Chapter 41: Brother K, No!
After confirming the dungeon, Marcus decided to deal with the immediate matters before going to the Lighthouse.
He couldn't ignore the hidden danger right under his nose.
In room 403, the girl returned to the apartment she had moved into half a month ago and locked the door.
She changed into a loose set of pajamas, then placed her pale right leg on the table. The gauze was removed, revealing a wound with six stitches.
Judging from the depth of the bruising, the wound was deep; it was clearly caused by a knife or blade.
"Is being someone's lapdog really worth it?"
She muttered to herself, picked up a packet of antiseptic powder, poured it on the wound, and changed the dressing.
She bit her lip, enduring the stinging pain, and re-bandaged the wound with fresh gauze.
Then she changed her pants, put on a jacket, threw the gauze and dressing papers into a trash bag, and went downstairs.
She needed to take out the trash and hit the store.
She didn't want to go out because of her leg injury, but just now, while changing her dressing, she really did get her period!
Her face turned even paler, so in a sense, she hadn't lied to Marcus.
After throwing the trash into the large dumpster at the back of the complex, she turned and walked toward the convenience store.
Whoosh!
The instant she disappeared through the gate, a dark shadow swept past the trash area.
The dumpster lid wobbled slightly, and the trash bag inside had vanished.
In the overgrown trees behind the complex, a figure carrying a trash bag appeared—it was Marcus.
He carefully examined the contents; a person's daily life could be largely discerned from their trash.
Alcohol wipes, bandages, bloodstained gauze, and even sleeping pill packaging.
What was wrong with this girl? How did she get that knife wound? Was it really just coincidence that she was also a Tower Guardian?
If she was just stabbed by some random psycho, that would be fine, but if she was deliberately attacked, it definitely meant trouble.
Marcus hated trouble, so he had to figure out what kind of trouble it was first. Trouble with ordinary people was manageable, but if it wasn't ordinary people...
then he couldn't stay here any longer and had to move immediately.
He dug a hole with his hands, buried the trash, and then moved to a more distant spot, observing with his enhanced eyesight.
He watched her go to the store and back to her apartment; everything seemed normal.
By the afternoon of the next day, Marcus felt he'd wasted too much time and hesitated whether to change his identity and infiltrate to investigate.
Finally, the door opened, and the girl, wearing a tan jacket over a tracksuit and carrying a black leather bag, left.
Marcus quickly and quietly followed.
After leaving the complex, he followed her all the way to a dilapidated, abandoned industrial area in the suburbs.
This was a development built by the Green Union Corporation.
Due to substandard construction and economic collapse, several buildings had been condemned, and residents had moved out. It was wasteland scheduled for demolition and redevelopment.
The girl walked straight into the depths of the abandoned buildings.
What the hell is this girl doing here?
Marcus slipped into an abandoned shipping container and donned the Raghav skin.
He'd need to collect more disguises for the next dungeon; for now, he'd make do. After all, he wasn't one to kill indiscriminately.
With the disguise complete, he planned to continue tracking when he heard footsteps and the sounds of combat.
Marcus stopped and peeked through a crack.
In the wasteland, two men were fighting fiercely.
Their punches and kicks were powerful and impactful, each move conveying serious force.
It was like an action movie, quite impressive.
"Brother K, I have to take Lily back!"
The young man in black training clothes, knocked back by a punch, stepped forward and raised his fist to strike the middle-aged man's head.
"Take her if you want, did I stop you? What are you doing blocking my way? Get lost!"
K, a burly man in a black jacket, sneered, easily blocking the punch with his powerful arm, then delivered a kick straight for the young man's groin.
"Ugh, K, we have to take Lily's things back too!"
The young man lowered his hands to block, but was forced back by the force, his palms colliding with K's boots with a loud crack. His hands trembled involuntarily.
"No, you can only choose one: Lily or the things."
K pressed his advantage, his fists whistling as he rained down on the young man. Each punch was more ferocious than the last, yet he avoided vital points, clearly holding back.
Even so, the young man was forced to retreat, gradually losing his defense.
"Fine, then I'll choose!"
The young man took five or six steps back, separating himself, vigorously rubbing his arms.
"Ouch!"
"Fuck you!" K cursed angrily.
He clenched his fists and stepped forward, delivering a powerful kick to the young man's chest, sending him sprawling. He was about to follow with a spinning kick when he stopped abruptly.
"K, don't force me!"
The young man rolled as he fell, pulling a pistol from his back and pointing it at K.
"Is this where your courage comes from?"
The middle-aged man flicked his wrist, and two cold flashes shot out—one hitting the pistol, the other striking the young man's thigh.
CLANG! CLANG!
Two metallic rings echoed.
The pistol fell, and the throwing knife that struck his thigh bounced off.
"Kevlar body armor! You're even wearing protection?"
Brother K lunged at the young man, his hands poised to grapple.
"Brother K, someone's here!"
The young man, startled, retreated, holstering his pistol.
"Bullshit!"
"That armor should be mine."
Brother K flashed to the pistol beside the rubble. With a flick of his foot, it soared up, caught by his iron grip.
"Really, look at the footprints by the container entrance. Someone just went in."
The young man tried to catch his breath. He hadn't expected his senior to reach such peak human ability.
Brother K ignored him, pointing the gun at the young man's head as he stepped forward, subdued him, and pinned him down.
"Brother K, no! There really is someone!"
Brother K didn't stop. He ripped off the young man's jacket, removed the bodysuit resembling tactical gear, and put it on.
Then he aimed his gun at the container.
"Come out!"
Ten seconds later, no movement. Brother K fired decisively.
BANG! BANG!
The moment the shots rang out, a figure emerged. The shotgun in the shadowy figure's hands tore through the container wall, spraying buckshot toward the two men.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!
The shotgun fired continuously until empty. The young man fell, but the buckshot hitting Brother K was blocked by the armor.
No matter who they were, since they attacked first, mercy would be foolish.
"Damn it, what kind of asshole is this? Killing my junior, you'll pay with your life!"
Seeing Marcus's gun was empty and he was retreating to reload, Brother K used the same move he'd used on the young man.
Arms outstretched, he charged like a bull.
"Good!"
Marcus shouted, his leg muscles bulging as he crunched through gravel, also charging forward.
BOOM!
The two collided like cannonballs, producing a thunderous sound, followed by cracking.
Brother K flew backward a good thirty feet, blood streaming from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth; shattered ribs had pierced his organs.
Marcus stood there, barely winded.
He'd been to Hell. He'd killed gods. He'd implanted supernatural organs in his chest.
This guy thought kevlar would save him?
Marcus walked over to the dying man, looking down at him dispassionately.
"You should've just let them leave."
(End of Chapter)
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