A thin blue line appeared first—
sharp and bright, humming with unstable energy.
Then it widened.
The air around Yin Lie warped, bending like heat from a fire. Dust floated upward instead of down. Broken metal curled and twisted, pulled toward invisible forces.
Qin Mian's fingers dug into Yin Lie's sleeve.
Her voice shook with terror:
"Lie…
I don't…
I don't want this—"
Yin Lie pulled her into his arms.
"It's okay. I've got you."
But nothing was okay.
The Dreamquake had begun.
A rumbling wave rolled across the ground.
Concrete cracked.
Rusty pipes bent inward.
Glass exploded outward in slow-motion shards, frozen in the air like a storm paused mid-fall.
Thorne screamed, "THE SKY IS BREAKING—!! WE'RE GOING TO DIE—!!"
Chen Gu grabbed him by the collar before he bolted into danger.
"It's a Dreamquake! Her mind is waking faster than her body can handle—Lie, keep her calm!"
Kai stood a few meters away, clutching her fractured ribs, staring at the sky with cold horror.
"…She's destabilizing everything. The Dream and the real world… they're merging."
A wind filled with blue sparks swept across the factory yard.
It wasn't real wind.
It was psychic pressure.
Yin Lie felt it hit his chest, heavy and thick—like drowning in air.
Qin Mian gasped and pressed her forehead against his chest.
"Make it stop…
Make it stop…
Make it stop—"
Her voice cracked with panic.
Yin Lie held her face in both hands, forcing her to look at him.
"Qin Mian. Listen to me. Breathe."
Her glowing eyes shook.
"I can't… it's too loud… everything is too loud…"
Another ROAR tore across the sky.
The blue crack twisted upward, splitting clouds apart like ripping cloth.
Shadows peeled away from the ground.
The factory walls twisted, rippling like they were made of liquid metal.
The air shimmered with glowing symbols that appeared and vanished too quickly to read.
Thorne held his head and yelled:
"THE AIR HAS WORDS IN IT—WHY DOES THE AIR HAVE WORDS IN IT—?!"
Chen Gu's voice shook as he analyzed the readings:
"She's projecting her dream state outward. Her emotions are rewriting what's real. If this continues—everything within a kilometer will collapse!"
Kai snapped at him:
"Then STOP IT!"
Chen Gu yelled back:
"You think I KNOW how to stop a Reality Anchor waking up?! No one does! Lie is the only one she listens to!"
Kai's jaw tightened.
She glared at Yin Lie.
"Then FIX HER!"
Yin Lie ignored her.
He touched his forehead to Qin Mian's gently.
"Qin Mian. Look at me."
Her breath came in broken sobs.
"I… I can't control it… I don't know what's mine or what's real…"
"You don't need to control it," Yin Lie whispered.
"You just need to hear me. Only me."
Her hands trembled violently, gripping his shirt.
"I'm so scared…"
"I know. But you're not alone."
Her dream cracked behind her eyes—
and the real world cracked with it.
A massive split opened across the sky.
Buildings in the distance bent sideways.
Streetlights snapped like bone.
The ground bulged upward, twisting into impossible shapes.
Kai shouted:
"EVERYONE DOWN, NOW—!!"
The world convulsed.
Yin Lie threw himself over Qin Mian, shielding her with his body.
A shockwave blasted across the factory yard—
but before it hit them,
Qin Mian grabbed Yin Lie's arm and cried:
"STOP—!!"
And everything froze.
The shockwave halted mid-air—
a wall of distorted space held in place like a painting paused mid-stroke.
Even the dust hung in midair.
Only Yin Lie, Qin Mian, Chen Gu, Thorne, and Kai could still move.
Kai's voice shook for the first time:
"…She froze reality."
Chen Gu whispered:
"She stopped the Dreamquake… with a single command."
Qin Mian's head dropped forward.
"I didn't mean to…
I didn't want to hurt anyone…"
Tears streamed down her face.
Yin Lie pulled her into his chest, holding her carefully.
"It's okay. You didn't hurt us."
She cried softly.
"I don't know how to be awake…"
"That's why I'm here."
She looked up at him—
a mix of fear, awe, and trust.
Then the world around them began to unfreeze.
The shockwave dissolved into blue light.
The cracks in reality folded back into the sky like closing eyes.
Floating dust fell again.
Metal untwisted.
Time resumed.
The Dreamquake ended.
But Qin Mian collapsed, exhausted.
Yin Lie caught her.
"Qin Mian!"
Her whisper was fragile:
"…don't leave…"
He held her tighter.
"I won't. I promise."
Her breathing steadied.
Her glow dimmed.
Kai stared at the two of them with a look Yin Lie had never seen on her face:
Fear.
Not of Qin Mian.
But of what she meant.
Kai whispered:
"That wasn't an uncontrolled Dreamquake."
"She… obeyed you."
Yin Lie didn't answer.
He lifted Qin Mian in his arms.
Chen Gu let out a breath of shaky relief.
Thorne wiped tears he pretended were dust.
Kai looked away from them, jaw tight.
"…If the Directorate learns she responded to you… they'll send an entire division."
Yin Lie stood.
"I don't care."
Kai's voice sharpened.
"And if she loses control again? Will you be able to stop her next time?"
Yin Lie didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Kai stared at him for a long moment.
Then she turned her back.
"…Then you'd better run. While you still can."
Yin Lie nodded once.
He held Qin Mian close.
And as the dust settled, and the last crack sealed in the sky…
they took their first step into a world that had already begun to change.
Chapter 67 Completed