Chapter 1
Chapter 1
At the Brookspring International Airport....
A young man in simple attire, carrying a plain backpack, slowly walked toward the entrance of the airport.
His name was Gavin Clifford, once the eldest son of the prestigious Clifford family, which was known as the first family in the country.
But this day, no one was there to greet him. He had not informed anyone of his return.
It seemed like he didn't want to make a big fuss. Perhaps he was tired of the complicated life.
However, just as Gavin stepped through the security gate, the previously silent security machines suddenly emitted a piercing alarm.
"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!"
After the piercing alarm sounded, everyone was taken aback.
In the next second, the armed security personnel at the security gate swiftly drew their guns and surrounded Gavin.
Gavin looked at the security personnel, who were on high alert, with an expression that revealed a sense of resignation as if he had long been accustomed to it.
At that moment, a cold voice came from a woman in uniform.
"Sir, hands up. Please cooperate with our inspection."
It was a stunning woman in a uniform.
With a short skirt and a pair of straight and sexy legs, she looked very attractive under the lights of the security hall. Coupled with her uniform, she was able to make all men crazy.
However, Gavin remained indifferent, showing little change in his expression. He raised his hands slightly and said in a casual tone of voice, “Actually, I..." Before Gavin could finish his sentence, the attractive security woman snapped, not giving him a chance to speak, "Sir, please cooperate with our inspection." "Fine." Gavin helplessly shrugged and then asked, "Alright, what should I do?"
"Please remove your jacket right now."
The beautiful security woman furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes filled with utmost seriousness and determination as she spoke.
"Alright, since you said so," Gavin muttered under his breath. He had intended to return to the country quietly, not making a fuss, so he complied.
After saying that, he took off his jacket and threw it forward.
Immediately, a security guard picked up Gavin's jacket and thoroughly inspected it inside and out with a metal detector. However, he found nothing unusual.
"Sir." On the other side, the attractive security woman still had a serious expression on her pretty face as she loudly said, *Please remove all of your upper garments."
Gavin looked at the woman in front of him, sighing slightly with a hint of helplessness, but he still did as she asked.
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"What the..."
The sound of cold air being sucked in suddenly echoed through the entire airport security hall.
Scars. He was covered in scars. There were all kinds of them. Knife wounds, gunshot wounds... They snaked and sprawled across Gavin's strong upper body, turning his originally muscular and aesthetically pleasing physique into a somewhat. ferocious and terrifying appearance.
Even the attractive security woman couldn't help but swallow, and her face turned pale at the sight.
On the other side, the metal detector once again scanned all the clothes that Gavin had taken off. However, no abnormalities were found.
"What's going on?" The attractive security woman's eyes were filled with deep confusion. She bit her lip as if contemplating. something.
Her beautiful eyes then lit up slightly, and she immediately said, "Bring the infrared scanner over and check for any abnormalities inside his body."
This attractive security woman seemed to be some kind of leader in the security hall. The security personnel around her all obeyed her every command. Soon, someone brought over a six-foot-tall infrared
scanner.
This scanner could scan a person's entire body from head to toe.
Just as Gavin stood in front of the scanner, the entire security hall fell into silence. In the next second. the security personnel exclaimed. "It... It's shrapnel!"
The security personnel's face turned pale. His pupils filled with an incredulous look, and his voice trembled as he stuttered. "So... so many pieces of shrapnel. How could someone like him still be alive?" The instant he finished speaking, he covered his mouth with both hands, nervously looking at Gavin standing in front of the machine as if afraid that his words would anger Gayin
All the security personnel put down their guns at thus moment, including the attractive security woman.
They all looked at the image displayed on the infrared scanner screen, and their hearts filled with astonishment.
"How is this possible? How can he have so many pieces of shrapnel in his body?"
"This shouldn't be... Look, there's even a piece of shrapnel next to his heart."
"Is... is this guy really that lucky?"
The surrounding people's astonished voices were met with indifference from Gavin, the man at the center of people's attention. He looked very calm as if the shrapnel inside his body belonged to someone else.
At that moment, a hint of apology appeared on the face of the attractive security woman. She looked somewhat embarrassed. She took the clothes that Gavin had taken off and handed them back to him before speaking up.
"Sir, I'm sorry. I didn't know about you."
