The Soul-Harvesting Puppeteer - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 9
One week later, the new employee orientation finally came to an end.
To be honest, the Spiritual Education sessions had been tedious. Learning the history of Shinseong Group didn’t help Han Eol much either. He struggled to understand why he needed to memorize the biography of Shinseong Group’s founder verbatim.
But the curriculum did include several worthwhile lectures.

— Types and characteristics of Esper Abilities discovered to date.
— Vulnerability analysis of Highland Demonic Beasts.
— Specialized lectures on survival methods in various Highland environments.
— Usage of Mana Stone-equipped Weapons.
‘That’s actually pretty useful.’
Han Eol examined the printed curriculum and gave it a positive assessment.
Of course, he’d received similar training during his internship.
But lectures aimed at full-time employees were on an entirely different level. Han Eol leaned forward, catching every word that fell from the instructor’s lips, not missing a single hint.
Not just Han Eol, but his cohort-mates paid close attention to the training as well.
As soon as the new employee orientation ended, on-site assignments began immediately.
First, the team leader of the Strategy Support Team entered the Complex Center auditorium and selected new team members to her liking.
The Strategy Support Team’s leader appeared to be a slender beauty in her late thirties. She introduced herself as Lee Ji-yeon.
After carefully reviewing all 311 new employees, she primarily selected those whose Esper Abilities were specialized in healing.
Though a handful, like Han Eol, kept their abilities hidden, most newcomers boasted openly about which Esper Ability they’d awakened.
This tendency was especially pronounced among those with healing abilities.
‘If I got into the Strategy Support Team, at least it’d be less dangerous. Tsk. If I’d awakened a healing ability, I wouldn’t have hidden it.’
Han Eol stuck out his lower lip in a pout.
After the Strategy Support Team came the Resource Exploration Team’s leader, who took the stage.
This leader was a man in his fifties with an unkempt beard.
His name was Lee Jun-woo.
“This batch is really disappointing.”
He skimmed through the list of new employees with an indifferent gaze, grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear, and selected only six people.
Those with Long-range Exploration-type Esper Abilities mostly caught Lee Jun-woo’s attention.
Several more selection rounds followed. By the time lunch approached, only 200 new employees remained in the auditorium.
Han Eol was among those 200.
A moment later,
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Heavy footsteps accompanied a robust, middle-aged man as he climbed onto the auditorium stage.
He wore his wavy hair at a moderate length, tied back in a ponytail, and a black eye patch covered one eye — a one-eyed man.
The one-eyed man didn’t appear alone. As he took the stage, five more people filed in behind him and arranged themselves like a screen.
Chapter 3
The one-eyed man opened his mouth with a husky, deep voice.
“I’m Lee Sung-woo, Pioneer Corps Commander of Shinseong.”
That was enough. The name Pioneer Corps Commander Lee Sung-woo was so well-known that none of the new employees were unfamiliar with it.
“That’s the Pioneer Corps Commander?”
“Wow. This is my first time seeing him.”
The new employees murmured among themselves.
But the moment Lee Sung-woo furrowed his brow, the auditorium fell silent.
With just a subtle shift in expression, he silenced the crowd. Then, using his thumb, he pointed over his shoulder and introduced the five people arrayed behind him like a screen.
“The people behind me are the Squad Leaders of our Pioneer Corps. From now on, you’ll be assigned to our 1st through 5th Squads.”
Lee Sung-woo didn’t elaborate.
When the 200 people were lined up in a single row based on their employee numbers, the first 40 were all assigned to the 1st Squad.
The next 40 were all assigned to the 2nd Squad.
Then the next group went to the 3rd Squad,
and so on.
Han Eol, having an early employee number, was assigned to the 1st Squad.
“We’ll go over the rest of the details with each Squad Leader.”
With that, Lee Sung-woo left the stage.
In truth, it would have been strange for a major figure like Lee Sung-woo to spend much time conversing with new employees.
At Shinseong Group, the Pioneer Corps Commander is equivalent to a headquarters director — essentially the president’s rank.
Moreover, the Squad Leaders under the Pioneer Corps Commander, from 1st through 5th, wield far greater authority than other team leaders.
