Qin Mian's light dimmed to a soft, gentle glow.
Her breathing inside the containment cradle grew steady, no longer panicked.
Her dream-form stood just a few feet from Yin Lie, hands pressed carefully on the invisible wall between them.
For the first time since entering the bunker…
It felt safe.
Chen Gu let out a long breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"She's calming," he whispered. "Good. Good. As long as her emotions stay stable, the psychic pressure will stay low."
Thorne nodded quickly, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"We finally have a moment of peace. I'm gonna sit down before I pass out—"
CLANG.
The sound exploded down the hallway.
A single metal stomp.
Heavy.
Cold.
Purposeful.
Yin Lie's eyes snapped open.
No.
Not now.
The next sound was softer—
a slow, controlled exhale.
Then a voice:
"Step away from her."
Inspector Kai appeared in the doorway again—
but something was different this time.
Her coat was torn.
Blood stained her ribs where Yin Lie had struck her.
Her breathing was slow and angry.
But her eyes—
Her eyes were dead calm.
Too calm.
Chen Gu froze.
"…No."
Thorne nearly dropped the tablet.
"Why is she back?! Lie literally broke her bones! Didn't she need a hospital?!"
Yin Lie didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
Kai stepped fully inside the chamber.
She wasn't just here to fight.
She was here to finish something.
She reached into her coat and pulled out a thin metal card with a bright red seal.
She flipped it between her fingers and let it fall.
It clinked onto the concrete.
A Directorate Kill Order.
Chen Gu's face turned white.
"Impossible… they wouldn't… Mian is a First Wave—"
Kai cut him off.
"Not anymore.
She's classified as a Level-Zero Catastrophe.
And I have permission to neutralize her by any means necessary."
Qin Mian's dream trembled, a soft sound escaping her:
"…Lie…?"
Yin Lie stood up slowly, placing himself between Kai and the glass chamber.
"You're not killing her."
Kai's expression didn't change.
"This isn't personal," she said calmly.
"This is survival. If she wakes up uncontrolled, she could destroy half the continent. You know that."
Her nullification field flickered around her—
a cold, invisible distortion in the air.
Chen Gu grabbed the railing.
"No! Kai, listen—she's stabilizing! She's meeting someone real for the first time in twenty years. If Lie stays with her, she might wake peacefully!"
Kai shook her head once.
"You're gambling the world on one unstable girl's emotions. I'm not."
She raised her hand toward the chamber.
"I'm ending this."
The psychic field around her sharpened.
Yin Lie felt it pressing against his skin, like iron claws trying to pull his powers apart.
Behind him, Qin Mian cried out in her dream:
"Don't let her… don't let her touch me—!"
Yin Lie answered without looking back.
"I won't."
Then he looked at Kai.
"You'll have to go through me."
Kai narrowed her eyes.
"So be it."
Kai stepped forward.
Her field exploded outward like a silent blast—
BOOM—!
The shockwave cracked the floor.
Thorne screamed and dove behind a table.
Chen Gu shielded the terminal.
The machines flickered violently.
A hairline crack spread across the glass of Qin Mian's chamber.
Her dream burst into panic—
White rooms breaking, walls shattering.
Qin Mian pressed her hands against the invisible wall in terror.
"Lie—!!"
He didn't turn around.
He couldn't.
Kai's eyes locked onto his throat.
She moved.
The Clash
Kai struck first—
A straight-line thrust of nullification force shaped like a spear.
Yin Lie barely dodged—
the air beside him sliced open, leaving a burning sensation on his cheek.
He countered with a frost-coated punch.
Kai blocked it with her forearm—
frost exploding around her sleeve.
Pain flashed across her face, but she didn't stop.
She stepped inside his guard—
and slammed her elbow into his injured ribs.
CRACK.
Yin Lie gasped and stumbled backward.
Kai followed—
Her hand slicing toward his neck.
He ducked under the strike and swept her legs.
Kai jumped, twisted mid-air, and kicked him in the side of the head.
WHAM.
The world spun.
But Yin Lie didn't fall.
He forced himself to stand.
Blood ran down the side of his face.
Kai exhaled slowly.
"You're injured, Lie. And you're still standing between me and the kill order?"
"Yes."
Kai sighed, almost disappointed.
"You're stubborn."
"And you're wrong."
He rushed forward—
Wolf power in his legs,
Ice swirling around his good arm,
Keystone lines lighting his vision.
He threw a heavy punch—
Kai dodged—
He followed with a backhand—
She blocked, wincing as frost burned her palm—
He spun—
She stepped in and landed a brutal punch to his gut.
Yin Lie coughed blood.
But he didn't stop.
He grabbed her wrist and slammed her into the wall.
Kai hissed—
her nullification field flaring—
She twisted free and drove her knee into his stomach.
He staggered.
She thrust her palm toward his heart—
He barely blocked with his broken wrist—
CRACK—!
White-hot pain shot up his arm.
Yin Lie gasped.
Kai pulled back for the killing blow—
A scream exploded inside both their minds:
"STOP—!!"
The lights shattered.
The walls shook.
Reality cracked.
A burst of blue-white psychic force pushed outward from Qin Mian's chamber—
sending papers flying, machines crashing, debris scattering across the floor.
Kai froze mid-strike, eyes widening.
Yin Lie turned just enough to see Qin Mian inside the cradle—
her hands pressed against the glass, tears floating like glowing crystals in zero gravity.
"Lie—please—don't die—!"
Yin Lie steadied himself.
"I'm not dying."
Kai lowered her hand slowly, breathing hard.
"That wasn't a dreamquake," she whispered.
"That was a conscious reaction."
Chen Gu's eyes went wide.
"She responded to danger. She's waking."
Kai swallowed hard.
"That means my kill order is now urgent."
She raised her hand again—
But this time—
She hesitated.
Just a second.
Because Qin Mian's voice echoed again:
"…don't hurt him…"
Kai looked at Yin Lie.
Then at the trembling girl behind the glass.
Then at her own blood dripping onto the floor.
And for the first time—
Kai faltered.
"…This just got more complicated," she whispered.
Yin Lie took a step forward.
"That's why you're not killing her."
Kai glared.
"I still might."
"But not today."
Yin Lie inhaled sharply.
Kai's jaw clenched.
"But if she loses control again," she said coldly,
"I won't hesitate."
She turned toward the exit.
Her coat dragged behind her like a shadow.
Her breathing was sharp, uneven.
Her injured ribs made her limp worse than before.
Before leaving, she whispered:
"Lie… the world won't forgive you if you're wrong."
Yin Lie answered:
"I'm not wrong."
She paused only one moment.
"Then pray she's worth it."
And she disappeared into the dark corridor.
The bunker slowly stopped shaking.
Dust floated down like snow.
Inside the dream, Qin Mian curled on the floor, trembling.
"Lie…"
"Lie… please don't leave…"
Yin Lie pressed his hand against the glass again.
His voice broke softly:
"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
And Qin Mian's shaking slowed.
Her glowing eyes opened.
And she whispered—
"…thank you…"