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"You didn't order any delivery, did you?"
"There's no way delivery services would be operating normally in this situation."
"…."
Jiwi Han coldly denied my words.
'Can't even make a joke.'
I grumbled inwardly at his coldness and headed for the front door.
The intercom screen showed a hulk who looked easily twice my size. Because he was wearing a sleeveless shirt, a flamboyant dragon tattoo running from one shoulder to the opposite wrist was blatantly visible.
"That man lives on the 3rd floor of the house next door."
You could tell just by looking at him that he'd been doing unsavory things. His appearance made you wonder if he was even capable of doing anything wholesome.
'Can I beat him?'
Unlike bizarre zombies, the learned fear from his appearance suddenly made me lose confidence.
"Are you planning to kill him right now?"
"I'll observe first. I don't even know what kind of person he is yet."
"Prepare yourself. Considering he came right after causing a commotion, he might be trying to exploit our exhaustion. If a fight breaks out, I'll fight with you."
Jiwi Han, though not as wide as the hulk, was taller, so I regained some confidence.
My physical abilities being enhanced by 45% was also quite significant; I might have been overreacting. If a fight did happen, that kind of mindset would only have a negative impact. I needed to reflect.
Ding-dong─
After a brief moment of reflection, I hid a crowbar nearby so I could grab it immediately if necessary, and then pressed the unlock button on the intercom.
The sound of the door lock releasing rang out along with a cheerful melody. And at the same time, the hulk flung the door open and stepped inside.
"You son of a bitch! Why are you making such a racket in the neighborhood?! Huh? And who the hell is this little punk?"
The hulk started cursing as soon as he entered. He looked at me, standing in front of the front door, with a brief moment of bewilderment, then immediately cursed at me too.
I checked the hulk's status window first.
『Jo Seok-cheol』
Traits: 「Gigolo (lv.1)」/「Fighter (lv.1)」/「Shameless (lv.3)」
I knew it the moment I saw it.
This bastard had to die.
There was no way a guy with a personality trait of a blatantly negative name above level 3 was right in the head. Besides, the way he came in cursing and picking a fight with me, whom he'd never met, made it seem like killing him was the right thing to do even without the traits.
"Kid, get lost. Hey, landlord!"
The hulk ignored me and looked for Jiwi Han.
However, I noticed that the moment he saw me, he quickly scanned me up and down, checking for weapons in my pockets and waist, and assessing whether I was a threat. My 20% enhanced vision was a good enough effect to catch that.
Ironically, it seemed like he concluded that he didn't need to be wary of me, but just seeing him habitually keep me within his sight told me that this guy wasn't easy to deal with.
"What's going on? You must have a reason for acting so rudely and causing a disturbance."
"What if I don't?"
"Then zombies won't be the only ones you have to be careful of."
'Why is he being so aggressive?'
Jiwi Han's attitude was different from when he met me on the rooftop. He was still speaking politely, but the content was quite toxic. As if he were provoking him.
I figured he had a reason for doing so, so I decided to watch for now.
"Look at this cocky bastard? See this?"
Provoked by Jiwi Han's provocative words, the hulk took out brass knuckles from his pocket and slipped them onto his fingers. There were blue stains on the knuckles, and you could tell at a glance that it was zombie blood.
"Why do you think this blood is here?"
"Why would I need to know that?"
"It's because you were causing a ruckus outside, and the zombies got into the house! That's why you educated types are even more annoying. You have no conscience!"
The hulk was fuming with rage. Since he was on the 3rd floor, he might have been able to see the rooftop, but he didn't seem to have seen me leading the zombies and diving. That must be why he was yelling at Jiwi Han.
From what I heard, so many zombies had gathered that a few must have slipped in, but I didn't think it was something to get so angry about.
'Why go out and fight? Just stay home.'
Unless a monster-level zombie that broke through the military's defensive line appeared, zombies don't have the ability to break through front doors. And since I kept calling the zombies, the ones that came in would have immediately chased me back outside.
In other words, he could have just stayed put, but he went out and fought with the zombies.
When you consider the reason why the zombies entered the building, it was my fault, so it might be upsetting, but it wasn't something to get angry about and say he had to fight the zombies.
But the hulk was brazenly blaming it all on Jiwi Han and threatening him.
'Looks like he wants something?'
It seemed that, as Jiwi Han said, he was aiming for our moment of exhaustion and came here. There were no women here, so maybe he was making a fuss because he wanted food.
