The team leader pointed with his index finger at the men moving the money bags. Despite his commotion, most of the gamblers didn’t even spare a glance.

The men approached. The team leader stepped back and shouted even louder.

“Hey, you gamblers!! These bastards are running away with our money!!”

Only then did people turn their heads to look at him. Among the men, a bald man raised his hand and spoke to the others.

“Ah, ah, go on with what you were doing. It’s nothing. This guy just lost his money and is making a fuss about it.”

“Ah, come on.”

“Like this is the first time losing?”

“Write it off as bad luck.”

Dark circles down to their knees, eyes refusing to accept reality—this wasn’t the right way to stir up the gamblers, who were clearly outnumbered.

These people wouldn’t even consider resisting the organization members.

“Give me my money!!”

The team leader lunged at the nearest man.

“What the hell, old man! You wanna get your ass beat… huh, huh?!”

The man was caught off guard by the unexpected strength of the scruffy middle-aged man and toppled over.

Amid the struggle, the team leader managed to snatch a phone, and as he ran, he quickly dialed 112.

“I’m reporting all of you, you scamming bastards!! Hello! Is this the police?!”

“This crazy bastard!”

“Hey! Catch that bastard!”

The team leader was quickly caught, tripping over a table. His phone was taken, and he was stomped on by the men.

Then, Haesu’s voice came through.

- We've got the location. It'll take 20 minutes by GPS.

“Damn it… Ugh, ugh.”

Curled up, he kept getting stomped. He couldn’t tell whether his team would arrive first or if he would be beaten to death first.

Then, the bald man appeared and shouted.

“Hey! Stop and move him.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, boss.”

They resumed moving the money—along with the ledgers.

‘Damn it, if I take any more of this, I might actually die…’

- 10 minutes left.

“Give me my money!!”

The team leader suddenly jumped up, grabbed a money bag, and ran. The bag was too heavy, so without hesitation, he started scattering the money everywhere.

“Wooooah! Money!!”

“What the hell! What is this?!”

“My money! That’s my money!!”

The gamblers had the biggest reaction yet. The scene instantly turned into chaos.

The bald leader frowned deeply as he watched the commotion.

“That’s enough. Grab that bastard and send him to Dr. Yang.”

“Yes, boss.”

Dr. Yang was a doctor who harvested organs. About a dozen men surrounded the team leader and moved in.

The bald man pulled a knife from his coat and stabbed it into a table.

Thud!

“Stop!! Anyone picking up money will lose their hands!!”

As if by magic, everyone’s hands froze. Unlike the team leader, these weren’t newcomers. They knew exactly how terrifying that bald man was.

“Uwaah! These bastards are gonna kill me!!”

Meanwhile, the team leader was caught again, still clutching the money bag, and was stomped on even more brutally.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Ugh, ughhhh!!”

Hearing that he was being sent to Dr. Yang, the men’s kicks became even harsher. The team leader figured at least three of his ribs had cracked.

“Hey, move aside.”

At the bald man’s cold command, the beating stopped.

He crouched in front of the team leader and lifted his chin with a hand.

“Hey, old man. Did we look that soft to you? Even if we kill all these gamblers here, no one will find out.”

The team leader flinched and averted his gaze. The bald man smirked at his reaction.

“Finally getting the picture? Too late.”

- Team Leader, great work. We’ve arrived.

“I’ve been waiting for this.”

“…What?”

With all his strength, the team leader hurled the money bag at the bald man’s face and leaped backward.

He stood with his back to the dark entrance.

The bald man wiped his face with a hand.

“Hah… this old man’s got guts. How many lives does he have?”

Step. Step. Step.

The gang members moved slowly toward him.

Dozens of dark figures now stood opposite the team leader.

Clenching his fists, he shouted at them.

“Come at me, you bastards! I’m a police officer of the Republic of Korea!!”

The bald man picked his ear mockingly.

“What’s that, old man? Oh, you’re a cop? Then I guess we should just kill you now.”

The men drew knives from their coats, and the team leader shouted desperately.

“Assault team!!”

The men flinched. But nothing happened.

“Ah, that scared me.”

“Tch, what assault team, you crazy old…”

The team leader broke into a cold sweat and started backing away. He muttered under his breath.

“Where, where, where the hell are you guys… You said you were here…”

Then, a familiar voice reached his ears.

“We’re here.”

It wasn’t through the radio. Emerging from the darkness, Shin Haesu appeared.

Swish.

Behind him, muscular figures, including Oh Gaeng, stepped forward to stand beside the team leader.

As each member of the Special Crimes Unit revealed themselves, their menacing physiques on full display, the bald man’s smirk gradually faded.

“How did you get here…?”

“What… what the hell?”

The team leader clutched his bruised ribs and grinned widely.

“What do you think, bastards? It’s time for payback!”

He formed a gun shape with his hand, pointed forward, and shouted.

“Assault team!! Charge!!”

Despite the cheesy and dramatic command, the muscle-bound man beside him responded immediately.

With a beast-like roar, he lunged forward.

“Aaaaahhh!!”

Oh Gaeng and Haesu, spurred on by his battle cry, shouted even louder as they charged after him.

