Huh," Lucas nodded indifferently and entered the orphanage.

Lucas stepped out of the jeep, his presence commanding attention. His sharp jawline and piercing gaze seemed chiseled from granite, exuding an aura of authority that silenced the surrounding chatter."

Seeing the legendary Lucas Blackwood finally show up, the director of the orphanage came up to greet him. " Mr Blackwood, this is your first time being involved in the selection. Nice to meet you"

Lucas walked straight in and coldly replied," Nice to meet you too, Director Steve; every four years, M base chooses new members from orphanages around the country based on the agreement with the government. So you are just following the routine and so do I.

Yes, but you're the Director of the M base. The children in our orphanage will depend on you to take care of them in the future. They are all orphans, but if they become successful in society in the future through the training in M base, It will also be a great achievement and blessing to their generations."

Lucas Ignored the director's flattering words.

Every four years, talent selection of the M base was just a routine, and not up to a tenth of the orphanages would be chosen. After all, not all the kids have the ability to pass the tests and checkpoints set by the base. To become a member of the base, one must be fully qualified mentally and physically.

As he walked into the orphanage, everybody was fascinated by his visage; he had well-shaped eyebrows, deep dark grey eyes that showed a speck of green due to the sunlight, a high and straight nose bridge, and cold, thin lips..... (everyone's thought) is he from a painting?.

All the instructors and other workers in the orphanage were already gathered, waiting for the mysterious eldest son of the Blackwood to appear.

The Blackwood family is one of the most powerful families in the US. Although on the surface, it was a business family, it owns the largest talent training base in the shadows, training talents for the use of government officials and the country's armed forces.

Lucas Blackwood, the mysterious eldest son of the Blackwood family, is a legendary man both in the business and underground world. His name is more powerful than his family name.

From the age of five, he was trained in the M base; at the age of eighteen, he left the family business to start his own company, and within five years, his company (Lucas empire) became a great sensation in the business world.

"Whispers trailed Lucas like a shadow, his name spoken in hushed tones by the orphanage staff. His presence seemed to draw the air tighter, commanding attention."

Now that he showed up in the orphanage, everybody was being careful because he was rumored to have a bad temper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laughter rang out in the cafeteria, sharp and mocking, cutting through the low hum of chatter. A group of boys huddled together near the entrance, their attention fixed on a tall, handsome boy sitting alone at a corner table. He was eating in silence, his posture upright and composed, but his expression was distant as if the noise around him didn't exist.

The ringleader of the group picked up a small pebble from the ground, weighing it in his hand with a smirk. "Watch this," he whispered, his tone dripping with mischief. With a swift flick of his wrist, the pebble sailed through the air, striking the boy's shoulder.

The boy paused mid-bite, his gaze snapped toward them, his eyes narrowing.

The boys came closer to her; one said, "Why are you glaring at us?" With a crash, one of the boys grabbed her plate and threw it on the floor, spilling her meal all over the ground.

Your piece of shit, you have just been here for a few months. How dare you keep mute while we are speaking to you? Don't you know that we will soon be selected to go to the M base," Oh, I have forgotten that the director only takes you as a piece of trash and doesn't include your name in the list of candidates; you will be left here to rot away. The boys jeer, pushing her to the wall

Casey's face remained blank instead She grabbed the arm of the boy who held her, and the boy's face immediately turned pale.

"Get away from me. Why did y'all come here babbling at me? or did you want to be enrolled into the base with broken bones?" She said indifferently and her voice was as nonchalant as her expression. Pushing the guys away " Get the fuck out of my sight".

"You mongrel, how dare you talk to us like this? Where are you really from? I heard your surname is Angeles. Don't you know that there is only one family that is allowed to use that name? Who gave you the courage to use that name?" One of the boys said.

Casey didn't want to waste time on these boys and was about to turn around when one of them reached out to grab her again. Casey's eyes narrowed as the hand closed around her arm. She spun, her fingers instinctively wrapping around the wrist, ready to twist and break free."

She paused. It just happened that today, The doctor gave her half a dose of the tranquilizer due to him being in a hurry. Besides, she has already grown kinda immune to the tranquilizer after being Injected with it for a long time, so she has recovered a little bit of her strength and she is not as weak as before.

So she twisted her wrist. Cra.. the cracking sound of the wrist was followed by a scream.

"Are you relieved now that your wrist is dislocated?" Casey looked back, amusedly glancing at the boy who was holding his wrist and was writhing in pain and then at others.

The boy whose wrist dislocated roared in anger and his face contorted in pain. He yelled at the others," You all grab him ! Beat him up !! I want to see what this mongrel is capable of !" when he saw others still hesitating, " he can't take all of you at once!"

Casey remains indifferent to his words. The boys didn't expect him to be so good at martial arts. After all, none of the kids knows anything about him except for being known for his cold temper.

However, the boys stopped hesitating and tried to attack her; Casey casually moved to the side to avoid their moves, and her movement looked natural, unrestrained but aggressive. A pebble on the floor suddenly moved through the group, and with force, it hit one of the boys hard on the forehead.

