The silence in Lotus was heavier than usual.
Seo-jin leaned against a crumbling wall near the outer courtyard, absently tightening the strap on his fragment gauntlet. The air smelled faintly of rust, damp stone, and the distant electrical tang of fragment storms brewing far across the ruins.
Min-ji dropped down from a nearby ledge, landing beside him with her usual reckless ease.
"You ready?" she asked, tossing him a second gauntlet she had grabbed from the armory.
Seo-jin caught it without looking. "Ready as I'll ever be."
She grinned. "Good. Ko wants to see us before we head out."
Together, they moved through the cracked hallways, passing Lotus members sharpening weapons, checking supplies, reinforcing weak walls. The tension was unmistakable. Everyone felt it—the shift coming in the city's undercurrents.
When they reached the strategy room, Ko was already waiting, arms crossed, scowling at the battered maps spread across the table.
"We've got a lead," he said without preamble. "Crimson Shield's been meeting with someone. Outside our usual intel network."
Seo-jin stepped closer, studying the map. "Who?"
Ko shook his head. "Don't know yet. Could be a rogue faction. Could be worse."
Min-ji crossed her arms. "You want us to find out?"
Ko nodded. "Quietly. No direct engagement unless absolutely necessary."
He pointed to a marked zone in Sector Ten.
"Meeting's happening here tonight. Old construction site. Half-collapsed."
Seo-jin absorbed the details quickly.
Multiple entrances. High vantage points. Narrow escape routes.
Not ideal.
He and Min-ji exchanged a glance.
Dangerous — but manageable.
"When do we leave?" Seo-jin asked.
"Now," Ko said grimly.
**
They moved fast through the back streets of Lotus, keeping low, keeping silent.
The city loomed around them, broken and unforgiving.
Fragments of the old world stuck out like bones from a corpse — rusted cranes, collapsed highways, shattered glass towers leaning drunkenly against each other.
Seo-jin's boots kicked up dust with every step, but he made no sound.
Min-ji, beside him, was a whisper of movement, her every step calculated but effortless.
After nearly an hour of navigating the ruins, they reached the outskirts of Sector Ten.
The meeting site was exactly as Ko described — a massive concrete skeleton of an unfinished high-rise, gutted by time and weather.
Lights flickered deep inside. Figures moved — cautious, deliberate.
Seo-jin crouched behind a chunk of fallen debris, pulling a battered set of binoculars from his jacket.
He scanned the figures.
Crimson Shield armor, unmistakable.
But there was another group — leaner, quicker, dressed in scavenged gear without clear markings.
Mercenaries, maybe.
Or something worse.
Min-ji shifted beside him, close enough that their shoulders brushed.
"See anything useful?" she murmured.
Seo-jin shook his head. "Not yet."
They waited, breath held, as two men approached from opposite sides of the site.
One wore Crimson Shield colors. The other wore plain, patched black leathers — no insignia.
The two men spoke briefly, gestures sharp and impatient.
Then the one in black handed over a small metallic case.
Seo-jin adjusted the focus, trying to catch more details.
Suddenly, Min-ji tensed.
"You see that?" she whispered urgently.
Seo-jin followed her gaze.
A third figure, hidden in the shadows beyond the meeting.
Watching.
Recording.
Seo-jin couldn't see their face — just the faint glint of a fragment scanner at their belt.
Someone else was spying.
Min-ji touched his arm lightly.
"What do we do?"
Seo-jin thought fast.
"If they're from another faction…" he started.
"Could be an ally," Min-ji finished.
"Or another enemy," Seo-jin said darkly.
The figure in the shadows moved — too quickly.
Crimson Shield's lookout spotted them instantly.
"Intruder!" the man shouted.
Guns raised.
Alarms blared.
The meeting shattered into chaos.
Seo-jin grabbed Min-ji's hand without thinking.
"Move!"
They bolted from cover as bullets tore into the rubble around them.
Min-ji flared her fragment energy, sending a gust of compressed air behind them that kicked up dust and debris, giving them precious seconds to escape.
They raced through the ruins, dodging crumbling walls, leaping over broken staircases.
Seo-jin kept his focus sharp, fracture energy humming at his fingertips, ready to snap the ground beneath any pursuer.
They didn't stop until they had crossed two sectors and the sounds of pursuit faded into the howling wind.
**
They collapsed behind a rusted-out bus shell, gasping for air.
Seo-jin wiped blood from a shallow cut on his temple, glancing over at Min-ji.
"You good?"
She flashed him a breathless grin. "Never better."
He huffed a laugh, leaning his head back against the cool metal.
For a while, they just breathed, hearts pounding in sync.
Finally, Min-ji nudged him lightly with her foot.
"So… what the hell was that back there?"
Seo-jin shook his head slowly. "I don't know."
"But whoever they were," she said, eyes narrowing, "they weren't on Crimson Shield's side."
Seo-jin nodded.
And that was a problem.
Because if another player had entered the game, Lotus was more vulnerable than they thought.
**
By the time they made it back to Lotus, the sun was beginning to rise, casting a sickly orange glow across the broken skyline.
Ko was waiting at the gate, flanked by Ha-eun and Myung-soo.
Seo-jin and Min-ji approached quickly.
"Report," Ko barked.
Seo-jin kept it brief — the meeting, the unknown group, the hidden observer.
Ko listened silently, his expression darkening with every word.
When Seo-jin finished, Ko swore quietly under his breath.
"We're not just dealing with Crimson Shield and Black Sun anymore," he said. "Someone else is moving pieces behind the scenes."
Ha-eun frowned. "Another faction?"
Ko shook his head grimly. "Maybe. Maybe something worse."
He looked at Seo-jin and Min-ji.
"Get some rest. We'll talk more later."
Seo-jin hesitated, sensing Ko's mind was already a hundred steps ahead.
But he nodded.
Min-ji bumped his shoulder lightly as they walked away.
"Hey," she said, voice low. "We did good."
Seo-jin managed a small smile.
Maybe.
But a new game had started.
And they were already a few moves behind.
**
Later, lying on his cot staring up at the cracked ceiling, Seo-jin replayed the night's events over and over in his mind.
The case.
The stranger in the shadows.
The tension crackling in the ruined streets.
Nothing about this felt right.
But there were no easy answers.
Only more questions.
And a growing sense that the worst was still ahead.
Outside, the wind howled through the ruins.
Seo-jin closed his eyes, listening to it whisper against the broken stone.
No grand speeches.
No promises.
Just another day survived in a world that didn't care