Everything happened in slow motion, but it felt like he had become slower than time.

Laurem was in a daze, clouded by the heat of his fever and the exhaustion brought on by the awakening of his bloodline. His limbs felt heavy, and he struggled to muster up the strength to stand. All he wanted was to escape, to flee this place of danger and uncertainty, and go somewhere else peaceful.

He wanted to move and pull Jin Wei to a safe place, but his body refused to cooperate.

He leaned heavily on Jin Wei, grateful for the other person's support as he paid attention to his instructions. But even as he strained to focus, Laurem couldn't help but feel a tinge of dread brewing within him. There was something off, something not quite right about the situation they found themselves in.

It wasn't until he felt the tension radiating from Jin Wei that he realized what was happening. His heart lurched in his chest as he strained to turn and catch a glimpse of shadows emerging from behind them - Two looming figures materialized before him, their hulking frames casting long shadows in the dim light of the crate.

The two men stepped out of the shadows, their faces obscured by the dim light. One of them held an ax in a tight grip, its gleaming blade poised for a deadly strike. The other brandished a whip, the leather thong coiling and uncoiling in his hand like a venomous serpent.

Their eyes were red, glistening red with a crazed, bloodthirsty glimmer, devoid of reason or humanity.

Laurem felt his blood run cold.

For the first time in his life, Laurem felt true fear. The kind of fear that makes your heart race and your breath catch in your throat. He knew that these men meant business, and that they would stop at nothing to see him and Jin Wei dead.

Laurem reached out to seize Jin Wei tightly but-

But he wasn't able to... he can not.

Jin Wei's cold and calculating eyes scanned the scene before him, as if he had foreseen this moment all along. He stood there, a towering figure, his arm outstretched to push Laurem away. It happened fast, so fast Laurem barely had time to react before he was sent hurtling backwards.

In that moment, Laurem's heart felt as if it had shattered into a million pieces.

"Please, no!" Laurem's voice cracked as he cried out, his arms reaching out towards Jin Wei in a desperate attempt to reach out, his hand grasping at thin air.

But Jin Wei was too far away, too distant to be reached. Laurem felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes, a sudden wave of despair crashing over him like a tsunami. It felt like the world was ending, like everything he had ever known was slipping away from him.

The unfairness of it all weighed heavily on him, the sense of oppression almost too much to bear. Fear crept in, wrapping him in a cold embrace.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. System 777 confirmed the safety of the area, and Jin Wei's smile widened.

Laurem saw it, but it brought him no comfort. It was a smile that said goodbye, a smile that promised nothing but pain and heartache. He tried to crawl forward, to reach Jin Wei one last time, but it was useless.

He was already falling, tumbling down into an abyss of loneliness and regret.

It was a moment that would haunt him forever, etched into his memory like a carving in stone. Even years later, when he would meet Jin Wei again, the image would still be fresh in his mind, and he would cling to the other man, unwilling to let him go.

For in that one moment, Laurem had realized just how much Jin Wei meant to him.

The man with the ax was a towering figure, his eyes gleaming with malice as he sized up the two children. He had his sights set on Laurem, whom he thought as the weakest of the pair, and raised his weapon with a sinister grin.

But before he could strike, Jin Wei made a swift move, pushing Laurem out of harm's way, out to the safety area marked by the system, and taking the full force of the blow himself.

The ax came hurtling towards him, aimed for his back, but Jin Wei moved so quickly that now he was facing the attacker head-on. The weapon found its target, slicing into the left side of Jin Wei's face with a sickening thud.

Laurem couldn't see the wound, but he saw the thick, crimson blood that sprayed out, painting the air in front of them with a gruesome pattern.

Jin Wei fell to his knees, clutching his face with one hand while blood gushed out in a torrent. The pain was excruciating, a searing heat that threatened to overwhelm him. He fought to stay conscious, to keep his body from giving in to the shock of the attack, but he knew he was reaching his limit.

