Tearing the hem of his blouse with the force of his own teeth, Zhang Yuan held the bandage on the wounded arm to staunch the bleeding as he tried to think of something clever and not take him immediately to certain death.

Zhang Yuan knew that Julian's bitter resentment did not come from giving his life to Lila but from having spent so much time being treated as a naive dog that could easily be manipulated and discarded by anyone from the Kriston family to Alec Syed. From the beginning, it was nothing more than a step used by the plot to boost all the future feats of the protagonist. Just good for nothing.

"There's a lot of blood ... Brother, what are we going to do? ..." Lila moaned as she looked at Yuan's exposed arm. The man in front of her was the closest person she ever had to actually receive the warmth of a family, more than with her own blood relatives; seeing him hurt and bleeding to death would surely leave an incalculable psychological impact on his mind ...

But Zhang Yuan was not worried about the childish drama under his eyes. He was now quietly studying the exit options and so he moved his hands immediately to shut the little girl as he calculated in his mind.

If he made the same original escape route as Julian and went straight to the harbor, he would die. If he went the other way and went back to the mansion, he would die. If he remained standing where he was ... He would surely die.

No matter where Yuan's brain ran, he was screwed.

Zhang Yuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, studying calmly any decision he might make in the future.

Due to various reasons, Yuan grew up in the most peripheral and poor area of ​​the city in his world. Surviving was the main thing he had to learn since he was orphaned when he was still young. So lie, cheat and steal, if necessary, he could do any of these acts without embarrassment, as long as this would ensure that he would see the sun rising the next day or that he would have some hot food in his stomach.

Thinking about it, when he opened his eyes again, he had made up his mind.

Because of all the chaos that still lingered over their heads, Lila did not seem to notice the sudden change of aura in Julian as she stared at him. Perhaps, if it had been clearer, she might have seen the man's gaze that was usually gentle and calm, abruptly switch to something cold and wary.

"System, can you tell me the total number of people responsible for the shots these days? "He asked in his mind. He knew of the omniscient power of the system, and if he could take advantage of it, he would certainly not hesitate to use it.

The system issued a notification noise before responding.

[ There are currently a total of ten men firing in their direction. ]

Zhang Yuan was not surprised. To be able to open fire for so long without the need to recharge, there certainly could not be a few people. Alec Syed certainly was not kidding when he said he wanted everyone dead.

"How many corpses are around and which one is closest? Any chance they're armed? "He asked again, already preparing to get up.

[ There are a total of five bodies around. The nearest is less than two meters away from the current location of the host. There is a pistol in his hands available for only three shots. ]

 Zhang Yuan could not be more pleased with the efficiency of his system, clearly based on the information received.

 "Where are you going? ", Little Lila despaired to see her precious breeding brother suddenly rising among the bullets.

" Do not speak. Do not even take a deep breath. Just wait, "he quietly instructed the girl in a low voice, using a voice that scraped at her throat.

The original Julian had a parental sense good enough to have protected Lila all the time regardless of the situation. But Zhang Yuan could not be more careless in every way. For someone who was accustomed to being a lone wolf, suddenly becoming a little child's nanny would not change years of bad habits so suddenly. So he did not hesitate before leaving the terrified little girl still hidden, to roll toward the shrub that was a few feet away, in search of the weapon that had been discovered by the system.

If the corpse of whom Zhang Yuan plucked the pistol was from a friend or foe, it made no difference. As long as he had some sort of defense, anything was valid.

As he rolled back to Lila's side the girl's gaze fell directly on the gun into the hands of Zhang Yuan. Even at a young age, being raised in the Kriston family, seeing a weapon wielded in someone's hand was no grotesque novelty. However, in all those years, Lila had never seen, not even once, Julian even hold one of those and her perplexity came from that motive.

"Are you going to shoot? You can do it? "She questioned him, her eyes creasing in disbelief.

If he could do that? Zhang Yuan almost laughed at those words. Not that he treated life so simply, of course. However, he had never been a gentle or abdicated person like Julian to think that someone else's life could be worth more than his. So if the game was to kill or die ... He would not mind taking the bad side.

However, Zhang Yuan's weapon would not be used in the Kriston mansion. He was not stupid. He had only 3 shots and was no world athlete in shooting to end up with 10 people at a time.

