Ling Family Villa.
A vast power violently pushed Ling Chen’s consciousness forward, as countless years of distant memories flooded into his eighteen-year-old brain like a tide.
He heard a majestic and calm voice:
"The guangyin gui (sundial of time) has been activated. With your centuries of slaughter as a sacrifice, I grant you a chance to start anew..."
A vast power violently pushed him forward. Ling Chen felt his soul being torn apart and reassembled, as countless memories flooded in like a tide...
When he regained consciousness, the first things he felt were a burning pain on his forehead and the noisy chatter of people around him:
"Young Master! Are you alright?"
"Call an ambulance quickly!"
"Don't touch him, let me!"
Ling Chen slowly opened his eyes, seeing Qin Butler’s hypocritically concerned face close at hand.
But at this moment, his eyes no longer held the confusion and anger of a youth; instead, they were filled with the coldness and calculation of someone who had experienced great vicissitudes.
"So... this is what rebirth feels like."
He sneered in his heart. Five hundred years of memories had perfectly merged with his eighteen-year-old body. Now, he was both the young man whose family was ruined and annihilated, and the Blood Asura who had returned from the apocalypse.
The best part was that he clearly remembered—just today, not long after he hit the table and fainted, there would be a meticulously planned assassination...
I wonder if my dear enemies will welcome my return.
The corners of Ling Chen’s mouth unconsciously curved upwards!
—He had been reborn!
The scent of blood on the sandalwood table had not yet dispersed, but Ling Chen had already wiped away all the ferocity from his eyes, replacing it with the blank and helpless expression characteristic of a young man.
He turned around and looked at the group of servants who were still hypocritically wiping away tears but were actually calculating their wages. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he even managed to squeeze out a trembling, bitter smile: "Uncle Qin… I was too impulsive just now, I'm sorry."
Qin Butler had originally thought Ling Chen would be dead or seriously injured after hitting the table. Seeing him "wake up" now, he was surprised and uncertain, but looking at his pale face and red eyes, his doubts lessened a bit—he was just a child who hadn't been weaned yet. With both parents dead and the company collapsed, it was already good that he had held on this long.
"Young Master, don't say that," Qin Butler immediately adopted a concerned demeanor, stepping forward to help him up. "Your health is important, the money matter…"
"Young Master! Are you alright?! The money matter…"
The other servants also gathered around, their eyes gleaming with greed and calculation.
"Money! Money is not a problem!" Ling Chen interrupted him, his tone carrying the desperation of someone who had given up. "Before my parents left, they left me an emergency fund in the basement safe, enough to pay your wages for this year, and… and next year's in advance!"
As soon as he said this, the servants' eyes instantly lit up. Qin Butler's pupils constricted even more. A safe? He had worked for Ling Corporation for over a decade and had never heard of any basement safe! Could it be the master and madam's private stash?
"Really? Young Master!" The plump maid rubbed her hands, her wrinkles creasing with a smile.
"Of course it's true," Ling Chen lowered his eyes, concealing the fleeting cold light within them.
"It's just… my head is still dizzy right now. Can you all accompany me to eat something? My parents always used to say that you need to eat your fill to have the strength to do things. There are still some leftover dishes from yesterday in the kitchen, just heat them up."
"Uncle Qin, you are right." Ling Chen stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and said sincerely, "Ling Corporation is indeed in a difficult situation right now, but you have followed my parents for so many years, I cannot treat you unfairly."
He spoke sincerely, with a hint of reliance, and the servants exchanged glances, all thinking that this young man had indeed lost his backbone and could only rely on them. Since the money would be in their hands soon, what harm was there in having a meal with him?
"Oh, good, good, good! I'll go heat the dishes right away!" The plump maid immediately ran eagerly to the kitchen, and the others also busied themselves setting out bowls and chopsticks, as if the previous tension had never happened.
"Young Master is wise!"
"I knew Young Master was benevolent!"
They flattered him one after another, their greed intensifying in their eyes.
Ling Chen smiled and nodded, then turned and walked towards the dining room. The moment his back was to them, a faint chill flashed in his eyes.
"Heh, a bunch of fools."
Dinner was quickly prepared. A dying camel is still bigger than a horse; even if they were leftovers, Ling Corporation's ingredients were all top-notch and high-quality. These servants, with their own financial means, probably wouldn't be able to eat such good things in ten lifetimes.
So, when Ling Chen sat at the head of the table, the servants immediately took their seats. After hypocritically flattering Ling Chen, they all began to gobble down their food, fearing they would lose out if they ate less.
"Young Master, why aren't you eating?" Qin Butler asked hypocritically.
"I'm not hungry."
Ling Chen smiled and symbolically picked up a small piece of meat from his plate and swallowed it. "You all eat more."
The servants didn't suspect anything, their faces beaming with smiles, and continued to feast.
Ling Chen looked at his watch and suddenly stood up.
"I'm going to the restroom." Ling Chen put down his chopsticks, held his forehead, and feigned dizziness.
"Shall I help you?" Qin Butler immediately stood up.
"No, no need," Ling Chen waved his hand. "It's just on the first floor, I can manage myself. You all eat first. After you're done, I'll take you to get… the money."
He deliberately emphasized the word "money," successfully focusing the servants' attention on the impending profits. No one noticed that he was heading not for the restroom, but for the secret door leading to the basement.
