Chapter 2: Fu*k , B*tch Family
Everyone's gaze snapped toward the entrance.
Chen Yu stood there, the bloodstains on his clothes having long since dried into a dark crimson.
But the icy chill flickering in his eyes was completely different from the cowardly Eldest Young Master of the Chen family they used to be known.
When Zhang Li's eyes fell upon Chen Yu, the smile on her face instantly froze.
She looked as if she had seen a ghost; her pupils constricted violently, and her heart filled with shock and suspicion.
How has this mongrel's aura changed so much?
Chen Chen also saw Chen Yu. His eyes subconsciously revealed confusion and malice, but he quickly plastered on a surprise smile. "Brother Yu, you made it?"
Chen Guodong glared with his tiger-like eyes. "You rebellious son, you still have the face to show up?!"
Chen Yu didn't speak. He simply walked step by step toward the Superior Awakening Pod that belonged to him.
Every step seemed to stomp directly on the hearts of Zhang Li and Chen Chen.
The Awakening Hall fell silent, everyone's eyes focused on this strange scene.
"Roll aside." Chen Yu lifted his chin toward Chen Chen. "This doesn't belong to you."
Zhang Li was the first to react. She stepped forward quickly, pulling Chen Chen away. "I'm so sorry, Yu'er."
She smiled apologetically. "You hadn't arrived for so long, so I took the liberty of letting Chen'er take over your spot..."
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. Oh? She's admitting it just like that?
"You don't know why I couldn't come?" Chen Yu rolled his eyes. "Perhaps I should have just killed myself in a garbage dump on some street corner, right?"
Chen Yu's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to the surroundings. "I should have killed myself so that your precious son, Chen Chen, could justifiably steal my spot in the Superior Awakening Pod, is that it?"
Hearing this, Zhang Li froze inside.
How could Chen Yu say such sarcastic things? Normally, with his weak personality, wouldn't he just hold his nose and accept it?!
Although suspicious, Zhang Li didn't panic. When it came to playing mind games, she was ten leagues ahead of Chen Yu.
Zhang Li opened her arms, rushing forward in a few steps as if to hug Chen Yu.
Chen Yu reacted fast, taking a step back to dodge.
Zhang Li froze in place, her hands reaching out into empty air toward Chen Yu, as if afraid of breaking a precious treasure. A few tears rolled down the corners of her eyes, soaking into her collar and leaving a small wet mark.
"Yu'er, what nonsense are you saying..." Her voice choked up, dragging out the final syllables. "It's just so good that you're okay."
Then, with a tone of deliberate grievance, she said, "Mom knows that for all these years, you've been unhappy in your heart."
"But today is the day of the Awakening Ceremony. Let's go home and talk about it later, okay? Yu'er?"
Chen Yu looked at her with an expression like that "Old Man on the Subway looking at his Phone" meme.
This routine—acting pitiful, pretending to be a loving mother, and changing the subject—immediately shifted the blame of delaying the ceremony onto his head.
Her skill was truly masterful.
Sure enough, the moment Zhang Li started her act, Chen Guodong, eager to protect his wife, felt his temper flare up instantly.
"Rebellious son! Apologize to your mother this instant!" Chen Guodong raged, pointing at Chen Yu's nose.
If it were the previous owner of this body, he probably would have cowered by now. But this was Earth's Chen Yu, an ambitious young man of the new era who had withstood the onslaught of internet garbage and remained standing.
He immediately stiffened his neck and retorted, "What am I apologizing for? She tries to steal my awakening spot and she's in the right?"
"No, no..." Zhang Li wiped her tears.
"We couldn't get through to your phone, and we couldn't find you, so I told them to wait... boo hoo..."
Halfway through her sentence, having washed her hands of the blame, she immediately burst into loud sobs.
Seeing this, Chen Guodong got even angrier. "You rebellious son, look at what you're doing!"
"It was my decision to let Chen'er take your spot. Is that not allowed?!"
"Chen'er is more sensible than you, more considerate than you, and more suitable to be the heir of the Chen family than you. Giving this spot to him is completely reasonable!"
Chen Yu laughed. "Oh, wow. The Chen family is truly impressive."
"Those who don't know better would think the Superior Awakening Pod spots aren't based on contributions to the Alliance or personal talent, but rather on whoever the Chen family feels like giving it to."
"You!" Chen Guodong was so angry he stuttered. "Rebellious son! Rebellious son!"
Chen Chen popped up at exactly the right moment. "Brother Yu, I don't want the spot anymore. It's all my fault. I was just anxious to awaken..."
"Please don't fight with Mom and Dad anymore, woo woo woo..." As he spoke, Chen Chen also began to sob and drop his crocodile tears.
Zhang Li wiped her face with her sleeve, revealing a pair of red, puffy eyes. When she looked at Chen Yu, her gaze actually held a hint of "why are you so insensible" blame, wrapped tightly within a thick layer of "loving motherly concern."
"Yu'er might have misunderstood me, but Mom loves you more than anyone."
" The palms and the backs of the hands are both flesh and blood. The Awakening Ceremony was about to start. Chen'er is your brother; if you didn't show up, naturally we should keep the benefits within the family."
As Zhang Li spoke, she gently tugged at Chen Guodong's arm. "Husband, please calm down. Yu'er is still young; it's normal for him to be impulsive."
Chen Chen immediately chimed in through his sobs, tears hanging from his eyelashes, looking pitiful. "Yes, Dad, don't blame Brother Yu. Blame me... I just thought the spot shouldn't be wasted."
"Now that Brother Yu is here, I won't steal your spot, really..."
