Chapter 85: It Seems This World is Finally Going to Be Destroyed (Two-in-One)
Bang! Inside the Apartment Lobby, an extremely fast whip kick landed heavily on the fleshy tongue, producing a dull thud.
As Xia Shang's clothes fluttered, the attacking bloody tongue was sent flying as if struck by a heavy blow.
The Tongue Monster's body lost balance and fell heavily to the ground.
"Taekwondo?" Yoon Ji-su, who was watching from the side, looked incredibly shocked. She stared intently at Xia Shang's right leg and said in disbelief, "That must be at least black belt level."
"That's not a very funny joke." Pyeon Sang-wook gripped his baseball bat and quickly rushed forward. He delivered a powerful smash towards the fallen monster's head. Splat! The Tongue Monster's head immediately caved inward, blood continuously gushing from the wound.
Haa!! An angry roar erupted from the Tongue Monster's torn mouth. Propping itself up with its hands, the bloody tongue from its mouth wrapped around Pyeon Sang-wook like a giant snake, a constricting attack similar to a snake's. As the tongue tightened coil by coil, Pyeon Sang-wook quickly held the baseball bat against his chest to prevent his ribs from being crushed.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Xia Shang's left leg suddenly exerted force, and he shot out like a cannonball. In an instant, he arrived in front of the Tongue Monster. He clenched his five fingers into a fist and threw a punch. Compared to Xia Shang's Carbon Superlattice, the Tongue Monster's physical strength was like a molehill next to a mountain.
Pfft! Under everyone's terrified gaze, Xia Shang punched through the Tongue Monster's chest. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere, and the monster's painful, distorted howl echoed through the Lobby.
It immediately released the bound Pyeon Sang-wook and retreated repeatedly, struggling to free itself from Xia Shang's arm.
"Get back!" Just as it was about to control its tongue and attack Xia Shang again, Lee Eun-hyuk, holding a fire extinguisher, calmly shouted.
The next second! He pressed the switch on the fire extinguisher, and countless plumes of smoke sprayed out from it. Watching the monster retreat under the assault of the smoke, he turned his head and yelled at Kim Seok-hyeon, "Uncle! Uncle!"
Kim Seok-hyeon had long been scared stiff. Only after Lee Eun-hyuk's repeated calls did he gradually snap back to his senses.
"When I give you the signal, press the switch for the Rolling Iron Door."
"Okay, okay." Kim Seok-hyeon stumbled and scrambled to the Security Office, trembling. He stood in front of the Iron Door's switch, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing the Tongue Monster retreat near the Iron Door, Lee Eun-hyuk roared, "Now! Uncle! Press the switch quickly!"
However, when Kim Seok-hyeon pressed the switch, the Iron Door slowly closed.
Lee Eun-hyuk realized the monster was still half a step away from outside the Iron Door. Closing it now would likely trap it inside the Apartment. To make matters worse, the fire extinguisher in his hand ran out at that moment.
As the smoke dissipated, he found himself only a step away from the monster.
A trace of confusion and panic appeared in his eyes behind his glasses.
However, a figure suddenly rushed out, colliding with both him and the monster, sending them flying.
That person was the former firefighter, Seo Yi-kyung. After rolling twice on the ground, she quickly stood up and ran towards the Iron Door.
At this time, the Iron Door was still slowly descending, so Lee Eun-hyuk propped it up with his hands, trying to slow its descent and buy time for Seo Yi-kyung.
But just then, the Tongue Monster she had sent flying suddenly shot out its tongue and injured Seo Yi-kyung's leg.
In the nick of time, Xia Shang bent down and stepped outside the Apartment. He reached out, grabbed Seo Yi-kyung's wrist, and forcefully pulled her back inside.
"Seriously, it got hit like that and still didn't die. It's quite tenacious."
The Tongue Monster did not choose to continue attacking Xia Shang. Instead, it moved with stiff steps and walked to the side.
"Come back quickly." Yoon Ji-su ran to Lee Eun-hyuk's side and helped him prop up the Iron Door.
Naturally, Xia Shang had no intention of pursuing it. Killing the Tongue Monster would bring him no benefit.
He turned and returned inside the Apartment. Seeing Xia Shang safe and sound, everyone let out a heavy sigh of relief. Clang! The moment the Iron Door completely closed, everyone slumped to the ground, still shaken. The scene that had just unfolded seemed to have destroyed their worldview. What was happening to this world? "Thank you," Lee Eun-hyuk said to Xia Shang and Seo Yi-kyung.
"What was that?"
