A hollow laugh escaped Taebaek’s lips.

He had overlooked one crucial fact.

His level had risen to 2 amid the chaos of the past half-day.

There had been an explanation that the power of buffs and nerfs scaled with level, but without testing it, there was no way to gauge the extent of the increase.

So, he’d used the blond pretty boy as a guinea pig to get a sense of it.

But oh no.

The boost had exceeded Lee Taebaek’s expectations by a wide margin. He’d only meant to give a light retaliation.

What do I do now?

Instead of avoiding being underestimated, he’d gone and made himself a lifelong enemy. The blond must be itching to bite his tongue off.

As if to prove his humiliation, the blond’s handsome face flushed red. It was understandable—he’d been shamed in front of the woman he liked, and not by just anyone.

“You…! What the hell did you do to me!”

The blond bellowed, teeth gritted. He looked ready to chew Taebaek up and spit him out.

Passersby in the vicinity heard the shout and began gathering in twos and threes.

A bottleneck formed in the narrow corridor almost immediately. They covered their mouths, whispering among themselves.

“Isn’t that guy on his knees the 8th Battalion Deputy Commander? What’s he doing there?”

“Hey, don’t be dense. Swallow James has been hitting on 9th Battalion Deputy Commander Yu Dahui lately. The guy’s notorious for his womanizing.”

“Deputy Commander James is something else. Figures a guy like that can’t back up his pretty face. Tsk tsk… But who’s that black-haired guy?”

“It’s obvious. The black-haired one is Deputy Commander Yu Dahui’s boyfriend, and he tracked her down somehow—”

Love triangle. Duel. Blunder.

The scandal, swelling by the minute, rubbed salt into the wound of the humiliated Swallow James. Propping himself up on trembling knees, he forced strength into his lower abdomen.

“Haa… haa… I’ll ask you this. What the hell did you do to my body? And if this causes strife between battalions, are you going to take responsibility?”

James desperately wanted to grab the black-haired root of this infernal mess by the collar.

But his body wouldn’t obey.

Strife between battalions, my ass.

Taebaek felt bad for unintentionally delivering a lethal dose of embarrassment.

But when the instigator came at him like this, Taebaek became the thug too.

Besides, Taebaek had just acquired a bunch of new concepts. His eyes, once dead-fish dull back on Earth, now hung low and sunken.

“In Lake City, the strong don’t take responsibility.”

He said it gazing at Swallow James with those deep-set eyes.

It must be that his mentality had toughened from past experiences. At least, that’s what Lee Taebaek figured.

“You bastard!”

James exploded. It was cheap profanity he’d never stoop to normally. The humiliation from moments ago and unprecedented terror toward Taebaek acted as catalysts.

James seized Taebaek’s collar with all his might. And regretted it instantly.

Black eyes.

Tranquil as a mirror-still pond, yet laced with cold emotion—black eyes.

Regardless of James’s flailing, he met it with a gaze of utter boredom.

James flinched at those inorganic eyes, like a porcelain doll’s.

W-what the hell is this guy’s deal? His grip slackened unwittingly.

But the reality was different.

Lee Taebaek hadn’t even had time to react. It was because the grip on his collar was surprisingly strong even though the nerf’s effect should not have worn off yet.

From experience, types like this left grudges if glossed over ambiguously. The kind that betray you at critical moments after nursing resentment.

Better to establish dominance upfront for the future. Prevent any backlash.

Taebaek clasped James’s hand as if enveloping it. Then brought his mouth to the man’s ear.

“You chose this.”

James had no chance to retort. An even stronger wave of limpness had already washed over him.

His limbs went slack as if the strings controlling them were being snipped one by one.

Then his forehead slammed into the floor. Irresistible pressure bore down on his back.

“…!”

The onlookers gasped in shock. James kowtowed to Taebaek, trembling uncontrollably.

W-what the…

Terror gripped James outright.

He’d initially thought it was some trickery.

But he’d fallen for it again.

His earlier grinding of teeth seemed pointless after he submitted twice.

Suddenly, his heart ached. Not some gimmick this time.

The skill gap was just that vast. So James deluded himself.

Taebaek looked down at him disdainfully, then scanned the surroundings. Too many eyes for a smooth cover-up. People really loved a good spectacle.

Well. Might as well be a good thing.

Before his true capabilities were exposed, now was the perfect moment. Taebaek had zero combat prowess otherwise.

With all eyes on him, he needed to bluff his way into being seen as no pushover.

Why are only webtoon lines coming to mind?

The problem was they were all lines too cringy to say sober. Tension froze his brain.

Taebaek squeezed his eyes shut. Time to abandon human dignity. A glint sparked in his faintly opened pupils.

Screeech.

The door to the Commander-in-Chief’s office slid open, and a man entered. Closing it behind him, he saluted with his hand to his brow.

“You called for me, Commander-in-Chief?”

