Inside the prison block, Yin stood in front of the control panel outside his cell.
He took a deep breath and gripped the metal cover with both hands.
"...Come on."
He pulled.
The panel refused to move.
Yin frowned and tried again, putting more strength into it.
"Just a little more..."
"Why is this thing so tight?"
He gave one final pull.
Clank!
The metal cover suddenly came loose.
The force caused Yin to stumble backward.
"Whoa—"
He quickly regained his balance before the panel slipped from his hands.
"...That was close."
Without wasting another second, he hurried to the exposed control system.
Rows of colored wires and small circuits filled the inside of the panel.
Yin stared at them.
"...Crap."
He rubbed his forehead.
"I forgot which wires."
His eyes moved from one connection to another, trying to remember the layout.
Then his gaze stopped on the plug.
"...Right."
"Remove this first."
He reached inside and carefully pulled out the plug.
Click.
Nothing happened.
Yin let out a quiet breath before reaching for another wire.
"The green one..."
Snip.
He cut the green wire.
The control panel remained silent.
Then he reached for the next one.
"...And the red."
Snip.
For a brief moment...
Nothing happened.
Then—
Click.
The lock on his cell door disengaged.
The heavy metal door slowly slid open.
Yin couldn't help but smile.
"...Thank God."
He stepped out of the cell for the first time in a long while.
He looked around the empty prison corridor, taking a slow breath.
"I'm finally free..."
His expression quickly became serious again.
"...Hold on, Alya."
Without another moment to lose, Yin hurried out of the prison block.
Yin hurried down the corridor until he reached a room beside the prison block.
He looked around once before pushing the door open.
Click.
The room was quiet.
Metal lockers lined one side of the wall, untouched since the day he had been imprisoned.
Yin walked straight to one of them.
"...Please still be here."
He opened the locker.
Clack.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Good."
"Everything's still here."
Inside were several pieces of equipment neatly arranged.
His mechanical arm device.
A few small devices designed to fit onto the frame of his glasses.
Yin reached inside and picked up the mechanical arm.
"...Welcome back."
He carefully secured it onto his arm.
Click.
Whirr...
The device locked into place, and the mechanical parts came to life.
Yin flexed his fingers once before nodding with satisfaction.
"Still works."
Next, he picked up the small devices and attached them to the frame of his glasses one by one.
Click.
Click.
The lenses flickered briefly before returning to normal.
"...Perfect."
Just then—
The door behind him opened.
A scientist stepped into the room.
He froze the moment he saw Yin standing there.
"S-Sir Yin?"
"You escaped—"
Before he could finish his sentence—
Yin raised his mechanical arm.
A thin yellow laser instantly pointed at the scientist's forehead.
The scientist's face turned pale.
He froze in place before his legs gave out.
Thud.
He collapsed onto the floor.
Yin slowly lowered his arm and let out a quiet breath.
"...That was close."
"I almost got caught there."
Without another word, he turned back toward the door, ready to continue searching for Alya.
Rin hurried through another long corridor, looking from one hallway to the next.
He let out a frustrated sigh.
"...I've been walking for freaking hours."
He glanced around again.
"Where's this freaking prison?"
He turned another corner without slowing down.
Thud!
He suddenly bumped into someone.
Rin stumbled back and frowned.
"Hey!"
"Watch where you're going."
He looked up.
A scientist stood in front of him.
"...Oh."
"Another one."
Without hesitation, Rin pulled out his scythe.
Shing!
The scientist immediately raised both hands.
"Wait! Wait!"
Rin stopped but kept the blade pointed at him.
"...Okay."
The scientist took a cautious breath.
"I'm Yin."
Rin narrowed his eyes.
"And how do I know you're not lying?"
Yin shook his head.
"I don't know if I can prove anything."
He looked directly at Rin.
"But..."
"You're from the Blue Scarf crew, right?"
Rin gave a slow nod.
"...Yeah."
Yin immediately stepped closer.
"Then we don't have much time."
"We need to hurry."
Rin's expression became serious.
"What happened?"
"They're taking Alya."
Rin tightened his grip on the scythe.
"...Where?"
Yin looked down the hallway before answering.
"I don't know exactly."
"But she's somewhere on this floor."
Rin nodded once.
"Then let's find her."
Without another word, the two rushed deeper into the corridor, searching every room before it was too late.
On the other side of the base, Saito and Lily continued fighting their way through the corridors.
A scientist charged at Saito with a metal baton.
"There!"
Saito stepped forward and grabbed the scientist before driving him to the ground.
Thud!
The scientist groaned as the impact echoed through the hallway.
Saito quickly got back to his feet.
Another scientist rushed toward Lily.
Without saying a word, Lily spun and delivered a powerful kick.
Bang!
The scientist was sent flying out of the corridor.
A third scientist drew a blade and lunged at her.
Lily calmly drew her sword.
Shing!
One swift slash cut across the scientist's chest.
He froze for a second before collapsing onto the floor.
Saito looked around the empty hallway, breathing heavily.
"...We still can't find her."
Lily wiped the blood from her blade before sliding it back into its sheath.
"We're probably close."
She looked toward the corridor ahead.
"I can feel it."
Saito nodded.
"Then let's keep moving."
The two hurried deeper into the base, leaving the defeated scientists behind as they continued searching for Alya.
Inside one of the laboratories in Sector X Base, Alya struggled against the chains binding her wrists and ankles.
Clink.
Clink.
No matter how hard she pulled, the restraints refused to budge.
She let out a frustrated groan.
Maxwell stood nearby with his arms crossed, quietly watching her.
"It's no use, kid."
Alya stopped struggling and looked at him.
"...Then how about you free me?"
Maxwell gave a small shake of his head.
"Not a chance."
Alya puffed out her cheeks.
"Come on."
"I know you still have a heart."
Maxwell remained silent.
Alya continued,
"You have doubts about Noxus's experiments..."
"...don't you?"
The room became quiet.
Maxwell lowered his head.
For a few long seconds, he didn't say a word.
Then...
He walked over to the control panel.
Click.
He pulled the lever.
With a loud metallic sound—
Clank!
The chains restraining Alya unlocked and retracted into the bed.
Alya's eyes widened.
She quickly jumped off the bed and rubbed her wrists.
"You..."
"You're helping me?"
Maxwell sighed.
"Let's go."
"Before I regret this."
Alya smiled and nodded.
"Right!"
The two quietly slipped out of the laboratory and into the hallway.
As they hurried along the corridor, Alya suddenly stopped.
"My device."
"I need to find it."
Maxwell shook his head.
"It's already in Noxus's hands."
"You can't do anything about it now."
He looked at Alya seriously.
"You need to leave this base."
Alya clenched her fists.
"But she'll use it to hurt more people."
Maxwell looked ahead as they continued walking.
"Then let the Balance Table deal with her."
He stopped for a moment before speaking again.
"But if you're thinking about confronting Noxus yourself..."
He looked back at Alya.
"...both of us will turn to dust."
Alya fell silent.
For the first time since escaping, she realized just how dangerous Noxus truly was.