Genius Engineer in the Labyrinth - Chapter 2



Only Noblemtl

Apocalypse in Water Episode 2

Episode 2

“It’s a murder case that happened a while ago. I don’t know if you know. They said they were vacuuming upstairs, and they came up there with a camping axe… … .”

He kindly told me about the murder and violent crime that occurred due to noise between floors.

A housewife slit the throat of the old man living upstairs with a kitchen knife because of the noise from the TV.

A repeat student who suffered an injury that required 12 weeks of treatment, claiming that it interfered with his exam studies.

“When I swung a 10kg dumbbell, not only did I fracture the back of my head, but my eye popped out due to the momentary impact. When I tried to pick it up, I ended up stepping on it and it burst… … .”

The newlyweds’ faces turned pale at the needlessly detailed description.

Well, I thought that was enough, so I didn’t even bring up the actual incident.

But these people, after a few days, are doing this again!

I woke up with a few really cool noise murder stories to tell to newlyweds.

At that moment, as if nothing had happened, the noise from upstairs stopped.

Hey! What’s that? It’s quiet.

I looked up at the ceiling.

During the rainy season, the wallpaper on the ceiling was billowing here and there like a windswept plastic bag.

Come on, make some more noise!

This time, I’m going to tell you about a surprising arson incident.

Besides that, there are many accidents caused by noise between floors.

If you look at the case files, you will see that there are as many inter-floor noise accidents as there are apartments in Seoul.

Oh! Now that I think about it, I don’t have any more cases to look at.

It’s a shame, but the boring undercover operations, annoying interrogations, and bloody scenes are over.

I stretched out, then found the switch and turned on the light.

“Oh! Is there a power outage?”

I tried turning the switch on and off repeatedly, but the light didn’t come on.

“Was the repair done today?”

I stroked my chin and recalled the memory.

A notice posted in the elevator said there would be a power outage due to repair work.

Some of the apartment’s power facilities were flooded due to rain that lasted nearly a month.

It’s probably pouring rain right now.

There have been many claims and hypotheses about this monsoon season, including environmental groups that say the abnormal weather is caused by environmental destruction, astronomers that say the position of the moon is wrong, and pseudo-religions such as the Ark Church that say the end of the world has come.

But no one knew the exact cause.

So, when was the power facility repair date?

25th, 27th, oh! I’m confused.

By the way, what day is it today? The 26th, the 27th?

I’ve been so busy submitting my resignation and being called here and there that I’ve been completely out of my mind lately.

Maybe in the morning, there was an announcement about a power outage.

But I would have been asleep and not heard.

Well, it can’t be helped that it turned out like this.

First, I went to the window to open the blackout curtains.

It’ll probably be cloudy anyway because of the never-ending rain, but it’ll be better than being in a room like that in the middle of the night.

Boom, boom, crackle.

It seemed quiet for a moment, but then a sound like the ceiling was collapsing came again.

“These people. No matter how powerful they are. I can’t stand it anymore.”

Leaving the curtains open, I ran to the front door.

I checked the scenario and put on my shoes to see how I could make the arson incident feel more real.

The stairs were dark and not even equipped with emergency lights.

I brought a lighter just in case, but the light from my phone is probably brighter than a lighter.

I took out my cell phone and turned it on.

There were several text messages and missed calls, like a debt that had piled up.

I also saw quite a few disaster texts.

The government sent countless disaster text messages during the rainy season like a shepherd crying ‘wolf’, so I just ignored them.

The remaining texts and missed calls were from Detective Yoon and Team Leader Kim.

I could tell without even opening it.

He’s probably telling me to come out slowly since he won’t accept my resignation.

I quickly reached the top floor.

But what on earth is going on?

The front door, illuminated by the light from the cell phone, was shattered.

The impact was so strong that the iron front door was split in two.

I fixed my worn-out sneakers and put them back on.

Anybody who wasn’t an idiot could tell that something huge was going on inside there.

Murder, domestic violence, robbery, etc.

I thought of several violent crimes.

But that seemed extremely unlikely.

Even though there was a power outage, it was broad daylight and people were living in the apartment.

Only a crazy person would commit such a blatant and violent crime.

Rather, an attack by a bear that escaped from the zoo seemed more plausible.

The iron front door, split in two, was absolutely not something that could be broken by human force.

Whether it was a bear that broke down that door or a radioactive Dr. Hulk, I can’t take them on alone.

It seemed like either the police department or an animal rescue group needed help.

I held my phone and stretched my arms out here and there, but there was no signal.

“The power outage and the phone is out. What is this? Is this the apocalypse?”

