Dawn barely lit the docklands when the convoy pulled through Crescent territory.
Yu Zhen rode in the armoured vehicle beside Lian Xuan, fingers woven loosely between them across the seat gap. Habit had replaced hesitation.
[SYSTEM WARNING][HOSTILE MOVEMENT DETECTED][ENGAGEMENT PROBABILITY HIGH]
Yu Zhen turned sharply. "Xuan."
"I know."
The first explosion tore through the lead vehicle.
Gunfire followed in immediate succession.
Lian Xuan dragged Yu Zhen downward beneath the window moments before shards of reinforced glass burst inward. He shielded him completely, body curved around his with brutal instinct.
[SYSTEM ALERT][EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE OVERRIDE ACTIVE][ALPHA INSTINCT MAXIMUM]
"Stay still," Lian Xuan commanded through clenched teeth.
Yu Zhen obeyed, pressing into Lian Xuan's chest as bullets struck surrounding metal.
The violence blurred into distant echoes as Lian Xuan moved. He returned fire while never loosening the circle of his arm around Yu Zhen's back.
Moments crawled until silence finally reclaimed the convoy.
Smoke rose in bitter curls.
Lian Xuan pulled back just far enough to search Yu Zhen's face. "Are you hurt?"
"No," Yu Zhen breathed. "But you are."
Blood trickled down Lian Xuan's sleeve.
"It's nothing," he muttered.
Yu Zhen cupped his face firmly. "Stop pretending your life is expendable."
Their foreheads pressed together amid the wreckage.
[SYSTEM INTERFACE][USER EMOTIONAL SPIKE DETECTED][BOND PROTECTIVE LOOP INTENSIFIED]
"You scare me," Yu Zhen whispered.
Lian Xuan closed his eyes briefly. "Losing you scares me more."
Their lips met in a swift kiss full of trembling relief.
Later, back at the penthouse, Yu Zhen sat beside Lian Xuan as medics stitched the shoulder wound closed.
He never once let go of Lian Xuan's hand.
After the room cleared, Yu Zhen leaned forward and rested against him carefully.
"We don't need to be invincible everywhere," Yu Zhen said quietly. "We only need to survive together."
Lian Xuan wrapped his uninjured arm around him and rested his cheek atop Yu Zhen's head.
[SYSTEM STATUS][ALPHA EMOTIONAL STABILIZATION INITIATED]