Mercenary Black Mamba

Edel gorged herself on the spicy chowder that had tortured Mu Ssang's tongue and lips. She must have tasted it while she was cooking. If she was not able to taste the burning spiciness of Habanero peppers, it meant that there was something wrong with her faculty of taste. Edel was not aware that she had a sensory disability. He felt sorry for her.

"I was not aware of her suffering!"

He blamed himself. His own life had been full of extraordinary things and events that he only considered Edel as someone a bit eccentric. Humans differ from animals because they can enjoy culinary arts. Without the faculty of taste, masterful dishes are nothing but some fodder. He needed to cure her disability before he went out to save the universe.

"Is there something on my face, Mu Ssang?"

Edel stared at Mu Ssang with her sky-blue, clear eyes. He felt like her eyes were going to suck him in. He felt dizzy.

His field of view shimmered. A transient hallucination, perhaps a dream or foresight, passed before his eyes. He had experienced the same phenomenon when he was looking for his mother. In a dark forest where the ground was covered by ferns, treetops soared into the sky and parasitic vines thrived among them. Hae Young, wearing skin-tight jeans and a tank top, was prancing.

"Those are real mangoes! Get one for me, Mu Ssang!"

Hae Young waved her hands under a mango tree. Lightly shaded eyes, always looking wet. Well-trimmed, thick eyebrows. An inviting scarlet lips. Soul-shaking pheromones. She did not change one bit. A broad-boned chimpanzee, attracted by her pheromones, climbed skulkingly down from the top of the mango tree.

"Run!"

His words did not escape his mouth. He felt as if his uvula collapsed and blocked his vocal cords. The sound didn't escape his mouth. The male chimpanzee put his arm around Hae Young's waist and rapidly went up the tree.

"Mu Ssang!"

Her fearful, desperate cry pierced his eardrums. He ran toward her with all his might, but his body which routinely moved at 30 meters per second felt heavy like soaked cotton. He could see the chimpanzee's erect penis between his thighs. It was as big as a forearm.

"The chimpanzee penis is normally as big as a ballpoint pen."

He wondered despite the urgency of the moment.

"No!"

He ran with all of his might, but the distance between them didn't close. He was so much in a hurry that his heart was beating against his chest, threatening to burst out.

"Hurgh!"

Mu Ssang coughed.

"Did you choke on something, Mu Ssang?"

The hallucination lifted, and he could see Edel holding a cup of water. It was indeed a transient vision.

"Is it foresight?"

No matter how terrible a nightmare or sleep paralysis is, it vanishes as soon as one wakes up. Foresight belonged to the spirit realm between dream and reality. It was more advanced than a possessed shaman in a trance state, but for a seeker, it was like poison. That's why his teacher was wary of wayward shamans. He felt rushed. He was also feeling sorry. Edel was right here and he hallucinated about Hae Young.

"Yes, a lot of beauty is smeared on your face."

"Really?"

She humored Mu Ssang's dad's joke like the angel she was.

"You are the second most beautiful woman in the world, Edel."

"The first must be your mother. I flatter when I am flattered."

Edel craned her neck and bit Mu Ssang's lip. The tip of the tongue was the most sensitive extremity along with the fingertips. That's why the fingers and tongue often caused problems.

"Hmm!"

When their tongues intertwined, Edel twisted her body. Mu Ssang felt Edel's tongue with his. A person with a taste disability has a smooth tongue or has their taste buds covered with foreign matter. After some feeling up, he found nothing wrong.

"Are my senses far too sensitive?" thought Mu Ssang.

Considering he could enjoy his mother's and Jin Soon's dishes just fine, that didn't seem to be the case.

"Edel, how does the chowder taste?"

Mu Ssang asked, his lips still pressed against hers. It was a question that could hurt her feelings.

"Spicy."

"Just spicy?"

"Burning spicy."

"Just that? Burning spicy?"

Mu Ssang had a headache. Taste is subjective. Food companies make exceedingly spicy products just for the people who enjoy them. This meant she didn't have a taste disability. But if she couldn't taste this excruciatingly spicy flavor, that was whole another problem. In Edel's case, the cause must be psychological rather than physical. This was someone who had a traumatic experience regarding food when she was younger.

