The world did not hesitate.
It never did.
1. After the Crime
The moment Qin Mian's interference stabilized—barely—the environment around them changed.
Not violently.
Not dramatically.
It became precise.
The fractured space stopped flexing. The sky flattened into a uniform gradient. Noise vanished. Even the distant tremors of misaligned timelines fell silent.
Yin Lie felt it first.
"…This is different," he rasped.
Qin Mian could barely breathe. The pain in her chest had settled into something permanent, heavy and dull, like a weight she would carry forever.
She knew this feeling.
This was not pursuit.
This was procedure.
2. The World Stops Watching — and Starts Acting
There was no presence this time.
No evaluation.
No attention pressing down.
The system did not look at them.
It executed.
Invisible layers of reality locked into place, cutting off possibilities one by one.
Escape routes collapsed without noise. Fractures sealed. Unstable paths smoothed into dead ends.
Qin Mian swallowed hard.
"…It's closing the map," she whispered.
3. Yin Lie Tries to Move — and Fails
Yin Lie pushed himself upright, teeth clenched.
His body responded—then stopped.
Time resisted him for the first time since his destabilization.
Not slipping.
Refusing.
He snarled and forced another step.
Pain exploded through his spine as if the world itself were pressing him back into place.
"…They're pinning me," he growled.
Qin Mian grabbed his arm.
"Don't fight it head-on," she said hoarsely.
"They're not targeting you yet."
He laughed bitterly.
"That's worse."
4. Final Protocol Engages
Meaning arrived—not inside her head, not as language, but as absolute structure.
Qin Mian felt it ripple through the Anchor like a verdict carved into physics.
Final Termination Protocol engaged.
Objective: Neutralize temporal cascade.
Method: Remove initiating variables.
She trembled.
"…Variables," she whispered.
Not names.
Not people.
Variables.
5. The Order of Elimination
The system prioritized silently.
Not Yin Lie first.
Her.
Qin Mian felt it immediately.
Pressure aligned around her position—not to restrain, but to define.
Her Anchor flared weakly, screaming warning.
"…It's me," she said.
Yin Lie turned sharply toward her.
"What?"
She met his eyes, voice steady despite the pain tearing through her.
"I crossed the line. I'm the source now."
6. Yin Lie Understands the Trap
His expression twisted in fury and horror.
"No," he snapped.
"They're lying. This started with me."
She shook her head.
"It changed when I interfered."
She forced a shaky breath.
"They can't cleanly erase you while I'm anchoring you."
His eyes widened.
"…So they'll remove you instead."
She nodded.
The truth settled heavily between them.
7. The First Layer Activates
The ground beneath Qin Mian's feet hardened unnaturally.
Not solid.
Absolute.
Movement became expensive.
Every shift of weight cost her strength.
The Anchor screamed as its stabilization capacity was forcibly overridden.
She cried out and nearly collapsed.
Yin Lie grabbed her, pulling her close.
"Don't let go," she whispered urgently.
"If they separate us now—"
"I won't," he said fiercely.
8. The World Applies Pressure Without Force
Containment did not slam down.
It reduced options.
Space around Qin Mian grew narrow, clean, efficient.
Every action she could take was pre-evaluated—and rejected.
Her Anchor surged uselessly against invisible constraints.
"…This is worse than a cage," she gasped.
"They're rewriting the conditions of movement."
9. Yin Lie Makes Himself a Problem Again
He snarled and forced his instability outward.
Ice erupted violently, cracking the absolute ground, ripping open fractures that should not have been possible.
Time screamed in protest.
The world reacted instantly.
Pressure surged toward him this time.
Containment vectors recalibrated.
Yin Lie staggered, coughing blood.
"…Good," he spat.
"Pay attention to me."
10. The World Responds Coldly
The system adjusted without emotion.
New parameters.
Anomaly interference detected.
Escalation authorized.
The space around Yin Lie thinned dangerously.
His outline flickered again.
Partial removal resumed.
Qin Mian screamed.
"No!"
She forced the Anchor to surge—pain tearing through her chest as the burned configuration resisted.
She collapsed to her knees.
"…Stop!" she cried to the world.
11. The Cruel Efficiency of Termination
The world did not stop.
It did not slow.
It did not threaten.
It simply proceeded.
Layers of time around Yin Lie began peeling away—not ripping, not tearing—unspooling.
He groaned as sensation faded unevenly.
"…I'm losing my hands," he whispered.
Qin Mian sobbed, clutching him desperately.
"I won't let you disappear!"
12. The Anchor Is Suppressed
A precise counterforce struck the Anchor.
Not brute force.
A null directive.
Qin Mian screamed as the Anchor was partially silenced.
Her connection to Yin Lie weakened sharply.
The outline of his existence began to blur again.
"No—no—!" she cried.
13. Yin Lie Sees the End Clearly
For the first time, Yin Lie felt something like peace.
Not relief.
Clarity.
"…This is it," he murmured.
He looked at Qin Mian gently, eyes steady despite the distortion tearing him apart.
"They won't stop."
She shook her head violently.
"I don't care!"
He smiled faintly.
"You should."
14. His Request
He cupped her face—his hand solid for just a moment.
"Listen to me," he said urgently.
"If they take you—if they lock you down—everything I did means nothing."
Tears streamed down her face.
"I won't let them!"
"You might not have a choice," he said softly.
"Promise me something."
She sobbed.
"…What?"
"If it comes down to it," he said,
"don't anchor me."
Her breath hitched painfully.
"That will kill you."
He nodded.
"But it will let you live."
15. The World Tightens Further
The system escalated again.
Space compressed violently.
Time slowed to a crawl around Qin Mian.
Her movements lagged.
Her breathing became shallow.
This was the final stage before full neutralization.
She felt it.
"…They're finishing it," she whispered.
16. Qin Mian Refuses — Again
Blood ran freely from her nose and mouth as she forced the Anchor to respond.
Not fully.
Not cleanly.
But enough.
She screamed as she pushed against the suppression.
"I WON'T LET YOU DECIDE!"
The world convulsed violently.
For a heartbeat—
everything stalled.
17. The System Registers Resistance
Meaning returned, colder than before.
Hostile deviation confirmed.
Termination scope expanding.
Qin Mian froze.
"…Expanding?" she whispered.
Yin Lie's eyes widened.
"They're going to take everything around us."
18. End of the Chapter
The sky darkened unnaturally as termination parameters widened beyond their bodies.
Reality itself began preparing to sacrifice an entire zone to eliminate the cascade.
Qin Mian knelt shaking, Anchor screaming under suppression.
Yin Lie held onto her as time peeled away from him layer by layer.
The world had chosen efficiency over mercy.
And unless something interrupted the process—
not argued with it,
not resisted it,
but broke it—
this would be the moment
where the timeline decided
that saving itself
was worth erasing them both.