TIC 98

 Chapter 98: Conclusion

Imperceptibly, a warship’s presence enveloped the surrounding darkness. Amidst the intricate circuitry and advanced fire-control systems, Valentine’s thoughts hesitated for a fleeting moment. Xiao Yan knew he had successfully beguiled his adversary; without a shred of hesitation, he withdrew his consciousness from the system.

The instant his vision snapped back into focus, he gasped sharply—only to be frozen in shock by the blood-red scene unfolding before his eyes.

“What... happened?”

Before him stood the tightly sealed bulkhead door. Casey leaned against the wall, head tilted slightly upward, while Wynn and Mark wore expressions of utter bewilderment.

When Xiao Yan realized that both of Casey’s legs had been severed completely below the knees, his heart seized up abruptly, throbbing with a searing, agonizing pain. His breath caught in his throat, and his eyes stung until his vision blurred.

“Casey—where are your legs?!” Xiao Yan rushed to Casey’s side, grasping his knees to confirm... that his legs were truly gone.

Casey managed a wry twist of his lips, pointing toward the other side of the sliding door. “My legs are on the other side.”

“You... closed the door?”

Xiao Yan was astonished. These access nodes were under Valentine’s direct control; how had Casey managed to bypass Valentine to do this?

“Every node possesses an ‘emergency protocol’—a failsafe designed to slam shut automatically upon impact. It’s a ‘reflexive response’ that even the system itself cannot override. However, by triggering it this way, I’ve ensured it will never open again. You have no turning back now, Xiao Yan.” Casey’s lips curled once more, a glint of triumph flickering in the depths of his eyes.

“We’ll carry you.” Suppressing the stinging ache in his throat, Xiao Yan bent down to hoist Casey onto his back—only to be gently rebuffed.

“Any further down this path leads straight to Valentine’s main control hub... He’s bound to have assassins guarding him. Taking me along would only drag you guys down!”

“Are you telling us to just leave you here?!” Xiao Yan glared at Casey.

Casey’s expression was grave and resolute—the look of a true man, a far cry from the capricious youth he had once appeared to be. “Yes, Major. I want you to leave me here. You will continue onward, and it is highly likely you will encounter all manner of difficulties. By staying here, I can use the wireless terminal to coordinate with you—I will unlock all the nodes and guard the periphery of your mind. All you have to do is keep moving forward!”

“Casey!”

“Xiao Yan, do you lack the confidence to defeat Valentine? Staying here is the only way I can help you. You *must* bring Jian back. His body belongs solely to him, not to Valentine.” Casey closed his eyes and spoke coldly. “Do not forget your objective. No success comes without sacrifice; if you lack that decisiveness, you are already a failure. And the ones who will bear the cost of your failure won't be just me, or Hein, or the people who followed you in here—it will be the entire Shire.”

Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his fingers digging deep into his palms.

“Remember this: wherever your mind travels, it remains independent. Whether inside Valentine’s brain, inside mine, or even inside anyone else’s—you can construct an entirely different reality. Reality, after all, is merely what we choose to believe. Go. You must understand that the moment you hesitate, the moment you falter, or the moment you lose sight of your true objective, the price you will have to pay will be far greater than anything you have already lost.”

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, then abruptly turned and strode forward, his pace quickening with every step.

He knew, with absolute certainty, that he could never turn back now.

Just as Hein had said: all suffering must be left behind until after victory is achieved.

Wynn fell in right behind him.

Hein lowered his head and unholstered the sidearm from his waist, handing it to Casey. “You must not die here.”

“Is that an order, Colonel?” Casey looked up and accepted the weapon. “Then ensure Xiao Yan’s safety. He, too, absolutely must not die here.”

Xiao Yan and his group pressed onward; Casey’s figure grew ever more distant until, as they passed through a nodal point, he vanished from sight completely.

Entering the next level, they drew ever closer to the Main Control Room.

Hein suddenly came to a halt; only then did Xiao Yan catch the sound drifting toward them.

“Is that... the sound of water?” Wynn looked at Hein with a puzzled expression.

Hein grabbed Xiao Yan and spun around, breaking into a frantic sprint back the way they came; Wynn, reacting instantly, grabbed Liv and Mark, and they, too, began to run. The roaring grew ever closer; a massive torrent of water slammed against the walls of the passage, swirling violently as it surged toward them, instantly engulfing them all.

Xiao Yan’s ears were filled with the gurgling sound of water, and he could not open his eyes. Hein’s powerful arms held him in a vice-like grip. Just as the seawater completely flooded the entire level of the passage, it suddenly began to drain away; Xiao Yan and the others were swept along by the crushing current, hurtling toward the dark, distant end of the tunnel.

Amidst the darkness, Xiao Yan faintly perceived something approaching them—and it certainly wasn't Mark or Liv!

Hein held him even tighter and activated his light emitter. As the illumination dispelled the pitch-black gloom, Xiao Yan was struck by a sudden, horrifying realization: they were surrounded by a pack of assassins.

Mark, Liv, and Wynn were under siege, being dragged away into the deeper recesses of the passage.

The assassins swarmed them en masse; although Hein cut them down one after another, more quickly surged in to take their place.

