The tunnel shook under their feet.
Dust rained from the ceiling like dirty snow.
Rusted beams groaned, bending inward with slow, painful cracking sounds.
Every echo, every vibration, felt heavier than the one before.
Chen Gu shone the flashlight along the curved walls.
The cracks were spreading.
Fast.
"That battle… that last blast…" Chen Gu whispered, voice trembling.
Kai, limping but still alert, finished the thought.
"Lie's power blew out half the support beams."
Thorne pointed wildly at the ceiling.
"Meaning… meaning… it's gonna fall on our heads, right?!
THIS IS HOW WE DIE?! CRUSHED LIKE BUGS?!"
Chen Gu punched his arm.
"Shut up, you're giving the ceiling ideas!"
Qin Mian didn't hear either of them.
She was kneeling beside Yin Lie, his head resting in her lap, her trembling hands brushing dirt from his forehead.
He wasn't awake.
He wasn't moving.
His breathing was shallow, too quiet under the rumbling tunnel.
"Lie…" she whispered.
"Lie, please… open your eyes…"
Nothing.
Kai crouched beside her.
"He burned everything he had," Kai said softly. "And more."
Qin Mian flinched.
Kai rarely spoke gently.
But right now—even Kai seemed scared.
Scared for him.
Another tremor ripped through the tunnel—
KRSHHHHH—!!!
A section of ceiling collapsed far behind them, blocking their path permanently.
Chen Gu turned pale.
"That was our way back…"
Thorne shrieked.
"Why do we NEED a way back?! FORWARD NEVER LOOKED BETTER!"
But the tunnel ahead was no safer.
The metal groaned again—
so loud even Qin Mian looked up.
Kai stood quickly.
"We have to move. Now. Before everything comes down."
Chen Gu nodded.
"We're two hundred meters from the outer exit. If we reach the old maintenance shaft—"
He stopped.
Because the ground under their feet suddenly tilted.
Just a little.
But enough to make everyone freeze.
Qin Mian hugged Yin Lie tighter.
"Please—not now… don't fall now…"
Kai stepped to Qin Mian and extended her arms.
"I'll carry him."
Qin Mian shook her head fiercely.
"No."
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"You can barely stand. He weighs more than you."
Qin Mian hugged Yin Lie against her chest.
"I can do it.
I won't let anyone else carry him."
There was no room for negotiation—
only fear
and fierce loyalty.
So Kai stepped back.
"Fine. But Chen Gu will help you."
Chen Gu rushed in, positioning Yin Lie's arm over his shoulder.
"Alright… one, two—lift—!"
Together they raised him.
Yin Lie's head fell against Qin Mian's shoulder.
Her lips trembled.
"Lie… please wake up soon…"
Thorne jogged behind them nervously, glancing back at the shaking tunnel.
"LIGHT FOOTSTEPS, PEOPLE! WALK LIKE NINJAS! MAYBE THE CEILING WON'T NOTICE US!"
Kai punched him in the spine.
"Stop talking."
They moved forward, step by uneven step.
Yin Lie's weight slowed them.
Qin Mian refused to loosen her grip.
Her tears dripped onto his cheek, warm and frightened.
Chen Gu whispered:
"You must really care about him."
Qin Mian didn't pause.
"He saved me first."
The words were simple—
But heavy.
The tunnel walls began to warp.
Cracks split upward like white lightning painted on the concrete.
Pipes burst overhead.
Water sprayed down in cold streams.
The flashlight beam shook in Chen Gu's trembling hand.
"This is bad…
This is VERY bad…"
Kai scanned the distance.
"Run. Slowly if you must—but move."
They did.
But the ceiling was getting worse.
The rumbling grew louder.
Dust thicker.
Every sound sharper.
Thorne's voice rose in panic.
"The next section is BUILT ON TOP OF EARTHQUAKE FISSURES!"
Kai glared.
"Shut UP—"
Too late.
The tunnel floor split under them—
CRAAAACK—!!!
Qin Mian screamed as she stumbled.
Yin Lie nearly fell from her arms—
but she gripped him even tighter, refusing to drop him even if her own body hit the ground.
Chen Gu grabbed her, pulling her upright.
"Careful—! You'll crush him OR yourself!"
Qin Mian shook her head wildly.
"I don't care! I won't let him go!"
Kai watched her for a moment—
then sighed.
"…You're stronger than you look."
But the ceiling wasn't impressed.
Another crack spread across the top, long and jagged.
Kai's eyes widened.
"EVERYONE—MOVE!"
They sprinted.
Qin Mian stumbled again but refused to let go.
Chen Gu supported both of them.
Thorne screamed the entire run.
Kai pushed from behind, taking hits from falling debris.
The exit was CLOSE—
Almost there—
Almost—!
The ceiling gave a final warning groan—
GRRRRKKKKKKK—
Kai shouted:
"GO—GO—GO—RUN!!"
The world exploded.
BOOOOOOOM—!!!!!
The tunnel behind them imploded inward.
Steel beams snapped like bones.
Concrete crashed down in massive slabs.
Dust shot forward like a sandstorm.
Qin Mian didn't look back.
She pressed Yin Lie's head against her chest—
Shielding him with her body—
"Hold on… hold on… please—hold on—!!"
Chen Gu dragged her harder.
"RUN—QIN MIAN—RUN—!!"
Thorne tripped and rolled like a bowling ball.
Kai physically lifted him by the collar and threw him toward the exit.
"MOVE, YOU DEAD WEIGHT—!!"
The entire tunnel caved in—
Rushing toward them—
Seconds from swallowing everything.
Yin Lie's arm twitched.
Just barely.
Qin Mian felt it.
A spark of hope shot through her.
"Lie—! Lie—!! Stay with me—!!"
The exit light grew brighter.
The wind hit their faces.
And then—
WHOOM—!!
They burst out of the collapsing tunnel—
falling onto cold dirt and weeds—
as the entire structure caved in behind them, choking the air with dust.
The ground trembled one last time.
Then stopped.
Silence.
Kai pushed herself up, coughing.
Chen Gu collapsed beside a rock, wheezing.
Thorne lay in the dirt, arms spread wide.
"I AM NEVER GOING INTO A TUNNEL AGAIN.
IF YOU INVITE ME, I WILL CALL THE POLICE."
Kai kicked him.
"Shut up."
But Qin Mian didn't move.
She knelt in the dirt, holding Yin Lie in her arms.
Her hands shook so hard they barely stayed on his cheeks.
"Lie…
Lie…
we made it…
we made it out…"
Yin Lie didn't open his eyes.
But his fingers twitched weakly against her arm.
Qin Mian sobbed in relief.
Kai walked over slowly.
"He's alive," Kai said softly. "Barely. But alive."
Qin Mian pressed her forehead to Yin Lie's.
"Thank you…
thank you for staying…"
The sky stretched above them—
wide, open, endless.
The first place they had reached
outside the city
with no walls
and no soldiers immediately waiting.
But the price was high.
Too high.
Yin Lie's body was almost destroyed.
The tunnel collapse sealed their escape—
but also trapped them from returning.
And the Directorate?
They weren't going to stop.
Kai looked toward the distant city lights.
"They'll send more squads," she said quietly.
Chen Gu nodded grimly.
"And worse than squads…"
Qin Mian didn't look away from Yin Lie's face.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Then let them come."
She held him tighter.
"I'll protect him too."
—Chapter 83 End —