Snake Venom Ch 25

Chapter 25

Lee Yeonwoo hadn’t even imagined it. Becoming a beast with a human body? Humans are just humans, even if they live mingled with beasts. The traits and habits of a demi-human—something he had never experienced and should never experience—seeping into one’s blood and cells would be close to a catastrophe.

“In order to develop a perfect cure, we absolutely need the original host of the venom.”

The antidote search began with identifying the venom’s original host. That was the prerequisite to developing it and saving humans who were treated like test subjects—preventing further damage. The venom, the origin and culprit of this incident, was also the most efficient solution to bring it to an end.

“So in other words—”

“I have to find the host of the venom.”

Yeonwoo abruptly spoke up.

It was the result of absorbing the overwhelming amount of information Cheon Wooshin had just laid out. To summarize, arresting and confirming each suspect would make the situation blow up on many fronts—so they intended to use him to quietly filter them out. With his keen sense of smell.

“The venom extracted from the drug belonged to a highly toxic snake and a pureblood.”

At Cheon Wooshin’s added explanation, Yeonwoo’s eyes sparkled. Just as he thought. A refreshing sense of accuracy welled up in him as he recalled the tube in his pocket—the aggressive and heavy scent of the venom. He vividly remembered how the moment he smelled it, goosebumps broke out and a chill ran down his spine. It wasn’t an ordinary poison.

“You’re right. The first thing we should do is find the host of the venom.”

Yeonwoo’s eyes gleamed.

“If we catch that person, not only can we make the antidote, but we’ll only need to investigate those connected to them—so the overall backlash from the pureblood society will definitely be less. The venom itself will be undeniable evidence, so they won’t be able to talk their way out of it.”

This was why they couldn’t neglect efforts to find the venom’s host while tracing the forces behind the scenes. Yeonwoo, who had untangled the complex situation in a single breath, began to speak excitedly.

A hand suddenly reached out from the passenger seat. Jung Suho gave him a silent thumbs-up in praise. Yeonwoo’s eyes shimmered with hope. Just two days ago, they had looked dull and dying—but now they were glittering brightly.

“If I catch that bastard, I can go home!”

Oops. He hadn’t meant to say it aloud—it just burst out. Cheon Wooshin gazed at Yeonwoo’s flushed cheeks. There was a flicker of amusement in his unreadable eyes.

“So, I was thinking of screening the most suspicious one right now.”

“Uh… right now?”

Yeonwoo wore a dazed expression. The sharpness from earlier seemed to vanish as various worries flooded his mind.

They had said there was no time, so he’d expected things to move quickly—but now? Other than being good at smelling things, what else could he even do? Weren’t they supposed to start with training or something? Really, now? Cheon Wooshin handed him something.

“How many of these do you usually take?”

“……”

In Cheon Wooshin’s large palm lay a pack of capsules, ten in total. Unlike the white pills Yeonwoo took every day, these had a reddish tint—but their appearance was still familiar. Yeonwoo stared down at them blankly, then looked up. The issue wasn’t the number of pills…

“The booster suppressant…”

It wasn’t as if Cheon Wooshin didn’t know. Yeonwoo trailed off, then rephrased his sentence.

“I’m not in heat right now.”

Not that it ever hit him hard enough to need those anyway. He swallowed the last words and took what Cheon Wooshin offered. Then, Cheon Wooshin spoke.

“Tessa Group. A company just as invested in biotech and genetic engineering as the Cheonye Group. Most of their shareholders are snakes and purebloods. Today marks the start of their two-week mating season.”

“……”

Mating season. An unfamiliar term. In any case, the fact he was given this probably meant he was supposed to take it. Yeonwoo hadn’t yet been told why he was given a booster suppressant and looked up at Cheon Wooshin. Their eyes briefly met. Cheon Wooshin smiled faintly.

“Maybe this is how they lure people in.”

Just like when they ate dumplings. Yeonwoo didn’t even have time to process the snide remark and the follow-up before a bundle of black clothes was thrown at his face.

He grabbed at it and looked down at what he held. A black jacket. After confirming the white shirt layered inside, Yeonwoo looked at Cheon Wooshin. Come to think of it, Cheon Wooshin, Lim Sehan, and Jung Suho were all wearing suits. A pair of pants followed, slapping Yeonwoo in the face before sliding off.