His plan was even more unimaginable than that: He was going to follow the original plot ... And he would go to the harbor.

Zhang Yuan chose to believe in the advantage he had in knowing the story. He knew where Alec would be and certainly would not rush toward him as if he were the holy God of light, as Julian had originally done. Instead, he would follow his best option: The original steps of the protagonist.

Despite the tragic encounter that was to take place in the port between Julian and Alec, Zhang Yuan came to the conclusion that definitely the most relatively safe exit was still the port. He studied deeper into the story and concluded that, after Julian's sacrifice, that Lila had not been caught by Alec, even though the other man had so relentlessly sought after by her throughout the city, he would need some good reason , as well as the fact that she is the daughter of the world.

And that reason, he discovered, was Bryan Klaus.

After the sacrifice of Julian happened, Lila followed the last desperate advice of his brother and ran as fast as his small legs could support. She was alone, frightened and tired, but she was absolutely sure that if she stopped she would be dead.

Lila ran through the streets until she could no longer feel her feet. She actually came to believe that it was the end of the line, when she suddenly collapsed at the door of this man, Bryan Klaus.

He was the man who did not hesitate to help and care for little Lila who had so recently become an orphan. The fate of the daughter of fate was so deep that it was funny. Bryan was a humble and benevolent physician who succeeded in assisting in the formation of the protagonist's character, who had originally been born into an arrogant and violent family, and went exactly to its opposite extreme, when adopted by a man who saved lives and cherished them above all else . It could not be more ironic.

Well, speaking of ironies ... Right now, Zhang Yuan needed a doctor a lot, and the orphan Lila still needed a new family. The thing could not be more helpful.

Taking advantage of the exact time the original Julian used to escape, Zhang Yuan grabbed little Lila and put her on his back. Julian had a considerably weak and not very resilient body, but Zhang Yuan could not care less about this fact. He did not even notice the fact that his bleeding had started again.

He was more worried about the man he would find a few minutes ago.

...

Alec Syed gave the orders and they could not be clearer: Kill everyone, do not leave anyone behind. And obviously, Julian Lau was included in this massacre from the start.

He had never really approached Julian with good intentions in the first place. Finding such a naive lamb living in the middle of the wolf's den, only gave Alec an even greater sense of good luck.

And speaking of good luck, as soon as he heard the footsteps coming from the opposite side of the harbor he turned to see who was the fortunate person who had escaped from that battlefield. And you can not help but raise an eyebrow in surprise as you find your face, once so beautiful, now downcast and tired as you carry a child on your back.  

"Julian!" He called out in a good mood as he held a cigar between his fingers.

Zhang Yuan was not surprised by the powerful figure who was just ahead as he stared at him. In a dark overcoat, smoking, as he stared at a wounded person as if they were on a date in the park ... that guy seemed to have totally come out of a Mafia movie.

How would someone fall in love with someone like that ?, Zhang Yuan criticized in his heart.

But from the outside, he controlled his expression enough to put a confused and shocked face.

"Why ... why are you here?", Zhang Yuan followed the script strictly. The difference was that the tone of Zhan Yuan was not as relieved as Julian's, but as suspicious.

Unaware of his dissimulation, Alec laughed at the other man's confusion.

"Just doing business. "He replied giving a quiet swallow on his cigar. "Are you having a rough night? ".

Only an idiot would not notice that there was something wrong. How could one in sane conscience see her lover in the middle of the night, completely bloody and torn, and ask only if she was having a difficult night?

Zhang Yuan's heart sank completely. Still with his hands behind his back, giving the impression of holding small Lila, he reached for the gun that was hidden at his waist.

At no point did Zhang Yuan underestimate the girl's IQ. So before, when he took Lila in his back, he had given a very clear statement: "Hold hands and feet, or you will fall! There will come a time when I will have to use my free hands, and if you are not prepared, you will be left behind. "

Obviously he would not really leave her behind. But a little panic and adrenaline was sometimes needed to stimulate someone's will to live.

Alec has never even considered Julian as a potential threat and this can also be considered as one of the boy's resentments. Because his looks and personality were softer than most people's, he knew he would never resort to half-hardships like violence. Besides that, clearly, the other was in love with him. Alec really never feared or at least raised his guard around the boy.

