Chapter 28: The Ambush
Joo Joowon truly hoped that all of this caution was simply him fighting imaginary enemies in his own head.
However, regardless of the situation, he would never allow himself to rely on luck.
After remaining inside the apartment for more than ten minutes, he carried the supplies he had already packed earlier back into the hallway.
Then he entered another apartment and intentionally created occasional rummaging noises from inside.
Half an hour later, Joo Joowon walked out carrying a bag of trash in one hand.
The instant he stepped near the stairwell, a powerful gust of wind suddenly rushed toward him from the side.
However, before the attack could fully land, Joo Joowon instantly withdrew his leg in that split second of reaction.
At the same time, the trash bag in his hand swung upward, sending chili powder scattering wildly through the air.
Kang Woo stared at the scene in disbelief.
He had attacked with his full strength just now, so there was no way for him to stop himself immediately afterward.
No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not understand how Joo Joowon had noticed him.
Before he could figure it out, the irritating chili powder had already forced him to shut his eyes uncontrollably since he had no protection over them at all.
At that exact moment, Joo Joowon had already raised the compound crossbow and fired without the slightest hesitation.
Kang Woo did not even have time to feel pain before collapsing headfirst onto the ground.
The steel pipe in his hand also crashed onto the floor with a sharp clanging sound.
Everything had happened far too quickly.
The man rushing out from the other side of the staircase suddenly froze in place.
He and Kang Woo had already discussed their plan beforehand.
One would ambush from each side and they had even prepared for the possibility that the first attack might fail and turn into a prolonged struggle.
After all, the opponent possessed a weapon.
Their original plan was for Kang Woo to stall for time while the second man attacked from the other side, which should have been enough to take down the opponent.
They were simply too tempted by Joo Joowon’s compound crossbow.
Compared to steel pipes and kitchen knives, who would not be jealous of a long range weapon like that?
They also believed Joo Joowon definitely possessed other equipment as well.
Anyone in their position would have been tempted.
Moreover, judging from how Joo Joowon had chosen to continue searching apartments instead of leaving, they assumed either his sense of caution was insufficient or he had become arrogant because of the weapon in his hands.
To them, this was the perfect opportunity.
They were not stupid either.
This was only the second day after the apocalypse game began.
Even if Joo Joowon possessed equipment, it was impossible for it to create some overwhelming transformation already.
With the strength of two grown men launching a surprise attack, no matter how they thought about it, there should have been no way they could fail against one person.
And even if they failed, they could still immediately surrender and beg for mercy.
As long as they cried hard enough, or kowtowed loudly enough, would the other party really dare kill them?
Neither of them had ever considered that possibility.
But if they succeeded, they might gain supplies and weapons.
Yet no matter what, he never expected Joo Joowon to truly dare kill someone directly.
Not only that, but he had done it without even a trace of hesitation.
His methods were unbelievably ruthless.
The moment he saw Joo Joowon immediately aiming the compound crossbow at him after killing Kang Woo, he was instantly terrified.
Without even noticing whether the crossbow had been reloaded yet, he turned around and desperately ran toward his apartment in panic.
Joo Joowon quickly loaded another bolt into the compound crossbow and aimed at the man’s leg before firing.
"AHHH!"
The intense pain forced the man to scream loudly.
His running was interrupted immediately, causing him to stumble and crash onto the floor while looking at Joo Joowon in horror.
"Don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! Kang Woo forced me to do it! I had no choice! Spare me! Please spare me!"
Watching Joo Joowon slowly approach step by step, the man cried miserably with tears and snot covering his face while desperately begging for mercy.
Joo Joowon approached while holding the compound crossbow steady.
Ever since obtaining the arm shield, he no longer feared close range encounters with other people as much as before.
Under the threat of the compound crossbow, the man did not dare move even slightly.
Joo Joowon took out a paper wrapped object from his bag that looked somewhat like hard candy and threw it onto the floor.
"Eat this."
The man hurriedly picked up the item Joo Joowon had thrown down.
After unwrapping the tissue paper, he discovered a crystal the size of a little fingernail inside.
It was colorless and transparent, looking somewhat like rock sugar yet also somewhat like a diamond.
He swallowing his saliva nervously, the man asked with a trembling expression, "If I eat this, you’ll let me go?"
"Cut the crap. Eat it, or I’ll kill you right now."
"I’ll eat it! I’ll eat it!"
He immediately stuffed the crystal into his mouth and even opened his mouth afterward for Joo Joowon to inspect, proving that he had truly swallowed it.
He had already guessed that whatever Joo Joowon gave him was probably not something good.
But between dying immediately and having a possible chance to survive, he naturally chose the latter.
Joo Joowon tightly gripped the compound crossbow in vigilance.
The moment anything seemed wrong, he would fire instantly.
What he had thrown over was none other than a small fragment cut from the Zombie Core.
Although the Zombie Core resembled a diamond in appearance, it did not possess the hardness of one.
Instead, it was more similar to glass or other fragile crystals that could be damaged easily.
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