The red light outside the shed flashed brighter—
like a burning sunrise made of death.
Twenty Type-B Hunters stood in formation, palms glowing with charged plasma.
Chen Gu whispered in horror:
"They're going to fire…
We're going to be burned alive…"
Kai didn't blink.
She kept her gun raised, even though she knew it was useless.
Qin Mian held Yin Lie close, her voice cracking as she whispered:
"Lie… don't leave me… please wake up…"
Yin Lie trembled, his breathing unstable.
He whispered:
"…Mian… run…"
"I won't," she said.
"I won't run without you."
The red glow built—
Hiiiiiiiiii—
A piercing sound filled the air.
The Type-B Hunters aimed at the shed.
Sniper closed one eye, raised her rifle, and whispered:
"Alright…
If no one else can save them…
I'll do it."
Kai's eyes widened.
"What are you planning—?!"
Sniper didn't answer.
She jumped toward the shed entrance.
Her boots hit the broken doorway with a metallic clang.
The Hunters fired.
Twenty beams of plasma shot forward—
a wall of burning red light—
a storm of death—
straight at them.
Time felt slower.
Qin Mian screamed:
"KAI—!! SNIPER—!!"
Kai grabbed Sniper's arm—
But Sniper pulled away.
"Let go."
"You'll die!"
Sniper smiled the saddest smile Kai had ever seen.
"I know."
Then—
she ran out.
Straight into the open.
Straight into the line of fire.
The Shot That Changed Everything
The world exploded in red light.
Sand turned to steam.
Metal melted.
Air vibrated like it was screaming.
But amid the burning light—
Sniper raised her rifle.
Her hands didn't shake.
Her aim didn't waver.
She looked at the sky for a single second and whispered:
"…Yin Lie… don't die before I finish this…"
Then she fired.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!!!!!!
The shot wasn't like her other shots.
It was stronger.
Heavier.
Something she had saved for the last possible moment.
A high-density round.
A forbidden bullet.
One designed to break through armored satellites.
The bullet soared upward—
pierced through a dune—
and hit something invisible in the darkness.
A floating metal tower suddenly flickered into view—
a hovering node above the Hunters' formation.
Sniper smirked.
"Found you."
The plasma beams were coming straight toward her—
but she pulled the trigger one more time.
BA-BOOOM—!!!
A second forbidden shot hit the node directly.
And the entire sky blinked.
The hovering node exploded.
The red light from the Hunters flickered wildly—
and half the beams vanished instantly.
Kai gasped.
"She hit their command node—
their whole formation is collapsing!"
Chen Gu yelled, voice breaking:
"She saved us! She actually saved us—!"
But QIn Mian…
she looked at the woman in the doorway—
and her heart fell.
Because Sniper was still standing in the open.
The other half of the plasma beams—
were still coming straight for her.
Qin Mian screamed:
"MOVE! GET BACK INSIDE—!!"
Sniper looked back over her shoulder.
Her smile was small, soft, almost warm.
"Take care of him.
He saved my life once… twice… maybe more."
Then her smile faded.
"Now I'm giving it back."
And the red light swallowed her whole.
Kai's Breakdown
"NOOO!!"
Kai ran toward the doorway—
but Chen Gu tackled her down.
"KAI STOP—YOU'LL DIE—!!"
"LET ME GO—!!!"
Kai screamed and kicked and clawed at the floor like a trapped animal.
Her eyes burned.
Her voice cracked.
"She—she was supposed to leave alive! She PROMISED—!!"
Chen Gu held her with shaking arms.
"Kai… Kai, stop… please…stop…"
But Kai couldn't stop.
She slammed her fists into the sand, tears falling like rain.
"That idiot…
That stupid, stupid idiot…"
Her voice broke completely.
"She didn't have to save us…
She didn't have to do that…"
Qin Mian hugged Yin Lie tighter, watching the fire outside with horror.
Her voice shook:
"She… sacrificed herself?"
Kai covered her face with both hands, shoulders shaking violently.
"She jumped in front of twenty plasma beams, Mian…
She had no shield…
No power…
Just a rifle…"
Her voice cracked.
"And she still went."
A long silence followed.
Heavy.
Painful.
Cold.
Outside the shed, the air glowed red from the blast.
Sniper was gone.
Only drifting sparks remained.
Yin Lie Reacts
Qin Mian felt something.
A tremble.
A vibration.
A pulse of cold air.
She looked down.
Yin Lie's eyes opened slightly.
Barely.
But enough.
He whispered:
"…someone… died…"
Qin Mian's heart clenched.
He felt it.
He felt Sniper's death.
"…someone… protecting us…"
His fingers tightened weakly around Qin Mian's sleeve.
"…who…?"
Qin Mian's voice trembled:
"She saved us… she saved you…"
Yin Lie's eyes flickered—
blue light rising like a storm under his skin.
His voice was cold.
Broken.
"…why…?"
Qin Mian whispered:
"Because she cared."
Something inside Yin Lie cracked.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
A quiet, deep, terrifying sound.
He whispered:
"…I couldn't protect her…"
And the glow in his veins grew brighter.
Dangerously bright.
Kai wiped her eyes and stared.
"No… he's reacting…
He's going into overload—!!"
Chen Gu's face turned pale.
"If his power breaks loose right now—
we all die!"
Qin Mian grabbed Yin Lie's face with both hands.
"Lie! Listen to me—!!"
His eyes were dim but burning, like a storm trapped under ice.
"…I… couldn't save her…"
"Mian—help him!" Kai shouted.
Qin Mian pressed her forehead to his.
Her voice shook.
"You can't save everyone…
But you're still here…
With me…
With us…"
Yin Lie breathed in sharply.
Something inside him trembled.
Cracked again.
Then—
quiet.
Too quiet.
The air around him dropped in temperature.
The ground under him frosted.
Chen Gu whispered:
"…No…
He's awakening again…"
Kai raised her gun instinctively.
"QIN MIAN—GET AWAY—!!"
Qin Mian hugged him tighter.
"NO!
He needs me—
I'm not leaving him—!!"
And then—
Yin Lie's eyes opened.
Fully.
Both glowing like torn-open stars.
And he whispered one last word before the world shattered:
"…Sniper…"
The temperature collapsed.
The air bent.
Reality cracked—
And Yin Lie's power finally broke loose.
—Chapter 91 End—