This, of course, favored Zhang Yuan.

"Do you want me to save you? "Alec smirked at the boy in front of him, taking a few steps toward him. "Why do not we make a deal? ".

"What kind of deal? ", Zhang Yuan's voice came out soft as he felt the cold of the gun in his hand.

"Give the girl to me. "Alec's tone now came out rude, grave and powerful. Like a high-ranking military man commanding his soldier. He called it that, but Julian never really had the option of appealing. "Do this, and I promise nothing will happen to you. What do you think about this?".

Zhang Yuan made a great effort not to laugh at this situation. Originally, this was the very moment when Julian had his heart broken and completely lost the feeling of his life.

This time, Zhang Yuan was a little more excited.

"Unfortunately, the deal will have to stay for the next time. "Yuan gave a sweet smile, before pulling a weapon from his back and pointing it at another man. "For today, let's just leave things as they are ... Mr. Syed."

Alec's eyes widened for a brief moment, but he recovered so immediately, still clearly not believing that Julian could pose any danger, even with a weapon in his hands. He had investigated the boy. He had never touched a gun! For Alec, that was just a ridiculous show. Stopping to think, underestimating his enemy was a rather amateurish strategy mistake for someone as vivid as Alec to commit, however, just as Julian had been blinded by his stupid love, Alec had unconsciously also been blinded by the originally docile personality of Julian .

"So you knew? How rewarding! "He returned the smile, still swallowing the cigar. "My dear, you should know that good boys do not play with this kind of dangerous thing. Just put it down, okay? " He calmly moved his hands up as if to pick up the box of cigars that was on his bag.

"So maybe I just is not a good boy," Zhang Yuan replied simply before immediately pulling the trigger.

He did not hesitate, nor did he tremble, nor did he err. With a loud sound that caught everyone by surprise, Alec's shoulder was hit.

Zhang Yuan knew where Alec's weapon was, just as he knew what his support arm was for firing. And he would not stand still waiting for a shooting professional to pluck the gun and point it at his head, obviously.

Alec was truly stunned. He had never really imagined that the boy could pull the trigger so confidently. And he imagined even less that he could get a good enough aim to hit one of his weaknesses.

In all those years, he had never lowered his guard in front of anyone, and now, for the first time, an angelic face and a sweet voice reminded him of the reason behind it. Nobody is totally trustworthy. What was in his head so he could forget about it for a few minutes?

Zhang Yuan used the time Alec was stunned by the injury to run. He did not even blink his eyes before leaving the other man, wounded. He knew he could not really kill the villain of the world. Defeating the villain was the protagonist's role, not his. Although his mission required revenge, he would have to think of something more complicated than death. But that would have to stay for another day. For now, he had first to survive that fateful night.

If he had looked anywhere else, he knew it would not affect Alec's aim enough that he would not shoot at him from behind. But with a shot in the shoulder, Alec's aim and strength had been severely compromised, giving him room to escape. Not that Zhang Yuan was an expert in shooting or shooting. But the years spent throwing darts at bars or hitting stones in empty bottles at least served something in those years.

What he did not know, is that the reason Alec did not retaliate, was not because of his injury. But due to the torpor of having been shot by none other than the then, harmless Julian.

Still using the wisdom of the plot, Zhang Yuan crossed the streets with Lila still clinging to his back. Due to the fact that he knew exactly where to go, he did not spend as much time running in vain as the protagonist had originally done. And in less than twenty minutes later, he finally managed to find the mansion of the description.

 He put Lila on the floor and tried to control his breathing as he knocked on the wooden door with an excess of force.

It is not known how long it took to hear a movement from inside the house, but due to the effect of the adrenaline that had been guiding Zhang Yuan throughout the night to be over, it felt like it had been a century.

Then the door opened.

In the true timeline, Bryan and Julian should never have actually met, and so the younger did not know what the man's appearance would look like until he opened that door. And to his surprise, what he saw was a tall man, his features slightly flashy and meticulously organized, staring at him as he blinked his golden eyes at the various wounds on his body.

"Sorry to bother you at such a time, Doctor ... But could we talk for a ... Minute? ".

These were the last words Zhang Yuan could utter before simply fainting in the man's arms because of the loss of blood.