Two Crawlers flanked him. Jin's Predator Instinct flared—danger from above. He looked up to see a third dropping from exposed pipework.

*[Emergency Evasion Available]*

*Warning: 4-minute cooldown remains*

"Not yet," Jin breathed, instead channeling what his body remembered. A half-forgotten form whispered through muscle memory—*Autumn Leaf Falls*, a Tsurugi technique for facing multiple opponents.

His body flowed like water, spinning low. The baton became an extension of his arm, striking knees, ankles, joints. Not killing blows—crippling ones.

*[Tsurugi Sword Forms: 7% Synchronization]*

*Attempting First Form: Mountain Stance*

*Result: Partial - Stance 40% correct, no flow between movements*

Jin's feet found the right position, but his arms were all wrong. Still, even the broken form felt stronger than his usual wild swings.

Three Crawlers collapsed, legs ruined. The one dropping from above met Jin's rising baton strike, electricity coursing through its nervous system.

*[Overcharge: 8 seconds]*

The Alpha's eyes narrowed. It had seen enough.

The creature moved like a liquid shadow, crossing the bay in two bounds. Jin barely got his baton up before claws raked across it, sending sparks flying.

The force drove Jin back. The Alpha pressed its advantage, each strike precise, testing his defenses. This wasn't mindless aggression—it was analyzing him.

*[Predator Instinct: Alpha is learning your patterns]*

*Recommendation: Vary tactics*

"Learning, huh?" Jin grimaced, ducking another swipe. "Let's see you learn this."

He deliberately stumbled, selling the feint. The Alpha's eyes lit with predatory satisfaction as it lunged for the kill.

Jin's stumble became a controlled fall, his foot shooting up to catch the Alpha in the chest. Using its momentum, he rolled backward, launching the creature over him.

*[Tsurugi Counter: Tomoe Nage variation]*

[Tsurugi Sword Forms: 7% Synchronization] *Attempting technique without proper weapon Effectiveness reduced by 60%*

*STR Check: Success (24.77 20 required)*

The Alpha crashed into its recovering packmates, buying precious seconds.

*[Overcharge: 5 seconds]*

*Warning: Energy signature detectable by all Crawlers in sector*

"Jin!" Sera's commanding voice cut through. "Whatever you're charging, every Crawler in the Wing knows where you are now!"

True enough, inhuman shrieks echoed from the corridors beyond. Reinforcements.

"Then I better make it count," Jin said, rolling to his feet.

The Alpha rose, genuinely angry now. It spoke again, words clearer: "Gi..vee... blood... mine..."

Three seconds. The remaining mobile Crawlers circled warily. The Alpha crouched, ready to spring.

*[Instinct Surge Available]*

*Optimal timing window: Now*

"One shot," Jin whispered, activating the surge.

*[Instinct Surge Activated]*

*All physical parameters +30%*

*Perception time dilation in effect*

The world slowed. Jin could see everything—the micro-twitches that preceded movement, the optimal angle for his strike, the Alpha's weight distribution showing it would dodge left.

*[Overcharge: 2 seconds]*

The Crawlers moved first, trying to screen their Alpha. Jin flowed through them like wind through leaves, each movement economical. An elbow here, a knee there, creating a clear path.

*[Overcharge: 1 second]*

The Alpha leaped, claws extended for Jin's throat. In the slowed time of his enhanced perception, Jin saw his moment. He planted his back foot, twisted his hips—a perfect draw cut stance his mother had drilled into him before he could properly hold a sword.

*[Overcharge: Complete]*

*Warning: Single discharge will destroy weapons*

"HAAAAAH!"

Jin swung with everything he had. The baton, overcharged beyond safe limits, blazed like a miniature sun. The Alpha tried to twist away mid-air, but Jin had read its movement perfectly.

The strike connected with the creature's shoulder, and the world went white.

*[CRITICAL HIT - OVERCHARGE DISCHARGE]*

*Damage: Catastrophic*

*Area Effect: 3-meter radius*

The explosion of electrical energy threw Jin backward, his body skidding across the maintenance bay floor. His HUD flickered with damage reports.

*HP: 27/160*

*Status Effect: Temporary Deafness (30 seconds)*

*Status Effect: Electrical Burns (Minor)*

*Weapon Status: Destroyed*

Through the ringing in his ears, Jin struggled to focus. The Alpha lay twitching, half its body charred black. It wasn't dead—these things were horrifyingly resilient—but it wasn't getting up soon.

The other Crawlers writhed on the ground, nervous systems overloaded by the electrical burst.

*[Area Denial Successful]*

*Multiple Enemies Incapacitated*

*+150 EXP]*

Jin forced himself upright, legs shaking. Thirty feet to the Environmental Control panel. His baton was slag, his body battered, but he was alive.

"Jin! Jin, respond!" Multiple voices in his comm, urgent and worried.

"I'm... okay," he managed, stumbling toward the panel. "Just need to—"

The Alpha's hand shot out, catching his ankle. Even burned and broken, it held on with inhuman strength.