Although the X-2 treatment allowed them to hold their breath underwater for far longer than ordinary humans, going without oxygen for several hours would still inevitably lead to suffocation and death.

Before long, the assassins managed to separate him from Hein. Xiao Yan watched helplessly as Hein was engulfed by a dense, impenetrable ring of attackers. He lunged forward desperately, utterly heedless of the assassins' blades piercing his flesh and gouging into his ribs; his only thought was to drag Hein back to safety.

Blocked by the swarming horde of assassins, Xiao Yan could not discern Hein’s condition at all; he knew only that the distance between them was widening with every passing moment. Driven by a frenzied desperation, Xiao Yan clamped his hand around the blade embedded in his chest, ripped it free, and plunged it viciously into his attacker’s throat, severing the man’s head. His entire body was racked with excruciating pain, and his lungs had been punctured; yet, whenever an assassin attempted to strike at his neck, he would seize their blade with his bare hands—though he remained powerless to stop the others from attacking the back of his head. But what he hadn't anticipated was that these assassins seemed to have no intention of taking his life. As countless blades pierced his body and limbs, completely immobilizing him, one of the assassins pressed an injection gun against his neck. Xiao Yan felt a sudden wave of numbness; his eyelids grew heavy, and even the excruciating pain racking his body began to recede.

Hein... Hein...

In his dazed state, he thought he saw Hein smashing through the dense encirclement, kicking aside every assassin who tried to close in. Yet, the very moment Hein’s fingertips brushed against Xiao Yan’s, he was surrounded once again. Xiao Yan watched as the assassins' blades tore through Hein’s body, and a sharp, sympathetic pain shot through his own eyes.

He tried to move, but he was utterly powerless to do so.

Hein... You can't die... Get out of here! Get away from this place!

Finally, Xiao Yan’s eyes fluttered shut.

The assassins withdrew their blades from Xiao Yan’s body; crimson tendrils of blood unfurled and diffused through the seawater as he sank deeper and deeper, until he was finally swallowed by the darkness.

When Xiao Yan jolted awake once more, his entire body trembled violently, the image of Hein’s desperate struggle still seared into his mind.

The sudden glare of light before his eyes snapped him back to reality. Only then did Xiao Yan realize he was submerged in a viscous, fluid medium. His mouth and nose were sealed off by some sort of oxygen-delivery apparatus, and—to his utter astonishment—he was confined within a massive cultivation tank!

Through the glass walls, he could see countless holographic display screens; volatile streams of data and code flashed past his eyes like streaks of lightning. It was abundantly clear: he had been brought to Valentine’s Main Control Room!

Xiao Yan kicked and thrashed against the walls of the cultivation tank with all his might. Given his strength, no ordinary tank should have been capable of holding him captive; yet, no matter how hard he braced his back against the wall and delivered powerful, driving kicks, the tank remained utterly motionless—not even a hairline crack appeared. He pounded his fists against the glass repeatedly; even as his knuckles bled and his bones threatened to shatter, Xiao Yan refused to stop. He braced himself against the tank’s interior and surged upward, attempting to dislodge the nutrient-fluid supply tubes. He poured every ounce of his remaining strength into the effort, yet nothing changed. Slumping back into place, Xiao Yan gasped desperately for oxygen; he even began to wonder if all of this was merely an illusion—if he remained trapped within Valentine’s mind, having never truly escaped at all.

Suddenly, all the holographic projections flickered off. A figure stepped forward, placing a hand against the nutrient tank with a gentle expression on his face—so gentle, in fact, that his palm seemed to be caressing Xiao Yan’s cheek through the glass.

“I have hesitated countless times over whether or not to kill you. Your very existence is a double-edged sword: if your unparalleled intellect were to serve me, I could work miracles. Yet, the moment you lose that ambition to pursue freedom, your talent becomes nothing more than the greatest impediment.”

Xiao Yan looked up, his pupils dilating instantly. “Valentine Sheehan—”

The Valentine standing before him now was startlingly different from the man Xiao Yan had encountered in the submerged base at the Tidal Surge.

His hair had turned almost entirely white, and deep wrinkles crisscrossed the corners of his eyes and forehead. Although he still carried himself with an air of elegance, he now resembled an aging professor from the Central Academy of Sciences—a man whose days of glory had long since passed.

“Do not look at me like that, young Xiao Yan. I have lived for over two hundred years; the fact that this body has held out this long is a miracle in itself. Furthermore, this nutrient tank was custom-built specifically for you. Though it possesses a transparent exterior, it is constructed of solid metal—specifically, ultra-dense titanium alloy. Even if Hein Burton himself were trapped inside, he would find escape impossible.”

“Where is Hein? Where is Hein?! What about the others who came with me? What have you done to them?!” Xiao Yan pressed his hands against the glass, screaming at the top of his lungs. “They are not like you; they do not possess the qualities that ordinary people lack. I have no need to waste nutrient fluid sustaining them—don't you agree? As for Hein... he once gave me a great deal of trouble. Almost every single one of my bases that was destroyed bore his fingerprints. I intend to make him suffer an endless agony. You must have heard the story of Prometheus, haven't you? Prometheus, the thief of fire, was chained by Zeus to the rocks of the Caucasus Mountains, where an eagle was sent to peck out his liver—day after day, year after year.”

