Chapter 31 - Severing Ties

[Mutated water ability? What does it mean?]

Well, it seems like I'm a little tired to cause trouble.

[The energy of your mutated water ability that is contained within your body can stimulate cell activity and promote cell division...]

Second Young Master Wu was too impatient to serenely listen to these things that he couldn't understand.

[Speak human tongue.]

The system paused and when it spoke again, the sound of the cold mechanical voice seemed faintly frustrated.

[It has healing capability.]

Second Young Master Wu's palpitating heart suddenly calmed down as he curled his mouth in lack of interest.

[I thought it'd be able to corrode whatever it touches. Really, an ability with no combat capability is no fun at all. ]

When playing games, Second Young Master Wu had always chosen combative roles above all else, and didn't like playing the role of 'milk-mother' who was fragile, lacking HP, and couldn't endure a little beating.

The system, well aware of Wu Ye's personality, tossed a small bait.

[The ability that the system unlocks from within your genes is the purest, which is different from the other ordinary ability users in the apocalypse world. Once you've unlocked the fourth-level in the gene chain, you can transform the water into ice, which gives you offensive and defensive power.]

[Are you f**king kidding me? Unlocking the first-level gene chain has already pained me to death, what more will level four be? Anyway, when I get enough points and nuclei to treat Ah Li, and gain enough information on the artificial intelligence, I will not return there to seek death. Besides, when artificial intelligence is produced, how many young Chinese cyber-nationalists do you think will fly into my arms and do my bidding? Not to mention the amount of beautiful girls, cars, and mansions I would have. Only the foolish will go back to the apocalypse world to play hide-and-seek with the zombies.]

Besides, it took 1000 points to unlock the primary-level gene chain. How much would it take to unlock the fourth-level? Based on how miserly the system was, it wouldn't just up the amount by 1000 points at a time.

For the first time, in the depth of the system's microchip, there's a kind of anger in it.

Stupid host! Don't pay any attention to him anymore!

For quite a while, the system stayed silent, and Wu Ye knew that it was probably unhappy. However, to him, it's better for the system to recognize the reality early on, so it wouldn't harbour any unrealistic fantasies.

Thereafter, Wu Ye unhurriedly tossed his ability around. It wasn't until he'd drenched himself several times that he finally found a way to utilize it. He grasped a mysterious feeling, slowly controlled and condensed his strength to his hands. Gradually, a thin layer of water film covered his hands, faintly emitting a layer of hazy silver light. Wu Ye waited for the silver light to dissipate together with the water film. Once it's gone, he looked at his palms, shocked. His palms were now as lustrous as a jade!

Where were the traces of injuries on his hands just now? Even the thin calluses left from holding the gun these days had disappeared completely.

Those are his medals as a man, d*mn it!

Wu Ye dropped his hands in frustration, ridiculing his own ability once again.

Having stayed up for most of the night, Wu Ye felt sleepy. He took a bath, replaced all the blood soaked sheets and quilt on the bed with clean ones, before he comfortably laid on it, drifting into a dreamless slumber until dawn.

It wasn't until after 8 AM that Wu Ye woke up and opened the door. He was greeted by the sight of his mother's radiant figure. He sweetly complimented her.

"Mom, you are very beautiful today, your complexion looks radiant. Let's take a stroll around the street later, surely those young girls will be envious to death when they see the condition of your skin."

Mother Wu was really beautiful, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to give birth to two sons with exquisite facial features, Wu Ye and Wu Li. She was used to a dignified life and maintaining her appearance, making her look like a young woman in her thirties even though she was actually in her fifties.

Before, unbeknownst to her, she was envied by the ladies of rich and powerful families' for her fair skin that was as white as sheep's fur, tight, delicate not to mention smooth body. However, during this period of time, there was a series of misfortune that happened at home, worrying Mother Wu so much that she didn't have the mind to take care of herself. As such, the wrinkles in the corner of her eyes sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Her whole person looked so old and haggard that she looked no different from other ordinary women in their fifties outside. It was only after taking the body-strengthening pill that Mother Wu's face and complexion glowed once again.

