Chapter Two

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 the 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.