--Mo Qingyun's Recollection--
Time seemed to rewind to when Mo Qingyun was four years old.
That day, she and her brother were playing house at home, while their mother tended to her beloved *túmí* flowers in the yard.
Ever since she could remember, many uncles had visited their home. They always brought their mother various daily necessities, and sometimes, checks clipped to a book with black clips.
However, she and her brother had never seen their father. In their world, the word "father" didn't seem to exist, as their mother had never allowed them to mention it.
Yet, the two little ones were curious about its meaning. Just as Mo Qingyun and her brother were debating who would play the role of the father, they heard a violent noise from above the house, and the leaves in the yard were scattered by a fierce gust of wind.
"It's a helicopter!" Mo Qingyun exclaimed excitedly.
Soon, several black cars appeared around the house. The uncles who descended from the cars and the sky were all strangers.
Her brother, a few years older than Mo Qingyun, was already more sensible. He would often overhear words like "attack" from the uncles who visited their home.
As expected, their mother in the yard was quickly subdued by an uncle wielding a weapon.
Mo Qingyun and her brother witnessed this scene. Terrified, Mo Qingyun was about to call out for her mother when her brother quickly covered her mouth and pulled her into the bedroom. He opened the door of the large wardrobe and let Mo Qingyun crawl inside.
"Sister, let's play a game."
"Brother, I'm scared."
"Don't be scared, sister. Let's play the game you're best at, hide-and-seek."
Under her brother's comfort, Mo Qingyun nodded earnestly.
"No matter what you hear inside the wardrobe, do not speak. Remember, not a single word. Not a sound. From now on, you are mute. Mutes cannot make any noise! Do you understand?"
"Mm..."
Her brother snapped, "No noise!!!"
Mo Qingyun, startled, quickly covered her mouth. She looked at her brother with teary eyes. She wanted to ask if he would look for her, where he would hide, and her mind was full of questions, but she had to suppress them because her brother forbade her from speaking.
Her brother closed the large wardrobe door. The group of men had already broken in and entered the house. Through the crack in the wardrobe door, Mo Qingyun saw her brother quickly hide under the bed. They were both safe now, right...
The sound of smashing and ransacking echoed from the living room outside. The men seemed to be searching for something.
Soon, with a loud bang, the bedroom door was kicked open. Mo Qingyun tightened her hand over her mouth, not even daring to breathe.
The men rummaged through the bedroom items. The English they spoke was completely incomprehensible to the two children. One man seemed about to open the wardrobe. Mo Qingyun closed her eyes, trying to hide further behind the clothes. She was extremely afraid.
"Catch him!" a man roared. It turned out her brother had emerged from under the bed and was making a quick dash for the exit.
Her brother had drawn their attention away. Mo Qingyun was temporarily safe.
The men outside rushed in and, along with the men inside, caught her brother.
Several men confirmed something, spoke a few words through their wireless mics, picked up her brother, looked at him, and then casually threw him to the ground.
The slender brother hit the ground heavily, blood flowing freely from his nose...
Mo Qingyun watched it all unfold. She noticed that even though her brother was in pain and tearing up, he covered his mouth with his hand, not making a sound. He was signaling to his sister in the wardrobe to remain silent.
Mo Qingyun clenched her fists, ignoring her tears. She was both terrified and heartbroken for her brother, but she had promised him: no sound meant no sound!
After a while, a man in a suit walked in. Those violent beasts yanked her brother up by his neck as if he were a small dog.
The man in the suit lifted her brother's face, looked him over from left to right, and then nodded.
But they threw her brother to the ground again. The man in the suit pulled a syringe from his pocket and plunged it into her brother's neck.
The man in the suit stood up and ordered the other men to take her brother away. Mo Qingyun watched, helpless, as her brother was dragged away motionlessly by those men.
--End of Mo Qingyun's Recollection--
When Ou Yunchen returned to the club, Sister Hong had already treated Mo Qingyun's wounds and prepared some food and drinks for her.
Ou Yunchen took off his suit and threw it into the trash can. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and knocked on Sister Hong's door.
Seeing Ou Yunchen enter, Mo Qingyun quickly put down the bread in her hand. She desperately wanted to know if her wallet had been found.
Ou Yunchen handed it to her. A pink wallet. It was the only item he had personally watched the thief retrieve from the pile of garbage.
The thief had also repeatedly assured Ou Yunchen that this was the wallet.
Mo Qingyun's eyes lit up, and her expression turned joyful. It seemed to be the correct wallet.
However, the moment Mo Qingyun opened the wallet, the light in her eyes vanished.
"Is something missing?"
Mo Qingyun nodded. "A photograph..." she wrote on paper.
"What was in the photo?"
Mo Qingyun continued writing, "It was the only photo of me and my brother..."
Ou Yunchen's mind reeled. The boy in the photo was this mute girl's brother!!!
Sister Hong went to comfort Mo Qingyun. Ou Yunchen took this opportunity to leave the room.
He stood on the second-floor stairs, leaning on the railing, his chest heaving violently. He had taken that photo. When the thief handed him the wallet, he had opened it and recognized the boy in the picture!!!
Ou Yunchen remembered the boy's appearance in the photo clearly. That boy was Axe!!!
--Ou Yunchen's Recollection--
In Ou Yunchen's memory, shortly after he was taken to the training camp, boys of similar age were frequently brought in from outside.
Among those boys, he was only particularly impressed by one named Axe.
To make the children accept training quickly, the instructors didn't hesitate to use force to subdue them. But Axe, no matter how many times he was beaten, was always plotting his escape.
Once, Ou Yunchen stumbled upon Axe, covered in blood from a beating. He had been thrown back to the dormitory by an instructor. All the boys kept their distance from Axe, fearing they would be beaten by the instructors, so no one dared to speak to him.
Ou Yunchen, being an older member among the boys, knew that Axe, after a day of beatings, would certainly not be given food or water. So, he slipped a small packet of biscuits he had stolen from the cafeteria into Axe's hand.
Seeing the food, Axe quickly tore open the plastic packaging and stuffed large mouthfuls into his mouth.
Ou Yunchen advised him with concern, "Stop trying to escape. They'll beat you to death."
"I have to get out. Is there any more food?"
Ou Yunchen shook his head and handed him a cup of water.
"Before you, other children tried to escape."
"Did they succeed?"
"I heard they were shot and thrown directly into the piranha pond."
Axe's spirit immediately deflated.
"Why do you have to escape? Do you have family?"
"Yes, I need to find my sister!"
--End of Ou Yunchen's Recollection--
"Bang," Ou Yunchen slammed the armrest heavily. He remembered. Axe had a sister!
His sister was truly still alive!!!
If it were before, he would have been happy to tell Axe that he had found his sister!
But now, seeing that mute girl reminded him of the hateful Axe!
If it weren't for him, he wouldn't have been chased and nearly lost his life!
Axe had climbed to Tang's position on the corpses of many brothers!
He hated this treacherous scoundrel even more!
He wished he could kill Axe immediately!
Fate was truly a joker, sending this scoundrel's sister right before his eyes!
However, he now had a plan for revenge. He would use this mute girl as the bullet to hunt Axe!