(English, full chapter, ready for upload)
12:10
Engine-room lights strobe red.
I step inside—steel ribs, diesel breath, no cameras.
Lin Yi's keycard still warm in my pocket.
Console blinks MANUAL OVERRIDE.
12:12
Shen Yan's voice snaps through the intercom:
"Three minutes to hull breach—sink or swim."
Fu Ye laughs, cigarette unlit.
"Swim—after we smash the leash."
Qi Si says nothing; I hear his pulse—steady, trusting.
12:14
I press the scanner to my wrist.
Love registered: Qi Si – 72 bpm.
Not strategy, just stubborn loyalty.
The red light flips green.
System voice:
[Protocol 7 engaged: emotion override confirmed.]
12:16
The ship lurches once, then settles.
Emergency klaxon dies.
I hit the override.
Silence—three heartbeats—
then the ocean begins to sing.