Tied to Grow Stronger

Darkness was the first thing to envelop her consciousness, followed closely by an all-pervasive, strangely conforming restraint. Lin Wan was jolted awake by a persistent, dull ache in her jaw. The instant her awareness returned, she felt a foreign object stuffed into her mouth. The silicone sphere pressed her teeth apart, pinning her tongue immobile. Saliva flowed uncontrollably from the corners of her mouth, soaking the fabric of her clothes and clinging stickily to her skin. She wanted to spit it out, but it was wedged so firmly that her jaw could only emit muffled, indistinct groans. Only then did she become aware of the restraints that spread across her entire body. Black, specially made ropes snaked diagonally across her shoulder blades, binding her arms tightly behind her back. The loops around her wrists were cinched just right, allowing her fingertips to curl only slightly, unable to even open, let alone reach anything in front of her. The ropes wound in tight coils around her ribs, each loop perfectly conforming to the curve of her skin. They didn't inflict a piercing pain, but they locked down her every movement with absolute precision—she couldn't bend, couldn't turn, and even deep breaths had to be taken cautiously to avoid tugging at the knots and causing irritation. Her lower body was also ensnared by the ropes. The roots of her thighs, her calves below the knees, and her ankles were all bound by ropes of varying tightness, rigidly securing her legs. She could only shift her toes slightly, unable to lift her legs significantly. Most bizarrely, these ropes weren't stiff and rigid like ordinary binding ropes. They felt alive, clinging to her skin, subtly rising and falling with her breath. She could even vaguely sense a subtle, inexplicable connection between the ropes and her nerves, a faint pull. She finally became fully conscious, and panic surged through her body like lightning down her spine. Where was she? Why was she bound like this? Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. It was a small, enclosed room, less than ten square meters. The concrete walls were cold and rough. There were no windows, only a dim emergency light overhead, casting a faint green glow that barely illuminated the space. At the far end of the room was a heavy iron door, its handle wrapped in chains and secured with a large padlock. Muffled sounds from the corridor seeped through the gap under the door—low, drawn-out growls, and the grating screech of fingernails scraping against concrete, one after another, carrying a chilling stench of decay. Zombies. The word flashed into her mind without warning, and Lin Wan's body instantly froze, her blood turning to ice. Fragments of memory flooded back: skies ablaze, crowds fleeing in the streets, monsters tearing at flesh and blood, and the emergency broadcast looping about the full outbreak of an unknown zombie virus. This was the apocalypse. She was trapped in a building surrounded by zombies, bound from head to toe, gagged, unable to even utter a complete cry for help. The instinct for survival overpowered her panic, and the thought of breaking free arose immediately. She didn't struggle futilely with her body. Instead, following that strange sense of connection, she subconsciously willed the command: loosen the ropes around her wrists. The instant this thought formed, a destructive, searing pain exploded in her mind without warning. It was as if a red-hot drill had bored directly into her temple, grinding through every inch of her skull along her nerves. Her vision instantly went black, her muscles convulsed uncontrollably, and broken groans escaped her throat, her breathing abruptly stopping. Her body arched rigidly, cold sweat instantly soaking through her clothes. The pain wasn't physical damage; it was a tearing sensation directly on her nerves, enough to shatter her consciousness. In just two seconds, it drained all her strength. She dared not entertain any further thoughts of freeing her upper body. The excruciating pain slowly receded like a tide, leaving behind only waves of dizziness and nausea. She collapsed onto the cold concrete floor, gasping for air through her nose, and understood one of the rules of these ropes. They were deeply bound to her nerves. The moment she entertained any thought of loosening the restraints on her upper body, it would immediately trigger this excruciating pain, enough to cause brain death. The restraints on her upper body were absolutely off-limits. She took a long time to recover, her heart rate finally stabilizing before she dared to test again. This time, she completely extinguished any thought of loosening her upper body, focusing her attention solely on her lower half. Following the sense of connection, she cautiously willed the