Seeing Lu Cheng, Ye Chen was first startled, then a sneer rose in his heart.
Lu Cheng?
The famous profligate young master of Modu, a playboy!
Of course, he knew him!
In the early stages of the apocalypse in his previous life, such a useless person who had nothing but money was the first batch of trash to be eliminated!
So that's how it is!
It seems that the current Shen Ning霜 is just being deceived by this slick, effeminate pretty boy!
She was blinded by his sweet words and financial offensive!
It doesn't matter!
When the apocalypse descends, when money becomes waste paper, and when power becomes the only truth, she will understand who is the true savior, and who is her only reliance!
Thinking of this, Ye Chen's confidence returned.
He decided to take drastic measures, both to prove himself and to reclaim the 'Valkyrie's' attention from this good-for-nothing, right in front of Lu Cheng!
He straightened his back and looked at Lu Cheng with a confident, even slightly disdainful, gaze.
"Mr. Lu? It doesn't matter if you don't believe me; facts will prove everything."
"Here, I can give you two predictions."
He held up two fingers, his tone certain.
"First, the night after tomorrow, an unexplained fire will break out at the Xinghai Warehouse in the eastern suburbs of Modu. The fire will be completely out of control within ten minutes, and no firefighting measures will be able to reach it in time."
This was a precursor to a small-scale chaos in his memory from his previous life; he remembered it very clearly.
"Second, within a week, the international price of gold will plummet by more than thirty percent without warning, triggering a global financial panic."
This was a signal of certain people secretly transferring assets before the apocalypse.
After speaking, he looked at Lu Cheng, a malicious smile appearing on his face.
"If both my predictions come true, I hope Miss Shen will reconsider my proposal. If they don't..."
He never even considered the possibility of them not coming true.
Lu Cheng's smile deepened after hearing him.
He tightened his embrace around the soft Shen Ning霜, letting her lean more comfortably against him, then nodded solemnly at Ye Chen.
"Alright, I'll bet with you."
The man's voice carried an unfathomable playfulness.
"I'm very much looking forward to how accurate your future is."
Very good.
Not only could the monkey act, but he could also set up his own stage... After making the "bet," Ye Chen did not try to interfere with the market as Lu Cheng had expected, nor did he try to forge any other connections.
He poured all his energy into the one thing he was obsessed with, and the one thing he considered truly valuable.
Hoarding.
Frantically hoarding.
Modu, an apartment belonging to the Ye family.
This was Ye Chen's "temporary warehouse."
In the living room, the original sofa had been pushed into a corner, replaced by mountains of compressed biscuits, military canned goods, and bottled purified water, almost reaching the ceiling.
The air was filled with a peculiar scent of plastic mixed with preservatives.
In the center of the living room, a large map of Modu was projected onto the wall, with glaring red dots marking several key locations from the early apocalypse in his memory.
Among them, the name "Xinghai Warehouse Area" had a huge, sinister red 'X' drawn over it.
Ye Chen, dressed in outdoor camouflage, held a steaming cup of instant noodles, his eyes fanatically surveying his "empire," a satisfied smile on his face.
With a thought, he brought up his system interface.
The light blue screen was visible only to him.
[Hundredfold Return System]
[Core Function: Consumption Return]
[Description: Requires female characters under the host's protection to consume resources to trigger Hundredfold Return.]
[Current Status: Inactive]
Looking at the line of gray text, Ye Chen let out a cold, determined sneer.
"Shen Ning霜..."
He murmured, his eyes glinting with greed and possessiveness.
"Soon, you will understand who is the true Chosen One!"
"What does that good-for-nothing Lu Cheng have, besides a few stinking coins?"
"When the apocalypse descends, money will be the most useless waste paper! Only I, Ye Chen, can make you live like a queen in that living hell!"
He firmly believed that as long as his predictions came true, Shen Ning霜, this "Valkyrie," would eventually fall into his embrace and become his first "golden key" to activate the system.
By then, with the Hundredfold Return activated, his resources would multiply geometrically!
He would become the sole king of this wasteland world!
...Meanwhile.
At the Lu Family Manor, in a serene meditation room filled with Zen ambiance.
Dongfang Yue sat cross-legged, surrounded by the curling smoke of sandalwood incense.
Before this, she had already found the great destiny bearer born with the catastrophe, Ye Chen.
A somewhat eccentric rich second-generation, whom she had also marked for the first time using the system.
Now, it was time to check her rewards...
[Ding! Successfully marked Number One Son of Destiny!]
[Destiny Type: Apocalypse Calamity Star.]
[Mission Completion: Elementary.]
[Congratulations, Host, for receiving the Newbie Rewards: [Origin of the Great Dao] x100, and unlocking the elementary divine ability—[Destiny Observation]!]
A surge of extremely pure energy poured into her body out of thin air.
Dongfang Yue felt her entire body lighten; her previously depleted mental energy was instantly replenished, and she even felt her power increase...
She suddenly opened her eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them.
"Destiny Observation?"
She murmured in her heart, eager to activate this newly acquired divine ability.
The next second.
The entire world, in her eyes, completely changed!
She saw that the flowers, plants, and trees outside the window all exuded a faint green aura—that was vitality.
She saw that the patrolling bodyguards and servants in the distance were all enveloped in an unremarkable white aura—that was the fate of mortals.
Everything was incredibly new.
As if by a ghost's hand, she cast her gaze towards the main building deep within the Lu Family Manor, in the direction where Lu Cheng was.
With just a glance.
Dongfang Yue was struck as if by lightning, instantly freezing in place.
Her pupils suddenly contracted into the most dangerous pinprick shape!
What did she see?
Above that main building, there was... a vast, purplish-golden destiny, so immense it could blot out the sun, which she couldn't describe in any words!
No... or rather, it was a color formed by the intertwining of black and gold.
That terrifying destiny had even condensed into the form of a giant dragon!
The giant dragon's eyes were tightly shut, as if in a doze; its body was coiled, its scales sharp, and the unconscious pressure it exuded alone made Dongfang Yue's soul tremble...
"This... how is this possible?!"
Dongfang Yue cried out in alarm, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
"This... this is practically destiny itself? Is it the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao?"
After the immense shock, her entire being fell into an extremely complex emotional state.
There was fear, and awe, but more than that, there was a sense of... security, originating from the influence of the Love-Binding Gu, which she hadn't even noticed herself.
It turned out that her man was such a magnificent existence.
In this world, no one could harm him, nor could anyone harm her, who was protected by him.
As soon as this thought arose, another completely opposite emotion surged from the deepest part of her heart!
Unwillingness!
And ambition!
"Why?"
"Since... I also got this opportunity, got the system..."
"Then, one day, I will personally..."
"Turn this true dragon into mine!"
"Capture all his destiny and devour it completely."
She thought this was her secret alone.
Even her only hope of turning the tables.
However... Lu Cheng could also accept her devouring it...