At once, Yi Qiansi recognized the face he had not seen in so long.

Gu Yechen!

Gu Yechen also saw Yi Qiansi and his eyes widened. He opened his mouth to call Yi Qiansi, but he then stopped himself.

Gu Yechen and the other boy were brought to the place the fake human targets were usually placed and Snow pulled out a gun from nowhere.

"Happy birthday, Yi Qiansi. When I turned 12, my dad gave me the same birthday present. . . The first person I killed!" Snow smiled as he thought back to the memory, "It was the best feeling. So I am passing it onto you."

He pointed at Gu Yechen and the other boy, "And, I especially brought you the Gu family's son! Here you go!"

He handed the gun to Yi Qiansi and pushed him over, leaving Yi Qiansi in shock.

He has hurt many people under the pressure of Snow and shot many times, but he has never actually killed a live human being.

His hand shook as he held onto the gun and after several seconds, he turned around and met with Snow's eager eyes, "I don't want this birthday present."

Snow's smile immediately disappeared, "You think you have a choice?! Hurry up!"

Yi Qiansi's hand tightened around the gun but he still didn't make a move. Snow walked over suddenly and grabbed onto Yi Qiansi, his eyes red from anger.

"If you don't do it, then you will be the one to die. Make your decision!"

Yi Qiansi gulped as he looked down at the gun in his hands. His eyes then moved up to look at Gu Yechen, who was looking back at him with a confused but also calm expression.

Yi Qiansi suddenly lifted the gun up, pointing at Gu Yechen. His hand was shaking, something that never happened when he usually shot.

With a gun pointing at him, Gu Yechen did not cry or scream or have any sense of surprise. Instead, he stared straight into Yi Qiansi's eyes, almost as if he was looking into his soul.

This eye contact made Yi Qiansi very uncomfortable, and his arms began shaking even more violently.

"Hurry up, you bast***! Everyone will die with you if you don't make a move now!"

Hearing that, the other boys became scared as well as they all took a step back.

Then. . .

Bang!

Yi Qiansi had pulled the trigger.

Everyone inside the room gasped, as no one except the trainers and Snow had actually killed a real person in their lifetime.

Snow's eyes widened in shock as the boy fell down onto the ground, taking one last breath before he closed his eyes.

On the side, Gu Yechen glanced at the boy with shock and confusion in his eyes.

Yi Qiansi was also surprised as he wondered why he had moved his hand just slightly the second before he shot, moving his target from Gu Yechen to the other boy.

He dropped the gun onto the floor, and the next second, he felt a strong force grab onto the back of his shirt and pull him away.

The next minute, he was inside a room on the second floor of the dungeon, and inside, there were knives, guns, and whips.

"You useless -" Snow screamed as he dragged Yi Qiansi to the center of the room and immediately punched him across the face.

Then, right away, it was another kick that caused Yi Qiansi to grunt in pain.

For the rest of the night, Yi Qiansi fought Snow, or more like, he got attacked by Snow with fists, feet, and even knives.

Throughout the endless hours, Yi Qiansi did regret his decision many times.

Why didn't he kill Gu Yechen?!

His life was like this right now because of the Gu family! The Gu family killed his family! Why didn't he pull the trigger?! What stopped him?! His plan all along was to kill Gu Yechen, but at the last second, why did he change his target?

The night seemed to be endless as the seconds slowly ticked by with each punch, each kick, and each ear-piercing scream. When he returned to his room the next day, his body was filled with several new scars, all of which were bleeding.

---

Several days later, he went to the second floor of the dungeon to visit Gu Yechen.

When he saw him, he noticed that Gu Yechen had gotten much skinnier and also had several scars on his body. He did not know what caused those scars, but he did not really care either.

They stared at each other for several long seconds before Yi Qiansi turned around and walked away, without saying anything.

"Goodbye," Gu Yechen said and Yi Qiansi heard, but he did not reply.

About a month later, news spread across the palace that Snow's prisoner had escaped.

When Yi Qiansi heard, he was not surprised at all. Because, the night when Gu Yechen had escaped, he had run into him. . .

Snow was furious and that night, Yi Qiansi's scars increased.

---

After Gu Yechen returned to the Gu mansion, he stayed silent for an entire month. His parents and grandparents were all worried sick about him.

He did not talk, did not smile, and did not show any emotions. It took a full year before he recovered mostly, but ever since the incident, the little Gu Yechen never came back.

Ever since, he has been a very cold person and did not show affection to anyone.

When he got kidnapped a month ago, they had tried everything to try and find him and rescue him, but nothing worked.

They all believed that it was a miracle when Gu Yechen was able to escape.

But only Gu Yechen knew he did not actually escape on his own. . . Yi Qiansi had saved him twice.

--- Many Years Later

Yi Qiansi was almost 20 by now, and the weak little boy had grown up into a handsome man. With a taller and more muscular body than all the other people in the palace, he was naturally also feared by the others.

His features had grown out to be sharper and scarier than before, but they also made him look more attractive.

Most of the boys that had grown up with him were still here, while some had died.

Yi Qiansi returned to his room at night after eating dinner by himself. Snow and many people were away from the palace on a mission to kill someone he did not know of.

They had been gone for five days already, and they were supposed to be back a day ago.

When he entered the room, he saw Snow's assistant inside.

"What are you doing here in my room?" Yi Qiansi asked gravely, narrowing his eyes. After the last few years, he had developed this cold and quite scary temperament very similar to the one Snow had.

Even Snow's assistant couldn't help but be afraid of Yi Qiansi, "I have news."

"What news? Hurry up."

The assistant cleared his throat and announced, "Snow and Team B unfortunately. . . died during mission X."

Yi Qiansi raised one eyebrow, "So what now?"

"Snow has written a will a while back, and it states that you are to be the next leader of the KMK Group."

--- A Month Later

All across the world, the newspapers, articles, videos, everything, were talking about the breaking news that had happened a few days ago.

The KMK Group launched its biggest attack in several years, killing hundreds of people. After the attack, the KMK Group announced that the old leader had died and a new leader had taken over.

In less than a month since the new leader took over, he caused this big of a commotion. It was clear that this new leader wasn't easy to deal with.

For the next few years, the KMK Group would be haunting the lives of many people.

--- Present

Gu Yechen opened his eyes and realized that they were in the air already. He did not know how long he had been sleeping, but he had many dreams during his sleep, mostly bad.

He lifted one hand up and touched his forehead to find that it was wet with sweat all over it.

Chen Xiao handed over a napkin worriedly, "Mr. Gu. . ."

Gu Yechen wiped his forehead and sighed, "Thank you."

After a few seconds, Chen Xiao bravely said, "Mr. Gu, don't be too worried. I am certain that Mrs. Gu and the baby will be okay."

Gu Yechen nodded his head, "I know that Yi Qiansi won't hurt them. . . That isn't his goal."

Chen Xiao nodded his head, "That's great! As long as he doesn't hurt Mr. Gu and the baby, then we can always figure out a plan to get them out!"

Gu Yechen shook his head softly, "What I am most afraid of is. . . Yi Qiansi might fall in love with her."

Gu Yechen furrowed his eyebrows together, "We are the same type of people. . . We have both lived in the darkness for too long that a little sunlight shining in is like a magnet, so captivating. . ."

Gu Yechen closed his eyes again.

His Xinyan is like a little sun. . . He couldn't help but be scared that Yi Qiansi would fall in love with her too.