Chapter Three: Family

The rain in London finally showed signs of letting up, leaving only the intermittent dripping sound from the eaves, breaking the silence of the night.

Xu Yue stood by the office window, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the cold glass. The condensation on the glass blurred the distant lights, like those blurry yet sharp fragments of her memory.

The chilling atmosphere of the monastery seemed to still linger in the corners of her memory; that feeling of loneliness, of being abandoned by the world, was the deepest driving force behind all her actions.

However, she was not the only one who crawled out of the ruins in the steel fortress she built.

Another soul, a soul completely different from hers yet somehow mirror-similar, was pulled back from the brink of death by her own hands and shaped into the sharpest blade she is today.

That boy, now codenamed "Whale Shark" and feared by his enemies, was nothing more than a dying "Red Wolf" when he first entered her life.

Seven years ago. East London, at dawn in early winter.

The air was icy cold, mixed with the damp, rotten smell of coal smoke typical of the Thames. Xu Yue sat in the back seat of an unassuming black Daimler, which slowly drove along the muddy streets.

She had just finished a secret meeting with a shipping merchant, securing a vital smuggling route for the organization. The sky before dawn was the darkest, with only the horizon showing a faint, deathly gray.

The car passed through an area that had been reduced to rubble in last night's air raid. The ruins resembled the skeleton of a giant beast, with exposed steel bars twisted and pointing towards the sky, and the smell of burning and dust had not yet completely dissipated.

A few homeless figures rummaged through the ruins numbly. This was a common sight in postwar London, where chaos and destruction had become part of the city's fabric.

Just as the car was about to leave the area, Xu Yue's gaze was drawn to a small, solitary figure atop the distant ruins.

It was a boy, who looked to be no more than ten years old, huddled against a half-collapsed wall.

What is most striking is his messy, fiery red hair, which stands out even against the gray background.

He was dressed in tattered clothes that barely covered his body, and was emaciated, covered in mud and dark red scabs.

But what attracted Xu Yue was not his disheveled appearance, but his eyes.

The boy also saw the car slowly approaching. Unlike other homeless children, he did not show any pleading or fear. Instead, he suddenly raised his head, and his clear eyes, like tempered rubies, flashed with a ferocity, vigilance, and... an unyielding stubbornness.

He was like a wounded wolf cub driven to the brink of despair, baring his teeth and using his last bit of strength to bluff and try to scare away any possible threat.

A car drove past him. Xu Yue calmly instructed the driver, "Stop."

The driver stopped the car as instructed.

Xu Yue didn't get out immediately, but quietly observed through the car window. The boy became even more tense because of the car's stop, his body slightly hunched, and a low, threatening whimper came from his throat, even though he seemed to have no strength left to stand up.

At his feet lay a small, dirty piece of bread, probably found in the ruins, but he hadn't had time to eat it. He was also clutching a black-and-white photograph to his chest.

Just then, several slightly older, equally ragged boys emerged from the other side of the ruins. They had clearly also seen the bread and the weak, red-haired boy. Their eyes gleamed with greed as they surrounded them, laughing and joking.

"Hey, you little redhead, you're hiding that lousy photo of yours, what bad luck! Hand over the food!"

"This isn't a broken photo, it's my brother!" The boy's voice trembled as he clutched the photo tightly, his eyes filled with even more ferocity, but his trembling body betrayed his weakness.

A bullying incident, with no suspense, is about to occur.

Xu Yue pushed open the car door and got out. She was wearing a well-tailored, dark gray long coat, which looked out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.

Her appearance stunned the older children, who were intimidated by her cold and unquestionable aura.

She ignored the older children and walked straight up to the red-haired boy.

The boy continued to glare at her with hostility, but in his ruby-like eyes, besides fierceness, a hint of barely perceptible confusion also flashed.

He had never seen a woman like this before. She was neither like a nun in a hospice nor a street prostitute. She was like...like she came from another world.

Xu Yue crouched down, looking the boy straight in the eye. She smelled the blood and grime on him, as well as a tenacious life force that belonged to the streets.

She didn't say anything, but took out a piece of warm white bread wrapped in a clean handkerchief from her coat pocket and handed it to the boy.

The boy froze, his fierceness replaced by immense shock and disbelief.

He glanced at the white, soft bread in Xu Yue's hand, then at the dusty, rock-hard bread crumb at his feet, and his throat bobbed violently.

But he didn't take it immediately. Instead, he looked at Xu Yue with even more vigilance, as if trying to determine if this was another trap.

"Eat." Xu Yue's voice was calm, without pity or charity, just a simple statement.

The boy hesitated for a few more seconds, but in the end, his instinct for survival overcame his doubts.

He grabbed the bread, wolfed it down, and swallowed it with barely any chewing, choking and stretching his neck out.

Xu Yue then handed him a delicate little silver pot filled with water. The boy snatched it and gulped down several mouthfuls.

After eating and drinking, the boy seemed to have regained some strength, but his eyes remained wary as he tightly clutched the empty silver pot, as if it were some kind of treasure.

"What's your name?" Xu Yue asked.

The boy remained silent, simply staring at her.

