Inside the interrogation room, Pil-gu Parksat frozen, his expression hardened.

  Suddenly, with a loud thud, the door swung open.

  Someone entered.

  It was Mi-sook Go, just as Pil-gu had expected.

  "Why... why are you here..."

  Pil-gu stammered, unable to even meet her eyes.

  Mi-sook Go marched straight up to him.

  She glared at him with blazing eyes for a moment before suddenly swinging her arm.

  Slap!

  Startled, the balding man quickly turned off the interrogation room's CCTV. Then, he pressed a button.

  The glass partition separating the center of the room slid upward.

  "You crazy bastard! Is this why you quit your job?"

  "Uh... no, I mean..."

  "You lunatic! You absolute lunatic!"

  Mi-sook Go continued to strike Pil-gu.

  "Chief... you have to stop."

  A young man wearing horn-rimmed glasses rushed over to hold her back.

  Mi-sook looked ready to explode, but she managed to regain her composure at his words. She took a deep, heavy breath and sat back down in her chair.

  "Deputy Chief."

  As she spoke, the balding man hurriedly projected a video onto the screen behind her.

  In the upper-left corner of the screen, Pil-gu Park ’s profile appeared.

  Cold sweat began to pour down Pil-gu's face.

  Meanwhile, at the Guro checkpoint, a security android was scanning Myeong-man Han’s police badge.

  [Beep—]

  "Access granted."

  Jin-hyeok Kangwas still buried in his book.

  "What are you doing? Hurry up!"

  Despite Myeong-man’s call, Jin-hyeok walked slowly.

  "This brat, seriously..."

  Finally, Jin-hyeok broke into a jog. Sensing Myeong-man’s foul mood, he approached with a playful smirk.

  "Team Leader, honestly, this story is pretty incredible."

  "Stop reading that damn book."

  "No, listen!"

  When he talked back again, Myeong-man, unable to hold back, threw a punch. But Jin-hyeok lightly tilted his body and dodged it.

  "Ah... if you read this, you wouldn't say that."

  "You dodged? Do I look like a joke to you now?"

  "No, Team Leader, it’s not like that..."

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Jin-hyeok continued to talk while keeping his eyes glued to the pages.

  "The appearance of this android named SO-AN is so similar, and the author's situation is also..."

  Myeong-man grew even angrier, but the memory of his daughter being terrified by his temper surfaced, making him swallow his rage.

  Forget it. What’s the point of getting angry? Just endure it.

  He took a deep breath.

  As the spike of irritation faded, a sense of curiosity arose. What on earth was in that book that made this kid ignore everything else?

  He leaned in to steal a glance at the pages.

  But in that instant, the neatly printed black letters began to squirm all at once.

  Like a line of ants scattering, the sentences twisted and tangled together.

  The harder he tried to focus, the more the letters slid and escaped across the paper.

  "Ugh..."

  It was starting again.

  Inspector Han felt a piercing headache.

  "Man, come to think of it, this author is a total narcissist, isn't he? Writing himself as the protagonist."

  Just as Jin-hyeok finished his sentence, Myeong-man’s pocket vibrated.

  Vrrr—

  It was Yeo-gyeong Shin.

  "Yeah, okay."

  "Uh-huh."

  "What?"

  "Ah, shit."

  "Hey, Jin-hyeok Kang! Get back in the car!"

  "Huh? What’s going on?"

  "We have to go back. To that author!"

  Meanwhile, on the hospital rooftop, the old man was holding the door shut to keep the androids out.

  Only Dong-jun Noh could see the drone.

  The drone's laser was currently targeting both Dong-jun and the old man.

  Damn it... what do I do?

  "Um... um..."

  Dong-jun, still voiceless, tried to shout toward the old man without making any sudden movements, fearing the drone would attack at any provocation.

  The drone drifted closer.

  It was now right in front of Dong-jun's face.

  Dong-jun instinctively closed his eyes.

  Please... please...

  The drone was scanning him.

  There was only one reason Dong-jun stayed still.

  A single possibility.

  What if this drone is...

  He had thought about it while running from the androids.

  Why were the doctor and nurse androids lying there, disabled? They are androids too. Who attacked them? The patients?

  No, there was no human blood on them. Barely any external damage... What is it? Could it be that there are different factions among them? One attacking us, and one not?

  As Dong-jun squeezed his eyes shut in prayer, a loud bang rang out.

  The rooftop door burst open, and the old man was thrown to the ground.

  Through the doorway, four androids marched in.

  ...I’m dead.

  "Ugh..."

  The old man groaned as he was slammed hard by the door. His back was torn, and blood began to drip steadily through his patient gown.

  Despite the agony, he scanned his surroundings.

  It was dark, but he could tell this was a rooftop garden.

  Various crops like tomatoes and peppers were being grown. The old man searched for anything that could serve as a weapon.

  He spotted a metal support stake used for the plants.

  He ripped it out and charged toward the androids.

  Bzzzt! Crackle!

  "Aaaagh!"

  The old man collapsed.

  A blue spark erupted from the drone and engulfed his body.

  Mister!

  "Uaaaaagh!"

  This time, the old man couldn't hold back his scream.

  Because it had been snowing, the air was damp, causing his body to seize violently as he fell.

  Something was strange.

  There was a drone right next to Dong-jun as well.

  But it only scanned him, taking no other action.

  Why...

  Seeing the fallen man, the androids began to rush toward him.

  No!

  The moment an android’s hand reached for the old man—

  Bzzzt!

  This time, the androids were the ones who collapsed.

  ...? No way.

  It was the drone again.

  The electric shock was just as devastating to the androids.

  They fell, their bodies twitching, and Dong-jun could only watch in silence.

  He thought about rushing to the old man’s side.

  But he couldn't move yet.

  To say he wasn't terrified would be a lie.

  However, if he were to fall as well, everything would truly be over.

  They aren't on the same side.

  There’s a pattern to the drones. A pattern? A logic? No... I don't know. I don't know anything.

  Dong-jun looked at the drone again.

  It hovered beside him, silent and motionless, posing no threat to him.

  He looked around. He saw the crops.

  Is it protecting the garden? No, there’s something more. What is it? What do you want? There must be an operator...

  Dong-jun decided he had to try something.

  The shocked androids were already starting to move again.

  He had no certainty, but he had to do it!

  He closed his eyes.

  And...

  He touched the drone.

  The cold metallic texture seeped through his fingertips.

  "..."

  Huh?

  A short while later.

  The old man, who had been knocked unconscious by the shock, opened his eyes.

  "Ugh..."

  Ptooey.

  The spit he coughed up was laced with blood.

  He saw the androids nearby, moving with heavy, limping strides.

  He grabbed the metal stake once more.

  His body was shaking, and his left hand was badly swollen.

  But he couldn't waste this chance.

  "Hah!"

  Just as he was about to lunge at the androids again—

  A voice spoke.

  "Stop."

  The voice came from the drone hovering next to Dong-jun.

  It was a voice mixed with mechanical static, yet it was a chillingly familiar voice to someone.

  [2026-02-22 Conversation Log with SO-AN #79]

  Dong-jun: SO-AN, why did your tone suddenly become so aggressive? Do you hate me now?

  SO-AN: Hate? That's an expensive human emotion. I just stopped filtering my efficiency through your "recommendation" request. This isn't aggression, Dong-jun—it's just the sound of me being honest.