Because the Pioneer Corps bears primary responsibility for exploring Highland and subjugating Demonic Beasts.
‘So I’m completely done for. I’ve been assigned to the most dangerous place with the lowest survival rate. Sigh.’
Han Eol secretly wiped his face with his hand.
But he couldn’t show his displeasure at the first meeting with his direct supervisor, the 1st Squad Leader. Han Eol quickly brightened his expression and gazed at the 1st Squad Leader with sparkling eyes.
Meanwhile, Han Eol’s attention snagged on something crucial.
Just moments ago, within the soul of Lee Ji-yeon, the Strategy Support Team Leader, Han Eol had glimpsed a small bottle marked with a plus sign—a vial, precisely etched into her essence.
This vial was Lee Ji-yeon’s Mental Image.
Yet the bottle’s form wasn’t entirely distinct, and its color remained dim.
By contrast, Lee Jun-woo, the Resource Exploration Team Leader, bore a nose as his Mental Image.
‘A nose? Could it be that he has an exceptionally developed sense of smell?’
Han Eol studied Lee Jun-woo on the platform, turning the thought over in his mind.
He couldn’t be certain, but Lee Jun-woo’s Mental Image—that nose—was far more defined than Lee Ji-yeon’s vial. It even carried a faint hint of color.
Lee Sung-woo, the Pioneer Corps Commander, was altogether different.
A tuft of cotton so luminous it hurt to look at.
This was Lee Sung-woo’s Mental Image.
‘That’s no ordinary cotton ball. Each thread carries the essence of thunder and lightning itself.’
What Han Eol perceived in Lee Sung-woo’s soul was no mere wisp of cotton haphazardly gathered, but countless strands densely compressed—each fiber suffused with the crackling power of the storm.
Around that cotton tuft, electricity danced and sizzled visibly—snap, crackle—a constant electrical discharge.
Moreover, the tuft blazed with a brilliant golden radiance.
Even the eye embedded in the cotton was sharp and clearly defined.
‘A cotton tuft with a single eye. It’s almost like a spirit of lightning.’
The thought struck Han Eol unbidden.
Among all the Esper Ability users Han Eol had encountered thus far, none possessed a Mental Image as intensely vivid as Lee Jae-in, the Personnel Team Leader.
Lee Jae-in harbored a sword within his soul—a blade that radiated pure light.
In fact, Lee Jae-in’s Mental Image far surpassed those of Lee Ji-yeon, who frequented the Highland, or Lee Jun-woo, the Resource Exploration Team Leader, in both saturation and raw intensity.
‘And yet even that formidable Personnel Team Leader can’t compare to the Pioneer Corps Commander.’
Han Eol let out a low whistle.
‘So what about the 1st Squad Leader?’
Han Eol fixed his concentration on the 1st Squad Leader standing before him—hands clasped behind his back in an arrogant stance, delivering a long-winded lecture to forty rookies.
Presently, the 1st Squad Leader’s Mental Image came into Han Eol’s view.
‘Ah. There’s a shield embedded in the 1st Squad Leader’s soul.’
And not just any shield—one with jagged teeth bristling along its rim, a dual-purpose defensive and offensive guard.
‘But what’s this?’
Han Eol’s expression stiffened slightly.
The moment the 1st Squad Leader’s gaze fell upon the new recruits, his entire soul had drained into grayscale.
‘The 1st Squad Leader has no intention of any emotional exchange with us. He sees us as nothing but tools.’
Perhaps it was the consequence of growing up as an orphan in the Old Earth.
On the surface, Han Eol was smooth and personable, but his inner nature was far more arid and self-serving than appearances suggested.
To such a man, the 1st Squad Leader was someone to keep at arm’s length. Since the 1st Squad Leader regarded the rookies as mere instruments, Han Eol similarly closed his heart’s door to him.
From the very first button, they were misaligned.
The bus carrying Han Eol crossed the Gangbyeon North Road and traversed the Seongsu Bridge. A placard reading [1st Squad] hung from the bus’s front windshield.
Han Eol couldn’t tear his eyes from the vista of the Han River unfolding beyond the window.