"My teacher should be able to resolve this," said Mu Ssang in his mind.

Spiritual matters were his teacher's specialty. As always, something he couldn't resolve himself had to be resolved with his teacher's help.

The satellite phone's LED indicator blinked.

"Oh my!"

Edel, startled, hurriedly took her lips from Mu Ssang's. Her cheeks were flushed like an apple. She glanced around frantically. Of course, no one was looking.

"Oh!"

Edel smiled bashfully. As long as Dino was nearby, no one, not even one single insect could approach them. She had overreacted.

"Who is this? What a moment to call me!"

Mu Ssang grumbled and switched up the receiver.

"Huh, Dimanche!"

Mu Ssang's complexion clouded over. If it was Kamdoong, not Geukdo that called, it had to be a serious problem.

"You caught them all and locked them up? There was a brain implant in Young Sook's head? How maddening! From now on for a while, have Geukdo accompany the girls when they go out. The armed ones will be handled at your discretion. You must pay for what you eat."

Mu Ssang switched down the phone and ate the remaining rice in his bowl. Edel's gaze alternated between the deformed spoon and Mu Ssang's face.

"Is it Eungsim-je?"

"Yeah. The American spies tried infiltrating the house. Kamdoong caught them all and neutralized them."

"What about your mother? Jin Soon? Mina?"

Edel showered Mu Ssang with questions.

"They are not even aware of the incident. Kamdoong handled it quietly."

"Good. What was the brain implant about?"

"I rescued a girl kidnapped by human traffickers. She had nowhere else to go, so she stayed with us. She had a brain implant in her head."

"Oh my? Who did that?"

"The expected culprits are obvious. But what I'm not sure about is if they infiltrated the house because of Young Sook or because they figured out my true identity."

"What shall we do? Are you going back to Korea? Your family cannot move here. The timing isn't right."

Edel's expression clouded over.

"We have Kamdoong and Geukdo there. No worries."

"But..."

"No one can escape Kamdoong's sensory awareness. He is quite rough in handling things which can be a problem sometimes. With my teacher nearby, it shouldn't be a problem now. I must go to Ituri."

"Is it because of her?"

"Huh?"

Mu Ssang's eyes widened.

"I heard from Uncle Mohammed. Don't cause him trouble. I insisted to know. All right?"

"I was going to tell you anyway."

"You were. Your ex-lover must be more important than your ex-wife."

"Huh!"

Her words struck hard. Mu Ssang grimaced.

"Haha, I'm kidding. I know you well. You are not the type to forget a lover easily. If it is to help her when she's in trouble, you should go. But I won't allow anyone other than Jin Soon to be around you in that kind of way."

Mu Ssang's eyes widened. Edel had never said that she wouldn't allow anything like this.

"Of course. I'm quite meddlesome but won't let a past relationship inconvenience us. The French government asked me to go for a survey anyway."

Edel was moved by Mu Ssang's great soul which was as vast as an ocean. People get hurt by each other because they always seek to get something from them. Mu Ssang had taken in countless refugees just because he felt sorry for them.

It was no different this time. He was strong to the strong and kind to the weak. He showed by action without lame excuses. If she couldn't love a man like this, she could never love anyone else.

"Are you flying there on Garuda's back?"

"No. That thing is too dangerous. I need some time to think. Perhaps there could be great danger looming over Novatopia."

"Mu Ssang, you are strong but not immortal. You have great subordinates and an army. Why are you going there alone? When I first saw you in the MSF..."

Edel's eyes were filled with tears. Mu Ssang pressed her lips with his finger.

"I am invincible. This time, I will not wage war. I will just get intel and get out."

"Still..."

Edel gazed at him with wet eyes.

"We shall get married when this wraps up. We will have children too."

"Mu Ssang!"

Edel, eyes widened, and she jumped into Mu Ssang's embrace.

* * *

"Ombuti, is there someone with a lot of free time among the henchmen?"

"No. But some unmarried guys fool around."

Ombuti grinned.

"Sun Woo-hyun?"