"Why did those people beat you?" Xu Yue changed the subject, her gaze sweeping over the wounds on his body.

The boy still didn't answer, but his eyes flickered, and he stubbornly turned his head away, but his grip on the silver pot tightened even more.

Xu Yue didn't press the matter further. She stood up and said to the boy, "Come with me, or stay here and wait to die."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the car without looking back. This was a test, and also an opportunity to offer a choice.

She doesn't need a dog that only wags its tail and begs for mercy; she needs a wolf that is wild and has a will to survive.

Just as Xu Yue was about to open the car door, she heard faint, unsteady footsteps behind her.

She turned her head slightly and caught a glimpse of the red-haired boy out of the corner of her eye. He struggled to get up from the ground but was still clutching the photo tightly in his hands. He followed behind her, swaying and staggering.

He walked with great difficulty, but each step was taken with a resolute determination, as if he were making a desperate gamble. He did not beg, but demonstrated his choice through his actions—to follow the mysterious woman who gave him food and hope, no matter whether heaven or hell lay ahead.

Xu Yue opened the car door and got in.

The boy hesitated for a moment, looking at the neat and clean seats inside the car and his own filth.

Xu Yue didn't urge him, but just watched him quietly.

Finally, the boy gritted his teeth, carefully climbed onto the car, and tried to shrink into a corner to avoid getting more dirty.

The car slowly started and drove away from the ruins that symbolized destruction and despair.

In the car, Xu Yue didn't speak, but simply closed her eyes to rest.

The boy pressed nervously against the car window, watching the city gradually brighten outside, his eyes filled with unfamiliarity and a barely perceptible longing. He never let go of the silver pot in his hand.

Upon returning to the manor, Xu Yue had someone take the boy to have a thorough wash, change him into clean clothes, and prepare hot food for him.

When the boy, cleaned and dressed in ill-fitting but clean clothes, stood before Xu Yue again, she finally saw what he looked like.

After washing away the grime, his red hair became even more vibrant. Although his face was still youthful and pale from long-term malnutrition, his features were clearly defined, especially his red eyes, which still gleamed with a wild light despite his unease. He stood ramrod straight, trying his best to appear less timid.

“You have no name,” Xu Yue said, looking at him with an unquestionable tone. “From today onwards, you will be called ‘Xia’. Xia Fox. Your code name is ‘Red Wolf’.”

The boy, no, Xiya, raised his head, a hint of confusion flashing in his red eyes, but more so a sense of shock at being given a new identity.

He had a name, and he had a place to belong.

"Why did you save me?" he finally asked the first question, his voice hoarse but with a composure rarely seen at his age.

Xu Yue walked up to him, her gray eyes fixed on him as if trying to see through his soul: "Because I saw what was in your eyes. Not pleading, but fire. The fire that would bite through the enemy's throat even if it meant rolling in the mud."

She paused, her voice low and clear: "I can give you food, clothes, and shelter from the wind and rain. But the most important thing I'm giving you is an opportunity. An opportunity to let the fire in your eyes burn even brighter, instead of being extinguished by this damned world. You can choose to become strong, strong enough that no one can bully you anymore, strong enough to protect what you want to protect, or... destroy everything you hate."

Xiya stared at her blankly, her words striking his young heart like a heavy hammer.

He struggled on the streets since childhood, witnessing only the law of the jungle, and no one had ever given him such a "choice," such... expectation.

"What do I need to do?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly, but more so with determination.

"Study. Fight. Obey." Xu Yue's answer was concise and powerful.

“You will experience pain, it will be more painful than being on the streets. But with each hardship you overcome, you will become stronger. Until one day, you can stand beside me, instead of following behind me.”

Xiya clenched his fists tightly, the flames in his red eyes seemingly ignited by Xuyue's words, burning even more intensely. He nodded vigorously.

Xu Yue pulled herself out of her memories. Outside the window, London was fully awake, and the city's hustle and bustle could be faintly heard through the glass.

The "Red Wolf" of yesteryear has long since shed his naivety and fragility, growing into the most fearsome "Whale Shark" in the organization.

His ruthless decisiveness in carrying out missions contrasted sharply with his almost dependent loyalty in front of her.

That rescue was not purely an act of kindness. Xu Yue knew very well that in those red eyes, she saw a similar will to herself, forged in dire circumstances, and also saw potential that could be honed into a sharp weapon.

This is an investment, an expansion that incorporates lonely souls into its own order.

She gave him a new life, and he repaid her "investment" with absolute loyalty and outstanding ability, becoming one of the most solid pillars of the dark empire she built.

Their relationship had long transcended a simple superior-subordinate or savior-savior dynamic. It was a complex bond of mutual dependence and validation in a dark world.

He was the "family" she had personally rescued from the ruins, the only warm exception allowed to exist in her cold order.

Xu Yue turned and walked to her desk. On it lay a report about the new conflict in the dock area, which required her review. Her gaze returned to its calm and focused state.

The ghosts of the past have been soothed; the challenges of the present are the reality she must face. And she knows that whatever lies ahead, the "red wolf" she herself awakened will be her most reliable weapon.