Xiao Yan sneered. “You are not Zeus, and he is not Prometheus.”

“Xiao Yan, while you were in stasis, I accessed your mind. Naturally, my sole purpose was to examine your research on X-2. Your cognitive prowess left me astounded; perhaps you yourself never realized it, but that very capacity for thought is a spark—a stolen fire. Back when you were living out your days in languid idleness—yearning for freedom, yet lacking the fully-fledged wings to escape the confines of Shire—it was Hein Burton who transformed you. He ignited your flame; he singled you out from among the herd of mediocre lambs in Shire, meticulously honed your potential, and forged your intellect into a weapon. Do you remember the first time you attempted to leave Shire—the time the aircraft you were aboard crashed?” ”

“Of course I remember; compared to your many masterpieces, it is utterly insignificant.”

“But were it not for Hein Burton, your brain would already be mine, Xiao Yan. He stole your brain from me—letting it burn and ruin far too many of my plans, even altering the balance of power between the Shire and the Surge. Therefore, I intend to inflict the most agonizing punishment upon him. I will create countless clones of you. You’ve seen the clones of Jane and Casey, haven’t you? Though not entirely perfect, they serve as razor-sharp weapons.”

“You lunatic! You can clone countless versions of me, but you can never clone my mind! Even if you possessed a million brains identical to mine, not a single one would ever solve the problem of immortality for you!”

“Haha! The way you glare at me reminds me of a child begging for candy. Deep down, you’ve always believed that true immortality is impossible, haven’t you? That is a cardinal sin for a scholar; until something has been empirically disproven, nothing is impossible. But before we get to that, I must perform a surgical procedure right here in front of you. This operation will allow me to transcend this rapidly decaying body of mine. After all, only by remaining alive can we hope to realize our ultimate desires—wouldn't you agree?” Valentine rose to his feet, tapping his fingers playfully against the glass partition.

In that instant, Xiao Yan realized exactly what this madman intended to do! Jane was in his clutches—he meant to seize his body!

A sterile containment pod rose from the floor directly before Xiao Yan. Inside lay Jane, utterly unconscious—his eyes closed, his only sign of life the faint, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.

Xiao Yan began to struggle frantically—kicking, thrashing, and pounding against his restraints—as sheer terror surged through his heart, paralyzing every nerve ending in his body.

Smiling faintly, Valentine lowered his gaze and stepped into a second sterile pod.

His voice—languid and eerily similar to Jane’s—drifted into Xiao Yan’s ears.

“Surely you realize by now that nothing can stop what is about to unfold.”

Xiao Yan screamed silently within his mind, throwing himself against his bonds in a desperate, reckless attempt to break free; yet, the searing agony of splintering bone served only as a brutal reminder of his repeated, futile failures.

Jane had placed such absolute trust in his ability to defeat Valentine—trust that had allowed him to willingly let go!

He could not let him die here! He absolutely could not! Yet, no matter how frantically Xiao Yan struggled, he was powerless to stop the main control system from commencing the surgery.

Xiao Yan watched helplessly as Jian’s brain was extracted along its neural pathways, and Valentine’s brain was implanted in its place. No matter how hard he strained—tears streaming wildly through the viscous nutrient fluid—he could only watch it all unfold in utter despair.

Jian’s brain was transferred into a culture vessel, while his body began to heal with astonishing speed.

Xiao Yan watched as the figure sat up, slowly clenching his fists before releasing them again. A smile—identical to Jian’s in every curve and contour—played upon his lips; in response, Xiao Yan could only pound even harder against the glass.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! Valentine—you can’t achieve immortality! You will *never* achieve immortality!”

Valentine walked step by step toward Xiao Yan, rubbing his shoulder and stretching languidly—his muscles tensing into powerful, sculpted lines—as he smiled and spoke: “I am well on my way to immortality. And you, too, shall become a powerful asset on this journey of mine. Do you know why I didn’t extract your brain? Because once a brain is removed from the human body, its rate of decay becomes alarmingly high. But I want you to watch—to watch me go on living, on and on, forever. No matter how many copies of Jian or Casey I create, I can never feel truly secure in allowing them to possess their own independent consciousness. Yet, I require an intelligent mind to converse with—someone to constantly challenge my theories, allowing me to refute them with reality and savor, time and again, the pleasure of victory.”

By now, Xiao Yan could barely breathe; he floated limply, buoyed by the nutrient fluid, his every struggle rendered utterly futile.

“Do you like the ‘me’ you see now? My friend, we are destined to spend a very, very long time together.”

Valentine clasped his hands behind his back, letting his knuckles glide across the glass—as if gently caressing Xiao Yan’s cheek. “Perhaps you shall prove to be the most gratifying specimen in my entire collection.”

Xiao Yan closed his eyes, then slowly began to speak: “I will never live to see you prove the existence of immortality—for neither you nor I possess the luxury of infinite time.”

“Do not worry; I shall resolve that particular dilemma. I will create countless copies of you—each with a perfectly healthy body—and you may take all the time you need to select your next vessel.”

