How could Wu Yuan be here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the hospital, undergoing treatment for his manifestation? And most importantly, how could he be together with these people?!

He Juan could not tear his gaze off the teenager, stumped. It suddenly dawned on him why Wu Yuan looked so unfamiliar right now – it was his eyes. The Wu Yuan he knew was a bit timid; even then there was a radiant glow to his eyes, especially when he shared his dreams to go to university one day. He was like akin to a newly sprouted bud, a bit shy and demure, but He Juan believed that all he needed was sufficient sunlight and water to thrive. But Wu Yuan in front of him now...

His gaze was hard and obscure. He Juan could no longer see the radiance within... as if it had faded away. As if the bud had withered before it could even bloom. As if a part of him had died – the one that carried all of his innocence and dreams.

Upon seeing He Juan, his eyes flickered and his grip on the wheelchair handle tightened. But in the end, he kept his gaze trained to the floor just like an obedient puppet.

He Juan staggered backward as if someone had gutted him with a knife, a gasp escaping his lips. What had happened? How could Wu Yuan become like this?! But before He Juan could think of what to say, someone beside him had drawn out their gun and aimed it at... the man in front of Wu Yuan.

"You—!" Tak Jung-Hwa’s pupils dilated into slits and his breathing picked up its pace. He growled in agitation, "It’s you!"

Only then did He Juan notice the presence of the man in a wheelchair. He shifted his gaze downward and the moment their eyes collided in midair, He Juan felt as if the oxygen around him abruptly thinned into nothing, rendering him unable to breathe. His vision was dominated by those honey brown eyes speckled with gold which held nothing but calmness even with the muzzle of Tak Jung-Hwa’s gun on him.

"XIU," he said, his voice quivering with suppressed emotions. "It’s been a long time."

Something within He Juan’s mind snapped and his eyes went dark for a split second. He did not even notice that he was swaying on his feet, nor how Mu Yuze hastily grabbed his arm to prevent him from collapsing. Loud buzz echoed in his ears and images fleeted behind his eyelids like a fast-forwarded movie.

He saw this man standing against the sunlight, his silhouette blurred on the edges. He was holding something in his hand – a katana, He Juan noted – asking him in a low voice that was laced with anger, "XIU, are you betraying me?"

He opened his mouth to reply when all of a sudden, the man unsheathed his katana and made a powerful slash across his body! As a burst of pain spread over his chest, all he could see was a pair of eyes that glowed akin to golden fire. "It’s okay..." his voice remained soft, contrasting to his violent attack that caused excruciating agony to spread all over He Juan’s body. "I won’t give you the chance to."

He Juan drew in a gasp to fill his aching and protesting lungs. His heart was pounding so loud that he could feel it drumming on his head. Cold sweat soaked his back as he was quickly pulled back from the vortex of memory. The grip on his arm was strong, borderline painful, but it grounded He Juan to the present and offered him immense comfort. Mu Yuze... he distantly noted. Of course, who else would be able to make him feel better just by his mere existence other than his Xiao Ze?

He tremblingly reached out to pat Mu Yuze’s hand and straightened his back, ignoring the sharp throbbing pain on the base of his skull. The muscles in his entire body was strung taut and his Alpha was thrashing and snarling, urging him to pounce forward and tear this person into shreds. Hatred, disgust, rage and sorrow – they ran deep under his veins and branded onto his soul. It was the same feeling he got when he heard about Xuanlong for the first time. There was no mistaking the identity of the man in front of him. "...Boss," he uttered, almost in a hiss.

He sensed Mu Yuze going utterly still beside him, the grip he had on He Juan tightening. But He Juan merely chalked it up to the shock of finally meeting Xuanlong’s Big Boss for the first time.

Luo Xuan’s eyes softened by a fraction. "I’m glad that you still remember me."

Tak Jung-Hwa whipped his head toward He Juan so fast that his neck issued a crack, his expression was one of utter shock and disbelief. His lips parted as if saying something, but in the end, something flashed in his eyes and he turned his gaze back to Luo Xuan with an abrupt laugh. "You are the mysterious boss of Xuanlong. So that’s the case... you pretended to be XIU all along..." His words petered off into a burst of mocking laughter; whether it was directed toward himself or the man in front of him, only he knew.

Luo Xuan finally tilted his head to address him. "And who might you be?" His tone was calm and friendly, as if they were not in the middle of the AX-03 gas explosion. As if the other person was not pointing a gun at him.

Composed and confident, unshakeable even in the face of imminent danger.

’So this is the Big Boss of Xuanlong...’ Tak Jung-Hwa thought. His entire body was shaking due to the force of this revelation. Seven whole years... These past seven years, he had always taken this person as XIU, but oh boy... how wrong he was. This person’s reputation was even more fearsome than XIU, and most importantly... he was an omega! Tak Jung-Hwa was amazed and terrified in equal measure. How did he do it? How did he emerge on the very top and rule over Alphas and Betas?!

Tak Jung-Hwa could feel his blood boiling under his veins. Every cell in his body sang in thrill and excitement. Taking a deep breath, he stabilized his sweaty hand around the handle of the gun and replied with a sharp and bloodthirsty grin, "Agent Tak, the one who will send you to your demise."

"Oh," Luo Xuan exclaimed softly as though recalling something. "Oh, you are—" But soon, he could no longer say anything because He Juan finally made a move.

He raised his hand and also aimed his gun at Luo Xuan, his jaws tensed.

Luo Xuan’s smile slipped. "What is the meaning of this, XIU?"

"Tell your man to hand over Jia Molei to me," He Juan spat out as he glanced at the large container in front of him. It was dark and he could not see clearly what was inside, but he was certain that both Jia Molei and the imposter were inside – he had seen them enter earlier. He had no idea what other weapons were lying inside other than the drug bomb, but his gut instinct told him that it would not be good. Fingers tightening around the trigger, he barked out, "Now!"

In the next second, something unimaginable happened in front of him.

He saw Wu Yuan, who had been standing behind Luo Xuan all this while, took a step forward to place himself in front of the muzzle, protecting Xuanlong’s Boss behind him with his own body. "T–Teacher He..." his voice was shaky, yet the gaze he directed toward He Juan was firm and resolute. "You can’t... you can’t hurt this person..."