The men faltered under Shin Haesu’s overwhelming presence. But still, it was ten men with razor-sharp sashimi knives versus one unarmed man.

Moreover, these men were seasoned veterans from the underworld. Their eyes quickly filled with murderous intent as they approached.

Swish.

Haesu stepped backward, slipping between parked cars.

Some followed him into the gap, while others climbed onto the cars without hesitation to get to him. One side had an SUV parked, so the men avoided climbing that vehicle.

“Where do you think you’re running!”

“Die!”

While Haesu was facing off against one man, another attacked from the side. Haesu leaned his upper body back to dodge the knife, grabbed the man’s arm and the back of his head, and slammed his face into the SUV’s window.

CRASH!!

Meanwhile, the man in front of him ducked low and swung his knife from close range. Haesu ignored the blade and lifted his knee.

Thud!

The attacker couldn’t even slash at Haesu’s leg before his face was destroyed by the knee strike. It was a bold move, possible only because Haesu was wearing stab-proof gear.

“Yaaaaah!”

From the side, the front, and behind, more attackers rushed in.

Haesu twisted the arm of the one coming from behind and shoved him into the man in front.

“Ugh.”

Haesu slightly furrowed his brows.

The fake-out had, in fact, made his left wrist worse. Pain shot through it with every movement.

These guys were different. Even in the face of someone stronger, their eyes were those of hunters. They had no fear.

They were unlike Mo Chang-gwi’s henchmen, who had killed many before. These were survivors from the battlefield of blades—men forged in blood and violence.

Even with their faces shredded against windows, noses broken by punches, and arms twisted out of place, they didn’t give up. They came at him relentlessly.

“Left side! His left’s not fine! That bastard’s not faking it—go in from the left!”

All but two men shifted left. Even in a life-or-death fight, they were still listening and adapting.

They had seen Haesu take down over a dozen skilled fighters at the party, so this was a group of selected professionals.

Bang!

Haesu’s punch landed square on a man’s face. His eyes rolled back as he flew backward, slammed into a car window, and collapsed.

Shaking out his right hand, Haesu scanned the group with eyes like a wolf.

Four men were already unconscious, but the others showed no sign of backing down.

So—

“Looks like I can’t go easy on you.”

Whether it was bravado or sincere, the moment Haesu spoke, the men briefly stiffened.

Ding-dong—

The sound of the elevator arriving echoed. Before the fight began, the men had jammed the elevator doors with clubs, but they had been dislodged during the chaos.

Everyone, including Haesu, turned their eyes toward the elevator.

If a civilian got caught up in this, things could become dangerous.

—B1 floor. Doors opening.

Slide—

In a momentary lull, the elevator doors opened to reveal a slender figure.

Pink hoodie, hood pulled low, leggings, and running shoes—it was Haru.

She glanced at Haesu with slightly widened eyes, then looked around at the masked men. Gradually, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

“I won’t kill them.”

With that, she dashed out of the elevator, grabbed a knife from the floor, and charged at a man.

The men's brains short-circuited at Haru’s sudden entrance.

She slipped past the man’s knife with fluid motion, got behind him, slashed under his armpit, then dropped low to cut the back of his knee.

Slice, slice—

“Gyaaaah!”

As blood gushed from the man’s armpit and leg, he screamed. Haru then rolled forward and slashed the Achilles tendon of another man.

“Aaaagh!”

The knife-wielders had met their true predator.

With Haru now on the battlefield, the men descended into chaos.

“Ugh…”

Thud!

Haesu knocked out a man who had just regained consciousness. Now, only four were left. And for the first time, the unexpected appearance of Haru seemed to shake their will to fight.

Step, step—

Two people surrounded the remaining four. Haesu smirked and swung his fist. At the same time, Haru, holding her bloodied knife in a reverse grip, charged forward.

The underground parking lot was awash with blood. Four cars were damaged, and twelve attackers lay groaning on the ground.

Haesu pulled a cable tie from his inner pocket, handed it to Haru, and made a phone call.

“Yes, this is Officer Shin Haesu from the Violent Crimes Unit. Requesting three patrol cars to the Reed Building’s basement parking. Armed assailants attacked. More than ten of them. They’ve been subdued, so no rush.”

He lined the men up neatly on their knees and waited for the patrol units to arrive. He then cut the cable tie of one man who looked relatively unscathed.

“Take off your outerwear. Use it to clean up some of the blood.”

“Y-Yes…”

“Quickly.”

“Yes, sir!”

The man, moving like a rookie soldier, began wiping blood off the cars.

Meanwhile, Haesu raised a hand and asked the others:

“Who’s your boss?”

No one answered, but the direction of their eye movements made it obvious. Haesu cut that man’s cable tie as well.

“Go.”

“Huh?”

“Go. Tell the one who sent you what happened here. Maybe then they won’t send anyone else.”

Glancing around at his comrades, the man hesitated, then asked:

“Aren’t you going to ask who sent us…?”

“You’re not the first. Now get lost. I’m counting to three. One, two—”

“Thank you!!”

He bowed deeply and fled limping with everything he had.

Haru, watching his retreating back, spoke.

“Shall I follow him?”

“Just keep an eye from a distance.”

Haru nodded slightly and began tailing the man.

The man kept glancing behind him as he fled, then caught a taxi. From inside, he immediately made a call.

“We failed.”

—What? You sounded so damn confident.

