The rain hammered down on the roof of Jin-woo’s car like a barrage of gravel. Inside, illuminated only by the glow of three monitors, Seo-hee was trembling uncontrollably. The voice of her brother, Jin-ho—distorted into a mechanical screech—had torn her heart to shreds.

  "Oppa... it really was him. Chief, my brother is alive, right? But his voice... why did it sound like a machine...?"

  Seo-hee buried her face in the steering wheel, sobbing. But Jin-woo didn't have the luxury of comforting her. The atmosphere in the car was frozen, tense enough to snap at any moment.

  "Seo-hee, wake up. If you break down, I can’t get out of here. The coordinates Jin-ho left... Main Contractor HQ, Basement Level 7. 'S' is killing Yuri there under the name of 'Project Eden'. We have to go and cut its throat."

  At Jin-woo’s icy tone, Seo-hee wiped her tears with her sleeve and placed her hands back on the keyboard. Her eyes, red and swollen, regained a sharp focus.

  "Understood... Chief. I'm disabling the perimeter security of the nursing home now. Their reinforcement team is coming up from the foot of the mountain. We have three minutes to escape!"

  Jin-woo grabbed the drive containing the copied data and threw himself onto the cargo lift. Behind him, the underground lab was bathed in red as servers began to explode from overload. As soon as the lift hit the surface, Jin-woo sprinted through the torrential rain and dove into the waiting car.

  The moment the door slammed shut, Jin-woo stomped on the accelerator. He glanced at Seo-hee, who was staring blankly at the screen. The family photo he had seen earlier weighed heavily on his mind.

  The words, 'Yuri is your sister,' rose to his throat, but he swallowed them down, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. If she learned this truth now, she would shatter completely.

  "Chief, Basement Level 7 of the HQ doesn't exist officially. On the blueprints, it’s just solid concrete foundation. They built this hideout with the intention of burying it forever."

  Jin-woo ground his teeth at Seo-hee’s analysis.

  "So that’s why Executive Director Kim was so arrogant. It’s always darkest under the lamp. Seo-hee, contact Min-su. Tell him to prep every 'Logic Bomb' we have. The moment we hit the HQ, we paralyze their entire network and drill straight down to hell."

  The car sliced through the wet city streets, speeding toward the Main Contractor’s headquarters. The massive glass building stood like a towering monster in the fog. Beneath that glamorous fa?ade lay a hell that was eating Yuri’s soul and imprisoning Jin-ho’s consciousness.

  Jin-woo spoke briefly to Seo-hee.

  "You stay here and disrupt the system. When I go in and open the door, you come in and find your brother. Yuri... I will take responsibility and bring her out."

  There was no fear or hesitation in Jin-woo’s eyes. Only a madness to reclaim his lover and his colleague’s family burned brighter than the headlights cutting through the rain.

  The car screeched to a halt in front of the HQ. Searchlights swept the area menacingly, but Jin-woo stepped out without hesitation. Inside the car, Seo-hee had unfolded three laptops on her lap, entering full combat mode.

  "Seo-hee, cut the power to the entire building in one minute. The 5-second gap before the backup generators kick in—that’s my only window."

  Instead of a silenced pistol, Jin-woo pulled out high-grade EMP grenades and a physical hacking bridge. Through his earpiece, Seo-hee’s grim voice counted down.

  — "Power cut in 10 seconds... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. NOW! RUN!"

  THOOM—!

  With a heavy sound, the lights of the colossal skyscraper died instantly. In the pitch-black darkness, Jin-woo kicked through the revolving doors of the lobby. In the fleeting moment before the emergency red lights flickered on, he vaulted over the security checkpoint and sprinted toward the executive elevator.

  "Seo-hee, the code for B7 isn't working! They physically locked the mechanism!"

  Jin-woo ripped off the elevator panel and connected the bridge. The screen only flashed red text: [ACCESS DENIED]. They had anticipated Phantom’s intrusion and isolated the system.

  — "Chief, wait! Because they cut the power, I’m picking up a signal from their internal closed network. I’ll ride that signal and force-lock the floor. Just hold on for 30 seconds!"

  Heavy footsteps echoed from the other side of the lobby. Flashlight beams sliced through the darkness, closing in on Jin-woo. The security team.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Who's there?! Hands up!"

  Jin-woo smiled coldly and launched two small drones from his bag. The drones exploded with a blinding flash in mid-air, blinding the guards. In that chaos, Jin-woo’s fingers ruthlessly shorted the wires inside the panel.

  Zzzzt! Sparks flew, cutting a small gash on his cheek, but he didn't blink.

  — "Got it! Code cracked! The elevator is opening!"

  Ding—

  The steel doors slid open. Just as bullets began to whiz through the air, Jin-woo threw himself inside. As the doors closed, he locked eyes with Executive Director Kim standing in the hallway. The man smiled leisurely and drew a finger across his throat.

  The elevator began to plummet toward an abyss not listed on any floor guide. B1, B2... As the numbers dropped, the air inside grew thin, and gravity felt heavier.

  "Seo-hee, comms will be unstable from here. Once I reach B7, do not enter until I give the signal. Understand?"

  — "Chief... please. You have to bring Unni and Oppa out. Please..."

