Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Warehouse Infiltration
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The warehouse was enormous.
Towering shelves, each three stories high like apartment racks, stood in neat rows at regular intervals.
To Jin, it reminded him of the massive American C-brand discount warehouse marts from his hometown, or the Swedish I-brand furniture stores—places just like this.
It was easy to see why the resistance wanted to hit this spot.
Destroying a facility that could hold this much stock would deal a massive blow to TB.
With that thought, Jin leaped up to the second floor.
The basement and first floor were Fenrir's territory, so he couldn't afford to waste time lounging around here.
Skipping the second floor entirely, he headed straight for the third—to minimize his path by working his way down in reverse.
Tat-a-tat!
As Jin grabbed the railing and curved around the landing, his eyes caught a man scratching his belly while descending the stairs.
"Huh?"
Did the guy not notice the intruder at all? His draw from the holster at his waist was glacially slow compared to Jin's charging reaction.
Thwack!
The man took a fist to the gut and crumpled headfirst to the floor without even a scream.
The impact sounded bad.
Ignoring the motionless body in its fallen pose, Jin reached the third floor and immediately kicked open the door labeled "Multipurpose Room."
Behind a jumble of household goods stood a massive pillar.
Typically, warehouse-style buildings used lightweight panels to maximize internal space.
But in places like this—with concrete outer walls and multiple floors—a core pillar running through the center was essential for structural stability.
That was the pillar right in front of him.
The perfect spot for planting explosives.
Tsss—
Jin dropped his bag, unzipped it, and pulled out a hefty iron cylinder.
It looked like a sardine can stretched wide on both sides—crude and brutal in design—but packed with explosives far more advanced than anything from Earth.
Its name? Anti-Structure Explosive.
Of course, Jin had no idea just how powerful it was.
He just remembered Albus saying it could easily bring down a building if it detonated properly.
Along with a few tips on planting it.
If only he'd handled the embedding himself...
Otherwise, the shockwave and energy would just dissipate into the air.
Jin clenched his fist.
Then he hammered the pillar's outer wall—bang-bang-bang!
He chipped away the cracked concrete, widened the hole with more punches, and jammed the explosive into the crevice.
Obviously, this wasn't standard procedure.
Concrete? It wasn't like soft dirt you could dig with a shovel.
In truth, this brute-force method was something Albus had suggested on the spot after seeing the two solos casually hefting the bomb bag's immense weight.
You guys should be able to make it work somehow, he'd said, half-hoping.
Even Albus wasn't fully confident—just tossing out the idea in case it worked.
Whatever. Jin didn't care.
They told him to do it. And he could.
With the first bomb planted, Jin turned to move—
Weeeen-weeen-weeen!!!
Red lights spun wildly on the walls as sirens blared across the entire warehouse.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Gunfire echoed from afar.
TB had spotted the intruders and was responding.
Fenrir's side must have kicked off.
Stealth wasn't the goal anyway—this was the natural progression.
Still, Jin muttered one thing.
"Don't drag me down..."
Slinging the now-lighter bag over his shoulder, Jin retraced his steps downward.
He had to hurry. The first bomb was set without issue, but now that the alarms were screaming, things were about to get dicey.
And sure enough, footsteps pounded up from below, growing louder as armed troops swarmed in.
Jin's eyes met theirs across the landing—he descending to the second floor, they ascending to the third.
The next instant—
"Fire!"
At the shout, the two lead TB guards opened fire preemptively.
Muzzles aimed at heart and head spat flames.
For a split second, time slowed.
Jin floored the accelerator called his mana circuit.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!!
Bullets chewed the walls, showering concrete fragments, as the guards' eyes widened at the blue glow slamming into the floor right in front of them.
Crack!
Midair, Jin booted one guard's head and landed smack in the middle of them.
Hot breaths panted from all sides.
It took only a heartbeat for their shocked eyes to fill with hostility.
In boxing, there's a term: toe-to-toe.
It means a head-on clash at point-blank range, toes practically touching.
Apply that to one against many, and you'd get exactly this scene.
"Die!!!"
One guard thrust a knife drawn from his thigh at Jin.
Jin leaned back, dodging the blade by a hair, then smashed an uppercut into the guy's wide-open face.
Before the shattered-jaw guard could fall,
someone huge latched onto Jin from behind like a bear hug.
The burliest of the guards.
"Gotcha!"
Another guard in front drew his pistol.
No hesitation—the barrel aimed at Jin's head about to flash—
Jin snapped both legs up and double-kicked the guy's chest.
The recoil shoved the hugger back; simultaneously, Jin whipped his head back hard.
Crunch!
The giant's nose caved in; eyes rolled back as he collapsed, arms loosening automatically.
Jin shoved him off and lunged with a fist.
