Chapter 39
The Price
Jang Mok-hwa, who had a fairly clear grasp of the structure of the ruined steel factory, spoke while recalling the layout from memory.
“At that distance, I can’t guarantee safety… The robot monk’s surveillance system is highly advanced. It can pick up sounds from quite a distance.
Saebyuk, don’t worry about power consumption or the jeep flipping over—just maintain our current speed.”
It was only then that Yong Yeo-hong noticed Jang Mok-hwa holding a heavy grenade launcher—and that it was loaded with high-explosive rounds.
“Team leader, Monk Jungbeop said we have no ties with the Monastic Order. You don’t have to be so tense.”
He reported this quickly, hoping to reassure her that she didn’t need to overreact.
But Jang Mok-hwa shook her head slightly while checking the rearview mirror.
“That’s not what matters.
You’ve learned this too—there’s a specific defect inherent to immortal technology. Every robot monk, to varying degrees, suffers from mental instability.
These problems differ from one monk to another. And according to the data the company collected, one of the more active robot monks in Ashland, Jungbeop…”
She paused briefly, then finished her thought.
“…hates women.”
“What?”
Seong Gun-woo and Yong Yeo-hong understood the words but not the gravity behind them.
Jang Mok-hwa glanced toward Baek Saebyuk, who was driving.
“Jungbeop goes berserk the moment he sees a woman—or even hears a woman’s voice. In that state, he attacks everyone around him indiscriminately.
Certain traces left on his victims suggest he once had sadistic, sexual tendencies.”
“But he’s just a robot…”
Yong Yeo-hong muttered in disbelief.
Jang Mok-hwa sighed heavily.
“That’s what makes it worse… Ah, right—who’s taking the exosuit?”
Before either Gun-woo or Yeo-hong could respond, Jang Mok-hwa’s face stiffened suddenly.
“Quiet.”
Realizing something, Gun-woo and Yeo-hong turned their heads to look out the windows, searching for the red-robed figure of the robot monk, Jungbeop.
But all they saw were sparse trees, gray mud, black swamps, and scattered stones.
Ahead, the road was littered with puddles and rocks. Baek Saebyuk had to slow the jeep. If it overturned, their situation would become much worse.
Jang Mok-hwa lowered the grenade launcher slightly and tapped Saebyuk’s right elbow without making a sound.
Without even glancing back, Saebyuk steered left and reduced speed further—almost imperceptibly.
Both windows rolled down silently.
That was when a shadow cloaked in a tattered monk’s robe and crimson mantle leapt down from a roadside tree toward the passenger seat.
It was the robot monk, Jungbeop.
But Jang Mok-hwa, sensing danger in advance, raised her grenade launcher and aimed at him.
It looked as though Jungbeop was deliberately throwing himself at the incoming grenade.
The launcher’s ammunition was powerful enough to seriously damage even a robot monk.
Just as she tightened her finger on the trigger, Jungbeop’s metal face flashed crimson.
Instantly, countless figures appeared before Jang Mok-hwa’s eyes—people sprawled across the ground, shoveling dirt, pebbles, and leaves into their mouths in a frenzy.
Their distended bellies looked ready to burst, yet they felt no fullness—consuming everything in sight.
Jang Mok-hwa felt herself become one of them. Though she wasn’t hungry, an uncontrollable urge to eat overcame her, like someone starving for years.
Unable to control the compulsion, she lowered the launcher and tore open a pack of compressed biscuits, shoving them into her mouth.
She didn’t even want to waste time drinking water. Her throat burned and tightened, but she kept swallowing.
Baek Saebyuk also slammed the brakes and devoured an energy bar like a madwoman. Seong Gun-woo and Yong Yeo-hong too tore open their rations, joining the deranged feast.
None of them paid the slightest attention to the deadly enemy approaching from outside.
Jungbeop landed gracefully beside the jeep and opened the passenger door with his left hand, aiming his right arm—fitted with a weapon—at Jang Mok-hwa and Baek Saebyuk, catching Gun-woo and Yeo-hong in the line of fire as well.
At that moment, Jang Mok-hwa’s hunger vanished.
The grotesque vision faded, leaving no trace.
Gun-woo leaned forward slightly.
Jungbeop froze for two seconds. He didn’t use his laser weapon or burn them with his flamethrower. After his red eyes flickered a few times, he finally spoke.
“Do you think this humble monk intends to purify you now?
