Chairman's Call and the Shadow in Shanghai
“Mr. Chairman!”
It was a sight Ha Dojin would never have expected from Gyeongtaek.
Gu Jinmo stared at the man rushing toward him with a grave expression.
“Has something happened?”
Had something gone wrong with Dojin?
But Gyeongtaek shook his head immediately.
“No, sir. I’ve received word from the special envoy who entered Shanghai: there is news concerning Hunter Ha Dojin.”
“Truly?”
China, a place where even the influence of SW Technology was difficult to wield.
Especially after recent events, they had been under even stricter surveillance.
Gu Jinmo asked with visible alarm, “How on earth did you manage to slip someone in?”
“Immediately after Hunter Dojin arrived, I dispatched a few of our most capable operatives by private jet.”
Of course, they had been laundered into completely unrelated identities beforehand, allowing them to move without drawing attention.
Gu Jinmo nodded in approval.
“What news?”
Five days had passed since Dojin reached Shanghai.
Given the man’s personality, something must have occurred long ago.
And as expected.
“He has already gone to the shop operated by the Asia branch chief of Black Moon, Gangmu, and made his presence known.”
“……A shop? What do you mean?”
“That……”
Gu Jinmo could not hide his shock upon hearing Gangmu’s account, a man who conducted himself with such shameless business-like charm.
It was an intelligence SW Technology had never possessed.
Moreover, it was a company renowned enough in China that its very name alone commanded respect.
Gu Jinmo’s face fell.
“……I had no idea such a place even existed.”
He had known that information flow in China was tightly controlled, but to have been so lax himself—how foolish.
A nagging sense of unease settled over him.
He asked, “How did Hunter Dojin obtain such information? Or rather… that means he literally stepped into the enemy’s lair.”
“……Yes.”
Gyeongtaek’s voice dropped low.
It was far too reckless for Dojin’s usual style.
Even bold as the man could be, this was insanity.
Gu Jinmo’s expression darkened in turn.
Gyeongtaek continued slowly, “A major battle has already taken place… and it appears he secured a decisive victory.”
“Hm… I see.”
Only then did Gu Jinmo release a small breath, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
He respected Dojin’s strength—he had witnessed it firsthand.
No hunter he had ever known possessed such power.
Yet even the strongest individual could falter when faced with numbers.
And with Black Moon, a vast organization, the risk only multiplied.
‘But…’
Entering the heart of enemy territory and displaying such confidence was truly remarkable.
“Where is Hunter Dojin right now?”
“Exact coordinates are unknown, but he has not left Shanghai. He has not yet concluded his business.”
“Even this much of a warning would be enough… Does he truly intend to finish it?”
Gu Jinmo murmured softly.
Thinking back to everything the man had shown them thus far, the battle must have been fierce indeed.
Moreover…
‘A meaningful message must have reached them as well.’
Though he could not know for sure, Shanghai’s atmosphere had surely grown unbearably hot.
Gu Jinmo turned to Gyeongtaek.
“How many operatives have entered Shanghai?”
“A total of twenty.”
A modest number—enough, perhaps, to lend discreet support.
“Avoid all direct contact as much as possible. Find a way for them to communicate safely with Hunter Dojin and ensure their safe return. They must not be injured.”
“Understood. We will do everything in our power to protect Hunter Dojin.”
If things had escalated this far, Shanghai itself could be locked down.
Black Moon had the power to do exactly that and more.
It was a tense situation, yes—but…
‘I cannot shake this ominous feeling.’
His chest felt tight.
* * *
“……”
Gangmu stared at the box that had just arrived at his shop.
Inside the box lay something roughly thirty centimeters long—a dagger.
“Failed…?”
It had belonged to Vladi.
The man who had always carried himself with arrogance and edged blades, yet whose skill was genuine.
The handle was worn down to nothing.
Gangmu knew better than anyone how brutally his subordinate had trained.
That was precisely why he had continued to list Vladi among Black Moon’s top hunters despite the damage to team cohesion.
And yet Vladi had fallen.
Most likely dead.
“Ha Dojin… Ha Dojin……”
Gangmu muttered under his breath.
Ever since Jun and Chenhao had also fallen alongside Vladi, nothing would ever be easy again.
The woman who had carried the box in asked, “What are you going to do?”
“We finish it.”
“Three people—Vladi, Jun, and Chenhao—attacked him and failed to kill him.”
An ordinary force could never accomplish it.
Gangmu rose from his seat.
“Then we bring overwhelming firepower of our own. Before the damage grows any larger.”
That was Gangmu’s terrifying strength: the absolute, silent commitment of resources—even when hunting rabbits, he prepared as if taking down a stag.
Ha Dojin, the Korean hunter, had faced Vladi, Jun, and Chenhao together—three at once.
