"Are you crazy? You want to steal my goods?"
Kevin threw a punch, and the tall, thin man reacted quickly.
The moment Kevin charged, despite his confusion, the man instinctively blocked the blow with crossed arms.
Since the attack had already been launched, there was no reason to stop.
Although Kevin was not much of a fighter, he had some experience with brawling. Taking advantage of the surprise, he threw continuous punches and kicks. Based on his training over the past few days, the surging Energy flowed to the point of impact, erupting to inflict stronger damage.
The tall, thin man tried his best to block, but a solid punch still landed squarely on his shoulder.
Using the impact, he retreated several steps, his eyes fixed on Kevin.
"You bastard, are you looking down on me? Don't think you're the only one who can use this power. I've learned it too. Die!"
Kevin tilted his head to dodge a straight punch. His opponent's knuckles scraped against the shelf, sending two cans of engine oil crashing to the ground.
The man's retreating steps stirred up oil stains on the floor, and sweat seeped through his black work pants, glistening under the overhead lights.
Had he misjudged?
The moment Kevin made his move, he had quickly assessed his opponent's potential strength.
During this time, he had learned about his original body. It undoubtedly looked sickly, like a bookworm who spent all his time in a laboratory, completely lacking deterrent power except for his gloomy expression.
But this man, since his arrival, had actually been in a lower position than him. It was not fear, but something closer to inferiority.
This behavior made Kevin certain that the opponent's strength was definitely lower than his own had been.
And the opponent's actions were completely unacceptable to Kevin.
If he were selfish, he could have pretended not to see anything and left after the man departed.
Calling the police was also out of the question, since he was not exactly clean either.
Therefore, fighting and then controlling the opponent was the best option.
So after making his judgment, he acted.
While thinking and relying on muscle memory and instinct to dodge the opponent's attacks, a hook punch landed on the man's ribs.
Kevin heard a muffled sound, like something breaking. His opponent stumbled, crashing into the side door of the minivan. The anti-theft alarm suddenly shrieked, piercing the rainy night.
A misjudgment, but not entirely.
According to the opponent's words, he seemed to have only just gained control of the so-called Energy and was still in a beginner stage.
He might even be at the same stage as Kevin, but Kevin's original body had muscle memory. His mastery had to be superior.
Amid gasping breaths mixed with the metallic smell of blood, Kevin noticed the opponent's right hand sliding down along the gap in the car door, where the magnetic box for the spare key was hidden.
With his other hand, an oil-stained wrench suddenly swept horizontally.
Kevin ducked just in time, and the metal tool crashed against the shelf with a grating sound.
The girls' terrified whimpers accompanied the fight. If their mouths were not gagged, they would already be screaming.
Except for the blonde twin-tailed girl, the only one outside the car and tied up.
At this moment, she was watching the two men fight, her expression closer to disdain.
She even seemed as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately held back.
The tall, thin man seized the opportunity to spin around, his left leg lashing out like a whip toward the shelf behind Kevin.
The blow was powerful, instantly collapsing the already shaky shelf and sending the piled-up items tumbling down.
Kevin rolled to dodge the scattered tools, his lower back hitting the edge of the lift platform hard.
Bruised and battered, the tall, thin man did not press his advantage. Instead, he ran toward the car door.
He pulled it open, his blood-stained fingertips only half a palm away from the storage compartment.
There should be a weapon there. Most likely a gun.
The thought flashed through Kevin's mind.
It's about to end.
He had already anticipated that the opponent had a gun, but the man chose to use Energy and close combat first. That made Kevin want to test his own progress.
He responded the same way.
Now there was no need.
"Don't move. One more step and I'll shoot."
A cold command accompanied the gun barrel aimed at the man's back.
His right hand froze midair, five centimeters from the car's drawer. Inside the gap, the black barrel of another gun glinted coldly.
The heavy rain pounding against the roller shutter suddenly seemed deafening, mixing with their ragged breathing.
The entire garage fell silent.
Including the girls who had been whimpering.
"Calm down, Kevin. At worst, I'll give you this batch of goods."
The tall, thin man slowly raised his hands and pulled himself away from the car, looking nervously at Kevin and the muzzle of the gun.
"If you want this batch, just say it. As brothers, how could I not give it to you? So can you put the gun down? Be careful. It might go off."
He forced a stiff, ingratiating smile.
Kevin did not reply.
He simply held the gun, his mind weighing his next move.
Should he kill him?
Undoubtedly, it was a worthwhile option.
The opponent's actions clearly showed he knew about the crimes committed by this body. He could even be considered an accomplice.
Facing such a criminal, Kevin could not convince himself to let him go, even for selfish reasons.
To be honest, human traffickers only had one outcome in his eyes: death.
If he tied the man up and reported him to the police, his own crimes would be exposed.
Although he could find information online, he could not determine whether there would be multinational pursuit. He had seen many such wanted posters online, and it seemed there were specialized teams handling transnational cases.
As someone from a peaceful country, Kevin could not accept having unexplained warrants hanging over his head, even if the crimes had technically been committed by his previous self.
Killing him, then calling the police and leaving the country, seemed like the best option.
He had already made preparations.
Thanks to this world, most countries appeared to use the same language and script, at least within V5.
He had never felt a strong sense of belonging anyway.
"Damn it, I'll fight you to the death!"
The tall, thin man suddenly roared.
Having lived in the underworld, he sensed Kevin's killing intent.
In that instant, he chose to fight for his life.
Fueled by survival instinct, his Energy erupted violently, strong enough for Kevin to clearly perceive it.
The sudden burst allowed him to move at extreme speed, crashing into Kevin before Kevin could fully react.
Kevin quickly responded, slamming his elbow downward with force.
The blow made the tall, thin man scream in pain.
But driven by desperation, he refused to let go.
He shoved Kevin hard, slamming him against the shelf.
Pain shot through Kevin's back.
He responded with downward strikes, elbow blows and knee lifts. Energy reinforced his body, making his close combat far more dangerous.
Amid screams, the tall, thin man finally lost his strength. He spat blood and slid to the ground, unconscious.
"Phew. Just like a street brawl," Kevin muttered between breaths.
He should probably find a martial arts instructor later and learn real combat techniques.
He quickly tied up the unconscious man.
Then he looked at the girls, who were staring at him in terror.
He noticed that the blonde twin-tailed girl had somehow freed herself.
Kevin took the phone from the man's waist and tossed it to her.
"Call the police. That way, you can be rescued."
With that, Kevin returned to the room and began packing his luggage, preparing to flee.
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance and finished within five minutes.
He glanced back at the garage, gritted his teeth, and walked in again.
His sudden return terrified the girls once more.
Kevin ignored them and walked straight to the tied-up man.
"For scum like this, death is the best punishment. It's fine."
He muttered to himself, steadying his resolve, and aimed the pistol at the thug.
"Hmph."
Bang.
Ignoring the girls' screams, Kevin quickly left, suppressing his wildly pounding heart.
He had killed someone.
There was no disgust as he had imagined. Only uncontrollable tension and panic.
He reached the dark alley where a vehicle had already been prepared and drove away.
In the shadows of the alley, a young man pushed up his glasses and watched the taillights disappear.
"What is Master doing? Why did he let him go?" he wondered.
In the distance, police sirens wailed as they approached.