The police station stood untouched.
Not untouched like it had been ignored, but untouched like something had actively kept the chaos away.
The windows weren't shattered. They were boarded from the inside, with thick panels reinforced so tightly that not even a crack of light came through. The front doors were still intact, too, but layered with metal plating and reinforced bars that hadn't been there before. Even from where they stood, it was obvious that someone had taken the time to properly fortify this place.
Jin slowed as they approached, his steps naturally growing quieter.
This wasn't like the rest of the city.
Out there, everything felt abandoned or broken, left behind in a hurry.
Here… it felt maintained and controlled
Behind him, Seul-ki let out a quiet breath.
"This place…" she murmured, eyes scanning the structure. "It's not like anywhere else we've seen."
Joon-seok nodded, his gaze fixed on the reinforced doors.
"That's a good thing, right?" he said. "Means someone's holding it all together."
Echo didn't answer.
He was focusing on using his skill.
His steps slowed slightly, his head tilting just a fraction as he reached for that sense again, that strange, expanding awareness that he had become more familiar with each use.
At first, he sensed nothing; it was pure silence.
Too quiet for a supposedly secure location.
His brows pulled together.
"…That's weird," he muttered under his breath.
It felt like something was there, but he couldn't grab onto it.
It was like trying to listen through a wall that swallowed sound instead of carrying it.
He pushed a little harder and focused more, but he still couldn't sense anything.
Jin took another step forward, eyes narrowing slightly as he studied the barricaded entrance.
"There is no obvious way in," he said quietly. "The doors are sealed from the inside."
Seul-ki shifted slightly. "So what, we knock?"
Joon-seok huffed. "Yeah, because that sounds like an amazing idea."
Echo didn't hear them.
He pushed again.
This time, something broke through.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Wait-"
But it was too late.
Red dots appeared instantly around them.
One on Jin's chest.
One steady on Joon-seok's shoulder.
Two flickering across Seul-ki's torso.
A sharp, unmoving one pressed directly against Echo's forehead.
Joon-seok froze mid-step, his hands twitching faintly as sparks threatened to form.
Seul-ki stiffened, breath catching in her throat as her eyes locked onto the dot resting over her chest.
Echo didn't move or breathe.
Jin went still.
They had been watching them the entire time.
The silence around them shifted.
A faint movement came from the barricades ahead.
Shadows shifted behind the reinforced cover.
Jin's eyes flicked across the area quickly.
Then a voice cut through the stillness.
"Don't move."
Jin's gaze lifted up towards the rooftop.
A figure stood there, just at the edge, looking down at them.
Joon-seok swallowed, his voice low.
"…We're surrounded."
Seul-ki's hands trembled slightly before she forced them still at her sides.
Echo's eyes shifted subtly, tracking everything at once.
Jin didn't move.
His mind ran through it once.
If they wanted us dead, we wouldn't still be standing, so let's try to ensure it stays that way.
The figure on the rooftop stepped forward slightly.
Just enough to be seen clearly.
Then he jumped.
The drop should've been impossible for a regular human to survive without injury.
But halfway down, his body changed.
Skin shifting to a dense metal.
The transformation spread across him in an instant, dull gray replacing flesh as gravity dragged him down.
He hit the ground hard.
The impact cracked the pavement beneath him, a sharp fracture spreading outward as dust kicked up around his landing point.
For a second, he didn't move.
Then he stood.
The metal receded just as quickly as it had appeared, fading back into normal skin as if it had never been there.
Jin watched him closely now.
This wasn't someone they could fight; he had far too much control over his skill for someone who just got it earlier that day.
The man stepped forward once.
Then stopped.
His presence alone filled the space left between them.
His gaze moved across all four of them once.
Taking everything in.
Then settled on Jin.
"What's your business here?"
Jin didn't hesitate.
"We're just passing through," he said, voice steady, casual enough to sound practiced. "Didn't plan on coming this way. Just ended up here."
The lie came out easily.
The man didn't react right away.
He just looked at him.
Then he took a slow step forward.
"I've spent years questioning people," he said calmly. "Criminals. Witnesses. Victims."
