So, Mu Chen found out there was another rule at the base.
Apparently, after training, you didn't just chill out. You had to report in.
Lin Lan led him to this small office, just a desk and two chairs. The door clicked shut softly. A camera was tucked in the corner, its little red light on steady.
Lin Lan didn't sit down right away. She plugged her tablet into a port on the wall and pulled up some kind of form.
"It's a post-training record," she explained. "Just routine."
Mu Chen took a seat. "Alright."
Lin Lan's eyes were glued to the screen. "They log everything. How your body's feeling, your mental state, any reactions. Especially for guides."
Mu Chen just nodded. He already knew the drill. The orphanage had records too, just a different kind, but for the same reason.
Lin Lan slid the tablet over to him. "Keep your answers simple. Don't add anything extra."
Mu Chen looked at the questions.
* Did you experience nausea?
* Did you experience dizziness?
* Did you experience mental pressure?
* Did you link with any sentinel?
* Did any sentinel attempt to link with you?
He read through them once, then started tapping in his answers.
No.
No.
Mild.
No.
No.
Lin Lan glanced up from his hands. "Mild mental pressure?"
Mu Chen looked at her. "The training hall had a lot of sentinels. It's pretty normal."
Lin Lan's expression didn't change. "You were calm."
Mu Chen kept his voice even. "I'm trained."
Lin Lan leaned back a bit. "Your file says you had a late awakening. Guides who awaken late usually panic, or they get clingy, or they try to prove themselves."
Mu Chen gave a polite smile. "Maybe I'm just different."
Lin Lan stared at him for a beat too long, then turned the tablet back towards herself.
"I'm going to ask you just one thing," she said.
Mu Chen waited.
Lin Lan spoke quietly. "Do you want to stay alive here?"
Mu Chen's smile faltered slightly. He answered honestly. "Yes."
"Then don't stand out," Lin Lan advised. "Major Ye Fan doesn't like surprises. And the institute is way too fond of them."
Mu Chen's fingers tightened for a moment on his knee. "I'm not trying to stand out."
Lin Lan nodded, as if she believed him, but also as if she clearly didn't.
The door opened without a knock.
Ye Fan walked in.
Lin Lan's posture instantly changed. Not out of fear, more like ingrained respect.
"Major," she said.
Ye Fan didn't even look at her. His eyes went straight to Mu Chen.
Mu Chen stood up. "Major."
Ye Fan's gaze shifted to the tablet. "What's this?"
Lin Lan answered, "Routine record."
Ye Fan stepped closer. "Show me."
Lin Lan hesitated for a split second, then turned the screen so Ye Fan could see.
Mu Chen kept his face completely neutral.
Ye Fan read the answers incredibly fast. Almost too fast, like he wasn't reading words but just patterns.
"No nausea," Ye Fan stated.
Mu Chen remained silent.
"No dizziness," Ye Fan continued.
Mu Chen stayed still.
"Mild mental pressure," Ye Fan said, and finally lifted his eyes. "That's your quiet little lie."
Lin Lan's eyes widened just a fraction. "Major—"
Ye Fan raised a hand, and Lin Lan stopped.
Mu Chen met Ye Fan's gaze. "It's not a lie."
Ye Fan's voice dropped. "A C-grade guide would feel way more than mild pressure in a room full of sentinels."
Mu Chen answered with simple truth again. "Then maybe the rating is wrong."
Ye Fan's expression was unreadable, but something in his eyes definitely sharpened.
Lin Lan looked between them, like she was watching a tightrope walker.
Ye Fan leaned slightly towards Mu Chen. "If the rating is wrong, you're in danger."
Mu Chen's voice remained calm. "I know."
Ye Fan's jaw tightened. "And you still came here."
Mu Chen didn't answer. He couldn't, not without giving something away.
Ye Fan just stared at him for a moment.
Then he turned to Lin Lan. "Send the record."
Lin Lan blinked. "Yes, Major."
Ye Fan looked back at Mu Chen. "You're training again tomorrow. With me."
Mu Chen's chest felt tight. "Major, I—"
Ye Fan cut him off. "That's an order."
Mu Chen nodded. "Yes, Major."
Ye Fan left as quickly as he'd arrived.
The door shut.
Lin Lan let out a breath she'd been holding. "He's digging."
Mu Chen slowly sat back down. "I noticed."
Lin Lan lowered her voice. "If he reports anything suspicious, the institute will pull your file. They'll do deeper tests. They'll tag you. Maybe separate you."
Mu Chen's fingers went cold.
He remembered the scanner door in the warehouse. The bait. The test.
He remembered Ye Fan's harsh words in the elevator.
*Orphans love to use that look.*
Mu Chen didn't like Ye Fan.
But Ye Fan might be the only one tough enough to stop the institute from coming after Mu Chen directly.
That was the twisted part.
Lin Lan stood up and unplugged the tablet. "Go eat. Rest if you can."
Mu Chen nodded.
He walked out into the hallway. Cold lights, clean floors.
A couple of guards passed by. They glanced at his badge, then looked away.
Mu Chen kept walking.
He reached the mess hall and picked out bland food again. His stomach felt tight, but he forced himself to eat.
Across the room, Ye Fan was sitting alone again.
Mu Chen didn't look at him.
But he still felt Ye Fan's gaze.
Like a shadow you could feel even with your eyes closed.
After the meal, Mu Chen went back to his little partitioned space.
He opened his notebook.
He wrote one line.
*Ye Fan is digging.*
Then he paused and added another line underneath.
*I can't let him find the wrong thing.*
He closed the notebook.
He lay down and stared at the cold ceiling light.
Back at the orphanage, he'd learned to lie to survive.
Here, he had to lie to stay free.
And now, a sentinel with eyes like a knife was poking too close to the edge of that lie.