Seo Yi-kyung gasped for breath, looking at the corpse that had been drained of blood.
"That wasn't human," Lee Eun-hyuk's gaze looked outside the Apartment.
Seeing the crisis resolved, the Residents slowly poked their heads out, observing the situation in the Lobby. Meanwhile, the Supermarket Uncle, Kim Seok-hyeon, walked up to Seo Yi-kyung and questioned her, "Hey, I heard you're a firefighter. What is the government doing? Don't they know how to protect the safety of us citizens?"
"They will take measures," Seo Yi-kyung had just escaped death. Although physically and mentally exhausted, she still replied.
"Damn it, we pay so much tax every year, and they can't even handle one monster." Kim Seok-hyeon unceremoniously reprimanded Seo Yi-kyung, as if he were a completely different person from his earlier cowardly and fearful self.
"No, it's not just one monster," Lee Eun-hyuk said calmly.
The scene instantly fell silent. The Residents followed his gaze and looked outside.
Outside the Apartment, it was like a hellscape! Countless hideous monsters, with various appearances, were frantically chasing surviving humans. It seemed the entire world had fallen into hell at this moment.
Looking at this terrifying scene, Seo Yi-kyung couldn't help but murmur, "What is happening to this world?"
Lee Eun-hyuk shook his head, "I don't know either, but it seems this world is finally going to be destroyed."
Everyone remained silent. A huge sense of unease and panic weighed on their hearts. Half an hour later, the crowd still hadn't dispersed. Some picked up their mobile phones and started calling the police, while others huddled together, trembling constantly, afraid to recall everything they had just seen.
"How's the situation?" Xia Shang walked up to Pyeon Sang-wook and asked.
Pyeon Sang-wook returned the now bent baseball bat in his hand to Yoon Ji-su, "I'm not going to die."
Afterward, Yoon Ji-su suggested going to the Rooftop to see if there might be a signal there.
Since the elevator was out of order, the three could only take the Stairwell. Yoon Ji-su held the blood-stained baseball bat without any aversion, staying close to the two of them. Only then could she feel a sense of safety.
"Completely lost their minds, huh." Xia Shang walked behind Pyeon Sang-wook. He sensed a familiar signal approaching him not far away. The signal was very chaotic. It seemed the Hunger Monster hadn't died from falling from the upper floor, but had instead become completely infected.
Not just the Hunger Monster, Xia Shang also sensed signal signals coming from several other locations simultaneously.
On the other side, not far from the three, Lee Eun-yu was holding her mobile phone and making a phone call, but she accidentally missed a step and rolled down the stairs. The intense pain made her let out a soft cry. Just then, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. At the same time, a girl's voice sounded.
"Did you use Taekwondo just now? I think I saw it on television." Seeing that no one was talking and everything around them seemed eerie and frightening, Yoon Ji-su spoke softly to Xia Shang to break the chilling atmosphere.
Compared to the taciturn Pyeon Sang-wook, Xia Shang, who always had a smile, was clearly easier to get along with.
"Taekwondo? That stuff is okay for kicking wooden boards, but for actual combat, I wouldn't really recommend practicing it," Xia Shang said with a smile.
"Really? I thought they were all very strong on television... Look quickly, someone seems to be lying there."
Lee Eun-yu, lying on the ground, turned her head to look at the three, then picked up her mobile phone and pretended nothing was happening, "Don't look, I'm just resting here."
Suddenly, Xia Shang looked up to his right. He saw a figure in a red dress pounce on Pyeon Sang-wook from behind and bite his shoulder. Facing the sudden attack, Pyeon Sang-wook remained quite calm. He grabbed the woman behind him and performed a shoulder throw, sending her towards Xia Shang.
Xia Shang dodged the flying Hunger Monster by stepping aside, then kicked her into the wall. Bang! As dust flew up, the Hunger Monster opened its mouth and kept shouting "I'm so hungry" at Xia Shang. Yoon Ji-su on the side was scared pale, the baseball bat in her hand trembling non-stop.
"Seriously, why did you throw her at me?"
Bang! Xia Shang, with his hands in his pockets, delivered another kick. The blood in the Hunger Monster's mouth couldn't be contained and splattered onto Yoon Ji-su's face.
Bang bang bang bang!! Under continuous heavy blows, the Hunger Monster finally became embedded in the wall in a bizarre posture.
Visible cracks appeared on the surrounding wall surface, and the cracks continuously extended, causing layers of paint to shake off and fall.