I remembered a story I heard while drinking last night.

Detective Yoon was excitedly talking about a webtoon he had seen a while ago.

When I woke up, the whole world was in a power outage and there was no phone service.

The protagonist goes next door to complain about the noise and encounters a monster.

It’s about fighting monsters and surviving in the apocalypse, but Detective Yoon’s explanation was so confusing that I listened to it with one ear and let it go out the other.

By the way, is there a monster inside there like in that webtoon?

What nonsense are you talking about?

I found myself chuckling without realizing it.

I looked at the front door that was split in two and thought about it.

Should I just pretend not to know and go down?

Once you get down there, the electricity comes back on and the phone rings, so you report it.

Anyway, I’m not a police officer, and I have no obligation to protect citizens.

But the body moved in the opposite direction of reason.

I entered the hallway and habitually searched for something that could be used as a weapon.

This is why the inertia of a job is so scary.

I found golf clubs next to the shoe rack.

The first golf club I ever held didn’t feel as good as a pistol or a baton, but it felt good in my hand.

He entered the living room, holding a golf club in both hands like a batter at the plate.

A strange sound had been coming from the living room for some time.

“Tsk tsk, kk, kkeu.”

It was the sound of something being torn and ripped.

Instead, the thumping and crashing noises I had heard before were no longer heard, and the screams had also stopped.

I saw a person standing in the living room.

He had his back turned so I couldn’t see who he was.

He looked chubby, as if he was wearing thick padding.

And strangely enough, the padding had a silver sheen to it.

Clothes that are out of season and in tacky colors.

It was a fashion that did not suit the newlyweds who were wearing scantily clad and flashy clothes.

Who is it?

The silver padding was so absorbed in something that it didn’t even look back at my presence.

I wondered what it was doing, but it was invisible because of its large head and thick padding.

I lifted my head slightly, but I couldn’t see any hair.

Are you bald?

Or maybe the hood of the padding was pressed down?

Crunch, crunch!

The ripping and chewing noise coming from beyond the padding’s back was quite eerie.

It sounded like a dog was chewing raw meat, bone included.

He held the golf club tightly and cautiously called out to him.

“hey!”

The silver padding turned to look at my voice.

“iced coffee!!”

A scream escaped my mouth without me knowing, and I was so surprised that I almost dropped the golf club I was holding.

In the light of his cell phone, his appearance was that of a monster fish.

The bald head was a large fish head, and what was mistaken for padding was actually a body with shining silver scales.

Its thick body had arms and legs sprouting out of it, just like a human being.

Although they are called arms and legs,

Those attached to the sides and tail did not look balanced or natural like human limbs.

Black hairs growing out hideously on the pale skin.

Sharp claws and fingernails attached to muscular torsos.

The already disgusting and hideous appearance was made even more horrifying by being covered in red blood.

Not only was the sight horrible, but the smell was unbearable.

As soon as the monster fish turned around, a foul odor mixed with the smell of blood, rotting sea, and fish wafted out.

“Uwww.”

I started vomiting without realizing it.

I already felt sick because of the hangover.

Let’s throw it all out, I feel better and I feel a little more awake.

Only then did I see the person who had fallen behind the monster fish.

“Hey. It’s okay… … .”

I was about to call someone but then I shut my mouth.

A lump of unidentifiable flesh was visible, with half-ripped entrails and a pool of red blood.

Even though most scenes are well-trained, the monster’s meat-eating scene was too explicit.

I was speechless with shock and just stared blankly at the monster fish.

The monster fish’s mouth was gleaming with red blood, and its gaunt hands showed blood-dripping flesh.

There seemed to be silence for a moment, but then the monster fish suddenly let out a roar.

“Kwaaak!”

The scream that had been ringing from the ceiling reverberated right in front of me, making my ears ring and I feel dizzy.

The monster fish lunged at me like a beast that had found its prey.

I instinctively swung my golf club at the guy.

But it felt like I had hit a solid wall.

My hand rang with a loud thud, and I dropped the golf club in shock.

The monster fish hesitated for a moment, then moved again as if nothing had happened.

The monster fish just ran towards me.

I hurriedly dodged, but ended up getting scratched by the claws the guy swung at me.

It was only a light brush, but the flesh was torn and blood dripped down.

Maybe because I was surprised, I didn’t feel any pain.

However, I was worried that my nails might be infected because they looked dirty and ugly.

But there was no time to examine the wound as the monster fish swept towards him.

While I was flustered, the guy came close enough to touch my nose.

And at the moment when I feel like I’m being caught,

Bang!

The monster fish rolled around on the floor.