command: loosen the ropes around her ankles. The next second, something happened that made her pupils contract. The loops that had been tightly cinched around her ankles seemed to understand the command. They actually slid open smoothly along her ankles, as if obeying, without the slightest hitch or triggering any pain. A sense of liberating ease instantly spread from her ankles. She instinctively moved her completely freed feet, her fingertips itching to curl. She finally confirmed that these high-tech ropes were completely controlled by her will, capable of freely adjusting the binding state of her entire body, with the sole exception being the absolute prohibition against loosening the restraints on her upper body. Her heart began to race, and she started to repeatedly test the rules of the restraints on her lower body. Close at hand, any unsteady breath or excessive movement could spell danger; the gnawing hunger in her body was like a death warrant, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold on. Having just drunk some water, there was nothing else to do but lie still and conserve energy. So, she issued the most stringent binding commands to her lower body, harboring a thought: perhaps if it were bound more tightly, the "surprise" would come sooner? First, her ankles. The loosely secured rope loops suddenly tightened, the smooth, edgeless high-tech rope clinging to her skin, locking her ankles together with no room to spare. Her toes couldn't even separate, forced to lie perfectly flush. With the slightest movement, she could feel the rope's tautness and security. Next, her calves. The rope marks climbed upwards from her ankles, winding tightly, binding her legs from ankle to just below the knee into a single unit. Her knees were restricted to a slight bend, unable to straighten or bend significantly, forced into a fixed, obedient posture. Moving higher, her thighs. The rope loops wound from above her knees to the base of her thighs, tightening layer by layer, completely immobilizing and pressing her legs together. The inner thighs pressed tightly against each other, every inch of movement stripped away. Finally, with a bite of determination, she issued the command for the crotch rope. A firm yet non-abrasive rope extended from behind her waist, stretching forward to firmly cinch between her hips and thighs, precisely positioned, creating a distinct pulling sensation. The moment this restraint fell into place, Lin Wan was utterly immobilized—her upper body, arms bound behind her, chest and ribs tightly constricted, unable to move; her lower body, ankles, calves, and thighs all bound together, further secured by the crotch rope. She could only maintain a side-lying, slightly curled position, unable to even roll over, lift her head, or arch her back. This extreme restraint, far from increasing her panic, instead brought a strange sense of security. She knew that with such tight bindings, she couldn't make any large movements, and her gagged mouth wouldn't scream in panic. This silence, at least, guaranteed her current safety. She didn't know how long she remained still, bound. Perhaps a few hours, perhaps longer. Long enough that she almost grew accustomed to the sensation of being bound all over, long enough that hunger and thirst faded into the background once more, long enough that she thought she would sleep forever in this posture, until death. Then, in a single moment, an extremely faint anomaly, a subtle shift, began to spread from the depths of her nerves. It wasn't pain, nor dizziness, but a feeling of looseness. Her heart leaped, and an unbelievable thought surfaced. She tested it, extremely cautiously, extremely slowly, issuing the command to loosen the ropes binding her hands behind her back. No searing pain. No dizziness. No nerve-shredding sensation that could lead to brain death. At her wrists, bound behind her, the rope loops actually began to slide open, little by little. Her arms were finally freed from their prolonged constriction, slowly regaining their liberty. The restraints on her shoulders, chest, and abdomen also loosened, and the confinement that had lasted for an unknown duration on her upper body was, for the first time, completely lifted. Lin Wan's heart pounded wildly. Her fingertips tingled from the prolonged binding, yet they trembled with the lightness of regained freedom. Without hesitation, she quickly raised her slightly stiff hands to her mouth, gently pinched the gag that had been filling it for so long, and slowly pulled it out, undoing the strap. The moment the silicone ball detached from her teeth, accumulated saliva trickled down the corners of her lips. She could finally close her mouth, swallow, and breathe normally again, no longer drooling. Her dry, aching throat found release, and a long-lost