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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4 – Life Isn’t Easy for “Cha”

After learning the entire story laid out in the novel—knowing, too, that before long his own biological father would storm this place on a mission and stumble upon the existence of his illegitimate son—Cha Bai quietly set aside the reckless escape plans he had been preparing in secret for so long, and simply chose to lie in silence, waiting like a good boy.

Because even he understood all too well: even if, by some miracle, a four-year-old like him managed to use his retained knowledge to flee this place successfully, in the end it would still be impossible for such a frail body to survive alone in a world overflowing with danger and outlaws.

So even though he knew from the novel's storyline that once he was brought into that man's house, only a few short months later he would die—lonely and pitiful—Cha Bai still chose to wait with hope for his father to come and take him away from this cursed laboratory.

As for Pitchaya, the novel's heroine, he had no idea where she was at this point. In this timeline, she had yet to play any real role.

Screams and curses echoed beyond the walls:

"Arghhh!! It hurts!! No—don't eat me! Noooo!"

"Monsters! You bastards are the real monsters! Call yourselves hunter police? You're worse than us criminals!"

"Damn it! I hate this godforsaken era without human rights! No, don't come closer! Lock me up, I'll reform! Just don't execute me like this—arghhh!"

"Shit! Don't touch that room!"

"Quickly! Hold them back—don't let them near Subject No. 1376!"

"Stay away from that room, you savages—arghhh!"

"You demons! All you Wakaba bastards are demons!!"

Hours later, while Cha Bai lay in wait, the noises grew louder—the clash of weapons, blasts of explosions, screams, and chaos drawing closer and closer to his cell.

The boy clung to the reinforced glass wall, feigning terror with wide eyes, brushing aside the long neglected strands of hair that framed his pale, gaunt little face.

Bang!

The outer door burst open. Two men stepped inside, clad in uniforms resembling police or special forces—but jet black, patterned with crimson motifs that looked like serpents… or bloodstains.

The one who opened the door froze, startled not to find researchers hiding here, but instead a solitary child locked away among strange equipment.

"Captain! Master Butler! We've found another surviving child!" the broad-shouldered man barked, his presence radiating strength. Cha Bai's sharp eyes caught his rank—B-9, just a step below Rank A. He could even see the secret markers denoting sub-ranks and potential upgrade paths, knowledge inherited from the novel's narrative itself.

"Another child?"

A tall, imposing man in a perfectly tailored black butler's suit strode swiftly inside. His aura was far from ordinary—he looked like the gallant "yakuza-daddy" type from old novels, though his role here was as the Wakaba family's butler.

"A-ah… please don't hurt me, Mister Horns! I've already hurt enough today, really, I have!" Cha Bai's tiny form quivered pitifully, instantly slipping into the role of a frightened four-year-old.

This man was Aida Ken, the Wakaba family's butler. Though born of noble lineage, he himself was unmarried and infertile, robbed of heirs by injuries of his youth. As such, he loved children all the more. In the novel, he had been the one to discover Bai was the son of Wakaba Ryo, thus taking him into the household. Which meant: Ken was the perfect target for Bai to win over with his childish act.

"Don't be afraid, little one. I won't hurt you," Ken said softly, pressing his hand against the glass with gentle eyes.

"R-really? But… the men in white coats said I had to hurt lots, or I'd never sleep forever like the others. So I've been hurting since I was born…" the boy whispered, lifting his small face, eyes full of desperate hope.

Ken's throat tightened. Rage and grief stirred within him. "No. You won't hurt anymore. I'll take you away from here."

"But… but I'm the toughest experiment. They said I can't escape, can't go outside. How will I ever leave?" Bai blinked up at him innocently.

Ken saw it then—faint crimson gleaming within the boy's violet eyes.

At that moment, a tall figure entered. A heavy aura of bloodlust filled the room. His face and hair were obscured by a black demon mask, long strands of false black hair cascading down.

The resemblance to Japanese oni masks was uncanny, concealing the true silver hair beneath. No one—not even the novel's heroine—had ever found him until now.

Cha Bai's chest tightened. Not from the sight of the masked man himself, but from the text and symbols that suddenly floated above his head. The system marked him—the one destined to be paired with Bai.

This was Wakaba Ryo. His father.

"Master, the boy's eyes carry red. A vivid red, mixed like a gradient with violet, but unmistakably red," Ken reported quickly.

Ryo narrowed his eyes. Only Wakaba blood bore such crimson, the mark inherited from their ancestor, a monster-tamer who once contracted with an ancient god of slaughter. That god's spirit, passed down the generations, fueled the clan's power—feeding on the souls of the wicked.

Which meant this boy could only be his blood.

