Inside the gate, the air smelled wrong.
Not rotten.
Not chemical.
Just wrong, like the world had been mixed with something that didn't belong.
Mu Chen's boots sank slightly into the ground. It looked like dirt, but it held water like a sponge. Every step made a soft wet sound.
They stood in what looked like a wide open lot.
No buildings.
No streetlights.
Only tall shadows in the distance that might have been trees, or might have been something else.
The sky above was dark green, like deep water. There was no sun, no moon, no stars.
Lin Lan's tablet flickered. "No satellite. No base signal."
Zhou Xiao swallowed. "So we're blind."
Ye Fan's voice stayed flat. "We move anyway."
Mu Chen watched Ye Fan's shoulders.
They were tight.
Sentinels relied on senses. This place pushed senses too hard. It was like the gate wanted them open. Wanted to pour noise into them until they broke.
They walked.
Mu Chen stayed close behind Ye Fan as ordered.
The farther they went, the more the world changed. The ground became less like dirt and more like thick ash. The air got colder, then warmer, like someone was switching settings.
Zhou Xiao muttered, "This place is playing with us."
Lin Lan didn't answer. She was recording, but her hands shook slightly.
Mu Chen kept his breathing slow.
He felt the gate pressing on his mind too. Not like the warehouse anomaly before. This was bigger. Wider. Like the whole space had teeth.
A sound came from ahead.
A low click.
Then another.
Like nails tapping on glass.
Ye Fan lifted his hand. Stop.
They froze.
Mu Chen listened.
Click. Click. Click.
The sound moved around them.
Not one thing.
Many.
Zhou Xiao whispered, "How many?"
Lin Lan's voice was tight. "I can't count."
Ye Fan lowered his weapon slightly, eyes scanning the dark. "Mu Chen."
Mu Chen's chest tightened. "Yes, Major?"
Ye Fan spoke without looking back. "If you can do anything, do it now."
Mu Chen went still.
That wasn't an order to link.
It was worse.
It was Ye Fan admitting he needed help.
Zhou Xiao glanced at Mu Chen, confused.
Lin Lan's eyes flicked to Mu Chen fast, sharp.
Mu Chen made a choice.
He let a thin layer of his power spread out, not touching anyone directly. Just a soft field around the team, like a blanket over sharp air.
The clicking sound dulled.
The pressure in Ye Fan's mind eased by a small amount.
Ye Fan's shoulders loosened a fraction.
He noticed again.
His head tilted slightly, but he didn't turn.
The dark moved.
Shapes appeared at the edge of the field. Low bodies with too many legs. Thin faces with shining eyes. They crawled over the ash like it was nothing.
Gate monsters.
Zhou Xiao raised his weapon. "Now?"
Ye Fan's voice was cold. "Now."
The team fired.
The monsters rushed.
Fast, low, swarming.
Lin Lan threw a flash. Light exploded. Some monsters jerked back, but most kept coming.
Zhou Xiao shot two down, then three more took their place.
Ye Fan moved forward like a blade, cutting through the front line. His knife flashed. Black fluid sprayed and vanished.
But the monsters kept coming.
Mu Chen stayed behind Ye Fan, hands clenched.
He could do more.
He could wipe the whole wave out with one push.
But the cameras on their gear were still recording. Even if Lin Lan said no base signal, the data could still be stored.
And if the institute saw him do too much, he would be finished.
A monster leaped at Lin Lan.
Mu Chen reacted without thinking.
He reached out with his hand and pushed.
Not physical.
Mental.
The monster froze mid-air like it hit a wall, then dropped and twitched.
Lin Lan stared at it.
Her eyes snapped to Mu Chen.
Mu Chen's face stayed blank.
Ye Fan turned sharply. He saw the dead monster near Lin Lan's feet.
He looked at Mu Chen.
For one second, Ye Fan's eyes held a question.
Mu Chen didn't answer.
Zhou Xiao shouted, "Left!"
Another wave hit.
Ye Fan moved to block it, but a monster slipped past his shoulder and lunged straight for Mu Chen.
Mu Chen's cover almost broke.
A C-class guide should panic here.
Mu Chen didn't.
He stepped sideways and drove his elbow down hard onto the monster's head.
Bone cracked.
The monster collapsed.
Zhou Xiao stared. "What the—"
Ye Fan's voice snapped. "Focus!"
They fought for five more minutes.
Then, suddenly, the monsters retreated.
Not because they were scared.
Because something else arrived.
The ash under their feet trembled.
A deeper sound rose from the distance, like a slow drum.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Lin Lan whispered, "Something big."
Zhou Xiao's breathing turned fast. "That's not B-grade."
Ye Fan's eyes went cold. "We clear the core. We leave."
Mu Chen swallowed.
Core.
Every gate had a core. A center. A heart.
Destroy it, and the gate closed.
But cores were guarded.
And this place felt like it wanted to keep them.
They moved toward the sound.
The landscape changed again. The ash became hard ground. Cracked stone. Dark puddles that reflected nothing.
Then they saw a structure ahead.
A warehouse.
A real warehouse.
Metal walls, rusted roof, wide doors.
It looked like the one they cleared before.
Too familiar.
Mu Chen's stomach tightened.
Gates sometimes copied places from the human world. Sometimes they pulled them in. Sometimes they made traps out of memories.
Ye Fan stopped and stared at the warehouse.
Zhou Xiao whispered, "Why does it look like home?"
Lin Lan's voice shook. "This is wrong."
Mu Chen felt the gate press on his mind again, heavier now. Like it was enjoying their fear.
Ye Fan spoke, calm and cold. "We go in."
Mu Chen followed.
The warehouse door was closed.
A scanner pad sat beside it.
Mu Chen's blood ran cold.
The same kind of pad.
Lin Lan stared. "There's no way."
Ye Fan stepped closer.
The scanner pad lit up by itself.
Green.
The warehouse door opened.
Slowly.
Like it was welcoming them back.
And from inside, the low wet hum began again.
Mu Chen's hand curled at his side.
This wasn't just a gate.
This was a message.
And the message was meant for Ye Fan.