The tunnel shook as Yin Lie steadied himself against the wall.
Blood dripped from his jaw.
His shirt was half-torn.
His breath was a struggling rasp.
He should not be standing.
His body had no strength left.
The tranquilizer still numbed his limbs.
His ribs were cracked.
His vision blurred at the edges.
But Yin Lie stood anyway.
Because behind him—
Qin Mian clung to Chen Gu's arm, terrified.
Kai was on her knees, barely conscious.
Thorne was sobbing in the dark.
And the Psi-Containment squad was raising their guns.
The captain glared at him through his cracked visor.
"Impossible… You were sedated."
Yin Lie's lips twitched into a tired smile.
"Yeah.
I got sick of lying down."
The soldiers aimed.
Kai tried to stand, but her legs buckled.
"Lie—DON'T—"
Yin Lie didn't look at her.
He raised one hand.
Ice crawled up his arm.
Then he whispered:
"Come on…
Just once more…"
Inside Yin Lie, something snapped.
Like a locked door breaking open.
The tranquilizer slowed his body—
But not the wolf inside him.
The wolf surged first—
wild, furious, demanding movement
demanding violence
demanding survival.
The ice followed,
sharpening everything—
every sound,
every breath,
every heartbeat in the hallway.
Cold filled his veins.
Crystal frost spread across his skin, creating jagged armor of frozen light.
And then the Keystone pulsed.
Deep.
Alien.
Harmonic.
Its geometric patterns spun behind his eyes like a collapsing star.
Three forces—
Wolf
Ice
Keystone
—did not fight each other this time.
They aligned.
They fused.
They screamed through his body.
And Yin Lie changed.
His eyes glowed silver-blue.
A faint halo of geometric patterns flickered behind his head.
Frosty steam rose from his skin.
Thorne shrieked from behind a broken support beam:
"OH NO HE HAS ASCENDED—WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE—!!"
Chen Gu whispered:
"Not him.
Them.
They're the ones who should be terrified."
Kai's eyes widened in awe and fear.
"Lie… what the hell are you becoming…?"
He didn't answer.
He took one step forward—
And the ground CRACKED under his feet.
The first soldier rushed him with a shock-lance.
He never reached Yin Lie.
Yin Lie blurred—
vanishing from normal sight—
appearing behind the soldier—
WHAM—!!!
One punch.
The soldier flew twenty meters down the tunnel, hitting the wall so hard the metal bent inward.
The squad froze.
"What—!?
MOVE—!!"
Another soldier fired a stun cannon.
Yin Lie leaned aside—
The shot grazed him, but instead of stunning him—
the ice absorbed it—
and exploded outward.
SHHHHH—!!!
A ring of frozen air shot from Yin Lie's body, rippling down the tunnel.
Three soldiers were lifted off their feet—
slamming into each other—
falling like dominoes.
Kai stared in disbelief.
"That's… not ice.
That's something else.
Lie—what did you unlock…?"
Yin Lie's breath came out as cold mist.
He whispered:
"Not unlocked.
Just… stopped holding back."
The wolf in him roared.
And Yin Lie moved again.
One soldier aimed a high-voltage spear—
Yin Lie appeared in front of him—
And tapped his chest with two fingers.
TAP.
Ice exploded outward from the point of contact—
BOOM—!!
The soldier was launched backward like a bullet.
Another tried to flank him.
Too slow.
Yin Lie twisted—
claws of ice forming at his fingertips—
and slashed the soldier's visor.
CRACK—!!
The visor shattered.
The soldier dropped instantly.
Three more soldiers rushed together, trying to corner him—
Yin Lie slammed his foot down—
KRRRRRACK—!!!
The floor split.
A wall of jagged ice burst upward—
launching them into the ceiling.
Thorne sobbed louder:
"I CAN'T TELL IF HE'S OUR HERO OR AN EXTINCTION EVENT—!!"
Chen Gu whispered:
"This…
is the power of a balanced Trinity."
Kai forced herself up.
"Lie—enough with the dramatic transformations.
Take them down and MOVE."
But Yin Lie didn't move toward her.
He moved toward the captain.
The captain activated every booster in his suit—
strength enhancers
shock amplifiers
psy-armor plates—
His armor glowed red like molten metal.
"YIN LIE—!!
YOU ARE UNDER IMMEDIATE TERMINATION PROTOCOL!"
He charged.
Yin Lie didn't flinch.
Their fists collided—
BOOOOOOM—!!!!!
The tunnel burst with air pressure.
Dust blasted backward like a wave.
Yin Lie slid one step—
The captain skid back five steps, boots grinding sparks.
He growled:
"HOW—
HOW ARE YOU—"
Yin Lie stepped in and slammed his palm into the captain's chest.
Ice spread out—
But not normal ice.
Keystone patterns bloomed across the armor like glowing runes.
The captain's eyes widened.
"What—what is—"
Yin Lie whispered softly:
"Freeze."
The armor crystallized—
Then shattered.
CRRRRRRRRRRSH—!!!
The captain fell backward, unconscious.
Silence filled the tunnel.
All remaining soldiers dropped their weapons.
Kai lowered her arm slowly.
"…Lie…
you're a monster."
He turned to her, breathing heavily, body shaking.
"No," he rasped.
"I'm just tired."
His knees buckled.
Qin Mian gasped and ran to him.
"Lie—!"
She caught him just as he collapsed into her arms.
His ice armor melted.
His glow faded.
The Keystone quieted.
His head rested against her shoulder.
"I'm…
sorry," he whispered weakly.
"Don't be," she cried softly.
"You came back to me…"
Kai approached, wiping blood from her chin.
"You idiot," she muttered.
"You almost burned out your whole body."
Yin Lie didn't answer.
He had already passed out.
Qin Mian held him close.
Her hands shaking.
Her heart shaking.
"…Lie…
don't disappear…"
Kai placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We need to move.
Now.
More squads will be on their way."
Behind them, Thorne pointed at the defeated soldiers.
"Um… the tunnel is full of unconscious supersoldiers, broken ice, melted metal, and a glowing captain stuck in a wall.
The Directorate is definitely sending backup."
Chen Gu groaned.
"This kid is going to kill us all with stress…"
Qin Mian tightened her hold on Yin Lie.
"No…
He saved us."
Kai nodded.
"Let's go.
Before he wakes up and decides to fight another squad."
And with Yin Lie unconscious in Qin Mian's arms—
the group ran deeper into the tunnel—
toward whatever waited next in the dark.
Chapter 82 Completed