NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 16 - Crisis
Chapter 16 – Crisis
The warehouse was enormous.
Massive racks, as tall as a three-story apartment building, stood in neat rows at regular intervals.
To Jin, it closely resembled the warehouse-style discount stores of the American C-brand or the warehouse-style furniture stores of the Swedish I-brand.
It was easy to understand why the Resistance was targeting this place.
Destroying a facility capable of storing such an immense quantity of supplies would deal a devastating blow to TB.
With that thought in mind, Jin leaped up to the second floor.
The underground level and the first floor were Fenrir’s responsibility, leaving no time for idling here.
So he skipped the second floor entirely and went straight to the third—minimizing his movement by working his way down in reverse order.
Tadadak!
Grabbing the railing, he curved around the landing, when suddenly, he spotted a man scratching his belly while descending the stairs.
“Huh?”
Had he not noticed the intruder at all?
His reaction—reaching for the gun at his waist—was far slower than Jin, who was already lunging at him.
Thud!
The man took a punch to the gut, unable to even scream before toppling headfirst onto the floor.
The sound of impact was unpleasant.
Leaving the now-motionless man behind, Jin reached the third floor and immediately kicked open a door labeled “Multipurpose Room.”
Beyond an assortment of household goods, he spotted a massive pillar.
Typically, warehouse-style buildings prioritized maximizing interior space, often using lightweight panel materials.
However, in cases like this—where the building had concrete exterior walls and multiple floors—a structural core running through the center was essential for stability.
That pillar before him was exactly that.
The perfect spot to plant explosives.
Screech—
Jin set his bag down and unzipped it, pulling out a large, cylindrical metal object.
Its design was simple and crude, resembling an oversized canned mackerel, stretched wide on both sides.
However, its contents were far more advanced than anything found on Earth.
Hence its name: anti-structure explosive.
Jin had no idea of its exact destructive power.
He only recalled Albus’s words—that if it detonated properly, it could bring down an entire building with ease.
And, of course, the technique for installing it.
“You’ll bury it, right?”
Otherwise, the shockwave and energy would disperse into the air.
Jin clenched his fist.
Then—bang, bang, bang!
He repeatedly struck the pillar’s outer concrete, cracking it open. Digging into the fractured concrete, he widened the gap with more punches before shoving the explosive inside.
Of course, this wasn’t the proper way to bury explosives.
Concrete?
It wasn’t like digging into soft soil with a shovel.
But this method had been an impromptu suggestion from Albus, after watching Jin and Solo casually carry their absurdly heavy bomb bags.
“If it’s you guys, you’ll manage somehow.”
Even Albus hadn’t been sure.
It was more of a “give it a shot; if it works, great; if not, oh well” kind of suggestion.
Jin didn’t care.
He did not do it because he was told to.
He did because he could.
As he finished setting up the first bomb and prepared to move—
Weeeng, weeeng, weeeng—!!!
The red warning lights on the walls spun wildly as sirens blared throughout the warehouse.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Gunfire erupted in the distance.
TB had detected the intruders and begun their response.
Jin assumed the trouble had started on Fenrir’s end.
In the first place, stealth wasn’t the goal—this sequence of events was only natural.
Still, Jin muttered a complaint.
“They said he wouldn’t slow me down…!”
Shouldering his now lighter bag, he retraced his steps.
He had to hurry.
The first bomb had been installed without much trouble, but now that the alarms were going off, things would only get harder.
Sure enough, the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs grew louder.
Soon, a squad of armed soldiers surged upward.
Jin, descending to the second floor, and the troops, climbing to the third, locked eyes across the stairwell landing.
The next moment.
“Fire!”
At someone’s command, two TB security guards at the front opened fire.
Their muzzles spewed flames, each aiming for the heart and head.
Time seemed to slow for an instant.
Jin pressed down hard on the accelerator of his mana circuit.
Ratatatat!
As bullets struck the wall, sending shards of concrete scattering, the guard who had just missed his mark saw a blue light plunging toward the ground in front of him.
Crack!
Jin, who had kicked his opponent’s head midair, landed in the middle of the guards.
Hot breaths could be felt from all directions.
It only took a fraction of a second for the startled enemies’ gazes to turn hostile.
There’s a term in boxing—Toe-to-Toe.
It refers to a head-on confrontation at such close range that opponents’ toes nearly touch.
If this term could be applied to a one-against-many scenario, it would look exactly like this.
“Die!!!”
One of the guards drew a sword from his thigh and thrust it forward.
Jin tilted his head back, narrowly dodging the blade, and delivered an uppercut to the wide-open face of his opponent.
Before the guard, whose jaw had been shattered, could even collapse—
Someone grabbed Jin from behind, as if embracing him.
It was the largest of the guards, a towering brute.
“Got him!”
At that moment, another guard standing in front of Jin drew his pistol.
The gun muzzle, aimed unhesitatingly at Jin’s head, was just about to fire when—
Jin lifted both legs and kicked the man square in the chest.
The recoil sent the brute holding him staggering backward, and in the same motion, Jin violently snapped his head backward.
Crunch!
With his nose bone caved in, the brute’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed, his crushing grip naturally loosening.
Breaking free, Jin immediately launched a punch.
The blow struck another guard’s jaw, causing him to drop the reverse-grip knife in his hand.
Jin snatched the falling blade midair and spun his upper body forcefully.
“…Guh!”
Beyond his outstretched hand, the last guard crumpled to the floor, a blade embedded in his neck.
His hand was still clutching a pistol, as if he had planned to fire it at the back of Jin’s head.