The struck guard dropped his reverse-grip knife; Jin snatched it midair and spun his torso viciously.
"...Guhk!"
The blade plunged into the last guard's throat. He crumpled.
He'd been planning to shoot Jin in the back of the head—pistol still clutched tight in one hand.
"Whew. Thought it might blow for a sec there."
Jin muttered, tightening the somehow-stretched bag strap.
Worried about jostling the explosives too hard.
In reality, the odds were near zero.
Unlike finicky black powder, modern improved explosives were numb to shock—they'd just burn like regular fuel if lit, no boom.
That's why detonators layered two- or three-stage blasts.
Still, peace of mind was another story.
With a sigh of relief, Jin reached the second floor.
"Wondered what the racket was... turns out we got a rat."
A unfamiliar voice made him turn. Someone approached from the corridor's end.
Piercings studded across his face, hair dyed rainbow—red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-violet—in a wild mohawk.
Over-the-top flashy, but Jin's eyes locked on the tattoo on his right forearm.
Three claw-like scars, like a beast's swipe.
It screamed: original TB member.
A beastman.
"You're resistance, huh?"
Not expecting an answer, the guy flicked his tongue and continued.
"Figures for you rats—sharp as hell. Already sniffed out what we're storing here?"
Jin narrowed his eyes.
He'd only heard it was a logistics warehouse to destroy.
Not what it stored.
But no time to ponder.
"Whatever. Ain't happening your way, punk."
The man widened his stride, then suddenly leaped.
Whoosh!
Jin crossed his arms in an X just as the kick sliced air—
But the guy retracted the leg and gaped his mouth wide.
Whiiip!
A elastic tongue lashed out, coiling around Jin's exposed neck.
Caught off-guard, Jin's feet left the ground before he could react.
Bam!
Slammed into the wall.
Skull hit first—vision flashed white for an instant.
As consciousness flickered back, the opposite wall greeted him.
Kaboom!!
Then ceiling, then floor.
In seconds, he'd smashed every surface—coughing dryly, but no respite.
The iron-wire tongue crushed his throat; no air.
Through bloodshot eyes, he glared.
A chameleon head—iridescent scales, bulging eyes rolling—tilted curiously.
"...Still alive? What the hell are you?"
Jin gritted his teeth.
Chameleon beastman?
Just like it looked.
Couldn't speak—his glare conveyed it all.
No more talk.
Clinging to fading consciousness, he summoned mana.
"...What?!"
The chameleon flinched at the blue aura.
"Purist?"
Sensing danger instinctively, it whipped the tongue again—but this time was different.
Jin leaned back hard, leveraging his full weight, grabbed the taut tongue with one hand, and yanked.
The beastman's eyes shook as his body dragged forward.
What strength is this?
Why isn't he out?
Release and retreat now?
Too late.
Face purpling with effort, the guy was dead serious—reeling him in, wrapping the tongue around his forearm as distance closed.
No backing out now.
Beastman pride surged.
"What're you gonna do up close?!"
Charging instead, he slashed with razor claws.
"Die! Die! Die! Die!!"
Excited by the blood spraying, the reptile head shrieked—
Click.
A silver barrel pressed cold against his forehead.
Bang──!!
The massive recoil flung Jin ass-first to the floor.
"Kehak! Cough! Gack! Hurk!"
Crimson-faced, he heaved for air forever.
Finally calming, he looked up.
The chameleon stood headless.
"...Performance is solid."
Jin muttered, eyeing the huge pistol in his right hand.
Gravis 707 indeed.
32cm long, 10kg heavy.
Made to counter beastmen...
Beastman destroyer. Anti-beastman decisive weapon?
Wait, something's off.
Jin's mind wandered incoherently.
Blood flow to his brain blocked too long.
Any normal person would've blacked out ten times over—his state was bound to be off.
Judgment shot too.
That's why he'd waited till point-blank to fire the Gravis, which he could've shot earlier.
Luckily, no dodge chance—good result.
"Hoo."
Time passed.
Hauling himself up, Jin planted a bomb on the second floor like on the third.
His terminal showed about five minutes till the deadline. Plenty for escape. Calmly, he pocketed the detonator.
Descending, he checked the first floor—
Kaboom!!
A massive blast; someone smashed into a shelf.
At first, Jin shrugged it off as a guard Fenrir downed—but he frowned, realizing his mistake.
It wasn't a guard crashing down.
A huge werewolf.
"Fenrir?"
Before he could assess—
"Quite sturdy. Wonder how much longer you'll last."
The voice slithered into his ear, chilling his neck.
A quest window popped up before his eyes.
(Crisis!) ??? Enemy
📍 Description: Overwhelming foe.
⏰ Recommendation: Escape advised.