Chapter 1

A piercing, electric-like pain tore through my dying numbness.

One second, I was lying in the emergency pod in the hospital, enduring the excruciating pain of my depleted prosthetic body. The last thing I saw was a holographic text message from Grace, the female governor of the Gu family—

"The lunar rings are beautiful. Karl said they look like my eyes. You take good care of yourself and don't embarrass me."

The accompanying picture showed her in a high-end protective suit, intimately embracing a male concubine from the lower city who reeked of cheap engine oil.

I stared at the photo and breathed my last.

The next second, expensive nano-fragrance filled my nostrils.

I opened my eyes abruptly. Under the blinding white light, there was no ventilator, no emergency pod. I looked down at my young, strong hands, still untouched by the inferior prosthetic body. The Lin family's main chip on my wrist was flashing a healthy, ethereal blue light.

This was twenty-five years ago.

New Los City, at the summit of conglomerate marriages.

“Ryan, my patience is running out.”

A distinctly familiar, condescending, and icy female voice came from across the long table.

I looked up. Grace Gu, clad in a high-grade military exoskeleton painted in black and gold, resembled an emotionless statue. She casually tossed a gold-rimmed marriage agreement onto the table, the paper sliding down to me with the arrogance of someone in a high position bestowing favors.

“Sign it, then go to the Gu family manor and choose a guest room.” Grace crossed her arms, chin slightly raised, and declared in a matter-of-fact tone, “After the marriage, I will continue to go to the lower city to find Karl. You just need to adopt the tolerant attitude of a ‘first wife,’ and I will naturally step in to bail out the Lin family’s near-bankruptcy mess.”

In my past life, to save the Lin family, I signed the agreement like a dog. What I got in return was five years of neglect, humiliation, and finally, a cold, hard ultimatum.

But now, looking at her face, so certain "I absolutely cannot live without her," even anger felt superfluous.

I didn't pick up a pen; instead, I pinched the agreement between two fingers, flicked my wrist, and tossed it to the far end of the conference table.

There sat Viktor Zakharov, the most ruthless yakuza madman in New Los City and the Gu family's archenemy.

"Mr. Viktor," I leaned back in my chair, my voice flat and emotionless, "the Lin family is spineless and can't handle the Gu family's eldest daughter. You're ruthless; how about taking over?"

The room fell silent.

Viktor's crimson mechanical eyes glared at me, his thick right arm instantly glowing with a dangerous red gravitational field. He slammed the agreement on the table, letting out a maniacal laugh: "You fucking toy with me? I have no interest in picking up trash!"

Grace's face darkened. She clearly hadn't expected me to refuse the visa, but instead of anger, her eyes flashed with a mocking look, as if she were watching a child throwing a tantrum.

"Ryan, you've played the 'playing hard to get' game once enough." Grace walked up to me in her military boots, looking down at me condescendingly. "You think you can get rid of Karl for you by protesting with this clumsy temper? Don't dream about it. You can't live without me."

Just then, the electronic doors to the summit hall slid open.

"Grace, what are you wasting your time here? If this piece of trash won't sign, why don't you just swallow the Lin family whole?"

A man with cheaply dyed fluorescent hair swaggered in. He went straight to Grace, deliberately wrapping his arms around her waist in front of me, and provocatively raised his chin at me.

It was Karl.

A hint of amusement flashed in Grace's eyes.

She didn't push Karl away, but stared at me silently. She was waiting, waiting for me to be jealous and go crazy like before, waiting for me to hysterically compromise to win her back.

I looked at the couple clinging to each other and smiled silently.

I activated my smart device, my fingertips twitching slightly. A dark blue holographic scanning beam instantly swept across Karl's entire body, projecting a glaring data report directly into the air.

"Left leg driveshaft, secondhand from the downtown black market, estimated value 8,000 credits; neck nerve patch, low-quality silicone, even the pigmentation wasn't mixed properly." I looked at Grace, my eyes like I was looking at a pile of hopeless garbage. "Grace, a high-ranking governor, likes to scavenge for junk in the junkyard?"

The representatives of the tycoons in the room gasped, suppressed laughter echoing around them.

Karl's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, veins throbbing on his forehead. Grace's pride in her dignity and sense of superiority was utterly crushed by my disdainful gaze.

“Ryan Lynn!”

Enraged, she shoved Karl aside and swiftly drew her electromagnetic pistol from her thigh, pressing the dark muzzle against my forehead.

“Kneel down! Take back what you just said!” Grace’s eyes were bloodshot, her chest heaving, as she threatened through gritted teeth, “Otherwise, I’ll make sure the Lynn family is wiped out of New Los City tomorrow!”

"Shoot." I faced the gun barrel without even blinking. "And I wish you a long and happy marriage in advance, birds of a feather flock together."

Grace's finger froze on the trigger. For the first time, she saw pure ruthlessness in my eyes, which filled her with a strange panic.

“However, the Lin family will not break the contract.” I slowly stood up, using a finger to deflect the barrel of her gun. “The agreement only states ‘the Lin family’s heir in order of succession.’ My newly adopted son, Lucas—extremely greedy and vicious—is a perfect match for Miss Gu.”

“He will inherit the Lin family, and he will arrange the marriage for me. I’m withdrawing.”

With that, I no longer looked at Grace’s utterly astonished, almost distorted face, and turned to walk towards the hall door.

Viktor raised an eyebrow with interest, then got up and followed me.

The door slammed shut behind us.

Karl, left behind, stared intently at my departing figure, his eyes blazing with extreme resentment stemming from the threat of being forced to marry his adopted son. He had to eliminate this threat in front of Grace to earn merit—this thought made him subtly extend a hidden blade from the sole of his boot. Like a venomous snake, he crept along the private passage towards the underground maglev parking garage we were heading to.

The real show was just beginning.