#20 Silver Moon Society (1)
My call prompted Baek Dosan to set up a meeting right away. The moment he saw me, he spoke up.
"Your name's been making waves lately."
Of course he knew. There was no hiding my identity from them. I'd gone to the auction wearing the mask Geum Doctor made for me, after all. I didn't fully trust Baek Dosan, but he wasn't the type to betray an alliance.
I admitted it straightforwardly.
"It's nothing much."
"Nothing much? Everyone's talking about you. Never thought you'd clean out an auction like that. And now I hear you hit some lab too?"
"Yeah, that's the problem. Something I found in that lab."
I explained the situation to Baek Dosan. He furrowed his brow as he listened.
"You want to smuggle all those kids out of the country?"
"Yes. They can't live normal lives here."
"Hah, you're softer than you look."
His words made me bristle. What the hell did he think I was?
━Sometimes when you smile, you do look like a villain without a drop of blood or tear in you.
It was all because of my eyes. Where else would you find someone as kind-hearted as me? Getting misunderstood over something like eye shape.
At a loss for words, I shrugged.
"Just get them out of the country, and that's enough for me."
Baek Dosan nodded with a smile.
"Fine. Whether you sell them off or kill them right in front of you, I don't care. We'll handle that special delivery. But in return, how about teaming up for one job?"
"A job?"
"Trouble brewing in China."
I rolled my eyes. Great. Came to get rid of one problem and picked up another. China business. Whatever it was, it didn't sound minor.
Baek Dosan shifted in his seat, ready to dive in.
"Perfect timing. As an investor, you need to hear this anyway."
That gave me a hunch. Even before awakeners, China was infamous as the world's top exporter of synthetic drugs. Things hadn't changed since gates appeared—no other place produced as much.
"Something tied to drugs?"
He nodded, confirming my guess, and laid out the details. It was worse than I'd imagined.
"They're refusing to hand over the drugs?"
"More like they can't. That's why they asked for our help."
"Internal strife, or...?"
"War with another organization."
"I don't want to get dragged into Chinese gang fights. They hate outsiders stepping into their turf."
No place loved keeping things in-house like China. The world's biggest country, yet the most insular— they despised foreigners crashing their party.
Unlike guilds elsewhere that hired mercenaries freely, Chinese guilds obsessed over pure-blood ideology.
Gangs were no different.
"Yeah, usually. But this time's different. The Silver Moon Society's on the brink of erasure. Their feet are burning, and their thighs are catching fire too."
"Silver Moon Society?"
"Yeah, spiritual successors to the Triads, you could say. But..."
The Triads, once China's biggest group, half-disbanded after their boss and family got tangled in a gate break. No clear heir led to infighting.
Anyway, Silver Moon Society was the most legitimate remnant. Their current boss was the son of a Triad mid-level exec.
Silver Moon Society. Symbolized by a silver moon, they'd grown around Suzhou and Shanghai.
Prime real estate in China—they'd been thriving.
"And they're begging outsiders for help?"
"Yep."
"...How about ditching Silver Moon Society this time?"
In my knowledge of the future, there was no Silver Moon Society. That meant they lost this war—canonically. Reading my face, Baek Dosan gave a wry smile.
"Ah, so Silver Moon Society 'originally' lost this war, huh."
"Yes."
"Too bad. The Black Leopard gang can't abandon them."
"Why?"
"China's got this guanxi culture. We've been tied to Silver Moon Society since their founding—or really, since Jang Liuwian's father's era. Not so with the others. Betray them now, and every group sees us as honorless dogs. No one takes us in."
Damn. No choice then. I sighed.
"Who's the enemy?"
"Red Society. Barely two or three years old."
My face hardened at the name, but Baek Dosan didn't notice and kept going.
"New doesn't mean weak. Led by an insanely strong awakener, they've razed neighboring groups. Expanding wildly too—drugs, human trafficking, organ trade, no holds barred."
"Red Society."
Now it clicked completely. In the past, Seol Rokjin had chosen Red Society. Baek Dosan couldn't because of ties to Silver Moon, but Seol Rokjin wouldn't care.
Red Society devoured Silver Moon, grew, then unified China's underworld. And kept going.
Blocking the brainwashing changed the timeline.
Without Black Leopard aligning with Red Society under Seol Rokjin, they were backing Silver Moon now.
Even so, Silver Moon couldn't win normally. Red Society had an untouchable monster.
But I knew who it was. And roughly how to handle it.
Leave Red Society alone, Silver Moon falls. Black Leopard, tied closely to them, takes a huge hit too.
Black Leopard crumbles, and the point of saving Baek Dosan vanishes.
