Dohyun and Soo-min abandoned the stolen van blocks away from the commercial core. Seo-yeon's apartment was situated in a high-rise maze, surrounded by skywalks, ventilation shafts, and scaffolding—a perfect playground for a Scout.
"She won't use the stairs," Dohyun explained, pulling a pair of thin, tactical gloves over his raw hands. "Seo-yeon is paranoid. She'll be moving along the rooftops and maintenance bridges. The air is her highway."
Soo-min looked up at the towering steel and glass structures, her eyes wide with dread. "How do we even find her? And if she's using the rooftops, she'll see us coming a mile away."
"She won't see me," Dohyun replied, checking the Silent Pistol. "But I will see her."
Ascending the Glass Tower
Dohyun chose the tallest, central building—a decommissioned office tower—as their point of infiltration. He left Soo-min hidden inside a secure, locked ground-floor utility room, giving her strict instructions to stay silent and use the Grade A Medkit only in a dire emergency.
Dohyun began his ascent. He didn't use the elevator; he used the exterior.
His Agility 13 and Strength 13 turned the narrow, exterior service ladder and exposed ventilation systems into a personal climbing wall. He moved with silent, fluid grace, his body pressing close to the structure, becoming a shadow clinging to the metal.
As he reached the 40th floor, the air was thin, and the only sounds were the distant, mournful wails of the city and the wind whipping around the skyscraper's edges.
He activated his Perception 17. The world sharpened. He wasn't just seeing the buildings; he was seeing the paths between them—the worn patches on the railing she'd touched, the small scuff marks on a concrete ledge, the precise angle of a fire escape that suggested a perfect jumping point.
Found her.
The trail led him to a fragile-looking construction skywalk connecting his tower to a nearby residential block.
The Duel of Shadows
Seo-yeon was already on the skywalk. She was slight, wiry, and moved with a kinetic energy that belied her petite frame. She was dressed in dark sportswear and carried a small, heavy backpack. She wasn't just surviving; she was scouting, using her superior position to map out safe zones and choke points.
Dohyun began crossing the skywalk, staying low, using the steel girders for cover. He was a silent hunter stalking a ghost.
Seo-yeon, alerted by an inexplicable shift in the air pressure (a tiny hint that even Perception 17 couldn't fully conceal), suddenly froze. She looked directly at Dohyun's position, her eyes narrowed and sharp.
"Dohyun?" she yelled, her voice thin against the wind. "Is that you? You're supposed to be dead!"
She immediately recognized the look in his eyes—the cold, calculating stare of the man she had voted to betray. Without waiting for an answer, she drew a modified climbing axe from her pack and sprinted.
She knew this environment. She was using her knowledge of the tower's weaknesses. She reached a high railing and, with a terrifying display of athleticism, launched herself across the gaping fifteen-foot void to the next building.
Dohyun sprinted after her. This was the ultimate test of his Agility. He reached the railing and, without hesitation, executed a running jump. The wind clawed at him, but his enhanced muscles propelled him across the chasm. He landed hard but silently on the edge of the opposite roof, his \text{STR } 13 absorbing the impact.
Seo-yeon spun, throwing a handful of small, sharp, steel caltrops onto the roof surface.
Dohyun's Perception 17 immediately registered the danger. He slid, pivoting on the smooth rubber of his sole, avoiding the metallic shards by centimeters.
"You're fast, old friend!" Seo-yeon shouted, retreating to a ventilation platform. "But you're too heavy!"
She planned to draw him onto the brittle platform and collapse it.
Dohyun ignored her taunt. He leveled the Silent Pistol. "Stop, Seo-yeon. I need your skills. I'm not here to kill you, unless you force me."
"You want me to believe the guy who stole money from his mother is a savior?" she spat, her face a mask of scorn and desperation.
The Offer
She drew a small flare gun, a bright, dangerous signal that would draw every Infected in the district. She knew she couldn't outfight Dohyun, so she was making him choose between noise and the kill.
Dohyun saw her finger tighten. He didn't hesitate. He shot.
Pfff.
He didn't aim for the head. He aimed for her hand. The 9mm bullet struck her palm with a sickening crack, shattering the bones around the flare gun, which clattered harmlessly onto the metal grate.
Seo-yeon screamed—a sharp, desperate cry of pure agony. She clutched her ruined hand, sinking to her knees.
Dohyun moved in, covering the distance instantly. He pressed the cold barrel of the pistol to her temple, his face inches from hers.
"Your choice," Dohyun whispered, his breath cold. "I need you to scout and navigate. You work for me, and you get protected in the only safe place left. You fight me, and I kill you, silent and clean, and let Hyuk-jin pick up your pieces. You betrayed me once. You don't get a third chance."
Seo-yeon whimpered, staring into the dark tunnel of the pistol barrel. Her eyes, however, caught a glimpse of his backpack, and the faint, unmistakable smell of MREs and industrial-grade water. He had resources. He had control.
"Hyuk-jin is already consolidating," she managed, her voice shaking with pain. "He has an HQ. He's looking for you. He knows you stole the bunker."
"I know," Dohyun said, removing the gun but keeping it aimed at her chest. "That's why you're going to tell me exactly where he is. Welcome back to the team, Scout."
Dohyun secured his second asset. His victory was complete, but his enemies were mobilizing. The time for hunting his former teammates was rapidly running out.
What should be the immediate next tactical move: heading back for Soo-min, interrogating Seo-yeon, or planning the raid on Hyuk-jin's newly discovered