29

Year 2008, autumn.

Dark Forest Town.

In a small cement house, constant curses pierced the silent night, making it particularly unbearable.

"You wretched woman! You dare to take a thousand bucks and still complain endlessly? I'll fucking teach you a lesson!"

A middle-aged man, heavily drunk, impatiently picked up a liquor bottle and hurled it at the middle-aged woman by the table. With a loud crash, the woman seemed unresponsive as if accustomed to such violence. Just a slight tilt of her head, and the bottle would have smashed her head to pieces.

"Why are you standing there? I told you to cough up the money!" The man raged at the woman's lack of reaction, slamming the table so hard that the wooden pillar trembled, causing the woman to step back in fear.

"I... I really don't have that much money left. Geoffrey will be taking the college entrance exam this year..."

"Don't mention that ingrate! What's the use of the college entrance exam? All the kids in our town his age are already out working. He's just a useless brat, taking advantage of me and acting all high and mighty, as if he were my own son!"

The man's hooked nose, paired with his sharp and murky eyes, stared at the woman, Sandra. "Sandra, if you don't hand it over, I'll take matters into my own hands, and you know what that means."

The warning shook Sandra, and her pallid face revealed desperation. "I gave you a thousand last month. I've been working hard to collect enough money for Geoffrey's tuition by helping people with their corn and rice. Teacher Undine said he always gets the top grades in his year and has a chance to get into a good college..."

"I don't care if he gets into college or not! Everyone his age in this town is already working. You're just spoiling him rotten. If you keep blabbering, I'll deal with you first!"

The man no longer paid attention to Sandra and marched towards the wardrobe, ransacking it and creating a mess on the floor. The small house couldn't hide much, and soon he found three letters in the desk cabinet. The letters contained crumpled paper money, tied together in six bundles with rubber bands.

Sandra anxiously pulled on the man's sleeve, "Don't touch that money. Give me some more time. After the start of the school year, I'll save it for you again."

"Get lost! I'll fucking wait for you." The man forcefully shook off Sandra's grip, causing her to fall back and hit the corner of the table, groaning as she slid to the ground.

Satisfied with the money in his hand, Bradford paid no attention to the woman lying on the floor. He was about to leave when Sandra grabbed him. Trembling, she pleaded, "If you have a shred of conscience, leave the money and don't condemn Geoffrey to a life in this backward village, struggling day after day."

"Hmph, that's none of my concern." Bradford sneered, kicking Sandra's shoulder with his right leg. The grip on his left leg didn't loosen as he grew angrier, and he kicked her several times in a row.

After the struggle, combined with her previous injuries that hadn't healed, Sandra was exhausted and slumped to the ground, her eyes filled with despair. "Bradford, you're nothing but a coward. The biggest regret of my life is marrying you."

These past few days had been terribly unlucky for Geoffrey, and today, after drinking again, Bradford was in a terrible mood. Being scolded like this by his wife only fueled his rage. He lifted his leg to leave but was stopped by Sandra. She clung to him, trembling, muttering.

"He hit you again, didn't he?!" The young boy interrupted, veins popping on his hand gripping the doorknob, his eyes filled with intense anger.

"I'm going to sue that beast."

"Don't, don't go. He's still your father, and the exam is coming up soon. Just endure it a bit longer..."

"I don't have a father like him."

The young boy's tone was extremely cold, and the madness in his eyes overwhelmed his reason. He returned to the living room and took out a hammer from the toolbox, putting it into a black bag before storming out.

"Where are you going? Listen to your mother..."

Outside the door, there was an abnormal commotion. Sandra panicked and sat up, only to see the resolute figure of her son.

He had sworn countless times that if that beast harmed his mother again, he would fight back, but each time, he ended up compromising and suffering even worse torment.

Ha...

Since he enjoyed violence.

He would repay him in the same way.

Autumn evening quickly turned dark, and not long after walking along the Wutong River, he saw a group of gamblers coming out of the casino. They had a fierce look on their faces and were spitting vulgar curses.

In this noisy place, the young boy's cold temperament stood out conspicuously. As he approached, one middle-aged man grinned and said, "Isn't this the son of the Johnson family? Instead of studying hard, you came to gamble with your father?"

"Where is that beast?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man burst into laughter, his rough and dark skin creasing, "This little brat has some guts, daring to insult your old man like that. Huh, but Li Ge just left after finishing his drinks."

Geoffrey's gaze swept over the man without any warmth, then he left in that direction. After walking for about ten minutes, he caught sight of a stumbling figure. The darkness had set in, and layers of withered trees obscured the view. It would have been hard to recognize the person if not for the deep-rooted hatred he held for him.

Geoffrey smirked coldly, and his eyes filled with increasing animosity. He followed Bradford for several hundred meters until the heavily drunk Bradford turned into a secluded alley.

Suddenly, there was a loud splash.