"Quick! He must have hidden food in here!"
"Check his bedroom too! Search every corner, don't leave anything unchecked."
"Damn it! I found it, the food is in the cabinet, but it's locked!"
"Move!"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The sound of violent smashing echoed through the cramped apartment.
Negut lay on the freezing floor, his gaze fixed on the very people he had once helped, once called neighbors, once considered friends, now rummaging through his home, desperate to seize the last scraps of food he had saved.
His left arm had been severed, his right arm and right leg were broken, and a deep gash split his abdomen open, fresh blood pouring out without pause.
His face was ghost-pale, his lips turning purple from the brutal cold and the massive blood loss.
At this moment, he could feel his life slipping away at terrifying speed.
Unwillingness, hatred, agony… countless chaotic thoughts churned through his mind.
But there was only one thought gripping him tightly enough to keep him clinging to life, he wanted to live.
"Ha… ha… ha…" Negut gasped, desperately trying to breathe, but it was pointless. He gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly: 'No! I… I can't die! I want to live! I want revenge! I want to tear those bastards into pieces!'
His jaw clenched so hard that blood streamed from his nose and mouth, making his face look even more ferocious.
'Help… help me!' he screamed inside his mind. 'Someone… anyone… save me…'
And then, time suddenly seemed to freeze. The green gemstone hanging from his necklace lifted into the air.
It slipped free from the chain and hovered above him, radiating a blinding green light.
*That's… the gemstone my parents left me.* Negut stared at the bizarre sight, stunned.
He watched clearly as his blood, smeared across the gemstone, was slowly absorbed into it.
WHOONG!!!
A bell-like resonance rang out, a wave of light expanding outward before vanishing in an instant.
The gemstone shifted, twisting into a strange symbol, then slowly drifted toward Negut and merged into his body.
At that moment, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Almighty Repair System has been activated. You have received the Newbie Gift Pack. Do you wish to open it?]
*The System?!* Negut trembled in shock, a burst of wild hope igniting inside him.
He had read enough webnovels to know exactly what was happening, just how miraculous a system could be.
Unable to speak, he hurriedly commanded through his thoughts: 'Open it… open it now!'
[Ding! You have opened the Newbie Gift Pack. You have received:
* 1 Free Almighty Repair Card
* 1,000 Repair Points
* 1 Random Talent Card
Considering that your life is approaching its end, do you wish to activate the Repair Function?]
'Activate it! Hurry!' Negut roared inwardly, hope flooding through his fading consciousness.
[Ding! Activating Repair Function:
Option 1: Spend 100 Repair Points to restore your body to its original state and gain 7 additional days of life.
Option 2: Spend 1,000 Repair Points to awaken your hidden potential. Not only will your body be fully restored, but you will also awaken one random talent. Gain 7 additional days of life.
Choose (1) or (2).]
Negut didn't waste time thinking. He had just received 1,000 Repair Points. He didn't know how valuable they were, but he only wanted the best option for himself.
'I choose (2)! Hurry! I'm about to die!'
[Ding! Choice confirmed. 1,000 Repair Points consumed successfully.]
[Ding! Congratulations on successfully awakening a talent. You have acquired the talent Perfect Creation – Rank B.
Description: Possess a perfect body, surpassing the peak condition of humanity by threefold.]
At that moment, the wounds on Negut's body began to regenerate at an astonishing rate. Even his broken bones knit together, and the severed arm regrew entirely.
It didn't stop there. His once–thin body transformed, becoming firm and powerfully built. His muscles did not look bulky or brutish; instead, they were compact, flexible, refined, Negut now looked like a flawless work of art.
Negut realized he had just returned from hell. He could feel life and power surging through every inch of him.
When he stood up straight, time resumed its normal flow.
"He… he woke up!"
Someone shouted in fear, and everyone in the apartment turned toward him, startled.
They trembled, faces pale with disbelief.
"What the hell is that? Wasn't he dead just a moment ago?"
"He resurrected! Don't tell me…"
"He awakened. He's an Awakened."
"Damn it! Don't panic! Even if he's an Awakened, we still outnumber him."
"That's right! Kill him, or we won't survive!"
"Kill him!"
The crowd brandished knives, clubs, and whatever weapons they had as they rushed toward Negut, their faces twisted with cruelty and cold intent.
But Negut remained still, watching them with empty indifference.
'Too slow…' he thought.
Yes! He didn't understand why their movements looked so slow, as if the world had suddenly become a slow–motion clip.
Yet when he looked at their faces, the fire inside him roared back to life.
"You pieces of trash!" Negut snarled and threw a punch.
BAM!
His movement was so fast that the man nearest him didn't even see the strike. He only felt an overwhelming force slam into his face.
Crack!
The sound of his nose and jaw shattering echoed sharply. Teeth and blood splattered through the air.
"Agh!" the man screamed before being launched backward, crashing to the ground.
Everyone froze, stunned. Instinctively, they turned to look at the fallen man.
