“Huuu…”

Heavy breath filled the room like a broken bellow, and the stickiness of blood and spit crawled in his throat.

The mask covered in blood fell to the floor. Leaning on the side of a table, the leader barely opened his eyes and saw the destroyed room after the fight while the floor was full of corpses. The leader was the only one left standing in the room while all the executive officers had all fallen under his fists. The senior officials’ frightened expression remained on their face as if they had stopped breathing.

The leader spat out bloody mucus and took a deep breath. The dense smell of stinky blood irritated his nose, and he could not help but cough his lungs out for another two minutes.

The intense battle had provoked his hidden injury from the ambush, when he was heavily injured by Han Xiao. He had not had time to recover, and soon, he became unable to quickly resolve it.

Every time that he felt the subtle pain, he was reminded of Han Xiao. Until now, the leader could only feel hatred in his heart. At times when the anger faded away, he could feel nothing but emptiness.

The leader stood in front of the central control panel and selected the option to launch the nuclear bomb. He took off his gloves, scanned his fingerprints and eyes, and authorized the launch. After the two keys were in the keyhole, both of them turned just needed to be turned, then the nuclear bomb will be launched. On the last step, the hands full of scars held on the keys, but they could not turn them.

The leader leaned on the chair and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes were not focused on anything as if he was daydreaming. No one had any idea what he was thinking.

Dududu!

The window popped out on the corner of the screen, and surprisingly, it was a call from Han Xiao.

The leader pressed the ‘accept’ button without any hesitation. The screen then showed Han Xiao’s face.

Seeing the corpses on the floor, Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. He wanted to call to see the situation on the side of the Germinal Organization. He also wanted to see the leader one last time, but he already understood the situation after witnessing the scene. He shook his head and said, “Looks like you have made your decision.”

The leader’s eyes leaked his disappointment.

“I still can’t believe that I lost to you, you… insignificant bug. Mistakes after mistakes, my life’s work has been ruined by you… Now what do you want? To again gloat about what you have done? I’m here—enjoy yourself. My life, the end of Germinal Organization, will all be an important part of your history. You are the winner, so you have the power to look down on the loser you defeated.”

“I told you, the galaxy is unfathomable. This planet is just a small speck of dust, and no one will spare a thought on what’s happened here.” Han Xiao shook his head. Even though he was watching the fall of his enemy, Han Xiao was calm and collected. In the end, he was still a gentleman. He slowly said, “I just think that, after doing so much in your life, you still haven’t had a chance to express your feelings.”

“Do you want to me confess to you, my mortal enemy?” The leader’s face looked even uglier. He leaned on the chair and relaxed his body. “That seems interesting.”

Han Xiao shrugged and directly cut to what he wanted. “What’s with Destiny’s Child?”

The leader laughed out loud and stopped after a while, shaking his head. “Destiny’s Child is nothing but a pity man. He can see the future, change the fate of people, yet he cannot decide his own life and death. He was destined to be used by others. You also have the ability to predict the future, so maybe the fate of Destiny’s Child will be yours.”

Han Xiao did not correct that statement. “Talk about yourself. It seems that you are from Gollum, am I correct?”

The leader’s expression changed and replied, “Looks like you have already found out… That’s correct. I was once a citizen of Gollum. Back then, I was a young man with passion and rage. After the event of Mimok, I joined the rebel organization. I rioted, protested, demonstrated—all I wanted was to save my country from the rotten government.

“But suddenly, the war started. Raylen invaded the country, and my country shattered into pieces under internal parasites and external attacks…”

The leader’s tone suddenly got angry. “Did you hear that? People called us parasites! What did I do wrong? Was protesting a mistake? No! All we wanted was to take back the rights that we once had and make our country a better place!

“We were so close to victory, and the path of light was right in front of us. Yet, the war destroyed everything. After the fall of Gollum, all my friends were executed. All of us were viewed as a defect in the society and eliminating us was the best way. The remaining citizens of Gollum were enslaved and tortured. Only a few were able to escape, and I was one of them.

“I was no legend. I’m just a normal kid who was lost until I saw the border of Gollum, which was locked by Rayland. Seeing the burning flag of Gollum and the rise of Raylen’s flag, I was awoken, and I realized my mission I have to carry out.

“Gollum was not perfect. There was darkness and weakness, but… it was still my country. The only thing I could do was…

“Take revenge for my nation!”

The leader exhaled, and his eyes drift off the screen. His memories slowly showed up in his mind.

“But in the wave of time, a normal young man was nobody, and his life was as fragile as a bug. To travel through the battlefield, I dragged my exhausted body and transferred from one refugee camp to another. I was treated like a dog, and I lived a life without any respect.

“However, my blood was boiling, and I kept telling myself that no matter what danger I faced, I must live on. It was hatred that kept my heart pumping, that made my legs move forward… In the end, after I succeed in passing through the battlefield, I did not stop to look for shelter but turned to the wilderness.

“I knew that without power, I could not seek revenge. That’s why I lived in the wilderness and battled with the beasts. I turned myself into unbreakable steel.”

At this point, the leader pointed to the scars on his face and hand. “A hundred and seventy-six scars was the price I paid for my power.”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “So, you really are just a normal human?”

“Why can’t I be a normal man?” the leader asked back.

After some thought, Han Xiao nodded and hinted that the leader could continue his story.

The leader then said, “In the wilderness, I kept on thinking, and when I headed back to the battlefield, I heard that the Mimok Organization still existed. How ironic, the tool that was created to bring terror upon the world was the only thing that represented the purest of Gollum. Then a plan formed in my mind as I assassinated the leader of Mimok and changed the name to Germinal Organization. I hid and slowly developed the organization, and it was since then I wore the mask.

“The war created a lot of opportunities. Countless people lost their home and had nowhere to stay. Then I decided on the vision of the Germinal Organization and gave them the hope that we could create a new world. Vision thrives in people who supports an ideology. It wasn’t me who used the refugees with no countries to go back to, but it was they who voluntarily gave their lives to me. This is hate, and they did not care as long as they could achieve their goal after they sacrificed their lives.

“Since my desire matched the public’s desire, I got a lot of helpful hands. And the Germinal Organization that fed on the aftermath of battle quickly grew from a seed into a towering tree.”

The voice of the leader was filled with hate. After the dream that the leader had nurtured was destroyed by another man, other than angry, his feelings were confused.

“Then… you showed up.

“You… cut down the tree.”