"So, what do you want to say?"
"What? Ah, blood pressure─"
"Stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point. This isn't a place where we play along with your low-level games."
"…Aish, damn it. You're really not going to work out. I've wanted to rough you up for a while now, seeing your annoying face. Looks like today's the day."
The hulk seemed to have decided to just resolve it with force since Jiwi Han wasn't listening obediently and was putting up a fight.
The hulk leaped forward as if bouncing off the floor and dashed past me toward Jiwi Han.
His movements were quite agile for his massive size. And his momentum was even greater. His appearance was so menacing and his size so large that it felt like a dump truck was barreling in.
I was carefully watching why Jiwi Han provoked the hulk even though he knew he could do this, but he simply took out a baseball bat that he had inconspicuously placed against the wall near the entrance and swung it.
"Huh?"
But even I could see that it was clumsy. He was built from working out and had good strength, but he was just swinging it blindly and forcefully, causing him to lose control of his body and lean forward significantly.
There was no way the hulk, who seemed used to fighting, would take such a clumsy attack.
The hulk quickly moved to the side, deflecting the bat, and simultaneously grabbed Jiwi Han's shoulder with his un-knuckled hand, pulling him hard. Jiwi Han, who had lost his balance, had no choice but to roll across the floor.
I had no idea what Jiwi Han was thinking, but I couldn't just stand by and watch any longer, so I grabbed the crowbar and rushed toward the hulk.
However, the hulk didn't stop even when he saw me running at him with the crowbar. As if determined to finish off at least one of us first, he kicked Jiwi Han.
Fortunately, Jiwi Han managed to block it with his arm, but unfortunately, he hit the back of his head on the floor and went limp.
Contrary to his appearance, he was seriously clumsy. I had no idea why he provoked him.
Anyway, in the meantime, I jumped over the slumped Jiwi Han and swung the crowbar down at the hulk.
Clang─
"Ugh!"
The hulk blocked the crowbar with his knuckled fist, but he didn't expect a scrawny guy like me to hit so well, and he couldn't withstand it. The arm that collided with the crowbar bounced out to the side helplessly.
I didn't miss the opportunity and reached out with my left hand, slamming the hulk's jaw. And following the hulk as he staggered backward, I swung the crowbar again.
"You little shit!"
The hulk was as violent as he looked. After getting hit once, he seemed to think he should drag it into a brawl, and he didn't back down even when he saw the crowbar. As if he had no intention of dodging, he charged at me instead.
Crack─
The hulk's arm, hit by the crowbar, made a sound that shouldn't be heard from a human body, but the hulk clenched his teeth and took another step closer to me, grabbing my collar. It was a reckless act, but it was such a forceful approach that I couldn't stop it.
'Damn it. Fine, let's do it.'
I would inevitably have the advantage in a brawl with one arm messed up.
Of course, there were differences in physique and experience, but I ignored all that. In a situation where close combat was already forced, I couldn't afford to worry about those things one by one, nor did I have the time.
The hulk pulled on my collar and headbutted me. My head spun momentarily when his forehead collided with mine.
But I wasn't just taking hits either. I dropped the crowbar and punched the hulk's jaw again with my clenched fist.
"You shi…"
We both staggered and had to step back.
I squeezed my legs tightly and forced myself forward. I had only taken one headbutt, but the hulk had taken one headbutt himself and two punches from me, so I judged that now was the time to push him.
And I, who approached first, stretched my foot out with all my might towards the hulk, who was finally trying to regain his balance.
"Aaaagh!"
"Huh?"
But unfortunately, it landed precisely in the hulk's groin. I was originally going to kick his stomach, but because I was dizzy, my aim was off. I swear.
The hulk, who had been as sturdy as a dump truck, sank with that one blow. It couldn't be helped for a man. It was a vile blow that broke the unspoken rules of men's fights, but it was a powerful blow nonetheless.
Anyway, it was a golden opportunity for me. With the determination to solidify my victory, I rushed at the hulk and kicked him as if avenging Jiwi Han.
"You're not even a man…"
The hulk, who was hit up and down, muttered as if he had to leave these words behind even as his mind faded.
"That's you now."
"Shi…"
The remnants of 「Cold-Blooded (lv.3)」 didn't care about the hulk's resentment-filled criticism. I just picked up the crowbar that had fallen to the ground.
Smack─
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