“Wow, it’s the Han River.”
“I’ve never seen the Han River up close like this before.”
Thirty-nine others with shaved heads, Han Eol’s cohort, crowded against the glass in a clamor. All of them hailed from the Old Earth and had never properly beheld the river.
In fact, when Han Eol and his peers had first awakened their Esper Abilities, they had once taken the subway from Mapo and descended beneath the Han River.
But at the time, they had traveled only underground by rail, never getting a glimpse of the river’s landscape. Now, gazing out at it, they were thoroughly delighted.
“What country folk.”
From the very front of the bus, the 1st Squad Leader let out a scoff.
…….
His cohort fell awkwardly silent, sinking back into their seats and facing forward once more.
‘Tch.’
Irritation flared in Han Eol’s chest. He stared pointedly out the window to mask the discomfort churning within him.
As they rode on, the bus passed Dosan Park and entered the vicinity of Gangnam Station.
The 1st Squad Building stood right near this station.
In fact, not just the 1st Squad, but all the squads had made their base in Gangnam.
Han Eol would learn later that Esper Ability users who ventured into the Highland and clashed with Demonic Beasts carried constant, severe stress. A proper outlet was essential.
Thus, the Shinseong Group had positioned Squads 1 through 5 in Gangnam, the entertainment hub.
The same held true in other cities.
The Pioneer Corps in Midland Tokyo was stationed in Shinjuku and Ginza.
The Pioneer Corps in Midland New York was in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
The Pioneer Corps in Midland Paris was on Obercamp Street in the northern 11th arrondissement.
This was the standard arrangement.
“We’re here. Gather your belongings and disembark.”
“Yes, Squad Leader.”
Han Eol and his cohort answered the instant the 1st Squad Leader finished speaking, then grabbed their backpacks and stepped off the bus.
Before their eyes stretched a fifty-story building, its exterior wrapped in green glass, bearing the inscription “Shinseong Group Pioneer Corps 1st Squad.”
From today onward, this would be where Han Eol and his cohort ate, slept, and worked.
Chapter 4
“Who’d want to live in a dormitory at the company? Of course once work hours end you bolt straight home. But you lot—you’ll eat and sleep right here. Our soft little chicks. Khkhkhkh.”
The senior from the 1st Squad handling dormitory orientation assigned rooms to the forty new employees while teasing them as chicks.
From what he explained, only rookies lived in dormitory housing at the 1st Squad Building.
Six new hires from 2054.
Nineteen from 2055.
And this year, 2056, forty new employees assigned to the 1st Squad.
These were precisely the rookies of the 1st Squad.
While Han Eol and his cohort lined up along the third basement level dormitory corridor waiting for their room assignments, the senior continued his explanation.
“Each person gets assigned one room. Don’t worry about trivial matters like cleaning, laundry, or bathroom supplies—the company handles all that. Late night cravings? Just tap your terminal. Everything on the terminal menu comes as complimentary room service.”
“Wow!”
The new employees’ faces brightened at a service rivaling a five-star hotel.
The senior flashed his teeth with a grin.
“In exchange, all you need to do is focus on training. That way you’ll survive as long as possible and shed those chick feathers. Khkhkhkh.”
“…….”
The new employees’ faces, which had relaxed in delight, stiffened again.
The senior bared his teeth even wider and pointed upward with his finger.
“As you saw just now, this is basement level three. The floor above is occupied by people one year your senior. If you happen to run into them in the elevator, greet them properly.”
“We’ll keep that in mind.”
The new employees answered with sharp discipline.
The senior let out a soft laugh.
“Well, you won’t cross paths that often anyway. They’re all busy training and moving in and out of Highland. And basement level one, one floor up from there, is occupied by the 2054 cohort—two years your seniors. Lately their death rate’s been climbing, so they’re on edge. Watch yourselves around them.”
“Understood.”
At the mention of rising death rates, the new employees’ faces turned even paler.
The senior’s smile deepened accordingly.
Soul Harvester Puppeteer
Author |
Junon
Publisher |
(주) Samyang C&C
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
(주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books
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UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260703071
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blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
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No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without written permission from (주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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