“Jeez. I was nervous it might explode.”
Muttering to himself, Jin tightened the now-loosened strap of his backpack.
It was just an idle comment, a lingering concern that the explosives might detonate due to the intense movements—though, in reality, the chances of that happening were nearly zero.
Unlike highly sensitive black powder, modern refined explosives were incredibly stable.
Even if set on fire, they would simply burn like solid fuel.
That’s why detonation requires multiple layers of initiation, using primers and triggers.
Still, knowing this didn’t completely ease his mind.
With a slight sigh of relief, Jin resumed his steps and arrived on the second floor.
“So this is why it was so noisy—turns out we had a rat in here.”
A voice unfamiliar to him.
Jin turned his head to see someone approaching from the end of the hallway.
A man with piercings decorating his face, and a Mohawk dyed in a full rainbow spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
His entire appearance was gaudy to an excessive degree.
Yet Jin’s gaze focused solely on the tattoo on the man’s right forearm.
Three claw-mark-like scars, as if slashed by a beast, made it clear.
He was one of TB’s founding members.
In other words, he was a Beastkin.
“You’re with the Resistance, aren’t you?”
The man continued without expecting an answer, clicking his tongue.
“Ugh, typical rats. Always quick to catch on. Looks like you already figured out what’s being stored here, huh?”
Jin narrowed his eyes.
He had only been told to destroy the warehouse.
He hadn’t been informed what exactly was being stored here.
But there was no time for contemplation.
“Whatever it is, it won’t go your way, you son of a—”
The man, who had been closing the distance with long strides, suddenly leaped into the air.
Whoosh!
As a powerful kick sliced through the air toward him, Jin crossed his arms into an X.
The man, who had been about to swing his leg in a kick, suddenly withdrew it and snapped his mouth wide open.
Whoosh!
From within, a taut and powerful tongue shot out, wrapping tightly around Jin’s exposed neck.
Before he could react to the sudden attack, his feet lifted off the ground.
Bang!
Jin crashed into the wall.
His head struck first, causing his vision to momentarily go white.
Before he could fully recover, the opposite wall greeted him next.
Boom!!
Then the ceiling.
And then the floor.
Jin was slammed into every surface—up, down, left, and right—before finally coughing out a dry wheeze.
Even that was difficult.
The tongue, as strong as steel cables, tightened around his neck, threatening to snap his spine.
With bloodshot eyes, he glared at his attacker.
A chameleon head, covered in vibrant, shifting scales, tilted its head, rolling its bulging eyes.
“…Still alive? What are you?”
Jin clenched his teeth.
A chameleon beastkin?
Fitting behavior.
He couldn’t speak, so he channeled his scorn into a murderous glare.
No need for words at this point.
Forcing himself to remain conscious, he summoned his mana.
“…What?!”
The chameleon beastkin flinched at the sight of Jin’s body enveloped in a blue aura.
“A purist?”
Sensing danger, the beastkin prepared to lash its tongue like a whip again, but this time, things were different.
Jin shifted his weight backward and grabbed the taut tongue with one hand, yanking it.
The beastkin’s body lurched forward, dragged by sheer force.
Its eyes trembled.
What’s with this strength?
Why isn’t he passing out?
Should I let go and create distance?
Too late.
That madman, face flushed red and blue from exertion, was determined to pull him in.
Each time the distance closed, Jin twisted his wrist, wrapping the tongue around his forearm.
At this point, simply releasing his grip wouldn’t solve anything.
Realizing this, the beastkin’s pride flared.
“You think getting closer will help?!”
Instead of retreating, he lunged forward, swinging his arms, claws slashing at Jin.
“Die! Die! Die! Die!!”
The sight of Jin, bleeding profusely, sent the reptilian head into a frenzy.
Click.
The cold steel of a silver gun pressed against the beastkin’s forehead.
Bang—!!
The recoil sent Jin flying backward, landing hard on the ground.
“Kehek! Cough! Gah! Hahk!”
He gasped for breath, his face beet red, until finally, he steadied his breathing and looked up.
The chameleon beastkin stood motionless.
Its head was gone.
“…Performance is solid.”
Jin muttered, staring at the massive handgun in his right hand.
The Gravis 707.
32cm in length, 10kg in weight.
A weapon made specifically to fight beastkin…
A beastkin destroyer.
A specialized anti-beastkin combat weapon?
Wait, that sounds ridiculous.
His thoughts spiraled.
A consequence of prolonged oxygen deprivation.
A normal person would’ve passed out ten times over.
It was no wonder his mind was a mess.
His dulled judgment was why he had fired the Gravis at point-blank range instead of shooting earlier.
Though, in the end, it worked out—his opponent hadn’t even had time to react.
“Haa…”
After a brief moment to recover, Jin forced himself up.
Just as he had done on the third floor, he planted explosives on the second floor.
Checking the detonator, he saw there were about five minutes left before the scheduled explosion. That was plenty of time to escape.
Satisfied, he tucked the trigger device into his coat and descended the stairs, scanning the first floor.
Boom!!
A violent explosion sent someone crashing into a shelf.
At first, Jin assumed it was just another guard taken down by Fenrir.
But when he saw what had actually happened, his brows furrowed.
The figure that hit the ground with a heavy thud…
Wasn’t a guard.
It was a massive werewolf.
“…Fenrir?”
Before he could process the situation—
“You’re quite sturdy. I wonder how much longer you’ll last.”
A voice slithered into his ears, sending chills down his spine.
At the same time, a system window appeared before him.
「(Crisis!) ??? ???」
An overwhelming foe has appeared.
Escape advised.
4o