"It's alright." Gavin simply waved his hand, clearly not wanting to dwell on this issue.
But Gavin's aloof attitude only piqued the curiosity of this attractive security woman even more. She directly extended her delicate hand toward Gavin and said, "Hello, sir. My name is Violet Jordan. May I know where you were injured so severely?"
Gavin seemed to have completely ignored the fair and tender hand extended by Violet. He put on his jacket. His voice was low and calm as he replied, "During the Sunspire Resistance."
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hat: After Gavin's words fell, a gasp echoed through the entire hall once again.
"The Sunspire Resistance?"
"He's the war hero from 10 years ago?"
"If it weren't for the hero who defended Sunspire back then, we wouldn't have our current kingdom of Blearus."
"He's so young, yet he participated in the Sunspire Resistance."
The surrounding exclamations grew louder, and the gazes directed at Gavin became solemn and respectful.
As for Violet, the attractive security woman, her gaze toward Gavin underwent a drastic change. Even her pupils started to tremble violently.
A complex emotion seemed to appear in her eyes.
In the next second...
Violet saluted Gavin with a standard military salute.
Not only she, but all the security personnel present also treated Gavin with the utmost respect and courtesy.
However, Gavin seemed to ignore everything around him, calmly picking up his backpack and turning to Violet.
"Can I go now?" he asked.
"You can leave anytime." Violet's voice was firm and resolute.
As Gavin left, Violet's beautiful eyes seemed to be glued to him, unable to look away. She kept watching his figure until it disappeared through the airport gates. A hint of surprise then appeared in her eyes, followed by a strong emotion that was a mixture of curiosity and admiration.
At that moment, Gavin had returned to the Clifford Villa, the place he remembered from his past. But.....
A loud thud sounded as Gavin dropped his backpack heavily to the ground. The sound echoed through the empty halls of the mansion, a haunting reminder of the life that once thrived within its walls. His pupils trembled. His eyes filled with teary redness as he stared in disbelief at the ruins before him. His trembling pupils darted around, desperately trying to make sense of the devastation before him.
Yes, it was ruins. The once prestigious Clifford family, the greatest family in the country, had become dilapidated. The weight of the realization hit him like a tidal wave, threatening to drown him in despair. He rushed into the mansion as if possessed. His footsteps echoed through the empty corridors. Each step felt like a stab to his heart as if the very foundation of his identity was crumbling beneath him. His breath came in shallow gasps, and his chest heaved with a mix of anticipation and dread.
What met his eyes were rows and rows of unguarded graves. The names of the Clifford family members were on top of each grave. A faint smell of blood lingered in the air, and the ground of the Clifford Villa was stained dark red as if it had witnessed a river of blood that couldn't fade even after all these years.
Gavin's body trembled violently, and his bloodshot eyes filled with deep sorrow as if what lay before him were piles of corpses and a pool of blood. The weight of the tragedy pressed down upon him. His heartache manifested in every fiber of his being. Tears streamed down his face, carving a path through the dirt and grime that coated his cheeks.
He never expected that after 10 years of absence, when he finally returned to his longed-for home, it had turned into a desolate cemetery. His mind raced with a torrent of emotions, a monologue of grief and disbelief playing out within his thoughts. How could this have happened? The weight of the unanswered questions threatened to suffocate him as he struggled to comprehend the magnitude of the loss before him.
The yellowed leaves gently brushed against Gavin's cheeks in the wind. In that moment, he stood amidst the ruins of his family's legacy, his heart shattered and his spirit crushed. The home he had once cherished had become a painful reminder
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past, a haunting testament to the fragility of life and the depths of sorrow.
"My home... What happened?" Gavin's voice quivered with a mixture of disbelief and anguish, the strain evident in its hoarseness. It was as if he had poured every ounce of his strength into those few words, desperately seeking answers.
But at that moment, a piercing scream suddenly tore through the air.
"Ah! What are you doing? Let me go!"
Upon hearing the voice, a flicker of recognition finally appeared in Gavin's crimson eyes. His pupils trembled, and his lips moved. It was a voice he knew all too well, one that had once brought him comfort and
joy.
"Zoc... Zoe?"
Instantly, a loud explosion rang out. The ground beneath Gavin's feet cracked, and he disappeared from the spot immediately.