Chapter 1

Author: He Feng Yan
Translator: HeXie
Editor: EvilPandaMunchkin, QiuQiu

“Look, the League of Heaven has done it again and this time it’s ‘Interstellar Mercenary’ that’s benefiting!”

“Monthly votes that are worth millions in virtual cash flashed on the screen every minute; We, normal people, refuse to participate!”

“Indeed, he deserves to be called League of Heaven, he is in a word, a cash cow!” [T/N: fat cow aka rich person]

“League of Heaven is creating a new record, quickly, come and watch!”

“When people do this, the heavens are judging, and they will surely be scolded for showing off their wealth.”

Wu Ye slowly and leisurely voted for the “Interstellar Mercenary” using his monthly votes. Just as he was about to close the windows, he happened to see a message on the surface of the book review board, and the corner of his mouth rise up arrogantly. His ten fingers then danced crisply to reply below the comment: I was just showing off how rich I am, you don’t like it? Bite me if you can.

Wu Ye is an arrogant and rich second-generation who depended on his father’s wealth, and aside from his usual hobby of driving luxurious cars and visiting nightclubs with his friends, he also had a relatively ‘elegant’ hobby of reading online. In the X-Dian Chinese online gift announcement, you could always spot Wu Ye’s name.
(E/N: I think it’s referring to those announcements you get in apps when someone gifts an author a really big amount. Sorta like in twitch or any other live broadcasting service. In China, they’re very popular. The users can buy virtual gifts for cash and send to their favorite content creator, this virtual gift that the creators receive is converted to money and sent to their account.)

Although Wu Ye had only done it for three times in there, to reward votes worth in millions per minute, there was no one at X-Dian who didn’t know of him.

There’s an alliance who’s jealous of the rich. As long as they constantly support the author’s genuine work and they could occasionally save up money that originally is meant for basic necessity in order to gift a reward of hundred or so gift pieces to their favorite author, it is fine. And then, came League of Heaven!

League of Heaven would reward those novels that are pleasing to his eyes, and as soon as he did so, the amount would not be less than a thousand. Often time, he along with the other leaders together would votes together, which amounted to tens of thousands. However, showering thousands of millions into the novel they like personally is an uncommon sight.

Of course, Wu Ye did not throw his money randomly. He never threw money at anything except his favorite novels. This time, “Interstellar Mercenary” was particularly in line with his taste whether it’s the plot or the characters. In this novel website, most of the protagonists in the novel are born with a mighty dragon-like fate, constantly retaliating with the classic main character halo to aid them and knocking down all kinds of second-generation cannon fodders.

Wu Ye, as someone who is a second-generation person from a rich family and living a life similar to those cannon fodders before they meet the MC, gets irked with the same repetitive storyline, therefore making him depressed on some occasions.

‘Interstellar mercenary’ is a rare novel where a rich second generation was the protagonist. While the author is still a newcomer whose popularity and power rank is far from reaching ‘Top 10 Gods’ on the monthly ticket list, this author certainly won in regard to the rich content of their story, containing a wonderfully developed plot and many twists. Wu Ye also felt that the no. 1 heroine’s pure spirit is very similar to the Goddess Lianyu who he had been chasing after for five or six years already. Therefore, he decided to help ‘Interstellar Mercenary’ get to the top.

The normal result of “Interstellar Mercenary” monthly votes was not bad, and with Wu Ye’s gifting more than one million worth of monthly vote, the novel succeeded on rising to the first position by midnight, catching the other authors on the list unprepared.

Ever since he was 16 years old, Wu Ye had been blending in with the online novel circle, adding some authors to his favorite list, and becoming acquainted with a lot of writers and editors, and sometimes going as far as letting several of the editors having his cell phone number. Then every time he threw a lot of money to their work and the writers would ask for his number to convey their gratitude to him. For those authors who are selling their literature for a living, the tens of millions Wu Ye gifts are a huge income for them, but for Wu Ye himself, they are nothing when compared to the crazy second-generations in the circle he socialized in, who casually spend money to gamble on a cruise ship.

Wu Ye closed the “Interstellar Mercenary” web page and went to read the several other updates that were being uploaded one by one.

He turned off his iPad to take a bath as he had to go to bed before it is too late. When he returned to his bedroom after bathing, he heard the ringing of his cellphone. Thinking that it was the author of Interstellar Mercenary, he answered it without looking at it while wiping his hair dry.

“Ah Ye, why did it take so long for you to answer the phone?”

When Wu Ye heard his elder brother’s voice on the other end of the phone, he smiled softly and said, “Big brother, I just finished taking a bath. What’s wrong? Is there anything I can help you with?”

