Snake Venom Ch 24

Chapter 24

Having carefully recalled everyone’s appearances and information, Lee Yeonwoo lifted his eyes.

“Shall we turn the page?”

“Go ahead.”

The next page, like the first, listed photographs of individuals along with brief information about each one. There were ten pages in total. Lee Yeonwoo took his time examining each of the individuals listed within and organized the information he had acquired in his mind.

There seemed to be roughly twenty people. Their professions varied—members of the National Assembly, those in the legal field, military personnel, entrepreneurs, investors—and although he didn’t know the details, it was clear that each held significant influence in their respective fields.

The reason they were all gathered within a single gallery would be explained by Cheon Wooshin, who had shown him this. As Lee Yeonwoo’s gaze settled calmly, Cheon Wooshin opened his mouth, as though he had been waiting for this moment.

“They were the initial victims, and all were ‘humans.’ Only five survived.”

At those words, Lee Yeonwoo’s eyes widened slightly before quickly returning to normal.

Since the information was compiled by the investigative department handling criminal cases, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. What drew Yeonwoo’s attention more was the phrasing Cheon Wooshin used.

The word “survived” implied they had all been exposed to similar dangers, but some lived while others didn’t—suggesting there were determining conditions. The inclusion of the word “initial” also indicated that victims continued to emerge even now. Lee Yeonwoo was able to deduce a considerable amount from that single sentence.

Regardless of their professions, the victims belonged to the ruling and elite class. Just what had happened to so many people, and for what reason? Still, it wasn’t too late to ask questions after hearing the entire explanation.

Cheon Wooshin began his story.

Two years ago, certain individuals—including key figures in the political and economic sectors of various countries—were exposed to a special drug. It was codenamed “Snake Venom.” As the name suggested, it was an incident in which the venom of a snake had been modified to forcibly inject the special traits of a demi-human into a human. It was an unprecedented and unofficial biochemical terror attack—an event involving the injection of a genetically modified drug.

Dozens of officially confirmed victims were recorded. Of the initial infected, five died within a month—before clinical trials for the new suppressant had even begun. Eight others experienced cardiac arrest immediately upon receiving a temporary suppressant due to side effects. Two died after mutating into something that was neither beast nor human, fighting against animalistic traits within a human body.

Additional victims continued to appear, but fortunately, a formal suppressant for humans was eventually developed. While it came with minor side effects similar to those of the suppressant for hybrids, it was highly effective at preventing morphological changes. It was a way to buy time until a perfect cure could be found.

However, hope was short-lived. Beginning with the initial infected, a new side effect of the suppressant emerged. This time, it affected not the body, but the mind.

Even with proper administration of the suppressant, most initial patients lost their sanity after one year. The primary symptoms included a loss of reason, the eruption of homicidal urges and cannibalistic instincts, hallucinations, and the pursuit of abnormal sexual desires.

A colonel who couldn’t overcome his cannibalistic craving and ate his family’s hearts was executed by firing squad. A businessman who committed three rapes and murders in a state of insanity threw himself off a skyscraper. Humans whose minds and bodies had gone awry became a new form of monster.

Some victims who heard the news increased their dosage without medical guidance and died from cardiac arrest. If they didn’t take the suppressant, they would die from morphological mutation. If they did, they’d lose their minds after a year. With things like this, even those who had remained normal came under surveillance. It was a hopeless trap.

The drug-related attacks targeting only humans were still ongoing, and the human population had no defense against them. As the situation worsened, the government began focusing all efforts on capturing the perpetrators and developing a cure. Of course, it was done unofficially.

Putting all efforts into developing a cure—under that logic, survivors who had turned into monsters due to the drug’s side effects were no longer seen as human by those in power. Under the harsh pretext of national security, the infected were treated like test subjects. Neither money, power, nor nationality could protect them. Regardless of social status or how they were infected, anyone deemed abnormal was taken into experimental custody. There had been no exceptions. With limbs restrained, they were subjected to countless experiments until death was permitted.

In the midst of all this, yet another victim emerged. The person who was injected with the drug by the demi-human Cheon Wooshin killed at the hunting grounds was the second daughter of the CEO of Amseong Pharmaceuticals.

