The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 74: Trespassers

The air shifted the moment they crossed the boundary.

Jin didn't need the system to tell him they'd been noticed. He could feel it.

There was something different about moving through an abandoned city and moving into a claimed one. The streets didn't look much different—still cracked pavement, still rusted cars, still the eerie emptiness that had defined the past two weeks.

But there were signs now.

Subtle, but there.

Windows weren't shattered; they were boarded up. Trash wasn't scattered randomly; it had been pushed into piles. And the biggest giveaway—the road ahead wasn't layered in dust.

Someone had been walking these streets. Recently.

Echo exhaled sharply beside him. "Well," he muttered, "we're officially on someone else's lawn."

Joon cracked his knuckles, his usual smirk in place. "Think they'll roll out the welcome mat?"

Haneul didn't answer, his grip on his staff firm, eyes scanning every shadow. Areum kept a steady pace, but Jin could tell by her posture that she was on edge.

Jin didn't blame her.

They weren't hunting blind anymore. They were in the open, and whoever was in charge already knew it. The system always informed territory leaders when someone else came into their area of control, he had seen that with Ryu and the people who tried to attack them two days before.

Still, Jin didn't stop.

He kept walking, his hands loose at his sides. Calm. Controlled. Waiting.

He didn't have to wait long.

Two figures stepped out from a side alley just ahead, armed and already watching them.

Jin's eyes flickered over them.

Neither was particularly large, but they carried themselves like they didn't need to be. Their clothes were reinforced—not quite armor, but sturdy enough to handle a fight. And their weapons weren't just scavenged; they were maintained.

These weren't just survivors. They were enforcers.

One of them held up a hand.

"That's close enough."

Jin stopped. So did the others.

The second guard took a slow step forward, looking them over. "You're in our territory." His tone was even, but his stance was ready. "Turn around and leave. This will be your first and last warning."

Jin met his gaze. "Sorry, didn't know this area belonged to anyone."

The first guard scoffed. "Well, you know now."

Jin didn't react.

Instead, he tilted his head slightly. "Before we go could you help us out, we're looking for some people."

A slight pause. "That's not our problem," the second guard said.

Jin ignored him. "Big guy," he continued, his voice light. "Muscle for brains. Gets stronger when he's mad." His eyes sharpened slightly. "Ring any bells?"

The first guard's expression didn't change. The second guard, however, tensed—just for a second.

Then he scoffed. "Never heard of him."

Jin smiled. Just a little.

"I hate liars."

Then he moved.

The first guard barely had time to raise his gun before Jin was on him.

The strap snapped forward like a whip, wrapping around his wrist. Jin twisted sharply—disarming him in one smooth motion. The gun clattered to the ground as Jin yanked the strap back, using the momentum to shift.

The second guard lunged with a knife. Jin sidestepped, flicking the strap again—this time wrapping it around the incoming wrist.

Then, with a sharp pull—he flipped the man over his shoulder and sent him crashing into the pavement.

Jin exhaled slowly, rolling the strap back into his grip.

Both men groaned on the ground, dazed but not unconscious.

Joon let out a low whistle. "Your skill really is amazing."

Echo crossed his arms. "Man really just folded two guys with a belt."

Areum blinked. "That wasn't a belt. It felt like something else."

Haneul was silent, but Jin could feel his gaze locked onto him. Watching. Learning.

Jin crouched slightly, tightening the strap against one of the guard's arms. "Now," he said evenly, "let's try that again."

The first guard coughed, glaring up at him. "You just made a big mistake."

Jin didn't respond.

Then—he felt it.

A pulse.

A shift in the air.

He tensed, instinct kicking in—just as both guards suddenly moved.

Their bodies surged with power, their eyes sharpening with focus. Abilities activating.

The first man's skin darkened and thickened, his muscles bulging unnaturally. A defensive enhancement. The second's fists crackled with energy, chains of light forming around them.

Jin pushed back, just as the first guard's arm slammed into the ground where he'd been seconds before— sending cracks through the pavement.

Jin's eyes flickered.

