Soon enough, Cha Hyun-soo reached the stairwell and ran straight into Pyeon Sang-wook heading down.
Seeing the guy standing in a puddle of blood, Cha Hyun-soo asked again, "Did you see some weird woman just now?"
Pyeon Sang-wook looked confused, no clue what the kid was talking about. Then Cha Hyun-soo's vision went black and he dropped unconscious right at the other man's feet.
"Get him back to his room," Ivan said, stepping out from the corner of the landing.
Pyeon Sang-wook lifted his foot and ground his dress shoe into the blood. "And all this shit on the floor?"
"Who the fuck knows? Maybe somebody nicked their hand by accident." Ivan grinned, completely unbothered by the gore.
Pyeon Sang-wook didn't answer. He just hauled the unconscious Cha Hyun-soo up, slung an arm around him, and dragged the kid back to his room.
***
On the other side of the hall, Yoon Ji-soo was practicing vocals when someone started hammering on her door like they wanted to break it down. She figured her music had been too loud and the neighbors were finally pissed.
"Dammit, I shouldn't have played that long," she muttered, already rehearsing her apology.
She walked to the door, guilt written all over her face. "Sorry about that. I get inspired at night and lose track of time. I'll keep it down, promise."
While she was talking, the intercom screen showed a woman outside. The stranger's face was covered in rotting sores, skin cracked and rough like tree bark. She looked fucking terrifying, and she kept moaning the same thing over and over: "I'm so hungry…"
"Is your face okay? Are you hurt?" Yoon Ji-soo asked, concerned.
The next second the starving woman started smashing the door like a beast. Yoon Ji-soo watched the metal dent inward and yelped, "I said I'd be quieter! I already apologized—what the hell is your problem?"
The woman outside ignored her completely. She just kept ramming the iron door harder and harder. The dents grew deeper, the frame groaning. Any second now the whole thing was going to burst open.
Yoon Ji-soo stumbled backward as the woman outside went feral, smashing the door like she wanted to tear it off its hinges. On the intercom screen she saw the bitch's face twist and stretch, mouth ripping open to show a mouth full of sharp, jagged teeth. The woman's eyes were bloodshot as hell, hammering nonstop.
The door was about to cave in. Yoon Ji-soo's legs gave out and she dropped hard on her ass.
She looked around in panic, grabbed the baseball bat leaning against the wall, then scrambled back up into a shaky defensive stance.
"Fuck, is this really necessary?" she panted, gripping the bat so tight her knuckles went white. She inched closer to the door.
Then the banging just stopped. The crazy woman vanished from the screen.
"Ran off pretty fast," Ivan said, coming up the stairs with Pyeon Sang-wook. They'd both caught the whole show.
"Looks like you scared her off," Pyeon Sang-wook muttered as he stopped in front of Yoon Ji-soo's door.
The second his burned, ruined face appeared on the intercom, Yoon Ji-soo nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Just your imagination," Ivan said casually, that lazy Parisian smirk on his lips.
Once she got a proper look at both of them, Yoon Ji-soo let out a shaky breath. The burned uncle looked terrifying, sure, but the guy next to him—neat clothes, soft smile, doctor vibes—seemed harmless enough. Probably not a psycho.
She opened the door a crack, still clutching the bat.
"Who are you?"
"Ivan Greevs, room 1419. This is Pyeon Sang-wook, another resident," Ivan introduced himself.
"I'm Yoon Ji-soo. Nice to meet you," she said quickly, bowing a little while still hugging the bat.
Then she pointed outside. "There was this woman just now, face all bloody, banging on my door like a maniac." She glanced down the hallway and froze. The glass window at the end of the corridor had a massive hole smashed through it. "She didn't… jump, did she?"
Bang!
Pyeon Sang-wook slammed his fist into the door, leaving a deep dent. He stared at the mark and growled, "That bitch wasn't knocking. She was trying to ram the fucking thing down."
"Still, these iron doors in this shithole apartment are garbage," Ivan said, pressing his palm against the metal. When he pulled his hand away, a perfect handprint stayed behind, pressed deep into the thin sheet.
Turned out Green Home's "security doors" were just cheap tin wrapped around some foam filler. Real reassuring.
...
