Training started at six.
Not because it was the best time.
Because it was the worst.
The base liked to see what people looked like when they were tired.
Mu Chen woke before his alarm. He sat up, washed his face, and dressed in silence. Around him, the team floor was already moving. Boots on clean tile. Zippers. Low voices. The day starting like a machine.
He tied his laces and checked his badge.
Guide. C.
He repeated it in his head like a prayer.
In the training hall, the lights were even colder than the hallway lights. White panels in the ceiling. Clean walls. Cameras in the corners. A glass room above the floor where people could watch without being seen.
Mu Chen noticed the glass room right away.
He kept his face blank.
Zhou Xiao waved him over. "Here."
Mu Chen walked to the line where the team stood. Lin Lan was there too, hair tied back, tablet in hand like it was a weapon.
Ye Fan stood in front of them.
He wore a simple training uniform. No vest. No helmet. Just a shirt that showed strong arms and a calm face that looked carved out of control.
Ye Fan's eyes moved across the line. Then stopped on Mu Chen.
"Late," Ye Fan said.
Mu Chen checked the wall clock. He was early.
He understood anyway. Ye Fan was setting a tone.
Mu Chen answered simply. "Yes, Major."
Ye Fan's gaze hardened. "You don't say yes to a lie. You correct it."
Mu Chen held still. "I was early."
Ye Fan's eyes narrowed slightly, like he didn't like that Mu Chen could stay calm under pressure.
"Good," Ye Fan said. "At least you can count."
Zhou Xiao made a small sound like he wanted to laugh and didn't dare.
Ye Fan turned. "Warm up. Ten minutes."
The team moved.
Mu Chen copied them. Stretch. Run. Jumping drills. Nothing special. But Mu Chen felt the eyes on him anyway.
Not just the team.
The glass room.
Mu Chen did not look up.
He kept his breathing even and his movements normal. Not too smooth. Not too strong. A C-level guide should not move like a weapon.
After the warm-up, Ye Fan walked along the line again.
"Today," Ye Fan said, "we test basics. Movement. Balance. Reaction."
He stopped in front of Mu Chen.
"Lieutenant Mu," Ye Fan said.
"Yes, Major."
"You fight."
Mu Chen paused. "I'm a guide."
Ye Fan's mouth tightened. "You have a body. Use it."
Mu Chen kept his voice mild. "I can defend myself."
"Show me," Ye Fan said.
Zhou Xiao stepped forward, then hesitated. Lin Lan looked up from the tablet.
Ye Fan pointed. "Zhou Xiao. Spar with him."
Zhou Xiao's eyes widened. "Major—"
"Light contact," Ye Fan said. "No broken bones. I'm not in the mood for paperwork."
Zhou Xiao looked at Mu Chen with apology. "Sorry."
Mu Chen nodded once. "It's fine."
They moved to the mat.
Zhou Xiao lifted his hands in a basic guard position. "Just… do your best. I'll go easy."
Mu Chen didn't answer.
He took his stance.
Not perfect. Not sloppy. Just enough.
Zhou Xiao came in slow, testing.
Mu Chen stepped back, turned his shoulder, avoided the first grab.
Zhou Xiao tried again, faster.
Mu Chen blocked.
His palm met Zhou Xiao's wrist. A simple move, clean and quick.
Zhou Xiao blinked.
He came again, a small punch toward Mu Chen's chest.
Mu Chen shifted his weight and redirected it. The move was simple, but the timing was exact. Zhou Xiao stumbled one step.
The room went quiet.
Not fully.
But quieter.
Mu Chen felt it. That small change when people stopped thinking and started watching.
Zhou Xiao's expression turned serious. He stopped going easy.
He came in harder. A sweep, a grab, a shoulder hit.
Mu Chen kept moving.
He didn't win. He didn't lose.
He stayed just under the line.
Enough to look trained.
Not enough to look special.
Still, Ye Fan's eyes stayed on him like a blade.
Zhou Xiao tried to take Mu Chen down.
Mu Chen saw it a second before it happened. He stepped aside, used Zhou Xiao's forward force, and threw him gently onto the mat.
Not a violent throw.
A controlled one.
Zhou Xiao hit the mat and stared up at the ceiling.
Then he sat up and looked at Mu Chen with a new kind of caution.
Ye Fan spoke once. "Again."
Zhou Xiao got up.
This time, Zhou Xiao didn't smile. He attacked fast, trying to surprise him.
Mu Chen let himself be pushed back two steps.
Then he slipped sideways and hooked Zhou Xiao's elbow, turning him off balance.
Zhou Xiao cursed softly and broke free.
Mu Chen's heart stayed calm.
But he felt it now.
Ye Fan wasn't testing if Mu Chen could fight.
Ye Fan was testing what Mu Chen was hiding.
The spar ended when Ye Fan lifted his hand.
"Enough," Ye Fan said.
Zhou Xiao stepped back, breathing hard. Mu Chen breathed evenly.
Ye Fan walked up to Mu Chen.
His voice was quiet, so only Mu Chen could hear. "Orphanage taught you that?"
Mu Chen's eyes didn't move. "No."
Ye Fan's gaze sharpened. "Then where?"
Mu Chen answered with the safest truth. "I learned to survive."
Ye Fan stared at him for a long moment.
Then Ye Fan stepped back and spoke to the group. "Weapons drill."
The team moved to the next section.
Mu Chen stayed in line, but his skin felt tight.
Ye Fan had gotten too close.
Not physically.
Mentally.
A sentinel like Ye Fan noticed gaps. Not just what you showed, but what you didn't.
In the weapons drill, Mu Chen did the minimum again. He held the training pistol correctly. He hit basic targets. He missed a few on purpose. He made sure the pattern looked normal.
Lin Lan watched him from the side.
Not like Zhou Xiao.
Lin Lan watched like a recorder.
Mu Chen kept his face neutral.
After two hours, Ye Fan dismissed them.
Zhou Xiao walked beside Mu Chen on the way out. He rubbed his shoulder. "You said you were C."
Mu Chen gave a small smile. "I am."
Zhou Xiao stared. "C doesn't throw me like that."
Mu Chen answered softly. "Maybe you're tired."
Zhou Xiao looked like he wanted to argue.
Then he stopped, like he remembered where they were. Cameras. Glass room. Rules.
"Yeah," Zhou Xiao said. "Maybe."
They left the hall.
Mu Chen felt the cold light follow him down the corridor.
Behind them, Ye Fan remained in the training hall for a moment longer.
Mu Chen didn't turn.
But he could feel Ye Fan's gaze on his back.
Like a hand that didn't touch.
Like a promise that Ye Fan would not stop until he knew the truth.