At the Won household, Jen Heo Won, Gin Chu Won, and Eh San Won stood frozen in front of the massive television screen as breaking news flooded the room.
The Won Group headquarters was under a full scale terrorist attack. Flames licked the lower floors, smoke poured into the sky, and armed men were visible storming the building.
"GET THE FUCKING ARMY ONLINE!!!"
Eh San Won roared, slamming his fist against the table. His voice cracked with fury and panic. Before anyone could respond, the camera feed shifted. It zoomed into the ground floor lobby.
The three of them stiffened.
On screen, Shan Wolf stood among shattered glass and fallen bodies. His breathing was uneven, his hands trembling just slightly as he raised the gun and fired. A terrorist dropped instantly, blood spreading across the marble floor.
Jen Heo Won's eyes widened.
She had always seen Shan Wolf as an irritation, a disposable chess piece forced onto the board by circumstance. Someone useful, but ordinary.
Yet the way he pulled the trigger, the way fear flashed only for a split second before vanishing into cold resolve, told her everything she needed to know.
This man was no average nobody.
At the Investor Relations department, employees were lined up along the walls, hands bound, faces pale. Some sobbed quietly.
Others stared blankly ahead, too terrified to move. Armed men paced back and forth, boots echoing sharply against the floor.
One level above them, chaos erupted.
Eva moved like a storm.
She weaved through twenty terrorists with an army knife clenched tightly in her grip. Her movements were precise, brutal, and efficient.
She ducked under a swing, slashed a thigh, pivoted, and drove her elbow into a man's throat. Another lunged at her and she spun, slicing his wrist and sending the gun clattering across the floor.
"You seem to have lost your touch, Viper!"
078's mocking voice rang out as he watched her from across the room.
"Has the luxury life softened you up?" he sneered. "Or is it your failed lover?!"
Eva's eyes burned with rage. She leapt onto a table, using one hand to support her entire body as she kicked off, her heel smashing into a man's jaw. She flipped, landed cleanly, and buried her knife into another attacker's shoulder.
She was winning.
Then pain exploded through her body.
A sharp crack echoed and a bullet tore into her shoulder. Eva gasped as the impact spun her off balance. Blood sprayed across the floor as she was thrown backward, crashing hard onto a couch. Her vision blurred as agony pulsed through her arm.
She stared at the wound, breathing ragged.
A sniper bullet.
"Pity, Viper," 078 said coldly as he approached. "You were so my type, if it wasn't for your problem."
He leaned closer, his voice dripping with venom.
"Who is he again? Ah yes. Your fucking stepbrother."
Before she could react, a sharp blow struck her temple.
Everything went black.
"Take her back to the Investor Relations department," 078 ordered.
The terrorists moved quickly, stuffing documents and hardware into bags, ripping cables from the walls and shoving stolen equipment aside with careless force. They dragged Eva's limp body with them as they descended the stairs.
Downstairs, the employees watched in horror.
Ingrid sat among them, her hands covering her mouth as she gasped. Tears welled in her eyes when she saw Eva, bloodied and unconscious, hanging loosely over a terrorist's shoulder.
Rae Yoorin stood frozen in line, her face pale.
"Tie her up," a man barked.
Eva was dumped into a roller chair. Thick restraints wrapped tightly around her arms and legs. Cold water was suddenly splashed across her face.
She jolted awake with a sharp gasp.
"Puahh… cough! Cough!!!"
Eva sucked in air painfully as she looked around. Every face from Investor Relations was there, fear written across them. Ingrid stared back at her, trembling.
Eva lifted her head weakly and locked eyes with 078.
"Why are you doing this, 078?" she asked, her voice hoarse.
078 turned away, uninterested.
"As I mentioned before," he said calmly, "nothing personal, Viper. Just business."
Footsteps echoed from the stairway.
Three more figures entered the room and pulled off their masks.
One looked like a fourteen year old kid, though his eyes were far too sharp and lifeless for someone that young. In truth, he was twenty three.
