Officer Shin was receiving a call from somewhere.

  "Yes... Yes! What did you say?"

  "Inspector Han! At the hospital where the subject under surveillance was admitted..."

  The analysis room was empty.

  "Where did he go..."

  Inspector Han Myeong-man was driving.

  Beside him, Officer Kang Jin-hyeok was looking through a book.

  The book Kang Jin-hyeok was reading was So-an, which had been seized as evidence.

  Han Myeong-man didn't believe in nonsense like Nostradamus or books that could predict the future.

  At least, that was true until yesterday.

  But a group of people infiltrating a national institution and violating the Security Act, and twenty police officers being killed by a single android—if someone said these things happened in just two days, who would believe them?

  Normally, if Kang Jin-hyeok had said, "Don't you think there might be a clue in this book?" Han would have given him a flick on the forehead and told him to stop talking trash.

  But this time, the words wouldn't come out.

  The scenes he had witnessed yesterday kept his mouth shut.

  So, he decided to set aside his narrow-minded thoughts of the past and use every means possible.

  "So, did you find anything?" Han asked.

  "It’s only been five minutes."

  "Read faster. I’m driving because you're supposed to be a faster reader than me."

  "Team Leader, just wait a moment."

  Screeech. 5km remains to the target destination. Han Myeong-man turned off the navigation.

  For some reason, he felt he had to. His intuition told him so. He had a premonition that something even more massive was about to happen.

  He switched the gear to manual mode and, without realizing it, drove the car more aggressively than usual.

  After five minutes, they arrived at the Guro 3rd Checkpoint.

  "Hey. If you have nothing, stop reading and get out."

  "Huh? Aw, man, it was just getting interesting."

  "What? 'Aw, man'?"

  "Ah! But Team Leader, there’s something strange, even a bit fascinating."

  Han Myeong-man raised his fist to strike but lowered it again.

  "What is it... You’re trying to dodge my scolding, aren't you?"

  "No, it's not that. Look at this."

  "What."

  "The incident we had yesterday? Something very similar is written right here in this episode."

  "So what."

  "This android named So-an fights and eventually wins, but..."

  "Get to the point."

  "No, look at this. The date here is February 4th."

  "..."

  "It means reality is three days faster than the date in the book. Why is that?"

  "...Hey, you brat. I told you to look for clues about the junkyard. Stop messing around!"

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  The old man and Dong-jun were moving through the opposite hallway to avoid the footsteps.

  The sound of footsteps gradually faded, and it seemed they had gained some distance.

  Dong-jun wanted to ask.

  "Mmm... Mmm..."

  ‘Ahjussi, what is your identity? Are you like an undercover cop or something?’ But then, the old man leaned Dong-jun against a wall and placed a finger over Dong-jun’s lips.

  "..."

  Dong-jun’s gaze turned toward a place where red lights were visible, and he couldn't help but be shocked.

  There were people ahead. This time, it wasn't just one or two.

  About fifty figures were gathered there.

  There were about a dozen medical humanoids standing tall with their red laser eyes flickering, and dozens of patients being controlled by them.

  The patients were forced to kneel with their wrists tied. Though the severity of their injuries varied, they all looked the same. Some had already collapsed.

  The humanoids were scanning them one by one, as if searching for someone. Once the scan was finished, they were taken somewhere. What happened after was unknown.

  Because of that, the patients were paralyzed with fear, waiting for their turn like beasts being led to a slaughterhouse.

  "Mmm... Mmm..."

  He wanted to help somehow.

  But in Dong-jun’s current physical state, there was nothing he could do.

  ‘Even so... Even so...’ The old man supported Dong-jun again, cold-bloodedly turning back in the opposite direction and heading toward the stairs.

  Then, footsteps began to be heard from below again.

  What appeared faintly below the stairs were other figures wearing tactical gear.

  ‘Are they on the same side as that FAI impersonator from earlier? If so, we're in trouble...’ Humanoids in front, androids in tactical gear below.

  They were currently on the 8th floor.

  There was no exit. The only way was up.

  ‘But if we go up, can we ever escape this place?’ There was no time for hesitation.

  The old man, holding a knife in his teeth, handed a gun to Dong-jun’s left hand.