"I..mee..."

Jin looked down at the creature, then at the panel, so close yet impossibly far. His weapons were gone, his body exhausted.

Clara's nervous explanation about the environmental controls. The emergency purge function she'd worried about.

"You know what?" Jin said to the Alpha, reaching down not to break free, but to grab its other arm. "You're right. We're not done."

With his remaining strength, Jin didn't try to escape.

Jin's STR of 24.77 meant nothing with only 10 stamina remaining.

Each step dragging the Alpha took monumental effort.

*[STR Check: 24.77 vs Required 20 - Success but -5 Stamina per meter] *

*Distance to Panel: 6 meters = -30 Stamina Warning: Stamina will reach 0*

Step by the agonizing step, Jin hauled himself and his enemy forward. The Alpha, confused by this tactic, loosened its grip slightly.

That was all Jin needed.

*[Desperate Strike Conditions Met]*

*HP Below 60% - Activation Available*

Jin twisted, bringing his knee up into the Alpha's already damaged shoulder. The creature's grip spasmed, releasing him.

He lunged the final distance, slamming his palm onto the environmental control panel.

*[Access Granted - Phoenix Protocol Override Detected]*

Jin gasped, inputting the sequence Clara had shown him.

The Alpha realized too late what was happening. It tried to rise, to stop him, but the damage was too severe.

Alarms blared. Throughout the sector, suppression systems activated, flooding corridors with dense, freezing nitrogen fog. The temperature plummeted.

*[Environmental Hazard Created]*

*Visibility: Near Zero*

*Temperature: Dropping Rapidly*

*Crawler Thermal Tracking: Compromised*

"He did it!" Sera's voice and relief are evident. "All teams and environmental covers are active! Move, move, move!"

Jin slumped against the panel, exhaustion hitting him like a wave. Around him, the fog thickened, hiding the twitching forms of the Crawlers.

"Path to cryo-bay is clear," he reported, voice hoarse. "But I'm gonna need a nap."

"Idiot," Sera's voice, but he could hear the smile in it. "Stay put. We're coming to you."

*[Priority Quest Update: Phase One Complete]*

*Environmental Distraction: Successful*

*Team Survival: 100%*

*Bonus Objective Achieved: Alpha Crawler Neutralized*

As unconsciousness threatened to take him, Jin managed one last thought to Asha:

"Hey... Asha, did I save the day?"

*"You did adequately,"* Asha replied, and was that fondness in her synthesized voice? *"For someone who can't follow a simple plan, you learned remarkably well."*

[Phoenix Protocol: Minimal Consciousness Mode]

HP: 22/160 (Regenerating +1 HP/minute), (Bleeding -3HP/minute)

Stamina: 0/160 (Complete Exhaustion)

Motor Functions: 10% capacity

Jin was totally frozen, trying to get his thoughts straight, but the Phoenix Protocol managed to keep him awake enough to hear his teammates approaching.

As he leaned against the control panel, he caught sight of the red mark his hand had made on the chilly metal. The alarms were blaring all around him, sounding almost like a far-off echo from another place.

*[HP: 22/160 - Critical Status]*

*[Bleeding Effect: -3 HP/minute]*

*[Phoenix Protocol: Emergency Clotting Initiated]*

"Asha," he mumbled, tasting blood in his mouth. "What... happened?"

*"Environmental suppression is at 100% saturation. The Crawlers' thermal tracking is effectively neutralized for the next twelve to fifteen minutes."* Her voice carried an edge of urgency. *"However, your condition is deteriorating rapidly. You need immediate medical attention."*

Jin tried to laugh but it came out as a wet cough. "I.. wish.. I talked to them more...."

He looked down at his chest—three deep gouges wept freely, soaking through his shredded uniform. "How long until they find me?"

*"Rosa's signature is 120 meters out and closing. Sera and Clara have reached the cryo-bay. But Jin..."* Asha paused. *"At your current rate of blood loss, you have approximately seven minutes before complete system failure."*

"Seven minutes." Jin's head felt too heavy. He let it fall back against the panel. "That's... that's enough time, right?"

*[HP: 19/160]*

*[Motor Function: Degrading]*

He tried to apply some pressure to the worst injury, but his hands just weren't cooperating. His fingers felt totally numb and didn't want to do what he needed them to do. Not too far off, the Crawlers were starting to stir again—the ones that had managed to get away from the overload and avoid complete neural shutdown.

One of them lifted its head, its foggy eyes looking around in the mist. It was only about ten meters away, dragging its broken limbs as it made its way forward.

"Hey," Jin called out weakly waving his hand.

The Crawler oriented on his voice, moving faster now. Jin's hand fumbled for his destroyed baton, finding only melted polymer and cooling metal.

*"Jin, what are you doing?"*

"Buying time," he whispered. "If it's focused on me... won't go after the others."

*"That's remarkably stupid, even for you."*

"Thanks." Jin forced himself to sit straighter, meeting the Crawler's approach with what dignity he could muster. "I remember my mom said to me.... face death with a smile."