Chapter 2: The Hour of Predation

Part 1 – The Prey on the Cliff

High above the abyss, on the jagged edge of the cliff,
the warriors of the Murim Alliance subjugation unit
sat gathered around a crackling bonfire.

Orange flames flickered across their faces,
reflecting the arrogance of men who believed
they held absolute power.

They drank heavily, the smell of cheap grain liquor
mixing with the biting cold of the mountain air.

To them, the life of the boy they had just thrown
into the darkness meant nothing.

“Hmph. That brat ‘Number One’ is finally finished.
What a waste of good elixirs,” one of the warriors
spat, wiping grease from his chin.

“Don’t even talk about it,” another replied,
leaning back against a crate of supplies.

“The gold we spent trying to stabilize his meridians
could’ve bought ten high-end brothels in Luoyang.
He was a defective product from the start.”

They laughed, the sound echoing hollowly
against the silent stone of the valley.

None of them knew that at the bottom of that abyss,
the so-called “defective product” had become
the ultimate predator.

The unit leader, Cho Chil, spat out a mouthful
of liquor dregs and peered down into the
pitch-black void below.

“By the way… isn’t it a bit too quiet down there?

Usually when the Blood Demon Spirit tears into
a fresh corpse, the screams of the damned
shake the entire mountain.”

“Maybe it ate him too fast to let him scream,”
a soldier joked, earning a round of cruel laughter.

“The beast must’ve been starving lately.”

But as their laughter spread through the camp,
the air around the bonfire suddenly turned stagnant.

The temperature didn’t simply drop.

It felt as if the very concept of heat
was being erased from the world.

Swoosh—!

A sharp, high-frequency sound sliced through the air.

A silver-white afterimage—faster than any arrow—
erupted from the mouth of the abyss like
a falling star rising toward the heavens.

“Eh…?”

The warrior sitting beside Cho Chil
didn’t even have time to blink.

His head separated from his shoulders
before the first drop of spilled liquor
touched the ground.

---

[Biological energy signatures detected: 12 targets.]

[Combat Protocol “Judgment” now in effect.]

---

Mu Jin landed in the center of the camp.

He did not draw a sword.

He did not take a stance.

He simply reached out and placed
his hand against the chest of
the nearest warrior.

It wasn’t a palm strike.

The instant his fingertips touched the man’s body,
the Archeon nano-circuits reversed the flow
of the warrior’s internal energy.

His own life force collapsed inward,
turning into a violent vortex.

“Cu… Gurgle…!”

The man withered into a dry husk
within seconds.

His eyes sank deep into his skull
as every trace of energy
was vacuumed away.

---

[Bio-energy extraction complete.]

[Warning: Physical nutrient intake required.]

---

Red warning lights flashed across Mu Jin’s vision.

His energy core was completely full.

But his stomach burned like
a pit of acid, demanding
real, physical nourishment.

“So many… provisions,”
Mu Jin whispered.

His eyes were no longer human.

They were the eyes of
a starving wolf.

Cold silver light shimmered in them,
freezing the blood of the warriors
who stared back in terror.

“Y-You… Number One?!
You’re alive?!”

Cho Chil shrieked as he grabbed
for his saber with trembling hands.

But inside Mu Jin’s accelerated perception,
the leader’s movements were painfully slow.

Like a broken puppet
twitching in the wind.

CRACK—!

Mu Jin’s fingers didn’t merely strike.

They pierced through Cho Chil’s shoulder
like heated needles sliding through wax.

The leader screamed.

A high, animalistic sound echoed
across the silent mountain peaks.

He could feel his internal power—
his very life force—being
dragged into a bottomless void.

“T-This… this isn’t martial arts!”

Cho Chil gasped as his face
turned a sickly gray.

“Demonic… Demonic Arts!”

“Demonic Arts?”

Mu Jin leaned closer.

His voice became a cold whisper
that vibrated inside the leader’s ear.

“No.”

“This is a system check.”

“And you…”

“are simply a defective product.”

THUD—!

With a casual flick of his wrist,
Mu Jin tore through the leader’s chest.

Cho Chil’s body split open
like wet parchment,
blood spraying across the snow.

The surrounding warriors froze.

Their swords trembled in their hands
as they watched their commander
die in an instant.

One by one, the cliffside
became a slaughterhouse
of silver light.

Mu Jin didn’t use elaborate forms.

He didn’t shout the names
of ancient techniques.

He simply calculated.

The most efficient trajectory.

The most lethal impact point.

And then he struck
with the precision
of a high-speed engine.

---

[Notification: Hunger level 95%.]

[Forced Survival Mode imminent.]

---

“I know,” Mu Jin growled.

His voice sounded like
metal plates grinding together.

“Stop nagging me.”

The last warrior turned to run.

Mu Jin didn’t even allow him
a second step.

He lunged forward, grabbing
the man’s neck in a grip
like an iron vise.

SNAP.

As the body collapsed,
Mu Jin’s eyes shifted
toward the supplies beside
the dying bonfire.

Bottles of liquor.

And several slabs
of dried beef jerky.

He reached out with a hand
still stained with blood.

He grabbed a piece
of the tough, salted meat
and shoved it into his mouth.

Crunch.

The instant his teeth crushed
the fibers of the meat,
the searing pain in his brain
began to fade.

Pure biological relief.

---

[Nutrient intake detected.]

[Bio-link stabilization: 72%.]

---

[Minerva: Administrator, how is the taste?]

[I am curious about the human sensory data
associated with “flavor.”]

Mu Jin wiped the blood from his lips
with the back of his hand.

Then he looked up at the silver moon
hanging above the mountain peaks.

There was no longer a “Number One.”

Only Mu Jin remained.

Administrator of Archeon.

The executioner destined
to correct the errors of the Murim.

“The taste?”

Mu Jin glanced down
at the corpses scattered
across the snowy ground.

“…Bitter.”

“Far too bitter.”

The silver radiance in his eyes
shone colder than the moonlight,
cutting through the darkness
toward a future written in blood.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

[Minerva’s Post-Chapter Report]

"Administrator, your current [Hunger Level] has been detected by the readers.

To prevent Mu Jin from devouring the next village, please stabilize his core with your [Follow], [Favorite], and [5-Star Rating].

Action required. Estimated processing time: 0.003 seconds."

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Author’s Note: Thank you for reading. As you can see, Number One has a major problem—and it’s called hunger.

Will he stay human, or will the system take over? Find out in the next chapter. See you soon! 🌸