"Hmm…" Ryo tilted his head in thought. To his amusement, the boy tilted his own head to match, mimicking him unconsciously with soft little noises.

Ken chuckled despite himself.

"Would you like to come out, little one? Uncle promises not to hurt you," Ken coaxed warmly.

"…Okay. I believe you, Uncle. You smiled at me."

Ken's heart melted. He pressed the release mechanism—at Bai's own suggestion—and the reinforced glass unlocked.

"Uncle, you really won't hurt me, right?" the boy clutched Ken's sleeve, big eyes shimmering with trust.

"Never," Ken promised, stroking his hair tenderly.

Just then, a subordinate rushed in with a DNA scanner. "Sir, this device can confirm blood ties."

Ken hesitated. It required blood. He had just sworn not to hurt the child.

"Give me his hand."

Before Ken could object, Ryo knelt down, pricked the boy's finger without hesitation, and drew blood.

"Ow!" Bai flinched, glaring up at him.

Ryo chuckled. "Hah. Fierce little rabbit after all." He drew his own blood and fed both samples into the scanner.

Ken hurried to heal the tiny wound with potion, marveling as Bai giggled. "Wow! It closed right up! Look, Uncle, look—it healed! I've never healed like this before!" He pulled back his sleeves, revealing countless punctures and bruises along his arms.

Ken froze, his chest twisting.

Beep!

The machine chimed. Results appeared.[Match confirmed: Father and Son.]

Reports came in—lab cleared, children rescued, explosives ready.

Ryo's voice cut through the air, cold and decisive. "Take him back. I'll speak with Paul."

Thus, when the Wakaba squad departed, the once-lonely boy toddled along with them, a tiny shadow to their mighty procession, as the laboratory exploded in flames behind.

In the carriage, Bai tilted his head curiously."Um… can I ask something? Who are you, really?"

The men stiffened. They had just realized—this child had followed them without even knowing who they were.

"You didn't know us, yet you still came?" Ken asked.

"Of course! I didn't want to stay in there. It hurt every day. And Mama hated me—she shocked me, too. So I thought… I'll follow you instead, and see the outside world! Heehee!" Bai grinned, flashing a little fang.

The soldiers froze.

"Your… mother?"

"Yes! Mama gave me to the head man in white coats. She said it matched her work. She even… did things with him. Then she hurt me, too. Every time they hurt me, she did it again."

Their blood ran cold.

"Are… are you telling the truth?"

"Really! Little Cha isn't lying! I heard Mama say that Papa was bad, he forced… uhh… forced Mama to do something I don't understand until her belly got big, and then Little Cha was inside. Then Little Cha turned out to be a bad kid too, because no matter how much they hurt me, I never die! So Mama gave Little Cha to the white-coated bugs to run experiments every day. Each day Little Cha has to be hurt ten times. But if Mama comes, then I'll be hurt even more, because she'll stop by just to add extra pain. Ah!? But you white bugs must shhh—don't tell anyone, okay? Otherwise Mama will get scolded for making a test subject suffer. Mama said if she gets scolded, Little Cha will be hurt even worse. So you mustn't say a word, okay?"

Little Cha, who already knew the future, was well aware that his mother would later put on a tragic act, claiming her child had been stolen away by villains since infancy. She would even try to demand justice from his father's clan, saying that they were the cause of her child's death before she could find him again. That, in turn, would spark the beginning of her relationship with the hero—his father. So this crafty little one hurried to fan the flames in advance, making sure his father wouldn't grow fond of that woman… even though, at present, he still wasn't certain whether she was truly the target fated to become the hero's love interest or not.

"Hmph! I've never fallen so low as to do something so ridiculous," Ryo spat out through gritted teeth, unable to hold back. His other followers rolled their eyes at once, since everyone here knew well enough that although his relationship with his wife wasn't exactly great, he was not the kind of man to fool around. In fact, when it came to matters of the bedroom, he was completely indifferent. There was no way he could be the type who would assault a woman simply because he couldn't control himself.

The one time he had slipped up was in the Dungeon of Lust, about five or six years ago. He still remembered it vividly—even telling Ken himself that a shameless woman had taken advantage of him then. But in the end, Ryo had chosen to let her go, thinking she too must have been struck by the dungeon's lustful poison and acted shamelessly because of it. Yet now… perhaps it was time to rethink the true nature of that woman. For someone capable of treating her own flesh and blood like this, she clearly hadn't been any kind of decent person from the very start!

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Cha: "Mama is a cruel-hearted woman, and Papa is a rough, cruel man too!" //puffs his chest and declares proudlyRyo: "…Maybe I should just toss him out by the roadside." //glances at the child, seriously considering itKen: "Please don't, my lord!!!" //shouts desperately to stop him

Chapter 4 END

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