Chen Guodong, fueled by the mother and son's duet, felt the fire in his heart burn hotter.
His hand shook as he pointed at Chen Yu.
"Look at this! Look how sensible Chen'er is! Then look at yourself! Over a simple spot, you're holding a grudge against your mother and brother. Do you look like a big brother at all?!"
"..."
Such strong 'Female Lead Melodrama' vibes. Wait, aren't I preparing to awaken?! switch it back to a Male Lead frequency, hey!
Chen Yu rolled his eyes, ignoring this family of drama queens.
He nimbly lay down inside the Superior Awakening Pod. "Ooh, this Superior Awakening Pod really is different!"
"Lying down in here is quite comfortable. Some people just won't get to enjoy it!" Chen Yu's smug voice drifted into Chen Chen and Zhang Li's ears.
The two of them felt as disgusted as if they had eaten sh*t, but on the surface, they had to maintain smiles of relief.
Chen Chen's awakening pod was just behind Chen Yu's. Once he lay down, the couple, Chen Guodong and Zhang Li, went up to the observation VIP suite.
The view here overlooked the entire Awakening Hall, and they even had dedicated service staff.
"Husband, don't be angry." Zhang Li produced a cup of tea from somewhere. "Drink some tea to suppress the fire."
Chen Guodong took the teacup, looking at Zhang Li with eyes full of heartache. "You've worked hard. That rebellious son Chen Yu is truly too excessive."
"You usually think of him in everything you do, yet he dares to rake back at you. He truly doesn't know what's good for him."
Zhang Li shook her head. "It's okay."
"You just spoil him too much." Chen Guodong patted Zhang Li's head soothingly.
"Let's not think about it. Let's see if they can awaken powerful abilities this time."
Chen Guodong's eyes shone with pride. "Chen'er has persisted in taking Awakening Elixirs for three whole months."
"An S-Rank Fruit ability is guaranteed, and there is a 30% probability of obtaining an SS-Rank ability."
"Mmhmm." Zhang Li agreed. "Yu'er has strong spiritual power, so he shouldn't have any problems either."
"Hahaha, then my Chen clan will have two heroes! I'd like to see if the Li family and the Jiang family still dare to ride on my Chen family's head and act like tyrants!"
Lan Jiang City had three noble families: Li, Jiang, and Chen.
The Chen family had been gradually declining over the years, showing signs of dropping out of the ranks of the Three Noble Families.
Chen Guodong's position as the head of the house was also shaky. He saw it, and he was anxious.
The root cause was a lack of strength. Even with money, Chen Guodong couldn't buy the loyalty of a true top-tier powerhouse.
Chen Guodong's own talent was limited; he had exhausted his potential just to barely reach the level of a Mid-Tier Awakener.
So, he could only pin his hopes on the next generation.
Fantasizing about a beautiful future, the anger caused by Chen Yu instantly dissipated.
He didn't notice the trace of insidiousness flashing in Zhang Li's eyes beside him.
During the three months prior to the awakening, Zhang Li had added trace amounts of Seastone to all of Chen Yu's meals.
Legend had it that this was a stone containing the properties of the sea.
If consumed over a long period before awakening, the user would be rejected by the Fruit abilities, thereby lowering the success rate of awakening a Devil Fruit.
Zhang Li laughed inwardly: Chen Yu, you will never turn your fortune around!
Buzz————
The awakening formation in the hall below flickered with light, the meteorite fragment in the center shining brightly.
The Awakening Ceremony officially began. Everyone held their breath and focused.
[D-Rank: Weather Sensing]
[D-Rank: Low-Level Forging Technique]
[C-Rank: Mid-Level Mechanical Theory]
[F-Rank: Lust]
[F-Rank: Okama]
...
People successfully awakening appeared constantly, but the abilities were unsatisfactory, especially the last two.
The success rate for awakening high-level abilities was simply too low.
Buzz!
A humming sound resonated.
One of the three awakening pods located at the very front erupted with a dazzling light.
An ability flashed upon the display screen on the outside of the pod.
[A-Rank Zoan: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Zoan Model: Pteranodon]
The observation stands instantly exploded into noise.
"That's... the Li family's Li Mufeng's pod!"
"A-Rank Ancient Zoan!"
"Pteranodon... it looks like he gained the ability to fly directly!"
BUZZ!!!
Another hum drowned out everyone's discussions.
Another awakening pod displayed two powerful abilities.
[B-Rank: High-Level Swordsmanship Talent]
[A-Rank Paramecia: Dice-Dice Fruit]
"Holy crap, dual abilities? One A and one B? Who is that?!"
"It seems to be the young mistress of the Jiang family, Jiang Qingye!"
"Goddess Jiang! It's my Goddess Jiang!"
"With her spiritual power, carrying two abilities is no problem at all!"
"Swordsmanship talent plus the Dice-Dice Fruit... those two abilities have excellent compatibility!"
Gasps of admiration rose and fell in the stands, but inside the Chen family box, the mood was as gloomy as stagnant water.
Because two heavy bombshells had already dropped, the abilities awakened afterward seemed mediocre. They were just things like Strength Enhancement, Navigation Skills, Hypnosis Techniques, etc.
The highly anticipated Chen family twins had shown no movement.
"Husband..." Zhang Li tightly gripped Chen Guodong's hand. "Yu'er is in a Superior Awakening Pod, he won't fail the awak—"
Zhang Li didn't finish her sentence, but Chen Guodong knew what she meant.
His face was ugly. "What a waste. Occupying a Superior Pod and actually failing to awaken!"
...
(To be Continue)