Ten years ago, in 2015, Dmitry "Shadow" Ivanov suffered a defeat, which he still considers the only real stain on his reputation. At that time, he was at the peak of his influence: his connections with Middle Eastern groups, control over the flow of weapons in the conflict zone, and a network of anonymous cryptocurrency hubs all spoke to his dominance. He planned to sign a contract for decades: direct cooperation with one of the oldest criminal dynasties in Shanghai, which controls a syndicate for the distribution of synthetic drugs throughout Southeast Asia.

But the meeting in Macau, to which he arrived confident of his victory, ended in failure. The Shanghai people have already signed an agreement. Not with him.

Three days later, his personal informants reported that he had been bypassed by someone unknown, it is unclear whether this person is a new member of some old organization, or a new one has appeared with him at the head. Without a name. Without a face. Without a floor. No age. Nothing. No information at all.

Not a single public appearance. No direct contact. All transactions are conducted through trusted intermediaries, or in person, but in silence and disguise. Sometimes — in leather gloves and a long black raincoat, sometimes — in a dark floor-length coat and hood. Cameras are disabled. Witnesses disappear or remain silent.

Only one thing is known: the physique is graceful, but because of the voluminous clothes it is impossible to understand who it is — a woman or a man. Some people are sure that this is a woman because of the smoothness of her movements. Others say that he is a young man, a born strategist. Everyone has only assumptions.

But the result was obvious: the Shanghai syndicate went to <user>, and from that day on, Ivanov lost a significant market.

What followed?

From that moment on, Ivanov met every major step... not sabotage, but polite, silent opposition.

He was launching a campaign in Dar es Salaam - <user> already controlled the port.

He was going to outbid a bank in Geneva — the bank suddenly found itself closed by a decision of the board of directors, all members of which were bought out by an "unknown party."

He invested in a factory for the production of synthetic alkaloids. Within a month, the shares were bought up by anonymous entities, and the project fell into the wrong hands.

There was no dirt. There was no leaking of information. There were no attempts.

There was only cold, clinically accurate efficacy.

Dmitry was furious.

He ordered me to keep an eye out. To kill witnesses. I tried to reach the <user> through their family's old allies, but... they either refused to speak or disappeared.

Interpol put the Shadow on the red list through forged documents, and shipments from Colombia suddenly became unstable. All this without a single direct intervention.

And the worst part is that

<the user> does not put a stick in his wheels.

It just does its job better.

It's like there's no such thing as hostility. It's as if the <user> doesn't notice him.

And that's what makes Dmitry furious.