Chapter 597: A Monster Even More Terrifying than Apocalyptic Beasts
“My mother worked for Saber Jin Wanhao for years. She was dejected and never thought about rising to power again, but she had to consider things for her only son,” Su Lun continued. “Since the outside world only had bad comments about the gangs, she was worried that if she became involved with Golden Tooth, it would affect my life in the future.
“That’s why she kept a low profile. Aside from being Jin Wanhao’s personal pharmacist, she never got involved with any of the lair’s affairs. That’s why only a handful of people know about my family’s relationship with Jin Wanhao.
“This life lasted for a few years. My mother helped Jin Wanhao create a few batches of new drugs and set up a large, private cultivation room with advanced equipment under Golden Tooth’s headquarters. Jin Wanhao told me later that he had only good remarks about my mother’s abilities and loyalty. He believed that she had extended his lifespan by at least ten years. This was an important reason behind why he accepted me so readily later on.
“Jin Wanhao was a man who separated his resentment and gratitude clearly, and when someone did something good for him, he would definitely reward them. He might have more than one hundred flaws, but none of them was stinginess.
“In just a few years, my mother managed to clear all her debts and helped me gather an impressive education and cultivation fund. I didn’t disappoint her either and managed to get into Dragon City University. The management course in Dragon City University might not be as glamorous as the martial arts course, but it’s still one of the ace courses in Dragon City. It’s also the first choice for non-combative superhumans.
“When she saw that her son was about to have a bright future ahead of him, all her regrets disappeared. My mother achieved all her wishes, and on the day my father died, she left this brutal and ugly world peacefully.”
When Meng Chao heard this, he could not help but heave a long sigh.
“Don’t be sad for my mother. I believe that death to her was the best relief,” Su Lun said faintly. “My mother’s soul had already fallen into hell together with my father when we lost the lawsuit and he died. What remained in this blood-red world was an empty shell driven by debt and responsibility. At the moment she carried out her duty and cleared all her debts, the injured body could finally rest in peace.
“But my mother didn’t expect that while she and my father obtained eternal peace, as their son, I was tormented by endless hatred. It was like a demonic fire had carved its way into my soul.
“My parents had been forced to their deaths by Heaven Pharmaceuticals, so how could I not want to take revenge and destroy them?”
“Got it.” Meng Chao exhaled. “Then, from that moment on, you joined the path of evil and tried to use the monsters’ strength to fight against Heaven?”
“I can swear that I never once thought about using external forces in the beginning. Besides, at that time, the monsters were too dumb. They only knew how to bare their teeth and growl like idiots. They didn’t have the slightest bit of intelligence, so there was no possibility of us communicating and using each other.” Su Lun smiled bitterly. “At that time, I had just entered university.
“I was in the ace course of the best university in the city. I carried on my shoulders a blood feud, and it felt like I had a secret mission unique only to me. I was also regarded with envy and respect, like I’m some child blessed by the Gods, so my spirits were high and my confidence went over the roof.
“I was protected well by my parents since young.
“Even when my family’s company went bankrupt, my mother did everything she could to meticulously create a shell for me so that I wouldn’t experience the hardships from the ugliness of society.
“That’s why my innocent self didn’t realize just how terrifying of a giant my enemy was.
“The nine great mega corporations are ten times more terrifying than the most fearsome Apocalyptic Beast. It’s a fool’s dream to start from scratch and defeat Heaven Pharmaceuticals in a fair and square battle.
“But I knew that even though I didn’t inherit my father’s talen for martial arts or my mother’s talent for drug creation, I had great instincts when it came to operating and managing businesses.
“With this God-given instinct and crazed hard work, I managed to obtain relatively good results in university and got myself all the rewards I could get, so much so that when my professors valued my talent and my peers flattered me, I was on cloud nine and overestimated myself.
“When I graduated from university and joined the very real and brutal society, the neverending trials immediately destroyed my illusions.
“It was only then that I realized that if I wanted to obtain success in this world, having a strong background and connections was more important than abilities and achievements!
“The nine great mega corporations and the nine great cultivation families behind them had all the important departments, positions, and tactical resources in Dragon City firmly in their grasp. They could do whatever they wanted since they were in control of the city!
“Recall the period around thirty years ago. It might have been chaotic and lawless, but it was a golden era when everything was allowed to blossom and grow. We didn’t care about having a strong background or connections at that time. All the people relied on their own strength, wisdom, and courage to survive the process of elimination under the brutal but fair rules. My parents’ generation was full of people who had started from nothing but had become outstanding people with their own strength!
