"I... can’t do that" Gunjoo said with furrowed brows.

"Why, not? I’m not asking you to do much. Your boss seems to trust you well enough," Yohan pressed casually.

Still Gunjoo maintained his stance

"That’s because unlike the others I never let my emotions cloud my judgement, and that is why I can’t do what you are asking..."

"Yohan you should reconsider what you’re about to do, there’s no need to pick a fight,"

"It’s too late, I’m going to break out of here and I’m only asking you to make sure your people don’t come after me, and in return I’ll personally set up a meeting between you and the Baker,"

Gunjoo stared at him with a blank expression, the offer was too hard to refuse without a second thought.

"How do I know this guy is the real deal?" he wondered.

"Don’t worry. After tonight, you won’t have any reason to doubt me. My strength will be all the proof you need."

Gunjoo let out a low, disbelieving chuckle. "You’re serious? You think you can escape this place without my help? Do you even know how big it is... or how many men are out there?"

Yohan didn’t hesitate. "I’ll manage."

Gunjoo studied him for a moment, the confidence in his voice almost unsettling.

Yohan turned, already preparing to leave. "You should go," he said. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "Wait a few minutes before raising the alarm. A little head start will make things more interesting."

Gunjoo pondered in silence. Yohan was planning on doing everything himself, that means there was hardly any risk involved for him.

If he dies in the process then Gunjoo wouldn’t really lose anything, but if he did manage to escape...

He sighed. It was too hard to even imagine.

"If you’re really going through with this, then at least listen," Gunjoo said, his tone turning serious. "That 100-man Monster Squad, and Graham—they’re our main attack force in this city."

He paused, watching for a reaction.

"Ivan has his own men present. Alfredo doesn’t, but those two..." he shook his head slightly, "...their individual strength is on a different level. Far more dangerous."

A brief silence followed before his voice dropped.

"And then there’s the boss."

Gunjoo’s eyes hardened. "Avoid running into any of them at all costs."

"I told you, I can handle it—"

"I mean... if you want my help," Gunjoo cut in, "Try to avoid confrontating any of them, it’s the only way I can even attempt to stop everything from escalating after..."

Although Gunjoo was already sure of the outcome, he was a smart man and would always keep his bet open until the final moment.

In case Yohan did make it out by some miracle, he needed to be able to play his part.

"Also... I don’t know if I even need to say this, but—no killing."

That last part lingered in the air longer than it should have.

It didn’t sound like a suggestion. It sounded like a test.

Yohan held his gaze, unblinking.

’Or maybe he’s trying to figure it out... whether I’ve crossed that line already’

For a brief moment, neither of them moved, the silence stretching into something heavier.

Then Yohan looked away, breaking the tension first. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Okay," he said calmly. "You should leave first... to make it look less suspicious."

"Y-You’re right," Gunjoo walked past him and paused after reaching the handle, turning one last time, "Are you sure you don’t need any help?"

There were still a few things he wanted to warn him about, like the men stationed right outside this door, or the ones with the guns somewheres inside this building...

"There’s no need honestly, I’ll make it out," Yohan gave him a small reassuring smile. He could tell Gunjoo was worried even if he had no reason to.

He figured Gunjoo would have probably helped out even more if he had asked, but he didn’t want to ask for too much, especially since he didn’t mention anything about escaping with Izumi.

’I really hope he can handle the fallout... I don’t think I can survive two mob bosses coming after me at the same time’

Even if he thought he could easily handle them, men like these would go after the people he cared about and he couldn’t protect all of them at the same time.

With Hatoru searching for him, the best option was to try and avoid adding Mason Blackfire to the list.

That was why trying to escape with Izumi was such a bad idea, still he knew he absolutely had to do it.

’First I’ll use my Mind Unlock’

He carried out the touch technique that heightened his senses.

After using it the first time, he knew that the effects would only last for thirty minutes at best, and he would be unable to use it until he managed to rest for a few hours.

The technique would push his mental processing power beyond the known limit, allowing him to to sense things more distinctly and even think faster but it came at a cost.

The skill would leave him mentally drained after. He had been feeling the aftereffects all these while but he managed to power through because of his resilience.

If he was a normal person, he would have been unable to move and would have needed a long time to recover before using it again. Even now he felt a heavy strain on his mind, almost like a headache.

’I don’t think I can hold on for more than ten minutes’ he groaned.

Without his healing elixir, that was all the time he had to locate Izumi and get out of there.

First he listened carefully, there were multiple heartbeats coming from the other side of the door.

He waited until only three of them remained.

Slowly, he cracked the door open just enough to peek through.

His eyes swept the room—and then caught it.

A faint glint.

Light reflecting off a shard of broken glass.

Using it, he adjusted his angle, his gaze sharpening. The reflection revealed their positions without exposing himself.

All three were gathered around a table, half-slouched in their chairs, distracted—scrolling through their phones and nursing bottles of beer.

Yohan’s lips curved slightly.

"Okay let’s do this,"