Chapter 44 - The Anger of Self-Reproach
Blood vessels filled with anger in Woo Hyun-woo’s eyes.
That anger was directed at the Sacheon Samsa and the new Gangnam Samung who killed Fire Bear and Moon Bear, but.
Due to the guilt he felt towards Polar Bear, he was also angry at himself.
【Boss, it might sound like an excuse, but.】
Polar Bear said, crying.
【Even though we’ve beaten many people… we’ve never killed anyone.】
The Murim Alliance protection service.
At first glance, it seems like a wholesome service that protects people and receives money, but behind the scenes, there was also a murder-for-hire business.
They would say they had no choice but to kill as part of protection, reducing damage to their image and slipping away from criticism like eels.
However, Gangnam Samung really only protected, they never killed.
【I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but even then, we didn’t come to kill. We just wanted to rough them up a bit and warn them not to mess around anymore. Not that it was right to do even that…】
As Polar Bear said this while sniffling, Woo Hyun-woo’s heart softened. In fact, organization bosses entering the bodies of beautiful girls might not be a concept like tattoos, but rather to instill loyalty in their subordinates and survive against enemies with their pretty appearances.
While harboring such doubts.
Of course, he didn’t fully believe Polar Bear’s words because of those doubts. How could he pretend to be good after barging in to kill Eris?
So even after arriving at the Polar Bear Bakery, he didn’t go in right away but observed the situation. Fire Bear was already dead, but Moon Bear was still alive.
If he had gone in right away, he could have saved him.
Nevertheless, he wasn’t sure. Should he save those guys? Polar Bear pledged loyalty to Fantasia, but was there any guarantee Moon Bear would do the same─
While thinking this, the conversation between Shin Moon Bear and Moon Bear began. As he listened to that conversation, he realized.
These guys, they really never killed anyone.
But by the time he realized, it was already too late. Crack, it was after Moon Bear’s head was crushed.
He could have saved at least Moon Bear.
Now he won’t be able to face Polar Bear.
So he got angry.
He got angry at himself.
At myself, who assumed there must be a dirty side despite knowing what kind of person Moon Bear was after meeting him directly.
It was a moment when I keenly felt why Eris doesn’t doubt people.
“…10 seconds have passed. Any bastards still alive, bang your heads. You’ve really ruined my mood today.”
For 10 seconds, Shin Fire Bear, Shin Moon Bear, and the Sacheon Samsa were in shock.
Shin Polar Bear dies in one hit?
Although Shin Polar Bear is treated as an odd-job worker because he can’t handle hidden weapons despite being from Sacheon Dangmun, he was still strong, having trained both external and internal martial arts evenly.
Of course, there might be many people who could kill someone like Shin Polar Bear in one hit, but at least he shouldn’t die to a human without special abilities.
“H-how…”
As Shin Fire Bear muttered in confusion, his eyes met Woo Hyun-woo’s.
Red eyes.
His breath was taken away by that eerie red color.
“You talked about whether my head was cracked or whatever, right?”
“Huh…?”
Woo Hyun-woo appeared right in front of him.
His movement wasn’t even visible.
Shin Fire Bear couldn’t tell if what he was seeing was real or not.
“Then I’ll crack your head too.”
Bang!
Woo Hyun-woo throws a punch.
Shin Fire Bear’s face is crushed.
Blood bursts.
The fist pierces through his head.
He died without making a sound.
“H-huaaaaaaah!”
When Shin Moon Bear saw Shin Polar Bear and Shin Fire Bear, who were stronger than him, die, he screamed and collapsed. His legs had no strength, and he couldn’t get up.
“Hey, newbie.”
Woo Hyun-woo slowly walked towards Shin Moon Bear. He didn’t move quickly like when he killed Shin Fire Bear. He could have run away if he wanted to.
But the air was heavy.
He couldn’t get up.
Shin Moon Bear wanted to run away, but he had no strength.
“What did you say to Moon Bear earlier? Weakling?”
Thump, thump, the sound of slow walking envelops the warehouse.
“Then I struggled against that weakling.”
─ If you lose to me who struggled against that weakling, what does that make you?
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“There’s a limit to how much I can listen.”
Blue Snake and Red Snake simultaneously pounced on Woo Hyun-woo.
Blue Snake aimed for Woo Hyun-woo’s head, Red Snake for his legs.
Blue Snake with his right fist, Red Snake with his left foot.
Poison needles were embedded at the tips.
『Blue Snake and Red Snake are trying to use poison needles!』
“Slow.”
Snap! Without any preliminary movement, Woo Hyun-woo grabbed Blue Snake’s wrist and Red Snake’s ankle.
“H-how!”