With that kind of power, he could have taken down a deer, at the very least.
But…
‘A wolf… that was what the man had proven he was.’
A single awakened being could wield power like this.
Gangmu opened his phone and typed furiously.
Uuuuung.
Moments later, the woman’s phone rang.
“……!”
Her eyes widened in shock as she read the message.
The woman’s lips parted slightly, revealing just how stunned she was.
The single line on the screen:
—All-hands assembly.
Once a year?
An all-hands assembly that barely ever occurred.
Unless the situation was truly critical, Black Moon members in Asia had never gathered under one roof.
The woman asked, “Is this serious?”
“Of course.”
Gangmu nodded.
“We stop it before things escalate any further.”
The man had already drawn his blade and taken significant losses.
Before any more troublesome complications arose, they would finish him cleanly and clean up the situation.
In that case…
‘I will deliver a warning to Gu Jinmo, that old man, as well.’
Not only that—Black Moon’s Asia branch power would be broadcast across the entire world.
A clear lesson to anyone who dared touch them.
How swiftly and ruthlessly Black Moon dealt with such matters.
“From today, the shop remains closed. Prepare yourself.”
“……Understood.”
The woman nodded and turned to leave the office.
Gangmu remained alone, staring at the photograph of Dojin pinned to the wall.
* * *
The shelter chosen was Haoyu’s workshop.
It was almost recklessly exposed, yet the saying “the darkest hour is beneath the lamp” held true.
Haoyu had already outlived his usefulness to them by revealing Dojin’s location to the wrong people.
He could not even know that Vladi had met his end here.
Haoyu placed a glass of water in front of Dojin.
His hands had been washed, yet the thick scent of dried blood still clung to him.
And…
“Thank you.”
Haoyu lowered his head to Dojin.
He could not imagine the mindset that allowed a person to be dismembered with such precision, yet…
“Thanks to you, I was able to carry out the revenge on my own family members.”
The crushing emptiness and sorrow that followed immediately afterward were beyond words.
“If you had not helped, I would have ended my own life right there.”
“I have seen such cases before.”
Those who had dwelt in hell due to overwhelming grief almost never found beauty in the moment of their revenge.
Most simply could not endure the emptiness and sorrow that followed and chose to end their own lives.
“Revenge was never meant to be that easy,” Dojin said quietly.
“Have you ever… taken revenge yourself, Teacher?”
“I am in the middle of it. Ah, perhaps the word ‘revenge’ does not quite fit.”
What he had done to Gang Seungho was revenge.
But beyond personal hatred, he had begun to move with a higher purpose.
‘To protect my own people.’
And that resolve had forged Dojin into the man before him now.
Had it been simple vengeance, the act against Gang Seungho would have ended there.
‘If it had been…’
This man would have been swallowed by emptiness and sorrow as well.
Dojin looked at him.
But at that moment.
“What will you do from now on?”
Haoyu asked Dojin.
Dojin shook his head.
“I cannot do that anymore. From this point forward, it is my responsibility.”
The shelter had been a kindness, but continued involvement would only endanger this man.
They had barely escaped his surveillance network.
“Handing over my information to be discarded—that is exactly what I want. If I step foot in again, I will not be able to leave without dying.”
He would stay here for only one day.
Before sunrise tomorrow, he would depart.
But then.
“……?”
Haoyu suddenly stood, limping toward the warehouse at the back of the workshop.
With a rustling sound, he returned carrying a large pile of documents in both hands.
“If I had stored it all as computer files… something could go wrong, so I kept them in paper form.”
Haoyu placed the documents on the table before Dojin.
Dojin’s eyes widened in surprise as he carefully examined them.
And…
“How did you gather all of this?”
Detailed intelligence on Black Moon.
Members, characteristics, even estimated levels and the locations of their secret hideouts.
Haoyu answered, “Seven years.”
Seven years ago, when his beloved family had been brutally slaughtered before his eyes, he had lost everything.
“After that, I squandered my fortune in search of revenge and collected every scrap of information on them.”
Surveillance made it all the more dangerous, so he had to act like a fool each day.
“I lived as if each day lasted a year. I worked until my body gave out for the money to gather information, and I endured by telling myself that one day I would dig up their trail and finish them with a single blow.”
A smile finally touched Haoyu’s face for the first time.
“And now that I have carried out that revenge with my own hands… it is over. If I can help you, I am willing to give my life.”
“Do not say that. This is my burden, not yours.”
“No. I will stand by you to the end. I have many ways I can assist you.”
Haoyu selected one sheet from the pile.
“Here. This is the vault of Black Moon’s Asia branch.”
“……A vault?”
Haoyu nodded at Dojin’s question.
“If we completely empty this place… we can shake the very foundation of their organization.”
Dojin’s gaze shifted to the paper in Haoyu’s hand.