Lian Ye sat there, still half-dazed, replaying fragments of what happened on the track. His brain felt like someone had scooped it out, stirred it, and tossed it back in with the memories scrambled.
The door slid open without a sound.
A boy his age stepped in casually, a small fruit knife in one hand, calmly peeling an apple like this was a picnic, not an infirmary. He didn't look at Lian Ye. Didn't even acknowledge his existence. Just walked past him.
Rin Shen, white hair, a slightly cold but natural expression on his face, his green trench coat swaying as he walked by and say on the chair by the bed then loosened up his tie.
"Uh… morning?" Lian Ye tried, voice uncertain. "Where am I? Who are—"
Rin raised a finger, eyes still on the apple.
"Not yet."
"Not yet for what?"
"Not yet time for answers."
Rin said it like it was a weather report. Then he stood. "Come on. You can walk now I made sure to give you time to time to rest."
"I literally just woke up—"
"You'll be fine. If you weren't, they'd have left you on the track."
That didn't sound reassuring at all, but Rin was already heading out, so Lian Ye scrambled after him.
---
The hallway was long, dim, and cold—built from that old fortress-stone style you only see in outdated academies or secret organizations that really want to look mysterious.
Rin stopped at intersections, glancing around like he was checking for something invisible. Lian Ye noticed how silent everything was. No footsteps. No sound except their shoes on the ground. No people, no lights except the ones on each side of the wall adding to the eerie feeling Lian ye was getting ever since he woke up.
Just the two of them and a pressure in the air that felt like someone watching from behind the walls.
"Where is everyone?" Lian Ye asked.
Rin didn't slow down."Busy." rin said without turning back like it was normal to him already.
Lian Ye swallowed. "Doing what ?"
Rin Shen stopped and turned around with a slightly annoyed expression " that is enough questions for today" he turned back and continued at the same pace as before.
---
They stopped in front of a room. The temperature dropped instantly, prickling Lian Ye's skin. It was like frost had crawled along the metal doorknob. Black, ink-like lines slithered across the walls almost like they were alive.
"This place…" Lian Ye whispered. "What happened here?"
Rin stepped aside, letting Lian Ye face the door alone.
"This is the vice captain's room," he said. "Nightmare Seeker, Tel Suyin." The name hit like a cold gust. Rin continued, "He's the one who asked me to get you he wants to discuss a few things with you before we decide what next to do with you."
Lian Ye froze, those words made him feel a new wave of year but his expression never changed like it was stuck without any emotion.
Lian Ye stepped back. "Why would he want to discuss with me?, I don't even know what's going on"
"Because you're not normal," Rin replied simply.
Before Lian Ye could respond, a sound echoed inside the room—like nails scratching metal, slow and deliberate.
Rin's knife flicked into his hand again, but he didn't look afraid.
"Relax," he said. "It's the nightmares trying to get in your head the more you resist the harder they try that's why he's down here"
Lian ye shifted almost like he was about to run when he found the chance. Rin sighed. "Look, you wanted answers? This is where you start earning them."
Lian Ye stared at the dark door, heart pounding like it wanted out.
"Why me?" he whispered.
Rin studied him for a moment… then gave the first honest expression since they met—something between pity and curiosity.
"Because whatever you saw on that track… saw you back." The scratching inside the room stopped then it swung open and there it revealed a tall man, black coat, gloves and the white hair which they all had in common. He wore gold rimmed glasses which hid his eyes, he looked like he hadn't slept in days and had a cigarette in his mouth then he said in a low voice "i've been waiting for you Lian ye"