Blue Snake and Red Snake tried to break free, but it was useless. Woo Hyun-woo’s grip was stronger than their arm and leg strength.
“Every time I see snakes, I wonder. Do poisonous snake bastards die if they’re injected with poison?”
“N-no!”
Blue Snake and Red Snake screamed pitifully, but Woo Hyun-woo immediately put it into action. As Woo Hyun-woo pulled as if bringing his arms together, Blue Snake’s fist and Red Snake’s foot stabbed each other’s bodies.
“I don’t know what kind of poison it is. But I hope it’s a paralytic, right? That way you won’t die and will live.”
“F-f-fuck…”
But the poison wasn’t a paralytic. Blue Snake and Red Snake’s faces turned purple, and then they died.
“Wow, scary. Were you trying to use this poison on me?”
Woo Hyun-woo threw away the dead Blue Snake and Red Snake like trash.
“Ah, ah, aah…”
When Blue Snake and Red Snake died so easily, Shin Moon Bear screamed and backed away. But backing away while sitting down was slower than Woo Hyun-woo’s walking speed.
“Where are you going? Shouldn’t you follow your brothers?”
“Black Snake, please save me!”
Shin Moon Bear, with a miraculous desire to live, stood up and ran to Sacheon Black Snake.
“I certainly didn’t expect Blue Snake and Red Snake to die too… You’re quite good, aren’t you?”
Sacheon Black Snake cracked her finger joints as if nothing had happened even though Blue Snake and Red Snake had died.
Crack crack… Every time she cracks her finger joints, there’s a bone sound.
“You’re not affected at all even though your family died?”
“Family? Why are they family when we don’t share a drop of blood?”
“You’re cold-hearted.”
“Still, I’m a bit sorry about the bald one. He was really big down there.”
At these words that made him doubt if she was human, Woo Hyun-woo recalled Polar Bear.
The image of him begging, throwing away his pride, saying they were brothers even though they didn’t share a drop of blood, asking to save his younger siblings.
Even trash like Banana Man’s Porina was enraged when his subordinates died, but Sacheon Black Snake isn’t affected at all.
“I see, so that’s why you’re a snake bastard. Just like a viper that kills its mother without recognizing her.”
“Huh? Vipers don’t actually kill their mothers.”
“It’s meaningless to talk with a psychopath who can’t even understand metaphors.”
Anyway, he can kill someone like Shin Moon Bear anytime. Now it’s right to focus on Sacheon Black Snake in front of him.
『Combat Power: 2,210』
Sacheon Black Snake’s combat power was 2,210.
On the other hand, Woo Hyun-woo’s combat power was 2,270, theoretically, Woo Hyun-woo should win normally.
But Woo Hyun-woo had this thought.
If two people at this level clash, isn’t a mere difference of 60 in combat power not that much?
He doesn’t know what criteria are used to calculate combat power. The system will coldly not give victory reward combat power even if the difference is just a little more.
But Mohanya said not to think of combat power as the indicator for all fights, and this shouldn’t just be a problem with guns─
‘The opponent uses poison too.’
He must not let his guard down.
He doesn’t let his guard down thinking he can win.
Woo Hyun-woo looked around to grasp everything he could use.
There were many sacks of flour because it was a bakery warehouse. Besides that, there was a ladder, and various sizes of canned ingredients for bread were fully stocked in cabinets.
And even a fire extinguisher in case of fire.
‘I’ve grasped the surrounding environment.’
Woo Hyun-woo quickly reached into his inner pocket and pulled out his sashimi knife.
Snap! He throws the sashimi knife using body energy.
The target is Sacheon Black Snake’s neck.
Sacheon Black Snake is from the Murim Alliance, so she won’t use guns.
If her neck is pierced, the game ends right there.
But Sacheon Black Snake bent her upper body backward. Her flexibly snake-like bent upper body stably touched the ground, and when the sashimi knife cut through the air, she sprung her waist back up to stand properly.
“Do you think I’m called a snake just because I’m despised? That’s a big misunderstanding.”
Sacheon Black Snake smiled and took a step.
『Sacheon Black Snake is trying to use Strange Snake Movement!』
Woo Hyun-woo doesn’t know what Strange Snake Movement is.
Because Woo Hyun-woo doesn’t know Chinese characters.
He could know if he read the detailed explanation, but he doesn’t have time for that.
‘Then.’
It’s foolish to take a hit when someone is trying to do something. Woo Hyun-woo quickly moved to create distance from Sacheon Black Snake.
But Sacheon Black Snake was fast too.
Wrapping purple internal energy around her feet, she ran in a strange zigzag pattern, making it impossible to predict her path. Purple snake-like afterimages remain in the air as if a snake had crawled here and there.
