Chapter 176

Unexpected visits from women. The attitude of sneaking in under the radar, and the way she talked about the same group of people. It was an obvious ploy.
We can’t rule out the possibility that they’re being blackmailed into compliance. In fact, it’s the most plausible hypothesis. But that’s far from Chelsea’s concern.
The only thing to think about is the purpose of this ‘request’ and what’s about to happen.
We still don’t know how the septic tank is related to Brandon and Sarah’s disappearance. In order to get to the bottom of it, Kim Yi-hyun is helping out, even if it means putting on an unnecessary act.
“You’ll get a clue eventually.
Or not.
Boom!
The door opened again shortly after Kim followed the woman. Five men stepped into the narrow entryway of Room 301, and Kim could see a few things in common between them.
For example, that they have a weapon, whether it’s knuckles or a baseball bat or something crude, but a weapon nonetheless. That their faces reveal ugly desires.
There was no sign of guilt or hesitation.
“Pfft, what the hell, he’s gone off on his own.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m young, I’m not afraid of the world.”
They were originally going to attack at once if the three of them were led, but the man on guard separated them, which made things much easier.
“Come on, guys, let’s get this over with.”
“What. You like it that much? Who’s on the left, who’s on the right.”
“Haha, asshole, you had the most fun pretending to be something you’re not?”
“Mr. Ao. Not that.”
The youngest man in the group was impressed.
“You know that guy who just went upstairs, he’s in a bad mood.”
“The atmosphere is bullshit.”
“No, I can’t really put my finger on it….”
A man who introduced himself as Pavel. He used to be a professional guard, but now he’s just a handyman. He didn’t seem very motivated, saying he was “just doing a favor.
But I had a hunch that looks weren’t everything.
It had the refined ferocity of a beast with claws hidden.
Dangerous in a different sense than back-alley dreariness.
“Anyway, fun later. Hold on and-”
A few people looked away for a moment.
Blame!
Inside the living room, Leone stomped the ground. It’s not a large room. A quick check of her opponent’s armament revealed no guns or ranged weapons like crossbows.
The ensuing battle would be a hand-to-hand combat in a small room. As soon as Leone concludes that she can overwhelm them, she springs into action. Midway through her charge, her spell activates, giving her a ridiculous amount of momentum.
This naturally led to anomalous behavior.
“Yikes…!”
The man in front of her swung his bat. Before it had traveled halfway, Leone twisted at the waist and swung her legs like a whip, striking the man’s arm.
I spun half a lap, letting the centrifugal force carry me. His elbow jammed into the man’s outstretched hand. The body that tumbled backward crushed two people, delaying their movement.
“You bitch, where are you going!”
A knuckled fist approaches from the right.
Leone’s mind wasn’t fast enough to remember in the heat of the moment. But her body remembered her training. Edwin had taught her how to fight.
Edwin was not a stingy instructor.
-That’s martial arts, and I don’t really know how to do that.
-I’ve never learned it, and I’m not really interested in learning it…?
-I tend to follow my heart when it comes to fighting.
It’s just that I don’t know what I’m teaching.
So Edwin opted for a simpler teaching approach.
-Does it hurt? This is my fist.
-Does this also hurt? This is a kick.
-Dizzy? Uppercut.
Leone’s flesh is etched with many, many pains.
‘Much slower than Edwin’s.’
He didn’t move a step, just turned his head to avoid the punch. He grabbed the forearm across the side of his head and hoisted it over his shoulder. The man flinched as his body was lifted.
“Uh, hey, hey, hey, stop…!”
Poof!
I landed on top of them as they scrambled around. Unlike in training, there were no mats here. Men were sprawled on the porch in hands that showed no mercy, not even a little force.
A few have even been knocked unconscious. Leone’s spell-enhanced strength vaguely exceeds that of an adult male. It’s just that she hasn’t had to fight much.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa……!”
On top of all that, this was Leone’s first real battle since escaping the school. Not even against a Parasite, but against a fellow human. A strange hormonal boost lifted her spirits.
so it narrows the field of view a bit.
A hand protruded from among the bodies of the men at his feet. The dagger in its grasp was chillingly foreboding. The blade slithered like a snake, aiming for Leone’s ankle.
It was a stroke of conversion, but the attempt was thwarted.
Bam!
“Aaaahhh!”
A bullet from behind pierced the back of the man’s hand. Leone looked down, stunned. She couldn’t hide her dismay as she realized the dagger.
I’m surprised I didn’t notice the dagger,
He was surprised by the help he didn’t expect.
“How did you get that angle to look right?
No, but don’t you usually hesitate?
A slight miss would have hit your ally.
But gratitude was another story.
“Go, thank you.”
“No problem, but keep your head cool when you fight.”
“Yes?”
“I know, you’ve done the math. I get your point, but it makes it harder for me to get cover, too.”
Still holding the gun, Chelsea added.
“When you’re alone, do as you please, when you’re in a group, do as you please.”
