My two hot Neighbors

Chapter 12 – "Operation: Silver Wire"

The golden mask sat heavy in my palm. It was more than a symbol—it was a warning. Phoenix was back in action, and this time, she wasn’t working alone.

The plan was simple.

Watch Soobin. Follow the assistant. Infiltrate Astrid’s access level. Find the vials. Neutralize the threat. All without revealing my true identity to the world—or to the two boys who now shadowed me closer than ever.

But simple plans never stay that way for long.

---

The next morning, campus looked normal. Too normal. Birds chirped, students chattered, the sun was a little too bright. Even Sehun waved from a bench, eating his breakfast sandwich with his usual childish cheer.

But I could feel the tension. It crawled beneath my skin like static electricity.

“Soobin’s office is empty,” Jungkook said as he walked beside me. He was dressed in a casual white shirt and jeans, but his stance was alert, eyes always scanning.

“Yeah,” Taehyung added from my other side, fingers in the pocket of his long tan coat. “I passed by on my way from the music block. Not a sign of him. Even Sehun was dropped off by someone else.”

“He’s hiding something,” I murmured, tightening the strap of my backpack. Inside it wasn’t just books—there were tools, comms, and a hidden pulse sensor programmed to detect synthetic chemical compounds.

We were heading to the tech lab building, which had multiple underground levels. It was a maze, rarely visited by students not majoring in robotics or physics. Exactly the kind of place someone could stash something dangerous.

When we reached the second basement level, the air was colder, the halls quieter.

“I hacked the door logs last night,” Jungkook whispered, holding up his phone. “This area’s been accessed six times in the last three days. Two of those were by Soobin. One by Astrid’s assistant.”

I smirked. “Bingo.”

We stopped in front of Lab C-37. Locked. No cameras in the hallway, which was odd. I pulled out my access bypass tool and inserted it into the security panel. Within seconds, the lock gave a soft click.

Taehyung and Jungkook stepped back to cover me as I pushed the door open.

Inside was darkness—and then the glow of blue LED lights.

The room was set up like a mini lab. Test tubes, syringes, containment boxes. On the table were blueprints of the university air vents. Marked in red were three major lecture halls and the central library.

“They’re planning to spread it through the vents,” Taehyung muttered, examining the map.

“No. They’re testing how long it would take for a controlled dispersion,” I corrected. “This isn’t the main attack. This is a simulation.”

Jungkook walked over to the far wall where several photos were pinned—students, faculty… and me.

Or rather, Phoenix. The golden mask glared back from the wall.

“They know you’re here,” he said quietly.

I walked to the table and picked up a vial. It was labeled SV-3: Prototype, and beneath that, it said: Memory suppressant compound. My fingers trembled slightly.

“This isn’t just a poison,” I said slowly. “This erases identity.”

“They want to wipe your memory?” Taehyung’s voice was sharp, laced with fear.

“No. They want to erase witnesses. Maybe even manipulate agents. Imagine a university full of students who suddenly forget who they are—what they saw.”

Suddenly, the overhead light snapped off.

Click.

Door locked from outside.

We were trapped.

“Someone’s watching,” Jungkook growled, already pulling out a compact flashlight from his jacket.

I activated my portable jammer. “We have five minutes before they try to gas this room.”

Taehyung rushed to the vent and checked the screws. “I can get this open.”

I nodded. “Do it. Jungkook, help me collect these vials. We can’t leave them here.”

For two minutes, it was frantic—gathering chemical samples, downloading files, erasing fingerprints. Taehyung got the vent open just as a faint hiss began to leak from the ceiling.

We climbed in one by one. I went last, sealing the grate behind me.

The vent system was tight, and the metal creaked with every movement. I led the way, memorizing the turns based on the same blueprint I’d seen earlier. We emerged two levels up, behind a locked storage room.

Taehyung kicked the vent open from the inside and helped pull us out. We tumbled into the room, panting and covered in dust.

“That was close,” Jungkook muttered, brushing his jacket off.

But I wasn’t breathing. I was focused on one thing:

Astrid.

She was going to make her next move soon, and it wasn’t going to be quiet.

---

Later that afternoon, the university announced a surprise assembly.

“The professor from the EU agency has prepared a new training module,” the dean had said. “All students must attend.”

It was happening too fast. Too soon.

I slipped into the bathroom to change. Beneath my jacket, I wore my full Phoenix suit—black with golden linings,

“Phase Two,” I whispered.

---

The auditorium filled slowly. Taehyung and Jungkook sat in the middle row while I positioned myself near the side doors.

Astrid walked onto the stage, calm and collected.

“I thank you all for attending,” she began. “Today’s module will be more... immersive.”

Her assistant appeared, wheeling a covered tray. My eyes narrowed. I scanned it—chemicals. She was going to introduce the SV-3 compound as a “demo.”

That’s when I heard it—Sehun’s voice. From the crowd.

He was sitting in the front row.

And I knew instantly—they were going to use him. An innocent test subject. The entire demonstration was just a cover.

I activated my comms. “Phase Three. Code Black. Protect the child.”

Jungkook and Taehyung stood up immediately, understanding without being told. Jungkook moved to the left, Taehyung to the right. I stepped out from the shadows.

Astrid lifted the cover from the tray.

Too late.

“Phoenix,” I called, loud and clear.

The entire auditorium turned. Astrid froze.

And then I stepped forward, fully suited, golden mask shining under the lights.

Gasps filled the air.

“She’s real?”

“No way—that’s her?”

Astrid’s eyes narrowed. “You made a mistake coming here.”

I smiled beneath the mask. “You made a mistake thinking I wouldn’t.”

With a flash, I threw a smoke capsule to the ground. Chaos erupted. Students screamed. Taehyung rushed to grab Sehun while Jungkook tackled the assistant. I moved through the smoke, striking with precision. Astrid was fast, but I was faster.

We clashed, hand-to-hand combat echoing across the hall. Her strikes were clean, but emotionless. Mine were burning with fury.

With one clean twist, I disarmed her and injected her own prototype vial into the back of her neck.

Her eyes widened.

Then… her memory flickered.

She looked around. “W-where… where am I?”

She didn’t even remember her name.

---

By the time the smoke cleared, I was gone. The golden mask remained on the podium.

Taehyung, Jungkook, and Sehun stood safely beside the unconscious assistant.

The auditorium was chaos, but the threat was neutralized—for now.

---

Back in my room that night, I removed my mask and stared out the window.

I knew the silence wouldn’t last long.

Dark Rose was far from finished.

But neither was I.

---

End of Chapter 12