Rebirth of a Mercenary: The Ace Mercenary Forced to Be the Beloved of the Group

037's curled-up body suddenly stiffened. His movements stopped, like a machine that had been paused, even his twitching stopped for half a second.

Then he raised his head, looking at Bai Ye with eyes red from addiction, his face streaked with tears and sweat. His gaze held shock, disbelief, and a complex mix of emotions—a hesitation that seemed to hold onto hope yet dare not grasp it.

He opened his mouth, his lips trembling, his voice hoarse as if scraping sandpaper: "...What did you say?"

"I can help you escape," Bai Ye repeated, crouching down to meet his gaze. "There are people waiting for you outside. As long as you get through the withdrawal period, my people can take you to a safe place. You have family, you still have your son. Don't you want to see him one last time?"

037 fell silent. His body was still twitching slightly uncontrollably, but his gaze was fixed on Bai Ye's face, as if trying to discern whether the words were true or something he had fabricated in the hallucinations of drug addiction.

Then he laughed. The laugh was mixed with blood and tears, dripping from the corner of his mouth, but he still laughed. It was the kind of laugh that came from the bottom of his heart, a laugh that came from the depths of his chest, a warmth that lingered after he had been emptied out.

"I knew I wasn't wrong about you..." His voice trembled, but every word seemed to come from the deepest part of his body, carrying a certainty that remained even after being repeatedly crushed by drug addiction. "You really are a good kid... You're not like them... You still have a heart... You're different from them... From the first day I saw you, I felt you didn't belong here... You don't have that smell... that smell of something rotten soaking in it..."

His body was convulsing again, his lips were turning white, and his pupils were repeatedly dilating and contracting.

He strained to finish his sentence, each word like a precarious step on a snapping tightrope: "But I can't... I really can't... I'm completely trapped... That injection you just gave me, regardless of whether it was a deadly poison or not, the three injections Viper gave me before have ruined me... My veins are full of that stuff... In my current state, even if I escape, I won't live more than a few days... And I'll also endanger the people who are supposed to be there to meet me..."

He took a deep breath, as if he had used all the strength in his life to say this one sentence: "I'm not going... please let me go..."

Bai Ye squatted down, looking at him: "How will you know if you don't try?"

037 shook his head. His movements were slow, as if even the strength to shake his head was fading away.

His gaze shifted from Bai Ye's face to the narrow strip of sky above, cut off by the courtyard wall. Morning light filtered through the gaps in the iron railings, casting streaks of light and shadow on his face.

"I don't want my son to know..." His voice was so soft it was almost a soliloquy, "His dad ended up being... a useless piece of trash ruined by drugs... He'll be laughed at by the other kids at school... How will he ever be able to hold his head up again..."

He struggled to raise his hand and touched his neck with trembling fingers.

There hung a thin silver chain with a tiny round pendant. The metal surface was worn and slightly scratched, but the serial number and the name engraved on it were still clearly visible.

He struggled to unfasten the chain, his fingers slipping repeatedly due to twitching, and it took him three attempts to finally remove the chain from his neck.

He placed the necklace into Bai Ye's palm, letting the metal plaque rest against it. His fingers, trembling slightly, covered the back of Bai Ye's hand, as if he were using his last bit of strength to convey something.

"Help me take this out..." 037's voice grew softer and softer, his breath weaker and weaker, as if he might break at any moment. "Give it to my son... Tell him... his father wasn't a good-for-nothing... his father was a narcotics officer... his father died on a mission... he was a hero..."

Bai Ye looked down at the thin silver necklace in his palm. The metal ring had been warmed by his body heat for too long, and it still carried a layer of residual warmth when it touched his palm. The chain links were stained with 037's sweat and blood, and they gleamed dimly in the morning light.

He put the necklace into his pocket and zipped it up: "I promise you."

037 seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. His expression relaxed, he stopped struggling and convulsing, and lay quietly on the cold cement ground, looking at the narrow strip of sky above his head, cut into a long strip by the courtyard wall, with a very faint smile on his lips.

His breathing became calmer, and the rise and fall of his chest gradually decreased.

"Thank you..." His voice was so soft it seemed a breeze could carry it away, "You're a good child... in the next life..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Bai Ye pulled another syringe from his pocket. The liquid in this syringe was transparent, almost colorless in the morning light, like diluted water, or perhaps something deeper, brought from a laboratory.

He inserted the needle tip into the vein inside the elbow crease of 037, placed his fingers on the piston, and moved with extreme lightness and steadiness.

037 felt the sensation of the needle tip piercing her skin.

His eyelids twitched, and in his last moments of lucidity, he glanced at Bai Ye. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only moved his lips silently—he traced those two words twice with his lips, as if confirming something one last time.

Bai Ye pushed the medicine in. The clear liquid flowed through his body along with his blood, and within seconds, 037's breathing went from steady to weak, and from weak to still.

His eyelashes fluttered one last time, like a butterfly flapping its wings one last time, before falling still. A faint smile lingered on his lips, as if he had finally found a place where he could peacefully let go of everything.

The morning light fell on his face, making the old knife scar on his cheekbone exceptionally clear. His expression was peaceful, as if he were asleep, completely different from the person who had just been curled up on the ground, rolling and convulsing.

Bai Ye stood up, put away the empty syringe, and turned to walk towards the corridor.

As he passed by Scorpion, he neither stopped nor looked back. His pace was unhurried, as if he had just returned from an ordinary training session. The soles of his shoes made a steady sound as they stepped on the cement ground, and he gradually disappeared into the morning light.

Scorpion stood at the edge of the yard, glancing down at the silent body on the ground. He said nothing, put his hands in his pockets, and turned to walk in another direction.