“This term might be unfamiliar to you, Lee-ssi. Mating season refers to the period when purebloods pair up—sometimes one-on-one, sometimes one with many—for planned reproduction.”

Yeonwoo looked down at the booster suppressant in his hand. If reproduction was the goal, then they had to engage physically during heat. During a heat where their rationality dissolved under exploding sexual desire, where their minds were soaked in lust. And both parties had to be in heat for conception to happen.

“Tessa Group holds an annual mass inbreeding event. We’re going to infiltrate as security personnel to protect them.”

From the front, Jung Suho muttered with his arms crossed, rubbing his forearm, “Ugh, perverts.”

So that’s why they gave him this. The strong pheromones of purebloods affected mixed-bloods. Early-onset heats or temporary partial transformations were examples. Of course, with the help of suppressants—especially booster suppressants—there shouldn’t be much of a problem, but Yeonwoo unconsciously lowered his head.

Maybe it was the trauma from what happened with the management staff and in the holding cell.

Among those who had ruined their lives and drifted into Sodom were purebloods. Yeonwoo had survived even them—those who captured others using their powerful heat scent—but still, he was a mosaic species. One small misstep, and he’d be marked as a special management subject—a bothersome, unstable existence. Over the past two days, he had come to feel that truth all too painfully.

“Have you had any issues so far?”

A low voice pierced into Yeonwoo’s ears as he fiddled with the pills. He raised his eyes to Cheon Wooshin. Cheon Wooshin’s calm, quiet gaze met his.

“You survived even that hellhole of a Sodom. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Whether it was because he only spoke truths, or because his gaze was unusually firm, Yeonwoo couldn’t tell. But the small anxieties that had been poking at him just moments ago started to fade.

Right, don’t worry ahead of time. Unlike before, when he could barely take a single suppressant pill, now he was planning to take a booster suppressant. Yeonwoo exhaled slowly.

He pressed on the capsule pack and popped out a pill. Just as he was about to swallow it without water, out of habit, Cheon Wooshin handed him a bottle of water.

“We’ve got plenty of tranquilizers for demi-humans.”

In case anything did happen, they could knock him out in one shot—that’s what he meant. In the worst-case scenario, that might actually be preferable. Yeonwoo nodded.

“Well, if that doesn’t work, I’ll just kill you cleanly.”

“……”

Yeonwoo’s fingers slipped while opening the cap. He stared at the man who casually talked about murder without blinking, with wide eyes. The black eyes that met his held no ripple, no emotion.

‘He’s… not joking.’

Suddenly, Cheon Wooshin’s mechanical shooting spree in Sodom came to mind. His terrifyingly cold marksmanship, and the heads that toppled before they even entered Yeonwoo’s field of vision. It was hard to stay calm.

“D-Do you know how nauseating this stuff is when you take it?”

Yeonwoo quickly changed the subject. Booster suppressants, used to further suppress already ongoing transformations or strong heat, were potent—and came with strong side effects. Yeonwoo had it worse than most because medicine didn’t sit well with him.

“Dizzy, queasy, just awful in general.”

As he quietly aired his grievances, Cheon Wooshin finally spoke.

“Want me to buy you rolled omelet?”

“……”

Yeonwoo had been sipping water to calm his burning throat. He paused briefly—then quickly popped out another capsule.

If it’s rolled omelet, that’s a different story.

“Just in case, I’ll take one more.”

The maximum safe dosage was three pills.

Yeonwoo emptied the whole water bottle and turned his head toward the window. The deep blue twilight had already faded into black night. Cheon Wooshin checked his wristwatch.

“Estimated arrival time is in 30 minutes. The list you need to remember was on the last page earlier.”

“If it’s that, I’ve memorized it all.”

The moment Cheon Wooshin mentioned the Tessa Group, Yeonwoo had recalled the appearances and names of the nine who were linked to both snakes and demi-humans.

Calm, passionate eyes turned toward Cheon Wooshin. Yeonwoo lifted the suit from his lap and asked,

“Should I change into this right away?”

Cheon Wooshin paused for a moment, then his eyes curved in a smile.

“I really did pick up something worthwhile.”

With a satisfied tone, he thumped the passenger seat with his shoe.