Chapter 40
Countdown (2)
The dark streets of London.
Past midnight—empty and silent, not a soul in sight.
Only the faint glow of the streetlamps struggled to push back the fog, leaving the alleys untouched by light cold and eerie.
“Search every corner. Two Asians—a man and a woman.”
Two suspicious men in tuxedos and masks hurried down the alleyway.
When they finally moved off into the distance, a quiet sigh broke the silence.
“…Damn it.”
Hidden in the shadows of the alley, Sehyun instinctively tightened his grip on Inha’s hand.
After scanning their surroundings, Inha tapped his shoulder.
“I think we can move now.”
“Yeah.”
They started walking again, cautious and silent.
They moved quickly but quietly—getting out of there was urgent, but being discovered was worse.
Every step they took carried tension.
‘Where should we go?’
Sehyun pulled out his pocket watch.
2:00 a.m.
They’d been running aimlessly for an hour already.
The entire city of London was crawling with “Gentlemen.”
The whole city was enemy territory.
“Sehyun. Two on the left.”
“Got it.”
At Inha’s warning, they ducked back into the alleyway.
A pair of Gentlemen passed by, searching.
“Where are they hiding? They’re good at this.”
“They won’t have left London. We’d better find them before six.”
“Six, huh… Well, the postmen aren’t exactly flexible.”
Grumbling, the men walked away.
They’d gotten close—but hadn’t noticed a thing.
Step—
Then suddenly, one of the Gentlemen stopped.
“What is it?”
“…”
He raised a hand, signaling to his partner—then quietly retraced his steps.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
Sehyun clenched his teeth and opened the pocket watch.
The hour hand pointed to one; the minute hand to “1.”
He could only use his Shadow Space ability once more.
‘Damn, I didn’t want to waste it here…’
But there was no other choice.
They were trapped at the end of the alley—no way to retreat.
If they stayed, they’d be caught.
As Sehyun created a shadow space on the wall and pulled Inha in, a flashlight beam swept through the alley.
“What the—nothing’s here?”
“…”
The man carefully scanned the seemingly empty alley.
“I swear I felt something…”
“Just your imagination.”
“Imagination’s usually right in cases like this.”
“Then check again.”
He looked again—nothing unusual.
Just garbage heaps and a manhole where dirty water drained away.
His gaze lingered on the manhole for a moment—
Slap!
“See? Told you there’s nothing.”
“Stop hitting me! I can’t focus!”
His partner clicked his tongue and turned away.
“I know your instincts are sharp, but you’re too jumpy sometimes.”
“And sometimes that’s how you find things.”
“Yeah? You gonna search all of London that way? Rookie.”
They walked off, chatting idly.
When their footsteps finally faded, the manhole cover creaked open.
A Hispanic-looking woman climbed out.
“Phew. Thought they’d caught me.”
– They haven’t caught the two yet, have they?
“Wow, nice to know you care about me.”
– Of course I don’t. If they know we’re involved, they’ll tighten security.
She sighed, scratching her head.
“Anyway, not easy. I did spot two people who looked Asian, though.”
– What? You found them? Where are you, Dina?
“A6 point. But they vanished right before my eyes.”
– You sure you didn’t just blink? Be serious.
“I’m telling you—they literally disappeared!”
Frustrated by the disbelief in the voice from her receiver, Dina clicked her tongue.
But then—
Ripple—
“…Huh?”
The shadow on the wall shimmered like water.
A moment later, Sehyun’s head emerged, scanning cautiously before exhaling in relief.
“They gone?”
But his relief froze instantly.
He found himself staring into Dina’s wide eyes.
Cold sweat ran down his temple.
“Sehyun, are they— …huh?”
Inha poked her head out, tilting it.
“That’s weird. Why’s there someone in the manhole?”
“…”
You’re one to talk, Dina thought dryly. You’re the ones hiding in a shadow.
For a long moment, she and the two Asians just stared at each other.
Splash—
The sound of wet footsteps echoed through the tunnels.
Never in his life had Sehyun imagined he’d see the inside of London’s sewers like this.
‘Well, we’re down here now…’
They’d had no choice but to escape down the manhole to avoid being caught.
“Who are you, anyway?”
“Who else? The one who just saved your butts.”
The woman—Dina—raised both hands casually as if to say relax.
“You’re being chased by the Gentlemen, right?”
“How did you know—”
“Baker told me. I was ordered to help you.”
At the mention of Baker, Inha’s expression brightened with relief.
“I see! Thank you so— mmph!”
