THE STREET KING

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1. A City on Fire

The streets of Seoul were changing.

Jinwoo stood on the rooftop of a half-abandoned building, watching the neon lights flicker below. The power vacuum Kyung-min left behind was turning the city into a war zone.

Gangs that once worked in the shadows were now fighting openly. Blood on the sidewalks. Bodies in alleys. Gunshots in the night.

And at the center of it all—The White Serpent.

Jinwoo had heard whispers. A man with no past, no face, and no mercy. Some said he was a former government assassin. Others claimed he was the last survivor of an old Korean crime dynasty.

No one knew for sure.

But Jinwoo didn't care about stories.

He wanted blood.

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2. A Trap in the Dark

Jinwoo and Hye-jin moved through the streets, dressed in black, blending into the city's chaos. They had one lead—a weapons supplier in Itaewon rumored to work for the White Serpent.

They found him in a backroom of a club, counting stacks of cash.

Jinwoo didn't hesitate.

CRACK.

He slammed the man's head against the table, scattering money across the floor.

"Where is he?" Jinwoo's voice was cold.

The man coughed, blood trickling from his nose. "I—I don't know what you're talking about!"

Hye-jin pressed a knife to his throat. "Wrong answer."

The man shivered. "Okay, okay! He—he doesn't meet people directly. Only through messengers!"

Jinwoo narrowed his eyes. "Where's the next meeting?"

The man swallowed hard. "Tomorrow. 3 AM. Dockyard 47."

Jinwoo's grip tightened.

"You better not be lying."

The man nodded frantically. "I swear!"

Jinwoo let go, and the man gasped for air.

Hye-jin looked at Jinwoo. "A dockyard meeting? Smells like a trap."

Jinwoo wiped the blood off his hands.

"Good."

He was hoping for a fight.

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3. The Ghost in the Mist

They arrived at Dockyard 47 just before 3 AM. The air was thick with fog, the sea stretching out like an abyss.

Hye-jin had two knives strapped to her back. Jinwoo carried two pistols and a silencer.

They waited in silence.

Then—footsteps.

A man in a white suit walked through the fog, flanked by six armed men. His face was hidden beneath a porcelain mask—pure white, except for two serpent-like eyes painted in black.

Jinwoo felt his pulse slow. Was this him? The White Serpent?

The masked man stopped a few feet away. "Jinwoo. You're just as reckless as they say."

Jinwoo raised his gun. "And you talk too much."

The masked man chuckled. "You're eager to kill me. But have you asked yourself the right question?"

Jinwoo's finger tensed on the trigger. "And what's that?"

The masked man tilted his head.

"Who do you think ordered your father's death?"

Silence.

Jinwoo's breath hitched.

"...What?"

The masked man took a step closer. "Did you think Kyung-min acted alone? That Joon-ho was the mastermind?"

Jinwoo clenched his jaw. "You're lying."

The man's voice was smooth. Amused. "Am I?"

Then—gunfire.

Jinwoo and Hye-jin dove for cover as the dockyard exploded into chaos.

It was an ambush.

And for the first time in years—Jinwoo realized he might not be in control anymore.

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4. Blood in the Water

Jinwoo rolled behind a crate, his mind racing.

If the White Serpent was telling the truth… then everything he thought he knew was a lie.

His father's death.

Joon-ho's betrayal.

Kyung-min's war.

All of it was orchestrated by someone else.

But now wasn't the time for questions. Now was the time to kill.

Jinwoo popped out of cover and fired—two headshots. The first gunman dropped, the second fell into the sea.

Hye-jin moved like a shadow, cutting through two men with surgical precision.

The masked man stood at a distance, watching.

Waiting.

Jinwoo's blood boiled.

"You talk big," he growled. "But you're just another coward hiding behind a mask."

The White Serpent chuckled. "Then come and take it off."

Jinwoo charged.

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5. The Truth Beneath the Mask

Their fight was brutal.

Jinwoo swung first—a left hook. The White Serpent dodged, countering with a sharp knee to the ribs.

Jinwoo staggered but recovered fast. He caught the Serpent's wrist, twisting—SNAP.

But the Serpent barely flinched.

Instead, he leaned in close and whispered.

"Do you want to know who gave the order?"

Jinwoo hesitated.

And in that split second, the White Serpent grabbed a hidden blade and—

SLASH.

Pain exploded in Jinwoo's side.

He fell to one knee, blood soaking his shirt.

The White Serpent knelt beside him.

And then—he removed the mask.

Jinwoo's heart stopped.

Because the face staring back at him—

Was his father's best friend.

Chairman Seo.

The man who had raised him after his father died.

The man who had pretended to care.

The true enemy all along.

Chairman Seo smiled. "Surprised?"

Jinwoo's vision blurred.

Then everything went black.

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End of Chapter 36