Chapter 25: Steel Clad and Unyielding

 The dark corridor was dimly lit by the faint lunar light that seeped in through a high, broken window. The air was thick with the scent of musty dampness mixed with a putrid odor emanating from a nearby corpse.

The sound of footsteps echoed as several tenants restrained Jin. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his eyes, cutting off his vision. He gasped in surprise, unsure of who it could be. The arms were soft and slender, with a hint of sweet perfume.

Jin realized they belonged to a woman but couldn't identify her. He felt her breath on his cheek as she whispered something, but the chaos of the moment made it impossible to hear.

"I got him, fast!" Then, a woman's voice shouted loudly behind his ear, causing him to flinch. Her tone was sweet, but the volume was deafening.

The woman's perfume overwhelmed his senses, filling his nostrils with its heady scent. He tried to turn his head to get a better look at her, but the arms holding him in place were too strong.

Despite his overpowered strength attribute, Jin chose not to break free from the grip of the soft arms around his eyes.

Meanwhile, his feet were seized by cold, steel arms - the kind belonging to machines, not humans - holding him firmly in place.

Additionally, his hands were pulled in opposite directions, leaving him disoriented and unsure of who or what was causing it all.

"Hmm? So, they still treated me as enemy…" he thought to himself, disappointed.

Even though his vision was temporarily blocked, he sensed an invisible shot being aimed at him, prompting him to consider breaking free.

Suddenly, a strange sensation overcame him, clouding his mind and making his thoughts jumbled and confused. Despite his attempts to resist, he felt as though his body was no longer under his control.

As the soft, slender hands around his eyes widened, the slit pupils behind them looked dull and lifeless, as if he was possessed.

"Managed to restrain him for a moment! Move fast, guys!" Jin heard a young man's voice shouting triumphantly from a distance, amidst his temporary blindness.

Straining to listen, Jin hoped to gather some information about their plans. He could hear the group of assailants relaxing, their tense postures giving way to a sense of relief and satisfaction.

They seemed to think that they had executed their plan without any obstacles. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the dark corridor, and the moonlight revealed several blurry shadows racing towards them.

The group of tenants looked up in surprise as they realized that the familiar figure beside them had disappeared.

"Hahah! Die!" Jin heard an ominous command in the midst of his blindness. Although he recognized the voice, he couldn't focus on it before another shout interrupted his thoughts.

"Idiot! Lao, what are you doing?" A woman screamed from a distance, but Lao Yan, with a devilish smile, ignored her warning as he slashed his machete towards Jin.

A ripple of air shockwave could be seen as he advanced towards Jin, not caring what his other teammates said. Looking at Jin, who was hopelessly restrained, he tightened his grip on his hand, the humiliation from the previous ambush flashing before him.

"This kid!" Meanwhile, another woman snorted in disdain, but stopping Lao Yan was almost impossible, and it was already too late.

BAM!

The bullet that came from the pistol collided with the armor Jin wore. A ringing and clanking sound of metal was heard, and the group of tenants were shocked upon this realization.

Their eyes narrowed, and they only then realized that Jin's bloodied body actually revealed a steel armor that looked like a vest!

"Shit!" Wang Mei cursed, biting her lower lip. She didn't expect this monster to be so intelligent that he could wear armor like them!

However, as the group of tenants were stunned, Lao Yan, who was already just one step closer, slashing at Jin's neck, suddenly heard a ringing, trembling sound from the armor Jin wore.

SWING!

Instantly, a burst of shockwave spread with Jin at the center from his armor, knocking down the people restraining him, including breaking the mechanical arms that were gripping his feet.

CRASH!

"Ugh!" The woman who was closing Jin's eyes was flung backwards and hit by the elevator door. She coughed a mouthful of blood as her vision became blurry upon seeing this towering monster stand tall and fine despite receiving a bullet!

On the other hand, Lao Yan, who was the second closest to Jin, was having déjà vu as his body was flung backwards, crashing against the rest of the group.

"Agh!" He coughed, empty air as the machete in his hands was flung to the ground.

The group, consisting of Wang Mei, Chen Ying, the middle-aged woman who lost her child, Mei Ling, the familiar sister Liu Yifan, and two other people, were holding their heads and pressing with both hands.

They were groaning in pain as the shockwave from the previous attack affected their mental state.

[Your skill Uncrowned King (Passive) has been triggered!]

Meanwhile, Jin, who had just regained his mind, looked at the situation before him for a moment before his lips curled up.

"You... this has already crossed the line," he muttered, his eyebrows furrowing, and his eyes with slit pupils revealing a killing intent. 

