The explosion had faded, but the echo of destruction lingered in Seojin's ears.
The underground facility was gone, buried under tons of rubble. Smoke billowed into the cold Geneva air, the last remnants of Phase Two's failed activation.
Seojin stood at the edge of the destruction, her chest heaving.
They had won.
Hadn't they?
Minji limped beside her, wiping blood from her forehead. Kade checked his ammo, his expression unreadable.
"We should move," Kade said. "Before we find out who else is watching."
Seojin nodded, but her mind was elsewhere.
Her mother's last words echoed like a haunting whisper:
"One day, you'll know the full truth."
Seojin clenched her fists.
Had she really stopped everything?
Or was she still just a pawn in a bigger game?
Nari's voice crackled in their earpieces.
"Guys, you need to hear this."
Seojin tapped her comm. "Go ahead."
Nari's tone was tense. "I ran a system scan after the shutdown."
Seojin's pulse quickened. "And?"
There was a pause.
"The facility's destruction wiped most of the data," Nari said. "But before it went offline, I caught something."
Seojin exchanged a look with Minji and Kade.
Nari exhaled sharply. "There's another server. Another hidden mainframe—not in Geneva."
Seojin's heart skipped.
Kade muttered a curse. "Of course there is."
Seojin's mind raced. "Where?"
Another pause. Then, Nari spoke.
"…It's in Seoul."
Seojin's blood ran cold.
Seoul.
Where everything had started.
Where Seojin had first become a detective.
Where she had first uncovered the Council's corruption.
Where her mother had first begun building the system.
Now, it seemed, it was where she would find her final answers.
Seojin's voice was steady. "Then we go to Seoul."
Minji frowned. "What if it's another trap?"
Seojin's jaw clenched. "It doesn't matter. I need to know the truth."
Kade sighed. "Guess we're not done yet."
Seojin exhaled slowly, her gaze locked on the distant horizon.
The war wasn't over.
Not yet.
And this time…
She was ready for whatever came next.
End of Chapter 118