On the other side of the building, Lee Eun-hyuk was heading out for his night tutoring gig.
He was Lee Eun-yoo's older brother—the girl who danced on the rooftop.
After their usual sibling bickering, he'd left the apartment. Eighteen years old, still in school during the day, so he worked evenings.
But when he reached the ground floor, he found the main entrance locked tight. The security guard who was supposed to be there was nowhere in sight.
Other residents trying to leave were already bitching loudly.
While Eun-hyuk waited, Seo Yi-kyung—the stunning woman with sharp
"What the hell's going on? Why's everyone crammed down here?" Yoon Ji-soo asked, craning her neck.
"Isn't it fucking obvious? The main gate's locked," Ivan said, jerking his thumb toward the iron doors.
Once the security office door got smashed open, Seo Yi-kyung slipped inside, grabbed the desk phone, and cursed. Dead line. No signal anywhere in the building. Luckily the supermarket owner, Kim Seok-hyun, spotted the gate switch on the panel.
Right as his finger hovered over the button, everyone froze. A towering freak was standing right outside the glass entrance—had to be damn near three meters tall, mouth dripping fresh blood.
"Woof woof woof!!" The little dog in some auntie's arms went ballistic, barking its head off at the thing.
"Close it," Lee Eun-hyuk said coldly.
While the others were still gawking at the monster's fucked-up face, Ivan stepped forward.
"That guy doesn't look right—don't get too close!" Yoon Ji-soo warned.
"Got it," Ivan replied, that lazy French drawl in his voice. He moved into range and triggered his analysis ability.
Before the scan could finish, the creature's jaw split wide open. A fat, blood-red tongue shot out like a spear and slammed into the glass door. Cracks spider-webbed instantly with a loud crunch.
Everyone stumbled back in panic. Lee Eun-hyuk roared, "Shut the roll gate! Now!"
Too late.
The monster whipped its tentacle-like tongue, smashed straight through the glass, and came stomping inside.
Screams exploded everywhere. Some people froze solid, legs turned to lead, too terrified to run.
In the next second the freak lashed out its long, dripping tongue—easily ten meters—snaking through the crowd. It punched clean through one resident's chest with a wet squelch, lifted the screaming man into the air like a skewered pig.
"Run! Everybody fucking run!" People were scrambling, tripping over each other, bolting deeper into the building.
Ivan watched coldly. The long-tongued monster stayed planted in place, sucking greedily on the dying man's blood, gulping it down with wet, disgusting slurps. It didn't even bother moving.
"Attack speed's decent," Ivan muttered. "But the method's too fucking simple. Obvious weak points everywhere."
[Analysis Complete]
[Innate Skill: Bloodthirsty Tongue]
[Fusion Condition: Kill a complete Long-Tongue Monster]
[After fusion, the player will develop an overwhelming craving to drink blood from humans or monsters. The player's mouth will mutate. If rational thinking loses to the hunger, the player will fully transform into a monster.]
[Additionally, this skill has growth potential. By feeding the desire and constantly absorbing blood, the tongue will lengthen and strengthen. Friendly reminder: the hunger will also grow stronger over time. Once the player overcomes the desire completely, the skill will stop growing.]
"What a weird fucking craving," Ivan thought, genuinely curious what the hell had twisted the thing into this.
He had zero interest in fusing it. That kind of power was a waste of time here. Unlike back in The Boys, there was no Compound V to speed up integration. Every choice had to count.
Besides, he could already mimic the attack with his own shapeshifting—hell, he could sprout multiple tongues if he wanted. No point. Too many flaws. Get the tongue chopped off and not reattach fast enough? That's a shitload of biomass gone.
While most people were losing their minds, only Ivan, Pyeon Sang-wook, and Lee Eun-hyuk stayed mostly unfazed.
It didn't take long for the Long-Tongue Monster to drain its victim dry. It flung the shriveled corpse aside like trash and locked onto Ivan, the closest fresh meal.
A stinking, twelve-meter tongue whipped straight at him.
"Oh no!" Yoon Ji-soo slapped both hands over her mouth in horror.
Pyeon Sang-wook's eyes sharpened. He snatched the baseball bat right out of her grip, ready to jump in.
___
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69