The dense forest surrounding the coordinates was eerily quiet, the morning sun barely piercing through the thick canopy of leaves. The team moved silently, their gear strapped tightly, their footsteps muffled by the damp ground. Seojin led the way, her sharp eyes scanning every shadow, every movement.
"This place is too quiet," Jiwon muttered, his voice barely audible over the rustling leaves.
"Exactly how they want it," Seojin replied. "Stay sharp."
Dojin's voice crackled in their earpieces. "You're about 500 meters from the facility's perimeter. I'm picking up faint heat signatures—definitely guards, but they're spread out. Looks like they're trying to blend into the environment."
"Can you disable the perimeter sensors?" Seojin asked.
"Already working on it," Dojin replied. "Give me thirty seconds."
---
The team halted just outside the clearing, crouching low behind a fallen tree. In the distance, the facility came into view—a squat, heavily reinforced building partially buried into the hillside. It was surrounded by a tall, electrified fence and patrolled by armed guards.
"Looks like a fortress," Kyungmin whispered.
"It's designed to be," Seojin said, her gaze fixed on the structure. "But even fortresses have weak points."
Dojin's voice returned. "Sensors are down. You've got a ten-minute window before their system does an automatic reboot. Move fast."
Seojin nodded. "Kyungmin, take point. Jiwon, cover our flank. I'll handle the entry."
The team moved swiftly, darting between the trees and staying low. They reached the fence without incident, and Seojin quickly cut through it with a pair of insulated wire cutters.
"We're in," she whispered into her comm.
---
Inside the perimeter, the tension was palpable. The guards were close, their movements methodical. Seojin signaled for the team to split up, each member moving toward their assigned objectives.
Kyungmin reached the first checkpoint, disabling a security camera with a precise shot from his silenced pistol. Jiwon, meanwhile, planted a small EMP device near the guard post, ready to trigger it if things went wrong.
Seojin slipped inside the building through an unguarded side entrance, her footsteps silent on the cold, metallic floor. She navigated the narrow corridors with the help of the schematics on her tablet, her heart pounding with every step.
"Seojin," Dojin's voice came through her earpiece. "You're close to the main control room. Take a left at the next junction."
---
The control room was empty, its walls lined with monitors displaying live feeds from the facility's security cameras. Seojin quickly plugged a flash drive into the central console, letting Dojin take over remotely.
"I'm in," Dojin said. "Downloading everything now. Give me a minute."
Seojin scanned the room, her eyes landing on a series of maps pinned to the wall. One map in particular caught her attention—it showed a network of locations connected by red lines, all leading back to the facility. At the center of it all was a single word: *Inferno*.
"What are you hiding?" she murmured, snapping a photo with her phone.
Suddenly, an alert flashed on the monitors.
"Seojin, you've got company!" Dojin warned. "A patrol just entered the building. They're heading your way."
---
Seojin grabbed the flash drive and bolted from the control room, her instincts kicking in. She moved quickly but quietly, avoiding the approaching guards by slipping into a storage closet.
"Kyungmin, Jiwon, status?" she whispered into her comm.
"Almost done," Kyungmin replied. "What's going on?"
"Guards are inside," Seojin said. "We need to wrap this up—now."
Dojin's voice cut in. "Seojin, there's a service tunnel two corridors down. It leads to the exterior. Take it and regroup with the others."
Seojin waited until the guards passed before slipping out of the closet. She moved toward the tunnel, her heart pounding. Just as she reached the entrance, a shadow appeared in front of her.
A guard.
Before he could react, Seojin struck, her movements swift and precise. The guard crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Seojin didn't waste a second, dragging him into the shadows before disappearing into the tunnel.
---
The team reconvened at the rendezvous point outside the facility, their expressions tense but relieved.
"Everyone okay?" Seojin asked, scanning her team.
"Barely," Jiwon said, his tone laced with sarcasm. "But we made it."
"What did we get?" Kyungmin asked, nodding toward the flash drive in Seojin's hand.
"Everything," Seojin said, her grip tightening on the drive. "Let's get out of here and figure out what it means."
---
**End of Chapter 22**