Black Moon Sect Leader Lee Kang
In a dark room, Lee Kang stared at the translucent window floating before his eyes, holding even his breathing still. It was a newly posted message in the Modern Murim Gallery.
They say they’re cutting people down around Pangyo.
Looks like it’s really Namhyang Plum Blossom Squad, with one peak-tier and several first-class fighters mixed in.
They’re indiscriminately slaughtering modern people. Everyone, stay alert.
Lee Kang blinked slowly.
Namhyang Plum Blossom Squad.
The moment that name appeared, the mood in the gallery changed. The comment thread, which would normally be smeared with mockery and chaos, was now being soaked in fear at a ridiculous pace.
Lee Kang moved his fingers slowly. A translucent keyboard rose into the air.
In this chaotic Murim apocalypse world.
You want a safe place?
You want protection?
You want power?
Black Moon Sect outer disciples wanted.
Two grappling arts manuals provided free.
Entrance fee: 50 nyang.
Three-month probation.
Monthly pay: 10 nyang.
Interview and a simple test required.
Location: near Mangwon Haomu Market.
Inquiries by secret comment only.
Completed.
Lee Kang pressed the post button at once.
For the first few seconds, nothing happened. In the meantime, somewhere outside, there was another sound of something collapsing. Lee Kang did not even turn his head.
Soon, comments began to appear.
Laughter, mockery, suspicion.
Seriously.
He’d put real effort into the post, and this was the thanks he got?
Still, people who recognized his sincerity always showed up eventually. Especially at times like this.
Lee Kang replied immediately.
The reply was brief.
After confirming it, Lee Kang slowly lifted the corners of his mouth.
A little time passed.
Behind Mangwon Haomu Market, in front of the second floor of the Old Three-Way Intersection Detective Agency, a man was standing below. He wore a white long robe, clothing that did not suit a modern street at all. But in this age of modern Murim, men like that were, strangely enough, far more common.
Watching him, Lee Kang murmured quietly to himself.
Status window.
At once, translucent text appeared above the man’s head.
[Character Information]
Name: Unknown
Talent: Second-class
Affection: Unknown
[Additional information can be checked once affection is raised.]
“Not bad.”
Lee Kang’s eyes narrowed.
“Let’s see if he can pass the test.”
The man kept hovering in front of the building entrance for a long while.
Should he come in, or not?
He stepped onto the first stair, then pulled back again. He checked his surroundings, looked down the alley, and even examined the space behind him reflected in the glass door.
Lee Kang watched every movement from a narrow gap hidden between the cracked plywood and the steel shelving inside the office.
He lowered his gaze.
On the floor lay a dusty brick. Five fine threads had been fastened to it.
Each thread ran toward a different place: the stairwell entrance, the back of the building, the side alley, beneath the window, and the front of the office door.
Only one thread had been broken, the one leading to the stairwell entrance.
Agency experience has increased by 1.
Lee Kang gave a small nod.
Good. No one was tailing him.
The man in the white robe finally seemed to make up his mind and carefully climbed the stairs.
Creak.
The old steel steps gave a low groan. The man stopped at the sound. He listened for a long moment, and when nothing answered, he took another step forward.
Very slowly, he reached the office door.
Then he knocked carefully.
Knock.
Knock.
“Is anyone there?”
His voice was low, but it trembled.
“I came after seeing the Black Moon Sect recruitment post.”
Only then did Lee Kang rise.
“Welcome!”
He deliberately brightened his voice.
“The door’s open. Come in.”
A brief silence followed.
The man did not open the door immediately. Instead, he turned the handle only a little.
Creak.
The door opened just enough to fit two fingers through. Through that gap, the man examined the office interior.
The ceiling.
Under the desk.
Beside the window.
Behind the stacked boxes.
And Lee Kang’s hands.
He was checking for an ambush.
For hidden weapons.
For a way out if he had to run.
One by one, his eyes searched for everything.
Watching him, Lee Kang smiled with satisfaction.
Only after a long while did the man open the door a little wider.
He still did not open it fully. Instead, he slid his body in at an angle, leaving room to escape at any time.
Only then did Lee Kang speak.
“Excellent.”
The man’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“Pardon?”
“You’ve got the basics down. You didn’t just walk in, you checked your surroundings, and you didn’t even open the door all the way. You left yourself an angle to flee, too.”
The man looked at Lee Kang for a moment, then gave a faint laugh.
“Haha, of course. People who act carelessly can’t survive in this age.”
He cautiously stepped into the office.
“There are plenty of frightened people, and even more frightened modern people. In a world like this, if you throw any old door open, you die.”
“That’s right.”