“But in my generation, forget about taking revenge against giants like Heaven Pharmaceuticals, a nameless, poor nobody couldn’t even hope about creating his own business without getting involved with the nine great mega corporations.
“All the fields that provide a lot of benefits have long since been monopolized by the mega corporations.
“The politicians in the Survival Committee and the floor managers of the Supernatural Tower also mostly come from the nine families.
“If normal people want to obtain more cultivation resources, they can only do so through the channels of the nine great mega corporations aside from the black market. Many of the prices for monster materials weren’t originally so high, but the mega corporations hoarded them and started jacking up their price by maliciously sensationalizing them. The most ironic thing is that you can even see the mega corporations’ traces in the deep web and many of the black markets in the lair.
“This is an era in which no matter how much of a genius a person is, they cannot hope to fight against the mega corporations.
“It doesn’t matter what sort of astonishing creation you come up with in the spirit energy martial arts field, runic symbol machines field, or gene medicine field. You will either be absorbed into the mega corporations, or your creation will be stolen and imitated by them in almost no time.
Compared to my parents’ days, the mega corporations now are much better at stealing and imitating products. They also have a larger and better trained legal team. It will ensure that the mega corporation will swallow up the ‘food’ it fancies in the most elegant manner of eating, and it will all be done within legal boundaries. Nothing will then be left of that ‘food’!
“Only two types of people can be successful in this damn era.
“First are those born in cultivation families, just like my peers in university.
“It was only later that I realized that my coursemates who never showed any talent were closely tied to the nine great cultivation families. They were all the third generation of the nine great cultivation families’ direct descendants, just like Lu Siya.
“Without any effort, they could obtain things that normal people could never hope to obtain even after fighting for ten lifetimes. With minimal effort, they could obtain greater success than the people who spent all their strength to do something… No, they didn’t even need to succeed, they were the embodiment of success.
“When I obtained success ten times greater than theirs in university, their cheers were sincere, because they knew that no matter how outstanding my performance was, I would become a sharp tool in their hands once I entered society!
“The other type are the ‘smart people’ who have long since acknowledged reality and are willing to become tools, like you. You’re someone who hangs tightly to Lu Siya’s coattails and refuses to let go!” Su Lun said maliciously.
“Um…” Meng Chao’s expression did not change. “I won’t deny that when I was climbing up the social ladder as fast as I could, I obtained support from Big Sis Ya and Sky Pillar Corporation. It’s fine if you say that I’m riding her coattails, but I’m doing this for Dragon City’s future, Earth’s future descendants, and human civilization’s future. It’s not for personal success, so please don’t lump me together with those people.”
“…” Su Lun was stunned for a long time. “I finally understand why I lost to you.
“Unfortunately, when I just graduated from university, I wasn’t as shameless as you are. At that time, I sank into great despair.
“I realized that even if I spent decades on the fight, built my career, and worked hard despite all trials and tribulations, like people in motivational stories, there would still not be a shred of hope for me to destroy Heaven Pharmaceuticals.
“Even if my enemy were an Apocalyptic Beast, I wouldn’t be in such despair. Unfortunately, my enemy was a monster known as capitalism. It’s much more terrifying than an Apocalyptic Beast.
“Even if I wanted to use Sky Pillar, Universe, Soaring Dragon, Thundercloud, and the other mega corporations to fight against Heaven Pharmaceuticals, without decades of hard work and careful planning, I wouldn’t succeed.
“But I couldn’t wait for decades.
“Who knew how much Heaven Pharmaceuticals would develop in the upcoming decades? How much more horrifying would they become, and what would they do in all that time?
“Both starting from scratch or joining a mega corporation couldn’t help me gain my wish. After much thought, I finally cast my sights on the lair.
“Golden Tooth was the final place in Dragon City where you could rise to power and develop at an explosive pace. Chaos brings motivation, and motivation would bring chances for me to take revenge!
“I gathered data and information from decades ago and researched carefully. After that, I realized that the size of the lair and the total number of items the citizens produce were no lower than anything from the mega corporations.
“But since the lair is divided and the gangs don’t listen to each other, the major internal conflicts severely weaken them, and the lair isn’t able to show its full splendor.
“If I could think of a way to gather all the resources and fighting power of the lair and claim it as my own, I would have a chance to defeat Heaven Pharmaceuticals.
“Coincidentally, Saber Jin Wanhao was in control of the lair, and he had close ties with my family. Wasn’t it a God-given gift? Wasn’t it the best way to take revenge?”