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Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: Day 6 - Training and Tension

Day 6 was colder.

Not winter cold. Just the kind of cold that settles into your bones when you haven't slept right for days.

The base was still sealed. Nobody went out. Nobody came in. Outside the gate, zombies kept pressing the metal in waves, like they didn't get tired.

Inside, people got mean.

Ration lines turned into arguments. People tried to cut. Soldiers hit people with batons. Civilians threw rocks back. The med lane overflowed.

Lan Huan didn't waste time.

He made them train in a quiet lane between containers, away from the main crowds.

No speeches. Just work.

He Li went first. He showed how far he could bend light before it flickered, and how long he could keep it steady. He kept it small. Useful. No showing off.

He Chenyu practiced storage pulls and returns. Quick hands. Clean movement. He didn't blink today. He said his stomach still felt wrong from last time.

Qin Yi sat on a crate and did "small illusions" like Lan Huan ordered. A sound behind someone. A flash to the side. A fake shadow. After ten minutes, he pressed his temple and hissed through his teeth.

Lu Ziming tried to raise earth walls faster. They kept crumbling when he rushed, so Lan Huan made him slow down until the walls held. Lu Ziming complained the whole time, but he kept doing it.

Mu Yan tried to grow vines from wet soil. It worked, but weak. He could bind a wrist, tie an ankle, pull a weapon a few inches. Not combat-ready yet.

Luo Yan tried to call Void Screen on command.

It came up fast now, but it still cracked too easily if the hit was heavy. He practiced making it smaller, like a shield you could put in one place instead of a wall.

He hated it.

Because every time it cracked, it felt like something inside him cracked too.

Lan Huan watched all of it.

When he finally used his own power, he did it last. A simple lightning arc into a metal rod. Controlled. No stray hits. No drama.

"Don't waste," Lan Huan said. "Don't show off. Don't burn out."

Bai Ling wasn't here to argue with him yet, but Lu Ziming filled in.

"Okay, boss," Lu Ziming said, grinning. "We get it. You're perfect."

Lan Huan's eyes flicked to him. "Again," he said.

Lu Ziming groaned. "You hate joy."

Qin Yi muttered, "He hates noise."

Lu Ziming leaned closer to Qin Yi, smiling. "Do you hate noise too?"

Qin Yi stared at him for a beat, then said, dry, "Yes."

Lu Ziming grinned wider. "I'll fix that."

Qin Yi blinked. "Please don't."

Lu Ziming laughed. "Too late."

He Li shot Luo Yan a look like he was asking, is he serious?

Luo Yan didn't know.

He just knew the lane felt a tiny bit less heavy when Lu Ziming was talking.

That afternoon, Chen Yao came by again. She didn't join training. She watched for a minute, then pointed at Mu Yan.

"You," she said. "Come."

Mu Yan blinked. "What?"

Chen Yao didn't explain. She turned and walked.

Mu Yan looked at Lan Huan.

Lan Huan nodded once. "Go," he said. "Learn."

Mu Yan hurried after her like he was afraid she'd change her mind.

When he came back an hour later, he looked different. Not stronger. Just… steadier.

"What did she do?" Luo Yan asked, low.

Mu Yan hesitated, then said, "She showed me how to breathe," he said. "How to not fight my element. How to let it flow."

Lu Ziming stared. "She taught you breathing?"

Mu Yan nodded. "Yeah."

Lu Ziming looked offended. "Nobody taught me breathing."

Qin Yi muttered, "You clearly don't."

Lu Ziming grinned. "Rude."

Night came again.

The gate held.

The fence held.

No fast screams.

That was the problem.

Because when things go quiet in a base like this, it usually means something is building.

Near midnight, He Li came back from a quiet scout with his face tight.

"Sir," he said to Lan Huan, "people are gathering near the ration lane. Whispering."

Lan Huan's eyes narrowed. "About what?"

He Li's voice stayed flat. "About cores."

Luo Yan's stomach dropped.

He hadn't told anyone.

Lan Huan hadn't told anyone.

But secrets leak when people are hungry.

He Li added, "They're saying awakened can get stronger by eating them."

Lu Ziming blinked. "Eating what?"

Qin Yi's head lifted. "Uh oh."

He Chenyu's jaw tightened. "Who's saying it?"

He Li shook his head. "A few. It spreads fast."

Lan Huan's storm pressure rose, low. "Tomorrow," he said, "we stop it."

Luo Yan swallowed.

Inside his pocket, the violet-threaded core from the gate incident felt heavy.

He hadn't absorbed it.

He didn't know if he could.

He didn't know if he should.

And now people were whispering.

Then, outside their container, a voice shouted in the lane.

"General Lan!"

Lan Huan moved to the door, hand near the metal rod.

"What," he called back.

A soldier stood outside, breathing hard. "Commander Zhao wants you," he said. "Now. At the gate."

Lan Huan's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

The soldier swallowed. "They're trying to force the gate open from outside," he said. "And… there's a man out there."

"A man?" He Li repeated.

The soldier nodded, scared. "He's shouting your name," he said. "He says he's from the capital base."

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