The sorrow on Xiao Yan’s face was swiftly eclipsed by an icy detachment; when he opened his eyes once more, his gaze held nothing but utter indifference. “No, you don’t have time to wait for your next body.” Xiao Yan advanced slowly, his cold eyes casting a penetrating gaze that, like an unstoppable tidal wave, overwhelmed Valentine’s vision.

“What do you mean?” Valentine frowned, his eyes betraying a faint flicker of unease.

“You understand Jian far too little. If I fail, he will find his own way to reclaim everything.”

In that instant, Valentine’s body went numb; a pain akin to nuclear fission radiated from his brain outward to his limbs. Every cell in his body felt crushed to the point of disintegration; blood burst through his veins, his muscles felt as if they were being violently torn apart, and his skin—no longer able to contain the body within—cracked open in hideous, gaping fissures.

Valentine lowered his head in disbelief; with immense difficulty, he raised his hand and watched as his flesh and blood peeled away piece by piece, blood dripping down from the gaping crevices.

“What is happening... This isn’t possible... It can’t be...”

“For a brain transplant—even between two individuals with identical DNA—you still require a specific drug: Pandorone. It serves to suppress neural activity so that, when your brain...”

"Your brain had to be transplanted into Jane’s body to minimize the risk of damaging your neural pathways. Meanwhile, Cathy and I engineered a virus—one that is activated by Pandora-one. It replicates rapidly, attacks your body, and triggers swift cellular collapse."

"You’re lying! Lying! This is just an illusion you’ve fabricated! You’re still inside my brain!"

Valentine glared with bloodshot eyes, utterly convinced that everything unfolding before him was a lie.

"You claimed that you entered my mind while I was unconscious. Aside from your research on X-2, did you not witness how I created the 'Jane' virus? You are dying, Valentine. You are destined to die."

Valentine scrambled frantically toward the main control console, his hands trembling as he retrieved a terminal and clamped it onto his head.

"There are plenty of Jane’s clones here... I can simply use any one of them..."

"That is no longer possible. From the very moment your brain was implanted into Jane’s body, it became infected with the virus. No matter which body you transplant your brain into now, you cannot escape the fate of total destruction."

Xiao Yan’s cold, dispassionate voice rang out from the intercom directly above Valentine’s head.

"Shut up! Shut up! I cannot die! I absolutely will not..."

Just as Valentine surged to his feet in a fit of rage, his arm detached from his body, hitting the floor with a wet *thud*. Chunks of muscle—mingled with blood—sloughed away from his frame, exposing the stark white bone beneath.

"Do you... do you even realize what you’ve destroyed... what it was..."

Valentine staggered forward, step by trembling step, leaving a crimson trail in his wake. Through the gaping cavity in his chest—now stripped of muscle and revealing only his sternum—Xiao Yan could see his heart, beating with ever-fading strength. Valentine’s face had become a grotesque, featureless blur, devoid of any expression—much like the rotting visages of the zombies he so despised.

"What I have destroyed is a delusion that never should have existed in the first place." ”

Valentine pitched forward; his forehead slammed against the glass, instantly cracking his skull. His brain slid out limply and splattered onto the floor.

Inside the nutrient tank, Xiao Yan’s hand pressed against the glass, slowly passing through it. His body emerged from the glass with effortless grace. He lowered his head, gazing coldly at the bloody, mangled mass on the floor; then, lifting his foot, he crushed Valentine’s brain without a moment’s hesitation.

“In the realm of thought, I have already killed you.”

Everything around them slowly faded away. The heavy stains of blood on the floor seeped into the ground and vanished, leaving behind only the sight of an increasingly aged man seated in a cold control chair, still connected to the terminal.

And standing before him was Xiao Yan, gripping a sharp blade pointed directly at his throat.

“I was so confident that I had successfully evaded every trap you set for me. How—how did you actually do it? At what exact moment did I step into the world *you* had constructed?” Valentine lifted his eyes; the heavy folds of age caused his eyelids to droop, leaving one to wonder if he could even clearly discern the young man standing before him.

“I never entered *your* mind, nor did I ever lure you into *mine*. When Casey breached the channel control system here—opening the access node that would grant us entry—I knew you would inevitably invade *his* mind in an attempt to neutralize him. And so, all I had to do was enter *Casey’s* mind. The true battlefield between you and me lay neither within your mind nor mine, but within Casey’s. Had it been anyone else, they would have instinctively repelled my intrusion; but with Casey, I knew he would cooperate without hesitation. We played right into your expectations, fulfilling your deepest desires by offering you a physical vessel of unparalleled perfection. Yet, once that vessel had successfully ensnared your consciousness, all we had to do was destroy the vessel itself. Thus, the trap was sprung the very moment Casey made the decision to remain behind at that access node. Everything else was merely an illusion—the scenes depicting the deaths of Mark and Wynn never truly occurred, for I had kept them safely by Casey’s side.”

Valentine lowered his head and began to laugh—a hollow, cackling sound. He laughed until tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, tracing the deep furrows of his wrinkles—tears filled with a bitter blend of self-mockery and frustrated rage.

