The scent of blood and gunpowder lingered in the air as Seojin stepped over Dojin's lifeless body. There was no time to mourn, no time to think. They had to move.
Kade led the way through the dimly lit hallway, his fingers flying across his tablet as he worked to disable the next security measure. The alarms were still blaring, and the facility was on full lockdown.
"We have minutes before reinforcements arrive," Kade muttered. "If we don't extract the data now, we're screwed."
Minji exhaled sharply, glancing back at Dojin one last time before shaking her head. "Let's finish this."
Seojin swallowed the knot in her throat. She had pulled the trigger without hesitation. But the weight of that choice—of killing someone who had once been her friend—was a shadow she knew would follow her forever.
Still, she couldn't afford weakness. Not now.
"Where's the server?" she asked, keeping her voice steady.
Kade nodded toward a thick, reinforced steel door at the end of the hall. "Behind that."
Seojin's stomach tightened. "Then let's get inside."
The server room was locked down tight, but Kade had planned for that. With a few keystrokes, the door's electronic lock hissed and released, allowing them entry.
Inside, the air was cool, the hum of massive data servers filling the space. The walls were lined with reinforced glass, each server glowing with encrypted files.
Seojin and Minji quickly took their positions as Kade plugged into the system. His fingers moved fast, bypassing security firewalls with practiced ease.
"This is it," Kade said, his eyes scanning the screen. "The Council of Nine's most classified files."
Minji leaned over his shoulder. "What exactly are we looking for?"
Seojin's jaw clenched. "Anything that can expose them. Names, operations, weaknesses."
Kade nodded, his brow furrowed as he scrolled through the data. "Hold on… This isn't just financial records. There's something else here."
Seojin stepped closer. "What do you mean?"
Kade's face paled. He turned the screen toward them.
Seojin's blood ran cold.
The files weren't just about money or power. They contained research data. Human experiments. Illegal medical trials. Psychological manipulation programs. Mass control.
Minji inhaled sharply. "What the hell is this?"
Seojin stared at the screen, horror settling in her chest. The Council wasn't just controlling governments and crime syndicates.
They were playing god.
Kade scrolled further, pulling up video files.
One click—
And the screen flickered to life.
The footage was grainy, but the images were unmistakable. People strapped to hospital beds, their eyes glazed over. Machines monitoring their vitals. Some of them screaming. Others completely still, their bodies unnaturally rigid.
A voice echoed over the footage. "The neural programming is complete. Phase one of the mass compliance protocol has begun."
Seojin's pulse pounded in her ears. Mass compliance?
Kade's voice was tight. "They're developing a way to control minds."
Minji took a step back, shaking her head. "No. No, this can't be real."
But it was.
Seojin clenched her fists. "This isn't just corruption. This is warfare."
She scrolled through the documents rapidly, her heart racing. The Council had already begun testing their technology—on prisoners, political dissidents, innocent civilians.
The Council of Nine wasn't just after control.
They wanted to turn the world into their obedient army.
Kade was already copying the data onto an external drive. "We need to get this out of here. If this goes public, the Council is finished."
Seojin nodded, forcing herself to focus. "Minji, cover the door. We don't have much time."
Minji moved to the entrance, her gun raised. "I've got it."
But just as she spoke—
A bullet shattered the glass behind them.
Seojin spun around, heart hammering.
The Phoenix operatives had arrived.
And they weren't alone.
Stepping through the smoke-filled doorway was Director Choi.
His eyes flickered with amusement as he took in the scene before him. "I knew you'd come for the truth, Seojin."
Seojin aimed her gun at his head without hesitation. "Then you know how this ends."
Choi chuckled, unfazed. "You don't understand, do you? You've played right into the Council's hands. This—" he gestured toward the server, toward the files, "—was never about secrecy. It was about who would be desperate enough to steal it."
Seojin's stomach dropped. No.
Choi smirked. "Now the Council knows exactly who their greatest threat is. You."
Seojin's mind raced. This had been a trap. The Council wanted them to find this information.
And now—they had nowhere left to run.
Gunfire erupted as Minji opened fire, forcing the Phoenix operatives to scatter.
"Move!" Seojin shouted.
Kade yanked the hard drive free and sprinted toward the emergency exit. Seojin covered him, her bullets cutting through the smoke.
Choi simply watched, a cruel smile on his lips.
"This isn't over," he called after them. "The world belongs to us. You're just delaying the inevitable."
Seojin ignored him. She didn't have time to waste on threats.
They burst through the exit, sprinting toward their getaway vehicle.
The moment they reached the van, Kade jumped into the driver's seat, slamming the accelerator. The tires screeched against the pavement as they tore down the road, bullets flying behind them.
Seojin's breath came in short gasps as she clutched the hard drive. They had it.
The proof. The truth.
But now, the entire Council of Nine would be hunting them.
Minji turned to Seojin, her face pale. "What do we do now?"
Seojin exhaled, steadying herself.
"We end this."
They weren't running anymore.
It was time to take the fight to the Council of Nine.
No matter the cost.
End of Chapter 74