When Jae-hee arrived at the commander’s office, a few familiar faces were already waiting inside.

He spotted someone he hadn’t seen in a while and called out his callsign in surprise.

“Firestarter bro!”

It was Firestarter, the AA-Rank prisoner who had fought alongside them against the Blood Clan Lord, Rose Princess, at Gangnam Station.

Wrapped from head to toe in a gas mask and fireproof suit, he was still hacking away, spewing fine ash with every cough.

Jae-hee approached him cautiously. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Ah. Wind Boy.” Firestarter recognized him and nodded. “It took me a while to get my head straight after that day.”

“I’m glad you seem to be okay.”

“I heard my rampage harmed our allies again. My apologies.”

Jae-hee could only manage an awkward laugh.

In truth, Firestarter’s rampage had killed Little Lamb, and the other convicts had nearly died from the fire and smoke.

But if not for that one second his frenzy had bought them against Rose Princess, Ghost would never have been able to use her Domain Break, and they all would have died.

Firestarter’s rampage had brought tragedy, but without it, none of them would have survived. That was why Jae-hee couldn’t bring himself to condemn or defend him.

“It’s… never something I can control,” Firestarter muttered bitterly, his voice low. “But… that man… he extinguished my flames, didn’t he?”

“Huh?”

“I always burned everything until I’m all alone… but that man extinguished me.” Firestarter slowly chewed on the name of the man who had stopped him, spitting it out. “Rain Man…”

The name of the strongest S-Rank, the man who commanded enough rain to douse even his flames.

Firestarter fell silent, lost in thought.

After waving a hand in front of his face a few times to no effect, Jae-hee left him to it and moved on to greet another prisoner.

“Jail Mojik sis!”

“Yo, Boy.”

Jail Mojik, the leader of Deck 2, had also been called for this mission.

After exchanging greetings, she clicked her tongue. “Just when Razor and I were about to have some fun, I get called away.”

A few days prior, Razor had publicly reclaimed his position as Deck 1 leader from Jae-hee. Now, he and Jail Mojik were happily—and very publicly—dating.

Jae-hee, who had played cupid, now had the full support and trust of both the Deck 1 and Deck 2 leaders. Though he’d given up the leadership position, he had, in turn, gained untouchable power across both decks.

A leader in each hand! Who dares stand in my way!

Jae-hee puffed out his chest without realizing it.

Jail Mojik glanced around the commander’s office, looking a little weary. “I’ll admit, going on missions has been a little scary since that Gangnam Station mess, but hey…”

She grinned and made a finger-snapping gesture. “My boyfriend will be waiting for me when I get back, so I just gotta crush this job and clock out.”

“Excellent mindset, ma’am.” Jae-hee bowed obsequiously.

There were two other people in the office, both of whom Jae-hee recognized, though they’d never spoken. He approached the closer of the two.

She was small in stature, with her hair in two pigtails and a pair of round glasses that covered half her face.

Callsign: Bookworm.

She was the woman from the Hell Auction, the one who’d stepped into the ring to bid on a 2020 issue of an erotic magazine. True to her callsign, she was currently engrossed in a small paperback.

Jae-hee walked up to her as she devoured the book and waved a hand. “Hey, Bookworm sis!”

“Huh? Oh? O-oh?! Ah, h-hello?”

Startled, Bookworm jumped. She hastily shut the book, hid it behind her back, and adjusted the large glasses before letting out a small “Ah!”

“You’re… Boy, right?” she asked. “The one who survived to the end of the Royal Rumble at the auction?”

“Yep. Hehe.”

Though it was their first time speaking, they recognized each other.

Bookworm seemed shy, unable to make eye contact as she fidgeted, but Jae-hee, who had no such inhibitions, offered a harmless, easygoing smile.

“Your courage back then was amazing! The way you were willing to fight anyone to get that book… it was really impressive.”

Of course, that she went down in two punches was a little heartbreaking…

Her face fell at the memory. “I really, really wanted to read that magazine. That’s why I jumped into the ring without thinking.”

“There’ll be other chances.”

“I hope so. This kind of thing…” Bookworm shook the small novel in her hand. “No matter how good this R-18, plot-what-plot, scene-a-chapter, angst-ridden, merry-bad-ending smut is, sometimes you just want to see some proper, full-color erotica instead of just text, you know? Haa…”

Jae-hee just blinked, having no idea what kind of alien language she just spat.

With a gasp, Bookworm realized her mistake and blushed.

She cleared her throat. “A-anyway, I may have made a fool of myself back then, but this mission will be different. I’m actually really strong, you know?”

“Oh, really?”

“In fact, if it weren’t for that vile heretic’s shameful, devious arts, I totally could have won…”

Just then, a voice cut in.

“What are you talking about? You got your ass kicked, fair and square.”

Jae-hee turned to see the last prisoner in the room—a muscular man—walking toward them.

