Operation Intelligence Display
Somehow, I managed to wrap up the contract with Danche Ryeong, squeezing every last drop of blood and sweat from my body. The trembling at the tip of the brush in my hand was definitely not just my imagination.
The face of Danche Ryeong before me—her red lips curling into an elegant smile—was the very picture of a beautiful vampire, utterly devoid of blood or tears.
"Thank you for this reasonable transaction, Author-nim."
She'd switched to polite speech before I knew it. Her prompt execution of the contract terms inspired some trust. So, with my wallet already open, I decided to add one more foolproof option.
It was Danche Ryeong's signature "Operation Intelligence Display"—designed to crush the arrogance of the colossal Mu-rim-meng.
"While you're at it, lay the groundwork thoroughly."
I forced some bravado, adopting an imperiously haughty tone as I made my demand.
A flicker of intrigue sparked deep in her proud eyes.
"Hehe. Though our Danga Sangdan might look like bloodsucking leeches from the underworld to the rest of the world, obsessed with money."
She leaned forward slightly, whispering conspiratorially.
"When it comes to deals in this business, we're merchants of backbone, thriving solely on trust and rock-solid results."
That single line brimmed with unshakeable confidence. It wasn't empty bluster—it was the ironclad declaration of a queen who gripped the shadows of the world.
"So, Author-nim, just sit back comfortably in your room and await the delightful explosion we'll create for you."
Her cool, seductive promise sent a chill down my spine. Believing her words, I steadied my quaking heart and awaited the storm of the next day.
And the very next day.
Cheoni-gak, the Mu-rim-meng's most secretive nerve center, was in utter chaos—far from its usual serene hush.
"Hurry! Cross-check the ledgers from the Honam Province branch right now!"
"Have the reports from our informants tracking Liaodong's fund flows arrived yet?!"
"We need to fully verify the authenticity of this intelligence, even if it means pulling an all-nighter!"
Sweat poured from the brows of Cheoni-gak's myriad informants and scribes as they frantically sifted through mountains of documents. Unprecedented bewilderment and thick dread clouded their eyes.
At the eye of this hellish storm stood Jegalmugeom—Cheoni-gak's leader and elder of the Jegal family—issuing his icy commands.
Yet Jegalmugeom himself lurked in his sealed office, forehead deeply furrowed, staring daggers at an anonymous tip letter someone had sent.
"This information... is it truly real?"
His parched lips muttered in disbelief laced with horror.
The letter's contents were volatile enough to rock the Mu-rim-meng to its core.
Under Jegalmugeom's orders, Cheoni-gak's time ticked like a bowstring stretched to the breaking point—frantic and precarious.
Exactly three days later.
An emergency meeting convened in the Mu-rim-meng's most clandestine and solemn chamber: the Inspection Department's grand conference hall.
The air filling the room was frigid and heavy, as if it might freeze solid at any moment.
The high-ranking elders and Inspection Department heads seated around the round table all wore ashen, deathly faces.
"The reason we've gathered here today is singular."
The Inspection Department head at the head seat shattered the heavy silence with a voice laced with steel.
"The appalling corruption of bribery and graft deeply rooted within the Mu-rim-meng."
Several elders flinched visibly at his words.
"And the horrific circumstances surrounding embezzlement and breach of trust by esteemed key figures."
Bam! The department head slammed a thick binder onto the table.
It was the flawless culmination of Cheoni-gak's elite informants' blood-soaked investigation, based on the anonymous tip Jegalmugeom had received three days prior.
"Elder! Th-this is blatant slander!"
"How dare some coward insult the alliance's loyal servants with these absurd fabrications?!"
Cornered figures bellowed in desperation.
But Jegalmugeom merely regarded their ugly flailing with a cold, contemptuous sneer.
"Whether true or false, Cheoni-gak's cross-verification is already complete."
His chilling rebuke silenced the room like a douse of ice water.
The exposed corruption, embezzlement, and breaches were too precise and intricate to deny. Trails of relief funds siphoned under false names, bribery ledgers linking proxy networks, filthy transaction records selling alliance secrets in back alleys.
The shock doubled because most on that damning list were "true righteous faction" figures revered internally and admired externally.
The source of this perfect intelligence that had carved out the Mu-rim-meng's rot in one stroke? Only Jegalmugeom knew whence this massive storm had blown in.
The same day, deep into the night.
In a dark, quiet alley off Nakyang's glittering main streets.
Jegalmugeom, stripped of his ornate martial robes and clad in plain black scholar's garb, proceeded cautiously.
His destination: Danga Sangdan, the colossal merchant guild clutching the world's shadowy purse strings.
This secret trek was unannounced—even to his direct Cheoni-gak subordinates, whom he'd shaken off without notice.
But as he entered the narrow path to Danga Sangdan.
A figure emerged soundlessly from the thick gloom, as if perfectly anticipating his arrival at this hour.
"We've been waiting, Jegal Elder."
A mysterious guide cloaked head to toe in black robes. His voice was mechanical, devoid of inflection.
"For the lofty Cheoni-gak leader of the Mu-rim-meng and noble elder of the Jegal family."
The guide's lantern swayed, illuminating Jegalmugeom's stern face.
"To frequent Danga Sangdan alone at this late hour... it won't reflect well on your reputation."
