Things felt heavier back on the unit floor.
It wasn't because the institute was close by.
It was because everyone knew Ye Fan had been called in.
And everyone knew what that meant.
Zhou Xiao was waiting by the lockers. He glanced at Ye Fan, then at Mu Chen.
"What happened?" Zhou Xiao asked.
Ye Fan just walked past him, not saying a word.
Zhou Xiao flinched like he'd been slapped. He then looked at Mu Chen. "Lieutenant?"
Mu Chen kept it brief. "Questions."
Lin Lan stood by the tactical table, tablet in hand, her face calm. But her eyes were sharp.
"They flagged the mission," Lin Lan stated. It wasn't a question.
Mu Chen gave a single nod. "Yes."
Lin Lan's mouth tightened. "Figures."
Ye Fan stopped at his locker and started taking off his gear, his movements rough and fast. It was like he wanted to rip the institute right off his skin if he pulled hard enough.
Luo Wei walked in a minute later.
She didn't look mad.
She looked worn out.
"Unit debrief," Luo Wei announced.
Everyone gathered at the table. Mu Chen took his usual spot at the edge.
Luo Wei spoke in a low, controlled voice. "The institute wants more tests. We'll stall as much as we can. Until then, don't do anything stupid."
Her gaze landed on Ye Fan as she said it.
Ye Fan's face remained blank. "Yes, ma'am."
Luo Wei tapped the screen. "We got through the gate. That's the only good news. The bad news is the gate copied a pattern from our last operation."
Zhou Xiao frowned. "It knows us."
Luo Wei nodded. "Or someone's feeding it information. Or both."
Lin Lan held up her tablet. "The scanner door inside the gate matched the warehouse anomaly model. Same pattern."
Mu Chen listened.
He finally understood the scope of the problem.
This wasn't just random gate behavior.
This was deliberate.
Testing. Measuring. Building a profile.
Luo Wei's voice stayed calm. "We're being studied."
No one said a word.
Even Zhou Xiao stayed quiet.
Luo Wei continued. "We keep our mouths shut. We keep our reports clean. We watch each other."
Her gaze shifted to Mu Chen. "Lieutenant Mu. You don't go anywhere alone."
Mu Chen blinked. "Ma'am?"
Luo Wei's expression didn't soften. "That's an order."
Mu Chen nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Ye Fan's head tilted slightly, as if he approved.
That approval didn't feel good.
It felt like a cage with an even stronger lock.
The debrief ended.
People went their separate ways.
Zhou Xiao went to check weapons. Lin Lan went to file another report. Two others left to get some rest.
Mu Chen returned to his cubicle.
He sat on his bed and stared at the desk lamp again.
Cold light.
He wondered if it was always this chilly here, or if he was only noticing it now because he understood what it really meant.
He opened his notebook and wrote two lines.
The institute noticed.
No one is safe.
He closed it.
A soft beep sounded from above.
Mu Chen looked up.
A small camera above his cubicle shifted slightly, adjusting its angle.
Mu Chen's skin went cold.
It had always been there.
He'd seen it on the first day.
But now he felt it watching him in a different way.
Not just a general watch.
A focused watch.
Like someone had specifically picked him out.
Mu Chen stood up and moved to the edge of his cubicle, pretending to adjust his bag. He glanced up again.
The camera remained pointed at him.
He forced himself to keep his face calm.
He couldn't break it – that would set off alarms.
He couldn't cover it – that would also set off alarms.
He couldn't look angry. That would just draw more attention.
So he did what he did as a kid when adults watched him too closely.
He made himself small.
He sat back down and folded his hands like a good soldier.
A knock sounded on his cubicle divider.
Mu Chen's body tensed, then he relaxed it. "Yes?"
Zhou Xiao stepped in. He looked uneasy. "Got a minute?"
Mu Chen nodded. "Sure."
Zhou Xiao lowered his voice. "The camera… did it move?"
Mu Chen stayed perfectly still. "I don't know."
Zhou Xiao's mouth tightened. "It did. I saw it from the hall."
Mu Chen didn't respond.
Zhou Xiao let out a breath. "They're watching you."
Mu Chen met his eyes. "They watch everyone."
Zhou Xiao shook his head, frustrated. "Not like this."
Mu Chen kept his voice soft. "What do you want me to do?"
Zhou Xiao's face twisted as if he had no idea. "Nothing. That's the problem. We can't do anything."
He hesitated, then added, "Ye Fan is angry."
Mu Chen didn't react. "I noticed."
Zhou Xiao stepped closer, his voice even lower. "He's angry because he thinks they'll take you."
Mu Chen's throat tightened for a split second. He pushed it down.
"That's not his job," Mu Chen said.
Zhou Xiao let out a bitter laugh. "That's Ye Fan. He makes things his job."
Mu Chen stared at the cold lamp light on his desk. "Why?"
Zhou Xiao looked away. "Maybe because he knows what it feels like."
Mu Chen understood.
Ye Fan had called him an orphan like it was an insult.
But it was also a confession.
Zhou Xiao left.
Mu Chen lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
The camera above his cubicle blinked.
The base of it seemed to breathe.
And Mu Chen felt it clearly now: he wasn't just living in a unit.
He was living inside a box.
A clean box.
A cold box.
A box with eyes watching from above.