Wesley frowned deeply and instinctively refused. "I don't know what you're talking about. The cause of my father's death..."
"He died from the pain!"
Russell cut Wesley off and patted his elbow. "The process was too bloody, so I won't go into detail. I don't know what Sloan told you, but I'm sure you never investigated it."
Wesley fell silent. He really had never looked into it.
In fact, just as he had been preparing to investigate, Sloan had stopped him, claiming he was worried Wesley would walk into Cross's ambush.
Russell continued, "There's plenty of evidence proving I killed Big Slick. If you'd actually investigated, you would've found that my Wanted notice is still posted at the police station. Maybe Sloan can alter police records, but he can't erase the memories of witnesses. Put a gun to their heads, and you'll learn the truth."
Wesley was left speechless, but he forced himself to argue, "That's only your side of the story. Who knows whether it's true? Unless you let me go, I can't believe you until I investigate the truth myself."
"Kid, don't try to play games with me. Your little tricks are too childish."
"Even if what you said is true, what does that prove?" Wesley glanced at Cross before continuing, "He tried to kill me several times. How do you explain that?"
Russell slapped Wesley on the forehead. "Idiot, he was trying to save you by keeping you away from the Brotherhood's assassins. Besides, if he really wanted to kill you, why are you still alive?"
"He wants to use me! He's pretending to be my father so the Brotherhood and I will kill each other!"
Wesley came up with what seemed like a plausible explanation. Whether Russell believed it or not, Wesley believed it himself.
Russell sneered. "Have you ever considered that the Brotherhood is the one using you? That they made you fight your own biological father?"
"..."
Wesley fell silent. He had drifted through life for over twenty years and had never been a person with strong opinions. Now, he had no idea whom to believe.
Russell gave Wesley a long look, then shot Cross a meaningful glance. "Don't you have any proof that you're Wesley's biological father?"
Cross suddenly understood. "Yes, lots of it. I have photos of Wesley from when he was little to when he grew up. They're in my bedroom."
Russell covered his face with one hand. "Then go get them! If you'd brought them out sooner, none of this would've happened!"
Cross dashed out of the factory. At that moment, Wesley heard the familiar rumble of the elevated train. The sound was faint because of the soundproofing, but Wesley knew it too well. He realized they were not far from his home.
Five minutes later, Cross came running back, panting heavily with more than a dozen photo albums in his arms. Wesley's face went pale. He was beginning to believe.
The reason was simple: Cross had been living near his home all along. Otherwise, he could not have returned so quickly.
Cross spread open the albums and pointed at the baby in the photos as if reciting treasured memories. "Wesley, this is a photo from when you were born..."
"This was when you were on the soccer team in elementary school. I thought you'd become an athlete..."
"This was your elementary school graduation ceremony. I took it while hiding in a corner..."
"This is..."
"..."
"And this—this is your birth certificate. I've kept it all these years!"
Watching Cross ramble on like some sleazy middle-aged man, Wesley's eyes filled with tears. The fatherly affection in Cross's eyes was something he had only ever seen in other people's parents. Since his mother died, he had always longed for that look.
Wesley lowered his head and choked back sobs. Thinking about how he had nearly killed his father, his emotions became a tangled mess, and tears streamed down his face. Cross showed his flustered side again. The albums slipped from his hands. He reached out, wanting to hug Wesley, then hesitated and pulled his hand back. The two foolish men stood there crying together.
Russell's gaze dimmed as he recalled something unpleasant. Smacking his lips, he walked over to Fire Fox, grabbed her hair, and tilted her head up.
"Stop pretending to sleep. Your breathing gave you away. Since you're awake, tell Wesley who his real father is."
Fire Fox's eyelashes trembled lightly. She opened eyes filled with killing intent and spat a mouthful of bloody saliva at Russell.
Russell tilted his head aside to dodge it, then pressed down on Fire Fox's head and made her look at Wesley.
Faced with Wesley's disbelieving gaze, Fire Fox closed her eyes. She did not dare look at him, silently acknowledging everything.
By then, Cross had already untied Wesley. Father and son hugged each other, afraid to pat the other's back. What made Russell feel miserable was that Cross, a top-tier assassin, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and noisily blew his nose.
Wesley approached Fire Fox with tears still in his eyes. The pain in his heart was beyond words. He could not believe that the goddess he loved had urged him to kill his biological father.
"You knew all this. Why did you still lie to me? Do you know how much I trusted you... liked you?"
Wesley's voice trembled slightly, but Fire Fox was utterly decisive. She opened her eyes and said coldly, "Because only you could kill Cross!"
"For a shitty reason like that?"
"Cross betrayed the Brotherhood. His name appeared on the Loom. Even if we had to use the most despicable methods, we had to kill him."
Wesley was too stunned to speak. He knew the Brotherhood's rule: kill one to save a thousand. At first, he had not understood it, but later he learned the deeper meaning behind it. Anyone whose name appeared on the Loom of Fate would inevitably become an unforgivable criminal. He began to struggle again. So his biological father was not a good man after all.
"Sloan deceived all of you!"
Cross patted Wesley on the shoulder, then glanced at Fire Fox. "You included. He deceived everyone..."
As he spoke, Cross explained everything that had led to his betrayal of the Brotherhood.
For his own selfish reasons, Sloan had forged assassination lists. Cross discovered Sloan's name on the Loom and uncovered the conspiracy after investigating. Afraid of being exposed, Sloan got ahead of him by forging a list with Cross's name on it and issuing an order to hunt him down. That was what triggered the entire chain of events.
Wesley decisively chose to believe Cross, while Fire Fox scoffed and expressed with a cold snort that it was all sophistry. To prove himself, Cross took out a small piece of cloth he carried with him. On it was binary code too small to see without a magnifying glass. Once deciphered, it revealed the name of the assassination target.
Wesley took the magnifying glass and slowly deciphered the binary code. In the end, he got Sloan's name, and he felt utterly sick. If Sloan had been forging the lists all along, then were some of the people Wesley had killed innocent?
Fire Fox began to panic. She did not know whether Cross had forged the assassination list, but this concerned her faith. She could no longer remain calm.
Russell snatched the name Wesley had deciphered and waved it before Fire Fox's eyes, provoking her sensitive nerves. "Suppose Sloan is the one who betrayed the Brotherhood. Then you're an executioner helping evil. You've killed plenty of people over the years. How many of them were innocent souls?"
Fire Fox roared and struggled to rise. The ropes creaked under the strain, and Russell grabbed a rag stained with black oil and stuffed it into her mouth.
Fire Fox glared furiously, her eyes burning with raging flames. Russell felt a chill between his legs and whistled as he looked elsewhere.
Wesley could not bear it. "Wait, she's a victim too. Sloan kept her in the dark all this time. Maybe we can win her over..."
Russell raised an eyebrow. "Kid, I know you like her, but she's not right for you. If I'm not mistaken, Sloan definitely gave her an order: after you killed Cross, she was to carry out the mission to assassinate you."
Wesley nodded to show he understood. "That doesn't matter. She didn't know the truth then. She definitely won't do it now."
As he spoke, Wesley moved to untie the ropes binding Fire Fox. But the moment he freed her right foot, Fire Fox struck him in the groin with an upward kick. His face went white as he dropped to his knees.
Russell found it amusing. "I told you, she's not right for you!"
Wesley lay on the ground, his legs trembling, yet he still refused to repent. "I... I think it's... pretty good. I just need a little time to get used to it."
Before his goddess, a simp would never repent!
Failure Diary
Many times, when readers leave comments encouraging you, it is not because your novel is particularly good, but because they are simply bored out of their minds.
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