Once registered as an infected, one could freely receive suppressants or treatment support. But that was merely the last privilege allowed to a human—an excuse to place them under surveillance. Even with the suppressant, there was no way to avoid fatal side effects. Once the side effects occurred, one’s life as a human was over.

Knowing this, the CEO of Amseong Pharmaceuticals did not report the case and instead secretly tried to acquire suppressants for his daughter. As a result, he was arrested for the illegal distribution of national assets. The daughter disappeared without a trace.

“‘The Giver Bio’ had been developing the new drug with investment from the Cheonye Group. Most of the victims were people involved with it.”

The appearances and information of the people he had just seen flashed through Lee Yeonwoo’s mind. Drug development, investment, and the legislation to commercialize the developed drug—all key political and financial figures who could sway the country’s course had been involved.

“If the drug is developed, Lee Yeonwoo-ssi will no longer have to take the suppressant regularly.”

Lee Yeonwoo looked down at the small box of pills.

“That would mean… this won’t be needed anymore.”

It was a topic he had never even considered.

“It would allow one to control morphological shifts and heat cycles as effectively as a pure-blooded species.”

Lee Yeonwoo’s eyes widened. It sounded like something out of a fantasy. If such a thing became reality, the biggest standard used to differentiate purebloods from hybrids would disappear. The deeply rooted reason for inequality would vanish. Lee Yeonwoo tilted his head slightly.

“It would certainly be good for hybrids, but why make it?”

Investment and research followed profit. Why would anyone bother to make a drug for hybrids, a socially stigmatized and weaker group? Especially when they were considered a threat to humans. In response to his question, Cheon Wooshin answered.

“Because they’ve grown tougher and more cunning.”

The survival instincts of hybrids, whose footing had been weakened by inequality, had developed grotesquely over decades. They had become the hands and claws of others, willingly used for both legal and illegal means. With the power they had desperately acquired, they began to covet even more. If interests didn’t align, they bit or even killed their masters.

Developing the new drug was one way to address the social problems created by such hybrids. By compensating for the genetic limitations of hybrids, the goal was to dilute the intensity of inequality—clearly a meaningful direction in the long term.

The purpose and justification were understandable. But Lee Yeonwoo’s brows furrowed even deeper.

“Purebloods won’t like it… no, they’ll hate it.”

Purebloods regarded their superiority as a privilege—an untouchable sanctity. They considered interbreeding a fatal disgrace and were known for strictly managing reproduction. For such people to be treated the same as hybrids because of a mere suppressant? They would rather die.

“Could they have done this, perhaps?”

Even someone like Lee Yeonwoo, who was not a professional criminal analyst, could say this much. It wasn’t difficult to identify the motive and potential perpetrators based on what the victims had in common. Cheon Wooshin nodded lightly and continued.

Research into the drug revealed that it was made using the venom of purebloods. It was only with pureblood venom that it was possible to create something so aggressive and addictive that it could transform a human.

“It’s fastest to start with the most likely suspects.”

Could it be that the perpetrators included purebloods? Even if not, it was clear that the investigation must begin with them. As Cheon Wooshin said this, his brow furrowed visibly.

“It’s a bit tricky.”

If purebloods were involved, identifying the perpetrators would be a highly sensitive issue.

It had been 40 years since the war between humans and demi-humans ended. Written as an armistice but effectively a ceasefire, humans and demi-humans continued to compete for dominance while consuming limited resources on the same land. In such a situation, a biochemical attack using demi-human venom had occurred, and the leading suspects were purebloods. Even without this incident, the development of the new drug had been a thorn in their side—if they learned they were being suspected of related crimes…

“It would be on a completely different scale than the minor border skirmishes. We mustn’t stir things up in that direction.”

Cheon Wooshin, momentarily deep in thought, rubbed his chin with a faintly troubled expression.

“Purebloods have an insanely well-developed internal network. If we provoke them based only on circumstantial evidence, we might lose access to information or end up chasing ghosts.”

There was nothing to gain from provoking them in advance.

“Even if they’re not the perpetrators…”

A venom with no perfect antidote could be weaponized at any time. It was a venom that could turn ordinary humans into incomplete beasts. The suppressants that had been developed were merely stopgaps.

In a situation where the creator remained unknown, if the drug fell into the hands of other enemies—whether human or demi-human—a grim chapter in humanity’s history was bound to unfold.