“…Oh, I see, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, I’m just surprised you did better than I expected.”
Not long after the situation was cleaned up, Kim returned. He had no reaction to seeing his teammates lying around like trash.
It was a no-brainer.
“Are they both okay?”
“As you can see, I was just hanging out, the trainee did all the work.”
“Leone?”
“It’s moving well, isn’t it?”
“Oh, no. Thanks for the cover….”
I’m not exaggerating, Chelsea was really impressed. He hit a parasite with a baseball bat. It was a performance that showed why Kim was brought in separately.
“That’s pretty typical, by the way.”
Chelsea reached over and stomped on the gaping hand with her foot. A pained groan escaped her. Even the sane ones were struggling to their feet.
“What does this have to do with missing persons?”
“I’ll figure it out later, since I went to all this trouble.”
“Where’s that woman from earlier?”
“Room 702. I just stunned them all.”
Kim studied the faces of the raiders. Some young, some not so young, some relatively old. There were some he hadn’t seen before, as if they’d been hiding somewhere all this time.
After looking at each one, he frowned.
“There’s no one important.”
Five people here. Four in room 702.
I can’t see the leader, Biya.
Soon enough, a noise from outside answered the question.
The sound of a car starting up. Kim ran straight to the veranda. After a moment of looking out, she saw an old station wagon pulling out of the parking lot.
It was not the car that Kim drove, but the one given to the septic tank. To transport and move food and necessities. If you break it, you have to pay compensation.
“Is he crazy.”
He must have taken off running as soon as he heard the gunshots. He’s a fast one. It was ridiculous, but I had no intention of letting him go.
“Chelsea. Please.”
He didn’t even have to pull out a big weapon. A semi-automatic rifle [Garand] fell into Chelsea’s hands. Over the past two years, Chelsea had fully adapted to the Spell, and Kim authorized her to take AP-116.
Chelsea can now adjust the strength of the rounds, even with the magazines combined. It’s a few steps up as a shooter, as she uncomfortably racks the rifle on the porch.
There was no reason to watch from the sidelines. Kim made a [tactical hook]. Using the hook and wire, he quickly climbed down from the apartment.
-Taang!
Before I could run to my car, a gunshot rang out above me.
The bullet hit a tire. The car’s balance is suddenly thrown off. The car veered off course and hit a bench. As the shooting continued, the car stopped moving forward.
Click!
Biya was quick to act. He slammed the door open and escaped from the car. He pointed a pistol of unknown origin at Kim.
It was a futile effort.
“Boom!”
Before he could squeeze the trigger, Kim’s [Wembley Mark] slammed into the barrel of his gun. The recoil caused Biya to lose her grip. She couldn’t even try to pick it up again.
“Are you done?”
That grave stare.
It was as frightening as, if not more so than, the muzzle of a gun pointed at him. I wouldn’t have been so frightened if he’d shown any anger, but he’s just calm, not the least bit agitated.
“You guys don’t seem to have any qualms about doing this shit.”
A human being who doesn’t have to hate, who doesn’t have to be angry to pull the trigger. Just as Biya had harmed others without any sense of guilt, she recognized the man in front of her as being in a similar category.
“Me neither. I could kill you all here and it wouldn’t be a sin.”
Biya was forced to realize what my mistake had been.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have touched it in the first place.
I should have stayed down until it went away. It didn’t take much thought to realize that. The fact that there were only three of us walking around the city is a sign of confidence.
Complacency and greed clouded my eyes.
“Give me a reason why you should live.”
Poof, the hammer came down.
Last chance.
Now I had no choice but to open my mouth.
“You said you were looking for a missing person at ……?”
“Do you know anything?”
“Yes, of course.”
Fortunately, Biya had information that would cost him his life.
“To be honest, we were going to be missing two people from our group anyway.”
“What do you mean, be specific.”
“One girl, one guy. I hear they’re lovers, and that’s good.”
Kim quickly realized who he was referring to. The woman who was trying to lead him on, and the man who was being held captive for some reason.
“I was going to sell it.”
“Human trafficking? Outside the city?”
“I see you still don’t get it.”
“Don’t pause, unless you want to be the guy who can only move his mouth.”
The thought of actual torture sent a cold sweat down her spine.
“…there is a cluster of infected people in this neighborhood.”
Infected population?
Kim’s eyebrows twitched. Until a few hours ago, he’d assumed this was just a side effect of the ‘cleanup’ operation.
Kilikia is a stuffy city, if you can call it that.
Wherever you go, you’re recorded, and the gap between rich and poor is stark. Marginalized groups that have been discriminated against in many ways have a lot of grievances. When they are free from the scrutiny of the law and machines, they are bound to let loose.
I used to think it was a common occurrence, a manifestation of human nature in a lawless land.
“The more you dig, the weirder it gets.
It seemed like there was a bigger issue involved.
Villa’s subsequent comments confirmed the speculation.
“They’re buying people there.”
There’s no wind in my sails.