Kazu was the first to move.
A guy swinging a heavy chain charged straight at him. Kazu dodged with a minimal sidestep, pivoted his hips, and landed a picture-perfect hook straight to the liver.
The guy doubled over, gasping for air.
Another thug rushed him from behind with a wrench. Kazu ducked low, let the swing pass right over his head, and countered with an uppercut that snapped the guy's chin back. He dropped like a sack of bricks.
Without breaking rhythm, Kazu kept dodging and striking anyone who dared get close.
Chulwoo, on his part, didn't wait around. He grabbed one thug by the jacket, slammed him face-first into another coming from the side, and drove a brutal knee into his back, taking both of them down at once.
More kept coming. One guy even lunged at him with a metal pipe.
Chulwoo dodged, shattered his nose with a sharp headbutt, and finished him off with a gut punch before snatching the pipe right out of his hands to use as a weapon.
Jihyeon stayed back for a second, observing the mess. He still didn't see anyone truly strong—just regular thugs. That meant the heavy hitters were likely inside the workshop.
It was better to wrap this up quickly.
Minho and Hyunseok were fighting side by side. They were visibly nervous, but their teamwork was surprisingly solid. They covered each other's blind spots, blocking incoming blows with whatever they could manage—a forearm, a shoulder, or even clumsy yet effective shoves.
Shouts and the heavy thud of impacts filled the air.
Kazu had already laid out a dozen men, leaving them unconscious on the ground. Chulwoo had done just as much damage. Yet, thugs kept pouring out.
Jihyeon finally moved—he wanted to test his new abilities.
He flattened his hand like a blade, keeping his palm rigid and fingers extended.
A thug swung a chain at him. Jihyeon dodged, spun, and rammed his extended fingers straight into the guy's throat. He went down in a single blow.
Jihyeon didn't slow down for a second: to anyone who got close, he struck directly at their neck with fluid, lightning-fast motions. Using that technique, he incapacitated nearly ten men, each dropping like a sack of potatoes one after another.
Another thug lunged from his flank. Jihyeon blocked the punch with his forearm and countered with a horizontal knife-hand strike straight to the liver. With his other hand, he followed up with a vertical slash to the face.
The guy collapsed to his knees.
Jihyeon glanced down at his bloodied hands. He shook them off coldly, splattering drops of blood onto the concrete.
The shouting gradually faded. In the end, they wiped out all the thugs in the courtyard.
It was time to push forward.
Chulwoo and Kazu stepped up to his side.
"Thought it'd be harder," Chulwoo grunted, wiping blood off his cheek with the back of his hand.
Kazu shrugged, keeping that same relaxed smirk of someone who had just won an easy game.
"Told you, they're not that big of a deal. There are only three or four decent fighters, including the leader, but that's it."
Minho and Hyunseok caught up from behind, sporting a few fresh bruises and drenched in sweat. They were breathing heavily, but still standing.
Jihyeon looked at the group.
"Alright. With this cleared out, do we go in together… or do you guys want to go have some fun?"
Chulwoo let out a short, cruel laugh, twirling the metal pipe still gripped in his hand.
"Have fun? Let's just finish this fast."
Kazu, hands thrust deep into his pockets, added:
"Fine by me. This was starting to get boring anyway."
Minho swallowed hard, staring at the workshop entrance, which now looked much darker and more imposing.
"Are you sure we shouldn't… wait a bit? There are more inside…"
Hyunseok nodded rapidly, trembling.
"Yeah… what if the leader has a gun or something?"
Jihyeon looked at them calmly.
"No time for doubts. We go in now. Kazu and Chulwoo take the lead."
"Minho, Hyunseok: just focus on staying alive, or wait out here. Your call."
The two nodded, though they remained pale.
Chulwoo was already marching toward the door.
"Enough talk. Let's wrap this up."
Kazu followed close behind, smirking sideways.
"After you."
Jihyeon was the last to step inside. The workshop door creaked open. The sharp stench of motor oil and hot metal from outside instantly faded away.
The interior was surprisingly elegant and spacious. It was spotless, featuring long, clean hallways illuminated by bright white LED lights that highlighted trophies and framed photographs mounted on the walls.
It didn't feel like a standard auto shop—it looked like a corporate office disguised as a legitimate business.
Chulwoo grimaced.
"Nobody in sight."
Kazu tilted his head, curious.
They advanced down the hallway as the overhead lights flickered slightly, casting long shadows.
