บท 26: Chapter 26: The Last Duty

Before Jin made his way down to the lobby on the second floor, his vision was filled with transparent screens that flashed before his eyes.

Each screen displayed a notification of his successful collection of magic crystals from the remaining Blood Slaves on the second floor.

[You have destroyed a Tier 0 magic crystal!]

[Your high Luck has begun to take effect!]

[You...]

Time seemed to stretch as Jin meticulously gathered the magic crystals, carefully sifting through the remnants of his defeated foes. With each crystal he acquired, a sense of accomplishment and anticipation swelled within him.

After what felt like an eternity, the screens began to slow down, and Jin's focus shifted to the final results.

A smile spread across his face as he observed the fruits of his labor. His efforts had paid off, and he was rewarded with valuable resources to further enhance his abilities. And then, a moment of triumph arrived,

[You have leveled up!]

[You gained 2 points to freely distribute between your attributes!]

…

In the middle of the night, the lobby of Zhongyuan Apartment, a middle-class residential complex, was in chaos. The once-neat space was now in disarray, with furniture overturned and debris scattered all over the floor.

However, the destruction seemed unimportant in front of the ten people leaning their backs against the broken wall, all fixated on one young man. The man, Jin, didn't appear nervous or panicked. Instead, he calmly gazed back at each of them.

"Hmm…" Jin hummed in a low tone, his gaze no longer friendly or polite. Despite his attempts to explain after the battle, they still considered him a monster, an enemy.

The reason he didn't kill them all was his last shred of consciousness, urging him to stay calm and reasoning, along with the respect he held for Mrs. XXX and Wei Jingyi, despite being shot by a gun and almost killed—his strength and armor being the only things that saved him.

But, unlike the rest of the tenants, Jin blatantly glared back at the spiky-haired young man who glared at him from time to time. His hand itching to rip his head off and erase that glaring look from his eyes.

"Young man," Wang Mei, a sharp-looking young lady wearing a black jacket with her straight black hair pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail, interrupted. "Before we start, don't you think you should apologize to us first, especially to Mrs. Mei?"

"Hmph, with this guy's arrogance, do you really think he'd bow his head?" Lao Yan snorted sarcastically. His spiky hair was disheveled, and a white cloth bandage covered his nose, which looked bruised. He glared at Jin with displeasure.

Magically, despite being slammed countless times by Jin and feeling his ribs break and suffering severe injuries, the spiky-haired man could still talk and mock him, as did the others who had participated.

This made Jin wonder if there was a healer among them or if it was normal for their injuries to heal so quickly just because of the game system entity. However, just as Jin was pondering, another mockery was launched at him.

"You're just a security guard who's being taken care of by Mrs. XXX. How dare you attack and question the tenants?" Another tall, lanky young man with messy black hair, wearing a denim jacket, sneered and displayed his disapproval of Jin's bold attitude.

The other tenants, including the young professor Wei Jingyi and her friends, and the six other tenants, remained silent. They didn't support or oppose Jin.

On the other hand, Liu Yifan, who could be considered an acquaintance of Jin's, was silent. Her dark brown, soft curls fell over her face, blocking her expression.

However, Jin noticed her clenched fists and trembling hands, and he knew she was probably conflicted.

"She is in a dilemma, to defend me or defend Mrs. Mei," Jin muttered to himself. She was a kind woman who liked to help others, but she would struggle in a situation like this.

"Basically, in the end, she would follow the wave," he spoke inwardly. Though he didn't feel disappointed in not receiving any help from Liu Yifan, he also didn't expect it in the first place, as he and the tenants had a gap in their status in society.

Seeing the people were eagerly waiting for his answer, especially the middle-aged woman who was glaring with her bloodshot eyes at him, he didn't bother and took a glance at Wei Jingyi for a moment before answering.

"She has been turned into a blood-sucking creature, and yet you still hope to rescue her?" Jin snorted. Of course, he refused to apologize, especially after they were actively trying to kill him.