The Wu family had a total of three brothers, Wu Ye being the second son. The eldest son, Wu Sen was born from their father’s ex-wife and he is seven years older than Wu Ye, so, while Wu Ye had just graduated from university, Wu Sen had been the general manager of their family business for five or six years.

Wu Fu, the head of the family as well as Wu Ye and Wu Sen’s father, had a hard time starting a business in his early years, and now at this age, he is unable to do a lot of things he used to be able to at his advanced age. When he saw that Wu Sen really had the ability and the boldness to take care of the company, he simply handed it over to him, while he became the chairman of the board of director in the company.

Unless it involves a big decision that Wu Sen is unable to be decisive on, he usually would not interfere in the company’s affairs, and as Wu Sen’s skills matured and toughened over the past two years, Wu Fu would not appear at the company anymore unless it was time for the board of directors meeting.

Wu Ye has no ambition and preferred to live a relaxed, unrestrained life with no interest in managing the company. Anyway, the old man would certainly leave him some shares in the future and the annual dividends are enough to let him lead a rich and carefree life, why, then, should he worry about work?

As for Wu Li, the third son, he has only turned 16 years old this year. Aside from his young age, his teen body being prone to illnesses, when he was still in his mother’s womb, mother Wu took the wrong medicine by mistake which might have been a catalyst to him being given birth to at an earlier stage; as a result, he was born with a severe congenital heart disease and it is still unknown whether he can survive to adulthood or not.

Over the years, in order to take care of Wu Li, the family has spent countless efforts and financial resources. Unfortunately, because of Wu Li’s special blood type, he has not been able to find a matching heart. For that reason, he is unable to go through the heart replacement surgery and can only wait for a matching heart to appear. A large part of the reason why Wu Fu quit the management is for Wu Li’s sake. He wanted to be able to take care of his young child and stayed close to home.

Compared with Wu Sen, Wu Ye is closer to Wu Li, not because Wu Li is his full blood brother with same parents or some such. It is just Wu Ye always felt unable to get closer to Wu Sen even though Wu Sen has always acted as a good brother – Wu Ye could only assume the reason for his inability to get closer with Wu Sen is due to the generational gap between them.

“Didn’t you say that you’re going to give Lianyu a special gift? The jadeite market in Myanmar will open in two days. I happen to know a friend who is a jeweler and will be going there soon. Are you interested in going over to see him?” There was a lot of noises from Wu Sen’s side, most probably the sound of a lot of people talking, Wu Ye figured that he was at some kind of cocktail party.

Wu Ye thought about his old man urging him to enter the company recently, and he was worried on how to delay the matter for a while. Now that there’s an excuse, he would go to Myanmar market first, and then come back after having enough fun. This was also so he could avoid staying at home all day and arguing with his old man each time they saw one another.

“Good,” Wu Ye answered happily, “When will your friend leave?”

“His men say that there will be some good pieces of material that are going to be auctioned tomorrow morning. They say by using this material, there is a good chance that the best jewelry will be created. Since there have been fewer of these kinds of materials in these two years, he was planning to leave soon. Would you like to go with him?”

Wu Ye hesitated a little, it’s 12 o’clock in the middle of the night and it was really late. However, the thought of seeing the materials with his own eyes was really appealing. It’s not a big deal to sleep on the plane once in awhile in the middle of the night.

“Yes, where can I find him?” Wu Ye threw away the towel in his hands, opened his wardrobe and began to look for clothes to wear.

“Just wait outside the neighborhood, I’ll send someone over to pick you up.”

“En, thank you, big brother.”

“What’s the point of being polite to me? But, first of all, don’t speak of this matter to anyone. If you do, it’ll spread to Lianyu’s ears and make you unhappy again.” Wu Sen’s voice was thick with laughter.

“Who am I going to tell in the middle of the night? You must not slip up either, I’m doing this thing right now to make Lianyu happy.” Wu Ye has liked Lianyu since they were in high school, but Lianyu didn’t like him. Right now, he has chased after her for six or seven years and to let go now, he is just a little bit unwilling. In the past, Lianyu refused him under the pretext of putting her studies first, but now they have finally graduated. Recently, he has been thinking about how to impress her and thought that in another month, she was going to celebrate her birthday. On that day, he planned to give a personal gift and it is best if he is able to confess and be a couple with her in one fell swoop then.

“Okay, you can rest assured, now hurry up and I’ll get someone to pick you up.”

Hung up on the phone, Wu Ye changed his clothes, simply packed up his luggage and get ready to sneak out.

“Second brother, what are you doing?

