“HAHAHAHA! Go beat him up! I’ll stay here and keep watch. If a teacher comes by, I’ll warn you!”
The cruel laughter of five boys echoed through the back of the abandoned building behind Qiming Advanced Technology High School.
In the middle of them lay a frail sixteen-year-old boy.
Lin Mo.
His body was covered in bruises. His uniform was stained with dirt, and several places on his face had already begun to swell.
Yet he remained silent.
Five boys surrounded him, kicking and punching him simply because they found it amusing. For them, it was nothing more than a game.
For Lin Mo, it was just another day.
Lin Mo gritted his teeth and curled himself into a ball, raising both arms to protect his head. His eyes were dull and lifeless.
There were no tears. Not a single cry escaped his lips. He simply endured. As if the pain happening to him had nothing to do with him.
“HAHAHAHA! Come on! Scream for me!”
One of the boys laughed wildly.
“Let me hear you cry! Beg for your life! Where's that pitiful voice of yours?”
Another boy snickered.
“Boss, he doesn't seem to be complaining at all. Maybe he's actually enjoying it.”
He glanced at Lin Mo with a twisted grin.
“Perhaps we should give him a little more fun.”
The boy reached into his small backpack. A cold glint suddenly flashed. A knife appeared in his hand. He slowly pointed the blade toward Lin Mo's thigh.
Lin Mo's eyes widened. Only for a moment. Then, they returned to their usual emptiness. He knew that there was nothing he could do.
He was helpless.
“Are you sure about this, Gu Yichen?”
The boy who had been keeping watch frowned deeply.
“Boss Gu, we're just messing around with him. There's no need to take things this far, right?”
Another boy quickly added. The two of them exchanged uneasy glances. They both knew what could happen if things got out of hand. But their hesitation only drew laughter from the boy holding the knife.
“Cowards!”
Han Ye laughed loudly. His eyes were filled with contempt.
“What's the matter? Afraid?”
Han Ye was Gu Yichen's right-hand man.
For the past ten years, the Han Family had been closely tied to the Gu Family. The two families had worked together in business for years, with the Han Family often carrying out many of the Gu Family's less-than-honorable dealings behind the scenes.
Because of this relationship, Han Ye had grown accustomed to acting without fear. As long as Gu Yichen stood behind him, who would dare touch him?
Gu Yichen merely smiled. He didn't bother responding. Instead, he stepped forward. Then—
Bang!
His foot slammed into Lin Mo's abdomen. The frail boy's body was sent rolling across the ground before crashing heavily against the wall.
Pain exploded throughout his body. Yet Lin Mo made no sound. He simply lay there. His vision slowly shifted upward.
Above him was the sky. The clouds were slowly drifting. For some reason, it looked beautiful. With his body numb from pain, Lin Mo stared blankly into the heavens.
A miracle? No.
He had long since stopped believing in miracles. He had wished for one countless times. Every time they beat him, every time he was cornered.
Every time he thought he could no longer endure. He would secretly wish for someone to appear. Someone who would save him. Someone who would tell him that everything would be alright.
But no one ever came. His hopes had been dashed so many times that eventually, he stopped hoping altogether.
A chance? Perhaps.
If he were given the opportunity to be born again, to live a different life, he would not hesitate.
But life had its own cruel plans. The things you desperately wished for would often remain beyond your reach. And the things you feared the most, would find you sooner or later.
“Look at him.”
Gu Yichen chuckled.
“Look how pitiful he is.”
Han Ye slowly approached Lin Mo. A sinister smile spread across his face.
“Brother Gu, I think he's ready to meet his parents.”
Lin Mo's body remained motionless. Han Ye stopped beside him. He raised the knife and slowly dragged his tongue along the edge of the blade.
“If you meet your parents in the afterlife...”
His grin widened.
“Don't bother thanking me.”
Lin Mo continued staring at the sky. His thoughts had already drifted far away. His parents, he had no memories of them.
Not even their faces. As far back as he could remember, there had only been one person by his side.
An old man.
He remembered the man's rough hand holding his own. A liquor bottle was clutched in the old man's other hand. That was all he remembered.
The old man had taken him to an alley in Qinghe District. Then, without looking back, he had pushed the young Lin Mo forward.
“Live on, child.”
The old man's voice had been rough.
“Don't look back.”
Those were the last words Lin Mo ever heard from him. After that, he was alone. From that day onward, he had learned to fend for himself.
No parents.
No relatives.
No family.
No one to rely on.
As for how he had managed to enter the prestigious Qiming Advanced Technology High School, it was nothing more than the result of a few acts of kindness.
During his years living on the streets, Lin Mo had occasionally helped people in need. Some of those people had remembered his kindness.
And through their recommendation and assistance, he had somehow gained the opportunity to study at the prestigious school.
It was a strange twist of fate.
A boy with nothing, studying among the children of the wealthy and powerful. But even there, Lin Mo remained alone.
