Chapter 49 Klein’s Past

Chapter 49 Klein’s Past

The thief looked at Klein, with confusion written all over his face.

"Ten years ago, I was a kid at that orphanage. Then there was a huge fire that killed a lot of people. The government transferred us to other orphanages. After that, I was adopted by my foster father and never heard anything about that orphanage again."

Klein calculated the timeline from ten years ago - that was right when he was making a name for himself abroad. He never expected that just as he was gaining some recognition, his old orphanage would be destroyed by fire.

Carol noticed that when Klein heard about the orphanage burning down, his shoulders drooped slightly, and he seemed somewhat dejected.

"What about Mrs. Porter? Did she survive?"

Klein continued asking. Jenny Porter was the orphanage director. As far back as he could remember, she had already been quite old, and he never knew what happened to her later.

When the thief heard this name, he immediately shook his head. "Mrs. Porter is gone. She died in the fire trying to protect the children. She saved so many kids back then..."

The thief couldn't continue. He sensed the temperature around them suddenly drop. The man who had beaten them without any chance to fight back now seemed like a lone wolf, radiating sadness. He was afraid his voice might be too loud and disturb this man - if this beast lost control, he could kill him with a flick of his hand.

Carol also sensed this sadness and, after hesitating, gently patted Klein's arm.

The sad atmosphere instantly dissipated, and Klein's face broke into a smile again. After all these years as a mercenary in the dark world, he had witnessed too much killing and seen countless bodies.

Stabbed to death, burned to death, tortured to death - he had seen all kinds of horrible deaths with his own eyes. But thinking about that old woman who had treated him like her own child meeting such an end, he still couldn't help feeling a wave of bitter sadness.

"What caused the fire?"

"I heard it was old wiring. Mrs. Porter had contacted the authorities many times before, hoping they would come fix it. But you know how it is - the government is incredibly inefficient. A streetlight at the entrance was broken for three months, and nobody cared."

The thief told him what had happened to the orphanage while Klein listened quietly. After hearing everything, he slowly nodded.

"Alright, you don't need to take off your clothes. Get lost."

Klein waved his hand, his tone no longer as aggressive as before.

The thief and his accomplices all froze in place.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying? If I catch you stealing again, I'll break your legs."

Klein snorted coldly, his eyes sharp and fierce.

The thief and his accomplices shuddered, quickly nodded their thanks, and fled the scene.

Once only Klein and Carol remained in the alley, Klein found a random rock and sat down without minding the dirt.

"Did you grow up in an orphanage?" Carol asked softly. The powerful man before her apparently had a tragic past, too.

Klein nodded and instinctively reached for his pocket to pull out a cigarette, then remembered he hadn't brought any today. He casually plucked a weed from the roadside and put it in his mouth.

"Mrs. Porter found me at the orphanage entrance. I was only wrapped in a torn cloth, had nothing - not even a baby bottle. Mrs. Porter personally prepared milk for me. She said it snowed heavily that day. The orphanage kids were all huddled inside, feeling cold, but I had been crying in the snow for a long time. She said I was tough and would definitely survive..."

Klein quietly recounted the past while Carol leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching him silently.

She discovered a quality in Klein she had never seen before - a rare kind of tenderness.

"Life at the orphanage was hard. Most of our supplies came from donations. Government aid was always sporadic, and the subsidies were pitifully small. In winter, many kids couldn't afford warm clothes. We could only huddle around the stove, picking up leftover coal and firewood to keep warm.

Those days were poor, but we all had hope. We all looked forward to being adopted by wealthy, kind people someday. That kind of thing had actually happened at the orphanage before.

Mrs. Porter often told us that if we were adopted by rich people, we could drink warm milk every day, someone would give us bubble baths at night, and a mother would sit by our bed and tell us stories before bed.

We lived with that hope. Later, my wish seemed to come true. A couple adopted me and took me abroad. But their real purpose was to sacrifice me to some ancient evil god in a crazy ritual. I barely survived. The other kids taken with me - none of them made it..."

Klein's voice became hoarse, his eyes filled with undisguised fear, as if witnessing that terrifying scene again.

Carol could clearly see Klein's body trembling slightly, and only then realized that those adoptive parents weren't good people at all.

After hearing Klein's account - learning that the twisted couple had put children in with crocodiles to worship some evil god - Carol couldn't help but shudder. Thinking about those innocent children who died horribly made her skin crawl. Seeing Klein tremble more violently, she hesitated, then stepped forward, wanting to pat his shoulder in comfort.

"It was so horrible, blood everywhere, and my companions' desperate screams..."

Klein suddenly reached out and hugged Carol. From where he sat, his hands wrapped right around Carol's hips, holding tighter and tighter.

Carol could clearly feel the pressure on her hips but assumed Klein was trapped in past fears and didn't think much of it.

"It's okay, you're alive and well now."

Carol gently patted Klein's head, though something felt a bit off.

Those hips were really bouncy, so soft to the touch. Carol wasn't great at comforting people, but she had to admit, it felt pretty good.

As the embrace lasted longer, Carol finally realized something was wrong. That hand kept squeezing her hips.

"Get your paws off me."

Carol said darkly, her voice low and stern.

"Oh God, weren't you comforting me?"

Klein looked up, his eyes wet as he gazed at Carol.

Looking at him like this, Carol inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt. Had she really misunderstood him?

Just then, Klein's phone suddenly rang, breaking the intimate atmosphere between them.

"Damn it, who's calling at a time like this?"

Klein irritably pulled out his phone. Without this call, he could have held on a bit longer. If he didn't answer, his ulterior motives would be obvious.

The caller ID showed Jennifer. Klein frowned and answered.

"Klein, come save me..."

A gunshot immediately sounded through the phone, and the call abruptly cut off.