and crossed the line. The thought of male prostitutes raping him further confused Poison Wind.

For the first time, he showed signs of fear.

Baek Yisoo had seen it too.

Of course he understood him. He had lost everything, his martial arts and his body. But all he had left was his soul, and it was very frightening to see it disappear.

"Think carefully. Is it worth all this effort to protect a community of ruthless, dishonorable killers?"

Fear would slowly approach like a cloud of fog and squeeze the soul. At that moment, one would even find it difficult to breathe, suffocating. Baek Yisoo tasted hell at the hands of Poison Shadow yesterday.

"No one will appreciate you for what you have suffered..."

He folded the paper carefully and put it in his pocket. Then he looked at Poison Wind and waited for an answer. Poison Wind thought for a while and then reluctantly shook his head. The piece of cloth in his mouth was already beginning to crumble, Baek Yisoo nodded in the affirmative.

But he was still hesitant, because the greatest defeats come at the moment of victory. So he tore another piece of cloth from the assassins' robes and stuffed it into Poison Wind's mouth.

"But I don't trust you, I'm sure you'll bite your tongue the moment I take the cloth out of your mouth."

He managed to free himself from Poison Shadow's shackles by pretending to die himself. He was sure that Poison Wind would also try to escape by committing suicide.

"I don't have the skill or time to rip out your teeth one by one. So I will ask and you will nod. Is that clear?"

The little hope in Poison Wind's eyes faded away at the end of Baek Yisoo's words. That was indeed what he was going to do. Death was definitely better than the current situation.

Baek Yisoo threw the dagger aside. Black Poison had already fainted from the pain. So he was going to use it to confirm what Poison Wind had said.

"Who sent you? If it's Baek Iseul, nod your head once. If it's Namgung Bong, stand still. If neither, nod twice." 

Poison Wind thought for a moment and then nodded his head once.

Baek Yisoo was not surprised. Except for Baek Iseul, she wouldn't be paranoid enough to do something like this. In fact, Namgoong Bong had more reasons. Because the Namgung Clan cared more about its reputation than anything else. They also had more resources. There was no way Baek Yisoo could deal with an assassin sent by the Namgung Clan.

It was certain that this team was sent by someone with a limited budget. Most likely Baek Iseul had made this decision on her own.

"Is there another team that takes orders like you? Nod once for yes."

Poison Wind looked at Baek Yisoo tiredly without nodding. His eyelids seemed to be getting heavy.

"Have you been cooperating with anyone in my circle? Shake once for yes."

His biggest fear was that someone in his inner circle had gone behind his back. Then Baek Yisoo would not only have to watch out for assassins, but also for those close to him.

Fortunately, Poison Wind didn't shake his head.

"Which union does your organization belong to? Nod once for the Murim Union. Twice for the Blood Moon. For the Heavenly Demon Sect, stay still."

Assassination organizations were looked down upon within the Murim League. But there must have been secret societies formed by big families and cults to do their dirty work.

Baek Yisoo's brows furrowed as Poison Wind nodded twice. However, without giving it much thought, he took out the notebook he kept in his inventory. This was the notebook he found in Poison Shadow's body. Then he took out the other notebook in the storage room.

Poison Wind's eyes locked on Poison Shadow's notebook.

"Are these two notebooks related?"

Baek Yisoo had examined these notebooks many times. She had seen pages and pages of alphabets and paragraphs of meaningless words. He couldn't make sense of any of it. At first, he thought it was just a way to confuse the enemy.

When Poison Wind shook his head, he was sure of it.

"So what are these two notebooks used for? Just for distraction or for decryption?"

Poison Wind smiled when he heard this question.

"I see..." said Baek Yisoo, who would carry a notebook with him just to scribble? One of the two notebooks was used to decrypt the code, while the other probably contained the details of the operation.

"Do you know how to decrypt it?"

Poison Wind thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and shook his head from side to side. Then his body froze and he barely turned his head toward Black Poison. The man had fainted about five minutes ago because he couldn't stand Baek Yisoo's torture.

"What's going on?"

Baek Yisoo touched Black Poison's arm in panic. When he realized that he was almost frozen, he saw that his skin had also turned pale. Thinking of the most horrible possibility, he immediately checked his pulse and felt as if cold water had been poured over his head.

"Blood loss..."

Serious blood loss could lead to the death of martial artists. The discoloration of the skin and the rapid cooling of the body were signs of blood loss.

'Damn it!'

The last thing he wanted was Black Poison's death.

He had to be alive to verify the information he had obtained from Poison Wind and decipher the code. He wasn't done yet.

BAM!

As Baek Yisoo cut the ropes to lower Black Poison's body, Black Poison's eyes widened. His eyes shone with anger and determination. With a huff, he pulled his hands free of the rope and spat out the crushed rag in his mouth. Baek Yisoo froze in surprise, unable to react. Ignoring the pain of the iron stakes driven into his knuckles, Black Poison threw himself to the ground and gripped the dagger warming in the fire with his mouth.

"Stop!"

Baek Yisoo reacted too quickly, but it was still too late.

With sparks of madness in his eyes, Black Poison threw the dagger with great speed towards Poison Wind. Even though his face burned from the fire, he did not hesitate.

Swish!

The dagger entered Poison Wind's throat smoothly. Blood gushed out like a dark fountain.

Splash!

Baek Yisoo grabbed Black Poison by the collar in terror and lifted him into the air. But the man had already torn his jugular vein with a sharp piece of stone. What's more, the tear in the jugular vein was very large. As the blood flowed down Black Poison's neck, he looked at Yisoo with a disgusting smile on his face.

He smiled as if he had won a great victory.

"Hehe..."

Black Poison's head fell forward with that sinister smile. Triumph and peace shone together in his eyes. As Baek Yisoo held the man's dead body in his hands, he trembled for a moment at the power of his will and hatred. Black Poison had unexpectedly killed both his teammate and himself.

Even in this situation, he had kept his will and breathed his last breath.