“It’s always the ones who get one-shotted who talk shit behind your back, isn’t it? ‘It was cheap,’ ‘it was dirty,’ ‘I could’ve won in a real fight.’”

He had a tanned, muscular body and faded blond hair, clearly the result of diligent sunbathing.

Callsign: Powerbomb. The man who had fought Bookworm one-on-one in the Hell Fight and won the 2020 erotic magazine.

The two convicts who had faced off in the ring at the last auction had both been summoned.

Bookworm glared daggers at Powerbomb. He, in turn, just snorted, his muscular torso gleaming through his loose-fitting prison uniform.

“You can glare all you want, I’m not giving you my magazine. I won it fair and square.”

“…”

“If you want it, try killing me on the mission and taking it from my belongings when they go up at the Death Auction.”

Powerbomb flexed for emphasis. His pectoral muscles rippled as if they were alive. “If you can, that is. Hahaha!”

He turned and walked away.

As she watched his retreating back, Bookworm ground her teeth and spat out under her breath, “Haa… those huge pecs are so fucking hot…”

Huh?

Jae-hee dug a pinky into his ear, baffled by the utterly out-of-place comment.

But Bookworm, having abandoned all pretense, was now rattling off her honest feelings.

“He’s walking around half-naked, showing off that sexy, muscular body and openly using his mind-boggling dark arts on me, so how am I supposed to not get flustered? Back then, I got distracted by those huge pecs and took a fist to the jaw. You get it, right, Boy? You understand how I feel?”

“Uh, um… I don’t think I really get it.”

“Just imagine if the genders were swapped. That guy Powerbomb is basically a walking, talking dirty-sexy-machine, I’m telling you.”

Bookworm let out a long sigh and ran a hand over her own body. “Haa… If only I were that stacked, I could live a happy, self-sufficient life.”

Jae-hee broke into a cold sweat and backed away. He had no idea what she was talking about, but one thing was certain: this woman was a pervert.

“Anyway, since fate brought us together, just come say hi at the Library in the central area of Deck 3 if you’re interested. We’ve got a lot of great books there. I know the erotica section inside and out, so just tell me your tastes and I can pick something out for you.”

Bookworm smiled proudly, as if she were offering to recommend a classic work of literature.

“Th-thank you…I’ll be sure to stop by Deck 3 sometime.”

Jae-hee concluded the conversation and returned to Ghost, who was leaning against a wall, sipping the last of her coffee.

“Did you say hello to everyone?” she asked.

“Yes.” Jae-hee nodded, then gestured toward Bookworm with his eyes. She was already engrossed in the small (R-19) novel in her hands.

“That Bookworm lady is… a little weird.”

“Is there anyone here who isn’t weird?” Ghost snorted. “She’s probably only a year or two older than you. It’s normal to be like that at your age. You’re a little off-track yourself, but everyone’s putting up with you, aren’t they?”

“W-what do you mean, ‘putting up with me’?! I’m not off-track! I’m totally normal!”

Ghost smirked at Jae-hee’s timid rebuttal and gestured with her chin toward Bookworm. “Powerbomb is just a standard martial artist, but Bookworm possesses an ability on a completely different level. Be careful not to get caught up in it.”

“Really? So she actually is strong.” Jae-hee’s eyes widened. “What exactly is her ability? Have you seen it yourself, Master?”

“I have. We were on a mission together once.” Ghost’s face paled slightly. “It’s powerful, but… it’s not exactly a pleasant ability.”

“…”

“Well, you’ll find out if you see it for yourself. No, it’s the kind of thing you have to see to understand.”

As they were talking, a group of five strangers walked down the outer corridor toward the commander’s office.

Ghost recognized them.

“Well, now,” she murmured. “Team Shakespeare.”

Jae-hee blinked at the unfamiliar name. “Team Shakespeare?”

“That’s right,” Ghost explained. “The name of that five-person outlaw crew. They’ve operated as a team since their days in the underworld, and they were all arrested at the same time. That’s why even now, in the Black Parade, they deploy as a single unit.”

While other prisoners were usually mixed and matched for each mission, these five had worked together for so long that there was no point in breaking them up.

“Huh,” Jae-hee said. “So there are teams that operate like that.”

“No reason to split them up. They’re more efficient when they work together.”

As Team Shakespeare strode confidently toward the office, Ghost listed their callsigns.

“Romeo, Juliet, Oberon, Titania.”

The members, who used characters from Shakespeare’s plays as their callsigns, were all wearing stylish brown leather coats, like a uniform.

“And finally, Shylock.”

Ghost’s lips curled into a sneer as she watched the last man approach—an old man with a greedy-looking face.

“He’s the current leader of Deck 4.”

“What?”

The old man radiated a boss-like aura, and sure enough, he was the ruler of an entire deck.

“They’re legendary outlaws who once had the entire Korean underworld in their grip,” Ghost continued.

Then she added with a mischievous drawl, “Of course, to you, my dear student who has declared you’ll become the strongest, they’re all just opponents you’ll have to crush one day.”

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