The air in the safehouse felt stale, the faint odor of metal and dust lingering in the dim-lit room. Lin didn't take his eyes off the shadowy figure who had greeted them moments ago. Keller stood just to his right, a silent, steady presence, his hand still hovering near the grip of his weapon. The stranger's words echoed in Lin's mind.

Three days.

It wasn't just a warning — it was a countdown, one that started the moment they stepped foot back on the surface.

"You'd better explain," Lin said, voice calm but edged with steel. "If people are already on the move, I need names, routes, and their likely positions."

The figure smirked faintly, stepping into the light. His face was sharp, eyes narrow, dressed in a black tactical jacket that looked almost new — too new for someone claiming to live off the grid. "Names cost money," he said simply. "But I can tell you this much for free — there's a bounty on your head, Lin. Not just one, but several. Some are from the corporate sector, others from… less legitimate channels."

Keller's jaw tightened. "Sounds like everyone wants a piece of you."

"Not just me," Lin corrected, his eyes locking with Keller's. "Us. We were seen together. You're marked too."

The stranger shrugged, almost amused by their tension. "The city's buzzing. Word spread fast after your escape. Three days isn't my number — it's theirs. The largest crew moving against you will be in Seoul in seventy-two hours. If you're still here by then…" He let the implication hang in the air.

Lin crossed his arms. "Then I make sure I'm not here."

The man smirked again, tossing a small encrypted tablet onto the table between them. "Coordinates. Places you might pass through without being spotted. And one possible exit route. You'll have to decide if you can trust it."

Lin took the device, but didn't power it on yet. He knew better than to accept anything at face value. Information was leverage, and this man had just shown his hand — at least partly.

They left the safehouse fifteen minutes later, slipping back into the damp, narrow alleyways behind the building. The sky was the color of wet slate, and the streetlamps flickered faintly, their halos bleeding into the misty air. Keller kept pace just behind Lin, scanning every corner, every shadow.

"What's the plan?" Keller asked quietly.

"We find out who's moving against us first," Lin replied. "Then we decide whether to run… or turn the tables."

Keller gave a short laugh, more of a scoff. "Turning the tables sounds a hell of a lot harder than running."

"Running is easy," Lin said flatly. "But if we run without hitting back, we'll never stop running. They'll just send someone else. And someone after that."

They cut through a side street, passing an empty convenience store with its metal shutters halfway down. A stray cat darted into the shadows. Somewhere in the distance, a motorbike engine revved and faded into the night.

The encrypted tablet was in Lin's coat pocket, its weight oddly comforting. But it wasn't the only lead. Lin's mind was already mapping the city — the docks to the west, the freight rail lines in the south, the corporate district where the suits pulled strings. He'd lived and worked in Seoul's underbelly long enough to know the layers: the streets everyone saw, and the ones you didn't unless you were already buried in them.

By the time they reached the overpass near Dongdaemun, Lin decided they needed higher ground. They climbed the rusted metal stairs up to a pedestrian walkway that gave a view of the sprawling night market below. The market was quieter this late, but a few stalls still burned bright, selling skewers, dumplings, and steaming cups of tteokbokki.

Lin leaned against the railing, scanning the crowd. "Keller," he said without turning, "remember the sedan that passed us earlier?"

"Yeah. Black, tinted, slow roll. I remember."

"It wasn't scouting at random. That was Jin's crew. I saw the tail lights pattern — imported, custom."

Keller's brow furrowed. "You mean that Jin? The one you—"

"Yeah," Lin cut in sharply. "The one I crossed in Busan three years ago. He's not in this for the bounty. He's in this because he wants my head personally."

The implications hung heavy between them. Jin wasn't the kind of man who gave up after a single failed attempt. He'd follow them across the peninsula if he had to.

They descended back into the market, blending with the late-night shoppers. Lin bought a skewer of grilled chicken from a vendor, not because he was hungry, but because it gave them cover to linger while watching the far end of the street.

And that's when Lin spotted them — two men, pretending to browse a stall selling counterfeit watches, but their posture was wrong. Too rigid. One of them had a faint bulge under his jacket at the hip.

"They're here," Lin murmured.

Keller's hand twitched toward his coat, but Lin stopped him with a subtle shake of the head. "Not yet. Let's make them follow."

They moved off, weaving through the stalls. Lin didn't have to look back to know the men were trailing them — he could feel the weight of their stares.

At the far end of the market, Lin ducked into a narrow gap between two buildings. The passage smelled of frying oil and damp concrete. Keller followed, steps quiet, until they reached the shadow of a steel fire escape.

"On my mark," Lin whispered.

The footsteps behind them quickened.

"Mark."

Lin spun, striking first — a sharp elbow to the first man's ribs, a twist of the wrist that sent his pistol clattering to the ground. Keller caught the second one with a hard shove against the wall, pinning him there.

"You're working for Jin," Lin said flatly to the man gasping for breath in front of him.

The man spat blood. "Does it matter? You'll be dead before—"

Lin drove him back against the wall with a forearm to the throat. "Tell Jin this: I'm not hiding. If he wants me, he comes himself."

They left the two men on the ground, one groaning, the other coughing. By the time market security arrived, Lin and Keller were already two streets away.

They didn't speak again until they were back in the shadow of an elevated highway, the sound of traffic above masking their conversation.

"That sends a message," Keller muttered.

"Good," Lin replied. "Now Jin knows I'm not running. He'll come faster. That gives us time to set the trap."

"Trap?"

Lin powered on the encrypted tablet for the first time. A map appeared, showing a highlighted route through the city — red lines for danger zones, green for potential safe corridors. But in the middle of it all, one blinking icon pulsed steadily near the Han River.

"What's that?" Keller asked.

"Bait," Lin said. His eyes narrowed. "And if we use it right, it'll be where Jin's hunt ends."