Sehyun quickly covered her mouth.
Inha blinked at him in surprise.
His eyes were still sharp with suspicion.
“There’s no proof she’s really on our side.”
They were in enemy territory. Too risky to assume anyone was an ally.
‘This could all be an act.’
Good cop, bad cop—a common ploy to make someone drop their guard.
“Why should we trust you?”
“Well.”
Dina brushed the dirt off her clothes nonchalantly.
Even when questioned, she didn’t seem bothered.
“All I was told is to get two Asians to Edinburgh. I can’t exactly prove anything, not without your boss here.”
“Boss?”
“Baker.”
“Ah…”
Inha lowered her head, looking downcast.
But Dina didn’t seem too worried.
“Don’t worry. That guy always comes back somehow.”
“…”
True enough—Sehyun didn’t believe Baker would die so easily either.
He was never one to act without a plan.
“Though honestly, sometimes I wish he would just die already.”
She laughed, but behind her words was clear affection and trust.
“Well, we can talk more on the way.”
With that, Dina started walking ahead—leaving it up to them to follow or not.
“What do we do?”
“…”
Sehyun nodded silently.
He still wasn’t sure, but there wasn’t much choice.
Splash, splash—
The three walked quietly through the sewer tunnels.
“What is this place, anyway?”
“If small groups like ours want to survive in London, we need secret routes like this.”
“Your group—the Scottish faction—isn’t exactly small.”
England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales—
British Players had long been divided into four factions.
Though technically balanced, in reality two were weak.
Wales was slowly rebuilding but still frail; Northern Ireland hadn’t even chosen a firm stance between Ireland and the UK.
So the real power lay only between England and Scotland.
That balance shifted when the Adams family and their group, the Foundation, declared themselves the “Player Government.”
From then on, the Foundation-led English faction seized control—marking the downfall of the Scottish.
“Anyone who opposed the alliance got branded an Outplayer. Basically a death sentence.”
Under the guise of “government reform,” they’d removed the old noble families from power—
And introduced “communities,” groups based not on lineage but personal skill.
On paper, it sounded fair.
In reality, it was a trap.
“Guess who decides which communities get approved?”
“…Yeah, I learned that the hard way yesterday.”
Though they preached fairness, the Foundation cherry-picked communities that suited their own agenda.
The Highlanders planned to exploit that flaw—to tear the Foundation down.
“We still have a few allies. Some of the jurors from that trial are with us.”
But, she added, “They’re not much help when it really counts.”
“…So it’s that intense, huh.”
“Of course. To them, it’s treason.”
Sehyun had thought it was just a territorial feud—
But this was practically a revolution.
Whether it would succeed was another question.
Still, their rebellion could work in his favor.
A shaken Foundation meant cracks he could slip through.
‘And Ha Il-hwan will take that chance too…’
Not now, but soon—it could be the perfect bait to draw him out.
And once the Highlanders made their move, their influence would skyrocket.
Rushhhh—
A loud stream echoed from ahead.
The passage ended where water poured down from above.
“Looks like your luck’s run out.”
“Then…”
“Then we go up.”
The sewers depended on the flow—usable or not depending on rainfall.
“…Surface, huh.”
Sehyun checked the watch.
2:30 a.m.
Two and a half hours since they’d fled Baker’s office.
It was still too soon to resurface.
Alone, he might risk it—but not with Inha here.
“Isn’t there another route? The surface is still too risky—”
“Risky?”
Dina’s tone hardened.
“You think you have time to waste?”
This place wasn’t exactly safe either.
They were only hidden for the moment.
Once the search widened, they’d be trapped.
“What matters isn’t a safe route. It’s getting out of London, period. What, planning to wait here till dawn?”
“I’m not hesitating. I just want to be sure it’s worth the risk.”
With a sigh, Dina unfolded a map.
“The optimal route across the Thames to Edinburgh. Classified info, by the way.”
“Hm…”
She explained—there were a few surface crossings, but none too exposed.
Her comrades would guide them through by radio.
“…Alright. That sounds reliable enough.”
“Pfft, picky much? You really are Baker’s people.”
She tucked the map away and lowered a ladder to the manhole.
Then she climbed up and pressed her ear to the lid.
“No footsteps. Five more minutes this way and—”
Thud!
“Ugh—!!”
With a short cry, she fell flat onto the sewer floor.
“Told you the manhole was suspicious.”
“Y-Yes! My apologies, sir!”
The two Gentlemen from before dropped down, grinning.
