Twelve years ago, when I was around twenty years old, I was just an ordinary mercenary, said the middle-aged man.

I was born in a country far from peace, where warfare was a daily occurrence. The scent of gunpowder was engraved in my mind. With parents who had died when I was very young, I had nothing. In order to survive, I naturally joined the military. However, unlike others, I didn't enlist to protect the country. After all, the concept of a country was foreign to me. I joined the military simply to stay alive, with no greater purpose in mind.

Army life was tough and brutal, but for someone who had nothing to lose, the military became everything to me. I had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do. I believed that being a soldier could be my lifelong profession.

Regardless of the hardships, I endured with gritted teeth. However, I knew that as a soldier, my most likely fate would be to die on the battlefield. I accepted that reality. I thought that if I died on the battlefield one day, my life would simply come to an end. From that moment on, I worked towards that elusive goal.

It may be hard to believe, but I wasn't afraid of death. Or perhaps, I was even somewhat looking forward to it. So, every time I went into battle, I charged ahead at the forefront of the team. Of course, I didn't do it for any achievements because achievements meant nothing to me. I knew I didn't have such ambitions.

Though there is a saying that "a soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier," I was more enthusiastic compared to those who aspired to be generals. They aimed to rise in rank by accumulating achievements, so they had to stay alive. On the other hand, maybe I was only looking for death. Therefore, I had no concerns.

However, unexpectedly, even when I was gravely wounded, I miraculously survived multiple times. But I didn't know the meaning behind this arrangement by fate.

One day, my team and I were ordered to carry out a mission in a village in a foreign country. By the time we arrived, there was not a single person left in the village. They must have fled at some point.

But it didn't matter. Soon after, our team engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. The intensity of the fight caused our team to quickly scatter. I found myself acting alone, alert to the enemy's presence as I advanced. Unbeknownst to me, I had unwittingly reached the deepest part of the village.

At a glance, this place seemed to be the village's hospital, but it was already in ruins. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to rendezvous with my teammates in a short time, I decided to gather essential supplies like medical equipment. Even if everyone had fled, these things would still be here. It was the experience of a seasoned mercenary.

With that in mind, I headed towards the hospital. However, I soon noticed something on the open ground in front of it – a discarded baby. I observed through my binoculars.

It seemed the baby had been abandoned by their parents or the doctors for some reason. Thinking that way, I quickly ran towards the baby, despite it being about a hundred meters away. But for a soldier like me, that distance was nothing.

Just as I was about to reach the baby, the spot I had previously stood on suddenly exploded without warning. I wasn't sure where the bomb came from, but if I had continued at the same speed, I would have been blown up. Carefully, I picked up the baby from the ground. The baby had probably gone without food for a long time. I didn't know how long exactly, but the baby was barely breathing.

Even in their near-death state, this baby saved my life. I suddenly felt that perhaps all of this was a part of fate. Maybe it was destiny that allowed me to encounter this baby and continue to live until now. Many might find it ridiculous, but I firmly believe that this child is an angel to me. In that moment, I had unwavering faith in that belief.

And thus, this was the first encounter between me and the children.