Wei Jingyi, on the other hand, was silent and felt conflicted, unsure of what to say. She wanted to suggest there might be a possibility, but having witnessed the capabilities of these Blood Slaves, she couldn't bring herself to utter those words.

And as soon as Jin said that, the majority of people were averting their eyes from him as if they knew from the start.

Only those who were hostile to him from the start, such as Lao Yan, were staring at him with a sneer and mocking gazes.

But soon, those hatred gazes were replaced with fear as his slit pupils shrank and a subtle thick air seemed to be coming out from his body.

"AHHH!" Suddenly, Mei Ling, the middle-aged woman who lost her child, screamed and became crazy upon hearing such words.

She charged at Jin with her glowing hands and tightened fingers, as if trying to dig into his flesh.

"Mrs. Mei!" Liu Yifan, who had just regained her confidence, shouted from afar but was too late to stop her.

Meanwhile, the other tenants helplessly watched as this middle-aged woman charged at the monster who could withstand their combined attacks.

On the other hand, Jin, who saw her incoming attack, squinted his slitted pupils as he closely examined her glowing hands.

"Interesting, does she have power related to wood or something?" The glowing green light looked like a healing skill, but using it to attack him suggested otherwise.

However, his thoughts were soon betrayed when he grabbed her wrist. The glowing green light quickly seeped into his body, nourishing the cells within and giving a warm and pleasant feeling that spread throughout his body.

Upon feeling this, Jin was confused and couldn't help but glance down to confirm his guess. But soon, a pair of red eyes emitting a full killing intent were directed towards him from the woman.

"Jin, don't hurt her." A pair of slender hands suddenly tapped his shoulder, emitting a mixture of rose and cherry scents.

Just from her soft and alluring voice alone, Jin knew who this woman was.

"Let me handle this," she said, emerging from behind him.

She revealed herself to be Wei Jingyi, a woman with a long, slender neck, black hair tied in a high ponytail, and a tank top with a sword scabbard hanging from her waist.

"Do as you please," Jin said, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. He let go of the crazed woman's wrist. In the first place, his only targets were the woman in black attire who had shot him and the spiky young man.

As for Mei Ling, he understood it was an impulsive desire, given that she had lost everything. It was normal for people to act desperate.

However, the actions of the spiky young man, who seemed to badly want to kill him, and the sharp-looking young lady wearing a black jacket who unreasonably drew a gun could not be considered as impulsive desires but a genuine intent to kill him.

Wei Jingyi quickly took control of the situation, comforting the woman with thousands of reasoning and convincing words, while Jin leaned his back against the receptionist counter.

…

A moment later, everything had calmed down. Jin checked his armor, which had several scratches and marks, and noticed that many of his ammo pouches were in bad shape.

"It might have been from when I fought the first round of Blood Slaves," Jin muttered.

He remembered how he had struggled with their thick defense when he fought those gigantic bats, and he hadn't yet known their weaknesses.

Many of the Blood Slaves had crawled under his feet, and they had torn apart his ammo pouches.

Out of the five pouches, three of them had been torn, leaving him with only two usable pouches that could store 25 Shotgun Shells each. Surprisingly, his shotgun was still in good condition.

"Well, never mind. Now that I have this key, I can grab some new ammo pouches," Jin said as he scanned the shotgun and picked it up, stroking the barrel.

He released the safety with a click and loaded a shell into the magazine tube. He gripped the stock and aimed the barrel upward before emerging from behind the counter.

However, as soon as Jin finished his preparations, the people around him widened their eyes in surprise and their bodies stiffened.

Wang Mei even took out her pistol and aimed it at him, visibly nervous. Everyone, except Wei Jingyi who looked confused, seemed to be on high alert.

"What are you doing?!" Wang Mei shouted at Jin, constantly glancing between Jin's hands and the shotgun that he was holding.

"We talked about this!" Wei Jingyi defended and blocked Wang Mei's aim at Jin. She was surprised by the fact that Wang Mei actually had a gun in her pocket.

In this country, getting a gun was really hard for normal civilians.

