📖 Chapter 1 — The Night of Gunfire

The northern hemisphere had just stepped into late autumn, and the chill came without warning.

Cold wind swept through the streets of Country A, rattling glass windows and scattering fallen leaves across the pavement. Yet, inside the most luxurious casino in the city, warmth, laughter, and the clinking of crystal glasses drowned out the season entirely.

This place was not meant for ordinary people.

Annual membership alone cost more than most would earn in a lifetime. The guests tonight were heirs, CEOs, and figures who moved markets with a single word.

And among them—Xiao Zong.

He stood near the private lounge, fingers idly adjusting the cuff of his tailored suit. His expression was calm, almost indifferent, as if the world around him had nothing to do with him.

“Boss,” his assistant’s voice crackled faintly through the earpiece, “your schedule tomorrow—”

“Cancel it.”

The reply was quiet, effortless.

He wasn’t in the mood.

Moments earlier, he had walked out of a changing room, his tie hanging loose around his neck, shirt buttons half undone. The faint irritation in his eyes hadn’t yet faded.

Troublesome.

He couldn’t even remember why he had agreed to come here tonight.

A burst of laughter echoed from the hall, followed by the soft hum of music. The casino floor glittered beneath chandeliers, cards flipping, chips stacking, fortunes shifting in silence.

Everything seemed… normal.

Until it wasn’t.

A sharp sound split the air.

For a second, no one reacted.

Then came the second shot.

And the third.

Screams erupted like a wave crashing through the room.

Gunfire tore through the polished calm of the casino. Glass shattered. People ducked, scattered, fell over each other in panic. The once-elegant hall turned into chaos in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Zong’s gaze sharpened instantly.

“Move!” someone shouted nearby.

His bodyguard lunged forward just as a deafening crash echoed overhead. The massive chandelier, once the centerpiece of the hall, came crashing down in a rain of glass and metal.

The force of it shook the ground.

“Sir—!”

A strong shove hit his shoulder, and Xiao Zong staggered back, barely avoiding the falling debris. His bodyguard didn’t have the same luck.

The man’s leg was pinned beneath the wreckage, blood quickly seeping through shattered glass.

Gunshots rang again.

Closer this time.

Xiao Zong’s mind snapped into focus, cold and precise. He turned, searching for an exit—but before he could take a step, something slammed into him from the side.

The impact knocked the breath from his chest.

He hit the ground hard.

Before he could react, a hand gripped his arm—firm, controlled—and dragged him across the floor.

A heavy table overturned above them with a loud crash.

“Don’t move.”

The voice was low, steady.

Not panicked.

Not afraid.

Xiao Zong froze.

They were hidden beneath the overturned gambling table, the thick wood now their only shield against the storm of bullets outside. The air was tight, filled with dust, the sharp scent of gunpowder—and something else.

Something faint.

Sweet.

Strange.

Through the dim light filtering under the table, Xiao Zong could barely make out the figure beside him. Close. Too close.

Their breaths were uneven—but not from fear.

Heat radiated from the other person’s body.

Fever.

“You’re injured?” Xiao Zong asked quietly.

No answer.

Another shot slammed into the table above them, the wood splintering slightly from the force.

Outside, footsteps thundered past. Shouts, screams, the screech of tires somewhere beyond the walls—it all blurred into a chaotic symphony.

Xiao Zong’s heartbeat remained steady.

He had seen worse.

But this—

This felt different.

The hand gripping him tightened briefly.

“Don’t worry,” the voice murmured, softer this time. “Backup will arrive soon.”

Not “help.”

Not “security.”

Backup.

A strange choice of words.

Xiao Zong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Who exactly was this person?

Before he could ask, the figure suddenly shifted.

Fast.

Decisive.

The pressure vanished as they slipped out from under the table in one swift motion.

“Wait—”

Too late.

By the time Xiao Zong pushed himself up, the figure was already gone, disappearing into the chaos beyond.

For a moment, everything felt strangely quiet.

Then reality crashed back in.

“Mr. Xiao!”

His security team rushed toward him, weapons drawn, forming a protective barrier around him.

“Are you injured?”

“I’m fine.”

His voice was calm, controlled—as if nothing had happened.

But his gaze lingered on the empty space where that person had been.

“Liu Ye—” he said suddenly.

The bodyguard.

They found him quickly.

Alive.

But barely.

—

The incident didn’t stay contained for long.

Within hours, every major platform was flooded with headlines.

Casino Shooting Shocks Elite Circle

Xiao Family Heir Caught in Scandal Before Incident

Mysterious Blonde Disappears Amid Chaos

Speculation spread faster than facts.

Rumors twisted the story into something else entirely.

A scandal.

A romance.

A conspiracy.

But Xiao Zong didn’t care about any of that.

He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in his office the next day, overlooking the sprawling city below.

His assistant spoke endlessly behind him, listing reports, updates, damage control strategies.

“…the media is focusing heavily on the changing room incident,” he said. “Should we issue a statement?”

“No need.”

Xiao Zong’s reflection stared back at him in the glass.

Unmoved.

Detached.

Yet, his mind replayed a single moment.

The darkness beneath the table.

The steady voice.

And that faint, impossible scent.

Sweet.

Lingering.

Wrong.

“…Boss?” the assistant hesitated. “About yesterday—did you notice anything unusual?”

Xiao Zong was silent for a long moment.

Then, quietly—

“They weren’t ordinary.”

The disguise had been perfect. Voice altered. Appearance hidden.

Trained.

Disciplined.

On a mission.

And yet…

His gaze lowered slightly, thoughtful.

“That smell,” he murmured.

It didn’t make sense.

Not here.

Not in that situation.

A possibility flickered through his mind—absurd, yet impossible to ignore.

An Omega?

No.

That would be ridiculous.

Special operations didn’t allow Omegas.

And yet…

Xiao Zong’s fingers tapped lightly against the glass.

Cold.

Measured.

Interested.

For the first time since the incident, something close to curiosity stirred within him.

Whoever that person was—

They had stepped into the line of fire without hesitation.

Protected him.

And vanished without a trace.

—

Far away, beyond the reach of headlines and speculation—

Someone coughed softly, leaning against a wall, their body still burning with fever.

Their grip tightened slightly.

As if holding onto something invisible.

Or someone.

XIAO ZONG

GU YIN