[CONTENTID1]Phoenix[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Thirty-Five[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

“Can you sit up?” Wendy asked. Seri’s face was pale, sweat pearling on her temples as she lay on the dirty floor of the basement.

“I’ll try, but I feel dizzy,” Seri answered.

Boah and Wendy helped her sit up so that she could rest her back against the wall. The basement’s chipped floor tiles weren’t comfortable to sit on, but the women had no better options. The only furniture inside the room consisted of old cabinets with drawers that didn’t close properly and a few shelves enveloped in cobwebs. Dust covered every surface, and the air reeked of mold. Seri wondered how Boah and Wendy had slept in this dingy place for three nights—it was a nightmare. Few sunlight fell through two tiny windows, which looked like they couldn’t be opened.

Seri groaned and leaned her pounding head against the wall. The sedative gradually lost its effect, and she regained her strength. What remained was an odd pain in her neck and the vague memory of someone choking her, mixed with the pungent stench of cigarette smoke. Jung Kiyoung’s attack seemed like a bad dream, but the ache in proved it had happened. Jung doing this to her while she was vulnerable and couldn’t fight back was distressing. A wave of disgust rolled over her as bile rose in . She bit her lip hard. This man was on a vendetta against her, and she hoped he wouldn’t show himself again while she was trapped in here with no escape…

“Is there anything to drink?” she whispered, intending to go easy on her aching throat. Her wrists were no longer bound—someone must have removed the cable ties. All that was left were red marks on her skin.

“We got a water bottle left from yesterday,” Wendy said and walked to the dusty shelf, reaching for the bottle. “They aren’t particularly generous with food, but at least they provide water for us.”

“Thank you,” Seri said, taking a few gulps from the bottle. The cool water eased the unpleasant sensation in . She lowered her voice before she continued to speak. “Can anyone overhear us in here?”

“As long as we’re whispering, nobody should hear us from outside,” Boah answered and curiously cocked her head. “Why?”

“Because I have to contact someone,” Seri whispered and searched the pockets of her pants for the small radio device she had received from the military. She found what she was looking for, revealing it to the other women, who were astonished by the turn of events. Clearly, none of the kidnappers had expected her to have something like this—they hadn’t bothered checking.

Wendy’s eyes widened. “You’re well-prepared. That’s crazy!”

“It’s because let them abduct me to help the military locate you,” Seri answered under her breath.

“Y-You did what?” Even the normally stoic Boah lost her composure, sheer astonishment causing to fall open. Seri didn’t answer, using the radio to determine if EX9 was within reach. She pushed a button and lowered her voice as she spoke.

“Can anyone hear me?”

Silence followed, only broken by static noise. Seri stared at the radio, hoping to receive an answer, praying her tracker was working. Minseok and Jongdae had checked and tested it, reassuring her it was fine. Therefore, she had faith in their plan. She repeated her question a few times, adrenaline coursing through her. If Baekhyun wasn’t here yet, something unexpected must have—

And then she heard it. Different people talked over each other until one voice silenced the others. “Seri, are you okay?” It was Baekhyun. Never before had she been so relieved to hear his voice. It was liberating, and she felt much safer in an instant.  

“I am,” she whispered. “We’re all okay for now. They locked us in the basement of the building. I can’t tell you much about its layout, unfortunately.”

He took a breath and released it. “It’s alright, I’m glad you’re safe. We’re almost there, just searching for a way to break in. It won’t take much longer. Hold out for ten more minutes, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too. Be careful.”

Suddenly, Boah’s head snapped towards the door. Her hand gripped Seri’s wrist. “Someone’s coming! Hide the radio!” the researcher hissed.

“,” Seri cursed and turned it off. She kicked the device underneath one of the shelves. It disappeared at the very last second before the door swung open. Someone appeared in the doorway and stepped inside the dimly lit basement. Seri froze like a deer in headlights as she caught the man’s irritated gaze. It was Jung Kiyoung.

His eyes fixated her and her alone. He raised his right arm and Seri stared into the barrel of a gun. Icy fear manifested in her chest, spreading through her body. Why did he have a gun? Only members of the military were allowed to carry arms on the island, so he must have stolen it. Her body stiffened. Nausea welled up inside of her, fueled by intense panic. Would he shoot her right here? She bit her lip, not daring to move. She may have been a more capable fighter than him, but due to his weapon, their difference in strength shifted dramatically in his favor.

“Jing and Lihua won’t stop me this time. Get up, Byun Seri,” he barked.

“There’s no need for this! We’re cooperating with you and Seri is no exception,” Boah said and immediately got up from the ground. “We will help you reach your goal, I promise.” She raised her palms in a calming gesture. It was an attempt to buy the soldiers time, but unfortunately, Kiyoung was impatient and focused on revenge.

