As soon as Mu Chen got back to the unit floor, he could tell something was off.
Silence.
A shift in the air.
People weren't gawking, but they were definitely trying hard *not* to. That was even worse. It meant the news had already spread like wildfire, quiet and fast.
Lin Lan headed straight to her workstation, already starting to upload the mission file. Her face was all calm, but her fingers were flying way too fast.
Zhou Xiao hung around the lockers, glancing back and forth between Ye Fan and Mu Chen, like he wasn't sure who to even look at.
Ye Fan didn't say a word.
He just watched.
Mu Chen walked over to his personal space, sat down on the bed, and made himself take slow, even breaths. He kept his hands resting on his knees, right where the camera could catch them. Empty hands. Calm posture. The goal was to show absolutely nothing but "normal."
A message pinged on Lin Lan's tablet.
Then another.
And another.
Lin Lan's shoulders tensed. She didn't read them aloud, but a little bit of color drained from her face. She glanced up once, her eyes meeting Mu Chen's across the room.
Warning.
Mu Chen's stomach dropped, a cold sensation washing over him.
About a minute later, Colonel Luo Wei walked into the ready room.
Her steps were solid. Her expression was steady.
She didn't waste any time.
"Mu Chen," Luo Wei said. "Come with me."
Mu Chen stood up. "Yes, ma'am."
Ye Fan's head snapped up immediately.
"Colonel," Ye Fan said.
Luo Wei didn't even glance his way. "Major Ye Fan, stay put."
Ye Fan's jaw tightened. "With all due respect—"
Luo Wei finally turned her head. Her eyes were like flint. "That's an order."
Ye Fan froze, not moving.
Mu Chen followed Luo Wei out.
They walked down a short hallway to an office with a scanner on the door. The scanner read Luo Wei's badge, then Mu Chen's.
Green light.
The door clicked open.
Inside, the room was bare. One desk. Two chairs. A camera in the corner that looked way newer than anything else on base.
Luo Wei sat down and gestured for Mu Chen to take a seat.
Mu Chen sat.
Luo Wei looked at him for a long stretch, as if she was carefully weighing each word, as if every single one came with a price tag.
Then she spoke.
"You're not assigned," Luo Wei stated.
Mu Chen blinked. "Ma'am?"
Luo Wei's voice stayed level. "You don't have a set partner. No long-term support plan. Your file just lists you as general guide support."
Mu Chen nodded slowly. "Yes."
Luo Wei leaned back. "Do you understand what that implies?"
Mu Chen answered straightforwardly. "It means I can be reassigned."
"Yes," Luo Wei confirmed. "It means you can be moved anytime. It means you can be placed under someone else's command. It means you can be absorbed into a program without anyone on my unit needing to explain it."
Mu Chen felt a small clench in his chest, but he didn't let it show.
"Why are you telling me this?" Mu Chen asked.
Luo Wei's lips thinned. "Because you're on my floor. And because the institute is currently looking into you."
Mu Chen's fingers went cold.
Luo Wei continued. "After today's gate event, your evaluation isn't just routine anymore. They've bumped it up to a full assessment."
Mu Chen kept his expression smooth. "When?"
Luo Wei slid a small piece of paper across the desk.
Paper was a rarity here. Paper didn't leave digital trails unless someone actively scanned it.
Mu Chen looked down.
A time. A room number. Soon.
Far too soon.
Luo Wei watched his face. "You're still calm."
Mu Chen's voice remained quiet. "Panicking won't help."
Luo Wei gave a single nod, as if accepting his statement.
Then she added, "Major Ye Fan asked to escort you."
Mu Chen's chest tightened. "And you refused."
"Yes," Luo Wei confirmed. "You think he can protect you. Maybe he can. Maybe he'll just end up drawing more attention to you. He's an A-class sentinel. He's already under scrutiny."
Mu Chen stayed silent.
Luo Wei's gaze held him. "Listen. Lin Lan will escort you. You'll answer only what they ask. You won't argue. You won't reveal anything you don't absolutely have to."
Mu Chen nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Luo Wei's eyes narrowed slightly. "And if they push you?"
Mu Chen paused, then replied with the only truth he truly believed. "I will survive."
Luo Wei stared at him, as if she wanted to know what that meant but decided she didn't want the answer.
"Go," she said.
Mu Chen stood and left.
Back in the ready room, Ye Fan was waiting by the lockers.
He wasn't pacing.
But he was unnaturally still, like a fighter holding himself back with sheer force.
Mu Chen walked towards his partitioned space.
Ye Fan stepped directly into his path.
"What did she say?" Ye Fan demanded.
Mu Chen kept his voice even. "Orders."
Ye Fan's eyes hardened. "What orders?"
Mu Chen tried to sidestep him.
Ye Fan caught his wrist.
Not aggressively.
Just firmly enough that Mu Chen couldn't pretend it hadn't happened.
Mu Chen froze.
Ye Fan felt it too.
Not a direct link, not a bond, but close enough for Ye Fan to sense the unusual calm beneath Mu Chen's skin, and for Mu Chen to feel the heat of Ye Fan's grip.
Ye Fan's eyes flashed.
He released Mu Chen abruptly, as if he'd touched something that made him angry at himself.
Mu Chen's voice was soft. "Don't."
Ye Fan's jaw clenched. "They're taking you in."
Mu Chen didn't reply.
Ye Fan's voice dropped, becoming rougher. "You're not assigned. That means they can move you. That means they can keep you."
Mu Chen's chest tightened for a single second. He pushed the feeling down.
He met Ye Fan's eyes. "I won't disappear."
Ye Fan stared at him, as if he couldn't believe anyone could make that promise.
Across the room, Zhou Xiao and Lin Lan both acted like they weren't paying attention. But they were.
Mu Chen stepped around Ye Fan and went behind his partition.
He sat on the bed.
He stared at the cold lamp.
Not assigned.
Not protected.
Not belonging to anyone, which should have been freedom.
Instead, it meant there was nothing on paper to stop the institute from taking him.
Outside the partition, Ye Fan's boots shifted once, then stilled.
Mu Chen heard Ye Fan's voice, low, directed likely at Zhou Xiao.
"Watch him."
Mu Chen closed his eyes.
This wasn't romance. Not yet.
It was something more complicated.
A kind of protection born out of desperation.
A kind of attention that could easily become a cage if Ye Fan didn't learn to let go.
And Mu Chen wasn't sure which prospect scared him more.
The institute's grip.
Or Ye Fan's.