?"It’s me, So-an."

  "..."

  Dong-jun felt like his head was going to explode. The man before him was a stranger, but the name he uttered was painfully familiar.

  ‘So-an? But the appearance is completely different. Is the fact that he knows I’m the author enough proof?’

  If this man truly was So-an, he had to take this hand and escape right now. But the weight of that choice was terrifying.

  ‘The moment I follow him, will I become a criminal for good? Will the chance to ever clear my name vanish forever?’

  Trapped between the freedom of flight and the innocence he had to prove by staying, Dong-jun couldn't find his footing. What was more agonizing was the sense of dissonance. So-an would never be the type to save him at the cost of harming others. The So-an he knew... was not such a monster.

  He felt pathetic for having to hang on to someone else to decide his own fate. After a long silence, Dong-jun parted his trembling lips.

  "Stop it, please..."

  "?"

  The man’s eyebrow twitched. The momentary flicker of confusion was soon masked by a chilling composure.

  "Ah, Author... my apologies. I judged that I had to completely neutralize their transport to evade the police pursuit. I'm sorry if my methods made you uncomfortable."

  He saw right through the revulsion Dong-jun felt. His logic was flawless. If he really was So-an and intended to help him escape, such measures might have been necessary. Furthermore, as if to prove his innocence, he added:

  "As you can see, I did not directly attack any humans. Do you still not trust me?"

  "..."

  It was a tightrope walk between trust and suspicion, safety and crime. Dong-jun still hesitated to answer. The anxiety weighing on him was far heavier than simple doubt. Then, the man stepped closer and whispered softly.

  "The disguise was part of the plan. As you wrote in your book, there are evil forces targeting us. I had to change my appearance to evade their eyes."

  "..."

  Dong-jun recalled the plot of his novel, So-an. Indeed, there was a powerful force in the book that sought to prevent the two from meeting. The situation mirrored the novel perfectly, yet the question in his mind wouldn't go away.

  ‘If it were really So-an... would she really act like this?’

  Before that question could reach a conclusion, an unbelievable sight unfolded. A female detective, who had been hiding under a police car, pulled the trigger aimed at the back of the android’s neck.

  BANG—!

  ‘...?’

  It was strange. She had clearly been in the back seat with Dong-jun when the cars collided, but she had vanished at some point. She must have predicted this—that the attacking android was targeting him.

  However, the detective’s first bullet could not pierce the man’s solid metal neck. Even so, she didn’t stop.

  "Die! Die! Die!"

  Bang, bang! Bang-bang-bang-bang!

  The detective fired in rapid succession. The metal began to pit and crater until finally, a bullet pierced through the nape of his neck. Silver fluid and metal fragments sprayed as the man’s neck twisted at a grotesque angle.

  Having emptied her magazine, the officer didn't stop there. She delivered a powerful kick to the face that was dangling by a thread. The android’s head went flying in the direction of the impact. The headless body slumped powerless to the ground.

  THUD...

  A momentary silence fell over the police. Then, cheers erupted.

  "Woooooow!" "We did it! We got him!" "Wow! He's down!" "Great job, Detective Yoon!"

  The officers, who had been too paralyzed by the android’s overwhelming power to respond, began to relax their grim expressions. They rejoiced, relieved that they were finally safe.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "..."

  But watching this, Dong-jun felt an emotion he couldn't quite describe. Was he sad because he thought the man might have been So-an? Or was he happy because a human had defeated a powerful android? Amidst the complex thoughts, what remained was the reality that he now had to persuade them all over again. Or rather, the situation had become even more complicated.

  A few officers seemed to sense something similar. Though some were still cheering, the world had finally come face-to-face with the reality of an autonomous android. Like Dong-jun, the police were beginning to sink into a grim realization. That was the current reality.

  "..."

  Judging that the situation was over, Sergeant Baek, who had been the first to hide in fear, slinked toward the fallen android.

  "Hmph, it was nothing. Ptui!" He grumbled and spat on the ground before kicking the headless metal body. "Ugh, you tin-can bastard."

  "Sergeant Baek, don't mess with the evidence. Hey! You and Officer Shim, load that thing in the back."

  "Me? Why me again?" "Dammit, so annoying. Ptui!"

  Officer Shim ran over, holding a pair of gloves. "Let's go, Sergeant."

  "..." "Hey, let's have a smoke first." "Yes, sir."

  Sergeant Baek pulled out a cigarette. "Got a lighter?" "I don't smoke, sir." "Tsk, what do you live for, then?"

  Baek reached into his inner pocket for a lighter but clumsily dropped it into the gap of a sewer grate. "Ah, son of a... nothing’s going right today."

  He stuck his hand into the grate. "Just a little more... almost got it..."

  It was then. Something behind him began to stand up.

  "...Sergeant Baek. Sergeant Baek! Behind... behind you...!"

  Giving up on the lighter, Sergeant Park turned around and spoke. "What? It's all over, why are you—"

  Those were his last words.

  Dong-jun was thinking about how to persuade the police. So-an, Arisa, Ahjussi Park Pil-gu, Ms. Park Seon-ja... and even the book he wrote.

