Chapter 12: Blade of Poison

"Remarkable, not only do you possess speed, but also strength," the raspy and gravelly voice reverberated once more.

Suddenly, a pair of radiant emerald eyes narrowed as an enigmatic figure materialized from the darkness. The man had an imposing physique with bulging muscles and a dominant aura.

Clad in black tactical attire, his lengthy jet-black hair flowed down his back. Multiple scars blemished his mouth and eyes, masking his ruggedly handsome features.

Jin, who stood at an impressive 195cm in height with a muscular build, paled in comparison to the towering figure before him, who appeared to have undergone rigorous military training and was 215cm tall.

"Why don't you join us, the Pudong Tiger Mafia? A man like you, I'm confident my subordinates would mistake you for an adversary."

The brawny man snarled with a menacing undertone as he glared down at Jin, who cowered and examined the blood oozing from his right cheek.

…

Jin struggled to catch his breath in the complete darkness of the first floor of the supermarket building.

Despite the lack of light, the platform they fought on allowed both parties to see with seemingly trained eyes.

The sound of blood dripping echoed through the silence as Jin huddled down, peering through narrowed eyes at the knife in his opponent's hand.

"This is no ordinary tactical knife," Jin thought inwardly. The bonus of 15% physical defense from his vest, along with his enchanted attributes, were not something to take lightly.

Moreover, the reason he looked at his blood was due to a sense of dizziness that overwhelmed his mind, unlike his hunger state. It felt more like a painful electric sting that kept jolting his mind.

As if confirming his suspicions, the game screen suddenly flashed before his eyes. The appearance of the screen was usually triggered by two scenarios: either he touched a new weapon or item, or his skills were activated.

[Your body has been injured and you are poisoned by an unknown poison!]

[Your wounds have been healed!]

"I see, so it's truly a special knife," Jin muttered while slowly assuming his stance, standing up and gripping the shotgun with both hands before aiming it properly at the target.

Strangely, despite the notification of activation, only his passive skill Regeneration gave him a game screen.

On the other hand, the effects of his ferocious hunger or bloodthirst only appeared without triggering a game screen.

"It might be because this screen does not indicate the activation of regeneration but rather an attack that is threatening him?" Jin roughly speculated inwardly.

If that's the case, then it's possible that infections from before or previous poison attacks could endanger his life. But if that's true, why didn't the game screen inform him when he was roasted alive before?

Unknowingly lost in thought, Jin's delay in responding made the other party look displeased.

"So, I take it as a no?" the enemy asked, but seeing Jin's determination and stubborn refusal made the other party look at him with disappointment in his eyes.

"It's a pity that even with the sudden changes in the world, ordinary people are still as foolish as they've always been," he sneered.

Though his sarcasm had no effect on Jin, his demeanor suddenly became grave and stern, and the air around him seemed to make people want to surrender as he gripped the knife with one hand.

As his eyes scanned the surroundings, his slit pupils trembled slightly upon catching a glimpse of a thick iron door sealed by some kind of natural fibers, specifically Manila rope made from abaca plants.

A closer inspection revealed a slight continuous knock on the thick iron door that was being sealed. "Is that what they wanted to keep?"

Jin's mind raced as he heard several footsteps approaching and gathering towards his position. "It seems so," but just after Jin discovered their little secret, he felt something amiss from the man before him.

"Then it's time for you to die," the man spoke as a familiar blinding light filled Jin's vision.

The muscular man moved, and somehow, it caused a gust of wind to blast through the area, slightly pushing the rolling racks on display.

Jin, having his vision suddenly blinded by the light, cursed as he felt the man approach him. "Fucking cheater," his words echoed.

Despite cursing, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his lips, followed by a clanking sound of a metallic clash.

[Skill: Gunslinger Activated!]

[A temporary 10% increase in firearm accuracy and reload speed has been applied for 20 seconds!]

[Any critical hits dealt during the skill's duration will deal an additional 75% damage!]

Clank!

The sharp tactical knife was attempting to slit Jin's neck, but the tightness of his vest and small gap between his neck caused the knife to bounce off instead of piercing through.

"GAH!" The attacker widened his eyes in surprise as a tremendous force pushed him back. He couldn't understand how it was possible for the knife to bounce off instead of piercing through Jin's neck.

On the other hand, taking advantage of the surprised attacker, Jin adjusted his vision as the blinding light pointed in another direction.

"This armor is really great!" he thought inwardly as he regained his footing and held the gun high on his shoulder.

With his elbow bent, he aimed like someone pulling a bowstring, and his slit-amber eyes finally locked onto the obstructed blurry shadows. He pulled the trigger.

BAM!

A spark of fire, despite being modified to be silent and to stun enemies, failed to betray the critical damage that pierced through the veil of dust in front of him. At the same time, an empty shotgun shell ejected from the magazine tube.

With swift hands, Jin loaded another shotgun shell into the magazine tube in a matter of seconds, and the shotgun was ready to fire again.

Jin sneered triumphantly, his eyes fixated on the muscular man lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from multiple bullet holes.

The air around him was thick with the scent of blood and his killing intent was palpable.

As he was about to pull the trigger, several bright lights suddenly illuminated the area, catching Jin off guard.

"Bratt, drop your weapons now, and we will ensure your safety!" one of the voices demanded.