The one firing at him and the one constantly shouting to kill him were his targets. He had been extremely restrained, yet these people didn't even recognize a kind word!

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairway at the end of the corridor.

As the group tensed, ready for another attack, a familiar figure slowly emerged from the shadows. "Huh?! Guys?!" the figure exclaimed, clearly surprised to find her comrades lying wounded on the ground.

The words seemed unheard when the figure asked. However, soon the figure squinted their eyes, only to see a familiar figure in the distance.

"Little Jin?!"

Jin, already aware of another newcomer, was prepared to make a move. However, the moment he heard the words spoken by this newcomer, he halted his intention, knowing exactly who it was.

"Miss Wei? What are you doing here?" Jin was taken aback by her sudden appearance. He completely forgot about leaving her at the gate.

Suddenly, he began to think, "Did Wei Jingyi run here because there were a group of Blood Slaves chasing after her?" As if the dots connected, the sudden appearance of the group of Blood Slaves and Wei Jingyi seemed to have a connection.

SWOOSH!

Without waiting for her reply, Jin stomped on the floor and rushed behind Wei Jingyi, but soon he was confused because what he saw was an empty space. Not even a glowing red light was seen emerging from her trail!

Unlike the rest of the tenants, Jin still held a high level of respect and politeness toward Wei Jingyi. She was the one who had saved him from the encirclement by the gangs.

"What just happened here?" Wei Jingyi immediately ran and hugged the groaning woman on the floor. "Wu Ming? What happened to you?"

At first, she was glad that Jin managed to find the rest of the tenants.

However, when she realized something was amiss between them, she immediately ran as she was clearly worried when she saw a familiar shadow, her best friend, groaning in pain on the floor.

"Ugh! Y-you, Student Wei?"

…

Ten minutes later, the group of tenants had already recovered and were now gathered on the first floor. However, among them, Jin could not be spotted.

"Jingyi, are you sure he is Jin?" Wu Ming, the best friend of Wei Jingyi, a young lady in her twenties, short and petite, with a pixie cut, raised her head as she suspiciously looked at the stairs.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure about that. I'm also the one who brought him here. Why do you ask?" Wei Jingyi, with her slender build and perfect round glasses, tilted her head in confusion.

The rest of the women, who saw her jingling bobs, were conflicted, looking at how she was confidently wearing a black tank top in front of the boys.

"Um, Student Wei, may I ask where you found Mr. Jin?" Chen Ying slightly coughed. Her blue long wavy hair was slightly messed up, and her white professor's coat already had many red stains.

Still, despite her messy appearance, no one present dared to look into her cold eyes.

"I found him at the nightclub near Waigaoqiao. At that time, he was being surrounded by a group of gangsters…" As Wei Jingyi began narrating her whole story, the group's expression kept changing from confused to shocked.

"Wait a minute, did you say you're not sure it's Jin before, right? Then how can a person have such a drastic change in just one night?"

One of the women suddenly interrupted. She had long, dark brown hair that fell in soft curls down her back, and piercing blue eyes gazed intensely at Wei Jingyi.

"Calm down, Sister Yifan. Let her go." The one who spoke was another striking woman. Her shoulder-length curly hair was glossy and perfectly styled, framing her heart-shaped face.

Her bright, almond-shaped eyes were a deep brown, and her full lips were often turned up in a friendly smile. She was another beauty as she patted Liu Yifan's shoulder.

"Ah, sorry!" Liu Yifan realized she was gripping Wei Jingyi's shoulder tightly, causing the other party to look at her with an awkward smile.

"It's okay. Yes, at first, I wasn't sure about him, but later, I noticed the characteristics of Jin that I would never forget," Wei Jingyi replied.

Her reply caused the atmosphere to fall silent, and they all noticed her eyes were glittering with stars and her smile was somehow beautiful to look at.

The rest of the women in the group didn't ask any further questions, as most of them admitted Jin now looked so handsome, they almost didn't even recognize him, or rather, they didn't want to acknowledge that the burly towering security had become like a model face.

"Then, can you explain what he's doing right now?" The one who asked was Chen Hao. He raised his glasses as he squinted his eyes at the stairs where the sound of footsteps was heard.

On the other hand, Wei Jingyi, who heard the question, was a little reluctant and conflicted. This matter was not a secret, and as time passed, she believed everyone would realize the meaning of leveling up.

Still, Jin was the first person who showed her how a person can level up, or rather, it seemed he actually didn't care if other people realized or knew what he did.

"But still, I feel like I cannot give the information without his permission." While Wei Jingyi was having trouble, the person most awaited by the group finally finished his business.