The young man''s eyes always carried that defiant glimmer, but he never really thought about what that defiance might cost him. Finally, Mr. Elwood gave him a look.


    But Colby said he wasn''t cut out for the job. That was the first time Colby had stabbed him in the back. Yet, he didn''t hold a grudge against Colby. Everyone wants a shot at moving up in the world, and he figured Colby felt the same way.


    In the end, Mr. Elwood decided to keep him around. Just as he was dreaming about standing behind the big shots, wearing a bodyguard''s uniform, reality hit him like a ton of bricks. Mr. Elwood wasn''t looking for just any bodyguard; he wanted someone who could deal with problems permanently.


    Mr. Elwood handpicked every kid from the slums. He locked them up in a dungeon, a ce where the sun never shone, and subjected them to grueling training every day. His whole body was a map of bruises.


    Colby tossed him the only tube of ointment he had. Griffin, with his icy demeanor, remarked, "Don''t bother with him. He insisted oning, like he''s got a death wish."


    A death wish? Back then, he thought dying was better than enduring the misery of the slums.


    He knew full well that if both Colby and Griffin were chosen, they could easily be Mr. Elwood''s top guys, given their skills. Maybe then, he wouldn''t have to suffer anymore.


    But he wasn''t about to pin his hopes on anyone else. His mom had put her faith in his dad, only to be abandoned by him. And he had counted on his mom, only to find himself alone and struggling overseas.


    He understood that the only person he could truly rely on was himself. He was determined to earn everything through his own efforts, even if it meant risking his life. At least it would be a decision he made for himself.


    In the White household''s dungeon,


    people died every single day. It


    seemed like everyone figured out the


    only way to get out was to take out


    the others while they slept. Oddly enough, killing wasn''t against the rufes in this dungeon. C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.


    People turned into beasts, shedding all sense of right and wrong. The kids who came in, just teenagers around fourteen or fifteen, were dropping like flies; half of them were gone in a week. Thepetition


    was thinning out.


    By thest few days, only a few remained. He couldn''t tell day from night and had no clue where his enemies were. In the final two days, he dared not sleep, terrified of being strangled in his sleep.


    From bing an enforcer tomitting his first murder, what did it feel like to have blood stter across your face? What was it like to see the terror and unwillingness in the eyes of someone dying at your feet?


    He was scared to his core, his heart pounding with fear, and his eyes reddened, but he couldn''t let it show. He had to be Odie, the tough and fearless one. Only then could he survive.


    He had done every dirty deed imaginable in this world. Odie didn''t dare look back at the path he had taken. Each step was a bloody one, surrounded by thorns.


    Then, out of nowhere, he heard a


    woman''s gentleughter. She said, "Life''s full of tangled messes, wrongs and rights that aren''t


    clear-cut. It all depends on how


    someone makes up for their r past


    mistakes and strives to be a good person for the world, doesn''t it?"