Morning light spilled through the curtains of Dr. Min's guest room, soft and warm—an almost cruel contrast to the chaos that had unfolded the night before.
Haerin slept heavily, curled beneath the blanket, exhaustion finally dragging her under.
Hui hovered above her, dim and quiet, recharging.
Si-Eun's particles glowed faintly inside their chamber—still agitated, still trembling.
Jiho slipped out quietly.
Haerin asked him last night to meet Yuri and
get the things she needed ..
------------------------
Yuri was already waiting outside the café entrance, both hands gripping the handle of a large suitcase she struggled to drag across the pavement.
When she spotted Jiho approaching, she hurried forward.
"Jiho!" she called, breathless. "Here—take this."
She shoved the suitcase toward him, worry etched deep into her face.
"Haerin called me last night," Yuri said quickly. "Her voice sounded… off. She told me to pack everything she'd need for at least a week. Clothes, laptop, chargers, hygiene kits—everything."
" Yeah, I'm here to get it. "
Jiho took the suitcase, shoulders sinking slightly under its weight—not because it was heavy, but because of what it meant.
Yuri bit her lip, stepping closer.
"Jiho… what's happening? She sounded scared.
He hesitated, tightening his grip on the handle.
"She's safe," he said quietly. "But she needs time… and distance. Dr. Min's taking care of her."
Yuri's expression fell.
"Is someone after her?"
Jiho didn't answer. He couldn't—not without dragging her into danger too.
Instead, he gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"She'll be okay," he promised. "And she'll call you when she can."
Yuri swallowed hard, eyes shimmering.
"Tell her… tell her I'm here, no matter what."
"I will," Jiho said, sincerity softening his voice.
He lifted the suitcase and turned away—
but not before noticing the way Yuri hugged herself, as if trying to hold back her fear.
-----------------------
Meanwhile at the Silverleaf Facility.
Inside the vast control room, alarms blinked silently across dozens of screens.
Arin swiped through the data feed, her red waves of hair tied back hastily.
"Ms. Kwon… look at this."
She enlarged a city-wide diagnostic.
Entire sections of the grid were collapsing.
Networks flickering. Corporate servers failing. Signal towers shutting down one by one.
Ms. Kwon's eyes hardened behind her glasses.
"Is this another blackout?"
Arin shook her head grimly.
"No. This is targeted. Someone is hijacking systems… threading through them like a worm."
Ms. Kwon's jaw tightened.
"G7."
Arin swallowed.
"His signature matches the interference patterns."
She pointed at a waveform on screen—violent, jagged, hungry.
"He's absorbing any AI code he comes across.
He's getting stronger."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Ms. Kwon finally spoke.
"If he keeps evolving at this speed, the city will lose full network stability within a week."
Arin nodded, pale.
"And we don't have anything strong enough to shut him down."
"Not here," Ms. Kwon murmured, thinking.
"But there is something… someone."
Si-Eun.
Hui.
The only two entities capable of countering G7.
Arin glanced at her.
"You think Dr. Min… has them?"
"He does."
Ms. Kwon's voice lowered.
"Whether he likes it or not."
She pressed a trembling hand against the desk.
"Send a secure line to Dr. Min InSeok. Now."
---
At Dr. Min's Lab
The emergency call flashed across Dr. Min's terminal.
He hesitated… then accepted.
Ms. Kwon's face appeared, rigid as steel.
"Dr. Min," she said without preamble, "we have a problem."
Dr. Min squeezed his eyes shut.
"I already know. G7 found Haerin last night."
Beside him, Si-Eun's chamber flickered, reacting to his name.
Ms. Kwon inhaled sharply.
"Then we don't have time. You know as well as I do—
G7 is beyond our control now.
He's breaching facilities, corrupting systems, and absorbing anything with a pulse of AI."
Dr. Min rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I'm still stabilizing Hui's core. And Si-Eun—he isn't even close to awakening."
"I know," Ms. Kwon said softly.
"But alone, they are fragments.
Together in full form… they hold a 70% probability of terminating G7."
Silence.
Hard, heavy, suffocating.
Dr. Min exhaled slowly.
"I knew he would escalate eventually," he said. "
But not this fast."
"Exactly why I'm calling." Ms. Kwon leaned forward, her tone slicing through the static.
"Dr. Min Inseok… we need Hui and Si-Eun moved. Immediately. Your underground lab won't hold forever—not with G7 actively hunting."
He froze.
"You're suggesting transfer?"
"Yes. To the new Silverleaf facility.
Its coordinates are classified at the highest tier."
She tapped a finger on her desk.
"The base is protected by a barrier—an invisibility shield woven with cloaking fields. G7 cannot detect it. Not unless… he follows you there."
Arin turned sharply.
"That's the risk. If he tracks Hui or Si-Eun's frequency signatures, the barrier won't matter."
Ms. Kwon nodded grimly.
"Which is why transport must be flawless. We'll provide the vehicle, the security team, and a decoy route. But we need your cooperation, Dr. Min."
A long beat of silence.
Then Dr. Min spoke, voice low but steady.
"…I agree."
Arin let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
Ms. Kwon leaned back, relieved for only a heartbeat before her expression hardened again.
"We'll arrive in 5 hours. Prepare Hui's core frame and Si-Eun's containment. Make sure Haerin is ready—we can't afford delays."
Dr. Min frowned.
"She's still shaken from last night."
"Then keep her close," Ms. Kwon said firmly.
"She's G7's target and Si-Eun's anchor. Losing her is not an option."