"Ouch" "The boy raised his hand to cover his bloody forehead and fell to the ground in pain. Not expecting him to be so ruthless, the boys stopped for an instant, not knowing whether to attack him or not.

At that moment, she strikes one of them in the lower part of the body, who immediately lets out a painful scream. Before they could realize what had happened, Casey had already left their encirclement, turning to get a new portion of food with a deadpan face.

"Shit, this brat!"

"Let him go. We'll see how he will end up miserably"

Ignoring their words, Casey got a new tray and a portion of food. Whispers followed Casey through the cafeteria, admiring glances flicking toward her striking features.

Yet, she sat alone, her expression a mask of indifference, discouraging anyone from approaching

In the noises, the boy whose head was hit sneers," We'll see how long he can maintain his attitude. I heard that the boss of the M base has come today. If we finally become members of the base, a man, after being trained for a while in the base, will be able to kill him!"

Zoning them out _M base? Casey thinks

When she was working for the bandits, she heard them talking about a base, which is said to be the largest military talent training base and a deep connection to the country police. It is very powerful and mysterious and a lot of bandits were very afraid of it.

"Is the base she heard about the same as the M base? Is M base where she heard from the instructors where some of the boys will be taken to ?"

However, it has nothing to do with her.

Standing up to get back to his room, the boys scurried away fearfully, thinking he was coming for them again.

" Shit, Casey has only been in the orphanage for just a few months; he has never been close to anyone. This is the first time they saw him fight despite his cold temper. No one expected him to be so strong.

°~°~°~°~°~°~°

At night,

This was one of the largest orphanages in Los Angeles, with a large number of orphans. The people from the base arrived at the orphanage in the afternoon, but due to the huge amount of orphans on the list, they had to stay there for the night and continue the screening tomorrow.

Casey retired to her room, seeking refuge in sleep. After all, she had nothing else to do than sleep, eat, and stroll around, but due to movements around the orphanage, she couldn't go to sleep peacefully.

She opened her eyes, sat up on her bed, looking out her window, thinking maybe she should just go for a dip at the natural hot spring she found a few weeks ago at the back of the orphanage playground while taking a stroll; then she got up and went out.

As she walked towards the forest behind the orphanage, the shadows cast by the faint moonlight were her only guide. She caught sight of boys who fought with her day and heard them cursing her from a distance vehemently.

" Where did that bastard come from? How dare he hit me so hard. I pray he gets killed soon." Hearing his words, Casey walks towards them, saying coldly, "Whether I get killed or not is a matter of the future, but if you dared curse me more I won't mind and hesitate to kill you now."

Hearing his voice, the boys were frightened, they all turned pale.

"You... When did you get here?"

Casey didn't answer. She keeps on walking towards the forest.

" Ptuu.. What's the point of your fighting skills when you're doomed to rot away here? We've warned you that you will rot away in this place after we are selected by M base. The boys mock Casey.

However, as if not hearing them, Casey just glanced around causally and ignored them. The boy whose forehead was injured in the afternoon flew into a rage. "Damn it! How dare you ignore us! I don't think he dares touch us since there are M base people around. Let's throw him in the pool in the forest. Let's teach him a lesson today. This is not a place he can boss around!"

There were twice as many people gathered tonight than in the afternoon in the cafeteria. The group thought that they would be able to subdue Casey.

Casey stopped her movement and turned to look at them casually, waiting for their moves.

But seeing Casey still looking carefree as if all of them put together wouldn't cause any trouble, the other boys who had already witnessed her martial skills dared not come forward and hesitantly drew back.

Seeing them hesitating," If you are not blind, you should know I have a bad temper. Don't mess with me. Otherwise, I don't mind disabling you all here tonight," Casey said coldly.

With that, she continued to walk towards the hot spring in the forest as if nothing had happened, ignoring the boys who froze and putting her attention on the men hidden in the shadows. The reason why she keeps on ignoring the boy's provocation is due to her sensing some glares in the shadows.

After Casey left, in one of the guest rooms not far away, some members of the M base discussed among themselves, " This boy is not bad. He is way better than the kids we checked today.

Another member glanced at the boy going towards the forest and said meaningfully, "An assassin broke in, probably to kill the boss. This boy was able to notice our men in the shadows, hence his vigilant behavior, but the path he is going towards is the same as the boss has taken, which I am sure the assassin has also taken, but trusting the boss to avoid implicating others, especially a kid like this. Don't worry. Let's just wait and see."

Hearing his words, the others watched as the boy hurried into the forest, wondering why the boy was going there.

Their Boss likes having a hot bath at night, Although the orphanage doesn't have one except a natural hot spring behind the orphanage, which he decided to use like that; now he is having a bath there.

