The Directorate Headquarters towered over the city like a blade made of steel and shadows.
At night, its windows glowed like cold stars.
Dozens of drones hovered around it, scanning the streets below.
Heavy-armored patrol units marched in synchronized lines across the main plaza.
Inside, the command center was chaos.
Officers shouted over each other.
Screens flashed warnings in red.
Energy signatures spiked and vanished.
Destroyed drone signals blinked out one by one.
Someone yelled:
"Sector Twelve drones offline!"
Another officer:
"Tunnel surveillance destroyed!"
Someone else:
"We've lost thermal tracking!"
This wasn't normal.
This was fear.
And at the center of that storm stood Director Ji Xuan.
She was motionless, hands clasped behind her back, her sharp eyes scanning the holographic map floating before her.
She wore a long silver coat with black trim, her rank plates gleaming under the white lights.
Unlike her staff…
She was calm.
Almost too calm.
An officer ran up to her, sweat dripping down his temple.
"Director, the full report is in. Subject Zero — the girl — has escaped the city perimeter."
Ji Xuan didn't respond.
The officer swallowed.
"Incident involved a… Dreamquake event. A major one. Reality distortion signatures spread across a three-block radius."
Ji Xuan's eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Show me."
The hologram changed.
Footage appeared from a damaged drone camera — shaking violently — showing the sky cracking like shattered glass.
Blue energy tearing through buildings.
Objects levitating.
Lights exploding.
Then the feed went dead.
The officer's voice trembled.
"That… was her awakening."
Ji Xuan tapped her fingers together gently.
"Continue."
The officer took a shaky breath.
"The boy — Yin Lie — managed to stabilize her emotional state. After that, she created a psi-barrier powerful enough to withstand a heavy drone assault."
He hesitated.
"And then she… protected him. Directly."
Ji Xuan finally turned her head.
Her expression sharpened.
"…Protected him?"
"Yes."
The officer pulled up footage.
The moment Qin Mian shielded Yin Lie — a perfect glowing sphere blocking a deadly blast.
Ji Xuan leaned closer.
"So she reacted to his danger."
Her voice softened, dangerous like quiet thunder.
"Not instinct…
But attachment."
The room went silent.
An older officer stepped forward.
"Director, with all due respect… Subject Zero is too dangerous. We need to keep the kill order active—"
Ji Xuan turned.
Very slowly.
The older officer froze.
Ji Xuan's voice was quiet, smooth as glass:
"I gave the kill order because I believed she was unstable."
"But she survived awakening."
"She controlled her power enough to avoid civilian casualties."
"And she responded to him."
She pointed at Yin Lie's face on the screen.
"He is her anchor."
The old officer swallowed hard.
"But Director—"
Ji Xuan stepped closer to him.
Her eyes were cold, empty, absolute.
"The kill order is revoked."
The entire hall gasped.
"Director—!"
"We can't—!"
"She'll destroy the—!"
"Silence," Ji Xuan commanded.
The room obeyed instantly.
"We will not kill her," she said.
"She will be secured. Contained."
"And studied."
She touched the hologram again, zooming in on Qin Mian's glowing eyes.
"If properly controlled, her power could reshape cities. Entire continents."
Her voice lowered to a whisper.
"Evolution. Controlled evolution."
The old officer trembled.
"But Director… Agent Kai was with them. She disobeyed orders to help them escape."
Ji Xuan's expression didn't change.
"Kai has always been a liability. Too much loyalty to the wrong people."
Her tone sharpened.
"Send a retrieval squad for Kai as well."
"Alive?"
Ji Xuan paused.
"Preferably."
She turned back to the map, her eyes reflecting countless red warning marks.
"If she resists… you may remove her."
The officer nodded stiffly.
"Yes, Director."
Another officer rushed in.
"Director! The field units are ready."
Ji Xuan raised her chin.
"Deploy them."
Underneath the tower, massive steel doors opened.
Rows of soldiers in full black armor marched out in lines — the Psi-Containment Units.
Each carried rifles built to stun variant powers.
Each helmet glowed with red sensors.
Heavy shields slammed against their backs.
Behind them strode the Field Division Nine — elite hunters built to track psi signatures across miles.
Silent.
Deadly.
Efficient.
A command voice boomed across the plaza:
"ALL SQUADS:
TARGET — SUBJECT ZERO
SECONDARY TARGET — YIN LIE
TERTIARY TARGET — AGENT KAI
BRING SUBJECT ZERO BACK ALIVE."
The streets shook beneath their march.
Ji Xuan watched from above, her eyes cold and thoughtful.
"Bring her back," she murmured.
"But bring the boy, too."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"He may be the only one she obeys."
She clasped her hands behind her back.
"And if she cares for him…
that is leverage."
Her voice dropped dangerously low.
"And if he dies…
she will break again."
She turned away, coat fluttering behind her as she walked toward the elevator.
"Prepare for global lockdown.
We're hunting a Reality Anchor."
The elevator doors closed with a soft hiss.
Leaving the command center in a storm of red lights and alarms.
After the Director vanished, a figure stepped out from a dark corner of the command center.
Half his face was hidden.
His coat carried no rank insignia.
His eyes were cold like voided glass.
He whispered to himself:
"So the girl awakens…
and the ghost survives."
He turned his gaze toward the hologram of Yin Lie—
his silver eyes calm even in chaos.
"Interesting."
Then he vanished into the shadows again.
Chapter 73 (Full Rewrite & Full-Length) — Completed