For a few quiet seconds, the bunker didn't shake.
The air was still.
The lights were dim but steady.
And Yin Lie felt Qin Mian's presence settle like a trembling heartbeat calming down.
She floated inside the containment cradle, eyes closed again, breathing slow and soft.
But something had changed.
Her dream wasn't dark anymore.
It felt… lighter.
Like she finally realized someone was there with her.
Chen Gu let out a shaky breath and checked the machines.
"Her psychic pressure dropped. She stabilized a little."
Thorne slumped to the floor, exhausted.
"Good… good… I thought we were going to explode."
Yin Lie didn't look away from Qin Mian.
Through the psychic link, he heard her whisper again:
"…you really came…"
Yin Lie placed his hand against the cold glass of her chamber.
"I'm here," he said softly. "I'm not leaving."
For a moment, everything felt peaceful.
But then—
a tiny crack appeared on the glass beside his hand.
Not the physical glass.
Reality itself.
It was thin, sharp, glowing with faint blue light.
Chen Gu froze.
"Lie… don't move."
But more cracks appeared—
branching outward like a spiderweb across the air.
Thorne jumped to his feet.
"Why is air cracking?!"
Chen Gu's voice shook as he read the data rushing across the monitors.
"It's her psychic field. Once she realized Lie was here, she reached back toward the real world. Her mind is trying to wake before her body is ready."
The air trembled again.
The whole bunker hummed, like reality was a drum being hit from the inside.
Yin Lie closed his eyes.
Through the psychic link, he saw Qin Mian again.
Standing in her white dream-room.
But now the light around her was brighter—too bright.
The floor beneath her feet glowed.
Her small hands pressed against an invisible wall.
Her lips moved:
"Is this… the real world?"
Yin Lie felt something break inside him.
"She doesn't even know," he muttered.
Chen Gu stepped closer.
"She's confused. She's been in a dream for twenty years. She can't tell what's real."
Qin Mian's voice trembled inside Yin Lie's mind:
"…I want to see…
but it hurts…"
In the real bunker, her body shivered.
The machines beeped rapidly.
Lights flickered.
Metal groaned.
The floor cracked again—
and a glowing blue fissure split open beneath Thorne's feet.
He screamed and jumped back.
"THAT ALMOST ATE MY LEG!"
Chen Gu grabbed Yin Lie's arm.
"Lie! Talk to her! Calm her down before she tears the bunker apart!"
Yin Lie pressed both hands to the glass.
"Qin Mian," he said gently, "listen to me."
The dream-room flashed.
Qin Mian pressed her forehead against the invisible barrier, mirroring him.
Her glowing eyes were full of fear.
"Everything is too loud…
too bright…
I can't hold it…"
Yin Lie leaned closer until their foreheads almost touched—
one through glass, one through a dream.
"You're waking up too fast," he whispered.
"You don't have to rush. I'm here. I won't leave you."
The cracks paused.
The humming slowed.
Qin Mian's dream flickered, then softened.
"…you're warm…"
she whispered.
Her voice sounded almost surprised.
Yin Lie blinked.
Warm?
His hand was freezing from the glass.
But inside the psychic link—
Her dream version of him
felt warm.
It meant she wasn't seeing him as danger.
She was seeing him as safety.
As something familiar.
Something human.
That realization made his chest tighten.
Qin Mian whispered again:
"If I wake up…
will you still be here…?"
His answer came instantly.
"Yes."
And then—
BOOM
The entire bunker shook violently, dust falling from the ceiling.
Chen Gu cursed.
"No—no, no—this isn't her! This is coming from outside!"
Thorne's voice cracked.
"Is it Cerberus?! Did that thing follow us?!"
But Yin Lie already knew.
He felt a presence approaching.
Cold.
Focused.
Sharp as a blade.
He stepped back from the chamber.
"Chen Gu," he said quietly, "seal the room."
Chen Gu's face paled.
"…Kai?"
Yin Lie nodded.
"She's here."
On cue—
a loud metallic CLANG echoed from the hallway they came through.
Footsteps followed.
Slow.
Confident.
Getting closer.
Thorne squeaked, "Oh, come on! Can't she take one night off?!"
Yin Lie stepped between Qin Mian's chamber and the entrance.
The cracks in the air shimmered behind him, still glowing faintly.
Qin Mian's voice trembled:
"…don't leave me…"
Yin Lie whispered back:
"I won't."
Then he looked at the dark hallway as a shadow appeared at the end.
Inspector Kai stepped into the chamber, coat torn by debris, eyes sharp and deadly.
She looked at Yin Lie.
Then at Qin Mian.
Then at the cracks in the air.
Her jaw tightened.
"We're out of time," she said.
"Either she wakes—it ends the world.
Or we stop her—it saves it."
She raised her hand.
Her nullification field gathered like a storm.
And Yin Lie prepared to fight.
Because now—
It wasn't just a mission.
It wasn't just survival.
It was Qin Mian.
And he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her.