They couldn't imagine what would happen there

~~~~~~~~~~~

As Casey moved closer to the spring, she noticed someone moving sneakily. She stopped and watched, wondering why the person was sneaking around except if someone was in the spring, so she followed him silently down to the spring.

Uhh_ Why did that guy suddenly disappear?

She had followed him down here,

Now she can see the spring through a glimpse of the trees. She would have seen the guy if he had jumped into the spring, but he just suddenly disappeared.

Splash!!, Hearing that she immediately climbed the nearest tree to the spring.

Only for her to spot the guy dead beside the spring. She became alert immediately. Rushing down to check the cause of his death, she misplaced her feet.

Before she could grab hold of herself, she was already sliding into the spring. With a splash, she falls into the hot spring. She immediately rises from the water, wiping her face off the water. Turning around to step out, only to find a pair of cold, black eyes in the mist looking at her....

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

The mist obscured her view, but she could sense coldness in the dark eyes.

She hadn't expected that she would fall off the tree so easily and slide into the spring, nor did she expect that someone would be in the spring...

The man in the spring concealed his surprise, looking at the boy sticking his head out of the water and staring at him in the mist. "What? You want to join me?" Lucas asked, his voice low and even.

Casey hesitated, unsure how to respond to why she fell from the tree into the spring; her gaze darted between Lucas's imposing figure and the darkness beyond the spring, her mind racing. Water droplets clung to her lashes as she weighed her options, her voice caught in her throat. She hadn't seen him in an orphanage before; he must be a member of the M base, but she was unsure of his position in the base.

She slowly slid down to hide half of her face underwater calmly so only her calm, cold eyes could be seen.

Seeing him staying motionless, Lucas stays in the water calmly. He narrowed his eyes and noticed the alertness and wariness in the boy's eyes and he knew he wanted to escape.

He coldly smirked. When the boy suddenly jumped out of the water, he reached out and dragged her back.

Casey wasn't expecting him to drag her back; besides, Lucas moved so fast that Casey had no time to dodge him. Having been controlled by tranquilizers for almost a year and hadn't trained for so long, she was easily captured by him, but she began to fight back immediately. Slipping her wrists out of his hand to attack his chest.

Casey's fists clenched, her arms coiling as she sprang into action. Water splashed around her as she struck Lucas's chest, her movements swift and precise.

Avoiding the attack, Lucas finally sees Casey's appearance clearly as she spins, her profile illuminated by the moon. Her features, sharp and angular, seemed chiseled from the night itself.

It was just a teenage boy, not the assassin accomplice as he thought, but is there a boy so good at martial arts in this orphanage?

Quickly grabbing the towel to cover his indecency, he chases the boy; the moment Casey is about to run back into the forest, her shoulder is grabbed. However, Just as Lucas was about to turn the boy around, the latter quickly pulled down the towel around Lucas's lower body and covered his face with it.

Lucas wasn't able to see the boy's face because of the towel. Lucas's gaze collided with the towel, his eyes tracing the contours of the boy's hidden face. The fabric muffled his breathing, but Lucas sensed the boy's tension, his coiled energy waiting to strike."

Coldly pulling the towel with force, the towel was flung to the floor with force.

Casey moved very fast; knowing she was unable to escape through the forest, she turned around to run back to the spring to distract the man, but as her shoulder was about to be grabbed by the man again, she kicked up dust into his face.

Lucas kept the dust from his eyes with his hands. Seeing the boy was about to turn back to the forest, he pounced at him like a swift cheetah, took her by the left sleeve, and pulled down hard.

With the sound of the cloth around her shoulder tearing, Casey's fair and smooth skin below her shoulder was exposed. They both froze.

Casey was feeling ashamed and angry. Lucas paused, raising his brows with interest, seeing the boy's smooth-white skin and his chest.

Although this boy was a teen, his boobs are too big for a boy to have.

A girl?

As soon as he realized her gender, he grabbed another towel and rapidly wrapped it around his lower part.

Casey's body aura turned murderous. She attacked him angrily. Lucas dodged and stopped attacking her after realizing her gender. However, Casey began to attack him harder, and her eyes were full of killing intent.

But Lucas kept on dodging her moves easily. Instead, he pulled off her torn sleeve suddenly, saying nonchalantly, " Angry? It's surprising for a girl to have such a mastery of martial arts. Where were you taught? How did you get in here?"

Casey, being furious, refused to reply to him; instead, she kicked hard at a tree and then kicked sideways at him with the counterforce. Lucas didn't attack her again after finding out that she was just a little girl. He kept on playing defense causally despite how fiercely she attacked him. He grabbed her leg, using it to pull her closer to him. To Casey, he doesn't seem to take her seriously but teases her.

Casey had been through a lot of bloodshed but had never been molested by a man. Now she just feels the urge to kill this man, but she knows within herself that this man is more skilled than her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man's clothes placed nearby, in which there seemed to be a pistol.

With a gun, he will be even harder to deal with.

She held back her anger and kicked him hard between his legs; not expecting her to kick him there; he failed to dodge this attack, and his lower body part hurt him so much.