The guide was polite, yet thorns laced his words.
"Hurry this way. Eyes are everywhere."
Jegalmugeom followed, frowning deeply in irritation.
'They knew I was coming? My secret movements as Cheoni-gak leader?'
Warning bells screamed in his mind.
They arrived at what appeared a shabby, ordinary two-story inn.
But as Jegalmugeom crossed the threshold, instinct halted him.
A direct scion of the famed Jegal family, masters of supreme formations and geomancy.
His keen senses detected the chilling, murderous aura of layered formations encircling the unassuming inn.
'This isn't just an illusion array. It's a lethal absolute formation laced with killing intent.'
Cold sweat beaded on Jegalmugeom's brow.
For a mere merchant guild's safehouse to boast such high-level, deadly arrays.
Unfazed by his unease, the guide advanced with meticulous, eerie steps: three left, half right, one back.
Like navigating an invisible minefield.
Jegalmugeom swallowed dryly, memorizing the complex footwork flawlessly.
Replicating it without error, he was drawn into the inn's deepest secret chamber.
Kreeeak.
A heavy iron door swung open, revealing a dazzlingly opulent hidden chamber.
And there.
At the deepest head seat and beside it sat two figures in arrogant poise, awaiting him.
One: Danga Sangdan's true power, sub-branch leader Danche Ryeong, in resplendent red silk, exuding a bewitching smile.
And at the center: a man leaning deeply into the backrest, dominating the room's very air with haughty ease.
The great hidden writer of the world, the third-rate author shaking murim.
Me, Yeon Woon-ryong.
Right behind my chair: two motionless guardian warriors. Hwangbo Suyeon and Seol Muyeong.
Their fanatical, lethal auras let me sit breathing and appear the true absolute black curtain of the underworld—a perfect illusion.
"Welcome, Jegal Elder."
Danche Ryeong's soft, feigned voice broke the silence.
I said nothing, merely tilting my chin arrogantly from my reclined seat, giving a curt nod.
Jegalmugeom's brow twitched, but he composed himself and sat opposite Danche Ryeong.
Tension hung in the chamber, taut as a wire.
I sipped leisurely from a warm teacup, then spoke in a low, piercing tone.
"How was it?"
My gaze stabbed through the steam into Jegalmugeom's sharp eyes.
"Did my humble 'gift'... suit the Mu-rim-meng's tastes?"
I trailed off deliberately, flashing a vile, meaningful smirk.
Jegalmugeom's eyes flickered faintly.
He rasped back.
"How did you obtain those secret ledgers and dealings even Cheoni-gak's network couldn't fully grasp?!"
I snorted dismissively, cutting him off.
"Making such a fuss over a few dusty scraps I tossed your way, Jegal Elder."
I cranked my bluff to maximum.
"That list? It's just the tip of the iceberg compared to the real intel I hold."
Tip of the iceberg.
The weighty dread of those words struck Jegalmugeom's heart hard.
What followed was a brutal psychological war—Jegalmugeom and I hiding our true thoughts in a bloody verbal tango.
He probed relentlessly with razor questions about my identity and backing's scale.
But with a web novel writer's vicious, seasoned tongue and vague clichés, I parried every thrust, dragging him into confusion.
I even teased Danche Ryeong beside me mid-conversation, flaunting leisure.
"Tsk tsk, merchants are all the same."
I clicked my tongue, shooting her a sidelong glare.
"Even a simple errand like this takes forever. I'm about to burst from frustration."
Her elegant smile cracked like dry leaves at my crass provocation. A faint vein pulsed on her forehead—clear as day to me.
Of course. The underworld's queen treated like a mere minion by a lowly scholar? Infuriating.
But what could she do? This was my ironclad "legal contract," bought with blood money. For now, she was my faithful subordinate, playing the role to perfection.
'Kekeke, when else would I dare poke the underworld boss outright!'
I inwardly cheered wildly, toeing the exquisite line where she wouldn't snap and decapitate me, smirking all the while.
Watching our madcap banter, Jegalmugeom's face darkened heavier by the minute.
Our flawless act hammered home the notion: 'Something the alliance can't touch lightly.'
Finally, the grueling dialogue ended.
Jegalmugeom shuffled out like a defeated soldier, far wearier than when he'd arrived. I clearly saw the cold sweat soaking his back.
Our operation was a spine-chilling perfect success.
But.
As he vanished and heavy silence blanketed the chamber again.
A cold, ominous doubt slithered up my spine like a serpent.
I slowly turned to Danche Ryeong, still toying with her teacup under a leisurely smile.
'Fine, say the Mu-rim-meng's rot blinded them.'
My rational mind blared warnings.
'But... that insane level of internal alliance secrets we just handed Jegalmugeom.'
That wasn't info you got sprinkling cash in alleys.
Core elders' decades of corruption, neatly packaged for instant use?
Danga Sangdan. I'd pegged them as rich underworld players with dark connections.
But their true intelligence might dwarf my shallow imaginings by leaps.
"Danche Ryeong, sub-leader."
I called her in a voice heavy with gravity.
"What... are you people, really?"
At my bone-deep question, she set down her cup and slowly turned to me.
Flashing a bizarre, bewitching smile that seemed to pierce my soul, she whispered.
"Who knows? Perhaps something beyond even what you imagine, Author-nim."