Suddenly, more thugs emerged from the side doors. Standing at the front was a stern-looking man with green hair, who spoke in a cold tone:
"So you're the punks causing trouble… Do you even realize what you're getting into?"
"Whatever, we have plans for you guys anyway."
The thugs charged forward. Chulwoo raised his metal pipe, swinging hard into the first wave that reached him, and turned his head toward Jihyeon:
"I'll hold them off here."
Jihyeon nodded.
"Got it."
Kazu, without taking his hands out of his pockets, maintained his smirk as they kept walking.
However, the green-haired guy—wearing a name tag reading "Seo" on his jacket—threw a swift punch straight at Jihyeon's face.
Chulwoo blocked it just in time with his metal pipe.
"Get the hell out of here already," Chulwoo ordered his crew.
The two kept moving forward as the chaotic sounds of the fight echoed behind them.
Kazu asked casually:
"Will he be alright?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Jihyeon replied.
"But he's a persistent bastard. He'll be fine."
Finally, they reached a bold red door with large lettering that read: OFFICE.
Guarding the entrance was a tanned guy with slick blonde hair, arms crossed, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Jihyeon stopped in his tracks.
"I take it this is the right place."
Kazu grinned.
"So this one's my opponent, huh?"
The blonde thug raised an eyebrow.
"Impressive. So Seo lost to you brats?"
"You're not going any further, though."
Kazu stepped up and unleashed a rapid burst of jabs toward his face, but the guy raised his forearms, blocking them seamlessly.
Right after, the blonde launched a fast head kick; he was remarkably agile, but Kazu backed off with sharp footwork and countered with a heavy hook to the ribs.
The guy grunted in discomfort, but didn't back down, lunging with a direct straight punch.
As Kazu prepared to respond, a low, authoritative voice echoed from behind the office door:
"What's all the noise out there, Yoon?"
Both fighters froze mid-strike.
The blonde guy, without losing his composure, called back toward the door:
"It's nothing to worry about, boss."
The voice behind the wood replied in a bored tone:
"If you say so… Just handle it quickly."
Yoon glared back at Kazu with ferocity, charging in aggressively to end the fight right then and there.
Kazu dodged by weaving his head with practiced agility, slipping every incoming strike.
In his mind, his read was crystal clear:
He's fast… pretty damn fast for his size. But I'm faster.
Kazu executed exactly what his instincts dictated: he drove a sharp, precise jab straight into Yoon's eye.
Dropping his center of gravity, he capitalized on the momentary blindness to dig a brutal hook into his right ribs.
Pivoting instantly to change his angle, he unleashed another crushing blow to the left side of his ribs.
Seeing that Kazu had complete control of the fight, Jihyeon walked up to the red door and pushed it open. After all, Kazu was the strongest guy here after him—he wasn't going to lose.
Inside, Old Man Han stood behind a large black desk decorated with gold accents. He was a man in his fifties with short gray hair, wearing dark sunglasses and a lit cigar resting between his lips.
The old man took a long drag, slowly exhaling a thick cloud of smoke as he evaluated the intruder. He didn't look surprised—just thoroughly annoyed, as if someone had rudely interrupted an important meeting.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" he rasped, pulling the cigar from his mouth.
"Barging into my shop, beating up my men… You think this is a joke, kid?"
Jihyeon stopped a few paces away, the sounds of Kazu and Yoon trading blows echoing from the hallway outside.
"We came for the territory," Jihyeon said calmly.
"It's nothing personal, but I heard you're the one running things around here."
Old Man Han let out a dry, rasping chuckle that sounded almost like a cough.
"'Nothing personal,' says the brat."
"Everything is personal when you mess with my business."
He leaned forward, slamming his fists onto the desk. His sunglasses reflected the white LED lights, completely obscuring his eyes.
"Seo, Yoon… my top guys."
"And since you're standing in front of me without a single scratch, I take it you brought some capable people with you. Impressive."
"But the fun ends here."
He stood up slowly. He was taller than he appeared sitting down, and despite his age, his posture wasn't that of a washed-up thug.
When he removed his sunglasses, Jihyeon confirmed it: a deep, jagged scar ran across his left eye, leaving him nearly blind on that side.
"Last chance, kid. Join me."
"I'm always open to recruiting talent—though, of course, you'll have to take a beating as compensation for the boys you laid out."
"Either that, or I bury you in the docks."
Jihyeon offered a cold half-smile.
"We didn't come here to negotiate."
Old Man Han sighed, looking genuinely disappointed.
"So be it, then."
And with speed that defied his age, he lunged straight into the attack.