Lee Kang gestured toward an old chair beside the desk.
“This place is fine. Sit.”
The man still had not fully let his guard down.
Before even looking at the chair, he checked underneath it. Then he checked the window’s position, and finally measured the distance between himself and Lee Kang.
Lee Kang let him do it all.
“I brewed some tea.”
At those words, the man’s eyes changed.
“Tea?”
“Yes.”
Lee Kang lifted a small cup beside the old electric kettle.
“Your mouth must be dry. Have a cup.”
The man stared at the teacup as if it contained a secret manual.
That was understandable. Tea was not a common thing in this age. In a Murim apocalypse where slaughter, plunder, and betrayal had become routine, even rice and canned food were precious; tea, a luxury, was rarer still.
For a brief moment, greed and surprise flickered across the man’s caution.
Lee Kang did not miss it.
“Welcome to the Black Moon Sect.”
He smiled gently.
“First, wet your throat.”
The man did not take the cup right away. His gaze moved back and forth between the cup and Lee Kang’s face.
Tea was a precious luxury. But that also meant it was perfect as bait.
There could be poison in it.
Of course, poison was scarce in these days. It was not the sort of thing a third-rate sect like this could casually waste.
Still, one could never be too certain. In an age like this, the first people to die were always the ones who swallowed free food without thinking.
As though he understood the man’s thoughts, Lee Kang smiled.
“Suspicion is the right response. I’d be the same.”
He lifted his own cup first, then slowly took a sip.
Hot water went down his throat.
“Ah.”
He even made a point of exhaling the sound.
“That’s better.”
Only then did the man’s expression loosen a little. Lee Kang pushed one cup toward him.
“Go ahead.”
The man accepted it carefully. First he smelled it. Then he touched his lips to it, only a little.
And then he blinked in surprise.
“This is...”
“Rice tea.”
Lee Kang answered without a trace of concern.
“More accurately, it’s basically rice water.”
The man looked blank.
Lee Kang shrugged.
“Sorry. I don’t actually have real tea.”
The man shook his head.
“No.”
His voice had softened a little from before.
“This is enough. Rice tea, huh... that’s clever.”
And slowly, he drank.
Warm water. A faint scent of rice.
It wasn’t anything special.
It wasn’t anything special. But in an age where screams and blades ruled the outside world, it was more than enough to feel luxurious.
The two of them sipped in silence for a while.
The man’s shoulders lowered a little. The tension in his fingertips eased. Even his gaze toward the door stopped darting there so often.
Lee Kang waited for that moment.
“Let me introduce myself properly.”
He set down his cup.
“I’m Lee Kang, sect leader of the Black Moon Sect.”
The man immediately straightened his posture.
“Ah... yes.”
“Feeling a little more convinced now?”
The man lowered his head with an awkward expression.
“Sorry. For doubting you. I do feel better now.”
“Haha. Nothing to apologize for.”
“There are too many frightened people in the gallery these days who post bait just to lure people in and strip them for their possessions. I couldn’t be sure.”
“I understand. I’d have been the same.”
The man carefully set down his cup. Then, after hesitating for a moment, he spoke.
“I want to join the sect. But... there’s something I want to ask first.”
“Go ahead.”
The man’s eyes swept across the office once.
The old desk. The dust-covered shelves. The broken wooden sword leaning against the wall. The ceiling with exposed wires. The corners marked by old water stains from a leak.
“Where is this sect’s hideout?”
Lee Kang did not answer.
The man continued cautiously.
“Sorry if that sounds rude. But in this world, a hideout is essential. Out there, the Nine Schools, the Five Great Families, the heretic sects, the black-path factions, the neutral forces... all the people straight out of a martial arts novel are out there killing modern folks.”
His voice carried desperation.
“This second-floor office... to be honest, it doesn’t look very trustworthy.”
“That’s an accurate assessment.”
Lee Kang did not deny it.
“But I can’t show it to you.”
The man’s face stiffened.
Lee Kang continued slowly.
“A hideout is the foundation of the sect. It’s not something I can reveal to a newly arrived applicant.”
“Ah... I see. Right.”
The man nodded as if he had accepted that.
Lee Kang looked straight at him.
“Then we’ll begin the test now.”
The man swallowed.
“What kind of test?”
“Nothing difficult. Just answer my questions honestly.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Lee Kang opened his mouth.
“Then first...”
That was when it happened.
Lee Kang stepped on the thread hidden beneath the desk and yanked it.
Agency experience has increased by 1.
Bang!
A loud explosion rang out from outside.
The man’s head snapped toward the door by reflex.
In that split second.
Lee Kang struck.