The safe house was dimly lit, the air thick with tension. Hyunwoo sat on the couch, his breathing uneven as Minji pressed a cloth against his wound. Blood soaked through his shirt, but his expression remained unreadable, as if pain was nothing more than an inconvenience.
Seojin stood by the window, her fingers tapping against the cold glass. Her mind raced with questions, with doubts.
They had succeeded in disrupting the Phoenix's bioweapon plan, but at what cost? The security breach would put the entire organization on high alert. Retaliation was inevitable.
"How bad is it?" she finally asked, turning toward Minji.
Minji sighed, wiping sweat from her forehead. "The bullet went clean through. He's lucky it didn't hit anything vital, but he needs rest." She shot Hyunwoo a glare. "That means no moving around, no unnecessary stress, and definitely no reckless heroics."
Hyunwoo smirked despite the pain. "Noted."
Dojin, who had been standing near the door with his arms crossed, scoffed. "You say that, but you're probably already planning your next move."
Hyunwoo's smirk faded slightly. "I don't have a choice. The Phoenix won't take this loss lightly."
Seojin folded her arms. "You mean we don't have a choice."
Hyunwoo looked at her, something flickering in his gaze. "So you finally see it, huh?"
Seojin clenched her jaw. "You're still a liability. But for now, we need you."
Dojin let out an irritated sigh. "That's the worst part. We do need him."
A Warning From the Shadows
Jiwon's voice crackled over the intercom. "Seojin, we have a problem."
She turned, instantly alert. "What is it?"
Jiwon hesitated. "It's the Phoenix. They've already retaliated."
The room tensed.
"What happened?" Minji asked, her voice tight.
"They sent a message," Jiwon said grimly. "An attack on one of our informants—Kang Seungjoon. He was found in his apartment. Dead."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Seojin closed her eyes for a brief moment, suppressing the wave of anger rising within her. Seungjoon had helped them before, feeding them critical intel about the Phoenix.
"They know we were behind the infiltration," Hyunwoo said quietly.
Dojin swore under his breath. "This is just the beginning."
Seojin took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus. "Jiwon, do we have any intel on their next move?"
Jiwon hesitated again.
"There's more," he admitted. "The Phoenix has placed a bounty on you, Seojin. A high one. Anyone in the underworld looking for quick money will be after you now."
Seojin's grip on her gun tightened.
"Great," Minji muttered. "As if we didn't have enough problems."
Seojin turned to Hyunwoo. "You said the Phoenix wouldn't stop. What's their next move?"
Hyunwoo exhaled, wincing slightly from his wound. "They won't just hunt you down. They'll try to force your hand. They'll attack the people around you, the ones you care about."
His words sent a cold shiver down Seojin's spine.
"They'll target the police force," she realized. "My team."
Hyunwoo nodded. "And your family, if they find out who they are."
Seojin's stomach twisted. She had kept her personal life separate from her work, but the Phoenix had resources. If they wanted to find out more about her…
"We need to make a move before they do," she said firmly. "What's our next step?"
Hyunwoo hesitated.
"There's something I haven't told you," he admitted. "The Phoenix isn't just after power. There's a deeper reason behind everything they're doing."
Seojin narrowed her eyes. "And you conveniently forgot to mention this before?"
Hyunwoo met her gaze steadily. "Because I wasn't sure if I could trust you."
Dojin rolled his eyes. "Oh, now we're talking about trust?"
Seojin ignored him. "Spill."
Hyunwoo took a slow breath. "There's a ledger. A document containing records of every deal, every transaction, every name connected to the Phoenix. If we get our hands on it, we can expose them all. But…"
"But?" Minji pressed.
"It's kept in one of their strongest fortresses," Hyunwoo said grimly. "The Black Lotus Tower."
Seojin's breath caught.
The Black Lotus Tower. A high-security compound owned by one of the Phoenix's top leaders, hidden behind layers of encrypted security and guarded by elite mercenaries.
No one had ever breached it.
No one had ever left it alive.
Dojin let out a low whistle. "You're saying we just broke into the National Security Headquarters, barely made it out, and now you want us to infiltrate a place that's ten times worse?"
Hyunwoo gave a wry smile. "Pretty much."
Minji groaned. "Why are we doing this again?"
Seojin's answer was immediate.
"Because it's our only chance to end this."
End of Chapter 52