“You truly *are* that spark—that living ember!” “I had so many opportunities to kill you, yet I stubbornly clung to a shred of hope for your intellect! Because you were simply too brilliant—it seemed as though no problem existed for which you couldn't find a solution! You kept me constantly anticipating that, with every step, you would surpass my wildest imagination and elevate my own thinking to new heights. And *that* very expectation is the true reason for my failure!”

“Do you still not understand? Your defeat was inevitable. Take this very moment, for instance: had Cathy and I not deceived you, even if your brain *had* been successfully implanted into Jian’s body, you still would have been destroyed by the virus raging within him!”

Valentine’s laughter grew even more maniacal.

“...So... after expending such immense energy creating thousands upon thousands of clones... I finally succeeded in producing Jian—a perfect match for my own neural network! Yet, in a cruel twist of fate, he became the very weapon that would bring about my demise! Hah!”

Behind Xiao Yan, Hein entered a few lines of code into a holographic display; an aseptic pod rose from the floor, inside which Jian lay resting peacefully.

Valentine attempted to rise, but Xiao Yan moved with swift precision, knocking the neural interface from his head. The tip of his blade instantly pierced the skin of Valentine’s neck, and blood began to drip steadily down the steel edge.

“Don’t move. This isn’t the realm of pure thought; here, death happens only once.”

Using a wireless terminal, Xiao Yan hacked into Valentine’s system and disabled the neural inhibitors suppressing Jian. A few seconds later, Jian finally opened his eyes and sat up. Clasping the back of his head firmly, he turned toward Xiao Yan, his eyes narrowing.

Moments later, Jian stood up with a smile and walked over to stand before Valentine.

“Well, well—never thought I’d live to see *you* in a state like this.”

Valentine seemed to have lost the very strength to remain standing. Now frail and decrepit, he was a man with one foot in the grave; with every passing second, his life force was draining away.

“I know... I have failed... Xiao Yan, your emergence was something I never could have foreseen...”

“The fact that I’ve made it this far—everything that has transpired—was just as unexpected to me.” ”

The distance between a Class B cadet and an Academy Major—between an ordinary man destined to squander his life beneath the Sharl Dome and a soldier now standing face-to-face with Valentine Sheen, the mastermind behind the Surge Organization—Xiao Yan knew he had accomplished a monumental leap.

It was Hein Burton who had forged him into the man he was today.

“Will you take my brain, place it in a laboratory, and attempt to decipher its every secret?”

Xiao Yan shook his head, his words delivered with a firmness so absolute that it seemed no other answer could possibly exist.

“I developed the Sharon Virus; humanity need no longer fear the scourge of the zombies. I completed X-2, which will serve as a new vector for human evolution. I also halted your regeneration. From every conceivable angle, I am—by far—the more intelligent of the two of us. Whatever lingering doubts I may harbor about this world, or whatever intractable questions may arise in the future, I will rely on my own mind to seek the answers—I will not lean upon your power. Even if I were to spend my entire life in vain, never finding the answers I seek, I trust that countless others like me would eventually find those solutions through their own efforts. Yet within your brain lies nothing but the delusion of eternal life; what possible value could there be in preserving it?”

“Are you going to kill me?” Valentine lifted his eyes, a mocking sneer playing upon his lips. “You will regret this, child.”

“Yes. I will.” ”

For I understand all too well: your very existence will bring harm to everyone I hold dear. I will harbor not a shred of pity for you, nor the slightest hesitation—even if my hands become stained with your blood!

Xiao Yan raised his arm high overhead. Hein and Jian watched his retreating back with wide eyes; the stance he assumed—both hands gripping the hilt, poised to strike—seemed capable of cleaving the very world in two.

The cold, ruthless blade sliced ​​through the air, searing itself into their vision—an image destined to haunt their memories forever.

Valentine’s severed head tumbled to a halt at Jian’s feet. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jian lifted his foot and crushed the skull beneath his heel; for the first time, a look of savage ferocity twisted Jian’s features.

Xiao Yan turned around to face Hein, his eyes wide and fixed—staring deep into the other man’s gaze.

Yes, the man was still there—just as he had promised he would be.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath and walked toward Hein.

At that very moment, the ship’s hull shuddered violently, emitting a low, mournful groan from its deepest depths—as if every piece of metal within it had suddenly begun to resonate in unison. Xiao Yan nearly lost his footing, but Hein swiftly reached out and steadied him by the shoulders.

“What’s happening?”

Jian suddenly dropped to the floor, pressing his ear against the deck. A moment later, he rose abruptly, his expression grim. “We have to get out of here—now! Valentine must have sent someone to blow a hole in this destroyer!”

Without a word, Hein grabbed Xiao Yan and sprinted toward the exit.

“This was Valentine’s plan all along! If he couldn’t achieve his rebirth, he intended to turn this entire place into his tomb!”

Damn it—being buried alive alongside a lunatic like him would be the most wretched way to die!

“Warning! Warning! Sector G compromised—engine shutdown imminent!”

“Warning! Warning! Sector F compromised—all system nodes will shut down within two minutes!” ”

They ran forward along the path they had taken earlier; the warship was sinking slowly, and the sound of seawater rushing in was clearly audible.

