The air inside the gate felt off. Not rotten, not chemical, just… wrong, like the world had been mixed with something that didn't belong. Mu Chen's boots sank a little into the ground. It looked like dirt, but it held water like a sponge, and every step made a soft, squishy sound.
They were standing in what looked like a huge empty lot. No buildings, no streetlights. Just tall shadows in the distance that could have been trees, or maybe something else entirely. The sky above was a dark green, like deep water, with no sun, moon, or stars.
Lin Lan's tablet flickered. "No satellite. No base signal."
Zhou Xiao swallowed. "So we're flying blind."
Ye Fan's voice stayed flat. "We keep moving."
Mu Chen watched Ye Fan's shoulders. They were tense. Sentinels relied on their senses, and this place was just pushing them too hard. It felt like the gate wanted them wide open, wanted to pour noise into them until they broke.
They walked. Mu Chen stayed right behind Ye Fan, as ordered. The farther they went, the more the world changed. The ground started feeling less like dirt and more like thick ash. The air flickered between cold and warm, like someone was flipping a switch.
"This place is messing with us," Zhou Xiao muttered. Lin Lan didn't answer. She was recording, but her hands trembled slightly.
Mu Chen kept his breathing slow. He could feel the gate pressing on his mind too. It wasn't like the warehouse anomaly before; this was bigger, wider, like the whole place had teeth.
A sound came from up ahead. A low click. Then another. Like fingernails tapping on glass.
Ye Fan lifted his hand. *Stop.*
They froze. Mu Chen listened. Click. Click. Click. The sound moved around them. Not just one thing. Many.
"How many?" Zhou Xiao whispered.
Lin Lan's voice was tight. "I can't tell."
Ye Fan lowered his weapon slightly, his eyes scanning the darkness. "Mu Chen."
Mu Chen's chest tightened. "Yes, Major?"
Ye Fan spoke without looking back. "If you can do anything, do it now."
Mu Chen went still. That wasn't an order to link up. It was worse. It was Ye Fan admitting he needed help. Zhou Xiao glanced at Mu Chen, confused. Lin Lan's eyes flicked to Mu Chen, sharp and quick.
Mu Chen made a choice. He let a thin layer of his power spread out, not touching anyone directly, just a soft field around the team, like a blanket over sharp air. The clicking sound dulled. The pressure on Ye Fan's mind eased a little. Ye Fan's shoulders relaxed just a fraction.
He noticed. His head tilted slightly, but he didn't turn. The darkness moved. Shapes appeared at the edge of the field – low bodies with too many legs, thin faces with shining eyes, crawling over the ash like it was nothing. Gate monsters.
Zhou Xiao raised his weapon. "Now?"
Ye Fan's voice was cold. "Now."
The team opened fire. The monsters surged forward. Fast, low, swarming. Lin Lan threw a flashbang. Light exploded. Some monsters flinched, but most kept coming. Zhou Xiao shot two down, and then three more took their place. Ye Fan moved forward like a blade, cutting through the front line, his knife flashing, spraying black fluid that vanished.
But the monsters kept coming. Mu Chen stayed behind Ye Fan, his hands clenched. He could do more. He could wipe out the whole wave with one push. But the cameras on their gear were still recording. Even if Lin Lan said there was no base signal, the data could still be stored. And if the institute saw him do too much, he'd be finished.
A monster leaped at Lin Lan. Mu Chen reacted without thinking. He reached out with his hand and pushed. Not physically. Mentally. The monster froze mid-air like it hit a wall, then dropped and twitched. Lin Lan stared at it, then her eyes snapped to Mu Chen. Mu Chen's face remained blank.
Ye Fan turned sharply. He saw the dead monster near Lin Lan's feet. He looked at Mu Chen. For a second, Ye Fan's eyes held a question. Mu Chen didn't answer.
"Left!" Zhou Xiao shouted. Another wave hit. Ye Fan moved to block it, but a monster slipped past his shoulder and lunged straight for Mu Chen. Mu Chen's cover almost broke. A C-class guide should panic here. Mu Chen didn't. He stepped sideways and drove his elbow down hard onto the monster's head. Bone cracked. The monster collapsed.
Zhou Xiao stared. "What the—"
"Focus!" Ye Fan snapped.
They fought for another five minutes. Then, suddenly, the monsters retreated. Not because they were scared. Because something else arrived. The ash under their feet trembled. A deeper sound rose from the distance, like a slow drum. Boom. Boom. Boom.
"Something big," Lin Lan whispered.
Zhou Xiao's breathing hitched. "That's not B-grade."
Ye Fan's eyes went cold. "We clear the core. We leave."
Mu Chen swallowed. Core. Every gate had a core. A center. A heart. Destroy it, and the gate closed. But cores were guarded. And this place felt like it wanted to keep them.
They moved toward the sound. The landscape changed again. The ash became hard ground, cracked stone, dark puddles that reflected nothing. Then they saw a structure ahead. A warehouse. A real warehouse. Metal walls, rusted roof, wide doors. It looked like the one they'd cleared before. Too familiar.
Mu Chen's stomach tightened. Gates sometimes copied places from the human world. Sometimes they pulled them in. Sometimes they made traps out of memories. Ye Fan stopped and stared at the warehouse.
"Why does it look like home?" Zhou Xiao whispered.
Lin Lan's voice shook. "This is wrong."
Mu Chen felt the gate press on his mind again, heavier now, like it was enjoying their fear. Ye Fan spoke, calm and cold. "We go in."
Mu Chen followed. The warehouse door was closed. A scanner pad sat beside it. Mu Chen's blood ran cold. The same kind of pad.
Lin Lan stared. "There's no way."
Ye Fan stepped closer. The scanner pad lit up by itself. Green. The warehouse door opened, slowly, like it was welcoming them back. And from inside, that low, wet hum began again.
Mu Chen's hand curled at his side. This wasn't just a gate. This was a message. And the message was meant for Ye Fan.