Another man, broad shouldered and hardened by years of violence, appeared to be in his thirties. The last was twenty six, quiet and terrifying, his presence alone draining the room of warmth.
"Man," the one who looked fourteen muttered, stretching his neck. "I can finally breathe with this fucking mask off."
All three turned toward Eva.
"Viper?" the man in his thirties said, surprised. "Didn't expect her to be here."
Eva forced a crooked smile despite the pain.
"Heh," she muttered. "Still alive. 001. 005. 007."
Without warning, 007 stepped forward and drove his fist straight into her gut.
Eva gagged violently and coughed out blood, her body jerking against the restraints.
"Hey man, come on," 005 protested, his voice uneasy. "She was once one of us."
"Once."
The single word came from 001.
His voice was low and emotionless. He stepped closer, his shadow falling over Eva like an executioner's blade. His eyes held no anger, no hatred, only certainty.
His presence felt like death itself.
As the terrorists turned away to prepare their next move, murmurs rippled quietly through the employees. Confusion showed on several faces as they glanced between Eva and the masked men. They did not understand how she knew them, or why those names carried such weight.
Ingrid Mikage slowly scooted closer, keeping her movements small and careful so she would not draw attention. Her heart pounded violently as she leaned just enough to whisper.
"Hey… how do you know them?"
Eva did not turn her head. Her eyes stayed forward, unfocused, her jaw tightening slightly.
"Former comrades," she said softly. "Former victims."
Before Ingrid could ask more, a sudden screech erupted from one of the terrorists' comm devices. The sharp static made several employees flinch.
The feed connected.
On the small screen appeared a black silhouetted figure standing atop another building across the street. He held binoculars to his eyes, his posture relaxed yet predatory as he watched the chaos below.
"Heads up," the distorted voice said calmly. "He is on the ground floor. Send thirty… no. Send fifty men to him as a warm up gift."
The transmission cut off abruptly.
The room felt heavier.
078 turned slowly, a dangerous smile creeping onto his face.
"You heard him," he said. "Let's see if it's really him."
007 frowned slightly beneath his mask. "Are you sure it's him?"
001 spoke without hesitation, his tone cold and final.
"Does it matter?" he said. "If it's him, I want him dead."
A weak chuckle broke the tension.
They all turned.
Eva was laughing under her breath, blood still staining her lips. Despite the restraints, despite the pain burning through her shoulder and ribs, her shoulders shook with quiet amusement.
"Don't tell me…" she said hoarsely. "All of you are here just for him?"
She lifted her head slowly, eyes sharp, confidence blazing through the bruises. Her teeth clenched, not in fear, but excitement.
"You all better not piss him off," Eva continued. "Because if you do, the consequences won't be forgiven."
She locked eyes with each of them.
"You know what kind of man he was back then."
"Shut it!" 078 roared.
His hand swung hard.
The slap cracked through the room, snapping Eva's head to the side. Ingrid gasped softly as blood splattered onto the floor. Eva coughed once, then slowly turned her head back.
She spat blood at 078's feet.
"Hehehe…" Eva laughed weakly. "He saved you all."
Her voice dropped, deadly serious now.
"He can forgive his enemies. But those he saved who betray him…"
She smiled through the blood.
"You're so dead."
Silence swallowed the room.
Even the terrorists shifted uneasily.
001 broke the stillness.
"Send them down."
078, 005, and 007 turned sharply toward him, eyes wide.
"You can't be serious," 005 said, panic creeping into his voice.
001 slowly turned his head toward him, his gaze intense and merciless.
"Do you think I'm serious?" he asked quietly.
He stepped forward.
"I'm dead serious."
078 lifted his radio and spoke into it sharply, his tone clipped and impatient.
"Send fifty men down to the ground floor. Now."
A brief pause followed, then a voice crackled back through the device.
"On it, sir."
The unit mobilized immediately. Boots thundered against the floor as some rushed toward the staircase, weapons raised, while others piled into the elevators, fingers tight on triggers. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation and unease.
While their attention shifted, Eva moved.