When they returned to the door that had sealed off the killer, the ship’s hull was tilting downward. Casey lost his footing and began to slide; Wynn grabbed hold of him and tried to drive his blade into the wall for leverage, but the metal merely scraped against the surface, sending up a shower of sparks. The group slid downward together, tumbling toward where Xiao Yan stood.

Jan braced his feet against the wall, swung himself over to Xiao Yan, and managed to steady Casey. The very next moment, Mark came sliding down as well. The corridor was now tilted at an angle of nearly forty-five degrees—a clear indication that the ship was going under, stern-first.

The instant Casey saw Jan, a look of profound relief washed over his face. He gripped Jan’s shoulders tightly. “Thank God you’re alive! It’s so good to see you’re still alive!”

Mark shouted out, “Where’s Valentine? Where is that lunatic? We nearly lost our lives dealing with him—don’t tell me that bastard is still alive!”

“Valentine is dead!” Xiao Yan struggled to find a foothold on the slick metal wall. “Right now, we need to worry about saving our own skins! This ship is going down!”

“What do we do? The corridor is blocked off!” Wynn finally managed to brace himself against the wall. “Much as I’d like to say that having taken out Valentine, I wouldn’t mind dying right here—it’s just too damn galling to think I’d end up dying in the same place as him!”

Xiao Yan couldn’t find his center of gravity and continued to slide downward until he slammed into Hein. Hein tensed every muscle in his body, straining to support the combined weight of both of them.

“We are *not* going to die here! We have to find a way around to the other side!” Xiao Yan activated his terminal, hacked into the warship’s internal systems, and began searching for a viable escape route. “We have to jump down and swim to the corridor in Sector C. I’ll unlock the access node!”

“What? We have to swim *again*?” Mark grimaced in misery.

“Wouldn’t you rather swim in seawater than in nutrient fluid?” Liv shot him a fierce glare.

As the angle of tilt reached sixty degrees, Hein released his grip without hesitation, clutching Xiao Yan tightly as they plunged downward. The icy seawater engulfed them once again; before Xiao Yan could even begin to sink, Hein grabbed him and began swimming toward Sector C. Jane, with Cathy in tow, followed close behind. They arrived at a junction where a sliding door stood—jammed shut and tilted at such an extreme angle that it was impossible to distinguish up from down.

The instant Xiao Yan used his terminal to unlock the passage, a powerful current swept them inside. Just as they were about to be carried past their target junction, Hein latched onto the sliding door's safety bolt with one hand while gripping Xiao Yan in an iron vice with the other. Mark and Wynn grabbed hold of Xiao Yan’s legs; for a terrifying moment, Xiao Yan felt as though he were being torn apart. Meanwhile, Jane, pulling Cathy along, managed to enter the passage safely. When they finally struggled their way inside, the scene that greeted them was chilling.

There, trapped within this junction, stood over a dozen assassins who had finally located their quarry; brandishing their blades, they lunged at Xiao Yan and his companions.

The ensuing battle was arduous and brutal.

Xiao Yan snatched a blade from one of the assassins and slashed out with all his might, working in perfect sync with Hein as they fought their way relentlessly toward the next junction.

The assassins fought with reckless abandon; even as their limbs were severed, they refused to abandon their objective—to trap Xiao Yan and his group right there. They were the ghosts of Valentine—specters who, even after Valentine’s death, continued to haunt this world.

More and more assassins began to emerge from other directions... As they surged forward, Xiao Yan attempted to close the node, but ultimately, he was a step too late. The longer they remained in the water, the more physical stamina they expended—not to mention that amidst such a desperate, life-and-death struggle, their oxygen consumption was multiplying exponentially.

The assassin whose leg had been severed by Hein simply abandoned his twin blades; instead, he wrapped both hands tightly around the nearby Xiao Yan, straining to drag him down into the depths. With a single hand, Hein deftly slashed through the enemies swarming toward them, while his other hand clamped down firmly on Xiao Yan’s shoulder. The assassins' blades rained down upon his wrist, coming perilously close to severing his wristbone completely!

Shocked into a frenzy, Xiao Yan violently shook off the assassin clinging to him. Even weaponless—relying solely on his bare hands—he was determined to snap their arms and crush their windpipes. He threw himself forward recklessly to intercept the blades aimed at Hein, enduring the excruciating agony of shattering bone as the blows landed squarely on his shoulder.

They struggled upward with all their might. As the node finally opened, Jian exerted every ounce of strength to hoist Casey through it; then, turning back to assist Hein and Xiao Yan, he finally succeeded in helping them break free. Wynn and Mark immediately positioned themselves to guard Xiao Yan, yet Jian showed no intention whatsoever of following them through the portal; instead, he remained behind, ceaselessly intercepting the assassins attempting to give chase.

Finally, once everyone else had passed through the node, Xiao Yan waved frantically at Jian. In response, Jian turned back and signaled to Xiao Yan with a gesture: "Close it."

Xiao Yan shook his head resolutely; together with Casey, he reached out and signaled to Jian that he *must* come back. Come.

