The next morning, Shen stepped out of his door. The sky was gray. Dust hung in the air.
A man stood at the end of the alley. Dark uniform. Triangle badge. Shen had seen him before.
The man walked closer, hands in his pockets. "You've been busy, haven't you?" He didn't sound angry. Just tired. "Fights. Killings."
Shen kept his hand off his hook. "They started it."
"Yeah, well…" The man scratched the back of his neck. "Doesn't really matter who started it, does it? You're making noise. A lot of noise. People talk."
"Then go after them."
"We will." The man sighed. "Look, I'm not here to argue. Just… calm down, alright? Next time, we won't just talk."
He turned and walked away. Didn't look back.
Shen watched him go. Then he moved on.
The man's words sat in his chest like a cold stone. They didn't care who was right. They just wanted the noise to stop. Fine. He had his own problems to deal with. The girl with the coin. The men who kept coming. One thing at a time.
Halfway to the central ruin, he heard shouting. A girl's voice. Wang Mei.
Two men had her backed against a wall. One held a knife. The other was trying to grab her bag.
"Give us the coin," the man with the knife said. "We know you have it."
Wang Mei saw Shen. Her eyes went wide.
Shen walked toward them, pushed the man who was grabbing her bag aside, and pulled Wang Mei behind him.
The two men turned. The one with the knife looked at Shen.
"This isn't your business."
"It is now."
The man with the knife lunged. Shen sidestepped. His hook came up. Caught the man's wrist. Pulled. The man stumbled. Shen hit him in the face with the handle of the hook. The man fell. Out cold.
The second man ran.
Shen didn't chase.
"What happened?" Shen asked.
Wang Mei said, "They're the ones who want to buy my coin. I wouldn't sell, so they tried to take it."
Wang Mei was shaking. "They've come three times this week."
"We need to deal with it," Shen said. "For good."
"How?"
"I'll think of something."
He took her to Jiang's bunker.
Jiang was sharpening her dagger. She looked up when they came in, saw the cut on Wang Mei's arm and the bruise on her face. She stood up and pulled Wang Mei to a stool. "Sit." She took out a cloth and started cleaning the wound.
Wang Mei winced but didn't pull away.
"What happened?" Jiang asked.
Shen answered. "The people who wanted to buy Wang Mei's coin tried to take it by force. She says their boss is called One Eye."
Jiang's hands paused for a second. Then she kept working. "One Eye. I've heard of him. He runs a crew. About fifteen men. Two of them are supposed to be tough. One uses a chain. The other has two axes."
Shen nodded. "We need to find out who's behind him. Someone is paying them to collect door‑related items."
Jiang finished cleaning the wound and wrapped a strip of cloth around it. She looked at Shen. "We can't just walk in. We need a plan."
"We talk first," Shen said. "See if we can settle Wang Mei's problem through words."
"And if he won't talk?"
"Then we do what we have to."
They found the gang's hideout that afternoon.
One Eye was a bald man with a patch over his left eye. He sat on a wooden crate. Around him, a dozen men leaned against walls, sat on barrels, or just stood. Two of them stood out. One was tall and thin, with a chain wrapped around his arm. The other was short and thick, with a small axe in each hand.
One Eye looked at Shen. "You're the one who stopped us from taking the coin?"
Shen kept his voice calm. "I'm not looking for trouble. That coin is the girl's father's keepsake. She won't sell it, and you tried to steal it. That's wrong."
One Eye laughed. "That coin is worth more than her life. She doesn't deserve it."
Shen's eyes didn't waver. "That's not your call."
"It is now."
"Then we have nothing to talk about."
One Eye stood up. "No. We don't."
He raised his hand. "Take them."
---
The first wave came fast. Four men rushed at Shen. He sidestepped the first. His hook caught the second in the arm. The man screamed. Shen pushed him into the third. They fell.
Jiang was fighting two men. Her dagger cut across the chest. He went down.
The thin man with the chain stepped forward.
"I'll take the girl," he said.
He swung the chain. It wrapped around Jiang's arm. She pulled. He pulled back. She stumbled.
The short man with the axes came at Shen. The axes were heavy. Each swing made Shen step back. His hook was too light to block directly. He dodged. Weaved. Took a cut on his shoulder. Shallow.
"You're not so tough," the short man said.
Shen didn't answer.
Behind them, a man grabbed Wang Mei. She screamed.
Shen turned. The short man swung an axe. Shen raised his hook. The axe hit the handle. The wood cracked. Shen's arm went numb.
But he didn't drop the hook.
He shoved the short man back. Then he ran toward Wang Mei.
The man holding her had a knife to her throat.
"Stay back or she dies."
Shen stopped.
Jiang was still fighting the chain man. She had her dagger in her free hand. She stabbed at him. He dodged. The chain loosened. She pulled her arm free.
