Yin Lie knew exactly when he crossed the line.
He crossed it calmly.
1. He Stops Asking Her
Qin Mian sat quietly beside him, knees drawn close, posture perfect.
She watched the fractured sky with steady attention, eyes following patterns Yin Lie could barely see anymore.
"You are thinking about something dangerous," she said.
He didn't answer.
That was the first change.
Normally, he would reassure her.
Explain.
Deflect.
This time, he simply stood up.
Slowly.
Carefully.
His body screamed in protest, pain tearing through muscle and bone, ice barely holding shattered structure together.
"Lie?" she asked.
He still didn't answer.
2. The Decision Is Already Made
Yin Lie walked a few steps away.
Not far.
Just enough.
The space reacted immediately, pressure shifting slightly toward him instead of her.
Qin Mian noticed.
"You are repositioning risk," she said calmly.
"That is inefficient."
He turned to face her.
"I know."
She frowned slightly.
That expression was not practiced.
It flickered—uncertain.
"…Then why?"
Because I can't watch you disappear.
But he didn't say that.
Instead, he said the truth she wouldn't understand yet.
"Because I refuse to let you become acceptable."
3. He Reaches for Something Forbidden
Yin Lie closed his eyes.
He did not reach outward.
He reached inward.
Past the ice.
Past the instinct.
Past the safeguards he had built to survive.
He reached for the place where he had locked away the most dangerous thing he had ever learned:
How to touch the Anchor directly.
Not command it.
Not resist it.
Interfere.
4. Qin Mian Feels It Before It Happens
Her body tensed sharply.
That was new.
She gasped, fingers digging into the stone beneath her.
"…Lie," she said, voice suddenly strained.
"Something is wrong."
He opened his eyes.
Ice burned through his veins, no longer cold but corrosive.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
And then he pulled.
5. The Anchor Screams — For the First Time Since Silence
Not loudly.
Not violently.
But clearly.
A sharp, piercing feedback tore through Qin Mian's chest.
She screamed and collapsed forward, clutching her heart.
"Stop—!" she cried.
"It hurts!"
Yin Lie staggered but did not release.
"I know," he said hoarsely.
"That means it's still there."
6. He Forces Resonance
The Anchor resisted immediately.
Not with force—
with logic.
It rerouted.
Dampened.
Tried to minimize emotional amplitude.
Yin Lie countered with something raw.
Memory.
He slammed his own emotions into the feedback loop.
Fear.
Guilt.
Rage.
Love he had never named.
The system convulsed.
Qin Mian screamed again.
Not delayed.
Immediate.
Real.
7. Qin Mian Feels Fear Again
Her breath came in panicked gasps.
Her eyes were wide now.
Wet.
Uncontrolled.
"Lie—!" she sobbed.
"Why does it feel like this?!"
Yin Lie's vision blurred with tears.
"Because you're feeling," he said, voice breaking.
"And it's not safe."
The Anchor shrieked.
Feedback spiked violently.
8. The World Reacts Instantly
The fractured space around them exploded into motion.
Pressure slammed inward.
Stability failed.
The world rejected the sudden surge of uncontrolled emotion violently.
Fractures widened.
The sky cracked deeper.
Qin Mian screamed as pain tore through her spine, emotion flooding back without filters.
"I'm scared!" she cried.
"I don't want this—!"
Yin Lie roared in agony as backlash ripped through his body.
Ice shattered completely.
Blood poured freely.
But he did not let go.
9. The Anchor Tries to Kill the Connection
The system made a decision.
Sever.
Feedback intensified to catastrophic levels, threatening neural collapse.
Qin Mian convulsed violently.
Her scream cut off mid-breath.
"Qin Mian!" Yin Lie screamed.
He pushed harder.
Harder than he ever should have.
"If you take her," he snarled,
"you take me with her!"
10. The First Real Emotion Breaks Through
Qin Mian sobbed.
Not quietly.
Not neatly.
She sobbed like someone drowning.
"I don't want to disappear!" she cried.
"I don't want to be quiet!"
Her hands clawed at the ground.
At him.
At anything.
Yin Lie collapsed to his knees beside her, holding her desperately.
"That's it," he whispered.
"That's you."
11. The Cost Hits Immediately
The Anchor recoiled violently.
Not retreating.
Rebounding.
Pain detonated through Yin Lie's nervous system.
He screamed as something inside him tore permanently.
Ice burned black.
His vision went white.
He tasted blood and metal and something wrong.
"…Lie—!" Qin Mian screamed, terror sharp and real.
He smiled faintly through the agony.
"…Worth it," he whispered.
12. Qin Mian Chooses Him — Actively
She grabbed him, pressing her forehead to his.
"No!" she cried.
"You don't get to decide alone!"
Emotion surged chaotically.
Fear tangled with anger.
With attachment.
The Anchor screamed, destabilized but alive.
The world shook violently.
13. The World Intervenes Too Late
Containment pressure slammed down.
Too slow.
The damage was done.
The feedback loop had reconnected.
Messy.
Unstable.
Human.
The system recoiled, unable to cleanly sever without catastrophic collapse.
The fractured sky roared.
Something vast noticed.
14. Aftermath
They collapsed together.
Shaking.
Bleeding.
Alive.
Qin Mian clung to him, sobbing openly.
"I hate you," she cried.
"I was quiet and safe!"
Yin Lie coughed blood and laughed weakly.
"I know," he whispered.
"I ruined that."
She punched his chest weakly.
Then held him tighter.
"…Don't do that again," she begged.
He closed his eyes.
"I can't promise."
15. End of the Chapter
The world trembled around them, unstable in ways it had not anticipated.
Qin Mian's Anchor was active again—
screaming, reactive, dangerous.
Yin Lie's body was permanently damaged, systems burned beyond repair.
The line had been crossed.
Not because he wanted power.
Not because he wanted to win.
But because he refused to let the world replace her with something quieter.
And somewhere far beyond the broken sky, a world-level authority recorded the event and updated its assessment:
Subject Qin Mian: Reclassified.
Emotional suppression no longer viable.
Countermeasure escalation required.
The hunt would return.
But it would return to a world
that no longer behaved
the way it was supposed to.