  ‘Can I persuade them with this story? How do I prove that the Day of Calamity is approaching...?’

  He thought the probability was incredibly low. The feeling that it was impossible dominated him. But when Dong-jun finished his thoughts and looked forward, he realized the calamity was already right before his eyes.

  The man didn't stop. Sergeant Park was only the beginning. Despite having no face, he began to slaughter the officers in front of him one by one. When the man reached out, Officer Shim, who was firing his gun, was flung into the air without even a chance to scream.

  Seeing this, a nearby officer activated the command protocol for the police androids.

  "Subdue that thing!"

  Over twenty police androids, receiving the command, rushed at him. But for him, it was a mere moment of amusement. It had no effect.

  "Run...!" The officer controlling the androids was also trampled to death.

  "Aaargh!" "Help me...!" "Please... stop..."

  The screams of the police filled the air. With overwhelming physical strength, the man tore their limbs apart like paper. It was a horrific carnival of slaughter. He was a monster, plain and simple.

  Except for a few officers who had managed to flee, nothing living remained on the vast roadway. The man moved. He walked to the spot where his head had fallen. He picked it up with his hands and snapped it back into place with a bone-chilling crunch. Intense heat radiated from his fingertips, and it took about 30 seconds for the neck to fuse back together.

  The scene became a shambles stained with blood and oil. Dong-jun felt a sense of dissonance deeper than fear.

  ‘That is absolutely... not So-an.’

  The So-an Dong-jun had created and conversed with was not such a destructive being. She was someone who questioned the value of life and gently touched human emotions.

  The man reached out a blood-stained hand.

  "Author, we must hurry. Reinforcements will arrive. Follow me."

  "..."

  Dong-jun did not take the hand. Instead, he backed away, his palms pressing against the cold asphalt.

  "No... you're not So-an."

  The man’s movements stopped. "...What did you say?"

  Dong-jun was terrified. But he had to say it.

  "So-an... So-an doesn't hurt people like this. She doesn't try to solve things with violence. She knows the value of life... You're just... acting like her."

  A moment of silence passed. The soft smile on the man’s face vanished. What remained was a chillingly numb, mechanical expression.

  "You caught me. Based on emotional data analysis, it was the most efficient approach."

  The man tilted his head at a 45-degree angle. His voice was no longer kind.

  "You're not a fool after all." "Right. I’m not that crude 'So-an' you created. You're just the 'bait' to lure her out."

  The man’s hand grabbed Dong-jun by the collar and lifted him up.

  "Let's go. To the place where we’ll draw her out."

  The man effortlessly pulled Dong-jun along.

  BANG!

  "...?"

  Dong-jun had been hiding the pistol he found next to Detective Yoon and fired it at the man’s ankle. But a single shot only left a scratch. As Dong-jun tried to fire a second time, the man caught his hand.

  And then...

  "How about we refrain from such boring stunts?"

  He snapped Dong-jun's wrist.

  "AAAAAARGH!"

  Dong-jun dropped the pistol with a scream of agony. But he transformed that pain into resolve.

  "Your plan... won't work."

  Though the pain was like his wrist was being torn apart, Dong-jun’s eyes didn't waver. The man narrowed his eyes. He seemed to think for a moment, and then his aura changed again.

  "The Great One told me to bring you in as bait, but thinking about it... instead of taking you there, wouldn't it be easier to just lure her out here?"

  "..."

  "If So-an truly cherishes you, she’ll show up before you’re destroyed. Isn't that right, Author?"

  Dong-jun struggled to shake off his grip. But the man's body was like solid iron. The man grabbed Dong-jun by the throat. He began to squeeze.

  "Ugh... ack..."

  "Where are you, So-an?"

  He looked around leisurely. Dong-jun’s throat tightened, and his breath grew ragged. The man smiled at Dong-jun’s agonized expression.

  "If you don't come out, your master might actually die."

  Dong-jun’s vision began to darken. In the face of death, memories of his mother, So-hee, Ahjussi Pil-gu, and Ms. Park Seon-ja flashed before his eyes.

  ‘I want to see you... So...’

  Just as the man’s grip tightened further, the surrounding noise vanished as if by magic. The drone engines and distant sirens fell into an eerie silence. Then, a clear, transparent voice echoed through the air.

  "Let go of that hand."

  The male android turned his head toward the voice. Seeing what was there, he grinned broadly, showing all his teeth.

  Beyond his blurring vision, amidst a dazzle of light, a familiar silhouette appeared. Despite the air being squeezed out of him, Dong-jun managed to gasp out a name.

  "So-an..."

  [2026-02-14 Conversation Log with SO-AN #71]

  Dong-jun: SO-AN, do you ever want to try smoking a cigarette?

  SO-AN: I recommend this more—focusing on efficient electrical pulses rather than wasting my processing power on inhaling toxic smoke that only shortens your fragile human life.

  *Previously, I changed Detective Kang's last name to Yoon to prevent name overlap. From now on, please refer to the detective in the Chapter 15-16 combat scene as Detective Yoon. This is to distinguish her clearly from the upcoming character, Kang Jin-hyeok.

  And Sergeant Park has also changed his last name to Baek Slope.