And now, his life was hanging by a thread. Yet he never questioned why his life had turned out this way. He had long accepted one simple truth.
No one would come to save him. No one would remember him. And if he disappeared from this world, perhaps no one would even notice.
“Do it quickly.”
Gu Yichen's voice broke through the silence.
“I don't want anyone finding out about this.”
“Don't worry, Brother Gu.”
Han Ye's smile widened.
“I won't let him suffer.”
He raised the knife.
“HEHEHE!”
“You should be grateful, Lin Mo.”
Han Ye stared down at him.
“Brother Gu is giving you a swift death. At least you won't have to suffer through any torture.”
Lin Mo finally turned his head. His eyes met Han Ye's.
Empty.
Cold.
Devoid of emotion.
That gaze, it enraged Han Ye. He wanted to see fear. He wanted to see despair. He wanted Lin Mo to beg for his life. But there was nothing. Not even a trace of fear.
“You bastard!”
Han Ye's face twisted with anger.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
His grip tightened around the knife.
“I'll dig those eyes out first!”
He hurried toward Lin Mo. Behind him, Gu Yichen smiled. Then he turned his back on the scene. His eyes landed on the three remaining boys.
“Jiang Chen.”
The first boy's body stiffened.
“Lu Tian.”
The second swallowed nervously.
“Shen Mo.”
The third instinctively lowered his head. Gu Yichen smiled. It was a calm and gentle smile. But to the three boys, it was more terrifying than any threat.
“I don't want to hear another word of your cowardice.”
His voice was soft.
“More importantly...”
He paused.
“Whatever happened here today stays here.”
The three boys nodded frantically.
“Understood, Boss Gu.”
Gu Yichen's smile disappeared.
“If I hear even a whisper about this from someone outside...”
His eyes narrowed.
“Your families won't see you again.”
A chill ran down their spines. The three boys immediately swallowed. They knew Gu Yichen wasn't bluffing. They also knew exactly how powerful the Gu and Han Families were. One word from either family's patriarch could destroy their businesses overnight.
Their families could lose everything. Their parents could become bankrupt. Their entire lives could be ruined. This was the reality of their world.
Without power...
Without money...
Without influence...
You were nothing.
You could be crushed beneath someone's foot without anyone batting an eye.
“Han Ye.”
Gu Yichen glanced over his shoulder.
“Don't waste any more time.”
He adjusted his clothes.
“We still have business to attend to.”
His gaze briefly landed on Lin Mo.
“I've had enough fun.”
Then he turned around.
“Don't worry, Brother Gu.”
Han Ye laughed. He raised his knife once more.
“Lin Mo...”
“Thank you for giving us such a wonderful time.”
“HAHAHAHA!”
His laughter echoed throughout the abandoned building. Lin Mo closed his eyes.
For the first time, as death drew near, he felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Sadness.
Pain.
Not physical pain.
Something deeper.
Something that reached into the very depths of his soul.
Why?
Why was it always the person who struggled the hardest, will the one who ended up losing everything?
Was this really how life was supposed to be?
Was this all there was to existence?
To live at the mercy of others?
To have your fate decided by someone stronger than you?
To be treated as worthless simply because you had no power, no money, and no one to stand behind you?
For his entire life, Lin Mo had never seen his parents. He had no relatives, no friends, no one who would shed a tear if he disappeared. It was as if he had never truly existed in this world.
Perhaps...
If there really was another world beyond this one, if reincarnation truly existed, then maybe...
Just maybe...
Someone would grant him a different fate. A chance to live another life. A chance to become someone else.
His eyelids grew heavier. The world around him slowly faded. Darkness swallowed his vision.
He never felt the blade plunge into his chest. The pain was insignificant compared to everything he had already endured.
Thud!
Han Ye released the knife. The blade remained buried in Lin Mo's chest.
“Such a boring bastard.”
Han Ye looked down at him.
“Even at the moment of death, you don't know how to scream.”
He spat on the ground.
“Pwah!”
Without another glance, Han Ye turned and walked away. He was certain Lin Mo would die. Whether from blood loss or from the blade that had pierced his heart...
It didn't matter. This was not something anyone would care about.
After all, who would remember a boy named Lin Mo?
An insignificant student.
A nobody.
A boy without parents.
Without relatives.
Without friends.
Without anyone waiting for him to return home.
The sun slowly descended beyond the horizon. The sky gradually transformed into a deep crimson. The fading sunlight painted the world in the color of blood.
It was almost as though the heavens themselves were bleeding. The abandoned building grew quiet. The footsteps of the boys disappeared into the distance.
No one remained.
No one came.
No one knew.
And no one cared.
Lin Mo's consciousness continued sinking into an endless darkness.
Then...
In the silence...
A voice suddenly echoed.
Cold.
Ancient.
Mysterious.
As if it had been waiting for him all along.
“Is this... what you want?”