Break through the darkness

“Very well, let’s talk about the rules.” Chen Chao’s voice was steady, without any deliberate pressure, as if he were just having a chat. “The training camp told me that this injection comes in sets of two, each set lasts for 15 minutes, and the maximum allowed dosage per day is five sets, which is one box. But I think you should know these figures better than I do.”

"Yes," Steve confirmed.

"The rules are simple. Before each use, I'll give you a chance to try and explain what happened in Karim. If you can't, I'll use one set. If you still can't do it after five sets, that's it for today. I'll have the training camp send new injections tomorrow. Any questions?"

“No.” Steve suppressed the fear rising in his fingertips and answered firmly.

"Okay, before we officially begin, let me emphasize this again. This is all my decision, and you bear no responsibility or consequences. My only requirement for you is to remain realistic. I absolutely forbid you from activating mission mode, understand?"

"Yes, I understand, boss."

"Okay, then let me ask you, can you tell me what happened in Karim?"

Steve took a deep breath and made one last attempt. But it didn't work; his memories were filled with black mist, and instinct held him back, preventing him from speaking.

“Boss, I can’t do it.” Steve replied, stretching out his arm to Chen Chao as he waited for Chen Chao to inject the drug into his body.

But Chen Chao ignored him.

Chen Chao took out the alcohol swabs that came with the box, rolled up his sleeves, and began to disinfect his arm.

Seeing this, Steve, realizing what Chen Chao was about to do, panicked and almost stood up abruptly: "Boss!! What, what are you going to do? No! I'll listen to you, please don't do this, please don't..."

"Don't move while kneeling!" Chen Chao interrupted Steve's attempt to get up and stop him with a firm tone, "Repeat what I emphasized last time."

Chen Chao's unquestionable command forcefully pressed Steve to the ground. Steve subconsciously repeated Chen Chao's words, his eyes fixed on Chen Chao's every move, his entire being in a state of panic.

"Boss, you said that this is all your decision, and I have nothing to do with any responsibility or consequences. All I need to do is ensure the most authentic reaction and absolutely not activate the mission status."

“Very good.” Chen Chao said, having already injected the first dose into his vein. “Lin Yu, I never intended to use these on you. This is part of your standard training, and it won’t work on you.”

And pain and abuse alone won't get anything done. I'm here to give you the strength to overcome it, not to make you more stressed.

"Boss, I will try my best! I will definitely face it! Please don't do this to yourself, please..." Steve's voice was filled with painful pleas. At this moment, he was like a headless fly, completely at a loss for what to do.

He could accept any pain inflicted upon him, but he could not accept any harm directed at Chen Chao, especially since the cause of that harm was himself.

Seeing Chen Chao in pain was more unbearable than wishing him death.

Steve felt like he was about to collapse before he even started.

"Lin Yu, look at me," Chen Chao gave the order again.

Steve immediately obeyed the order and looked up.

“I told you this was my decision, and it has nothing to do with you. I ask that you not feel guilty at all. At the same time, I'm not threatening you with my own life; I'm giving you strength. I know that protecting me is your greatest source of strength, right?”

“But, boss…” Steve was already crying in desperation.

No matter what Chen Chao said, he couldn't accept it. He had undergone pain tolerance training, and he knew how painful that drug was.

Back then, they were all tied to chairs for training. Chen Chao had been pampered since childhood, so how could he possibly endure it?

“Don’t worry, I believe in you.” Chen Chao said as he injected the second injection into the vein. “Remember, this is not your responsibility, but I need the power you want to protect me to stop all of this. And what I need is Lin Yu, not Z0002.”

“No, boss, no…” Steve shook his head in despair, feeling as if his heart was being torn apart. He wanted to stop him, but Chen Chao’s orders bound his hands and feet.

He was ordered to kneel and not move.

He was ordered not to blame himself.

He was ordered not to awaken Z0002.

He was absolved of all responsibility.

Chen Chao blocked all his escape routes, forcing him to surpass himself as Lin Yu, and forcing him to face himself with his love for Chen Chao.

But he was in so much pain, he was really in so much pain.

Boss, how could you be so cruel?

Steve looked at the cold sweat gradually forming on Chen Chao's forehead and burst into tears.

Chen Chao considered himself to be someone with top-notch self-control, but when all the nerves in his body were awakened by the drug and stung, he still couldn't help but groan.

"Ah..." Chen Chao unconsciously bent over and curled himself up.

The pain was so intense that he could barely think. Cold sweat poured down his back, and his muscles trembled uncontrollably.

Fifteen minutes isn't a long time. But every second felt incredibly long to Chen Chao.

He had never received any training in resisting torture, so he didn't know how to systematically endure pain or how to give himself the psychological suggestion that "I'm okay."

He was never used to pain.

He could only clumsily rely on his willpower to persevere.

When Chen Chao slid off the sofa and fell to the floor due to the pain, Steve almost immediately stood up to catch him.

"Kneel down, don't move..." Even though he was in so much pain that he could barely speak, Chen Chao still resolutely stopped Steve from moving.

At this moment, Chen Chao was no longer the high-ranking deputy minister, nor the powerful heir of the Chen family. He was curled up on the ground, soaked to the bone.

He was trembling, every cell in his body aching. Uncontrollable cries of pain escaped his lips from time to time. He even rolled unconsciously on the ground.

