The acrid smell of ozone and burning concrete hung thick in the night air. Sirens blared in the distance as emergency vehicles surrounded the empty lot where Jinu's house had stood only hours before. The blast had been absolute; nothing remained of the structure except a scorched crater.
A police cruiser pulled up to the perimeter tape. Captain Oraya stepped out into the cool night, adjusting his dark shades despite the hour. His face was sharp, handsome, and entirely void of emotion. He possessed the look of a man who had seen too much and cared too little.
One of his officers hurried over, clutching a digital notepad. Exhaustion was etched deep into the young man's face.
"Status report," Oraya commanded, his voice a low, steady rumble.
"Neighbors report the house was completely quiet all evening, Captain," the officer explained, catching his breath. "Then, out of nowhere—a flash of white light and a massive explosion. Several witnesses reported seeing an unmarked black van speeding away from the scene seconds before the detonation."
Oraya walked toward the center of the crater, his boots crunching on shattered glass. He knelt near a rusted steel beam, his gaze locking onto a strange pool of liquid. It shimmered like water, yet it held a heavy, ominous aura that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Carefully, he drew a containment vial from his coat and collected a sample.
Before he could seal it, a younger officer ran toward him, panicked. "Captain! We have a problem. The 'RATS' are here."
Oraya's eyes narrowed.
A high-tech transport vehicle slammed to a halt at the edge of the crime scene. The side doors slid open, and a figure stepped out, clad head-to-toe in heavy, matte-black protective gear. The woman—Yvee—marched past the police line without acknowledging the officers. When Oraya stepped into her path to block her, she didn't even slow down, brushing past him with blatant disrespect and clear bad intentions.
Oraya reached for his holster, but the phone in his inner pocket began to vibrate. He pulled it out and answered.
"I see my friends have arrived," a chilling, calm voice echoed through the receiver. The tone was smooth, yet underlaid with an unmistakable threat. "Let them take the missing pieces, Captain. Allow them to do their job. You are required elsewhere anyway."
The line went dead.
Oraya stared at the phone for a brief second before slipping it back into his coat. He turned toward his partner, who was waiting by the cruiser.
"Take care of the evidence for me," Oraya muttered under his breath, casting a cold look of despise toward Yvee as she directed her crew. Yvee offered no response; her face remained a blank, emotionless mask as she turned her back on him.
More workers in black protective gear swarmed the crater, systematically gathering every piece of damaged technology, unknown chemicals, and anything else left in the rubble.
Oraya climbed into the passenger seat of the cruiser. His partner, Jin, started the engine and pulled away from the chaotic scene.
For several minutes, the car was filled with heavy silence. Finally, Jin broke it, gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.
"Are we really going to let this keep happening, Captain?" Jin asked, his voice tight with frustration.
Oraya stared out the window at the passing streetlights. "Do we have a choice?" he replied quietly, his voice carrying the weight of pure helplessness.
"But Boss! We can't just keep stepping aside," Jin pressed, glancing over. "You know what they do to anyone who gets close to them. We can't just let them sweep the whole nation clean and cover their tracks!"
"Listen to me, Jin," Oraya interrupted, his tone sharp and final. "The system is built the way it is. We don't go snooping around, and we don't try to play the hero. You know what happened last time, and we are not talking about this again."
Jin bit his lip, swallowing his protest, and focused back on the dark road ahead.
Back at the crater, the recovery team worked in complete silence under the glaring floodlights.
One of the technicians approached Yvee, holding a scanner device. "Ma'am, we found something beneath the sub-basement wreckage. A reinforced cryo-pod."
Yvee walked over to the cleared debris. The heavy metal casing of the pod was scorched, but the glass viewport was intact. Inside lay Jinu's body, suspended in a dark, glowing fluid.
Yvee looked down at his motionless face. Slowly, a disturbing smile spread across her lips. Her eyes flashed with pure joy, glowing a deep, unnatural red—like a blood moon hanging in a pitch-black sky.
"Found you," she whispered.