One of the goons stepped out from the pack and narrowed his eyes at the pair. He gripped a wooden bat that had been sanded down to a jagged point.
"Outsiders, why're ya'll scallywags crawlin' 'round Incheon? This ain't no playground for city boys."
Jake stared at him with a deadpan face and didn't even shift his stance.
"We are here to visit Incheon."
The goon chuckled and turned back to his companions with a wide, yellow-toothed grin.
"Oi, did ya'll catch what this cheeky bugger said? Claims he's here for a bloody tour of the City o' Ruin."
The others burst into loud laughter and began mocking them with high-pitched, screeching voices. They barked like dogs and circled the two men.
Lineman's eyebrows twitched as he gripped the strap of the bag tighter.
The leader turned back to Jake and spat a glob of dark phlegm onto the cracked pavement.
"Since ya lot already poked the nest, we're gonna give ya a real warm welcome. Boys, show 'em how we do things the Incheon way!"
Jake pressed a finger against his temple and looked at the ground.
"Didn't you want to show me how much stronger you have become? Now is the time."
Lineman grinned at the permission and dropped into a low crouch. His figure vanished from the goon's sight in a blur of pure velocity.
"Wha— where'd he skedaddle to?"
Before the man could finish his thought, Lineman landed softly behind him. The goon's body suddenly crumpled inward as if he had been struck by five invisible hammers at once.
CRACK!
Lineman didn't stop to admire his work. He moved like a streak of blue light across the narrow street and weaving through the chaotic swings of the goons.
He drove three rapid-fire jabs into the solar plexus of a tall man and followed up with a spinning heel kick to the jaw. The impact sent teeth whistling through the air like ivory bullets.
THWACK!
Bricks shattered as another goon was launched headfirst into a defunct storefront by a lightning-fast palm strike. Lineman spun through the air and delivered a kick that snapped a metal pipe held by a charging attacker.
One desperate man managed to grab the handle of the bag Lineman was carrying. He yanked it with all his strength and the worn fabric ripped wide open.
Hundreds of bills flew into the air and caught the wind. They danced over the battlefield like green confetti.
Lineman stopped mid-punch with a look of pure horror on his face. The goons stared at the floating cash with greedy eyes.
Jake's face began to twist in a way that looked painful.
"I am a calm and resilient young man... I am a calm and resilient young man... I am a..."
Jake's eyes snapped open and he let out a frustrated growl.
"Fuck this shit! Lineman! Get the money! I want to deal with this bunch myself!"
Jake entered the fray with a heavy step. He moved with a slow, terrifying momentum.
He caught a swinging bat with his bare forearm and didn't even flinch. He countered with a short, compact hook that sent the attacker flying down the road.
WHAM!
The man's body created a deep furrow in the dirt before he hit a rusted dumpster. Jake grabbed two men by their collars and slammed their foreheads together.
BOOM!
The sound of the collision echoed through the alley. Jake demolished them one by one.
He ducked under a wild swing and caught a goon in a clinch. He drove a knee into the man's gut with enough force to lift him off the ground.
Within minutes, the street was a graveyard of broken wood and unconscious bodies. Jake crouched down and grabbed the last standing goon by the front of his shirt.
"Why did you attack us?"
The goon hesitated and looked at his fallen friends with trembling lips.
"I... I ain't tellin' ya nothin', ya fancy prick!"
Jake slammed him back against the hard street with a single hand.
"Why?!"
The man began to stutter as blood leaked from his nose.
"I... I don't know! 'Twas orders from the top dogs! Incheon's locked up tight. Any outsider gets mangled on sight!"
Jake tightened his grip and leaned in close to the man's face.
"Where do I find this higher up?"
"I... I don't know! I'm just a small-fry, I swear on me life!"
Jake snorted and slammed the man's head into the road one last time.
SPLAT!
The goon's eyes rolled back and white foam began to leak from his mouth. Lineman stood nearby and tried to gather the scattered money into a pile.
"Hyung-nim, he's knocked out."
Jake stood up and dusted off his pants while looking at the surrounding ruins.
"I know. It seems something unknown is going on in Incheon."
A soft popping sound echoed from the end of the alleyway. A man with a ponytail stood there and casually blew a pink bubble with his gum.
"If you guys want to know more about Incheon, come with me."
Jake sighed and looked at the newcomer with an exhausted expression.
"Now, who are you supposed to be?"
The man walked forward and extended his hand for a handshake.
"I'm Boknam Lee, a member of the speed circle."
Jake didn't shake the extended hand. He kept his arms crossed and stared at the newcomer with a guarded expression.
"What are you doing here?"
Boknam blew a large pink bubble and let it linger before it collapsed against his lips. He sucked the gum back into his mouth with a wet snap.
"An old lady informed me that some outsiders have entered Incheon. She said they looked like they had deep pockets and even deeper trouble following them."
Jake didn't say anything but he immediately thought of the old woman from the ramen shop. He wondered if the extra setting fee was actually a finder's fee for the local scouts.
Lineman finished stuffing the last of the crumpled bills into the torn bag. He stood up and wiped the dust from his knees while squinting at Boknam.
"Why does it feel like we are in a video game? You look like an NPC that spawns right after we finish a quest."
The bubblegum popped loudly against Boknam's nose at the comment. He froze for a second and looked at Lineman with a stunned expression.
He rubbed a stray piece of latex off his cheek and cleared his throat. He looked down at his own eccentric outfit and felt that the description matched him a bit too well.
Jake ignored the side conversation and focused on the man's previous words.
"What is the Speed Circle?"
Boknam straightened his ponytail and checked the street behind him for any more goons.
"We are a group that is fighting against the Dark Crocodile Society. You might know about that guy. People outside Incheon call him the King of Incheon."
Jake's eyes widened and his posture became more alert. He shifted his weight and leaned forward slightly.
"So, you know of the Kings of Incheon?"
Boknam nodded and gestured toward the end of the narrow alleyway.
"I can take you to meet him. Incheon isn't safe nowadays for people who walk around with bags of cash and fancy tracksuits."
Jake looked down at the goons groaning on the ground. One of them was still trying to crawl away while leaving a trail of blood on the concrete.
"That I can see."