Not only her skin, but Mother Wu also felt the obvious surge of strength in her body. After giving birth to Wu Li, she had a problem getting up every morning. Dizziness would always assault her at that time, but now that problem seemed to have disappeared to thin air.

"Really, it's still early and you've already started your sweet-talk." Mother Wu was much more aware of the changes in her body than Wu Ye, so she couldn't stop smiling even if she wanted to.

Seeing that his mother was happy, Wu Ye began to pelt her with a basketful of coaxing words. Wu Yong, who got up early in the morning to buy Wu Ye the nameless steamed buns he liked, returned at that moment. Listening to just a few words made him feel that his teeth ached.

Taking the steamed buns from his father, Wu Ye put it into his mouth without washing his hands. During the battle to guard the base, they almost only ate the war meal provided by Lan Cheng base every day. And, the meals were made from potatoes and cabbages without any meat in it. As such, it was only natural for people who had returned from there to crave meat.

"Dad, your face also looks particularly radiant today," Wu Ye realized after sometime. "It seems that the body-strengthening pill has a good effect on your body. I'll get you some more later when I have the chance."

At this time, Wu Li also came out of the room. His face, which had always been pale, had unexpectedly retained a little pink hue today, and the bluish purple color of his lips had faded somewhat.

"Brother, I feel much better, you don't have to…"

Wu Ye knew what he was going to say, so he cut the conversation off directly. "As long as it works. Next time I go over there, I'll give you another one."

Red crystals were needed to exchange for the body-strengthening pills. The solutions Wu Li needed had to be exchanged with orange crystal, but it was still extremely rare on the market right now. No one would be willing to sell them at all. After all, they were all reserved as treasures to improve their abilities. However, there were relatively many red crystals, so it wouldn't be difficult to pay a high price to get two or three hundred of the red crystals.

"You know that's not what I meant!"

"Alright, I know. The steamed buns the old man bought are still hot, do you want to eat it now?"

Wu Li's perfectly round eyes were seething with rage as he glared at Wu Ye. "Not eating!"

"If you don't want to eat this... mom, did you cook some porridge? It smells good." Wu Ye went into the kitchen, taking with him the steamed buns.

Since Father Wu himself came from a grassroots level, there were not that many loathsome rules in his family. Therefore, Wu Ye was allowed to chat while having breakfast, gathering a general understanding of the situation at home through this conversation.

Father Wu, who foresaw the future prospect of artificial intelligence production, was not going to wrangle with Zhou Wang Yuan for a group that had become an empty shell.

Zhou Wang Yuan who had received the news that Wu Ye had returned safely, knew that he had one less chip in his hand.

Wu Sen was worried that when Wu Ye returned, he would be unhappy that the group's assets had been hollowed out by him. If Wu Ye were to make a huge fuss over it, then even though he had boasted that he had done it secretly, a detailed investigation would be conducted. And, he's afraid that he would also be unable to avoid the jail alongside his old man. That's why, he had to guard against someone who had basically nothing else to lose.

The three parties shared the same goal, and all of them wanted to settle this matter as soon as possible.

So, the final result of the negotiation was that Father Wu would have to return all his shares to the company. In addition, he would hand over his three villas, eight commercial houses, five luxury cars, stocks, funds, deposits, and so on. Furthermore, he would also hand over Mother Wu's jewelry and antique calligraphy and painting that she'd collected over the years. With the total value of over 500 million yuan, all these were to compensate for the company's losses after which, there would be no further entanglement whatsoever.

On the day Father Wu handed over his shares and left the company, Zhou Wang Yuan couldn't wait anymore and immediately held a meeting with the upper-echelons of the company to change the group's name, reorganize the company's internal management structure, and sell off some subsidiaries.

