Injecting Serum

In the bathroom, Jiang Yang pulled out a syringe—Captain America Serum!

Scenes from the Captain America movies flashed through his mind.

"Does it just boost the host's body, or does it let you go fifty-fifty with anyone?"

Jiang Yang couldn't help but smirk. Fifty-fifty was just something the movies added to give Captain America more screentime. This serum would only give him a physique several times stronger than an ordinary person's.

Without any more hesitation, Jiang Yang jabbed the needle into his arm. The sooner he used something that boosted his strength, the sooner he could cash in on its value.

The blue liquid entered his bloodstream, and a wave of excruciating pain hit him. Jiang Yang's face twisted—it hurt like hell, as if ants were crawling through his veins.

But the serum's effects were obvious. In the full-length mirror, Jiang Yang's scrawny frame began to fill out. Muscle lines emerged one by one, and he even grew a bit taller.

If he had a scanner, he'd see his muscle fibers constantly tearing and regenerating, while various cells split and transformed.

The whole process lasted about ten minutes. Jiang Yang was covered in black grime. After a quick rinse, he stood before the mirror, admiring his new self.

"Tsk, too bad Tang Ya didn't stick around."

Jiang Yang's lips curled up. Right now, he felt like he had strength to burn with nowhere to put it.

With this body, maybe he wouldn't even need to spend much money—he could make Tang Ya devoted just by using his "abilities."

Most people in this world, after recovering, fell short in terms of "ability." The original owner was no exception. Countless people online griped about how much they'd lost.

On the flip side, just as many women complained about going unsatisfied for too long.

After tidying himself up a bit, Jiang Yang first called his parents. The apocalypse was coming, so he had to make sure the old folks were prepared.

After the memory fusion, Jiang Yang felt a bit more warmth toward his parents in this world. No matter what, his mom and dad always had his back.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, do you have time in the next couple of days?"

"What's wrong, Xiao Yang? Did something happen?" A slightly tense voice came through the phone, warming Jiang Yang's heart.

"Nothing much. Just a rumor going around—the flu's gonna get worse, really contagious. Stock up at home..."

It took over half an hour, but Jiang Yang finally convinced his parents. He couldn't tell them the apocalypse was coming, or they'd definitely have him committed.

After giving the old folks their instructions, Jiang Yang called his housekeeper.

As a super-rich second-generation heir, aside from eating, drinking, and having fun, pretty much everything in his life was handled by this housekeeper.

Now he needed her to do some things for him.

"Done with your fun, young master?"

The door pushed open, and a woman in a professional suit walked in—fair skin, beautiful face, long legs, and black stockings that were utterly captivating.

Xiao Wan glanced at the messy room and caught a strange smell in the air. She let out a barely noticeable sigh. "Got your eye on another girl, young master?"

She'd been Jiang Yang's housekeeper for over a decade and knew his habits inside out. He never called her unless he needed something, and when he did, it was always to help him chase women.

"Ahem..."

Jiang Yang's face flushed with a bit of embarrassment. In his memories, he'd had improper thoughts about this housekeeper before, but she'd always shut him down.

"Sis Wan, it's not about chasing girls today. I can't be doing that every day."

Jiang Yang chuckled. The original owner really did chase girls every day—he even challenged someone right after recovering, which was why he kicked the bucket.

Xiao Wan glanced at him, sensing something off. Was the young master different today than usual?

"Then why did you call me here?"

"I need you to look into someone—Ye Fan."

"Ye Fan?" Xiao Wan thought for a moment, then her beautiful eyes widened. "Wasn't that Tang Ya his girlfriend just now?"

"You mess around with his woman, and now you want to mess with him too?"

"That's not it. Just investigate him for me. I know what I'm doing!"

Jiang Yang patted his chest, signaling he had it under control. Xiao Wan shot him a few glares before leaving—after all, Jiang Yang was still the young master.

Once she was gone, Jiang Yang changed into a clean, sharp outfit. In the original story, the first chapter was all about Ye Fan's rebirth scene, with little introduction to his environment or the people around him.

Most of those characters died within the first ten chapters—not very important. But for the first step of Jiang Yang's plan, they were key to success or failure.

Xiao Wan was off digging up info on Ye Fan, and the gold-digger was helping him find Ye Fan's sister. Money made things easy!

Now it was his turn to act.

He'd steal the protagonist's women. He'd steal the protagonist's comrades too.

Not reborn? Let's crank up the difficulty for you!

Jiang Yang checked the sky—still early before dark. He hailed a cab and headed to the edge of Linjiang Bridge in Linjiang City.

Then he waited under the bridge. According to the original story, after Ye Fan awakened his past-life memories, he'd come to this spot in about three days to find his battle-tested comrade, the first brother who helped him rise—Wu Lei.

In the original story, Wu Lei was a poor sucker framed and thrown in prison for ten years. After getting out, he couldn't fit into society and ended up living under Linjiang Bridge.

But this poor sucker was no joke. It was like all his luck from the past decade was saved up for when the apocalypse hit—he actually got a Hidden Profession!

When the apocalypse came, Apocalypse Stores would pop up all over the world, offering all kinds of professions. Most were pretty average—these were called Common Professions.

But beyond Common Professions, there were two other types: Hidden Professions and Inherited Professions, each more badass than the last.

Wu Lei had obtained a hidden profession called Bronze Man, a massive meat shield that took plenty of damage for Ye Fan.

"System, if I plunder a supporting character's fortune, will there be a reward?"

Yes, a supporting character's fortune is also the Son of the Plane's fortune.

A person could hold multiple professions, but Jiang Yang was just asking—he had no intention of taking Wu Lei's fortune.

What he wanted was Wu Lei himself!

He waited until nightfall. Xiao Wan had sent him several emails, all containing every scrap of information about Ye Fan.

More comprehensive than the original novel. Having a butler was just awesome, and money made everything easy.

Just as Jiang Yang was about to open the attachments and pore over the details on Ye Fan, a ragged figure caught the corner of his eye.

Wu Lei. Here he came.

A young man, but utterly disheveled, wearing clothes torn in several places, reeking of sour filth.

This was Wu Lei—around the same age as Jiang Yang, but looking as broken as an old man.

Wu Lei picked up the tattered blanket at Jiang Yang's feet and shuffled slowly toward the other side.

In a big city, a vagrant had no dignity. Almost every day, someone came to mess with him—throwing his blanket into the river, smashing his bowl.

All for the thrill of watching him squirm.

Wu Lei had long since gotten used to it. But he had barely taken two steps when his ragged blanket was yanked away.