The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 77: No Deal

Jin stared ahead, unblinking.

The three men standing at the edge of the street hadn’t moved.

Didn’t posture. Didn’t tense.

They just stood there, waiting.

But that was the problem. freёnovelkiss.com

The last time Jin had seen this man—the one in the center, the one Echo had launched across the street—he had been reckless, loud, and desperate for control.

Now?

Now he was quiet. Calm. Composed.

And that—that was dangerous.

Jin took a slow step forward, just enough to close the distance slightly.

The man smiled.

It wasn’t the usual smirk of a thug trying to act tough.

It was controlled.

Measured.

"Well," the man said, voice smooth as steel. "That was quite the mess you made."

Jin didn’t answer.

The man’s gaze flicked lazily across the bodies scattered along the pavement. Some of them were still twitching. Others weren’t moving at all.

He sighed, shaking his head.

"Gotta say, didn’t expect you to get this far," he mused. "You’re either a lot stronger than we thought, or those idiots were even weaker than I gave them credit for."

Jin still didn’t respond.

Because that was the first mistake.

A leader should never openly insult his men.

This meant that this guy wasn’t truly a leader, and if he was, he certainly wasn’t a good one.

The man exhaled, rolling his shoulders like this was some mild inconvenience.

"The bossman says he’ll overlook this. All of it. The ones you knocked out, the ones you humiliated, even the ones you shot—"

His eyes flicked briefly to Jin’s hands, where the rifle rested in his grip.

"—as long as you turn around and walk away. Now."

Jin blinked.

Then he smiled.

There it was.

This man wasn’t the leader.

He was just relaying orders.

This meant the real boss—the one actually making the decisions—didn’t think they were worth dealing with personally.

Jin let the silence stretch, watching the man’s expression carefully.

No tension. No stiffness.

He wasn’t worried.

He thought this was already over.

Jin tilted his head.

"Sure," he said. "But only if I meet them first."

For the first time, the man’s expression shifted slightly.

Not much. Just a flicker. A tiny shift in his stance.

"No can do," the man said smoothly. "Boss isn’t interested."

Jin’s smirk widened.

"Then we don’t have a deal."

The air changed.

Jin didn’t see the attack.

He barely even registered the movement before—

A fist slammed into his rifle.

Metal snapped.

Shattered.

Jin didn’t even feel the weapon break apart—because the force of the impact launched him backward.

His ribs screamed. His arms went numb.

His boots dragged against the pavement as he barely managed to regain his footing.

Joon cursed under his breath.

Echo’s eyes sharpened, his stance shifting immediately.

Areum inhaled sharply, glass flickering to life in her palms.

Haneul’s grip on his staff tightened so hard his knuckles turned white.

Jin exhaled slowly.

His hands were empty now.

Didn’t matter.

Because when he glanced back up—

The man who hit him was already standing next to his commander again.

Jin’s fingers twitched.

He hadn’t even seen him move back.

Jin flexed his fingers, shaking out the last of the numbness in his hands. The rifle was gone—shattered, useless.

Didn’t matter.

He didn’t need it.

His gaze flicked back up, locking onto the man who’d just hit him. The co-commander was already back at his leader’s side, standing like he hadn’t just moved across the street in less than a second.

Jin rolled his shoulders.

Alright.

So they were fast.

Didn’t mean they were untouchable.

"Consider that a warning," the main co-commander said, watching Jin carefully. "I suggest you take it seriously."

Joon scoffed, stepping up slightly. His Magnetron Spheres hummed in the air, static crackling at his fingertips.

"A warning?" Joon drawled. "That’s funny. Ypu just caught him off guard that’s all."

The man chuckled, but his eyes didn’t stray from Jin.

"He was quicker," he said. "But not quick enough to fight with me so you guys need to leave."

Jin exhaled slowly. "Yeah? And what happens if I don’t leave?"

The co-commander’s smile didn’t waver.

"Then you won’t get a second warning."

Echo finally spoke up, tilting his head slightly. His expression was unreadable, but his stance had shifted—casual, yet ready.

"That’s cute," Echo said. "But I think you’re making a mistake."

The man raised an eyebrow.

Echo grinned. "You think you’re dealing with a bunch of amateurs. You’re not."

The co-commander didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he glanced between the three of them—Jin, Joon, Echo. Then he sighed, shaking his head.

"You lot really don’t know when to quit, huh?"

Jin lifted an eyebrow. "Is that what you tell yourselves? That you’re the ones in control?"

The man chuckled, then finally took a step forward.

His movements were measured. Deliberate. The kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly how strong you were.

"No," he said simply. "I just know how this ends."

Jin didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

Neither did the recruits.

Their fear had settled into something else now—something colder, sharper.

Haneul had positioned himself slightly behind Jin, gripping his staff tightly. Areum’s fingers twitched near her glassblade, ready to summon it at a moment’s notice. Doyun had barely moved, but his stance had shifted. He was watching. Calculating.

They were waiting for Jin’s move.

But Jin didn’t move either.

Not yet.

The co-commander stopped just a few paces away now, eyes gleaming.

"You know, I don’t mind admitting when I underestimated someone," he said. "And I’ll admit, I thought you’d be dead by now. You’re stronger than I gave you credit for."

His tone was almost conversational.

"But don’t let that get to your head."

He gestured lazily to the man standing beside him—the one who had just shattered Jin’s rifle.

"You’ve been fighting scavengers, kid. People who never knew how to throw a punch before the system dropped."

His smirk sharpened.

"But us? We were trained for this. We were trained long before any of this started."

Jin finally spoke, tilting his head slightly.

"Military?"

The man’s smirk didn’t fade.

"Figured you’d catch on."

Jin’s fingers twitched slightly.

That made things... different.

These weren’t just survivors with skills they barely understood.

These were trained professionals. People who already knew how to fight before the world changed.

The system didn’t make them stronger.

It just gave them more tools to work with.

"You’re used to people crumbling when you push them," the co-commander continued. "But that’s not gonna happen here."

Joon exhaled, tapping his fingers together. "Alright, cool. So that means when we beat you, it’ll actually mean something."

The man finally smiled, and this time, it wasn’t polite.

"Funny. You’re not the first one to say that."

Jin didn’t take the bait.

He was still thinking. Still piecing it all together.

This wasn’t just about them.

The system had assigned co-commanders to his own territory. It had given him the option to structure things—organize.

And here they were, facing three co-commanders of another territory.

Meaning—these guys were doing the exact same thing.

Their leader was running things the same way Jin was.

And that meant they weren’t just some gang controlling a section of the city.

They were a structured, system-backed faction.

Jin exhaled slowly.

"Your boss," he said, voice steady. "What’s he afraid of that makes him not want to see us?"

The co-commander blinked.

Then he laughed.

Laughed like Jin had just said something hilarious.

"Afraid?" he repeated, amusement laced through the word. "Oh, kid. I think you’ve got this all backwards."

Jin just watched him, expression unreadable.

The laughter faded.

The man exhaled through his nose.

Then—his voice dropped.

"You don’t want this fight."

A simple sentence.

Not a warning.

Not a threat.

Just fact.

And yet—

Jin smiled.

"Yeah?" he said quietly.

He took a slow step forward.

His body didn’t tense.

His stance didn’t shift.

But his presence changed.

Just enough for the air around them to feel different.

For the recruits to straighten slightly, for the static of Joon’s spheres to hum just a bit louder.

For the man in front of him to pause.

And then—

Jin tilted his head, voice casual.

"Fuck off."