The institute call came before the debrief.
Not a phone call.
A message on Lin Lan's tablet, stamped with a high clearance tag and a time limit.
Lin Lan read it once, then looked up at Ye Fan.
"They want you," Lin Lan said.
Ye Fan didn't react. "Of course."
Lin Lan's voice stayed flat, but her eyes were tight. "They want Mu Chen too."
Mu Chen felt his stomach turn.
Zhou Xiao swore softly. "For what?"
Lin Lan looked at Mu Chen, then away. "Routine. They said 'routine.'"
Ye Fan's jaw clenched. "Nothing they do is routine."
Mu Chen kept his face calm. His hands were steady. He had practiced calm for most of his life.
Colonel Luo Wei entered the ready room a minute later, like she had already been told.
"Institute debrief first," Luo Wei said. "Then unit debrief."
Ye Fan spoke. "We already submitted the report."
Luo Wei's eyes stayed calm. "They want to ask questions."
Mu Chen understood what that meant.
They wanted to see faces. Watch reactions. Listen to what wasn't said.
Luo Wei looked at Mu Chen. "Lieutenant Mu. You follow Major Ye Fan. Do not speak unless asked."
Mu Chen nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
They walked.
The institute wing was connected by a corridor that looked the same as the rest of the base, but felt different. The air was colder. The lights were brighter. The cameras were closer together.
A scanner door waited at the end.
Lin Lan didn't come. Zhou Xiao didn't come. Only Ye Fan and Mu Chen, with Luo Wei a few steps behind them like a witness.
The scanner read their badges.
Green.
The door opened.
Inside was a small room with a round table and three chairs. Too clean. Too quiet. A screen on the wall. A recording light in the ceiling.
Dr. Qiu sat at the table.
He smiled when they entered, like this was a friendly meeting.
"Major Ye Fan," Dr. Qiu said. "Lieutenant Mu Chen. Colonel Luo."
Luo Wei sat without speaking. Ye Fan didn't sit right away.
Mu Chen stayed standing until Ye Fan sat, then sat too.
Dr. Qiu tapped his tablet. "We reviewed your mission data. Very interesting."
Ye Fan's voice was flat. "We cleared the gate."
"Yes," Dr. Qiu said. "And we noticed a few things."
Mu Chen's skin went cold.
Dr. Qiu turned his gaze to Mu Chen. "Lieutenant Mu. As a C-class guide, you performed very steadily under mental pressure."
Mu Chen answered in the safest way. "I focused on breathing and following orders."
Dr. Qiu smiled. "Good answer."
He looked back at Ye Fan. "Major Ye Fan, your mental output spiked at two points."
Ye Fan didn't blink. "It happens."
Dr. Qiu's smile stayed. "It does. And yet you stayed stable."
Ye Fan's jaw tightened. "Because I controlled it."
Dr. Qiu nodded slowly, as if considering. Then he asked the question like it was casual.
"Did Lieutenant Mu Chen assist you?"
The room went still.
Mu Chen's heartbeat stayed calm, but his mind sharpened.
Ye Fan looked at Dr. Qiu. "No."
Dr. Qiu tilted his head. "No support at all? Not even passive calming?"
Ye Fan's voice hardened. "No."
Dr. Qiu's smile widened slightly, like Ye Fan had just confirmed what he wanted.
He turned to Mu Chen. "Lieutenant Mu. Did you link with Major Ye Fan?"
Mu Chen kept his face neutral. "No."
Dr. Qiu's eyes stayed kind and empty. "Did you touch his mind?"
Mu Chen answered with the truth that hid the truth. "No."
Dr. Qiu tapped his tablet again. "Interesting. Because the data suggests a calming effect around Major Ye Fan during the spike. It's subtle, but it's there."
Mu Chen kept still.
Ye Fan's voice was cold. "Your data can suggest anything."
Dr. Qiu chuckled softly, like Ye Fan was a child arguing. "True. That's why we ask questions."
He leaned back. "Colonel Luo. Your unit has been under strain. We can help."
Luo Wei's voice was calm. "Help how?"
Dr. Qiu's smile didn't change. "We can run compatibility checks. We can assign stable pairings. We can reduce mission risk by limiting uncontrolled variables."
Uncontrolled variables.
Mu Chen felt the words land on him.
Ye Fan's voice turned sharp. "He's not a variable. He's a person."
Dr. Qiu looked pleasantly surprised. "Of course. I meant operationally."
Luo Wei's eyes narrowed slightly. "My unit does not need forced pairings."
Dr. Qiu spread his hands. "No one said forced. Only recommended."
Ye Fan's fingers curled on the table.
Mu Chen watched Ye Fan carefully. Ye Fan was angry. Angry meant heat. Heat meant risk. If Ye Fan lost control here, inside institute walls, they would win.
Mu Chen kept his power locked down.
Dr. Qiu's gaze returned to Mu Chen. "Lieutenant Mu, you have no emergency contact."
Mu Chen felt a small chill.
Dr. Qiu's voice stayed light. "No family. No ties. That can make a guide… easier to move."
Ye Fan's chair scraped.
He stood up.
Luo Wei's eyes snapped to him. "Ye Fan."
Ye Fan's voice was cold enough to cut. "Watch your mouth."
Dr. Qiu's smile didn't falter. "I'm only stating a fact, Major."
Ye Fan leaned forward slightly, like a predator who had decided the room was too small.
Mu Chen stood too, calm and quiet, and placed himself half a step closer to Ye Fan's side.
Not touching.
Not linking.
Just there.
Ye Fan felt it. Mu Chen saw the tiny shift in Ye Fan's shoulders, the way the storm inside him steadied for a second.
Dr. Qiu's eyes flicked to Mu Chen.
He noticed that.
Of course he did.
Luo Wei stood. "This interview is over."
Dr. Qiu kept smiling. "As you wish, Colonel. But we will request follow-up tests."
Luo Wei's voice stayed calm, but it carried steel. "Submit your request through command."
Dr. Qiu nodded, polite. "Naturally."
Ye Fan didn't speak again. He turned and walked out.
Mu Chen followed.
In the hallway, Ye Fan stopped suddenly and faced the wall, breathing hard through his nose like he was forcing himself not to explode.
Mu Chen waited.
Ye Fan spoke without turning. "They said 'easier to move.'"
Mu Chen's voice was quiet. "Yes."
Ye Fan's jaw tightened. "That's what they think of you."
Mu Chen didn't answer, because that wasn't new.
Ye Fan turned then, eyes burning. "You stay away from them."
Mu Chen met his gaze. "I don't have a choice if they order it."
Ye Fan's voice dropped, rough and dangerous. "Then I'll make a choice."
Mu Chen's chest tightened.
That sounded like trouble.
That sounded like the beginning of Ye Fan leaving the system, even if he wasn't ready yet.
Mu Chen kept his face calm and used simple words. "Not yet."
Ye Fan stared at him like he hated being told to wait.
Mu Chen held the stare.
Finally, Ye Fan looked away.
"Go," Ye Fan said. "Back to the unit."
Mu Chen nodded.
They walked back under the cold lights.
Behind them, the institute door shut softly.
But Mu Chen could still feel Dr. Qiu's smile on his skin like a fingerprint.
The gate had tested Ye Fan.
Now the institute was testing Mu Chen.