The station was a battlefield made of broken echoes.
Dust hung in the air.
Shattered tiles glowed with scattered blue light from Qin Mian's trembling power.
The squad of armored soldiers tightened their formation, slowly closing in.
The captain raised his electro-blade.
"This ends now.
All targets—
SECURE."
Qin Mian clung to Yin Lie, glowing faintly, her breath shaking.
She kept whispering his name like a prayer she couldn't stop repeating.
"Lie… Lie… Lie…"
Her fingers pressed tightly into his sleeve as if she feared losing him the moment she let go.
Kai stepped beside them, wiping blood from her lips.
"Lie, you've got maybe thirty seconds of fight left."
He didn't argue.
He didn't deny it.
His whole body screamed in pain.
The tranquilizer pulsed through his veins like warm poison.
His lungs burned.
His legs trembled.
Every heartbeat was a hammer against his ribs.
But he still stepped forward.
Because Qin Mian was behind him.
Because she was afraid.
Because she was his responsibility now.
He planted his feet firmly.
"Chen Gu," he said without looking back, "take Qian Mian and find an exit."
Chen Gu's eyes widened.
"Are you insane? There is NO exit—"
Kai cut him off.
"There's a collapsed side tunnel behind platform 3. It's unstable, but not blocked."
Thorne sobbed loudly.
"'Unstable' is literally the worst word I know—"
"Shut it," Kai snapped.
Chen Gu looked at Yin Lie again.
"…and you?"
Yin Lie didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Chen Gu swallowed hard.
"…you're going to hold them off."
Yin Lie nodded once.
Qin Mian shook her head violently.
"No… no—don't leave me, please don't leave me—"
He turned toward her, cupping her face gently.
Her tears fell against his fingers.
"Qin Mian," he whispered, "look at me."
She forced her eyes open through shaking fear.
Yin Lie touched his forehead to hers.
"I'm not leaving," he said.
"But I have to stand between you and them."
Her breath caught.
"…Lie… I don't want to be alone again…"
"You won't be," he whispered.
"You'll be with Chen Gu. And Kai. And Thorne."
She grabbed his coat desperately.
"No—no—no—Lie, if you get hurt again, I feel it. I feel it in my chest. Please—don't go—"
He pressed her hand to his heart.
"Then stay alive for me."
She froze.
Her lips trembled.
Chen Gu gently pried her away, helping her up.
"Come on… it'll be okay… we move fast, alright?"
Qin Mian didn't take her eyes off Yin Lie.
Not for a moment.
The soldiers tightened their circle.
The captain barked:
"ENGAGE IN TEN.
NINE.
EIGHT—"
Kai stepped beside Yin Lie.
"This is stupid," she muttered.
"Probably," he said.
She cracked her knuckles.
"Good. Stupid keeps us alive."
The squad charged.
The first soldier jumped, swinging a shock-baton toward Yin Lie's head.
Yin Lie parried with a frozen blade—
CLANG—!!
Sparks and icy shards flew.
Kai slid between him and another soldier, delivering a spinning kick—
CRACK—!!
Two helmets hit the ground.
A third soldier came from behind—
Yin Lie slammed his shoulder backward, freezing the armor—
WHUD—!!
The soldier toppled.
But the captain was already on them.
He swung downward—
Kai blocked—
The shock rattled her arms—but she held on.
Yin Lie leapt forward—
The captain kicked him in the ribs mid-air—
Yin Lie crashed into a broken bench.
Qin Mian cried out:
"LIE—!!"
Her power flared blue—
The ground shook—
The soldiers stumbled—
Kai shouted:
"QIN MIAN—STOP, YOU'LL BREAK THE STRUCTURE!"
Chen Gu pulled her back urgently.
"Keep going, girl—breathe—just breathe—"
But she kept reaching toward Yin Lie with desperate shaking hands.
"Lie… get up… you have to get up—"
Yin Lie rose slowly, coughing blood.
The tranquilizer was making his limbs feel like stone.
The null field effects still clung to his body like a lingering shadow.
His vision doubled.
The wolf growled inside him—
GET UP.
