Infinite Wealth: Revenge of the Lost Heir

CHAPTER 2: AT THE EDGE OF HELL AND FOREIGN SINCERITY

Julian Vance woke up with a gasp of rushing breath. The first thing that assaulted his senses was the stench of garbage, a puddle of brackish water, and a bone-chilling cold. He forced his eyes open, finding himself lying in a narrow, dirty, and dark alleyway in a corner of a city he did not recognize at all.

When he tried to move, an excruciating pain radiated through his entire body, agonizing down to the marrow of his bones. His luxury tuxedo was now torn apart, wet with dried blood and street mud.

However, that physical torture was nothing. The pain that crushed his chest actually stemmed from the hellish memories of a few hours ago. The betrayal of the people he loved replayed like a broken cassette in his head.

Why? Julian clutched his throbbing head. He remembered perfectly how he had welcomed his stepmother and stepbrother into his life with a big heart, hoping to build a whole family. Yet, they had instead dug a grave for him. And Amber Miller... the woman he had always spoiled with luxury, turned out to be a leech conspiring behind the sheets to strip away his entire existence.

But... why am I here? Didn't my car explode at the bottom of the cliff?

Julian stared at his trembling hands. His confusion was answered when an invisible electromagnetic wave buzzed inside his head, followed by an ice-cold mechanical voice.

[Mortal body restructuring: 100% Complete.]

[Warning: System energy is depleted after performing the Emergency Teleportation.]

[Host's current status: Extreme starvation and exhaustion. Please replenish the body's nutrients immediately.]

Julian was stunned, staring blankly into the air. He did not understand at all what kind of crazy technology had just possessed his consciousness. However, before he could think any further, pain tortured him once more. His chest suddenly tightened, forcing Julian to touch his heart, which was beating wildly behind the fabric of his torn shirt.

At that exact second, his fingers felt the throb of life. His intact skin without any burn marks made his mind freeze before he finally realized one bitter yet precious reality.

"I am... still alive," Julian whispered, his voice raspy like dry sand. A dark flash of anger crossed his eyes. "Arthur Vance... you all think I am dead, don't you?"

With what remained of his resolve, Julian forced himself to stand. He leaned against the cold brick wall, trying to take a step to look for help. However, his dehydrated mortal body refused to compromise. His vision blurred, his world spun, and within three steps, Julian collapsed unconscious onto the cold asphalt.

Night grew later when Chloe Miller walked quickly down the outer corridor of her cheap apartment complex. Her footsteps, weary after finishing a long night shift, suddenly halted. In a dimly lit corner near the door of her unit, she saw the figure of a man lying helplessly. The man's clothes were severely torn, covered in bloodstains, and his breathing sounded intermittent.

"Oh my god! Hey, can you hear me?" Chloe panicked. She knelt down, trying to shake the man's shoulder with trembling hands. "Please hang on, I will call an ambulance."

Hearing a soft, foreign voice, Julian briefly opened his eyes, which felt as heavy as lead. In the dimness of the night, he shed a brief tear upon seeing the faint shadow of a woman's innocent face looking at him anxiously, before his consciousness finally collapsed completely into total darkness.

When his eyelids opened again the next day, the first thing Julian noticed was a sense of comfort he had not felt in a long time. He was no longer in a dirty alleyway. His body was lying on a simple folding mattress inside a room that was very narrow, yet neatly arranged. The savory aroma of freshly cooked warm soup wafted through the air, soothing his growling stomach.

Julian tried to sit up, causing the joints of the folding mattress to creak softly. The sound caught the attention of a woman who was busy in a small kitchen at the corner of the room.

"Oh, you're awake?" The woman—Chloe—turned around with a relieved smile. She rushed closer while bringing a bowl of chicken soup that was still steaming and a glass of plain water. "Don't move around too much just yet. Your body was very weak last night. Here, eat this while it's warm."

Julian accepted the bowl awkwardly. The warmth from the ceramic bowl radiated into the palms of his hands. "Thank you," he said softly, immediately devouring the soup due to the urge of an unbearable hunger.

After a few silent mouthfuls, Julian set his bowl down and looked at the woman in front of him. "May I... know who you are? And where is this?"

"I am Chloe. This is my studio apartment in the lower district," the girl answered amiably. "Last night I found you passed out outside the corridor. Your clothes were covered in blood, so I treated your wounds as best as I could. If I may know, what is your name?"

Julian went silent for a moment. The name Julian Vance was the name of a dead man who was probably currently being fried by the New York media. He could not be reckless. "Just call me... Ian."

Chloe nodded, having no intention of pressing further.

Julian looked around the narrow room, then shifted his gaze to Chloe's very simple clothing. "Why did you help me, Chloe? In today's world, it is very rare for a human to have a grand enough spirit to shelter a stranger who looks like a criminal fugitive."

Chloe smiled faintly, there was a slight hint of melancholy in her voice. "This world is already cruel enough, Ian. If we don't help each other when we see someone dying, what makes us any different from animals? Besides, I know what it feels like to have nothing and be ignored by the world. So, just consider this a moral investment."

Chloe's words struck the deepest part of Julian's heart. Remembering how Amber, whom he had showered with luxury, could ruthlessly trample on him, the sincerity of this foreign girl in front of him felt like an oasis in the middle of a desert.

Chloe glanced at the old wall clock in the room, then stood up in a hurry. "Ah, I have to leave for my morning shift work now. You rest here until you are fully recovered. Make yourself at home, but sorry the place is narrow. I'm leaving now, Ian."

"Take care on the way, Chloe," Julian said.

Once the apartment door closed and the atmosphere turned quiet, a sapphire-blue semi-transparent panel suddenly appeared floating in front of Julian's eyes, followed by a familiar mechanical voice.

[Notification: Beginner Mission Complete. Host successfully survived the first 24 hours without exposing his true identity.]

[Distributing Beginner Rewards:]

Global Stock Market Analysis Capability (God Level).

Encrypted Cyber & Hacking Network (God Level).

Initial Cash Capital: $50,000 (Has been transferred to an anonymous shadow account).

Julian frowned. His businessman's logic refused to believe in supernatural things like this. "System? Free luck? What kind of joke is this?" he muttered skeptically.

Julian's eyes then fell upon an old laptop with a slightly cracked screen on Chloe's small work desk. Driven by curiosity, he shifted his body and opened the laptop.

The moment his fingers touched the keyboard, a strange phenomenon occurred. His brain was suddenly flooded with millions of complex codes, banking algorithms, and movements of Wall Street charts that he had never mastered before. His fingers moved on their own with abnormal speed, hacking into a Swiss banking network and opening an anonymous account that could not be tracked by any authority.

In the corner of the laptop screen, a digital number blinked slowly: $50,000.00.

Julian Vance leaned his back, staring at that number with a gleam in his eyes that slowly turned as cold as ice. This was not a joke. This system was real, and his secret weapon had arrived. A predatory smile was carved on his face.

"Arthur, Ryan, Amber... wait for me. I will crawl out of this hell to fetch your heads."