"Drop your weapons and run with your tail between your legs, and maybe we'll consider sparing your life, ahahah!" another voice taunted.

Despite the threatening voices and the glaring lights blinding his vision, Jin tried to catch a glimpse of their faces.

"Is this what you call the Pudong Tiger Mafia?" he said mockingly, a hint of amusement in his voice.

He estimated there were more than five enemies based on the number of flashlights surrounding him, meaning he was outnumbered and outgunned.

In addition, Jin was just a security guard used to handling one or two intruders or troublemakers at once.

The enemy had guns and was skilled in killing, with their leader, a muscular man, seeming to be a former war veteran, giving him a clear disadvantage.

"They're good, using light to limit my actions," Jin muttered. Though their plan was perfect, they somehow missed crucial parts.

However, the more than five flashlights were enough for him to see his surroundings.

Meanwhile, the people who were surrounded by the situation stood dumbfounded, watching this crazed man. But soon, veins of rage began popping as one of them couldn't stand it any longer.

"This bastard! Do you think I'm your father?! Kill this punk!"

"Make his corpse so disfigured that his mother won't recognize him anymore, hahaha!"

"Boss, may we have your permission?"

However, just as one of them asked the muscular man, he glared at his underlings with bloodshot eyes. His lack of breathy voices and wavering focus told him that there was something unusual about this brat.

"Ki-Kill him!" His words rang through the entire floor. The men surrounding him grinned and chuckled upon receiving their superior's orders.

However, they didn't realize they were slightly distracted by their emotions. By the time they saw their target, he was already gone.

"Fuck!" One of them cursed, and the several flashlights scattered like stars in the middle of the night as they tried to find Jin, who was smiling in the darkness.

BAM!

A gunshot was heard, and the people desperately searching for Jin finally caught a glimpse of his shadow.

He had aimed his shotgun at the iron door before him.

Cut ropes were seen on the floor as the doors slowly opened, emitting a chilling and cold air that spread towards them. Behind the darkness of the door were several pairs of red eyes staring at them.

"O-Oh no!"

"R-Run!"

Those groups were panic-stricken, and their horrified eyes were clearly displayed in their gazes, but their legs betrayed the command of their minds as they kept shaking.

"F-Fuck, m-movve!" Some of them even suddenly became limp and were sitting on the ground, looking at the door with their hands pointing at Jin.

BAM!

"Fuck you!" Hands trembling, holding a Glock 9mm, a shot was fired but instead of hitting Jin, it bounced and caused the bullets to enter the deep part of the place behind the iron doors.

Suddenly, several hoarse human screams were heard from inside. Simultaneously, several figures flashed before them. Fresh blood was drawn, and sparks of fire were seen firing from their guns.

"Immediately retreat, get those reinforcements here!" The muscular man who was being surrounded by multiple pairs of red eyes was shouting with a fierce and bloodshot gaze.

He used the knife in his hands to slit multiple Blood Slaves, but the numbers of Blood Slaves were too many. Added with his previous injuries, he began showing signs of exhaustion.

Seeing their leader surrounded and still struggling to fight, the underlings who had almost given up their lives immediately picked up their guns.

"Fire! Shoot this monster! Kill them!" Their eyes burned with the intention to kill. They knew they couldn't escape, so they shot with the guns in their hands.

Countless empty bullet casings stacked up on the ground. Their skills were shown as they quickly replaced the old magazines with new ones.

"GRRR!" Screams of Blood Slaves mixed with their comrades, but they kept firing. However, amidst this intense moment, their leader's scream echoed through the floor, causing the perfect rhythm to break.

….

Meanwhile, Jin, the culprit, was already running towards the building's exit. The several flashlights pointed around him illuminated the area, giving him a clear direction towards the door he came from.

He slightly turned his head, only to see more than twenty Blood Slaves running after him. Behind those twenty Blood Slaves, more than fifty or even a hundred of them were feasting on the corpses of the gangs.

"Holy fuck, why were they farming these cursed creatures!" Jin was shocked and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Those big glass windows, if not covered with black curtains, would surely become a great weapon to kill these monsters.

Beads of sweat already drenched his vest. His legs were sore as he was almost tired of running, but the glaring light became closer before him.

He couldn't help but look at the black curtains, wanting to tear them apart, but he knew he had no room to maneuver as those Blood Slaves were chasing after him.

However, Jin, who just cursed before, suddenly came to the realization of what he just said. As Jin ran out of the building, he realized the gruesome truth: the Blood Slaves were being farmed.

….

After a moment, the warm sunlight touched his skin and the blinding light entered his familiar vision. "I'm free!" Jin gasped, looking down at his shadow.

But before he could catch his breath, the sound of an engine was heard in the distance. Jin realized that there were still more people waiting for him outside, with snipers and machine guns.

As he was about to move, his danger instinct rang in his mind.

BAM!

But it was too late, a bullet pierced through his shoulder in an unprotected area of his vest.

A mini gush of blood came out, and Jin's eyes were bloodshot as he took a temporary look at the distant building before taking cover in an abandoned building.

RAM!

As he took cover, a shadow suddenly flashed above him and landed right in front of him. Jin, who was just trying to look at his injury, was forced to look at the object before him.

"Hop in, fast!"