He left the dining room with a calm stride, and only after confirming no one was watching did he suddenly speed up, heading straight for the safe house deep within the villa!
—That was a secret room Ling Corporation had spent a fortune building, bulletproof, blast-proof, and even capable of withstanding small missile attacks!
Outside, the servants at the dining table were eating boisterously, and Qin Butler was still spouting saliva, bragging about how he would "help" the young master manage the family business in the future.
Suddenly, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" several dull gunshots came through the heavy rain, followed by an even denser hail of bullets!
"What's that sound?!" The plump maid was so scared she dropped her bowl.
"It's gunshots! Run!" Qin Butler's face turned pale, and he was the first to try to duck under the table.
But it was too late. The assassins were clearly targeting the main seat, and bullets swept towards the dining table like a raging storm!
The servants, who had been fawning just moments ago, didn't even have time to react before they were riddled with bullets, their blood instantly staining the white tablecloth, and leftover food mixed with shattered bones splattered everywhere.
"Bang bang bang—!"
Bullets pierced through the glass, and the dining table was instantly riddled with holes!
Some of the servants didn't even have time to scream before they were torn to shreds by the bullets!
"Ah ah ah—!"
Screams, overturning chairs, and whistling bullets merged into a cacophony!
Ling Chen leaned against the wall of the safe house, listening with closed eyes, a slow smile curving on his lips.
Qin Butler lay on the ground, his back hit by two bullets, blood gushing out. He used his last bit of strength to lift his head, looking at the empty chair at the head of the table, his eyes filled with unbelievable terror—where was the Young Master?!
Inside the secret room, Ling Chen watched this scene through the monitor, his face expressionless. The dull thuds of bullets hitting the dining table and the dying screams of the servants sounded like the most pleasant music to him.
The assassination he had barely survived in his previous life, he had now, in this life, effortlessly paved his way to survival with the flesh and blood of a group of traitors.
The gunshots lasted for a full three minutes before gradually ceasing.
Ling Chen waited for a moment, and only after repeatedly confirming it was safe did he slowly push open the door.
The dining room was a complete mess, blood soaked the carpet, and the servants' bodies lay haphazardly on the ground, some even riddled with holes.
Outside, the heavy rain continued to pour, water surging in through the broken windows, washing away the bloodstains.
Ling Chen stood in the pool of blood, looking down at Qin Butler's unclosed eyes, and suddenly smiled.
"Thank you all… for your final contribution."
To be honest, he felt it was absurd; he hadn't actually changed anything.
In his previous life, after he hit the table corner and fainted, Uncle Qin and those servants panicked for a while, but then reason was quickly invaded by greed. They frantically searched Ling Corporation, trying to loot all the valuables.
They hadn't expected that the fat sheep young master in their eyes was being calculated by others besides themselves, and these others were even more decisive, directly sweeping from top to bottom, leaving no one alive, a complete annihilation!
These servants had also died this way in the previous life; history is always astonishingly similar, except that Ling Chen in this life was far from the sorry state of his previous life.
And Ling Chen? He, on the other hand, was mistaken for dead by the attackers because the wound on his head from hitting the table corner was quite gruesome.
Perhaps… this was fate playing tricks.
Ling Chen dealt with the bodies, turned on the bathroom faucet, and water washed over the floor. The bloodstains gradually cleared, as if all sins were being washed away.
He looked up at the pitch-black night sky, his eyes gleaming with contemplation.
"Three days later… the apocalypse descends."
"This time, I must seize the opportunity well and give my 'friends' a surprise!"
"But before that…"
Ling Chen smiled and dialed the municipal public security bureau.
"Help! Police, many people have died in my house, they have guns, guns!"
"Yes, yes, yes, it's in the villa area, everyone in my house was… was… boo hoo hoo."
On the phone, Ling Chen's voice was choked with sobs, full of sorrow and fear, but if the operator had seen him smiling, they would have instantly felt a chill down their spine.
A few minutes later, the police rushed into the villa, seeing a bloody and chaotic scene of tragedy. And Ling Chen, before the police broke in, emerged from another hidden exit of the secret room, his face showing just the right amount of terror and bewilderment, as if he had just returned from hell.
"Young man, are you alright?" The leading police officer recognized Ling Chen. Seeing him standing at the edge of the blood pool, trembling all over, he quickly stepped forward to support him.
Ling Chen didn't speak; he seemed to have been scared silly, only staring blankly at the bodies of the servants on the ground. Rain poured in through the open windows, washing away the bloodstains on the floor, gradually diluting the scarlet and spreading towards his toes.
After the police left, he slowly raised his head, looking out at the dark rain curtain, a faint, extremely cold smile slowly curving on his lips.
The rainwater washed away the bloodstains, but it could not wash away the flame of rebirth in his eyes.
Qin Butler, and those assassins… this was just the beginning.
There were still three days until the apocalypse erupted, and he needed to use all the remaining resources of Ling Corporation in these three days to prepare for the coming bloody tide.
And these people who died in his calculations were merely the first, insignificant stepping stones on his path to the peak.
His gaze pierced through the rain curtain, as if he could already see the apocalyptic scene of spiritual energy revival and all things mutating three days later.
This time, he was no longer the simple, kind, and easily manipulated young man.
He was Ling Chen, the "Blood Asura" reborn from five hundred years in the future.