In that moment, Jin Wei felt a sense of clarity, as if everything had suddenly become crystal clear.

With gritted teeth, he pushed himself upright, using every ounce of strength he had left. He couldn't let the attacker get the better of him, not when Laurem's life was on the line. But the world spun around him, the pain blurring his vision and numbing his senses.

How much more could he take before he collapsed?

The warning signals from System 777 blared in Jin Wei's ears, a persistent reminder that his life was hanging by a thread. Jin Wei refused to give up as he gritted his teeth, reaching into a hidden pocket to retrieve a small vial of medicine.

With practiced ease, he crushed the contents under his tongue, feeling the cool liquid spread down his throat and into his bloodstream. The medicine worked quickly, mending the wounds that had been inflicted upon him, while healing the shattered bones back together.

But the traffickers were not content to wait for Jin Wei to recover. They closed in on him with cruel whips. With each snap of the whip, Jin Wei felt a biting pain lancing through his skin, tearing open wounds that had only just begun to heal.

Jin Wei's body was caught in a never-ending cycle of healing and injury, each moment more intense than the last. He felt himself breaking apart like a fragile glass figurine, his mind and body struggling to hold on.

But still, he refused to give up. He gritted his teeth, fighting back the pain with every fiber of his being.

「Warning! Warning! Further action will lead to permanent body damage. The host is recommended to cease the activities. Repeat: Warning! Warning!...」

Jin Wei closed his eyes, enduring the pain and the loud warning in his ears. A little more time... just a little more...

Laurem could see Jin Wei shivering from the attacks. It has become intense when he saw the standing figure kneeling as though giving up his life. He tried fighting off the force that is pulling him down but what can he do against gravity? The only thing that he could do is to painstakingly try to reach out his hand to the figure...

But everything went silent when Jin Wei finally collapsed on the ground.

Not even the deafening whistle of the air could mask the grief inside Laurem's heart.

The timing of Jin Wei's push made Laurem land on the forage area of the cliff. Even though the height is alarming, with the help of the trees blocking his fall and the protagonist halo that he carried, Laurem managed to land on a soft paddy of dry leaves and thick grasses safely.

Actually, compared to Jin Wei, his broken bones and wounds are inferior.

He lay there, staring up at the bleak, graying sky, his eyes growing duller with every passing moment. The snow fell softly around him, as if the world itself were mourning the tragedy that had befallen them. Laurem knew he had a high fever, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He felt as though he were already dead, his body simply imitating the stillness of a corpse.

But even in his grief, Laurem knew that death was not the answer. He could not simply give up and waste the sacrifice that had been made for him. Someone had saved him, risked their own life to protect him. He could not let that sacrifice be in vain.

His mind turned to the one who had saved him.

Jin Wei.

The person he had fought with, argued with, and yet, in the end, had come to admire. Laurem had never had a decent conversation with him, their relationship always fraught with tension and disagreement. But in the little time they had spent together, Laurem had felt something stir in his heart.

Something warm and comforting, like a light in the darkness.

He felt a hot tear trickle down his cheek, followed by another and another, until he was sobbing uncontrollably. He had thought that he had forgotten how to cry, but now the tears came, streaming down his face in a torrent of grief.

Jin Wei had saved him, and now he was gone...

That person is gone...

He should also void this world from warmth.

The feeling of hopelessness swelled inside his heart. He shifted his position, hugging the coat tightly to his body to keep warm. Despite the chilly weather, Jin Wei selflessly gave him the coat without a second thought.

He will cherish this little warmth forever.

As he closed his eyes, he breathed in the lingering scent of Jin Wei that still clung to the coat. Before long, a group led by an elderly man resembling a teacher passed by and discovered Laurem sleeping under the tattered and blood-stained coat.

The teacher noticed something unique about the boy's fluctuating magic and decided.

"Take this child with us. I sense a bright future ahead of him," the old teacher declared.

Laurem was taken by the group and brought to the capital to start a new life.