He twitched once, then went still. Blood gushed from his mouth and nose, but his face had caved in so badly that even his own parents wouldn't be able to recognize him.
Silence…
A chilling, suffocating silence filled the room.
The group stared at Negut in terror.
"What's wrong? Weren't you all very ruthless just now?" Negut laughed, a twisted, unhinged smile stretching across his face. "When you killed me, you were all so excited. Why so quiet now?"
"AHH!!!" a girl suddenly screamed, collapsing onto the ground, shaking violently as tears streamed down her face. "No! It wasn't me! They… they were the ones who killed you! It has nothing to do with me!"
The group snapped out of their shock. They looked at each other, then back at Negut.
"What the hell are you all doing?!" a brown-haired young man shouted. "Hurry up! Kill him! No matter how strong he is, he can't fight all of us at once!"
"If we don't kill him, after what we did, he will definitely kill every single one of us."
The moment they heard those words, the crowd immediately regained their composure. Their grip tightened around their weapons as though the brown-haired young man's shout had ignited new courage within them.
"AGH!"
"That's right! Kill him! Only by killing him do we have a chance to survive!"
"Go! All together! He's only one man!"
They rushed at him again, faces twisted with fear, yet equally ferocious.
Negut watched them and laughed in excitement, muttering, "Yes… this is much more interesting."
He tilted his body, dodging the blade aimed at him, and with astonishing speed kicked the man in the stomach.
BAM!
"AGH!" The man flew backward, crashing into someone behind him before both fell to the floor.
Negut grabbed the knife he had just snatched from the man's hand and hurled it forward.
Thud!
"GAH!!!" A man in the back screamed as the dagger pierced through his chest. He clutched his chest, falling to his knees while howling in agony.
There were seven people in the apartment. Four of them were already incapacitated. Only two girls and the brown-haired young man remained.
The two girls were so terrified they couldn't even move. They crouched in a corner, hugging their heads, trembling violently.
Negut looked around, suddenly realizing the brown-haired young man had slipped away at some point.
"Tsk!" Negut clicked his tongue, annoyed. "That bastard… shouting for everyone to unite and kill me, yet he's the first to slip away in the chaos."
He glanced at another young man lying on the floor pretending to be dead, the one who had been knocked down earlier when the man Negut kicked crashed into him. When he saw everyone else seriously injured, he decided to fake his death.
"Trying to play dead?" Negut sneered.
The young man opened his eyes, gritting out, "You bastard! You dare kill me?! The police will arrest you, they'll throw you in prison!"
"Oh, how scary." Negut spoke with cold indifference, even pretending to quiver in fear, as though mocking him. "So when you killed me earlier, you weren't afraid of the police?"
"That's because you're selfish!" the man roared, his fear turning into anger. "You had food but refused to share it with everyone. Someone like you deserves to die!"
"Hahahaha…" Negut laughed, a cold, spine-chilling sound.
The young man trembled, but his hand secretly groped behind him until he found a fallen knife. Then…
"GYA!!! Die!"
Smash!
Before the blade could even reach within ten centimeters of Negut's stomach, his powerful hand closed around the man's wrist. Then…
CRACK!
"AGH!!!"
Negut applied just a bit of force and snapped his wrist. The man screamed, collapsing to his knees, writhing in agony.
"No! Help! Somebody help me!"
He struggled violently, screaming in desperation.
Negut looked at his pale face and said with disdain, "If you want to kill someone, you'd better be prepared to be killed."
He raised his fist and…
BAM!
CRACK!
The man's face caved in under Negut's punch, shattering just like the first one. He twitched for a moment on the floor, then went completely still.
Negut shifted his gaze to the two girls. He remembered clearly… they were the ones who pretended to be weak in order to trick him into opening the door by offering supplies in exchange.
They carried a bag of sugar and a bag of salt. He had lowered his guard, and opened the door. Then…
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" one girl screamed, hearing his approaching footsteps. "They forced me! I didn't want to kill you! I'm sorry… I'm really sorry…"
Negut smirked, his voice calm: "Don't worry. I'm a man of principle. I don't kill the elderly, women, or children."
Both girls froze in shock, then lifted their heads in hopeful disbelief.
"R-Really?"
Negut nodded, smiling warmly. "Of course it's true."
"Then… we'll go!" one of them said shakily.
Negut nodded again, that gentle smile still on his face.
The two girls, relieved, clutched each other's hands and slowly walked past Negut toward the door. But…
Negut suddenly reached out and grabbed their hair, yanking them back. Both shrieked in terror.
"You… didn't you say you wouldn't kill women?"
"That's right, you said… you don't kill women, children, or the elderly, didn't you?"
Seeing them struggle and tremble in his grasp, Negut grinned cruelly. "Yes. But neither of you are elderly… and neither of you are children."
Their faces turned corpse-white. They finally realized he had been toying with them all along.
"Don't… don't kill me! I can sleep with you!"
"Me too! I can sleep with you, I can…"
Negut tilted his head, pouting mockingly. "Sorry. I'm not interested in trash."
BAM! BAM!