For Sheng Chenjin, it was a nightmare.
Even though it was just a dream, the needles in the whips, the saline drips, and the vulgar words of those people made him recall everything all over again as if it were real.
He knew it was a dream, yet no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't wake up.
It felt as if he had lost contact with the outside world.
Like being in a black hole, with no bottom in sight.
The scene shifted back to the man sitting in a high seat earlier.
"I say, kid, look at me. Tone down that glare, or you'll get beaten if you go out like that."
The man watched the young boy with an extremely sharp gaze with great interest.
He beckoned, signaling for the boy to come to him, but the small Sheng Chenjin didn't move at all.
His sharp eyes swept across the room, over everyone in it.
Scanning the weapons in their hands.
He was still hesitating.
After all, a single word from this man could make him disappear without a trace.
"Hahaha, interesting, you're interesting, kid. Just as Master Sheng said, you're someone I should personally take care of."
"Kid, Sheng Chenjin, right? Remember this: from today on, you are one of us from the Bloodied Fang. You belong to us in life and in death."
"We won't restrict your freedom or your activities. As long as I give the word, you'll be at my service."
"I promised Master Sheng one condition. Do you want to fulfill it now?"
This man, Meng De, was the one who saved him from those scoundrels.
Sheng Chenjin narrowed his eyes suspiciously, staring intently at the man, as if trying to see his true intentions.
But he gained nothing.
"Really?" The young boy, with few words.
Yet, he wouldn't believe what the Bloodied Fang said.
Saving people was as easy as flipping a hand for the members of the Bloodied Fang.
Don't mistake a casual favor for a life-saving act and foolishly be grateful.
"I, Meng De, always keep my word. Just follow me obediently from now on, alright?"
Meng De's gaze softened, making Sheng Chenjin suspect if he was a two-faced sycophant.
Sharpness hidden in velvet.
"I want you to help me kill those people."
Sheng Chenjin walked closer, his eyes filled with murderous intent, his gloomy aura radiating outwards.
Meng De tutted.
"That can be arranged. But your killing aura needs some tempering. If you don't learn to control it when you go out, you'll always suffer losses."
Meng De had the leisure to tease him, and Sheng Chenjin's usually steady expression faltered slightly.
He obediently relaxed his gaze, reverting to the timid and harmless boy he seemed.
Meng De raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with admiration.
This child was not simple.
With personal ambition in mind, he would cultivate this child in the future.
"I can agree to your request."
Meng De's expression turned serious. Those people were not easy to deal with, but since he had promised the boy, he couldn't break his word.
Sheng Chenjin frowned, and the scene before him immediately went black. He thought he would escape this nightmare.
But upon opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of utter devastation under endless flames and bombing.
The sound of explosions thundered in his ears, stimulating his nerves.
This was the past he was unwilling to revisit from the depths of his memory.
It was from that incident that Sheng Chenjin refused to trust any companions who claimed they would live and die with him.
Meng De was covered in blood, his usually steady and agile gait now trembling.
Sheng Chenjin himself was not much better off, pinned by a collapsed pillar.
A large chunk of flesh had been blasted from Meng De's shoulder, and blood gushed out.
He gritted his teeth, completely disregarding it.
He crawled cautiously towards Sheng Chenjin.
Meng De forcefully pulled Sheng Chenjin out. His nerves were temporarily compressed, and he couldn't move.
Meng De smiled.
"Your leg will be fine. You'll be fine. There's no one else here anymore. Most of the brothers are dead."
"I have to go save them, lest they blame me later for escaping on my own."
"Stay here obediently and live well. Master Sheng is still waiting for you to inherit the family fortune."
Sheng Chenjin tightly pursed his lips, lying on the ground, unable to utter a word.
Meng De knew he was listening intently and continued to talk to himself.
"When you have money in the future, don't forget your brothers. Burn more money for them. Otherwise, after a happy life, they'll be bullied endlessly in the afterlife."
He prepared to get up as he spoke.
"Meng De, Boss." Sheng Chenjin pursed his lips and uttered the title he had never called him before.
Meng De froze. He hadn't expected to hear this kid call him Boss in his lifetime.
Didn't this kid have a high opinion of himself?
"Thank you." Sheng Chenjin couldn't feel happy at all, as he might never see Meng De again.
He forced out a smile with difficulty, which, in Meng De's eyes, was tearful.
"Kid, you look good when you smile. When you find a wife in the future, don't always be so cold. No girl will like you! Smile more!"
He staggered back, patted Sheng Chenjin on the shoulder.
Then he walked away without looking back.
Just as Meng De was about to disappear from Sheng Chenjin's sight.
A shell, flying from who knows where, exploded with a roar at Meng De. The explosion shook the earth, and he only saw Meng De's body flying straight away.
The world suddenly fell silent.
Meng De was gone.
Sheng Chenjin slept. When he woke up, he found himself lying in a ruin. He assumed those people had considered him dead and hadn't cleaned up properly.
He got up and walked through every corner, seeing his once living brothers lying lifelessly.
Some could only be identified by their heads. However, he couldn't find Meng De's body anywhere.
Not even a scrap of his clothes was visible.
He buried his brothers and brought them flowers and "money" every year.
Everyone said Sheng Chenjin was iron-blooded and ruthless, merely because he never met such people again, nor had the chance.
Sheng Chenjin fell into the cycle again.
Seeing the anxious expression on his face.
Shi Xinxin's complexion grew more somber.
If Sheng Chenjin were rushed to the emergency room now, he would be considered on the verge of death.
But she knew he was currently trapped in a nightmare.
She had experienced something similar before, after a night of heavy drinking.
She would lose her memory temporarily, knowing who the people around her were, but unable to recall their names or events.
She didn't know if Sheng Chenjin was in the same situation.
Sheng Chenjin's memories had regressed to his childhood.
If he couldn't handle it himself, the memories upon waking would temporarily linger on the most profound moments in his impression.
"Don't leave me, don't go, I'll be good, I'm very good, I'll do anything, please don't!"
Sheng Chenjin grabbed Shi Xinxin's hand, his brows furrowed deeply, his eyes tightly shut.