“Aaaahhh!!”

“Arghhh!!”

Though there were only three of them, their energy and cries intimidated the gangsters.

The bald man scowled as he saw his men frozen in place and shouted.

“What are you waiting for, you bastards?! Kill them!!”

“Yaaaahhh!”

“Kill them!!”

The gangsters rushed toward the charging squad, but their timing and momentum were already broken.

Thud! Thump! Bam! Whack!!

The charging squad pushed through the gangsters like a cavalry unit. Those who collided with them were sent flying like they'd been hit by a car.

Only after they had plowed deep into the enemy lines did they come to a stop, and a full-blown brawl broke out.

Crack—

Oh Gaeng finally extended his baton and started striking down the gangsters left and right.

“These bastards all have knives! Stick to the walls!”

“To the walls!!”

The squad covered each other’s backs as they gradually moved toward the wall.

Haesu regretted that Oh Gaeng and the rookie were wearing only standard stab-resistant vests, unlike his special protective gear.

The team leader didn’t even have a vest and was too injured to fight aggressively, only dealing with stragglers.

Though none of the gangsters seemed to be high-level enforcers, knives were dangerous in anyone’s hands.

Haesu decided to move more aggressively to take them down quickly.

“Hold the line! I’ll take them down!”

“What?”

Oh Gaeng looked puzzled, but to the rookie, Haesu’s word was law.

“Understood!”

The rookie pressed his back against the wall and braced to block incoming attacks.

Haesu nodded and twisted his body—just as a blade grazed his chest. He grabbed the arm holding the knife, twisted it sharply, and drove his elbow into the attacker.

Crunch! Snap!!

“Aaaagh!!”

The arm bent completely backward, flesh tearing as the bone jutted out, spraying blood.

As some gangsters froze at the gruesome sight, Haesu picked his next target.

Crack! Crunch!

“Guaaagh!”

“Urgh!”

Terrifying screams echoed throughout the room.

Wherever Haesu moved, no one was left standing. Anyone caught by him was rendered completely incapacitated. The number of enemies was dwindling fast.

The bald man, scowling, pointed his knife at Haesu.

“That bastard—the joint-breaker—take him down first!!”

“Y-yes!”

The order was loud enough for Haesu to hear.

Crack.

Haesu clenched the hand he had been using to snap another limb, then turned to face the enemies rushing toward him.

Bam! Bam! Bam!!

He seemed to have put all his stats into attack, ignoring defense entirely, throwing punch after punch straight at their faces.

The gangsters who had tried to counterattack found Haesu’s fists landing on their faces before they could do anything.

BOOM!!

The bald man could no longer grasp the situation. Was this even winnable?

He had over thirty men, all armed with knives. On the other side, only one had a baton, while the others were unarmed. Victory should have been inevitable.

That was the logical calculation, yet his men were dropping by the second while the other side remained unscathed, without a single one of them suffering a critical injury.

At this point, the answer was clear. They couldn't win. Especially not against that man, who had shattered bones and was now moving on to breaking jaws. That wasn't a man—it was a monster.

He had to escape.

Step.

Just then, a shadow loomed over him.

“What, thinking of running away?”

“Uh…”

WHAM—!

Haesu’s fist slammed into the bald man’s nose. He felt his nasal bone shatter and push inward before everything went black.

Slap! Slap!

The pain was unbearable. His face felt like it was on fire, as if oil had been poured over it and set ablaze.

“Still not waking up? Should I just punch him?”

Swish.

“Ack—I'm awake! I'm awake!”

The bald man flailed his hands and shot upright. Just as he did, Haesu’s hand swung again.

Smack!

“Guh!”

“You talk back, you get hit. You make me ask twice, you get hit. Now, where are Kim Dongdong and Jang Yeongsik?”

“…Huh?”

Haesu raised his hand again, making the man flinch and blurt out quickly.

“I-I think I know! I think I know! Those lumps, right? They should be in the middle of the ‘work.’”

“Work?”

“You know, the… logging work…”

Haesu grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in.

“Where is that?”

“Uh…”

The bald man pointed to the floor.

Underground.

As expected, everything was happening here.

Kim Dongdong's eyes rolled around nervously. Next to him, Yeongsik had his eyes closed peacefully.

He wanted to check if he was still alive, but he couldn't see if his chest was moving.

“So, you’re the big brother here to save this guy?”

A middle-aged man with a red nose and a white lab coat chuckled with a chilling laugh.

“I’d heard that these thug lumps were all about loyalty, but I didn’t expect them to be this stupid. I think I’ll open up your head later—I'm curious to see what your brain looks like.”

The emaciated man looked like he could be snapped in half with a single hand, but Dongdong couldn’t move a muscle beyond his eyeballs.

Being tied up wasn't the issue—his entire body was numb, as if he'd been drugged.

“Well, let’s start with something fun. I’ll chop off one of your arms first. Here, hold it up for me, haha.”

“I’ll break your neck first.”

“Huh?”

The doctor instinctively glanced at Dongdong before realizing the voice had come from elsewhere. He turned around.

At that moment, a thick hand shot through the plastic barrier and grabbed his throat.

“Guhhkk—!”