This is what changing the future means! Dominoes toppling!
Screw the kids for now—this came first.
"We'll take the job."
* * *
Back at base, I told Kim Jaeho and Han Seohyun the truth.
"So, to send those kids away, we help with a Chinese gang war?"
"Yeah."
"Can't we just keep them here?"
Han Seohyun said it again, but I shook my head.
"Told you, no."
I scanned the base with a sigh. Someone had graffitied the wall in the meantime. Han Seohyun noticed my gaze and subtly stepped to block it. As if that erased it.
Sensing the tension, the kids just watched us nervously.
It was pitiful, them tiptoeing around.
One of them spoke up to me.
"If it's hard, we don't have to."
"Told you, I can't keep you here forever."
"We'll stay quiet."
Did they know how that tugged at the heart? If they did, they were cunning little brats.
I forced a firm tone, ordering them.
"Departure's the day after tomorrow. Pack properly by then. Everything you're taking."
"Boss!"
"Jaeho, come with me."
I ignored Han Seohyun calling from behind and dragged Kim Jaeho outside. Seeing him sigh and herd the kids, I ruffled my hair.
Ugh, this sucks. Not my style at all.
Snapping out of it, I asked Kim Jaeho.
"How much of what I said do you get?"
"That we fight for them."
Without Seol Rokjin's brainwashing, Kim Jaeho was sharper now. Speech still clumsy, focus fleeting, but he grasped words unlike before.
"Right. To get them somewhere safe, we fight."
I met his eyes. Hidden by his bushy hair, hard to read, but staring might reveal his heart.
"What I wanna know is, will you fight? For them, in a battle where you could get hurt—or die. You in?"
Kim Jaeho opened his mouth slowly.
"Yeah."
A deflating answer that made me want to double-check if he got it, but it was enough.
Kim Jaeho didn't lie. That was sincere.
Good. He'd be combat power for this.
But checks first.
"No more brute force like before."
Before was a sneak attack on non-combat researchers. Easier than cold porridge. So smashing heads worked.
But our foes this time? Real pros. Brute tactics wouldn't cut it.
I knew Han Seohyun's skills roughly, but Kim Jaeho? No clue.
Nothing gauged power like sparring.
"First, off with that necklace."
His eyes trembled. Long out of the cage, but the artifact blocking his mana was still on.
Not using talent yet, but better remove it.
"Don't wanna? You know what it is."
"Yeah."
But trusting his neck to me was scary, huh.
"Fine, leave it."
"No. Take it off."
He bowed his head, exposing his nape. I approached carefully and removed it.
He twisted his neck a few times, feeling weird without it.
"Okay?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's spar."
He tilted his head.
"You're weak."
"Yeah. To you, sure."
I admitted it.
"But fights aren't just raw power. Come at me. Gotta see what you can do."
Kim Jaeho stood awkwardly. Eyes full of doubt if he could really hit me.
I rose and nodded at him.
Come anytime.
He charged. His punch from the ground-push was fast.
And heavy.
Air split with each swing.
━One solid hit, and that spot explodes.
'I know.'
I'd seen what those fists did.
Even without talent, Kim Jaeho was a threat.
'If it lands.'
I mana-boosted, dodging. Powerful, but predictable.
I evaded cleanly. Skin grazed by wind pressure sometimes, but no direct hits.
"Why miss?"
"Too obvious."
Instinct alone couldn't catch me. Not with my feints.
Kim Jaeho gritted his teeth, eyes flashing.
Good. Serious now?
Ground cratered under his feet. Faster, stronger punches. Still couldn't touch me.
Soon, my dagger kissed his throat.
"Dead."
Purple energy flared in his pupils.
"Whoa, no. Talent later."
Mana surge right after removal.
"Hmph."
He quelled it at my words.
Good gauge. Sweat beaded my forehead already. I signaled stop.
"Strong but weak. Get it?"
"Yeah."
"From now on, move like I teach daily."
Academy combat arts for basics. Rest via practice.
━Practice?
'Jaeho grows more in real fights than lessons. Always did. Tossed in, came back stronger.'
Not throwing him to wolves, though.
Our styles differed.
I calculated precisely. He relied on raw physique and instinct.
Basics first, then field growth.
"Starting with..."
As I opened my mouth—
"Me too!"
I turned. Han Seohyun and kids clustered at the door, watching.
"When'd you get here?"
"Teach me too!"
"Cool!"
"I wanna learn!"
They rushed out behind him.
"This ain't playtime."
Kids swarmed, praising. Cool! Teach me! Awesome! I shouted amid it.
"Alright, you punks! All rush me at once!"
This might not be so bad?
