Qin Mian stayed where she was after the woman stopped speaking.
The corridor felt wider than before.
Too quiet.
Like a room that had already decided to listen.
Her body still hurt. That hadn't changed. The strain she had pulled onto herself sat deep in her chest, grinding slowly, relentlessly. Every breath reminded her that she was borrowing time she didn't really have.
But the question in front of her hurt more.
When Choice Has No Good Shape
"If I walk away," Qin Mian said slowly,
"you'll call it mercy."
The woman didn't interrupt.
"And if I stay," Qin Mian continued,
"you'll call it cooperation."
She lifted her head.
"Either way, you get to write the report."
The woman met her gaze. "That's how systems work."
Qin Mian smiled faintly.
"Then this isn't a system problem," she said.
"It's a human one."
Across the City, He Feels the Delay
Yin Lie's breathing grew uneven.
The resonance hadn't broken.
Hadn't spiked.
It was… stalled.
Like a blade paused mid-fall.
His chest tightened sharply, pain flaring and then dulling again, as if his body couldn't decide whether to punish him or warn him.
Kai watched him carefully.
"She hasn't answered," she said.
Yin Lie swallowed. "I know."
"How?"
He pressed his palm against the wall, steadying himself.
"Because if she had," he said quietly,
"something would have ended already."
Qin Mian Names the Trap
"You want me to decide who gets damaged," Qin Mian said to the woman.
"And you want me to believe it's my responsibility."
The woman didn't deny it.
"That's how accountability works," she replied.
Qin Mian shook her head.
"No," she said.
"That's how you avoid responsibility."
The words surprised even herself.
They landed heavily in the air between them.
What She Refuses to Give
"I won't choose between his future and my life," Qin Mian said.
The woman's expression tightened slightly.
"That means you're refusing to answer."
"Yes," Qin Mian replied.
"And that's my answer."
Silence followed.
Not tension.
Evaluation.
The City Can't Log This
Above them, systems flagged an anomaly that didn't fit any category.
DECISION STATE: UNRESOLVED
SUBJECT RESPONSE: NON-COMPLIANT / NON-ACTIVE
ERROR: OUTCOME CANNOT BE DETERMINED
The Director leaned forward slightly.
"…She's stalling," someone said.
"No," the Director replied.
"She's rejecting the framing."
That was worse.
The Cost of Not Choosing
Qin Mian's knees weakened suddenly.
She caught herself against the wall, breath hitching as pain surged through her spine and bloomed behind her eyes.
The Anchor stirred violently.
Warning.
Limit.
She forced it down, teeth clenched.
Her body was reaching its edge.
The woman saw it.
"You don't have much time," she said softly.
"I know," Qin Mian replied.
"But I still won't give you what you want."
Across the Distance, He Decides Something Too
Yin Lie staggered as another wave of internal compression hit him—harder this time, sharper, less forgiving.
He gritted his teeth, breath shaking.
Kai swore and grabbed his arm. "Lie. This is accelerating."
He nodded once.
"She's refusing them," he said.
Kai stared at him. "How can you be sure?"
"Because it hurts," Yin Lie replied.
"And she only does that when she's protecting someone."
The Woman Steps Back
The woman in the corridor took one step backward.
Not retreat.
Acknowledgment.
"You understand the consequences," she said.
"Yes," Qin Mian replied.
"And you still won't answer?"
Qin Mian lifted her head, eyes steady despite the pain.
"No," she said quietly.
"But I'm not done yet."
The City Holds, Uneasy
No escalation followed.
No extraction.
No intervention.
The Director watched the feed remain unresolved, the variables refusing to collapse into a usable outcome.
"…Interesting," she murmured again.
This wasn't resistance.
This was refusal to participate.
Where the Chapter Ends
Qin Mian slid down to sit against the wall, breathing shallow, vision dimming at the edges.
She was running out of time.
She knew that.
But somewhere else, Yin Lie was still standing—barely—because she hadn't given them the answer that would end him.
And that meant one thing was now unavoidable:
If the city wanted resolution,
it would have to force it.
And if it did—
both of them would stop waiting.