Not long after that, it was exposed that the former Wu Group, which had changed its name to Zhou Group, and Ouyang family, its old rival, had jointly divested their investments to work together to create the largest residential property in H city. The other person involved as the project leader was Wu Sen's fiance, Ouyang Xin.

Wu Sen, who took the blame and resigned from Wu Group, didn't seem to be willing to follow the Eldest Miss from Ouyang family and live off of her as a househusband. Nor did he invest in his maternal uncles' family businesses. Instead, he got up from where he fell, and started his own business, entering the e-commerce industry. It's said that he managed to win over his first overseas financing.

On the surface, the only property the Wu family had left was the house in the school district under Wu Ye's name and the 12 million Wu Ye got from selling the high-rise apartment he owned previously.

Honestly, this sum of money was nothing compared to Father Wu's previous assets, but in the eyes of ordinary people, it was not a small amount of wealth at all. If the ordinary people from working class spilled their blood for a lifetime and worked to their bones, it would still not be enough to earn so much money just depending on their salaries. So, as long as Wu Ye and his family of four didn't mess around, that amount of money was enough for them to live comfortably.

Once, in Wu Ye's absence, Wu Sen, being a hypocrite, visited their door, saying that he was to be blamed for everything, that he had met the wrong person and invested blindly behind his father's back. He was willing to give up his right of inheritance and left the remaining assets of the family to his parents and two younger brothers. He would never attempt to lay his hands on it.

As a sign of his sincerity, he especially hired a lawyer to come with him and drafted the declaration of inheritance waiver.

Wu Sen's purpose was to pretend to be a good person even after doing bad things to others, all the while drawing a clear line between him and the Wu family.

At this point, Father Wu was simply beyond disappointed with Wu Sen. So, after receiving Wu Sen's inheritance waiver and going through the legal procedures, Father Wu went to the local paper the next day and published a statement that he had severed his father-son relationship with Wu Sen.

This matter blew up and spread across the internet. And once there, the zeal of the people (water) online (army) was unstoppable. And the fabricated stories dug up from the internet about the 'truth' behind the fight for assets that happened in the rich and powerful families was more exciting than the reality of the matter. Things like the 'true devious nature of the stepson', 'the father neglecting the children of his previous wife after remarrying', and how 'those who are biased deserve to suffer retribution'.

Though, seeing that the matter was getting bigger and would soon blow out of proportion, the Ouyang family had their people delete the relevant information on the internet. So, this matter ended just like that.

Father Wu and his family had temporarily withdrawn from the elite circle after the family's assets had been hollowed out. What else could they do to save face? Wu Sen, who stayed in the circle, had a difficult life in the high-society with inevitable fingers pointing at him everywhere.

Of course, this was a passing phase. After all, some people who knew of the truth said that Wu Sen was vicious and merciless. They didn't necessarily admire his tricks to surpass others. He overturned his old man to break his stepmother, and his younger brothers down. It was unknown how much of the family's assets he had kept for himself.

In this day and age, the rich were all masters and people were forgetful animals, especially in front of interest. Thus, after this storm passed and Wu Sen's career improved, many would rush to cooperate with him. After all, who would have a problem with having more money?

Wu Ye savored the taste of the scallions in his mouth and secretly laughed at Wu Sen, who considered himself clever. He really wondered if he would vomit blood in anger when the artificial intelligence was out?

Shift the funding abroad and came back through e-commerce again? Hehe.

"...from now on, I only have two sons, and none of you will ever call him Big Brother again."

Wu Ye sneered and said, "As if I want to call him Big Brother. In front of me, he gave advice on how to chase Lian Yu, but behind my back, he got together with her and played me for a fool; not to mention everything else that first needs to be settled between us. Sooner or later, I will find them to clearly and thoroughly settle our account."

Wu Li didn't know that such a thing happened between them, and his eyes bulged with anger. "I told you Lian Yu was not a good person, but you didn't believe it. Once you're fond of someone, you always run off to present them with treasures. Serves you right to be forced to wear a green hat!"

"Can you stop sticking in the knife there?" Second Young Master Wu gnashed his teeth.