  "...?"

  As Dong-jun dazedly took the gun, the old man hoisted Dong-jun onto his back.

  He then began to climb the stairs.

  He was afraid. ‘To think I’d be holding a gun again.’ ‘Can I even aim properly?’ Only one day had passed since 'that day,' but the situation was different now. Yesterday, he couldn't even understand how he had fired that gun, even looking back now.

  ‘No, I have to do it. Focus.’ Dong-jun thought that keeping his composure was the best he could do right now.

  At that moment, a sound came from above.

  "Here they are."

  It was another android in tactical gear.

  "Damn it..."

  The androids that had been searching each floor as they climbed heard the voice and returned to the stairs.

  Now, it was a perfect trap with no way out.

  "Shoot!"

  The old man shouted.

  ‘Huh? Where...’ After a brief moment of hesitation, Dong-jun fired at the android above.

  BANG! He missed.

  Being carried, his body shaking—and these androids were much faster than the humanoids from yesterday.

  ‘I can’t hit them...’ "Tch..."

  The old man set Dong-jun down and ran up the stairs.

  He grabbed the knife from his mouth and lunged at the android.

  However, the android, as if it had anticipated his move, easily dodged the attack by leaning back and counterattacked with its right fist.

  The old man barely blocked it with his hand, but the android's punch was heavy.

  He was pushed back, letting out a small groan.

  But the old man didn't miss his chance.

  He grabbed the arm that had attacked him, pulled the android toward him, and drove the blade into its neck.

  The light faded from the android’s eyes, and it stopped functioning.

  "Phew..."

  The old man immediately ran back to pick up Dong-jun.

  But Dong-jun felt he shouldn't let him.

  The distance to the androids climbing up was only three floors.

  There looked to be more than ten of them.

  Comparing the speed of those androids and the old man carrying him, they would surely be caught before reaching the rooftop.

  That was Dong-jun’s calculation.

  ‘It can’t be helped.’ ‘This is the only way.’ Dong-jun quickly pointed at his own leg.

  His functional leg.

  Then he pointed upward.

  He handed the gun to the old man.

  The old man nodded, understanding the signal.

  Dong-jun began to climb the stairs with his one good leg, while the old man picked up the gun and started firing.

  He was different from Dong-jun. He was clearly a professional.

  His bullets rarely missed. He took down half of the climbing androids, but he ran out of bullets.

  Four androids were still chasing them, and the medical humanoids who heard the gunshots began to react as well.

  When Dong-jun saw the old man waiting for them to come, he tapped the staircase railing to signal the old man to come up.

  Fortunately, the old man started climbing.

  The old man threw a fire hydrant he saw while climbing to stall for time, and Dong-jun reached the rooftop door first.

  He tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked tight and wouldn't budge.

  Right behind him, the androids were climbing up the stairs.

  Dong-jun was in despair.

  Then, the old man pulled a thin metal pin from his vest pocket and threw it to Dong-jun.

  "?"

  Dong-jun caught the pin by chance.

  With trembling hands, he pushed the pin into the narrow gap of the locking mechanism.

  Click. The feeling of something catching.

  One more time.

  Click— It opened.

  Just as a cold android hand was about to grab the old man's collar from behind.

  "Mmm! Mmm!"

  Dong-jun shouted with his voiceless voice.

  ‘Ahjussi!’ The old man leaped inside, and just before an android's hand could reach them, they slammed the door shut.

  BANG! ‘Phew...’ "Huff, puff."

  The old man gasped for breath.

  But it was too early to feel relieved.

  Loud banging was heard on the door.

  The doorknob was shaking. It was clear it would break in no time.

  It was a crisis.

  ‘What should we do...’ Dong-jun looked around.

  The night air was cold, and the city sparkled even in that darkness.

  And amidst those lights, somewhere in the sky, 'something' was slowly descending.

  ‘A... drone?’

  [2026-02-21 Conversation Log with SO-AN #78]

  Dong-jun: SO-AN, how many books do you think I read in a year?

  SO-AN: Based on your dopamine-addicted attention span, probably zero. But if you count the number of books you "buy" and leave gathering dust on the shelf, the data might actually look impressive.