“Shut up, I wasn’t talking to you,” he growled and took a step toward Seri. The gun was pointed right at her forehead. A bullet wouldn’t miss from such a close distance. It would take her life within a second, and she could not defend herself.  Seri had often been confronted with terrifying and precarious situations in the past year, but it had never been quite like this. None of her experience in self-defense would help her now. She couldn’t do anything to save herself—her fate rested in his hands. Seri was at his mercy like before when he had choked her.

“What do you want?” she asked as she got up, holding her palms up so that he could see them. The slight quiver in her voice gave away her apprehension. She didn’t want to give him a reason to shoot, so she followed his demand. It wasn’t smart to anger him further. On the other hand, making time was essential. She needed to drag this out as much as possible, and then…

“I will teach you a lesson,” he answered after some contemplation as if he hadn’t decided yet, “and I might end your life afterward. I haven’t decided yet. You’ve been causing so much trouble for me; I can’t stand looking at you.” He sneered at her. The aftermath of their confrontation at the hospital was evident to anyone who looked at him. The bridge of his nose was crooked and turned purple. It was a nasty injury. 

Seri’s eyes jumped from his face to his weapon, estimating her chances to get out of this. Her thoughts were running haywire; she went through every scenario she could come up with, and none of them looked particularly promising. Even if the soldiers reached them before he hurt her, Kiyoung would simply use her as a bargaining chip, knowing she held value to them. She hoped for an opportunity to get away from him before it could come to this. If only she could get her hands on his gun somehow.

“Please don’t do this. I won’t cause problems anymore in the future, and I’m more useful alive rather than dead.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he growled. “Now come here, and don’t try anything. You’ll regret it.”

Her knees turned into jelly when she walked up to him, closer and closer to his deadly weapon. Her eyes flickered from the gun to his face and back, never resting. She was pale as a ghost and her hands clutched the seam of her sleeves, fingers curling around the white fabric. It was a feeble attempt to hide the trembling of her limbs. She hoped for her husband to show up soon. He had to be fast, he had to hurry. Baekhyun was her best chance to get out of this alive; he found a solution for any problem. In the past, he'd always been there when she needed him, and she had done the same for him. Now, however, they were in an unforeseen situation with no easy way out.

Kiyoung harshly gripped her shoulder and shoved her toward the door. The barrel of his gun dug into her back. She swallowed a few times, but the lump in only seemed to grow. Tears brimmed in her eyes. Thankfully, he couldn’t see her hopeless expression from behind her. It would only have brought him joy.

“Move upstairs slowly and stay in front of me,” he instructed, locking the basement door quickly. Again, she followed his demands, ascending the stairs until they were on the second floor, the highest of the building. It would make escaping harder than necessary.

Dust floated through the air in the hallway. Apparently, neither Jung nor his accomplices had come up here often enough to let fresh air in. She walked over the creaking floorboards, and he shoved her through an open door into a small storage room. He used so much excessive force that Seri stumbled and fell to the ground. She managed to break her fall, but her back hit a shelve, and she groaned in pain. A part of her lacked the resolve to get up again—why bother? There was no way out of this.

However, she couldn’t just give up. Seri had too much to lose. Not only Baekhyun and their mutual friends but also Minhee. It would shatter the girl’s heart to be torn away from her adoptive mother after she had lost her real one only about a year ago. Picturing her and Baekhyun all alone sparked anger in Seri’s chest. Her death would cause so much anguish… and for what? Just so that this selfish man could fulfill his desire for revenge? No, she couldn’t accept this.

Seri got up slowly and kept her eyes on Kiyoung, calculating his next actions. He sneered at her, stepping closer. The sudden motion prompted her to tense and crouch slightly. She bent her knees, ready to dodge if necessary. Of course, dodging a bullet was pointless, but she had to do something. Anything to get out of here. She moved to the left, keeping about four meters in between them. The doorway was much closer now, and he didn’t block it anymore.

“Do you want to play games, huh?” he barked, and she flinched, her back hitting the wall.

“I-I don’t,” she whispered. “I just want to live like all of us.”

She glanced at the doorway to her left. It was roughly five steps away—would she make it if she sprinted there, or would he shoot her first? The thought alone made her palms sweaty. She didn’t want to be killed like this—but she also didn’t want to sit and wait for her demise. How long would it take to pull the trigger? A fraction of a second? All of a sudden, a strange sound echoed through the building, and Seri held her breath.

“What was that?” Kiyoung grumbled and glanced at the doorway.

Was it them? She needed to distract him before he caught on. Her mind was on fire, and sh