The system alert burned across Jin's vision, cutting the moment short before he could even process what he'd just watched the recruits accomplish.
[Territory Alert: Unidentified Movement Detected]
He was on his feet immediately, chair scraping back hard enough to tip over. Across the table, Seul and Joon were already moving, and Echo pushed off his chair with a groan, stretching his arms overhead like the interruption personally offended him.
"Didn't even get to finish sitting down," he muttered, falling in step behind the others.
The recruits flinched at the shift, the easy warmth of a few minutes ago gone in an instant, replaced by something tense and electric. Nobody asked questions. They just followed, filing out of the cafeteria and into the halls behind Jin's group, curiosity outweighing whatever caution should have kept them back.
Then the sound hit.
A deep, metallic screech, followed by a heavy, final crash.
Jin's chest tightened. The gate.
