The broken drone surged forward with a screech of tearing metal.
Its remaining legs skittered unevenly on the station's cracked tiles, sparks trailing behind like dying fireflies. Its single red eye burned brighter, flickering violently between light and darkness.
SCRRRR-CHHHH!!!
The sound echoed across the empty hall, bouncing off stone pillars and shattered windows.
Qin Mian flinched and grabbed Yin Lie's sleeve tightly.
"Lie… it's coming…"
"I know."
Yin Lie stepped forward, placing himself between her and the twisted machine.
His breath slowed.
His heartbeat steadied.
Cold energy gathered at his fingertips.
The ice inside him curled upward like a serpent coiling for a strike.
Behind him, Chen Gu shouted:
"Lie! It's remote-controlled! The Directorate is watching through it!"
Kai cursed under her breath.
"They're tracking her psi signature."
Thorne screamed:
"WHY CAN'T WE JUST FIGHT NORMAL ROBOTS?!"
Nobody answered him.
Because the drone lunged.
Yin Lie stepped in.
A shard of ice exploded from his palm—
CRACK—SHHH!
It slammed into the drone's metal face, freezing its red eye for a split second.
The machine staggered.
Chen Gu punched the side of the wall console.
"YES! Hit it again! ICE IT! KILL IT—!!"
But the drone twitched, rebooting instantly.
Its eye blazed brighter.
WHRRRRRRR—!!!
A beam of red light scanned the room—
—landing directly on Qin Mian.
The drone's voice crackled:
"SUBJECT ZERO — SEC—URE…"
Yin Lie's expression darkened.
"Not happening."
The drone leapt at him again.
This time, faster.
Yin Lie barely ducked in time, the machine's blazing-hot claws scraping across a pillar, slicing it like butter.
Stone dust exploded everywhere.
Qin Mian covered her ears, trembling.
"Lie—!"
"I'm fine!" he shouted back.
He wasn't.
He'd almost lost an arm.
The drone twisted mid-air, scanning again.
Kai fired her pistol—
BANG! BANG!
Bullets hit the drone's side—
—and bounced off uselessly.
"This model shouldn't even be MOVING!" she growled.
"But it is!" Thorne cried.
The drone spoke again, its voice glitching violently.
"PROTOCOL… SEVEN.
RETURN… GIRL…LIVE."
Everyone froze for half a second.
Chen Gu spat out the words:
"Return her ALIVE? They changed her classification?!"
Kai's face tightened.
"…that means the Director wants her."
Yin Lie's anger sharpened like a blade.
"They don't get her."
The drone lunged again.
This time it wasn't aiming for Yin Lie.
It shot past him—
Going straight toward Qin Mian.
Her eyes widened in terror.
"Lie—!!"
Yin Lie spun, reaching her—
But the drone reached faster.
Its claw swung—
Qin Mian threw her hands up instinctively.
A tiny spark of blue light appeared between her fingertips—
But it fizzled.
A weak pulse.
Not enough.
She was drained.
Too tired.
Too scared.
Her shield didn't form.
The claw came down—
"NO!" Yin Lie roared.
Ice exploded from the ground—
A perfect jagged barrier rising between Qin Mian and the drone—
CRASH!!!
Metal slammed into ice.
The barrier cracked but held.
Barely.
Qin Mian fell backward, breath shaking.
"I-I can't… my power…"
"It's okay," Yin Lie said, voice trembling.
"I'm here."
The drone screeched in frustration.
Then its eye locked onto Yin Lie.
"ELIMINATE THE VARIABLE."
Kai's eyes widened.
"Oh no—"
But it was already moving.
The drone's chest panel opened.
Inside was a flickering core—
A miniature plasma battery.
Chen Gu screamed:
"IT'S GOING TO DETONATE—!!!"
Thorne fainted immediately.
Kai dove behind a pillar.
Yin Lie didn't move.
He stepped in front of Qin Mian, arms wide.
He whispered:
"I won't let them touch you."
Qin Mian's eyes filled with tears.
"Lie—don't—!"
But the drone fired.
A concentrated beam of white-hot plasma exploded outward—
A blast strong enough to melt steel—
Roaring across the hall like a storm.
Yin Lie slammed his hand into the floor.
"I said—"
The ice roared upward—
"NO."
A wall of pure frost surged from the ground—
Thicker.
Harder.
Sharper.
WHOOM—!!!
The plasma blast hit the ice wall—
And the world became light.
Fire and frost collided.
Steam exploded outward.
Tiles shattered.
Benches flew.
Glass rained down.
The entire hall shook as if struck by an earthquake.
Qin Mian screamed his name—
"LIE—!!"
But Yin Lie didn't fall.
He pushed harder—
Frost spreading from the wall, crawling across the station floor like an invading tide.
The plasma finally died.
Steam hissed across the ruins.
And when the smoke cleared…
The drone was frozen solid.
Encased in a perfect block of ice.
Cracked.
Motionless.
Dead.
Yin Lie was panting hard, sweat dripping down his neck.
Kai stepped out from behind the pillar.
"That was reckless," she said.
Yin Lie wiped his mouth.
"Worked."
Chen Gu raised his hands in triumph.
"YES! WE DID NOT DIE! AGAIN!"
Thorne woke up screaming from the floor.
"ARE WE DEAD?! DID WE DIE?!"
"No," Kai muttered.
"Unfortunately," Chen Gu added.
Yin Lie turned to Qin Mian.
She was curled against the wall, shaking violently.
Not from cold.
From fear.
Her voice trembled as she spoke:
"…Lie… y-you got hurt… again… b-because of me…"
Yin Lie sat down next to her slowly.
"I told you," he said gently.
"I choose this."
She shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
"I didn't want you to get hurt… I didn't want any of this…"
He pulled her close.
Her forehead pressed into his chest as she cried softly — silent, terrified, trying to hide her face.
Kai looked away.
Her expression unreadable.
Chen Gu's shoulders sagged.
"…poor kid…"
Yin Lie stroked Qin Mian's hair.
"You're safe," he whispered.
"I'll keep you safe."
Her trembling slowly quieted.
She whispered:
"…Lie… don't leave me…"
"I won't."
But as the group caught their breath—
Chen Gu's scanner began to beep.
Loud.
Fast.
Kai turned sharply.
"What now?"
Chen Gu's face went pale.
"Oh no, no, no—
This signature—
This is bad—"
Thorne groaned.
"Worse than death drones?!"
Chen Gu gulped.
"Worse.
MUCH worse."
Kai's hand tightened on her weapon.
"…Hunters."
Yin Lie froze.
Qin Mian's eyes widened in fear.
Because the scanner wasn't detecting drones.
It was detecting Psi-Containment Units.
Directorate soldiers.
The elite.
The ones who hunted people like her.
Kai whispered:
"They found us."
And outside the broken station—
Footsteps echoed in the night.
Dozens.
Marching.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
The drone attack was only the beginning.
Chapter 75 — Completed