“You look well, Hyeonseong. Swing by Ms. Mongnyeon’s shop before you get fat. You’ve had it rough lately.”

A figure in a pristine white robe spread both arms wide in welcome to Kang Hyeonseong. The sleeves flared thin like wing membranes.

“A superior flattering a subordinate? Should we call this insubordination or superior-over-inferior bullying?”

“Haha, you’re the only one who’d say that to me. The other Battalion Commanders treat me too stiffly. Do you know how bored I was without you these past three months? I missed you, Hyeonseong.”

“Not thrilled to hear ‘I missed you’ from another man.”

The Commander-in-Chief laughed aloud, a mechanical rasp laced with static, and ambled toward the sofa.

“I’ve never once called myself a man.”

“So you’re a woman, then, Commander-in-Chief?”

“That’s a secret too.”

The Commander-in-Chief wore a helmet, and conveyed expression by putting emoticons up on its face screen.

“So many secrets.”

“I’m the Resistance’s top dog.”

“I’d appreciate getting to the point. I skipped my first meal post-release to answer your summons.”

“Sorry. Got carried away chatting.”

The Commander-in-Chief fanned the air dismissively. A sleeve slipped briefly, but long gloves hid any bare skin.

Name, race, voice, even gender. Everything about the Commander-in-Chief but the fact of their existence was a blank.

“Meant to give you a day off and call tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait. And for good reason.”

Settling on the opposite sofa, the Commander-in-Chief propped the helmet on laced fingers. Tilting it brought the dark wall to life.

Flash!

A holographic billboard in myriad global tongues. Neon-choked seas of light from every corner flooded the display.

In dazzling Lake City, a female reporter delivered breaking news.

[Good evening, Lake City residents… About two hours ago, the government announced a minor disturbance at the Gaol… But thanks to swift action by City Hall, there were no casualties… They added blessings of the ‘Order Goddess Akira’ and vowed redoubled efforts for public safety…]

“…The broadcast’s been manipulated.”

Kang Hyeonseong spoke first.

A solid line curved into a smile on the face screen. The Commander-in-Chief smiled.

“What was the point of planning this jailbreak?”

“To instill in City Hall the awareness that we can spring any Resistance member detained in the Gaol… Truth be told, that’s just cover—the real aim was drawing the eyes of those monsters ‘whales’ beyond City Hall. That was the op’s core.”

“But the news frames it as mere ‘internal commotion.’ City Hall’s prideful, sure, but not so spineless as to twist facts. Some soldiers still cling to conscience.”

Kang Hyeonseong scratched his forehead. What the hell happened? The screen arc spiked high.

“Whales.”

“…No way!?”

Kang Hyeonseong’s mind flashed. They’d intervened personally. He’d tried everything to provoke them, but they’d ignored him like a flea. Had to be…

“The whales, the megacorps, stepped in directly.”

The Commander-in-Chief peered into Kang Hyeonseong’s eyes. That gaze pierced skin and went straight to the brain.

“Heard you brought someone new on this mission. No matter how I slice it, this megacorp meddling ties to that ‘someone.’ Am I off base?”

He meant Taebaek. Kang Hyeonseong bit his lip, then sighed in resignation.

“Makes it look like I was hiding him, but I just delayed the report—”

Beep-boop.

A bell chimed rudely. The Commander-in-Chief tapped the side of the helmet, venting steam.

[S-Sir! Commander-in-Chief!]

The secretary’s frantic voice.

“If it’s not urgent, call back in five. If it is, make it quick.”

[Uh, well. There was trouble where the 8th Battalion Deputy Commander and 9th Battalion Deputy Commander were together… But an outsider got involved somehow…]

“Trouble? What kind? With Taebaek?”

Kang Hyeonseong’s spittle speckled the Commander-in-Chief’s face screen like shrapnel.

[Ah, 9th Battalion Commander. Loyalty.]

“At ease.”

[Anyway, it’s not what 9th Battalion Commander said. Quite the opposite…? James—er, 8th Battalion Deputy Commander—is forehead-to-floor… kowtowing…?]

Stunned silence. Kang Hyeonseong looked up. A grinning eye-smile on the saliva-streaked screen.

“The one who stirred the lurking whales into motion. That the ‘Taebaek’ you’ve been raving about?”

“…”

[Zzt—zzt—Commander-in-Chief? Can you hear me?]

“Send location. I’ll go with Hyeonseong.”

[Pardon? Why you personally—]

The Commander-in-Chief tapped again, cutting the secretary off, then rose slowly and said,

“This should be fun.”

Unease flickered in Kang Hyeonseong’s eyes. The Commander-in-Chief’s robe hem trailed like shadow with every step forward.

“Kneel.”

Leave the fallout for tomorrow’s me.

“This is the difference in our level.”

The answer Lee Taebaek arrived at after agonizing deliberation.