comfort, free from being propped open by a foreign object, washed over her entire body. With trembling hands, she carefully tucked the gag into an inner pocket of her clothes, her fingertips still carrying the tremor of having narrowly escaped. Freedom. She had finally obtained a brief moment of freedom. But this freedom lasted only a few seconds. A familiar weakness, originating from the marrow of her bones, suddenly struck. Her nerves began to tingle faintly, her vision rapidly blurred, her heart pounded uncontrollably, and all her strength felt as if it were being drained away by an invisible hand. Her face turned ashen. With almost no thought, she immediately concentrated all her will and issued the command to re-bind her entire body. The green light of the sealed room remained constant, yet the moment Lin Wan woke up, she sensed a world-shattering difference. It wasn't a change in the feeling of restraint—she was still bound tightly all over, with no room to even turn over. It was mental. She felt as if an invisible net had suddenly spread out, centered on her body. Without needing to open her eyes, tilt her ear, or move an inch, her consciousness could "see" everything around her with perfect clarity. Within a thirty-meter radius, the texture of the concrete walls, the thickness of the iron door, the structure of the lock cylinder, the scattered debris in the corridor, even the ants crawling in the wall cracks, were all vividly imprinted in her mind. What made her heart stop was that she could clearly sense three zombies wandering in the corridor not far outside the door. One was leaning by the window at the end of the corridor, its body stiffly swaying, emitting a continuous guttural sound from its throat. The other two paced back and forth not far from the iron door, their claws occasionally scraping the ground, leaving behind a piercing screech. Their positions, orientations, movements, even the outlines of their long-stagnant organs within their chests, were all exposed within her perception. Even through the heavy iron door and concrete walls, they were as clear as if they were right in front of her. This was her ability, evolved. Before, she could only rely on absolute stillness to evade the zombies' perception, like a passive, hidden prey. Now, she possessed a dead-zone-free perception within a certain diameter, allowing her to foresee everything in advance. Lin Wan's breathing quickened slightly. The ropes around her body tightened with the rise and fall of her chest, still securely locking her limbs, but without causing any discomfort. She carefully concentrated her will, controlling the net of perception, extending it outwards bit by bit, testing its boundaries. For some reason, a vague feeling in her mind told her the limit was thirty meters. Upon reaching the critical point, the perception would suddenly become blurry, and anything further would completely disappear. She tested it repeatedly, finally confirming the boundary and precision of this ability. Within thirty meters, living beings, inanimate objects, and movements all escaped her perception. Even if her eyes were closed and she was bound, unable to move, she could accurately grasp all the dangers within a thirty-meter radius of this building. The corners of her mouth curved upwards, an indescribable excitement surging within her. Every time she went out before was like walking a tightrope blindfolded, never knowing if she would run into a zombie around the next corner, or if there would be a fatal danger behind the door. Now, she had eyes that could penetrate walls, all dangers could be predicted in advance, and she no longer had to gamble with her life on luck. She waited for a long time, until her heartbeat completely calmed down, then concentrated her will and began to adjust the way she was bound. The ropes around her upper body remained in the tightest restraint, her arms were bound behind her back, her wrists securely locked. As for her lower body, she slowly loosened the restraints on her calves and thighs with her will, keeping only two tight loops around her upper thighs. The ropes were adjusted precisely to the point where she could take a step. Once adjusted, she released the bindings on her hands and quickly took out the silicone gag from her inner pocket, inserting it into her mouth without hesitation. She then quickly re-bound her hands with her will. The familiar numbness instantly spread through her jaw. The silicone ball firmly pried open her teeth, pressing her tongue immobile, and saliva uncontrollably dripped down the corners of her mouth. The lingering fear of almost losing control and screaming during her last outing was still vivid. With the gag in her mouth, no matter how terrified she was, she absolutely could not make any sound that could