"Did the sound just come from this place?"
The leader, with a cold gaze, looked at the dilapidated and tightly closed door in front of him and asked his four misshapen subordinates behind him.
After they had ascended to this abandoned floor, the strange sounds had ceased.
Perhaps their battle had ended, or maybe the occupants had already sensed their presence.
"Boss, are you sure the sound came from here? Could it be that the two parties fighting in this room have perished together?"
The tall and skinny one spoke up from behind, carrying a female slave who had fainted from pain after having her legs broken.
"We have five people, and Boss, you are the best of our nomad camp. Even if the people inside are still alive, they definitely can't match us, haha."
In this apocalyptic world where people couldn't even get enough to eat, an unusually fat man gave a lecherous laugh, seeming eager to rush in and deal with the prey to fill his empty stomach.
"Is that so? Since you're so confident, you go in first and lead the way."
The small leader sneered and fixed a bloodthirsty, cruel gaze on the fat man.
In truth, the group had never taken this overweight, hunting-inept fat man seriously.
They only saw him as a "meat ticket" to be used when necessary in these hard times.
The foolish fat man himself was unaware that he was merely backup food, naively believing that being able to follow the leader was an honor.
"Uh… Boss, you're joking, right? My movements are so slow, if I accidentally let the prey escape, it would be a waste of effort. How about we go in together?"
The fat man, who had been excited just moments before, revealed his true nature upon hearing he was to take the lead. His face darkened, and his mouth twitched as he spoke.
However, the small leader's response was only a cold stare, implying "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Damn fatso, you contribute the least, eat the most, and now it's time for you to perform."
The other subordinates jeered, seemingly hoping the fat man would die soon, since it had been a long time since they had tasted pork...
Under the taunts of his companions and the leader's cold gaze, the fat man swallowed hard and finally moved his heavy steps.
He took out a rusted, toxic dagger with his left hand and approached the door edge with extreme slowness, hesitating on how to open it safely.
"Do I have to kick you in to make you do it?"
...
Hearing the leader's annoyed urging from behind, the fat man finally shakily pushed the door open.
Creeeak~
The rotting door frame emitted a harsh sound of years of disrepair, sending shivers down the fat man's spine. He decided not to hesitate any longer and pushed the door wide open with a loud bang!
Upon opening, there were no monsters pouncing out as imagined.
The room did not display the expected scene of bloody mutual slaughter.
It was just a regular, run-down room, filled with dust, with no signs of recent habitation.
"Hmm? Could it be that the sound didn't come from this room?"
Seeing this, the fat man breathed a sigh of relief. Since there was no danger, it was his moment to display bravery.
"Wait."
Just as he was about to step into the room, the leader suddenly called out, startling the fat man and causing him to freeze with his right foot hovering in mid-air.
The small leader picked up a battered wooden stick from the ground and approached to prod at a few broken wooden planks beneath the fat man's feet.
Crack!!!
Suddenly!
Accompanied by a heavy metal collision sound, a hidden animal trap beneath the broken wooden planks snapped open and closed shut!
The iron jaws with metal teeth crushed the wooden stick in the leader's hand, sending wood splinters flying onto the fat man's shocked face.
If the fat man had stepped down, he might have had pig trotter soup for dinner tonight...
"Hmph, someone is indeed inside. Such child's play, only you fools are easily fooled."
The experienced small leader snorted and used the remaining half of the wooden stick to remove the rusty animal trap, tossing it to a subordinate behind. It was still a useful item.
"L-L-Lead… Boss, thank you…"
The fat man, still shaken, regained his composure, and the other subordinates quickly drew their weapons, ready to rush in.
Anyone who could set such a trap had definitely been surviving in the wild for a long time, so the spoils would be substantial.
The fat man, unable to support his heavy body while standing on one foot, stumbled and instinctively leaned forward, putting down his long-raised right foot.
"Uh?"
The fat man felt his right foot catch on a thin rope. Before he could react, a thin, spider-like white line snapped right in front of him!
Swish!
The others sensed something wrong again and instinctively stopped.
Through the crimson moonlight streaming into the room, they could barely see a metal wire stretched across the fat man's neck.
The fat man suddenly stood still, as if frozen like a puppet.
"Hey, you…"
The small leader, now somewhat impatient, kicked him. This group was like donkeys, needing a whip to make the next move.
After being kicked, the fat man did move, but his fat body fell to the ground, with his large head hitting the floor first...
Boom~ Boom~ Boom
The round head rolled to the leader's feet. The group looked on with eyes wide open at the smooth, bloody cut on the fat man's neck.
The person inside had set up a double trap?!
Swish!!
Before the group could recover from the scene just witnessed, another sharp whistling sound came from inside the room!
The remaining four, being seasoned hunters, quickly reacted to the sound, almost instinctively diving to the ground!
At that moment, a homemade arrow flew just above the leader's head, brushing through a few yellowed hairs caused by nutritional deficiencies. If their reaction had been any slower by a fraction of a second, the arrow would have pierced his forehead!
"You bastard inside!! I'm going to kill you! Shield up!"
No one in this area had ever dared to provoke him like this. Since you've become his prey, you'll have to die obediently.
Dare to resist fiercely? Then you'll only face endless pain!
The small leader sneered, and with his command to "shield up," the three remaining misshapen subordinates quickly pulled out several metal plates made of asbestos, iron pieces, and metal wires from behind.
They rapidly assembled these plates into a makeshift triangular "bunker" about 2 meters high. Though it looked very rudimentary, its sturdy materials could even withstand handgun fire!
Additionally, dense spikes were welded onto the surface of the "bunker." If charged at the enemy, it could also cause significant damage, turning the opponent into a pincushion.
Originally, with the fat man included, they could have formed a square-shaped bunker. However, it was not a big deal with one less.
As for their leader, he held a razor-sharp steel blade that could easily slice an enemy in half vertically, judging by his bulging muscles.
This formation was their winning trump card for breaching narrow interior spaces!
"You're dead meat, kid. I'll make sure to pull out your cervical vertebrae alive and use it as my belt!"
The leader in the formation sneered and led the remaining three subordinates towards the unknown area of the room.
Soon, a role reversal between hunters would begin in this narrow room.