The 'Blue Academy' stood in the heart of Cheongdam-dong, surrounded by walls as high as a fortress. It looked less like a kindergarten and more like a high-security compound. A parade of million-dollar imports lined the front gate, chauffeured drivers waiting in stoic silence. Inside the lobby, soft classical music drifted through the air, but the midday sun pouring over the opulent landscape was so blinding it only made the shadows feel deeper and colder.

  Yun-jae stood across the street, his face hidden beneath a worn ball cap. Officially, he was a 'Ghost'—a casualty of last night’s tunnel explosion. This short 'Golden Time,' while the enemy remained complacent, was his only chance to drive a blade into their heart. B-07’s low voice crackled through his earpiece.

  "Ready, Prosecutor. Pass through the main gate in ten seconds. I’ve swapped the facial recognition data in real-time." "From this moment on, you are Lee Min-jun, a security inspector from the 'Edu-Care HQ'."

  "And Seo-yeon?" Yun-jae asked quietly.

  "Safe. She’s at my hideout, running decentralized backups of the SD card data we secured yesterday." "Leave the evidence recovery to the specialists. You just focus on what's inside."

  Yun-jae straightened his collar and walked toward the gate. As the facial recognition camera scanned his features, B-07’s hack replaced the database photo in a fraction of a second.

  Beep. [Visitor: Lee Min-jun, Security Team. Approved.]

  The heavy glass doors slid open. Inside, the sound of children's laughter filled the hallways, but to Yun-jae, the peace felt grotesquely distorted. He saw the sharp eyes of guards stationed at every corner and the excessive security sensors in every classroom. This wasn't a school; it was just another 'Management Wing' for AS, holding the children of the powerful as collateral.

  "Prosecutor, two guards are stationed in front of the 'Special Activity Room' on the third floor. A frontal breakthrough is a waste of resources. What’s the play?"

  Yun-jae paused, mentally checking the architecture of his revenge. The '12 Poisons' he had planted in the Daeyoung Medical servers were Logic Bombs designed to dismantle the system from within when specific conditions were met.

  The first poison had paralyzed the HQ yesterday. Now, it was time for the second: Internal Discord.

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  "B-07, is Executive Director Park Seok-hoon in the lobby?"

  Park Seok-hoon. The man in charge of the stent side-effect cover-up at Daeyoung Medical. He was a man obsessed with his only son, born late in his life, and he personally picked the boy up every day.

  "Yes. He’s staring at his phone, looking anxious."

  "Good. Send the 'Original Cover-up Report' to Park’s private email. Make sure the sender's IP traces back to this kindergarten’s public Wi-Fi." "Make him believe his corruption is being leaked in real-time through this very building's network."

  A moment later, a roar erupted from the lobby. The fear of his downfall being broadcasted from within his own son’s school paralyzed Park's rational judgment.

  "Bring my son out now! Security! My phone was just hacked by this building’s network! Lockdown every floor and find the source!"

  Chaos ensued. The academy's security team swarmed down to the lobby to handle the hysterical executive, leaving a gap in the third-floor guard rotation. Yun-jae seized the moment and slipped into the Special Activity Room. In the center of the large room, surrounded by pastel-toned furniture, sat Sua, playing quietly with a doll.

  "Sua."

  Yun-jae approached her gently. As the girl looked up, he knelt and showed her the photo Woo-jin had given him.

  "Daddy...?"

  Sua’s small voice trembled. Her tiny fingers traced the image of her father’s face.

  "I came because your daddy asked me to. He wants me to take you to him. Let’s get out of here."

  "Where’s Daddy? He said he was coming himself... aren't we going home together?"

  Her question sent a chill through Yun-jae’s heart. He squeezed her small hand.

  "Daddy is waiting for you at a safe place. We have to move quickly so we can see him. Understand?"

  As Sua nodded, the sound of rhythmic, cold footsteps echoed from the hallway. A woman in her mid-forties, Han Hye-sook, the Director of the Academy, appeared in the doorway.

  "The ghost walked into his own grave, I see. Prosecutor Han Yun-jae."

  On the tablet in her hand, Yun-jae’s heart rate was pulsing in real-time.

  "B-07, my vitals are being exposed. What happened?"

  B-07’s panicked breathing came through the earphone. "Prosecutor, retreat! When they started suspecting Jeong Woo-jin, AS planted a backtrace trap in his admin code!" "The moment you accessed it, the biometric data of the device you’re holding was forcibly synchronized with their security network!"

  The Director smiled calmly, turning the tablet to show him the data.

  "I was almost disappointed when I heard you died, but thank you for coming to fetch Sua personally." "It saves me the trouble of hunting you down. You’ll make excellent bait to lure out whatever’s left of your little resistance."

  Before she even finished her sentence, heavy fire shutters slammed down at both ends of the hallway, sealing the exit.

  "Now, why don't we have a long chat about where the other eleven poisons are hidden?"

  [SERVER_SHREDDING_COUNTDOWN: D-97 14:22:10]

  Trapped. Sua at his back. And a predator standing before him. Yun-jae clenched his fist inside his pocket, his knuckles white.

  'Internal Discord' poison worked perfectly on Director Park, but A-12 and the AS higher-ups are playing a much larger game. Using Jeong Woo-jin's admin code was the only way in, but it was also a homing beacon. Now Yun-jae is trapped in a 1.5-pyeong room once again—this time, with a child's life in his hands.

  Question for the readers: Director Han thinks she has the upper hand, but Yun-jae still has 11 "Poisons" left. How can he use his own biometric data—the very thing tracking him—to turn the tables in this enclosed space?

  If you're feeling the tension of D-97, please Rate, Follow, and Comment! Your support is the only thing keeping the shutters from closing forever.