attract zombies. Once prepared, she used her bound hands to unlock the iron door, held her breath, and gently pushed it open. The net of perception spread out instantly, preceding her footsteps. The positions of the three zombies in the corridor within thirty meters were clearly imprinted in her mind. Two were swaying back and forth fifteen meters to the left of the iron door, and one was by the window at the end of the corridor, its back to her. She accurately predicted their movement trajectories, her steps incredibly light. Her upper body was firmly fixed by the ropes, forcing her to keep her back straight and shuffle forward with small steps along the wall, each step falling into the gaps between the zombies' turns, without attracting attention. The tight restraint on her upper body prevented her from bending over or dodging sideways, but she didn't need to dodge at all. Her perception could foresee every movement of the zombies in advance, every... Zhou Feng gestured for everyone to sit, then looked at Lin Wan, who was still standing, and pointed to a chair by the long table. "Sit down, don't be so formal. Since you've joined the team, this is your place." Lin Wan looked at the chair, a hint of difficulty in her expression. Her hands were bound behind her back, making it impossible to lean back like a normal person. Sitting down would force her to keep her back straight, and even maintaining balance would be a challenge. Zhao Lan noticed her predicament and immediately brought two chairs together, placing a thick cushion in between. "Sit like this, with the cushion behind your back and your hands between the two chairs. It'll be more comfortable." Lin Wan blinked, a warmth spreading through her heart. She nodded at Zhao Lan and carefully turned sideways, slowly sitting down. Her bound hands fit perfectly into the gap between the chairs, and with the soft cushion supporting her back, she no longer had to force her spine straight. The tension in her shoulders and back, which had been tight all afternoon, finally eased a little. Once settled, she looked up at the six people gathered around the long table, took a deep breath, and began to explain her abilities in detail. "I know you all have many questions about why I have to be bound," she said, her voice steady and without evasion. "It's not a perversion; it's a side effect of my ability, and the only way I can survive." She recounted the process of her ability awakening, the consequences of uncontrolled neural misfirings, and how this high-tech rope, bound to her nerves, was the only thing that could suppress the side effects. Her explanation was more detailed than before. She paused, then continued, looking at everyone. "My ability is directly linked to the duration and tightness of this binding. The longer and more securely I'm bound, the stronger my ability becomes. My current range of perception is thirty meters. With continuous, tight binding, this range will expand, perhaps to fifty meters, a hundred meters, or even further in the future. At the same time, my stealth and camouflage abilities will improve, making it harder for zombies to detect me. I can even blend in with hordes of zombies by remaining still. It's possible I might develop other new abilities in the future." "But I also have significant weaknesses," she admitted, looking at them openly. "Being bound restricts my movement. I can't run fast, I can't dodge, I can't hold weapons to defend myself. If faced with sudden danger, I can't react as quickly as you can. What I can do is provide early warnings, help you avoid all dangers, find supplies, and locate safe routes. But in direct confrontation, I can't help; in fact, I'll need you to protect me. Even my physiological needs..." After saying this, she blushed slightly and quietly watched them, awaiting their response. The fundamental reason that had forced her to seek refuge with an organization was, in fact, her physiological needs. She had laid bare all her strengths and weaknesses before them. Whether they accepted her or not was entirely up to them. The living room fell silent for a few seconds. The first to speak was A'Kai. He scratched his head, a hint of embarrassment on his face, and looked at Lin Wan. "I was too harsh with my words at the supermarket entrance before. I'm sorry. I didn't realize... your ability has such a high cost, or perhaps it's 'slow to activate'." A'Kai had noticed her blue hair accessory and the phrase "slow to activate" had come to mind unconsciously. "It's okay," Lin Wan shook her head. Zhou Feng looked at her, his gaze serious. "Lin Wan, you don't need to feel like a burden. In this apocalypse, your sensory abilities are more valuable than ten guns. Knowing where zombies are thirty meters in advance, helping us avoid hordes – that's our strongest defense. 