"We did, but I never agreed to you carrying a gun. Unless he has a license, I, as a member of national security defense, have the right to confiscate his weapon," Wang Mei said as she took out a law enforcement badge from her pocket.

It appeared that from the beginning, when she heard Wei Jingyi's story, she had aimed to confiscate Jin's gun.

The bold words of the detective were clearly visible to others. Most of them were delighted; in the hands of a professional, they, as civilians, could feel at ease knowing that Wang Mei was from the government.

However, Jin looked at her with a dark expression and frowned. He had already been thinking about this matter – if someone from the government or people like that showed up and asked him to hand over his shotgun.

But he didn't think it would happen in this apartment and this early. Not to mention, despite her identity as someone from the government, she easily drew and shot at him, deeming him a threat despite his explanations.

Thinking about this, Jin's killing intent resurged in his hidden slit pupils.

"I can't do anything against the government, but…" Jin took a momentary pause. Then, with a swift and fast hand movement, he suddenly stood behind Wang Mei, the shotgun barrel that had been pointing upward now aimed at the back of her head.

"It's funny. The world is already chaotic, and now where is the government?" Jin sarcastically questioned.

Still fueled by the previously annoying experience of almost being shot to death, Jin continued, "As you, a member of national security defense, shouldn't there be a procedure before drawing a gun and deeming me as a threat?"

He knew Wang Mei – she was one of the tenants who came in late at night and left early in the morning.

She was also sometimes found lazily lying in the park near their apartment or even bringing drinks to the apartment.

Although he was confused by her behavior, which was really suspicious for a young woman who had already graduated from college and didn't have a job, he had no reason not to let her in or question her.

It was his duty to ensure her safety.

Suddenly, amidst this tense situation, another person joined them. Jin felt something fast happen, stopping an inch away from his abdomen.

He looked over to see the beautiful professor in a white coat looking coldly at him, with her hands holding a hypodermic needle.

"Stop," she said firmly. "This is a neurotoxin mixed with a lethal poison from the venom of the world's most venomous snake.

"If you release that trigger, not only will you become paralyzed for the rest of your life, but your brain will stop functioning and your body will fall into a coma.

"The poison will take control over your immune system, corroding your blood and even your bones, leaving you a boneless corpse."

Chen Ying's words brought everyone back to their senses.

They were shocked to find Jin missing from his original position and now standing behind Wang Mei.

At the same time, a shiver ran through the other tenants who were listening to her words. Liu Yifan, who had been watching the tense situation nervously, kept opening and closing her mouth.

Wei Jingyi was too shocked to react to Jin's speed. She looked at the three of them with a complicated gaze as she tightened her grip on her sword.

Should she save him and become an enemy of the government? Her family situation was unknown, and now the group would be involved in conflicts.

This made her feel a headache just by looking at the hostility aimed at each other before her.

"Are you threatening me? Do you think your hand is faster than my reactions?" Jin sneered and mocked Chen Ying. Although he was shocked by her words, he was more surprised by how ruthless she could be.

Beside Liu Yifan, Chen Ying was the woman who always greeted him with a smile. It seemed she valued even the lowest job, but now it seemed those smiles were fake, and this was her real personality.

"Jin, just let them have your weapon." Suddenly, Wei Jingyi spoke with a helpless tone. The look of pleading in her eyes and the strong grip on her sword were quite contradictory to her words.

"If you don't, then you force me to take action," she added, but her words made Jin, who thought highly of her, become frowned. He thought Wei Jingyi, at least, should have known his circumstance from the start.

If not for this shotgun, they wouldn't have made it to this apartment. If not for this shotgun, he probably wouldn't have survived at that market building.

Although he was already strong enough to crush those Blood Slaves, this weapon held too many memories for him.

In addition, looking at these tenants who had just learned about this entity, he didn't think they were strong enough to take him down. The proof was the battle before.

"A pity, Ms. Wei. Do you take me for a fool? Then I won't be polite again," he said coldly, looking indifferently at the rest of the tenants.