Her fingers slipped carefully beneath the restraints, drawing out a thin shard of glass she had hidden earlier, salvaged from shattered furniture before she was knocked unconscious.
Her movements were slow and controlled, every breath measured despite the pain screaming through her body.
Ingrid noticed.
Her eyes widened as she leaned closer, barely daring to breathe.
"What are you doing…?" she whispered urgently.
Eva did not look at her.
"Trying to save all of your asses," Eva muttered under her breath. "What do you think I'm doing."
"Well excuse me," Ingrid whispered back nervously. "You're in no shape to—"
Eva paused and turned her head slightly, her gaze sharp despite the blood and bruises.
"I've dealt with a fractured skull, a dislocated ankle, a shattered back, and worst case scenario, almost dying," she hissed quietly. "So do me a favor and don't disturb my work."
Ingrid swallowed hard and fell silent.
Just as Eva worked the shard against the restraints, a sudden burst of static screamed through the radio lying nearby. The sound was chaotic, frantic, and filled with terror.
"GAHHH!!!"
"WHAT THE FUCK!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!"
"JESUS! JESUS!!!"
"OUUGGHHHAAAHH!!!"
"BOSS! BOSS!! BOSSSS!!!!"
Gunfire erupted over the channel. Screams cut off mid cry. Wet, brutal sounds followed, unmistakable slashes and impacts that made the employees flinch in horror.
078's hand trembled slightly as he held the radio, his knuckles turning pale.
"That's… that's so him alright," he muttered.
Then a soft sound echoed through the hall.
Ding.
Everyone froze.
The elevator.
001, 005, 007, and 078 snapped their heads toward it, drawing their weapons in unison. Guns were raised, fingers tense, breathing shallow. The digital display above the elevator ticked upward, floor by floor, painfully slow.
"All units!" 078 shouted. "Stop whatever the fuck you're doing here! Take fucking position now!"
The remaining terrorists scrambled into formation. The front line raised melee weapons, blades trembling slightly.
The middle line took close range aim, while the back positioned themselves for long distance fire.
001 stepped forward, placing himself at the very front, directly in line with the elevator doors. His expression was unreadable.
The elevator stopped.
The doors slid open.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Bullets tore through the opening in a relentless storm. The sound was deafening. Muzzle flashes lit the hall as magazines emptied, smoke filling the air. The barrage continued until the clicking of empty chambers echoed one after another.
Silence followed.
Smoke slowly cleared.
A figure stood inside.
For a moment, they thought they had won.
"Is that him…?" 078 asked shakily.
Then the bodies fell.
Dozens of corpses tumbled out of the elevator, crashing onto the floor in a bloody pile. Terrorists. Their own men. Limbs twisted unnaturally, faces frozen in terror.
One figure remained standing.
He stepped forward calmly.
In one hand, a sawed off handgun. In the other, a long machete dripping with fresh blood. His white buttoned shirt was soaked crimson, blood staining not just the fabric but his skin as well. Black pants splattered dark, his boots heavy with gore.
078 staggered back, his legs shaking.
"It's… it's…?" he stammered.
007 lowered his gun slowly, cold sweat dripping down his face.
005 scrambled backward and dove under a table, covering his head in pure fear.
Only 001 stood his ground.
He stepped forward until he stood face to face with the man.
Across the room, Ingrid Mikage, Rae Yoorin, Mei Yoo Jun, and employees from every department stared in absolute shock, eyes wide, mouths silent. The presence alone felt suffocating.
Eva exhaled deeply, relief washing over her as she lifted her head.
"Took you long enough, Boo," she said weakly.
Shan Wolf stood there, his face cold, wrath simmering beneath the surface as his eyes locked onto his stepsister tied up and beaten.
Then his gaze shifted.
Ingrid. Rae Yoorin. Mei Yoo Jun. The terrified employees huddled in the corner.
His jaw tightened.
001 finally spoke, his voice calm and emotionless, though both their eyes burned with intense killing intent.
"You really lived…"
Their gazes clashed like blades.
"000," 001 said quietly. "Grim."
---
Chapter 70 — End.