'Slow to activate' isn't a problem at all. From now on, when we go out, we'll protect you. You just focus on scouting for us; you don't need to worry about anything else." "Exactly!" Zhao Lan chimed in immediately, her personality straightforward. "It's just a matter of lending a hand, right? If your hands are inconvenient, we'll help you carry things, feed you water and food, and handle your daily needs. It's all easy stuff, not a big deal! As long as you can help us avoid zombies, we've got these little things covered!" Su Tang also nodded with a smile, looking at her. "Don't worry, our team never abandons its companions. If you need any help in the future, just tell me directly. There's no need to be embarrassed." Old Chen and Da Liu also nodded, their gazes towards Lin Wan no longer holding suspicion or doubt, but only acceptance and goodwill. Lin Wan looked at the six people gathered around the table, her nose stinging, tears welling up. Since waking up, she had been struggling alone in the darkness, surviving by means of her restraints, having to exert all her effort just to drink a sip of water. She had always believed that these bindings would be her shameful secret, a mark of her otherness. But now, these strangers had accepted her completely, including her peculiarities, her weaknesses, and her bindings. "Thank you," her voice choked slightly. "I won't disappoint you." As the night deepened, the occasional roars of distant zombies could be heard from outside, but inside the stronghold, it was warm and cozy. Su Tang poured her warm water and helped her hold the cup, feeding her little by little. Zhao Lan gave her a can of meat, opened it with a spoon, blew on it to cool it, and fed it to her. She no longer had to struggle to gnaw on compressed biscuits with her bound hands. Her stomach filled with warm food, and the fatigue washed over her. However, the sticky feeling on her body also became more pronounced. The first thing Lin Wan did upon waking was to spread out her sensory net. Thirty-five meters, no more, no less, holding steady within that range. The looseness from the previous day hadn't brought any improvement, but she had finally thoroughly grasped the iron rule of her ability: only long-term, continuous, and stable, tight restraint could slowly push her ability forward, bit by bit. It couldn't be rushed, nor could it be forced. Tight binding was a means to accelerate growth, not to catapult her directly to the finish line. She maintained her fully bound posture, taking a moment to steady herself. Her fingertips were slightly numb from the night's restraint, yet she felt clearer-headed than ever before. She had to calm her mind and rely on the daily, persistent binding to build up her psychic energy and sensory strength. The bedroom door was gently pushed open, and Su Tang entered with a bowl of warm water. Upon seeing the gag in her mouth, his eyes flickered slightly. He then skillfully moved behind her head and unfastened the buckle of the gag, carefully drawing out the silicone ball and wiping the corners of her mouth with a tissue. "Awake? Did you sleep well last night?" Su Tang helped her sit up slowly, bringing the cup to her lips and feeding her a few sips of warm water. "Brother Zhou Feng said we're not going far today, just to the convenience store downstairs to restock some supplies. You don't need to wear the gag if you don't want to." Lin Wan moved her sore, numb jaw and nodded, her voice still hoarse from just waking up. "I just did a scan. There are only three zombies downstairs at the convenience store, all near the checkout counter. It's safe to go in through the back door." Although her sensory range hadn't permanently expanded, the continuous, tight binding had significantly improved her sensory acuity. During breakfast, the atmosphere in the stronghold felt somewhat off. Lin Wan sat at the long table, her upper body still completely bound, her hands tied behind her back. Su Tang sat beside her, feeding her hot porridge spoonful by spoonful. Her sensory net remained spread out, clearly capturing that Da Liu, sitting diagonally opposite, had his gaze fixed on her. It wasn't the subtle appraisal and probing from before, but a naked, sticky invasiveness. His eyes slid from the curves of her body outlined by the rope, to her slightly parted lips as she was being fed, and finally settled on her hands bound behind her back, the greed in his eyes unconcealed. What sent a chill down her spine even more was that she could clearly "hear" the unspeakable thoughts churning in Da Liu's mind: "Tied up every day, unable to move her hands, her mouth often stuffed, like a doll with no ability to resist. Even if I did something, she couldn't scream, couldn't fight back..." Perhaps it was due to her enhanced abilities, but