Jane finally managed to reach the node, but killers swarmed in, grabbing at his legs. Xiao Yan was consumed by anxiety, screaming inwardly: *Hurry! Keep going!*

As Jane reached his side, a group of killers seized him by the waist; Xiao Yan and the others struggled desperately to hold onto his shoulders. Other killers began clambering over Jane’s body, attempting to force their way into the node. Suddenly, Jane ripped Xiao Yan’s wireless terminal from his wrist, then gave a violent shove, propelling Xiao Yan completely through to the other side of the portal.

Wynn and his team began cutting down the killers who had breached the node. Liv’s movements were no longer as decisive as they had been earlier; she was already suffering from oxygen deprivation, forcing Mark to stay right by her side to protect her.

Xiao Yan watched in horror as the killers ran Jane through with their blades. Yet, with an air of utter indifference, Jane made a signal to Hein. The moment he established a connection with the terminal, the node slammed shut with a resounding thud.

With eyes wide open, Xiao Yan caught a final glimpse of Jane’s smiling face through the closing gap. It seemed as though he was saying: *Don't look back.*

The killers who had made it through the node charged at Xiao Yan. His eyes instantly turned blood-red as he slaughtered them with a frenzied fury, the thick, metallic scent of blood spreading through the murky seawater. Only when the last of them had been cut down did Xiao Yan’s mind begin to go blank.

Hein rushed to his side, cupped his face in his hands, and pressed a forceful kiss against his lips, breathing his own last remaining breath into Xiao Yan’s lungs.

Through his fading vision, Xiao Yan saw only the resolute profile of Hein’s face.

He had endured all this... Everything—all the sacrifices made—was not for the sake of being trapped here forever. He was going to leave this hellhole, and he was going to do it with Hein!

Grasping Hein’s hand, he swam with all his might toward their exit.

Casey lost consciousness midway through their journey; Xiao Yan removed his terminal, and together with Hein, they carried him on their backs as they rounded a corner. Liv had already fallen into a deep stupor; Mark and Wynn, who were carrying him, were growing increasingly exhausted—so much so that they could no longer keep pace with Xiao Yan and Casey.

Xiao Yan activated the next node. As he turned around, he realized that Wynn, too, had run out of strength; Mark, left alone to carry both Wynn and Liv, found it utterly impossible to move forward. Wynn pushed Mark away, urging him to take Liv and catch up with Xiao Yan; yet Mark, refusing to give up, remained adamant about taking both of them along.

Xiao Yan turned back, drew out his own rope, and looped it around the waists of Wynn and Liv; together with Mark, he began swimming toward the path ahead. Without a moment's hesitation, Hein hooked his own safety line onto Xiao Yan as well. Gradually, having expended far too much physical energy, Mark could move no further; he struggled, attempting to unfasten the rope that bound him to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan grabbed hold of him and shook his head firmly.

We have defeated Valentine—that alone stands as the greatest triumph of our lives. If I am to be likened to a rocket soaring into the cosmos—forced to cast aside every companion who burned themselves out for my sake—then I have already reached my absolute zenith. Now, in this moment of descent, I will not give up on anyone ever again!

Mark tilted his head back.

He gazed dazedly at Xiao Yan’s back. This guy—the one he used to call a "rookie"—had grown into a formidable and responsible man. For some reason, Mark suddenly felt a sense of calm wash over him. He no longer cared whether they escaped this place; he simply felt that if *this* guy was leading the way, he would surely breathe fresh air again.

The combined weight of four people was undoubtedly a massive burden for Xiao Yan and Hein—especially now, as their internal oxygen reserves were severely depleted and their physical stamina pushed to the brink of total exhaustion.

This time, it was no longer Hein’s back that Xiao Yan saw; instead, the man remained right behind him, following his every step like a shadow.

He felt like a fledgling bird chasing the sun—spreading its wings, expending every ounce of strength simply to reach out and touch that glimmer of light. And right behind him stood Hein, his most steadfast support; no matter when his strength failed him, no matter how far he plummeted from the heights, a force would always be there to buoy him up. With every fall, he found himself drawing ever closer to that sublime, distant goal.

The massive vessel sank beneath the waves, leaving Ritz and Loch—hovering anxiously in the sky above—consumed by a desperate urgency.

What else could they possibly do?

Acting on a shared instinct, Ritz and Loch lowered their craft, fired every available grappling line into the hull below, and—as the lines instantly went taut—strained every ounce of power to pull upward, hoping to slow the ship's descent by even a mere fraction of a second!

The vessel seemed to be sucked inexorably into the sea, dragging Ritz and Loch along with it—a futile struggle akin to a tiny bird attempting to move a mountain.

"Warning! Warning! Engine overload!"

"Warning! Warning! Engine overheating—critical damage!"

No matter what alarms blared, they refused to give up—even if they could not escape the ultimate fate of being dragged down to the ocean floor.

At that very moment, a multitude of other aircraft descended from the skies above them.

From the cockpit, Maya witnessed the scene and issued a sharp, commanding order: "All units, listen up! We have but one mission: until our comrades return, we absolutely cannot let this ship sink!"

Tens of thousands of grappling lines were fired, piercing into the submerged hull beneath the waves. The sky above was blotted out by a dense swarm of aircraft, casting a colossal shadow across the surface of the sea. The destroyer, on the verge of being completely swallowed by the sea, was dragged inch by inch away from the surface—like a soaring eagle beating its wings to break free from the water’s embrace.