"Dead?" Pyeon Sang-wook touched the wound on his shoulder and walked over. He bent down, grabbed the Hunger Monster's hair, and lifted its almost pulpy form in front of him. Seeing the doorplate mark on the Hunger Monster's forehead, he knew it was the same guy who had been banging on the door earlier.
"So it was you."
Suddenly, the Hunger Monster opened its eyes and bared a mouth full of fangs at Pyeon Sang-wook.
Bang! Seeing that the opponent was still alive, Pyeon Sang-wook's face remained expressionless. He just forcefully smashed its head against the wall, once, twice, thrice. His actions were more violent than Xia Shang's, and blood flew everywhere, splattering all over, until the opponent was completely motionless. Only then did he throw the shattered head at Lee Eun-yu's feet.
"Ah!" Lee Eun-yu trembled all over in fear and quickly got up and ran to Yoon Ji-su's side.
"Hey, Uncle, you went too far," Yoon Ji-su complained.
Not long after, the few of them soon encountered a man at a Stairwell entrance who was muttering to the corner of the Stairwell.
"That son of a bitch Manager Han... I've been by your side for so many years, working diligently and giving my all."
"And what happened? As soon as something went wrong, you made me the scapegoat and fired me. What did I do wrong? That wasn't my responsibility at all." The man said, hitting the wall. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and said, "Right... It's all this damn world's fault. The world was always like this, full of deception, betrayal, scapegoating... It's all the same. I can only blame myself for being too naive."
From his words, Xia Shang could tell that the man was originally a diligent office worker who had been made a scapegoat by his leader at work. The so-called Manager Han had subjected him to prolonged workplace bullying, leading to extreme resentment. And his greatest desire at the moment was to kill Manager Han.
Extremely emotionally broken or on the verge of breaking! Despair towards the world! Possessing a single, powerful desire! The three laws Xia Shang had guessed were all met by the man before him. This meant...
Indeed, the man then turned his head to look at Xia Shang and the other two. His body gradually twisted, two streams of nosebleed ran down his chin, dripping onto the ground. At the same time, he emitted the sounds of Manager Han, Manager Han from his mouth.
It seemed he had mistaken Xia Shang and the other two for his superior, Manager Han.
His infection speed was faster than the Hunger Monster's, indicating his desire was stronger.
Just as he was about to pounce on Xia Shang, Xia Shang frowned. This guy looked very weak, seemingly not even worth analyzing. So, without a word, he lifted his leg and kicked him away. Coincidentally, Jung Jae-heon appeared behind the man, holding a long saber. Seeing this, he swung his knife, slicing off half of the man's head.
"Is he dead?" Yoon Ji-su asked with a trembling voice.
It was her first time witnessing the entire process of a monster's transformation. She hadn't expected such a terrifying monster to be transformed from a human.
"He should be dead. Why are you here?" Jung Jae-heon retracted his long saber and asked the few of them.
"Our mobile phones have no signal, we can't call the police at all, so we wanted to try the Rooftop. Maybe the signal is good there."
Hearing Yoon Ji-su's words, Jung Jae-heon's expression became serious, "The signal hasn't disappeared, but it's become very weak. This situation is likely due to a problem with the Signal Base Station outside."
While he was speaking, all the mobile phones of everyone present vibrated.
"Emergency Disaster Text Message... Is it an infectious disease?" Lee Eun-yu took out her mobile phone, looked at the text message on it, and read softly.
The text message was sent by the Korean Ministry of Interior and Safety. It wasn't long, roughly a national disaster alarm. It stated that individuals with abnormal symptoms such as nosebleed, unconsciousness, aggressive behavior, etc., should be immediately isolated.
At the same time, the people downstairs also received this message. The term "national level disaster" deeply pierced their hearts. Many even cried out in despair, unwilling to face reality.
"Let's go, everyone return to your rooms. There's no need to stay here anymore." Before leaving, Xia Shang gave a meaningful look at the corpse on the ground with half its head sliced off.
One must know that monsters are very tenacious. Although half its head was sliced off, it must still be alive.
The next day, Cha Hyun-soo woke up from his unconscious state. At this moment, he couldn't remember anything, as if there was a gap in his memory. He walked to the window and slowly pulled back the curtain.
What met his eyes was a scene like the end of the world. Endless flocks of crows crossed the sky, and the buildings on the ground were dilapidated, some even engulfed in raging flames.
Cha Hyun-soo stared blankly at the scene outside the window.
Suddenly, his nosebleed uncontrollably gushed out, like a faucet with the valve opened. No matter how he covered his nose with his left hand, he still couldn't stop the blood from flowing. Soon, his chin was covered in blood, and a past memory surged into his heart.
(end of chapter)