she could now clearly detect others' malice. Upon sensing this, Lin Wan's body instantly tensed. Her fingertips curled tightly, causing the ropes binding her entire body to constrict slightly, digging into her ribs with a dull ache. When the porridge was brought to her lips, she instinctively turned her head away, avoiding the spoon, her face paling instantly. "What's wrong?" Su Tang immediately noticed her distress, put down the spoon, and looked at her with concern. "Did you get burned? Or are you feeling unwell somewhere?" "It's nothing," Lin Wan shook her head, her voice a little strained, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards Da Liu. Their eyes met. He didn't flinch away; instead, he tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile of unknown meaning, and picked up his bowl, taking a large mouthful of porridge. Lin Wan ate the rest of the meal as if sitting on pins and needles. Her sensory net was firmly locked onto Da Liu. Every glance, every quickening of his heartbeat, every lewd thought was clearly imprinted in her mind. She realized with chilling clarity that the most terrifying thing in the apocalypse had never been the zombies. She was bound from head to toe, her hands tied behind her back, unable to even lift a hand to block. If someone wanted to do something to her, all they had to do was force a gag into her mouth, or even blindfold her, and she would be completely at their mercy. Her senses could only alert her to danger, but they couldn't enable her to resist. As for her new psychic ability... its current weakness made it worse than useless. Even if she could remove the gag and blindfold, what then? She was still bound, unable to escape. The thought sent a cold sweat down her back. Her muscles tensed, and her breathing became rapid. This unease erupted completely after lunch. She was resting in the bedroom when her sensory net clearly picked up the sound of Da Liu and A Kai talking on the balcony. Da Liu's voice was low, but it couldn't escape her perception: "What do you think about that girl Lin Wan, always tied up so tightly, unable to move her hands? Can anyone touch her? Look at her soft skin, and she can't move. In this apocalypse, she's like a sex toy..." "Are you crazy?" A Kai's voice held a hint of surprise. "Brother Zhou Feng will kill you if he finds out! She's part of our team. What dirty thoughts are you having?" "What are you afraid of?" Da Liu scoffed. "She's bound, her mouth gagged, she can't even scream. If something happens, who will know? Besides, she's a woman who's always tied up, relying on us to survive. What's wrong with her playing with us a bit? Otherwise, why should we protect her?" "Don't you fucking go crazy!" In the darkness, Lin Wan took a deep breath, concentrated all her will, and issued commands to the rope circles all over her body. Compared to yesterday's hogtie, she planned to bind her fingers and toes as well. Thinner rope loops extended from the main ropes, precisely coiling around her ten fingers. Each finger was individually wrapped and tightened, from root to tip, fitting snugly without any slack. After wrapping, the rope loops tightened again, firmly pressing the ten individually bound fingers together and fixing them, completely stripping away even the slightest possibility of curling or twitching. Then came the lower body. The main rope circle extended from the base of her thighs, winding down in circles around her knees, calves, and ankles, binding her legs tightly together. Just like her fingers, thinner rope loops extended, coiling around her ten toes, each individually bound and then fixed together. Finally, the hogtie. A sturdy main rope extended from her wrists, bound behind her back and with her fingers also immobilized, snaked up her spine, looped over her shoulders, and then down, securely connecting to the rope circles around her ankles. Her bound hands were pulled backward and upward by the rope circles, drawing her upper body backward, while her ankles were pulled upward by the rope circles, forcing her legs to lift. Her entire body was fixed in an extremely curled hogtie posture. This was the most secure binding she could imagine. To fully adapt to this extreme restraint, and to extinguish even the slightest glimmer of hope within herself, she once again concentrated her will, causing the gag placed on the pillow to float up automatically, precisely fitting into her mouth and securing the buckle behind her head. In her prone position, saliva continuously flowed from the gag, wetting her clothes, the ropes, and the quilt and pillow. The gag absorbed all her shame, yet it also carried away all her fear. She bit down hard on the gag in her mouth, her eyes filled with a desperate yearning for strength. Three in the morning was the quietest time