No. I shall not grant you your wish so soon.
I will take you deep into the swamp, where no one can interfere—and there, I will enjoy you at my leisure.”
His gaze was fixed only on Jang Mok-hwa and Baek Saebyuk.
Mok-hwa’s face stiffened, but she stayed silent, calculating their chances.
Then Gun-woo straightened his back and asked calmly,
“Are you an Awakened?”
“Yes.”
Even now, in a hostile situation—and in a fit triggered by women—Jungbeop still followed his sect’s principle: a monk does not lie.
Still aiming his weapons at the two women, he opened the back door.
“This humble monk shall sit in the middle.”
His cold, emotionless voice echoed. From that position, he could monitor everyone and control the jeep.
Gun-woo shifted aside without resistance, showing no hostility.
Jungbeop sat in the middle seat, still wary but composed.
Gun-woo sat beside him and asked,
“Is your hatred of women… your price?”
He used price instead of defect—the word ordinary people used for robot monks.
Jungbeop answered truthfully.
“No. The price I bear is lust itself.
When my consciousness was uploaded into this mechanical body, I believed I would achieve calm—that such desires would fade. But they didn’t.”
Gun-woo nodded slowly.
“I thought your price was the inability to lie.”
“Truthfulness is a precept of the Order.”
Jungbeop replied methodically.
“You’ll all reach nirvana soon anyway, so it doesn’t matter if you know.”
Gun-woo shut the jeep door and continued,
“That power you used just now—what was it?”
“The realm of hungry ghosts among the Six Realms of Reincarnation.”
Jungbeop’s red eyes flickered toward Baek Saebyuk.
“Drive. Forward.”
Hearing the exchange, Yeo-hong and Saebyuk felt a despair beyond words.
Jungbeop was forcing them to drive to their deaths, yet Gun-woo spoke to him as if chatting with an old friend.
As Saebyuk pressed the accelerator, Jang Mok-hwa suddenly burst into laughter.
“Ha! I see it now!
You hate women because your current body can’t satisfy you. Uploading your mind into a machine only amplified your flaw. Your psyche is twisted—you can only soothe it through physical violence!
Doesn’t your Order preach the purification of the Six Senses? How filthy, for a monk of your faith to harbor such a corrupt heart!”
Jungbeop’s psychic waves surged uncontrollably. His eyes blazed crimson as he lunged forward, trying to grab her.
But instead of dodging, Jang Mok-hwa thrust out her left arm, gripping his metal neck.
Her extended finger elongated, glowing with silver-white current, and stabbed into a small port in his throat.
It was a bio-engineered prosthetic—a tool capable of reading computer data and breaching moderate firewalls.
And since robot monks retained human consciousness but were mechanically built, their bodies could indeed be hacked.
When her finger connected, Jungbeop froze like a machine losing power.
Baek Saebyuk leaned over, trying to grab the grenade launcher from Mok-hwa’s thigh.
Yeo-hong swiftly raised his Berserker assault rifle and aimed at Jungbeop’s head.
Seong Gun-woo’s eyes turned jet black as he leaned forward.
“Master…”
At that moment, Jang Mok-hwa suddenly collapsed across the passenger seat.
Her left hand went limp, releasing Jungbeop. Her eyes glazed over as she mumbled faintly,
“Who am I… What am I doing here…”
Meanwhile, Jungbeop reactivated, extending his arm to seize Baek Saebyuk’s throat, preventing her from firing.
Bang! Bang!
Yeo-hong’s bullets struck Jungbeop’s head, but only left shallow dents, sparks scattering everywhere.
A ricochet grazed his cheek and shattered the jeep’s side window.
Gun-woo’s eyes widened, but he calmly finished what he was saying.
“You possess human consciousness—
but so do I.”
Jungbeop turned his glowing red eyes toward Gun-woo, still gripping Saebyuk’s neck.
Perhaps because Gun-woo had spoken to him respectfully—or because he wasn’t a woman—Jungbeop didn’t attack. He simply stared, silent and cold.
Gun-woo continued rapidly,
“You’re an Awakened.
And so am I.
So that means…”
Yeo-hong turned sharply toward him in shock. Mok-hwa’s vacant eyes flickered with faint awareness.
The red glow in Jungbeop’s eyes blinked rapidly before settling.
Then, in his emotionless tone, he said,
“So… you mean we’re close friends, then?”
“Exactly.”
Gun-woo nodded firmly.