The ice whispered—
STAND.
The Keystone hummed faintly—
MOVE.
He forced himself upright.
The captain charged.
Yin Lie met him.
Their blades collided—
BOOOOM—!!
The floor shattered beneath them.
The captain's strength increased as his armor hissed, pumping stimulants through his body.
He kicked Yin Lie again—
Yin Lie hit a wall.
Qin Mian screamed his name again, voice breaking:
"LIE—PLEASE—!"
Yin Lie spat blood and wiped his mouth.
Then he laughed.
Kai blinked.
"…you're laughing now?!"
Yin Lie rolled his shoulders.
"I'm just…
tired of being hunted."
He looked at the squad.
At the captain.
At the fear in Qin Mian's eyes.
And something inside him clicked.
A final piece.
A final decision.
He didn't need to win.
He only needed to break their formation long enough for Qin Mian to escape.
He whispered:
"…I can do that."
Yin Lie stepped forward.
The captain raised his blade.
Kai shouted:
"Lie—WAIT—!!"
But he didn't wait.
He didn't hesitate.
The wolf burst outward inside him—
granting explosive speed—
his muscles burning with violent energy.
Ice erupted along his arms—
forming jagged armor—
power drawn from the last of his strength.
The Keystone pulsed—
not as pure power—
but as precision—
calm—
clarity.
All three parts of him moved as one.
Yin Lie sprinted—
Faster than the squad expected—
faster than the captain could counter—
He punched the first soldier—
CRACK—!!
Armor dented.
He kneed the second soldier—
BOOM—!!
Helmet shattered.
He slid under a lance, freezing the soldier's legs—
SHHH—CRACK!!
The soldier toppled.
Three more jumped him—
He spun, ice exploding outward, throwing them back—
KABOOM—!!
Kai leapt over Yin Lie, kicking one soldier in mid-air.
Yin Lie grabbed another by the chestplate—
And slammed him into the captain.
Both went crashing into a pillar.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Yin Lie staggered, gasping.
He could feel his strength fading.
He had maybe…
one more move left.
The captain rose slowly, armor cracked.
"You… monster…"
Yin Lie smiled through blood.
"No.
Just stubborn."
The captain raised his blade.
"Die."
He charged.
Yin Lie exhaled, gathering everything left inside him—
wolf speed—
ice force—
Keystone clarity—
And performed one final strike.
Their weapons met—
BOOOOOOM—!!!
A shockwave exploded across the station.
The captain flew backward—
slamming into a concrete pillar—
and did not get up again.
The squad froze in shock.
Yin Lie fell to one knee.
Breathing hard.
Barely conscious.
But smiling faintly.
"It's done," he whispered.
He turned his head toward Qin Mian—
And collapsed completely.
The Escape
Kai sprinted to him.
"LIE—!! HE'S DOWN—!!"
Qin Mian broke free from Chen Gu and ran.
She slid on her knees beside Yin Lie, grabbing his face with trembling hands.
"Lie… Lie… please… wake up—"
His eyes fluttered.
Barely.
He whispered:
"Go."
"No!"
"Go," he repeated, weaker.
"You're almost… safe…"
His eyes closed.
Qin Mian shook him desperately.
"NO! LIE! DON'T SLEEP—DON'T—PLEASE—"
Kai grabbed her arm.
"Qin Mian—MOVE!"
Soldiers regrouped.
The sound of reinforcements echoed from the tunnel.
Chen Gu shouted:
"KAI, THE TUNNEL—NOW!"
Thorne was already halfway down the path screaming:
"EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO LIVE—RUN!!!"
Qin Mian clung to Yin Lie.
But Kai pulled her away.
"We'll carry him. RUN!"
Kai lifted Yin Lie onto her back.
Qin Mian, sobbing, grabbed his hand.
"I'm here, Lie…
I'm here…"
And the group ran—
into the collapsing tunnel—
leaving behind the ruined station filled with smoke, broken soldiers, and a captain lying unconscious.
The Directorate's hunt had failed.
But their fury had only begun.
Chapter 79 Completed