at the stronghold. Lin Wan maintained the posture she had been in before falling asleep, securely fixed to the bed in the bedroom. The private room was tightly sealed, the wooden door locked twice, and a heavy solid wood cabinet was pushed against it, a precaution she had taken before sleeping. The rope circles enveloped her entire body, a dense, inescapable embrace, the extreme hogtie bending her body into a taut bow. The silicone gag was in her mouth, the buckle firmly fastened, saliva continuously dripping down her chin. She was still awake, the soreness from the continuous binding surging in waves, but the unease in her heart made it harder to sleep than the physical discomfort. Just as her consciousness began to drift, a crisp sound of shattering glass suddenly broke the dead silence of the night. Immediately followed by Zhou Feng's suppressed groan, the piercing clang of steel pipes colliding, and the rough curses of men, instantly exploding within the stronghold. Lin Wan's blood ran cold, her heart pounding wildly. She instinctively wanted to struggle, to roll over and sit up, but the rope circles all over her body locked her every movement, rendering her immobile. She instinctively wanted to undo the restraints, but then she considered that with her current strength, even if she managed to undo the hogtie, she wouldn't be able to protect herself. It was better to wait and see. "Find the ability users!!" "Don't let any of them escape! Kill the men on the spot, take the women and the ability users!" Unfamiliar, fierce shouts of combat echoed from the living room, accompanied by continuous gunfire and the long, drawn-out roars of zombies, drawn by the scent of blood. This modus operandi of capturing ability users, one could tell immediately, belonged to the Hunter Group. Fear instantly flooded her entire body. She knew too well that the Hunter Group was after her, after her, a special ability user. But she could only be bound, completely incapable of resistance. Her weak telekinetic power was far from enough to deal with this situation. The sound of battering on the door suddenly rang out, heavily impacting her locked wooden door. The cabinet propped against the door creaked under the unbearable strain. "There's another locked room here! There must be something inside!" "Break it down!" Each battering ram strike felt like a blow to her heart. Lin Wan's pupils contracted violently, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, despair almost swallowing her whole. But she could only wait, wait in vain. If the process of her hogtie automatically unraveling were seen, it would surely draw their attention to ability users; even if some restraints were loosened, her hands were still bound behind her, making resistance impossible. Just as the cabinet was about to be smashed apart, the bedroom window was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a figure agilely flipped in, her face smeared with blood, her eyes filled with urgency. It was Su Tang. "Wanwan!" Su Tang's voice was kept extremely low as she rushed to the bedside, her first instinct to untie the rope circles on Lin Wan. "Quick, let's go! There are too many people from the Hunter Group, we got separated!" Lin Wan shook her head desperately, emitting urgent "wuwu" sounds from her mouth, her eyes filled with pleading. Her hands could only be bound behind her back, and even if most of the restraints on her legs were loosened, her mobility would be impaired. It was better to remain in the hogtie, a tangled mess, for convenience. At this moment, behind the pile of scrap fabric on the second floor of the factory, Lin Wan was prone on the cold concrete floor. She remained in the spread-eagle bondage position, curled up in the shadow of the scrap fabric, like a coiled leopard, her breathing so steady it was almost imperceptible. The fabric of her combat suit insulated her from the chill of the floor, but it couldn't block the resonance between the ropes and her nerves. With every breath, the ropes tightened slightly with the rise and fall of her chest, sending a clear tremor through her. Her sensory net expanded and contracted with each pulse, mapping everything in the factory into her mind. The positions of the twenty guards, the models of their firearms, the number of bullets in their magazines, the exact placement of each step they took – all were crystal clear. Su Tang and Zhao Lan had already reached the cover behind the factory's rear door, awaiting her signal. Wei Minglun's neural perception swept over her again and again, lingering for longer periods, yet failing to detect any anomaly. Absolute stillness was a state she had mastered to perfection. She could not only mask her own vital signs and neural fluctuations but also, through the resonance between the ropes and her