I had no idea that on this calm morning, my life was about to change forever. Before this, I never would have imagined that my life would take such a different path.

　　……

Chapter Two: Sudden Change

　　“Screech…”

　　A sharp screech of brakes echoed on the road, blood flowed everywhere, and a woman lay on the street, blood pooling beneath her—there had been an accident!

　　“Huh?”

　　Grace Bennett frowned, and the car suddenly slowed down.

　　“Please, save my wife, she was hit by someone, please…” A middle-aged man, about fifty years old, rushed over, crying, “Please take her to the hospital.”

　　“Oh?”

　　Without hesitation, Grace Bennett stopped the car and said, “Ethan Carter, help her first!”

　　“Okay.”

　　I was just about to get out of the car when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black car speeding down a side road, crashing through the guardrail and heading straight for us!

　　Not good, this is… I could smell a conspiracy!

　　In a split second, the car crashed into us. I didn’t have time to react and could only use my body to shield Grace Bennett. Grace Bennett’s beautiful face flashed with shock: “No—”

　　“Bang!”

　　With a loud crash, Grace Bennett’s black sports car was knocked off the road, and my mind went blank from the impact. Under the tremendous force, Grace Bennett slumped over the driver’s seat, a streak of blood appearing on her fair forehead.

　　I shook my head desperately. Through the thick smoke, two burly men with fierce faces rushed over, cursing, “Check if the woman’s dead!”

　　It really was a premeditated murder!

　　I quickly moved—my arms and legs weren’t injured, just some pain in my back.

　　Supporting Grace Bennett as we got out of the car, I saw she had already lost consciousness.

　　“Damn, there’s another guy, get him!”

　　The two men charged at us, each wielding an iron rod, and started swinging without a word.

　　“Thud!”

　　An iron rod landed heavily on my shoulder, sending a wave of searing pain through me.

　　I couldn’t care about anything else. This was practically a deserted area, with hardly any cars passing by. Grace Bennett and I had fallen into someone’s carefully planned murder plot.

　　I kicked one of the thugs hard in the stomach, and he immediately doubled over in pain.

　　I hurriedly shielded Grace Bennett in my arms and ran quickly toward the road, hoping someone would pass by.

　　A dull pain hit my shoulder again, and streaks of blood seeped through my white shirt onto my chest. Grace Bennett was still unconscious, her eyes tightly closed, her long lashes heartbreakingly beautiful.

　　“This time, I must protect her. I can’t let her get hurt again, even if it costs me my life!” At that moment, I kept telling myself this over and over.

　　Stumbling and crawling, I made it to the road. Heaven had mercy—a private car sped toward us.

　　I quickly stood in the middle of the road, while the two thugs behind me swung their iron rods and charged again.

　　“Open the door!”

　　I shouted, but the middle-aged man driving clearly didn’t want to get involved and hesitated, too scared to open the door.

　　“Open the damn door!” I slammed my fist on the car door, cracking the glass, and he had no choice but to open it quickly.

　　I pushed Grace Bennett into the car and shouted, “Hurry, take her to the hospital!”

　　The middle-aged man could only nod, his eyes full of fear as the two thugs caught up.

　　I knew I couldn’t escape, so I turned to shield the car as it drove away.

　　“Damn it, this kid dares to mess things up—kill him!”

　　The thug’s face was covered in scars, and he lunged at me with a vicious grin.

　　I didn’t struggle much; my previous injuries were too severe, my whole body weak, and I slowly sank to my knees.

　　“Bang!”

　　A heavy blow struck the back of my head, a burning pain flared, the world spun, and I collapsed face down on the road.

　　……

　　Darkness. I couldn’t see anything.

　　Am I dead?

　　I kept asking myself, but no one answered.

　　Kneeling in the darkness, I suddenly felt overwhelming sadness and despair. My mother’s dying words seemed to echo in my ears: Ethan Carter, take good care of yourself…

　　“Mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t do it.”

　　“Mom, I’m so scared…”

　　I kept crying, but couldn’t open my mouth, couldn’t make a sound, completely engulfed by endless fear and despair.

　　Suddenly, a voice came to my ears—

　　“Who knows who this kid is, what should we do?”

　　“What should we do? Bury him. Damn it, it’s all this kid’s fault for meddling—he brought this on himself!”

　　Not long after, I felt my body sinking deeper and deeper, and finally, my consciousness faded away completely.

　　……

　　Late at night, in the quiet wilderness of a remote village, a patch of fresh earth appeared in the fields.

　　“Pfft!”

　　Suddenly, there was a soft sound, and an arm broke through the soil.

　　Looking down at my arm covered in dirt, I could hardly believe it—I’d been buried alive for so long and was still alive. How was that possible?

　　Shocked, I turned around and saw the soil in the shallow pit behind me still shifting. I’d been buried about twenty centimeters deep, and the dirt was loose. Judging by that, there was probably enough air to breathe, which explained how I survived.

　　“Ugh…”

　　I let out a groan, a tearing pain coming from the back of my head. That blow that knocked me out and nearly killed me was really heavy, but to have survived was a stroke of luck in the midst of misfortune.