  Seo-hee’s desperate plea was cut off by static. Finally, the elevator slammed to a halt with a heavy thud. When the doors opened, a grotesque laboratory revealed itself—dozens of armed personnel in white protective suits, rows of capsules, and at the end, the pulsating heart of 'Eden', where Yuri and Jin-ho were entangled.

  As soon as the B7 doors opened, cold nitrogen fog curled around his ankles. Dozens of guns were aimed at him, but Jin-woo casually stepped out, scratching his ear.

  "Hey, hey, take it easy. I have high blood pressure; if you startle me, I might die. And your suits... who designed them? A bunch of you in tight spandex looks like a pack of vacuum-packed anchovies."

  While the agents hesitated at his bizarre relaxed attitude, Jin-woo tossed an EMP grenade over his shoulder like a coin.

  "Here, a going-home gift from me. Anchovies, your overtime tonight is cancelled!"

  BOOM—!

  Blue sparks swept through the lab. The lights died, and the agents' tactical visors went black. In the darkness, Jin-woo moved like lightning.

  "Oops, sorry! My hands get a little heavy in the dark."

  He kicked a charging agent in the jaw and dove behind a console box. As the comms crackled back to life, Seo-hee’s urgent voice shouted.

  — "Chief! Is this the time for jokes? Do you know how many guns are pointing at you?!"

  "Seo-hee, life is half jokes and half meat. Ah, I want some meat. They have the AC cranked up so high here, it’s the perfect temperature to grill pork belly."

  While cracking jokes, his fingers were injecting a virus to hijack the core.

  Finally, the large capsule in the center opened, revealing Yuri connected to hundreds of cables. Jin-woo’s playful look vanished instantly, replaced by ice. A hologram of 'S' appeared next to Yuri’s pale face.

  [Phantom. You still have your wit, even in this situation. But the jokes end here. The moment you disconnect Yuri’s brainwaves, this entire floor is rigged to self-destruct.]

  Jin-woo scoffed and slammed the Enter key on his laptop.

  "Self-destruct? Hey, 'S'. You watch too many movies. Using bombs is so old-fashioned. I just installed the 'Infinite Loading Ant Lion' virus on your system. Now, even if you want to press the detonate button, you’re just going to see a Windows Update bar stuck at 99% for eternity. That’s real hell, isn't it?"

  Jin-woo rushed to Yuri’s side and began surgically disconnecting the cables. Next to her, a rough, mechanical breathing sound came from another capsule. It was Seo-hee’s brother, Jin-ho.

  "Jin-ho. Mae-je (Brother-in-law)... no, Hyeong-bu (Brother-in-law) is here. I chased away the anchovy school, so just wait a bit. We’re going to have a company dinner with your sister and... my sister-in-law. The menu is meat, obviously. And I take back what I said about pork. Tonight, I’m treating you to A++ grade Hanwoo beef."

  Jin-woo grinned mischievously to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. Behind him, the agents who had been knocked down were stirring, their laser sights flickering back on. Jin-woo hoisted Yuri onto his back and muttered low.

  "Seo-hee, now! Detonate the Logic Bomb. It’s time to take my Brother-in-law and your Sister home."

  Jin-woo sprinted down the corridor, holding the unconscious Yuri with one arm and pushing Jin-ho’s capsule cart with the other. Behind him, servers exploded in a chain reaction from Seo-hee’s logic bomb, spewing flames.

  "Chief! Escape route 3 is open! But... what did you just say? Brother-in-law... and Sister?"

  Seo-hee’s voice was filled with confusion. Jin-woo laughed breathlessly as he dodged the blue arcs of taser fire. He had slipped.

  "Hey! I was just babbling because I’m nervous! Is that important right now? I’m running a 100-meter dash with a person on my back! Can’t you hear my knee cartilage screaming?"

  He tried to laugh it off, but his grip on Yuri tightened. He could feel Seo-hee hesitate on the keyboard at the word 'Sister', but there was no time to explain.

  "Seo-hee! Stop thinking and force-call the elevator! They blocked the emergency stairs!"

  — "R-Right! Calling it now! But Chief... you have to explain later. My heart is pounding so hard right now I think I'm going to die."

  Jin-woo threw himself and the cart into the freight elevator just as the doors began to close. Electric needles fired by the pursuers sparked against the closing steel doors with a nasty hiss.

  As the elevator shot upward, Jin-woo checked Yuri’s pale face. Her vitals were unstable from the forced disconnection. He squeezed her hand and whispered.

  "Just hold on a little longer, Yuri. You’re going to meet your sister soon. I’ll make all the dad jokes you want, just please... open your eyes."

  THUD!

  The elevator slammed to a halt at the lobby level, but the doors didn't open. 'S' had cut the external power again.

  "That rat bastard... until the very end...!"

  Jin-woo punched open the maintenance hatch in the ceiling and pushed Yuri up first. Under the red emergency lighting, blood trickled down his forehead.

  "Seo-hee, I can't go out the front door. I'm breaking through to the parking lot connector! Get the car ready! And tell Min-su... tonight's menu is beef. Pork isn't enough to compensate for this crap!"

  Jin-woo cracked another joke as he hoisted Yuri onto his back again. Through the emergency passage, the sound of dozens of boots and the clicking of weapons loading echoed. But a cold, confident smile hung on his lips.

  Nothing in this world could stop a man trying to reclaim his family.

  "Alright. Let's take Unni and Oppa home, Seo-hee!"

  Jin-woo stepped fearlessly into the darkness.