Another step.
"I know what hesitation looks like before telling the truth."
His gaze didn't leave Jin.
"I know what fear looks like."
The air tightened.
"And I know what a lie sounds like."
Joon-seok shifted slightly.
Seul-ki held her breath.
Echo didn't move at all.
The man's arm changed.
Metal spread across it in an instant, the dull sheen catching what little light remained as it hardened completely.
It was not a transformation for show, it was a warning.
"I'll ask one more time," he said, voice still calm.
"If you lie again…"
The metal in his arm creaked faintly as his fingers flexed.
"Bad things are going to happen."
No one doubted it.
The silence stretched.
Jin exhaled.
"We came here on purpose," he said.
"We were looking for somewhere safe to stay."
"And somewhere we could get weapons."
"We've been moving since everything started. Fought our way out of an office building. Lost people. Nearly didn't make it out." His grip tightened slightly at his side. "We're not here to cause trouble. We're just trying to survive."
The man watched him for another second.
Then a faint smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.
"See?"
He relaxed his stance just slightly.
"That wasn't so hard."
He raised his hand and the red dots vanished instantly.
Not one second of delay.
One moment they were pinned.
The next, nothing.
The tension didn't disappear completely though.
It shifted.
Joon-seok let out a quiet breath.
Seul-ki lowered her shoulders slightly.
Echo blinked once, then exhaled slowly.
The man stepped closer now, the metal fading from his arm, returning to normal skin as smoothly as before.
"You picked a good place," he said.
His tone wasn't welcoming.
But it wasn't hostile anymore either.
"This area's secure."
Seul-ki glanced around again, more carefully this time.
"…We noticed."
"It didn't happen by accident," he replied.
He gestured lightly behind him.
"When the system hit, we locked this place down immediately. Officers moved fast and secured what we could. Held the line against monsters."
"We didn't have the manpower to expand outwards and protect the city" he added. "But this zone? We kept it stable."
Jin's eyes moved across the barricades again.
The positioning and the discipline, this mustve taken is insane.
"…You've done a truly remarkable job at keeping the order."
"Its our jobs as civil servants to keep order intact after all," the man laughed.
Then his gaze sharpened again.
"Before you come any closer," he said, "I need to know what you can do."
Joon-seok frowned slightly. "…What?"
"Your skills," the man said simply. "Everyone got something. I'm not letting unknown variables inside my perimeter."
Jin didn't argue.
"I can use anything I touch like I'm a master," he said. "Doesn't matter what it is. If I'm holding it, I can fight with it."
The man nodded slightly, taking that in.
Joon-seok followed after a second.
"I can fire off energy," he said. "Electric energy to be specific. Still working on control, but… it hits hard."
A faint spark flickered between his fingers, just enough to prove it.
The man's eyes tracked it.
Then moved on.
Echo spoke next.
"My skill is… Echo," he said. "I can feel and pick up on sounds, movement and other stuff around me. Sometimes I can push it outward too, still figuring it out."
Seul-ki shifted slightly before speaking.
"I can control gravity," she said. "Not perfectly. But I can make things heavier. Or lighter."
The man studied her for a moment.
Then looked back at Jin.
"That all of you?"
"That's it," Jin said.
Another pause.
Then a small nod.
"Alright."
The man straightened slightly.
"Name's Ryu," he said. "I was the captain here before everything went to hell."
That explained it, his presence and the level of control he had over the others inside.
The way everything was still functioning.
Ryu glanced between them one more time.
Then gestured back toward the station.
"You're welcome to stay."
"As long as you contribute," he added. "We don't carry dead weight here. Everyone works. Everyone helps keep this place standing."
Jin nodded immediately.
"That's fine."
Joon-seok followed with a shrug. "Better than wandering out there."
Seul-ki hesitated for half a second.
Then nodded too.
"…Yeah."
Echo gave a small nod.
"I'm in."
Ryu's gaze lingered on them for a moment longer.
Then he turned.
The barricade behind him shifted.
Officers moved into view, controlled and precise, weapons lowering just slightly as the entry point opened.
"Come on in," Ryu said.