True Immortal Heart-Chapter 36: The System’s Punishment

After their frank conversation, Dusk and Viper began discussing the next steps they needed to take. First was the matter of talent selection—only then could they move on to other tasks.

"Do you have any candidates worthy of becoming the first generation of Heart Masters?" Dusk asked.

"Give me a moment," Viper replied, fingers rapidly tapping across her laptop keyboard as if she were pulling up confidential data.

Moments later, she turned the laptop screen toward Dusk. Displayed were nine faces—six of whom he neither recognized by face nor by name.

"Who are they?" he asked.

"Let me give you a quick rundown. You should at least be somewhat familiar with Silas, Mirella, and Aldric. As for the other six, they are the branch leaders—our most skilled and fiercely loyal members. These are the people I can trust to form the first generation," she said, pointing at the screen as she spoke.

Dusk leaned in to examine the profiles more closely:

Ravon Draekel—Responsible for handling internal organizational structure, including dealing with traitors and managing personnel.

Celeste Marrowind—head of Viper’s intelligence division, with deep connections even within the criminal underworld.

Thorne Vexley oversees all protection rackets and weapons trafficking operations for the syndicate.

Inigo Valez—expert in smuggling and high-stakes negotiation.

Miraen Duskfall—Manages both espionage and internal assassinations.

Garran Holt—financial specialist, primarily in charge of money laundering.

"If they’re doing everything, then what’s left for you? Sit around and relax?" Dusk asked after reading through the files.

He wasn’t exactly sure what a mafia boss was supposed to do, but it seemed to him that all the essential roles had already been delegated.

’Isn’t she just passing off all the work?’ he thought.

"What do you even know about leadership? A true leader isn’t someone who does everything themselves. A true leader is the one who unites everyone toward a common goal. If a leader insists on doing everything alone, it only proves how small and fragile their organization really is," Viper scoffed, clearly unimpressed by his ignorance.

Dusk had never been a leader before? Of course he hadn’t. To him, leadership always seemed like a tedious burden. Being a free spirit, doing whatever he pleased, sounded far more enjoyable than carrying the weight of authority.

’Might as well treat this as a learning experience. If the Great Love Guild actually succeeds one day, I’ll at least know how to run it better than going in blind.’

Dusk mused, silently taking mental notes of everything she said, ignoring her attitude entirely.

Noticing him drifting off in thought, Viper called out.

"Hey! Want to learn? Just say the word, and I’ll teach you."

"Huh? I have zero intention of becoming a mafia boss. What would you even be teaching me for?"

"You’d better not be eyeing my position, or I’ll make sure your grave is extra fancy," she threatened outright.

Though she often treated him with a teasing tone, Viper was not someone who tolerated threats to her interests. If he truly crossed the line, she wouldn’t hesitate to make him pay for it.

"Let’s drop the jabs before someone gets offended. Let’s talk about these candidates first. Silas seems capable, but the others... Are they actually any good in combat? It’d be a waste to have power but not know how to fight," Dusk asked.

After all, of the people she had introduced to him, only some seemed like they even operated in fields that required physical force.

"Don’t worry about that. Except for Aldric, who has zero talent for fighting, the rest are at least competent. But more importantly, their loyalty and unique capabilities are what make them worth the investment," Viper replied.

"If you trust them, then good. Let’s move on to our actual plan of action. Are you planning to kill ten people a week or take out a hundred in one go? Hearts don’t lose their effectiveness even when frozen, you know. Just make sure they’re kept frozen—refrigerated won’t cut it," Dusk said.

To this, Viper only shook her head in disapproval.

Her reaction puzzled him.

’No killing? Then what are we supposed to do instead?’

"You’re shaking your head? What’s that supposed to mean? Trying to act mysterious or something?" Dusk frowned, his tone tinged with irritation.

Suddenly, a seemingly insignificant memory from the last 300 years surfaced in his mind. His eyes widened in shock as he turned to her, staring as if he were seeing her for the first time.

"You’re planning to use the hearts of people who’ve just died... to avoid having to kill anyone yourself?" he asked, stunned.

He hadn’t expected someone who had only recently come into contact with the concept of Heart Masters to be capable of thinking so thoroughly.

In the 300 years of his previous life, he had heard of such a method—used in the early days when a large number of Heart Masters were being created.

Back then, death was a common occurrence. To avoid letting those deaths go to waste, someone had devised a way to harvest hearts immediately after death.

Dusk had never bothered to remember the exact process. By that time, he had already become a Heart Master himself.

Finding a group of Heart Masters of equal rank who had just died was practically impossible—so he had dismissed the method entirely.

Viper blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected Dusk’s brain to actually work that well—he’d figured out her plan within seconds. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Based on what you told me earlier, I feel like this approach is quite feasible. But... are there any limitations? Like, how long after death is the heart still usable?" she asked.

Though she was clever, she lacked the deeper knowledge required to be certain that her decision was flawless.

Fortunately, a living ’encyclopedia’ was standing right in front of her to explain these things.

"There’s no exact rule since everyone’s body is a little different. But one thing’s certain—after thirty minutes, the heart becomes useless. I’d recommend extracting the heart immediately after death and freezing it if you want to preserve it long-term. And make sure you include the freezing time within that thirty-minute window. Don’t mix that up," Dusk said after thinking for a moment.

Of course, the thirty-minute limit only applied to mortals. For high-ranking Heart Masters, their hearts could last days without losing potency.

’Not a bad idea, honestly. If I just sneak into a hospital, I could easily get my hands on a heart without killing anyone.’

As this opportunistic thought flickered through his mind, a mechanical voice suddenly cut through, shattering his train of thought.

[Detected: Master has exhibited a cowardly and disgraceful mindset unbecoming of a supreme villain. The system has altered the mission requirements. In order to reach Rank 1, the master must personally slay a demon. No exceptions.]