nerves, completely blend her presence into the surrounding environment. She waited. She waited for Wei Minglun to step into her core attack range. One step, two steps, three steps— Wei Minglun reached the center of the factory, less than fifteen meters from her hiding spot. Now! Lin Wan's eyes snapped open, and the mental barrier she had accumulated for so long exploded outwards! This was not telekinesis, not perception, but a pure, raw will-force surging from the depths of her soul. All her obsessions and hatred poured out in that instant, like a sharp blade, piercing deep into Wei Minglun's mental core. Wei Minglun's body stiffened abruptly, his pupils contracting sharply, and he let out a suppressed groan. He could clearly feel his tightly controlled neural perception being ripped open by a brute, unreasonable force! His mental core throbbed with a sharp, searing pain, as if gouged by a knife. His nascent neural suppression ability was instantly shattered! "Impossible!" he exclaimed, instinctively reaching to trigger the neural inhibitor in his sleeve, to re-condense his ability. But this was the very gap Lin Wan needed. "Move!" her mental message exploded into Su Tang and Zhao Lan's minds simultaneously! The rear door of the factory was kicked open with a resounding bang. Su Tang's rifle fired first, two muffled shots from the silencer precisely hitting the knees of the two guards closest to the door. They cried out and collapsed, their guns not yet raised before Zhao Lan, following closely, slit their throats with a single stroke of his blade. The guards reacted instantly, roaring and turning their weapons towards the rear door, firing wildly. But they had forgotten that within this factory, there was another hunter, lurking in the shadows. Lin Wan's telekinesis erupted! She remained prone, still tightly bound by the ropes, unable to even rise, but her telekinesis, like an invisible net, instantly enveloped the entire factory. The metal parts on the abandoned textile machines, the firearms in the guards' hands, the magazines on their belts, even the nails and scrap iron on the floor – all metallic objects vibrated madly within her telekinetic grasp! "Kaka-ka—" A series of ear-splitting metal twisting sounds echoed. The barrels of over a dozen rifles twisted into pretzels in an instant, bolts snapping, magazines ripped from their housings by an unseen force, clattering to the ground. The weapons in the guards' hands instantly became heaps of scrap metal. They stood frozen, their faces a mask of bewilderment. Before they could comprehend what had happened, Su Tang's bullets and Zhao Lan's daggers were upon them. Wei Minglun finally recovered from the searing pain of the mental assault. He looked at the chaotic scene before him, at his meticulously trained elite guards falling one by one like wheat under the scythes of the three attackers. His face turned ashen, his eyes filled with incredulous madness. He looked up sharply, his gaze fixing on the pile of scrap fabric on the second floor, finally catching that familiar neural fluctuation that had become his obsession. He saw it. Behind the pile of scrap fabric, the figure tightly bound by ropes. She was clad in a black combat suit, no longer wearing the collar or gag, devoid of the familiar look of a lab subject. Only a chilling killing intent emanated from her. "Subject 734!" he gritted out, his fingers slamming down on the neural inhibitor trigger in his sleeve, simultaneously unleashing 80% of his fused neural suppression ability onto Lin Wan without reservation. "You think you can escape my control? You were created by me! Your life is mine! Your abilities are mine! You will never escape my grasp in this lifetime!" An invisible wave of neural suppression, like a tsunami, surged towards Lin Wan. This was his most proud ability, the bane of all ability users in the entire safe zone. Under his suppression, countless awakened individuals had been reduced to helpless wrecks. But this time, the suppression wave, capable of shattering the mental barriers of any ability user, crashed against Lin Wan's mental barrier and shattered instantly, like striking an unyielding mountain peak, without even creating a ripple. Lin Wan adjusted the knots of the spread-eagle bondage and slowly rose from behind the pile of scrap fabric. She was still bound, her arms tied behind her back, her entire body restrained, unable to even lift her hands. Yet, as she stood, Wei Minglun instinctively took a step back. He suddenly realized he could no longer see through her. This experiment subject, whom he had raised from childhood, whom he had edited from the genetic level, this girl he thought he controlled completely, now stood before him. Though bound, though surrounded, her eyes looked at him as if he were already dead.