‘As expected, I shouldn’t judge the outcome based on combat power alone.’
And then,
『Sacheon Black Snake is trying to use poison needles!』
Pip pip pip!
As she quickly flicked her wrist, 4 poison needles flew. Woo Hyun-woo quickly threw his body to the ground and slid. The 4 poison needles cut through the air, and the sliding Woo Hyun-woo got closer to the flour sacks.
“As expected of a dog bastard, you’re busy running away!”
Sacheon Black Snake endlessly pursued with Strange Snake Movement. She throws poison needles downward towards the sliding Woo Hyun-woo.
Woo Hyun-woo quickly rolled on the ground to avoid the poison needles. Pip pip pip pip pip! The poison needles stuck into the ground, threatening as if chasing the rolling Woo Hyun-woo.
But in the end, Woo Hyun-woo wasn’t hit by the poison needles, and,
“Hey, do you like flour?”
He grabbed and lifted a flour sack. The poison needles that Sacheon Black Snake had thrown before stuck into the flour sack.
Pa ba bak!
As holes are punctured, the poison needles enter the flour sack. Even the quickly flying poison needles lost their power when buried in the dense flour.
Instead, the poison melted the flour into a slimy mess.
“Wow, fuck, if you get hit by that, you’d be done for.”
“Don’t worry, if you sleep with me, I can suck out the poison.”
“Who would do it with a fucking gay bastard like you?”
Although his words were provocative, the compatibility is not good.
If she had attacked with poison needles attached to her body like Blue Snake or Red Snake, it might have been different, but moving strangely while throwing from a distance is quite tricky.
Moreover, he doesn’t know if long-range attacks are all she has. When trying to attack at close range, an unexpected technique could come flying.
‘This is why they say know your enemy and know yourself.’
But knowing yourself and your enemy isn’t all there is to tactics.
Woo Hyun-woo grinned as a brilliant idea came to him and lifted the huge flour sack.
“Shall we play hide and seek for a moment?”
And he tore open the flour sack and swung it around, scattering flour everywhere. A large amount of flour flew around, making Sacheon Black Snake cough.
“Cough cough! What is this? You’re trying to hide with just this? Do you think it’ll work?”
“You’ll see if you watch, fuck, just wait a bit.”
Woo Hyun-woo was already at the fire extinguisher. After pulling out the safety pin, he fired it towards where he had scattered the flour, and,
Whoosh!
The flour and fire extinguisher powder mixed around Sacheon Black Snake, obscuring her vision. As Sacheon Black Snake found it hard to breathe and tried to escape,
Soon, a strange sound is heard.
Thud! Clang…
The sound of something falling over and cans dropping on the floor.
‘Could it be?’
Sacheon Black Snake, while running to escape the smoke, stepped on something, slipped, and fell backward.
It was a can.
‘Ugh!’
Because of the smoke, she couldn’t see properly and stepped on a rolling can without realizing it. Sacheon Black Snake briefly flew into the air, and,
She saw it.
“Wow, you can see below well from up here?”
Woo Hyun-woo perched on the ladder.
But only for a moment.
She wanted to throw poison needles, but the smoke obscured and hid Woo Hyun-woo.
And from within the smoke, Woo Hyun-woo jumped down while grabbing the ladder.
An attack that would be impossible with normal human strength, but possible because of his 2,270 combat power.
“Ladders are long.”
He swings the grabbed ladder in a full circle and slams it down on the floor,
The floor where Sacheon Black Snake is lying.
Bang!
“Aaaaargh!”
The ladder struck Sacheon Black Snake’s stomach hard.
Sacheon Black Snake screamed and looked around, but couldn’t see anything because of the smoke.
“It’s good because it’s long, right?”
Since he hit with a long ladder from the start, there was some distance.
“As much as I’d like to play around more with this bitch and then kill her.”
─ I’m the type to never let my guard down in a fight.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
And so, Woo Hyun-woo repeatedly slammed the ladder down on Sacheon Black Snake without even giving her time to leave last words.
Sacheon Black Snake just screamed and finally stopped breathing.
『You have won a fight against a weak enemy. Your combat power increases slightly.』
Thud!
Woo Hyun-woo threw the ladder where Sacheon Black Snake had been, ending the fight.
And as the smoke gradually cleared, Shin Moon Bear, trembling with fear, was revealed.
Shin Moon Bear screamed at the sight of Woo Hyun-woo’s red eyes slowly appearing from the smoke.
There’s no one left to help him. No one to rely on.
“F-fucking monster.”
“You’re a weakling and a bastard.”
Crack!
That was the last conversation Shin Moon Bear had before dying.