The vehicle bay was louder this time around. More people were milling about, different teams on different missions. Gates didn't stick to schedules, clearly.
Mu Chen stuck to Lin Lan like glue, just as he was told.
Lin Lan kept glancing at her tablet, as if staring hard enough might magically change the numbers. "Signal's still messed up," she said.
Zhou Xiao fiddled with his gloves. "Messed up means something's in the way."
Ye Fan didn't say a word. He hopped into the van and took a seat by the door, looking like he wanted to be the first one out and the last one back in. Mu Chen slid into the seat across from him again.
The door slammed shut, and the van started rolling.
The city outside the windows was dark, but definitely not asleep. You could see distant lights and towers. The roads looked empty, but the base had already cleared them, so they weren't really.
Mu Chen watched Ye Fan for a bit. Ye Fan didn't even look back, his eyes glued to the window as if he was counting down seconds.
Inside the van, the camera blinked red. Zhou Xiao leaned in closer to Mu Chen. "If this thing is really B-grade…" Mu Chen cut him off quietly. "We follow orders." Zhou Xiao let out a short, humorless laugh. "Yeah, that's what they always say." Lin Lan chimed in, her voice flat and steady. "Less talking." Zhou Xiao immediately clammed up.
Mu Chen didn't mind the silence. Silence was way safer than words.
The van finally stopped at the edge of the abandoned zone. A tall fence sliced the street in half, adorned with old, faded, scratched warning signs. Beyond it, buildings stood empty, streetlights dark, windows black holes.
The driver waited until Ye Fan gave the signal before opening the door. Ye Fan raised his hand, and the door creaked open, letting in a rush of cold air.
Mu Chen stepped out and immediately felt the difference. The abandoned zone didn't just look empty; it *felt* empty. Like sound got swallowed whole, like the air had been scrubbed clean of people.
Lin Lan's tablet beeped. "Gate's a kilometer in." Zhou Xiao scanned the surroundings. "No patrols." Ye Fan's voice was low. "Because this place is off-limits."
Mu Chen stared down the dark street ahead, a faint sense of the gate's presence washing over him, like a distant pressure tugging at his mind. They moved, no headlights, just the low lights on their gear. Ye Fan took the lead, moving fast and silent, Zhou Xiao to his left, Lin Lan to his right, scanning and recording. Mu Chen followed behind. He kept his own power locked down, knowing that if he let it spread, it would feel different. Gates and monsters both responded to power, and the zone itself might too. He didn't know the rules here yet.
They passed by empty storefronts and cracked sidewalks. Old posters peeled off walls. A child's toy lay half-buried in the dirt. Mu Chen felt a tightness in his chest, not sadness, but a memory. He'd seen places like this before, smaller versions – forgotten corners of orphanages, abandoned rooms, things left behind.
Zhou Xiao slowed down. "Do you hear that?" Mu Chen listened. At first, nothing. Then, a faint sound, like glass scraping against glass. Lin Lan whispered, "That's not the wind."
Ye Fan raised his hand again, signaling a stop. They froze. The sound grew louder, a thin, high scrape moving across the street from somewhere up ahead. Mu Chen's skin prickled. Ye Fan stepped forward one pace, scanning the darkness. His voice was calm. "Show yourself."
The scraping stopped. Then, something moved above them. Mu Chen looked up. A shape clung to the side of a building, impossibly thin and long, its limbs bent at odd angles, its head tilted as if in curiosity. A gate monster.
Zhou Xiao slowly raised his weapon. The thing dropped, hitting the ground without a sound, and then it rushed them. Fast. Ye Fan moved first, like he'd been anticipating it. He fired twice. The monster twisted and dodged, as if it knew exactly where the bullets were going. Lin Lan tossed a small flash device. The monster hissed, and the sound stabbed at Mu Chen's mind like needles. Mu Chen's vision blurred for half a second. Zhou Xiao cursed and fired again. Ye Fan closed the distance, his knife flashing out quick and hard. The monster's body tore open like wet paper. Black liquid splattered onto the ground and evaporated.
The street fell silent again. Mu Chen realized his hands were clenched tight. He forced them to relax. Ye Fan turned his head slightly, his eyes flicking to Mu Chen for a moment, checking. Mu Chen gave away nothing.
Lin Lan spoke, her voice tight. "If there's one, there's more." Ye Fan nodded once. "We keep moving." They moved faster. The air pressure intensified the closer they got, Mu Chen feeling it in his teeth and skin, like static electricity before a storm.
Then they saw it. The gate. It wasn't a door, but a tear. A vertical split in the air between two dead buildings, glowing faintly like a wound that refused to heal. The space around it warped, as if the world itself was bending away. Lin Lan's tablet beeped frantically. "Energy spike. Confirmed gate." Zhou Xiao whispered, "B-grade?" Lin Lan swallowed. "Maybe."
Ye Fan didn't answer. He stared at the gate like it was a living enemy. Mu Chen watched Ye Fan's posture. The closer they got, the tighter Ye Fan's control became, his senses seemingly being forced open. Mu Chen felt the urge again, to help him, just a little. But he didn't move.
Ye Fan stepped toward the gate, stopping at its edge, just outside the glow. He looked back at the team. "Same rules. Stay close. Lin Lan records. Mu Chen stays behind me." Mu Chen's chest tightened. Behind me. Not behind the team, but behind Ye Fan. Zhou Xiao looked confused but didn't argue. Mu Chen nodded. "Yes, Major."
Ye Fan faced the gate again, taking one slow, deep breath. Then he stepped through. The world changed. The abandoned street vanished like a dream, and the air turned heavy and wet. Mu Chen stepped in after Ye Fan and felt the gate swallow him whole.