Chang'an, who had lost all self-respect and everything, collapsed as he ran home, hoping to find a last shred of solace and spiritual support from his mother.

But his mother, unlike usual, did not embrace him and let him cry in her arms.

This woman, once a distinguished lady, had fallen to relying on begging and scavenging to sustain life, having long been unable to hold on.

And her son's predicament became the final straw that broke her.

She went completely mad, grabbing Chang'an and telling her son in a hoarse voice...

"Your father did nothing wrong, nor were his principles wrong. It was us, his wife and child, who failed to see clearly his true nature and the essence of society."

"The strong can do whatever they want, the weak should be enslaved... this is the truth, and the fundamental reason for what has happened to us, mother and son."

"Your father is stronger than us, so he has the right to dispose of me, and even dispose of you... Little An."

"You must become strong, you must become strong at any cost... discard those useless morals and ethics, climb upwards at any price!"

"This is the only way... the only way we can avoid suffering, avoid being at the mercy of others, and reclaim our dignity."

"Little An, promise me, will you?"

Chang'an was dumbfounded at that moment.

His mother, who had always been a kind woman, even when affluent, never would stoop to humiliating the lower class like his father would, instead doing her best to perform acts of charity.

In the past, she often taught Chang'an not to blindly imitate his father, as doing so would lead him to lose his humanity.

But now... the woman had utterly changed.

Chang'an was flustered, but perhaps due to an unconditional trust in his mother, he still nodded and agreed.

His mother cried tears of joy, silently embraced him, prepared a sumptuous dinner, told him stories as if they had never gone bankrupt, and even stayed with him until he fell asleep.

It was the most peaceful sleep Chang'an had since the family upheaval.

But upon waking, Chang'an was horrified to discover that his mother was gone.

He couldn't bother with anything else and rushed out the door, searching everywhere.

But his mother seemed to have vanished into thin air, no matter how hard Chang'an looked, he couldn't find a trace.

Eventually, a lost and dejected Chang'an returned home, only to bump into his father, Yang Lie, holding a bag of money.

Old Yang Lie seemed to be in a good mood, for once not hitting him, instead tossing Chang'an some money to buy a roast chicken.

Taking the money, Chang'an felt something was off, so he tentatively asked about his mother's whereabouts.

But ultimately, he received an answer he could not possibly face.

"You mean your mother? Oh, I sold her. There's a lab over at Nest City No. 5 doing a project, needing some subjects with special blood types. She was lucky enough to be selected."

"The lab was generous, offering 500,000 in one go, an amount your mom could never earn picking garbage her whole life!"

"With this money, your dad can surely return to the ring, become a champion again... then I'll find you a few pretty new moms."

"Enough, enough, don't cry, what's there to cry about, here's 200 for you to get some snacks, just forget about her, pretend she never existed."

Old Yang Lie seemed utterly indifferent.

Indeed, for someone like him, how could he care about the so-called "wife of humble origins"?

As he saw it, as long as there is money, and he is strong enough, he can find as many as he wants, this has always been his view.

But he didn't notice, as he spoke, that his once compliant and weak child silently clenched his fists.

Thus...

That night, Chang'an used a bundle of slender tiger vine to strangle the drunken old Yang Lie in bed, ending his father's bastard life.

Subsequently, whether to cover his tracks or for some other reason, Chang'an changed his name to Yang Lie, and his soft, gentle character completely transformed.

He remembered his mother's final words, he must become strong, he must climb upwards continually.

Even if it meant doing the most cruel and heartless things, even if he had to become a beast, become the person he once loathed most — his father, he must become stronger.

This is the survival way in Nest City.

He took the money and bought genetic potions in the Black Market, through exercise and drugs, eventually, by the age of twenty-five, barely became an Apprentice Death God.

Yang Lie's talent was poor, which led to frequent exclusion and discrimination, but he did not care, he would lick the shoes of those who just insulted him, he would act like a dog for those who looked down on him, as long as doing so could get him further...

It must be said, in building relationships, he indeed possessed a peculiar brilliance, not long after, having established his own network, and successfully befriending strong men he once dared not even look at, becoming part of their ranks.

Perhaps early drugs had gone awry, Yang Lie became increasingly extreme, his personality more violent, even more cruel than his father.

Of course... to be precise, he and his father were actually quite similar, only because his prowess surpassed his father, he could cause greater destruction.

But all that matters not, because in Nest City, slaughtering a few or dozens of civilians is simply no big deal for an Apprentice Death God, not even considered a blemish.

Yang Lie gradually acquired some status, easily earning sums his father couldn't even dare dream of.

Yet despite all this, over the years he still had two worries.

One, he couldn't find his mother's whereabouts.

Two, his prowess never seemed able to progress further.

He knew his talent was limited, hence the need for a "fortuitous encounter."

And as luck would have it, he truly encountered one in his twenty-eighth year.

In early 2066, he suddenly received a command from the Supreme Council of Nest City No. 3.

The Supreme Council, a place even most Apprentice Death Gods must look up to, was the ultimate power center of this city.

If one could connect with the Council's big figures, the prospects would truly be unlimited...

The Council claimed a unique "pollution epidemic" had erupted in the Lower District of Nest City, extremely widespread, requiring immediate handling, to eradicate all infection sources within the epidemic, including its million residents.

If the Council handled such matters, it would inevitably tarnish its "great and upright" image, so the Council needed a batch of outsourced Death Gods to serve as their executioners.

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