Luo Yan was already on his feet when the scream hit.
It came from inside the base, not the fence. Close enough that the sound bounced off the containers and made it hard to tell where it started.
He Chenyu moved first. He was at the door in two steps, peeking out.
"What is it?" Luo Yan asked.
He Chenyu's voice was low. "Med lane," he said. "Someone turned."
Luo Yan's stomach dropped.
"Turned?" Luo Yan repeated.
He Chenyu glanced at him. "Bitten," he said. "Or scratched. Or something. Nobody knows yet."
Outside, another scream. Then a shout.
"Get back! Get back!"
Then gunfire. Too close.
He Chenyu grabbed Luo Yan's sleeve. "Stay," he said.
Luo Yan jerked his arm back. "If it's med lane, people will panic," he said. "That spreads."
He Chenyu stared at him for a beat. Then he cursed under his breath. "Fine," he said. "But you stay behind me."
They moved out into the lane.
The base looked different in morning light. Worse. You could see the stains, the bodies under tarps, the way the fence shadows stretched long.
They ran toward med.
Civilians pressed away from the med container like it was on fire. Someone was sobbing. Someone was praying. A soldier shoved people back with the butt of his rifle.
A man stumbled out of the med container, face grey, eyes cloudy.
He wasn't fast like the one at the fence.
But he wasn't slow either.
His mouth opened and he made a wet sound like he was trying to talk.
Then he lunged.
A medic screamed and fell backward.
A soldier fired and missed.
The bullet hit a container wall and ricocheted with a sharp ping.
Panic exploded.
Luo Yan's heart slammed.
He Chenyu grabbed a civilian kid by the collar and yanked him back before he could run right into the line of fire.
"Back!" He Chenyu shouted.
The turned man fell on the medic, snapping his teeth at her shoulder.
Luo Yan saw blood.
The medic screamed again, high and broken.
He didn't think.
Void Screen.
A dark pane snapped into place between the turned man's mouth and the medic's neck.
His teeth hit the screen and the bite erased.
The screen cracked, but it held for that half-second.
The medic scrambled away.
A soldier finally got a clean shot.
The turned man dropped.
For one breath, it was quiet.
Then someone screamed, "He used powers!"
Luo Yan's stomach dropped.
He lowered his hands fast.
He didn't want eyes on him.
He didn't want people connecting "Void" with "stop a bite."
He Chenyu stepped in front of him without a word, blocking the view.
A soldier snapped at Luo Yan, "Who are you?"
He Chenyu answered, flat. "Military support. Move the body."
The soldier hesitated, then nodded like he was too tired to argue.
Medics rushed back in. Someone dragged the turned man's body away with a tarp like they were afraid to touch him.
A woman in a soaked coat stood near the med door. She looked like she'd been working all night. Her hands were stained with antiseptic and blood.
She looked at Luo Yan through He Chenyu's shoulder.
Not fear.
Interest.
Then she turned and shouted at the medics. "Stop crowding the doorway! You want more bites?"
Her voice was steady. Commanding without rank.
People listened.
Luo Yan swallowed.
That kind of voice mattered in chaos.
He Chenyu leaned close, low. "We shouldn't stay," he said.
Luo Yan nodded, but his eyes stayed on the woman.
She moved fast, checking the medic's wound, snapping orders, calming a crying kid with one hand while tying a bandage with the other.
She wasn't using an obvious element.
But she felt like an awakened, in the way she moved like she had more endurance than she should.
Then she caught Luo Yan looking and walked over.
Close enough that Luo Yan could see the tired lines under her eyes.
"Void," she said quietly.
Luo Yan's throat went dry. "Yes."
She nodded once. "That saved her," she said, glancing back at the medic. No thanks. Just fact.
Luo Yan didn't know what to say.
She studied his face. "You're with General Lan," she said.
It wasn't a question.
Luo Yan's stomach tightened. "How do you know?"
She jerked her chin toward He Chenyu. "Because he's with you," she said. "And he's with Lan."
He Chenyu's face stayed flat, but his shoulders tightened a little.
The woman's gaze stayed on Luo Yan. "If you're smart," she said, "you'll stop using your power in crowds."
Luo Yan swallowed. "I didn't have a choice."
She nodded. "No," she agreed. "You didn't."
She paused, then added, lower, "If people learn who can stop bites, they'll drag you around like a tool."
Luo Yan went cold. Because she was right, and she said it like she'd already seen it happen.
He Chenyu pulled Luo Yan back half a step. "We're leaving," he said.
The woman didn't stop them. She only said, "Tell Lan the east fence will get hit again tonight."
He Chenyu's eyes narrowed. "How do you know?"
She looked past them at the lane, at the bodies, at the base that still didn't understand what it was becoming.
"Because it always does," she said.
Then she turned back to med like Luo Yan wasn't there anymore.
They moved away fast.
Luo Yan's heart was still racing.
He Chenyu glanced at him. "You shouldn't have screened like that," he said.
Luo Yan's voice was tight. "You wanted me to watch her get bitten?"
He Chenyu didn't answer.
He just said, "Lan will be back soon. Don't do anything until he is."
Luo Yan swallowed.
Inside his head, the system prompt flashed again, private.
Ding.
DAY 1 MISSION: FEED YOUR UNIT
Time Remaining: 06:47:10
Hint: "Med lane has rice."
Luo Yan's stomach twisted.
Rice.
Med lane.
The place where people were bleeding and turning.
He looked back once.
The woman at the med door had already disappeared inside.
And Luo Yan had a feeling he would see her again.