"Shen!" she shouted.
Shen didn't move. He looked at the man with the knife. "If you cut her, you die."
The man's hand shook.
One Eye watched from the back. He didn't look worried.
"Give us the coin," One Eye said. "And I'll let you all walk out."
Shen didn't answer. He moved.
He threw his hook. Not at the man holding Wang Mei. At the chain man. The hook hit the chain man's arm. The chain dropped.
Jiang stabbed the chain man in the shoulder. He fell.
Shen ran. The man with the knife turned. Too late. Shen tackled him. They hit the ground. The knife skidded away. Shen punched the man twice. He stopped moving.
Wang Mei scrambled away.
One Eye shouted, "Kill them!" The remaining men rushed forward.
The chain man got up, blood running down his arm. He picked up his chain. The axe man was already on his feet, both axes in hand.
Shen grabbed Jiang's arm. "Take Wang Mei and go."
"No," Jiang said.
"Go. I'll hold them."
Jiang hesitated. Then she grabbed Wang Mei and ran for the door.
Shen turned to face the two elites.
The chain man swung. Shen ducked. The chain passed over his head. He drove his hook into the chain man's stomach. The man gasped. Shen pulled the hook out and swung it at his throat. The chain man fell. Blood poured from his neck. He stopped moving.
The axe man roared. He came at Shen with both axes swinging. Shen parried with his hook. The impact jarred his arm. He stepped back. The axe man swung again. Shen sidestepped. The axe hit the wall, sending chips of brick flying.
Shen was bleeding from his shoulder. His arm was numb. But he didn't stop. He feinted left, then lunged right. His hook caught the axe man's wrist. He twisted. The axe dropped. Shen drove his hook into the man's side. The axe man screamed and fell. Shen finished him with a cut to the throat.
The other men backed away. None of them wanted to fight.
One Eye turned and ran for the back door. He pushed a crate in the way, but Shen was already moving. Shen caught him just as he reached the door, grabbed his collar, and slammed him against the wall.
"Who's paying you?" Shen demanded.
One Eye's eye darted left and right. His men weren't coming. He spat blood. "You're dead. All of you. My boss will find you."
"I asked who."
"You'll find out soon enough."
Shen pressed his hook against One Eye's throat. The man flinched but didn't talk.
Then Shen heard Jiang's voice from behind. "We have to go. Now."
Shen glanced back. Through the door, he saw more men gathering outside — reinforcements. One Eye had called them.
Shen pushed the hook forward, cutting One Eye's throat. One Eye's eyes went wide. He clutched his neck and slid to the floor. Dead.
Shen turned and ran after Jiang.
They burst out of the hideout and into the ruined streets. Shouts and footsteps followed them but soon faded.
Jiang ran first, Shen behind her. They ducked into a small alley. Shen leaned against the wall, breathing hard. His shoulder was soaked with blood. Jiang's arm was red and swollen. Wang Mei was pale, still clutching the coin.
"They'll come after us," Jiang said.
"Let them," Shen said.
Footsteps approached outside the alley. Shen tightened his grip on his hook. But the footsteps didn't enter. They kept going, farther away.
"They're gone," Wang Mei whispered.
Shen didn't relax. He looked at his hand. The triangle mark pulsed faintly.
"One Eye said there was someone behind him," Jiang said. "That person will send more."
"I know."
"So what do we do?"
Shen looked toward the alley's entrance. The sky was darkening. In the distance, smoke rose from the hideout — someone had set it on fire.
"We leave," Shen said. "Talk later."
They waited, listening. No one came. Then they slipped away.
By the time they got back to Jiang's bunker, it was fully dark. Shen told Wang Mei to rest. Wang Mei curled up in a corner, still holding the coin. She was exhausted and soon fell asleep.
Jiang tended to Shen's shoulder. As she wrapped the bandage, she said, "You killed One Eye. The people behind him won't let that go."
"I know."
"What are you going to do?"
Shen was quiet for a moment. "Heal first. Let them come to me."
"You're not afraid?"
"Does being afraid help?"
Jiang didn't answer. She finished the bandage and stepped back.
Shen stood up. "I'm going home. Wang Mei stays with you for now."
"All right."
Shen pushed the door open and walked into the night. The streets were empty. The fire at the hideout had died down, leaving only smoke.
He reached his door. Checked the frame. No new marks. He went inside and sat on his bed.
He remembered One Eye's last words: "My boss won't forget this."
Who was that boss? Door Court? The Old Dawn? Some other power?
He didn't know. But he knew the trouble wouldn't stop.
He lay down and closed his eyes. His shoulder still hurts. He clenched his fist.
The second door hadn't opened yet, but trouble had already arrived.
He turned over and stared at the ceiling.
One Eye was dead, but others would come.
Let them.