Steve had never seen Chen Chao look like this before.

Chen Chao is always dignified and reserved. Even when he is furious or ill, Chen Chao never loses control of himself.

Chen Chao's current pained and embarrassed appearance deeply stung Steve's nerves, making him feel as if he were on fire.

He would rather suffer the pain himself, he would rather be imprisoned by Karim for a lifetime than suffer like Chen Chao.

Faced with Chen Chao's pain, he felt that nothing else mattered. Pain, dignity, trauma—all of it was insignificant.

All his instincts for self-preservation were overwhelmed by Chen Chao's pain. At this moment, Steve's mind was blank; the only thing he could think about was stopping his boss's pain.

“Boss, I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything! Karim locked me up and forced me to play games with him. He forced me to choose between self-humiliation and betrayal. It hurt so much. To avoid betraying him, I did so many things I didn’t want to do. I licked his shoes, I barked like a dog, I did so many despicable things! Boss, please, please stop, please. I’ll tell you everything… please stop…”

Sobbing and howling, Steve could no longer bear it. He roared out the thing he least wanted to face, his face streaked with tears.

But at this moment, he felt no pain from the darkness of his memories. His only concern was whether Chen Chao was satisfied, and whether he could stop his boss's pain.

Despite the excruciating pain, Chen Chao managed a smile. He looked at Steve, his eyes filled with undisguised praise.

"Lin Yu, come here and hug me."

The pain wouldn't stop prematurely after 15 minutes, but he could allow Lin Yu to comfort him.

Lin Yu felt as if he had been granted a pardon upon hearing Chen Chao's voice. He immediately crawled to Chen Chao's side, bent down, and carefully hugged Chen Chao into his arms.

Chen Chao huddled in Lin Yu's arms, trembling uncontrollably. Yet, there was not a trace of shame for his loss of composure in his eyes. Looking at Lin Yu, a hint of pride even shone through his teary eyes.

"So this is what it feels like to seek the warmth of a loved one while in pain? Lin Yu, I finally understand your world a little better."

Chen Chao's voice was hoarse and intermittent, but his tone was filled with unparalleled relief.

Lin Yu hugged Chen Chao tightly, his words choked with sobs: "Boss, please, please don't scare me like this anymore. I'll go crazy, I really will go crazy."

Chen Chao struggled to lift his head and kissed Lin Yu's eye: "Okay, I promise you. As long as you don't leave me, I won't scare you anymore."

"Thank you, boss."

Chen Chao nestled in Lin Yu's arms, clutching Lin Yu's shirt, enduring the remaining time with each passing second feeling like an eternity. When the pain finally subsided, he was completely exhausted.

"Lin Yu, can you carry me to bed?" Chen Chao asked softly, no longer using a commanding tone.

Lin Yu picked Chen Chao up in his arms, his voice still choked with sobs, "Boss, are you no longer in pain?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Chen Chao raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of Lin Yu's eyes, and said gently but firmly, "If you acknowledge me as your boss, don't blame yourself. I said all the responsibility is mine, this is not your fault."

"I know." Lin Yu gently placed Chen Chao on the bed and knelt down beside it. "I just can't accept it. Boss, I can't bear to see you get hurt in the slightest."

Chen Chao raised his hand and touched Lin Yu's hair: "You can feel pain but I can't? What kind of logic is that? Lin Yu, I'm no different from you. You can make sacrifices for me, and so can I. Don't kneel down, sit on the edge of the bed, let's talk."

Lin Yu shook his head: "Boss, this is how I am. I like looking at you like this."

Chen Chao glanced at Lin Yu, but didn't insist, letting him be.

“Boss, you and I are different. Pain means nothing to me; it's even part of my job. But you shouldn't have to endure this. I should protect you,” Lin Yu said, kneeling by the bed and looking at Chen Chao.

“But Lin Yu, as the deputy minister of Special Security and the heir of the Chen family, I shouldn’t let myself get hurt. But as your lover, I feel this is the most worthwhile risk.” Chen Chao looked at Lin Yu tenderly, his voice calm yet firm, “Lin Yu, before all identities, I am your superior. But after all identities are stripped away, I am just Chen Chao, someone who loves you. Seeing you in pain doesn’t make me feel good either, do you understand?”

“Boss…” Lin Yu gripped Chen Chao’s hand tightly on the bed. He felt an indescribable heat surging in his chest, making it impossible for him to think. The god he had always looked up to told him that, stripped of all identities, he was his lover. This meant that this love had never been unconditional.

He received unconditional love from his God.

"Boss, I'm sorry, I wish I had figured it out sooner. Now that I think about it, what happened to Karim wasn't so unbearable. I shouldn't have tried to run away."

Karim brought pain and humiliation, but these were all part of standard training. Looking back now that he had finally crossed the threshold, Lin Yu realized he had been a bit too dramatic.

It's such a small matter, yet it has caused Chen Chao to worry so much.

"I told you it wasn't your fault." Chen Chao squeezed Lin Yu's hand tightly. "But now, can you tell me exactly what happened?"

“Boss, I’ll tell you everything.” Chen Chao’s love gave Lin Yu the strength to break through the darkness, and he was no longer afraid. He could face his embarrassing past self without fear.

He needs to move on from the pain of the past and then truly move forward together with his boss.