At that moment, gazing up at the pinprick of light above—no larger than a fingertip—Xiao Yan struggled desperately to push forward; with every swing of his arms, he pushed his body to the absolute limit of human endurance.

As that patch of light grew ever clearer, it seemed to him like the burning gaze of the sun itself. Unable to contain the yearning in his heart—even if it meant tearing his flesh or crushing his bones—he surged forward with reckless abandon.

Finally, his fingers brushed against the rim of the exit. He lifted his head, seeking only a single breath of fresh oxygen, yet his leaden body refused to let him break the surface no matter how hard he tried. Just as his fingers began to slip away, the man behind him—without a moment’s hesitation—braced his shoulder, anchored one hand firmly to the exit’s edge, and with the other, gave him a fierce, upward thrust.

It lasted but a fleeting instant, yet in that moment, Xiao Yan felt the full, unadulterated force of Hein’s power. The explosive surge of energy was more unbridled than a comet crashing into the Earth—like a final, desperate struggle waged just before the onset of total despair. Xiao Yan knew that Hein’s heart had momentarily stalled within his chest, his muscles tensed to a degree they had never known before; every fiber of his being—every ounce of his life, whether cold or ruthless—was poured into this single, pivotal moment. Propelled upward, Xiao Yan burst through the water’s surface—emerging like a butterfly from its chrysalis. The salty, humid air rushed into his lungs, and he began to gulp it down greedily, uncontrollably.

He clambered out. Through the dense, overlapping gaps between the countless aircraft hovering above, he gazed up at a sky as azure as Hein’s own eyes. All of this signified one thing: true freedom!

Xiao Yan turned around and began hauling furiously on the rope, pulling Casey, Mark, Liv, and Wynn up to safety, one by one.

But where was Hein? Where had Hein gone?

A wave of sheer panic washed over Xiao Yan. He had already hauled the rope to its very end, yet there was no sign of Hein anywhere.

“Hein! Hein Burton!”

Without a second thought, Xiao Yan plunged back into the water.

Lifting him to the surface just moments ago must have completely drained Hein of his remaining strength!

Xiao Yan sliced ​​through the water, watching as Hein slowly, inexorably, began to sink into the depths below. Xiao Yan dove downward with a frenzied desperation—as if, no matter how hard he tried, he could never quite catch up to the Hein who was now drifting away from him. No, Hein! Wake up! Wake up!

Xiao Yan strained his arm outward with all his might, yet no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't reach Hein.

Then, in a sudden instant, Hein abruptly lifted his head, swept his arm out, and seized Xiao Yan’s outstretched hand. The moment their fingers intertwined, an indescribable surge of power flowed from Xiao Yan’s fingertips, coursing through every single cell of his body.

Hein pulled him back toward the exit, and with a single bound, they sprang upward!

"Ha... ha..." Xiao Yan lay at the edge of the exit, gasping for breath, yet he refused to let go of Hein’s hand.

"Why did you jump down there?" Hein turned his face toward him; even in his state of utter exhaustion, the man’s commanding presence remained undiminished.

"I thought... I thought..."

The sheer joy of having regained what he had lost left Xiao Yan unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Did you think I would leave you? I told you—no matter what happens, no matter what the final outcome may be, I will always be right here by your side."

Xiao Yan offered no verbal reply; instead, he simply tilted his head, gazing at the man before him with an intensity that bordered on reverence.

"This is real, isn't it?" Xiao Yan asked, his voice sounding almost dazed.

Hein propped himself up and leaned in to kiss Xiao Yan’s lips.

"Aside from yourself, who else could possibly conjure up a sensation as vivid and real as this?"

Beneath them, the vessel shuddered as it began its ascent, rising steadily to break free from the water’s surface. Xiao Yan retrieved the terminal from Casey and activated every system node aboard the ship; the seawater drained away, and the vessel soared ever higher, leaving the ocean far behind. Suspended completely in mid-air, bathed in the golden light of the sun, it shimmered like an inimitable miracle.

Epilogue:

One month later, the President of the Federation delivered the most renowned speech of his lifetime in the Central Plaza of Char, urging humanity to leave Char behind and step out to experience the true light of the sun.

On that day, the Char Calendar passed into history, and humanity ushered in a new era.

On that very same day, Xiao Yan was conferred the rank of Major General, becoming the youngest "Excellency" within the Central Academy of Sciences.

His investiture ceremony featured neither dazzling fireworks nor extravagant balls; there was only the sight of thousands upon thousands of citizens gazing up at him from below.

And amidst that vast, unfamiliar crowd, he caught sight of a familiar figure. The corners of the other man's lips curled upward; the mole beneath his eye danced with a carefree, unbridled air as he smiled. He pressed a finger against his lips, then gently released it.

Xiao Yan could not make out what he had said; in the mere blink of an eye, the man vanished as if he were nothing more than a mirage.

Hein’s fingers gently grasped the collar of Xiao Yan’s shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes.

“What were you looking at just now?”

Even with every eye in the room fixed upon them, Xiao Yan made no attempt to hide his actions as he leaned in and kissed the other man on the lips, flashing a smile even more dazzling than the sunlight itself.

“Freedom.”