The morning light advanced from the outer ring.
Brightness remained stable.
There was no change in temperature.
Lucian left the previous facility.
The vehicle did not return to the city.
The route continued to extend outward.
The road gradually narrowed.
Buildings on both sides decreased.
Functional zones were segmented.
A new cluster of buildings appeared in the distance.
Larger in scale.
More open in layout.
Yet the exterior remained gentle.
Walls were made of light-colored materials.
Edges were rounded.
No sharp structures.
The entrance area was open.
There was no high-pressure defensive posture.
It resembled a standard training institution.
The vehicle stopped outside.
Lucian stepped out.
The wind was light.
The air was normal.
There was no armed pressure at the entrance.
Personnel configuration was standard.
After confirmation, the door opened.
The internal space extended inward.
The first level was not registration.
It was a transition zone.
The corridor was wide.
Lighting was soft.
Walls were covered with light-colored material.
The texture was slightly soft.
There was no direct sense of suppression.
But details were complete.
At regular intervals, there were observation nodes.
No obvious equipment was exposed.
But the structure existed.
Lucian continued forward.
He entered the second level.
This was the outer area of the training zone.
The space was open.
Not fully enclosed.
There was slight residual energy in the air.
But it was controlled within a safe range.
At the center of the field, there were people.
Not individuals.
Groups in batches.
Each group was clearly spaced.
There was no disorder.
They were moving.
Speed gradually increasing.
Movements remained within a controllable range.
Unlike before, where they were pushed directly to the limit.
This was gradual escalation.
Lucian's gaze stopped at their necks.
On each person's neck, there was a device.
The structure adhered closely to the skin.
A combination of metal and flexible material.
No exposed wiring.
The device was small.
But its presence was distinct.
Training continued.
First group.
Physical training began.
Load increased.
Breathing accelerated.
Rhythm was disrupted.
No one stopped.
Second phase.
Abilities were guided to release.
Not explosive.
Sustained output.
Amplitude was restricted.
Fluctuations gradually increased.
But did not lose control.
Third phase.
Pressure increased.
Rhythm began to destabilize.
Individual differences emerged.
Some began to show control deviation.
Movements slightly unbalanced.
Ability fluctuations became unstable.
At that moment—
No one entered the field.
No external intervention.
The neck device activated.
No sound.
Only a brief response.
The target's body stiffened.
Consciousness cut off.
They collapsed.
Their ability stopped at the same instant.
The air stabilized.
No spread.
No impact.
The fallen person was dragged out.
No pause.
The next group filled in.
Training continued.
Lucian did not move.
He watched the entire process.
No one personally terminated it.
All interruption was done by the device.
Second group began.
Same process.
Physical.
Ability.
Pressure.
Gradual approach.
The critical point appeared.
Device activated.
Termination.
No exceptions.
No delay.
Movements were standardized and consistent.
Lucian shifted his gaze.
Toward a farther area.
There were different levels of training there.
Higher intensity.
Longer duration.
One group was clearly fatigued.
Movements lost coordination.
Ability fluctuations showed deviation.
The air slightly distorted.
Edges became unstable.
They were not immediately terminated.
The system delayed.
Not tolerance.
Evaluation.
The moment the fluctuation exceeded the threshold—
The device activated again.
Precise.
Termination.
No extra intervention.
Lucian watched this point.
Paused for a moment.
He continued observing.
Another area.
Sparring training.
Two per group.
Not chaos.
Controlled confrontation.
Abilities interfered with each other.
Rhythm was disrupted.
Instability appeared earlier.
The critical point came faster.
The devices triggered simultaneously.
Both collapsed at the same time.
No error.
No conflict.
Training stopped.
Personnel were removed.
The field reset immediately.
No residue.
Lucian's gaze returned to the whole.
All processes revolved around one structure—
—Approach loss of control.
—Terminate before loss of control.
The difference was:
Termination here did not rely on people.
It was the device.
More stable.
More consistent.
No emotion.
No judgment deviation.
The training rhythm was not interrupted.
Efficiency was higher.
Lucian continued inward.
He entered a deeper area.
The space was larger.
The ceiling higher.
Residual energy more evident.
Training intensity increased.
One group was undergoing long-duration training.
They were already near their limit.
Breathing chaotic.
Movements distorted.
Ability fluctuations obvious.
But they were not immediately terminated.
The system delayed judgment.
Allowing them to get closer to the critical point.
The air began to distort.
Structure destabilized.
One more step—
Total loss of control.
At that moment—
The device activated.
Termination.
All collapsed simultaneously.
Not a single one crossed the boundary.
Lucian stopped.
This point was confirmed.
The core of training here was not the ability itself.
It was the "critical point."
Through repeated approach—
Let the body remember.
Let reactions advance.
Control was not actively built.
It was formed under pressure.
But this was still not stability.
Because termination came from outside.
Not from the individual.
Lucian turned.
Left the inner area.
Returned to the transition corridor.
The air became stable again.
No residual energy.
The external environment returned to normal.
He did not stay.
Walked out of the facility.
The wind was light.
No pressure.
The vehicle was still there.
Lucian stood for a moment.
The structure from before compressed in his mind.
The Bureau—suppression.
Closed facilities—isolation.
Here—approach and termination.
Three methods.
Different directions.
Same result.
Abilities were not truly controlled.
Only confined within boundaries.
Lucy's movements surfaced at that moment.
Her deviation.
Her lack.
Her fracture.
If she were here—
She would reach the critical point faster.
And be terminated faster.
She would remember that instant.
But could not hold within it.
She would still rely on the external.
Lucian opened the car door.
Sat in the driver's seat.
Did not start immediately.
He looked forward.
Did not think further.
Only confirmed one conclusion.
Ability cannot only be suppressed.
Nor only pushed to the limit.
Nor only rely on termination.
There is still a missing segment.
A segment that completes the structure.
To let movement exist without losing control.
To let ability close within the individual.
The vehicle started.
Route returned to the city.
Speed stable.
No acceleration.
The direction was already determined.
The new facility would not use these methods.
Nor replicate their structure.
It would exist within another logic.