He was right. Samdi was not interested in women. Nejema was addicted to training. Only Sun Woo-hyun was the type to ever fool around. Ibrahim, Ahmad and Jamal escaped with their families, but Sun Woo-hyun, Nejema, and Aishe all lost their families. Samdi never had any family to begin with. They were all survivors in this hostile world. He was concerned with their future when he was faced with several incidents.

"Sun Woo-hyun is fluent in Arabic. Didn't you say that you had trouble during Operation Ituri because you didn't have an interpreter?"

"He is quite useful. He is quite adept at non-standard combat as well. He improvises at will. Is he in Ennedi?"

"He's in the next room."

"What? How did he know?"

Mu Ssang was startled.

"The head butler should be aware of his master's whereabouts at all times. Wakil needs servants, not helpers. Samdi is not available, defending the Predator attack. He can be rude sometimes, but he is the right one for this role."

"His years of experience are showing!" Mu Ssang marveled.

Ombuti had all the right to assume the role of the head of butlers.

"Mohammed brought some useful young men from Mambasa. Ongore is fluent in French and Swahili. Will you take him with you?"

"Does he have a family?"

"A mother."

Mu Ssang shook his head after much deliberation.

"The jungle of Ituri is not a place for ordinary people. It's not like we are attending an international meeting."

"That is so."

Ombuti smiled. Mu Ssang could eliminate thousands of lives at once, but he still cared about one life.

* * *

"Sun, pack up. We have work."

"What work? I should know before I go."

Sun Woo-hyun was brought to the room without knowing anything. He had a bad feeling about Mu Ssang's ominous grin. Only Ombuti and he knew how cruel Mu Ssang could be.

"I invite you to a battlefield. You should take care of your one and only life."

Mu Ssang provoked him a bit.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm from North Korea's intelligence brigade. I survived winter without supplies in a rural forest in North Korea."

"The jungle of Ituri is much worse. There are no lethal vipers, brain parasites, a swarm of leeches, or beasts that can gobble you up. Without dieldrin, you wouldn't last a night."

"I've dealt with jungle leeches in Zimbabwe. I've seen an insect that shoots poison as it dies."

Sun Woo-hyun was determined.

"You can speak Swahili, right?"

"I spent two years in Zimbabwe. When I was in the Zimbabwean military advisory board..."

"Enough. Pack your weapons. The MP5 is the best in a jungle."

Mu Ssang cut him off.

"Let's go slow. I need time to breathe."

Sun Woo-hyun jested.

"How impertinent!"

Ombuti threw his teacup toward Sun who caught it without looking. Ombuti stood abruptly and mercilessly kicked his shin.

"Why kick me? You don't outrank me that much."

Sun Woo-hyun held his kicked leg and hopped around the room.

"I do. Just because Mu Ssang is merciful, it doesn't mean you should be rude to him. Students are beaten by teachers. Criminals are beaten by police. Servants are beaten by masters. Rookies are beaten by higher-ups. Just because you are a general doesn't mean you should look down at the heavens. Do you want to be demoted? Do you want to climb the barbed wire fences?" Ombuti scolded him relentlessly.

"Ugh, I'm sorry. Have mercy, sir."

Sun Woo-hyun looked downtrodden.

"Speak properly for starters. Don't think your familiar tone excuses you. If you keep acting up, you will be sent to the windbreak forest for the rest of your life."

"I am but Wakil's pawn. I'll be careful."

"We have work. Hurry."

Mu Ssang grinned. Every Novatopian treated him like a god. He appreciate that Sun Woo-hyun treated him like a friend.

* * *

Green Zone Camp, Eunpanwaja

Brigadier General McKinley threw the phone and trembled.

"God damn! Leave it be? I'm McKinley!"

The enraged roar resounded in the empty Battle Intelligence Room. Brigadier General Dyson and three teams of Predators arrived the night before. The call ordered him to leave the tracking operation to Dyson and take care of the camp instead. It was the Executor's order.

He was a general, yet they sent his replacement without conferring with him and ordered him to step back. Taking care of a camp was not a task worthy of his rank. He understood why the Executor was angry, but it wasn't like he didn't have anything to say. With Hynd, he had successfully blocked the enemy's retreat path.