Chapter 23 ….
“The Government Worker Who Hid Her Power Possesses Too Well”
“Wow. Mrs. Melinda, what will today’s dish be? Chopped steak? Or a whole roast? I’m dying to know! Ohoho! Mrs. Melinda! It looks like today’s dish has been decided—whole roast!”
Cheering and loud laughter filled the arena.
At that moment, I had to fight back the overwhelming urge to kill the damn announcer first.
An unknown bloodlust, hunger, and thirst churned wildly inside my body.
Should I just kill him…?
I looked at myself—meaning the real me, Lee Yoo-ji.
My real body was pushed against the wall, trembling violently.
Yet, even while looking at myself, I felt no sense of connection.
All I saw was delicious prey.
Get a grip!
This skill’s biggest flaw: I can’t separate from the target’s consciousness.
That is my body.
If that dies, I’m in real trouble—
Am I though? A single bite would tell me. I just need to tear off the left side of my head—just a little nibble…
…NO IT WOULD NOT.
Even while thinking that, I relentlessly slammed my real body against the cage wall.
Every time I did, my real self convulsed in agony, though unconscious.
Thankfully, because the soul was out, my body couldn’t faint.
In the middle of all that pain, my real body reached out with trembling fingers and gripped the base of the Lamia’s tail stinger.
– While possessed, you can issue simple action commands to your original body.
That was the command I gave myself:
Hold the Lamia’s stinger for 10 minutes. No matter what.
Good.
I looked at the timer floating before my eyes.
09:02
Time left in the possession.
Careful not to let my body loosen its grip on the stinger, I kept slamming my real self against the wall.
Whenever my real body convulsed, the people outside the cage cheered.
“Wahaha! Mrs. Melinda is brutal today! Instead of killing the ingredient right away, she’s playing with her food! Guess she really likes today’s dish!”
The announcer’s voice rang out, hyping up the crowd.
I didn’t care.
I was too busy fighting the hunger raging inside me.
08:21
Just one bite. She looks delicious. What’s the harm?
Are you INSANE? Focus!
By now, blood was pouring from my real body’s nose.
And yet my real self stared wide-eyed, almost…
…tasty.
NO! STOP!
05:18
“Mrs. Melinda, it’s nearly time to finish things up…!”
The announcer kept egging me on—the Lamia side of me—to eat Lee Yoo-ji.
Myself.
From beside the cage, Ji Won-gil had raised that pathetic item.
He was ready to break the promise, seeing my body’s condition.
He wanted to help.
He couldn’t.
Not yet.
Just a little longer.
02:10
Hissss!
I hissed at my real body—without even realizing.
I… I just wanted to try it! Maybe my whole head could fit in one bite—
I was losing it.
01:00
Just when I reached the limit of what I could endure—
Blood gushed from my real body’s nose and mouth.
“That’s enough! As much as I support your cooking methods, Mrs. Melinda, the guests are WAITING!”
The impatient announcer shouted.
A long whip cracked through the air and SLAMMED down on me, the Lamia.
SCREEEEEEECH!
A horrifying scream ripped out of my mouth.
And at that moment—
I fired the Lamia’s stinger.
Not at Lee Yoo-ji.
Into the air.
* * *
After the match.
Ji Won-gil and Lee Yoo-ji were escorted by so-called VIP guards.
Ji Won-gil’s head was a mess, still processing what he had witnessed.
“Just remember two things.”
Don’t help me.
Don’t die.
The only reason he obeyed so calmly—
He thought she had some hidden item, something smuggled in through her new Hunter authorization.
Worst case, she could call backup.
He never dreamed she’d endure like that.
She pressed herself against a cage that delivered unbearable pain on contact—waiting until the Lamia’s patience wore thin.
Even Ji Won-gil, after brushing against the cage once, nearly screamed for them to kill him instead.
Yet the Lamia repeatedly slammed Yoo-ji into the wall, waiting for her to faint—
and she didn’t move.
Ten minutes?
It felt like an hour.
Through the boos of the crowd, Ji Won-gil debated whether to break the promise.
Then—the announcer got bored.
He swung the whip.
Ji Won-gil knew.
The Lamia would fire its stinger now.
And he saw it:
Lee Yoo-ji’s hand—still gripping the Lamia’s stinger.
No way…
A shiver ran through him.
He understood the plan.
When the whip hit, the Lamia lost focus.
Lee Yoo-ji caught the fired stinger—because she never let go of the base.
Now, the woman who couldn’t defeat a C-class monster held a C-class monster’s venom stinger.
She drove it straight into the Lamia’s eye.
SCREEEEEECH!
The Lamia screamed.
Its tail went limp. Yoo-ji’s body fell.
Ji Won-gil rushed forward and caught her.
Barely conscious, Yoo-ji muttered:
“That… hurt more than I thought…”
“You… seriously…”
Ji Won-gil stared at her, nosebleed dried across her face.
“You’re the same as always…”
“Impressive?” she asked brightly.
“…Stupid.”
He reached for his handkerchief—
But ahead of them, the guards stopped at a heavy metal door, punched in a security code, and opened it.
A sharply dressed man stepped forward and offered his hand.
“Miss Rosie and Mr. Philip. Your show was spectacular.”
A familiar voice.
The announcer.
Yoo-ji recognized him.
In the novel, he was a D-class Hunter, but after getting the emcee position for this awful show, he quit hunting and became part of the devoted management.
Before paying their prize, the staff said they would introduce them to the VIP.
This guy can’t be the VIP…
Yoo-ji smelled blood on her lips and examined the room—luxurious carpets, multiple extravagant private rooms.
Exactly like the novel.
“We’re all excited for your next show,” the announcer said.
Ji Won-gil flinched and tried to withdraw his hand.
But Yoo-ji grabbed the announcer’s hand tightly.
“The next show, huh…?”
Just then, one of the ornate doors swung open.
A man stepped out.
Casual dandy suit.
Looked like a CEO of a major U.S. tech company.
Relaxed but radiating power.
Yoo-ji recognized him instantly.
“Today’s show was so exciting the VIPs’ reaction was enthusiastic! If possible, I’d like you to join the NEXT show too, Miss Rosie. Of course, only if the lady wants. As you wish!”
Kevin Choi.
That black-haired foreign bastard.
Talked exactly as annoyingly as in the novel.
Yoo-ji met the announcer’s eyes, hand still clasping his.
And smiled brightly.
Activating “The Most Beautiful Smile in the World (C).”
…And then used the Lamia skill she acquired through possession—
on the announcer.
