The next mission came too soon.
Mu Chen thought they might be kept on base because of the institute order. But the base didn't stop working just because people were being tested.
A gate alert hit the unit floor at dawn.
Lin Lan's tablet beeped. Zhou Xiao swore. Colonel Luo Wei appeared in the ready room with a face that said she had already argued with someone and lost.
"Gate," Luo Wei said. "City edge. C-grade. Quick clear."
Zhou Xiao blinked. "C-grade? Why send us?"
Luo Wei's eyes stayed calm. "Because command wants Major Ye Fan's team in the field. And because the institute wants more data."
Mu Chen's stomach tightened.
More data.
Ye Fan stood still, then spoke. "They're using us."
Luo Wei's voice was quiet but hard. "Yes. So we give them clean results and come back alive."
They geared up.
Mu Chen stayed close to Lin Lan.
Ye Fan didn't speak to Mu Chen on the way to the vehicle bay. That silence felt sharper than his words.
At the gate site, the area was already cleared. Barriers. Floodlights. A few base staff in the distance, staying far back like they didn't want the gate to notice them.
The gate hung in the air between two empty buildings. Smaller than the last one. Less pressure. Still wrong.
Lin Lan checked readings. "Confirmed C-grade gate."
Zhou Xiao exhaled. "Good. Easy."
Ye Fan didn't answer. He stared at the gate like it was lying.
Mu Chen felt a faint pull at the edge of his mind.
Not strong.
But familiar.
Like someone tapping on glass.
They stepped in.
Inside, the world looked like an underground parking structure, endless concrete pillars and low ceilings. The air was damp. Water dripped somewhere in the dark.
Lin Lan's tablet worked here. "Signal stable."
Zhou Xiao's shoulders loosened a little.
Mu Chen stayed behind Ye Fan, as ordered.
They moved between pillars, scanning.
A monster appeared fast, low to the ground like a dog made of shadow. Ye Fan shot it once. It fell. Easy.
Two more rushed from the side. Zhou Xiao took one. Ye Fan took the other.
Mu Chen watched.
This gate really was low grade.
Still, Ye Fan didn't relax.
The deeper they went, the more Mu Chen understood why.
This wasn't about difficulty.
It was about control.
The institute wanted a clean environment to measure behavior. A small gate was a controlled test.
Lin Lan stopped near a pillar. "Core direction this way."
They followed.
Mu Chen's steps were careful. He kept his breathing calm. He kept his power locked down.
They turned a corner.
And saw a person.
A human figure standing under a flickering ceiling light.
Zhou Xiao lifted his weapon instantly. "Civilian?"
Lin Lan's eyes narrowed. "No civilians should be inside a gate."
The figure turned slowly.
Mu Chen's stomach tightened.
It wasn't a civilian.
It looked like a soldier.
Uniform shape. Boots. Helmet.
But the face was wrong. Too smooth. Too blank. Like a mask made from memory.
A mimic.
It raised its head and spoke in a voice that sounded almost normal.
"Major Ye Fan," it said.
Zhou Xiao's blood went cold. "It knows your name."
Lin Lan whispered, "This is not C-grade."
Ye Fan didn't move. His eyes locked on the mimic.
The mimic took a step closer. "Come here."
The voice hit like a hook.
Zhou Xiao's posture shifted, like he wanted to obey without knowing why.
Mu Chen felt it too. A pull at the mind, aimed like a weapon.
Ye Fan's jaw clenched.
Mu Chen sensed Ye Fan's control tighten until it hurt.
The mimic stepped closer again. "Come."
Zhou Xiao took one step forward.
Lin Lan grabbed Zhou Xiao's sleeve. "Stop!"
Zhou Xiao blinked hard, breathing rough, like waking from a fog.
Mu Chen felt Ye Fan's senses spike.
Too sharp.
Too open.
The mimic's voice changed, becoming softer, almost kind. "It's okay. I can make the noise stop."
Mu Chen's stomach dropped.
That was not a random line.
That was aimed at Ye Fan.
It was copying something Ye Fan wanted.
Ye Fan's eyes went dark.
Mu Chen felt the edge of a break again.
And this time, they were close range. Cameras on. Signal stable.
Mu Chen couldn't use power without leaving a trace.
But if Ye Fan broke, the whole mission would turn into a disaster.
The mimic moved fast.
It lunged for Ye Fan.
Ye Fan reacted, knife out, but the mimic didn't attack his body.
It reached for his head.
A mental strike.
Ye Fan's breath hitched.
Mu Chen moved.
He didn't think about the cameras.
He didn't think about the institute.
He only thought: not him.
Mu Chen stepped in between them and lifted his hand.
He didn't touch Ye Fan.
He didn't touch the mimic.
He pushed outward, a short, hard pulse of calm.
The mimic jerked back like it hit a wall.
The air in the parking structure went silent for half a second.
Ye Fan's eyes cleared.
Ye Fan struck.
One clean motion. Knife into the mimic's neck. Then into its head.
It collapsed.
Zhou Xiao stared at Mu Chen. Lin Lan stared too.
Mu Chen lowered his hand slowly, like it had done nothing.
Ye Fan turned toward Mu Chen.
His face was controlled, but his eyes were bright.
Anger. Relief. Fear. All packed into one look.
"You did it again," Ye Fan said, low.
Mu Chen's voice was calm. "I stopped it."
Lin Lan's voice was tight. "Mu Chen… that wasn't C-class."
Mu Chen didn't look at her. He couldn't.
If he started explaining, he would start falling apart.
Ye Fan stepped closer, voice harsh. "Don't do that in a stable signal zone."
Mu Chen met his gaze. "Then don't let it reach you."
Ye Fan's jaw clenched like he wanted to argue.
Then Lin Lan spoke fast. "We need the core. Now."
They moved.
They found the core within minutes. A small pulsing stone wedged into a crack in the concrete. Ye Fan destroyed it with one shot.
The gate began to collapse.
They ran back.
They exited.
Outside, base staff rushed in, scanning them, checking their vitals, taking quick notes.
Mu Chen felt the eyes on him again.
Not only cameras.
People.
One staff member glanced at Mu Chen's badge, then at a tablet, then at Mu Chen again.
Like confirming something.
Mu Chen's stomach tightened.
The institute had gotten what it wanted.
A clean signal environment.
A recorded moment.
Proof that a "C-class guide" had done something he shouldn't be able to do.
On the ride back, Ye Fan didn't speak.
But Mu Chen could feel his anger like heat.
Zhou Xiao didn't speak either.
Lin Lan kept her eyes on her tablet, face pale.
Mu Chen sat in silence and understood one simple truth.
The evaluation in forty-eight hours was no longer routine.
It was a trap closing.