They did not move immediately after the scavengers pulled back.
That pause was deliberate.
1. Stillness as Bait
Qin Mian kept her arms around Yin Lie, even after his breathing steadied enough that she knew he wouldn't pass out again.
The instinct to run screamed inside her.
The Anchor pulsed erratically, urging movement, urging distance, urging escape.
She ignored all of it.
Yin Lie's voice was rough when he spoke.
"Don't move yet."
Her heart raced.
"They might come back."
"They will," he replied.
"But not like before."
2. Understanding the Enemy
The fractured sky above them remained restless.
Shapes drifted at the edges of visibility, not advancing, not retreating.
Watching.
Waiting.
"They're cautious now," Qin Mian whispered.
"Yes," Yin Lie said.
"And that's the opening."
He shifted slightly, pain flashing across his face. Ice cracked quietly along his ribs, reforming just enough to keep him upright.
"They learned we can hurt them," he continued.
"But they haven't learned how."
3. The Second Trap Is About Behavior
Qin Mian frowned.
"You're saying we don't fight them directly."
"No," Yin Lie corrected.
"We make them choose wrong."
She stared at him.
"They're not human. They don't panic."
"They don't need to," he replied.
"They optimize."
That word landed heavy between them.
"And optimization," he added softly,
"always creates blind spots."
4. Choosing the Killing Ground
They moved slowly now, deliberately.
Not running.
Not hiding.
They walked toward a region of fractured terrain where space folded inward unevenly, creating overlapping layers of depth.
Qin Mian felt it immediately.
"This place feels unstable."
"Yes," Yin Lie said.
"But predictably so."
The ground dipped in repeating patterns. Pressure fluctuated in cycles instead of waves.
"It reacts the same way every time," he said.
"That makes it usable."
5. Qin Mian's Role Changes
Yin Lie stopped near the edge of a shallow fracture.
He looked at Qin Mian carefully.
"This time," he said,
"I need you quiet."
Her breath caught.
"…Quiet how?"
"Controlled," he replied.
"No screaming. No emotional spikes."
The Anchor trembled at the instruction.
"That's dangerous," she said.
"If I suppress too much—"
"I know," Yin Lie said immediately.
"That's why this is the second trap."
6. The First Layer: False Weakness
They did something that felt wrong.
They slowed.
Qin Mian allowed her breathing to steady. She forced the Anchor down, compressing its reactions, smoothing the sharp edges.
Pain dulled.
Fear softened.
To the outside—
they looked manageable.
Broken.
Recovering.
Yin Lie leaned heavily against a slab of fractured stone, letting blood drip openly instead of freezing it.
Visibility mattered.
"They need to think we're stabilizing," he murmured.
"And that's bad for them," Qin Mian finished.
"Yes."
7. The Scavengers Take the Bait
Movement rippled across the fractures.
One scavenger descended cautiously, hovering at a safe distance.
Then another.
They didn't rush.
They scanned.
Measured.
Qin Mian kept her head down, jaw clenched, forcing herself to stay calm.
Her hands shook.
Not from fear.
From restraint.
"They're probing," she whispered.
Yin Lie didn't look up.
"Let them."
8. The Second Layer: Asymmetry
The moment the third scavenger entered the fractured zone, Yin Lie shifted his weight.
Just slightly.
Ice spread under the surface—not outward, but inward, reinforcing some fractures while weakening others.
Invisible.
Subtle.
Qin Mian felt the Anchor twitch.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I changed the response curve," he said.
"Now the space reacts differently depending on where pressure comes from."
The scavengers didn't notice.
Yet.
9. The Mistake They Always Make
One scavenger moved closer.
It dipped into the weakened layer.
The ground didn't collapse.
It corrected—too late.
The scavenger's outline warped violently as space folded unevenly around it.
It shrieked, trying to pull back.
Too slow.
The fracture snapped shut, compressing its form brutally.
It didn't die.
It got stuck.
10. Qin Mian Stays Quiet
Every instinct screamed at Qin Mian to react.
To shout.
To surge.
She didn't.
She stayed still, breathing shallow, Anchor tightly bound.
The scavengers hesitated.
Confusion rippled through their formation.
"They don't understand this," Yin Lie whispered.
"They're waiting for instability."
11. The Third Layer: Delay
The trapped scavenger thrashed, destabilizing the local space.
Pressure waves rippled outward.
Instead of reacting immediately, Yin Lie waited.
Counted.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then—
he struck.
12. Killing Through Timing
Ice erupted upward from beneath the trapped scavenger.
Not violently.
Precisely.
The compressed space couldn't absorb the sudden definition shift.
The scavenger's form collapsed inward.
This time—
it didn't split.
It didn't escape.
It ceased.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Unnatural.
13. The Remaining Scavengers Panic — Quietly
The others pulled back at once.
Not screaming.
Not rushing.
But their movement lost coordination.
They spread unevenly, no longer maintaining optimal angles.
Qin Mian felt it.
"…They're scared."
"Yes," Yin Lie said.
"And that's expensive for them."
14. The Counter-Learning Begins
The fractured world vibrated.
Not from combat.
From recalculation.
The scavengers began adapting again—but slower this time.
More cautious.
They were no longer dealing with raw instability.
They were facing intentional manipulation.
15. The Cost to Yin Lie
Yin Lie swayed suddenly.
Qin Mian caught him just in time.
Blood poured freely now, soaking her sleeve.
"You pushed too far," she whispered.
He nodded faintly.
"I know."
Ice failed briefly along his chest.
Pain tore through him.
He bit back a scream.
"…Worth it," he said again.
16. What the Second Trap Achieved
They didn't wipe out the scavengers.
They didn't need to.
They proved something more dangerous:
These two could shape the hunt itself.
Qin Mian looked at the fractured sky, heart pounding.
"They won't rush us again."
"No," Yin Lie agreed.
"They'll plan."
She swallowed.
"So will we."
End of the Chapter
The second trap was not built to kill.
It was built to teach fear.
The scavengers retreated into the fractures, wounded not in body, but in confidence.
Yin Lie leaned heavily against Qin Mian, barely conscious now.
She held him upright, blood on her hands, eyes burning with focus.
"They'll come back," she said quietly.
Yin Lie managed a thin, grim smile.
"Yes," he replied.
"And next time…"
His voice faded, but the meaning didn't.
"…they won't underestimate the cost."
In a world ruled by efficiency,
they had done something irreversible:
They made survival
unprofitable.