Suddenly he is stopped by someone, frightening him greatly, as he turns his head to look at his thin brother. He could not help but complain, “Ah Li, how are you walking like a cat, without a sound, I was almost scared to death by you. And why aren’t you sleeping? Be careful or you’ll feel unwell tomorrow.”

Wu Li could neither run nor jump because of his congenital heart disease and as he grew older, his condition has worsened, lessening his opportunity to go out. He is clearly a 16 years-old boy, but he looks like he is only 13 years old with pale skin due to lack of sun. His dark eyes look particularly deep and bright. Even though his facial features are exquisites but seeing this in the middle of the night is really…frightening.

Wu Li drew up his thick blanket and pout his mouth, complaining, “Who let you move so much that you woke me up when I was already asleep. Where are you going with your luggage at this time of night?”

Wu Ye lunged forward and covered Wu Li’s mouth. He lowered his voice and said, “My little ancestor, can you please keep your voice down? If you woke our parents, your brother will be miserable.” With that, he pulled Wu Li back into the room and closed the door carefully.

“It’s not like you planned to run away secretly because you did not want to enter the company, right?” Wu Li asked as he slowly walked to the bed and sat down, his pale face showing abnormal flush.

Wu Ye had no feeling of guilt at all when he was exposed. He laughed and went to help tucked Wu Li in quilt corner and said, “Look at what you’ve said, am I, your brother, so unreliable?”

Wu Li pulled the corner of Wu Ye’s jacket and look at him with dark eyes: “Where are you going?”

Wu Ye who could not stand the look at his little brother’s pitiful eyes folded instantly. “Little ancestor, I am really afraid of you,” Wu Ye admits before he explained. “Eldest brother entrusted a friend to take me to the Jadeite trading market. Haven’t you wondered about the original stone before? I’ll buy some for you and show it to you in person.”

Wu Li loosened his grip and frowned slightly as he wondered: “It’s already so late, but eldest brother still allowed you to go out, can’t you go tomorrow?”

“The yellow cauliflower will be cold tomorrow.” Wu Ye rubbed his younger brother’s soft hair and sighed slightly, “They all say that jade stone helps keep you alive. If it could keep you healthy and alive, I would buy a piece of jade.” Wu Ye was despondent when he thought of the time limit his brother might have left in this life.

“You tease me, just tell me that it’s for Lianyu. After all, you’re a man who pays more attention to his lover than his younger brother.” Due to physical reasons, Wu Li grew up at home and only ever allowed to go to the hospital. Father Wu and Mother Wu were afraid that children around his age would quarrel and fight with him as such they did not allow him to play with children his age. As a result, Wu Li grew up without a friend.

However, boys were naturally active and love stimulation, and Wu Li was no exception regardless of his wit and maturity. He often revealed yearning eyes when he watched others play happily. Wu Ye, who couldn’t stand his little brother’s pitiful eyes, decided to go behind their parents back and took his brother out to do some ‘dangerous’ things. Back at the day, it was common for him to get caught, scolded, and beaten. However, because of this action, in Wu Li’s heart, Wu Ye is not only his brother but also a playmate and friend. Therefore, he never concealed his thoughts to his second brother.

“Ah, this little guy is too heartless. Next time, I won’t accompany you to play resident evil anymore!” Wu Ye pinched his younger brother’s thin cheek but he saw there were two fingerprints left on it and hurriedly to take back his hand.

“Hum, it’ll be rare if you do play on your own initiative!” Wu Li turned away from him with a pouting mouth.

“It’s not rare for me not to play on my own initiative,” Wu Ye once again tucked his brother back to bed. “It’s not too late right now. Go to bed early and don’t tell anyone about my trip to Myanmar. Little brother, wait for me until I come back.”

When Wu Ye closed the door, he heard a muffled yet ostentatious ‘humming’ sound, and he could not help showing a gentle smile. He crept downstairs with a small suitcase, left his home and ran out of the neighborhood.

He waited in the corner for a moment before a sleek, black Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of him. The driver rolled down the window and told him that he was sent by Wu Sen to pick him up. Wu Ye casually took his suitcase and got on the car. Right now, it was early June and it wasn’t that hot in the middle of the night. The cold wind was very comfortable along with a faint fragrance that remotely reminded Wu Ye of comfort and home, made him relax and unknowingly fall asleep when he leaned against the back seat.

Half asleep and half awake, unable to clearly distinguish the most outstanding of his surroundings, Wu Ye seemed to hear a mechanical voice in his ear: Host confirmed, Cosmic Mercenary System binding, 10, 9, 8……1

“Boom!”

On the empty highway, a speeding black car collided head-on with a large truck, flames erupting and licking the sides of the cars, the second of the scent of gas before an explosion blazed into the sky.

(E/N: Nooooo OMG WHAT)