"Hmph." Wu Li continued to drink his porridge with his head down, huffing in anger as he did so. A deep hatred flashed in his eyes, as if he was the one wearing the green hat.

Mother Wu, who had so far been silent, suddenly said, "Don't worry about things here. I'll handle it for you."

Father Wu said nothing, silently acquiescing. After all, even if their father-son relationship is severed legally, Wu Sen was still his son through flesh and blood. It would be most humiliating to Wu Ye if he, their old man, spoke about the fact that his older brother was secretly sleeping with his own girlfriend.

After breakfast, Wu Ye called Pang Zhi and asked him to bring him some compressed biscuits, candy, chocolate, whole milk powder, and snickers from their supermarket. He also asked for the higher calories stuff more than anything else, irrespective of the brand's taste. It was also better if the stuff had less texts and logos on it.

While Pang Zhi was very curious about Wu Ye's whereabouts during the time he was missing in the past 20 days, he didn't ask. He also didn't question him about why he wanted these things on the phone. He merely wrote down the quantity and requirements and directly went to the warehouse to pick up the goods.

After that, Wu Ye contacted the person in charge of the counterfeit cigarette factory and told him that he would pick up the goods later. The factory had already produced all the goods Wu Ye wanted, but he had been slow in collecting the goods. Had Wu Ye not deposited tens of thousands of yuans there, by now, they would've repackaged and sold the goods off.

After contacting them, Wu Ye drove out with cash in hand. The car that he used was still the business car that Pang Zhi had lent to him previously. Pang Zhi, who knew that his family was having a hard time recently, had said that the car was for Wu Ye to drive. Wu Ye was also impolite, so the car had not been returned to Pang Zhi and during the time he was away, his father and mother had been the ones driving the car.

When he arrived at the counterfeit cigarette factory, Wu Ye inspected the goods and asked the person in charge, "If I give you some specific cigarettes cases and cigarettes, can you help me make them?"

It's not a good thing to sell counterfeit cigarettes without any logos on it all the time. It was easy to arouse people's suspicion and if that happened, then they couldn't sell it at a high price. According to the exchange ratio between the crystal nuclei and gold, as long as the price could be raised, even a little bit, then some more money could be earned. The used up capital could be recovered easily.

The person in charge saw that Wu Ye was a big customer, so he tentatively said, "We can imitate the original, but if it's a specific cigarette case, then the printer needs to make a new template. In terms of price…"

"How much?" Wu Ye looked at him with a smile. His exquisite doll's face overflowed with killing intent that was cultivated from killing thousands zombies on the battlefield, making the temperature in the dark office seem to have plummeted several degrees.

The hair of the person in charge stood on its ends, cold sweat trickled down his face, as he hastily said, "The price's still the same! It's not the first time we've dealt with each other, do you think I'm the kind of person who doesn't keep his words at the sight of money?" Once his words fell, the person in charge looked like he wished to bite his tongue off.

Wu Ye's smile was unchanged as he patted the person in charge on the shoulder, and said, "That's good enough. Don't worry, for the goods I want to order, the tobacco that is used doesn't need to be as good as the Zhong Hua brand. You won't lose money over this deal. I'll bring the sample to you in a couple of days. I'll go first."

The person in charge nodded and hurriedly bowed, "Take care, take care." When Wu Ye drove away from the factory, he wiped the cold sweat on his foreheads and spat.

Damn it. Where on earth did this man come from? I was scared to death.

Turning around, he spotted the two purebred German Shepherds tied by the office door peeing, holding their tails as they huddled together, shivering in fear.

[The author has something to say: Second Young Master Wu's overbearing side finally leaked out a little. Like.]

[To clarify one point, Second Young Master Wu is not a holy father. Why did Big Brother do this? There will be a reasonable explanation later on.]

[T/N: And...I don't believe what's 'reasonable' for you will be reasonable for me.]

[E/D: And... that's so not 'reasonable' of you TL-sama.]