3 days.

"He will be leaving in 3 days."

Zhao Lei looked at Mei and said.

"Isn't that a week earlier than the proposed schedule?"

His day-to-day requirements were her responsibility. She had been given a timetable to follow. That timetable didn't end until next week.

"The Plans have changed. Collective wants him in Russia as soon as possible."

He was expecting this. Sylvia wouldn't tolerate Alex with his elder brother for much longer.

"Inform him of this change. Ask him to make his preparations."

Mei nodded.

---------------------------------------------

"Oh..."

Mei did what she was told. Alex was about to say something, but Hao Qiao was the first person to speak. This caught both of them by surprise.

"I only have 3 more days then."

He softly mumbled.

She looked back at Alex and said,

"The Family head has asked you to make your preparations."

Alex nodded.

"Thank you."

He said out of courtesy.

After her job was done, Mei didn't stick around. She wanted to talk to Alex, but she could sense that the prisoner/teacher had to say something. She chose to leave them both alone.

"Our time together has been cut short."

He had another test.

"We still have three days."

Alex was raring to go. It was time to put everything into it.

"That's right..."

Hao Qiao was not behaving normally. He had been looking forward to the end of this, but realization was suffocating him.

"What happened?"

For the first time in a few weeks, Alex was feeling that Hao was perplexed.

"Your last test is not a mental exercise. But a lesson."

He was going to spend the week connecting with Alex as a teacher. They had shared too little up until now. He was going to relay his stories, his personal experiences as an assassin, and a lot of tips for Alex. These were all rudimentary things, but he had to give Alex some memories to cherish. It was evident that the boy didn't have many. As an assassin, the most important thing is to have something to kill for. If Alex had that, Hao wanted to show him whether it was worth the effort or not.

Right now, he had to skip to the last part.

"My story. Would you like to listen?"

Alex wanted to. Hao sensed his intrigue.

"Very well then."

He read his mind and said.

"Our story starts in this very place. A Zhao family settlement, where talented orphans are brought in to train and lead the family into a brighter future."

------------------------------------------------------

50 years ago.

"The two of you need to start taking this seriously!"

"Brother Wei, we are taking it seriously!"

Both the brothers said in unison.

"Really? Then why did the cook raise a complaint about you two snooping around the kitchen at 12 am?"

The elder one smiled and said,

"We were feeling parched. Both of us needed some water."

Brother Wei was done with their nonsense. 2 bags of grain were missing. These two were feeding the birds on the other side of the mountain, and they were acting as if they were innocent.

"Tai Song! Bring in the whip!"

Both of them needed to be disciplined.

The younger brother gulped some of his saliva out of fear.

"Just because you both are talented, doesn't mean that you are exempted from punishment."

Tai Song arrived with a whip in his hand. Brother Wei took it from him and said,

"Come clean, and your punishment will be pardoned."

Everyone knew that this was not going to be the case. Brother Wei was notorious for lashing out at disciples, but Assassins that trained under him seldom turned out to be weak.

"We didn't do anything."

Both of them stood their ground.

And Zhao Wei took his frustration out on them.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Zhao Lei had nursed an injured bird back to full health. The bird became attached to him, and started to visit us every now and then."

Hao Qiao was smiling.

"Every time it returned, it brought a few of his friends. Lei felt that they all were hungry, so he wanted to feed them something. I was a thief before I had been brought in, so I obliged to his request."

They both were naïve and innocent.

"This was our first punishment in the Zhao family. And after all these years, I can say it with confidence that it is the most cherished memory I have of my life."

Making mistakes. Getting reprimanded for them. Standing together in pain. These were experiences Zhao Qiao had never been through before. He had someone to look up to. Someone to be there for.

It was a start to his new life.

"It taught me that now, my actions actually mattered."

The now broken man was filled with joy. His eye teared up, but he wiped it off before it could flow.

"Ever since then, Zhao family was my everything. If I was allowed to, I would sacrifice myself for our weakest warrior in our family. If that is what benefits my people, then so be it."

He looked straight into his eyes and asked,

"Have you ever felt this?"

Alex was taken aback.

"W-what?"

He raised his voice and asked,

"Your goal. Have you ever felt this?"

Alex fell silent. To be honest, his goal was to live a new life. He was dedicated to that purpose.

"You haven't, right?"

The system had given him a goal. His mission was to become the greatest Assassin on this planet. However, his personal goal was to become powerful enough to control his own destiny.

"Oh? You have?"

Alex wasn't saying anything. But Zhao Qiao read his expressions without any difficulty.

"Very well then. That helps us move things further."