The cold air bit into Seo-jin's skin as he tightened the straps of his vest.
Lotus's briefing room buzzed with low conversation and the scrape of gear being checked.
Ko stood at the front, grim as always, pointing at a map with fresh red marks drawn across Sector Eleven.
"They're moving faster than expected," Ko said. "Crimson Shield is massing forces here, here, and here."
Seo-jin leaned forward, frowning.
Min-ji, standing beside him, crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.
"We're stretched thin," Ha-eun added quietly. "If they hit all three points, we can't defend them all."
Ko's jaw clenched.
"We're not defending," he said. "We're hitting them first."
The room went quiet.
Seo-jin exchanged a look with Min-ji.
Offense.
Risky, but maybe their best shot.
Ko outlined the plan: small strike teams, hit the supply caravans before they reached their staging areas. Scatter them. Slow them down.
"We strike in one hour," Ko said. "Gear up."
**
The team moved quickly through the broken streets.
Seo-jin stayed close to Min-ji, eyes scanning every shadow.
Jae-hwan tagged along just behind, humming under his breath as if they weren't marching into a warzone.
"You know," Jae-hwan said lightly, "you guys could stand to lighten up."
Min-ji shot him a glare.
"Maybe after we don't get shot at."
He grinned.
"Fair."
They reached the ambush point — a collapsed overpass overlooking one of the main supply routes.
Broken concrete slabs provided good cover.
The wind howled through the ruins, carrying the faint scent of burning metal.
Seo-jin crouched low behind a wall, watching through a crack.
"They're coming," he muttered.
Min-ji nodded, flexing her fingers.
Her fragment energy shimmered faintly around her, ready to strike.
The convoy rolled into view — a battered truck flanked by three escort bikes.
Not many.
But fast.
Seo-jin tensed, waiting for the signal.
Min-ji caught his eye and gave a small nod.
Now.
Seo-jin lashed out with a quick fracture, splitting the road ahead of the convoy.
The lead bike swerved wildly and crashed.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Min-ji moved like a storm — surging forward, compressed air hammering into the second biker and sending him sprawling.
Jae-hwan darted out, quick as a shadow, slashing a tire and flipping himself into cover before a bullet could catch him.
The truck tried to accelerate, tires screaming on fractured pavement.
Seo-jin slammed a fracture under the front axle.
The truck crunched down hard, stuck.
Shots rang out.
Concrete splintered around them.
Min-ji ducked behind a broken pillar, panting.
"Could've used a little more subtlety!" she yelled.
Seo-jin grinned grimly. "You want subtle or alive?"
She snorted and vaulted over the pillar, slamming a biker into the ground with a brutal elbow strike.
Seo-jin moved to cover her, taking out another enemy with a sharp fracture to the knee.
Jae-hwan, meanwhile, scavenged grenades from the downed bikers, tossing one casually under the immobilized truck.
The explosion rocked the street, sending shrapnel clattering against the ruins.
Silence fell.
Smoke coiled into the sky.
They had won — for now.
**
Seo-jin wiped blood from his cheek and scanned the wreckage.
"No sign of reinforcements yet," he muttered.
Min-ji leaned on a cracked railing, breathing hard.
"We should move. Fast."
Jae-hwan tossed a grenade into the air and caught it idly.
"I vote we take the back streets."
Seo-jin nodded.
They gathered what they could from the wrecked convoy — food, ammo, fragment cells.
Just as they were about to retreat, a distant roar echoed through the ruins.
Min-ji stiffened immediately.
"That's not good."
Crimson Shield reinforcements.
And a lot of them.
Seo-jin felt the ground vibrate under his boots.
Heavy vehicles. Armored.
"We can't fight that," he said grimly.
Min-ji grabbed his sleeve. "Come on!"
They sprinted through the back alleys, dodging collapsed beams and broken glass.
The world blurred into breathless motion — running, ducking, weaving.
At one point, Seo-jin grabbed Min-ji's arm and yanked her out of the way just as a crumbling wall gave way.
They pressed on, lungs burning.
**
They reached an old sewer access point and dropped into the tunnels below.
The air was thick and foul, but it was shelter.
Seo-jin leaned against the slimy wall, catching his breath.
Min-ji doubled over, coughing.
Jae-hwan plopped down on a broken pipe, grinning like this was just another adventure.
"You guys are fun," he said again, wiping dirt from his face.
Seo-jin gave him a look but didn't bother answering.
Min-ji straightened slowly.
"We need to regroup with Ko," she said.
Seo-jin nodded.
He led the way through the tunnels, torchlight flickering against the damp walls.
They moved carefully, every sound magnified by the narrow passages.
**
It wasn't long before they hit trouble.
Voices echoed ahead — Crimson Shield patrols sweeping the tunnels.
Seo-jin pulled them into an alcove, heart hammering.
Min-ji pressed close to his side, eyes narrowed.
Jae-hwan crouched low, silent for once.
The patrol passed, boots sloshing through stagnant water.
They waited until the sounds faded, then slipped out quietly.
Seo-jin exhaled slowly, tension draining from his shoulders.
They weren't safe yet, but they were moving.
**
When they finally emerged into the ruins near Lotus territory, the sun was low on the horizon, bleeding red across the jagged skyline.
Ko was already there with a retrieval team, scanning the streets warily.
When he saw them, he allowed a rare flicker of relief to cross his face.
Seo-jin trudged forward, exhausted but upright.
Min-ji bumped his shoulder lightly, smirking through the grime.
"Still breathing," she said.
He snorted. "Barely."
Jae-hwan sauntered up behind them, whistling.
Ko didn't ask for a report immediately.
He just jerked his head toward Lotus.
"Let's go," he said gruffly.
They followed him into the shelter of their crumbling home as the city swallowed the last light of day.