"This man is after me, they killed my father, and I had no choice but to run away,"
"The Dead Eye Society from District Eleven, they killed my father, and after I escaped, they sent him to kill me to avoid exposure. I came here when I was most in danger,"
What the child said left Malin confused. He didn’t know how to make sense of it and could only ask the child to explain what District Eleven was.
"District Eleven is a layer of the Nest City. My family arrived at the Thainan Empire three to four hundred years ago, living in New Hangzhou Nest City. My father had two brothers, but both are already dead; he was the youngest child in the family and I am his only child."
"Will the Dead Eye Society continue to pursue you?" Malin asked.
"I don’t know, but my father never involved me in his affairs... He was undercover." The child said and then, unable to hold back, began to cry.
"Why, if your father was undercover, he shouldn’t have revealed his real identity to you." Malin frowned, "You must be the child of a criminal gang member, right?"
"Yes, I always thought I was the child of a gang leader. Until today, I didn’t know I was the child of a policeman," the little fellow wiped the corner of his eyes, "But my father once told me that he had a safe house in District Ten. If anything changed, he told me to use the biological heritage path to move from Eleven to Ten, where someone would help me acquire a new identity."
This child’s recollections brought Malin to a critical point: "Your father seems to have known that he would face danger, but his duties prevented him from getting away. He was murdered without revealing his identity to you, which means, did you hear from someone else who you are?"
"Yes, but I found another diary of his based on what someone told me. It listed his badge number, his real name... Marta Gaiate." The child paused, "I always thought my last name was Mark."
"What’s your name then, child?" Malin asked.
"Mark... no, the diary listed my real name, Mars Gaiate."
"Very well, Mars, my successor, I have a Transcendent Sequence suitable for you, Sage."
"I’ve never heard of this Sequence."
"Yes, because it’s my favorite Sequence, a Caster Sequence. In that world, physical strength is far less valuable than guns, so learning Spell Formations is far more lethal than being a big guy." Malin said and then closed his eyes, "Come, shut up, let us... enter a world you’ve never known."
In a corner of the Subspace, light lit up once again, Malin stood with the child in front of that tree, the Apprentice’s light was already ignited, revealing to Mars the many paths leading to the future.
"Mars, my child, hurry up, this world is not safe,"
"Which one is the Sage Sequence?"
"The highest position in the star chart, choose it," Malin said.
Then he saw the child light up the path of the Star Observer.
Before Malin could react, he and the child were peeled away from Subspace. Before they were separated, Malin saw the dark version of himself.
With such regret, Malin opened his eyes, the Mars in front of him was still in shock: "Where was that?"
"Subspace, the primary culprit behind the Great Destruction, an existence peeled from the end-of-history story node mentioned in the history books," Malin said as he stood up, the Activating Vine twisted the neck of the big fellow and swallowed it whole.
With Mars watching in surprise and tension, Malin walked over to a gun frame on the side and opened it: "Can you handle a gun?"
"Yes, I always thought I was destined to be a great bank robber." The child said somewhat awkwardly, "Well then, I’m going to teach you how to defend yourself now."
Eager to ensure this child carrying on his Star Observer Sequence survived, Malin thought it best to start teaching from the beginning.
After gearing him up with a gun, Malin took him out, handing over the Activating Vine to the dutiful female guard of his stepmother to handle, as he took the child into the underground shooting range.
"What do you think a gun is?" Malin asked before the lesson began.
"A thing for killing."
Although Mars was momentarily lost in thought, the answer he gave made Malin profoundly satisfied: "Right, it is something for killing. No matter who tells you, you use guns to protect yourself and others, it can’t hide the fact that you use it to take lives. So, what else do you think?"
"... I don’t want to be killed like my father was. If someone always has to die in this world, why can’t it be my enemies?" The determination in the child’s eyes grew stronger.
Malin was delighted. He reached out and ruffled the child’s head, "Right, you are correct. Someone always has to die, why can’t it be your enemies. Remember, child, this is a tool for killing, to kill those who want to kill you, your friends, your family, and your loved ones."
Having said that, Malin didn’t look at the target, but picked up a gun and emptied a magazine in its direction.
After the automatic target retrieval system brought the target back, Malin gestured for him to take a look at the target.
What was seen was just a hole in the center of the target and eight hits in the tenth ring counted by the scoring machine.