They weren't out yet.

The second guard grinned, rolling his shoulders. "You're dead."

Then, before Jin could react—Haneul moved.

He disappeared into the shadows, his body vanishing into nothingness.

A split second later, he reappeared behind the first guard.

Jin barely caught the movement before Haneul's staff thrust forward.

Not with raw force.

Not with speed.

With something else.

His staff shouldn't have hit from that angle. Shouldn't have reached that far. But it did.

It cracked against the guard's ribs—and sent him flying.

The air rippled unnaturally around the strike, as if space itself had twisted for that moment.

Jin's gaze sharpened.

Wuyuan Jie.

It had worked.

The second guard's eyes widened, barely comprehending what just happened—before another force hit him from the side.

Doyun stepped forward, his hands already glowing with compressed air. He let out a sharp breath.

"Pressure shot."

A shockwave exploded forward.

The impact hit the second guard square in the gut, lifting him off the ground before he was sent crashing into a wall.

Silence followed.

Jin exhaled slowly.

He glanced at the two guards, now sprawled motionless.

Then he looked at Haneul.

The kid's breathing was steady, his stance firm, his grip still tight around his staff. That attack wasn't just instinct. He had meant to do it.

Good.

Jin looked toward Doyun. His arms were still tense from the recoil, but he didn't look shaken.

Also good.

A slow smirk spread across Joon's face. "Alright," he muttered. "That was kinda badass."

Areum nodded slightly, still watching the downed enemies.

Echo just sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well," he muttered, "guess there's no sneaking around anymore."

Jin rolled the strap back into his grip.

"No," he agreed.

Jin exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. The two guards were still groaning, shifting slightly as they tried to shake off the hits they'd taken.

But Jin wasn't about to let them get back up.

The first guard reached for his weapon, fingers twitching toward the rifle lying just out of reach. His eyes flickered with desperation—he knew how bad this was for him.

Jin moved before he could react.

The strap snapped forward, lashing around the man's wrist like a coiling serpent. Jin yanked—hard.

The man was pulled forward, his arm wrenched awkwardly as he stumbled onto his knees. Before he could recover, Jin swung the rifle up and slammed the butt of it into the side of his head.

A dull, heavy crack.

The guard crumpled instantly, his body slumping against the pavement.

The second one barely had time to react before Jin was already moving again.

He flicked the strap back, shifting his grip, and lashed it around the second guard's forearm. The man snarled, trying to twist away—but Jin wasn't playing fair.

One hard yank. A sharp step forward.

The guard was yanked off balance, his stance breaking just enough for Jin to move in. A quick pivot, a sharp swing of the rifle—

Another brutal impact.

The man hit the ground, his body going limp as the fight left him completely.

Silence.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then—

"Okay," Joon muttered, exhaling slowly. "I'm starting to think you don't even need weapons at this point."

Jin ignored him, adjusting his grip on the rifle. He bent down, grabbing both men by their arms and dragging them toward a rusted-out railing nearby.

In a few sharp, fluid movements, he looped the strap around them, securing them together—wrists bound, legs tangled, backs pressed uncomfortably against the cold metal.

They weren't going anywhere.

Echo let out a low whistle. "Not bad. Kind of a waste, though. Think we should've just killed them?"

"Not yet," Jin said simply. "We don't know how many we're up against."

Echo hummed, but didn't argue.

Jin gave the bindings one last tug before standing up, his fingers flexing against the rifle. It was heavier than he liked. He'd never been much for guns. Too clunky. Too limiting.

But he wasn't above using one if he needed to.

He glanced up—and immediately stiffened.

Footsteps.

Fast. Coming from the north.

Jin turned toward the sound—and sure enough, figures were rounding the corner up ahead.

Four, five, six of them. Armed. Moving with intent.

Areum tensed beside him. "Well," she muttered, "that didn't take long."

Haneul gripped his staff, shifting into a ready stance. "They were waiting for something like this."

Jin's fingers curled around the rifle. They weren't wrong.

This wasn't some random scouting party.

This was response.

And the real fight was about to begin.