Edward Carter

'Boom'

A young man could be seen flying in a parabolic manner for about twenty to thirty meters before crashing heavily onto the road.

Moments after he crashed, blood started flowing from the base of his head and then through his nose and ears. Finally, it trickled slightly from his eyes.

As the surrounding people hurriedly moved towards the young man, he twitched two or three times before ceasing any further movements.His wide-open, lifeless brown eyes remained fixed on the bright sky, betraying a sense of emptiness and resignation. In one of his hands, he clutched onto a box that appeared to be a ring.

"Argh! What a sad day. God is truly blind."

Sighed one of the middle-aged uncles, who rushed to the young man's side as he looked at the dead man's hand gripping the box.

Others also rushed to the scene. Some hastily called for an ambulance, while others contacted the police. Some attempted to help him up, while others went to fetch water.

However, the middle-aged uncle named Huang Chen, who was the first to reach him, knew that there was no life left in the poor man's body.

Once again, he gazed at the left hand of the deceased man, tightly holding onto the box with sadness, before angrily rushing towards the person responsible for this tragedy.

Meanwhile, amidst all of this, Edward suddenly opened his eyes and stood up. He hastily checked the back of his head and let out a sigh of relief.

Then he glanced at the box in his hand, his face finally lighting up with a smile. But soon after, he hurriedly looked to the side to check on the little girl he had saved.

Right after buying the ring and stepping out of the jewelry shop, he spotted a truck carrying logs and a little girl crossing the road just behind it. In the next moment, his body moved forward without his consent and pushed the girl away.

As he pushed the little girl aside, one of the large logs slipped from the truck and crashed into him. It didn't hit him directly, which might have given him a chance at life considering the truck's slow speed.

However, the log first got wedged on the road at one end, while the other end dropped down from the moving truck. As the other end of the log fell, the first end bounced up two meters.

Edward happened to be at the exact spot where the log rebounded, directly striking him.

Seeing that the little girl kept pointing at his location and crying while some people appeared to be consoling her, Edward raised his hand towards her. He then tried to move towards her, to console her, and to tell her not to cross the road like that again.

But right after he tried to move, he finally heard the noise of people nearby.

Unhurriedly, he looked to the other side, around five to six meters away from him, and saw the people hurriedly helping a young man's body into a car. He felt something amiss as he noticed the log already losing momentum, especially after it had hit him during his "flight."

It seemed unlikely that another accident had occurred unless his 'crash' had caused it. However, with traffic at its lowest during this time, the chances were slim.

But then something suddenly caught his eye. The young man being helped into the car or van was holding onto a box. It looked like the same box he had been holding onto, and he immediately felt a sense of foreboding.

He carefully examined the man's tattered clothes, now stained with blood, and finally his face, which was partially covered in blood.

His heart skipped a beat, and perspiration broke out. Despite the torn clothes and blood-stained face, he could still easily recognize himself.

With a slight tremor in his body, he slowly turned to the other side, understanding why the little girl had been pointing at 'him' and crying. His legs wobbled, and an overwhelming sense of sadness, fear, and uncertainty enveloped him.

In the next moment, he gritted his teeth and tried to move towards his body in an attempt to possess his own body. But the moment he moved, he felt an immeasurable force pulling him into the air.

Edward tried to resist, but he was slowly lifted from the ground. He didn't know how, but he understood what was about to happen to him.

He looked at the little girl one last time and sighed. Then, he glanced at Huang Chen, who was beating the truck driver, and felt a hint of satisfaction.

Edward closed his eyes for a moment to control the endless grievances that swirled inside him. The force pulling him also stopped after lifting him to a certain height, as though granting him a brief respite.

"Mom, Dad, Sister, Emily... I'm sorry, for leaving you too soon."

Edward uttered his final words to the people he loved the most in his life. He had never expected this to happen to him, as everything seemed fine until today. Alas, what an untimely turn of events!

Tears slowly fell from the corners of his eyes, even though they were closed. Edward slowly opened his eyes to look at the world one last time.

After a moment or two, the force pulling Edward abruptly ceased. This time, there was no resistance from him. 

He slowly landed on the ground, with confusion etched across his face.

He was almost certain that hell was calling him and that he would soon be tortured in 'boiling oil' once his judgment was rendered.

"Hmm?... one more fool."

Somewhere far from Edward's current location, in an old mansion-like building, an old man opened his eyes with a frown.

"Agent Fox."

The old man muttered a name, or perhaps a code name. In the next moment, a young woman clad in traditional black attire, identical to the old man's, appeared beside him, kneeling on one knee.

The young woman exuded a heroic aura, with her features sharp and valiant. Compared to the old man's worn-out outfit, her dress was impeccably maintained.

"A newborn is at this place. Take a helper and quickly finish the mission."

The old man handed her a piece of paper. She took the paper, scanned the contents for a moment, and then saluted with her fists.

"I will be on my way, Commander."

The young woman vanished as soon as she finished speaking. The old man looked in a certain direction intently, as though he could see everything, then shook his head briefly before closing his eyes once more.