“That guy isn’t human. And then some crazy woman jumped in out of nowhere and…”

- Damn it, this is why rumors can't be trusted. Just shut up and get it done no matter what. Otherwise, you're the one who's going to die.

“Watch your mouth. I know your face.”

- Cut the crap and just finish the job, or die trying.

The man stayed silent for a moment and then hung up.

The taxi driver glanced at him repeatedly through the rearview mirror.

“Is it your first time seeing someone talk on the phone?”

“N-No, sir.”

The man got out of the taxi and entered the semi-basement of a three-story multi-family house. He came out 30 minutes later, having changed clothes and pulled a cap low over his head with a large bag slung on his back.

Then, cautiously looking around, he began to walk away.

Shortly after he passed, a woman quietly appeared at the spot.

“He’s packed his things and is on the move. Seems like he’s trying to escape. Should I catch him?”

- Catch him. I’ll be there soon.

“Yes.”

Tap-tap-tap—

The man suddenly turned around at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. The moment he saw the woman's face, his pupils dilated. But when he noticed her hands were empty, his gaze turned sharp. She had no weapon—he figured he could handle her.

He twisted his upper body to dodge Haru’s small hand and reached for the knife at his waist. Or at least, he tried to.

Smack, clatter, crack—

Haru kicked his hand, knocking the knife loose, then skillfully jumped on his back, crossing her arms and pulling on his collar.

“Urghhh!”

When the carotid artery is properly compressed, it takes less than ten seconds to lose consciousness.

The man flailed and slammed his back against the wall before slowly collapsing.

All twelve of the men were eventually apprehended and brought to the Gangjin Police Station.

The last number the man called turned out to be a burner phone. It was now turned off, and all they could retrieve was its last location, right in the middle of a busy commercial district—yielding nothing useful.

Shin Haesu, once again with a cast on his left arm, entered the interrogation room. Inside was the leader he had previously let go.

Haesu silently clenched and unclenched his right fist as he stared at the man’s face.

Each time Haesu clenched his fist, the man flinched and trembled.

An oppressive silence filled the room until the man, drenched in cold sweat, finally opened his mouth.

“We were approached by someone who heard we were good with knives. Since it was a murder-for-hire, we have no information on the client. Just what he looked like.”

Haesu slowly nodded and continued clenching his fist.

“He came to our office. Had a thuggish look, gave us an advance of 100 million won, said he’d double it upon completion. His face might have been caught on the company car’s black box.”

Only then did Haesu speak.

“Get up.”

He took the man to his office and collected the nearby CCTV footage and black box recordings.

The man pointed out someone wearing a cap and walking with a swagger.

“This is the guy.”

From the angle that clearly showed his face, they could see a snake tattoo running from his neck up to his jaw. A face Haesu had never seen before. Clearly, this was a hit carefully arranged.

But since they now had a solid lead, catching him was only a matter of time.

The Gangsu Unit staked out two locations—Geonyeong Corporation's office and Jang Gangcheon’s residence.

“So we’re just waiting for the snake-tattooed guy to show up?”

“Either he’ll show up, or they’ll go out to meet him. One way or another, we wait for contact.”

The burner phone that was used to call the hitmen was being monitored in real-time by the intelligence unit.

A few hours passed.

Grrrg—

The youngest team member clutched his stomach and grimaced.

“What?”

“It’s nothing...”

Grrg... grrk... grk—

The sound was loud enough for Haesu to hear. It was the kind that bursts through even clenched sphincters.

“Go.”

“Sorry, sir!”

The youngest quickly opened the van door and rushed to the nearby public restroom.

Clunk

But the restroom door was locked tight. The rookie grabbed the handle and was overcome with despair.

“Goddamn it...”

He seriously considered breaking the door down, but instead turned his head.

Creaaak...

At that moment, the door opened and a disheveled man in a suit stepped out.

Pale face, narrow slitted eyes, gold-rimmed glasses—someone the rookie had seen before.

‘Who was that...?’

After urgently handling his business inside, the rookie finally relaxed and remembered.

‘Chief Secretary!’

He’d seen the man in photos—the Chief Secretary of Geonyeong Corporation. But why would he be using a public restroom, locking the door, and coming out looking like he’d been in a fight, when the office was right nearby? Clearly suspicious.

Just as the rookie was pulling out his phone to call Haesu—

“Ughh...”

A small groan came from the next stall. The rookie quickly cleaned up and opened the door.

Inside was a man beaten to a pulp. A snake tattoo was visible on his neck. The rookie grabbed his phone.

“Senior, I found the guy.”

Upon checking his identity, the man turned out to be a cousin of the Chief Secretary at Geonyeong Corporation—a repeat offender with a violent record who had been in and out of prison.

Now the picture was becoming clearer.

At Geonyeong Corporation’s office, a slightly pot-bellied team leader strode forward confidently, flanked by three muscular men.

Their presence was eye-catching. A few employees hurriedly tried to block their path.

“Y-You can’t just come in like this!”

“The CEO isn’t here right now!”

Just then, the Chief Secretary stepped out of the CEO’s office, closed the door behind him, and raised his chin.

“How dare the police barge in here without a warrant. Do you think you can handle the consequences?”

Swish—

Before he could finish, a piece of paper was thrust in front of his nose—a warrant.

Haesu brought his face close to the paper and spoke.

“I’ve got a free pass for warrants, so don’t let some petty criminal block the way. Move.”