Pain.
It felt as if a sledgehammer had smashed into his temples.
Blake Vane gasped, shooting up from the silk sheets of a king-sized bed. His body was soaked in cold sweat, his breathing ragged. He clutched his head, expecting to feel blood, but instead, his fingers brushed against smooth, unblemished skin.
"Where... is this?"
He looked around. Crystal chandeliers, Italian marble floors, and a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the sprawling skyline of Zenith City. It wasn't his cramped apartment. It was a room fit for a king.
"Memories that weren't his smashed into his skull like a freight train. No warning. Just a headache that felt like a drill."
Blake Vane. Twenty-two years old. Heir to the Vane Consortium. A net worth of billions. Handsome, arrogant, and vicious.
And... a stepping stone.
Blake's eyes widened as he rushed to the full-length mirror. The face staring back was undeniably attractive—sharp jawline, cold gray eyes, and an air of nobility—but he recognized this face.
"You've got to be kidding me." Blake wiped sweat from his forehead, staring at the stranger in the mirror. "I'm the trash villain? Seriously?"
He had become the third-rate villain from the urban cultivation novel he had read last night.
In the original story, Blake Vane was the classic 'rich second generation' cannon fodder. He was destined to be the first face the protagonist, Lin Feng, would slap to establish his dominance.
Blake frantically checked the date on the expensive smartwatch on the nightstand.
October 15th.
His blood ran cold.
October 18th was his engagement party with Chloe Han, the icy female CEO of the Han Group. In the novel, that was the day Lin Feng would crash the party, reveal that Blake had been framed for a scandal, steal Chloe's heart, and break Blake's legs.
That event would mark the collapse of the Vane family. Within a month, Blake would be bankrupt and dead on the streets, eaten by stray dogs while Lin Feng ascended to the peak of the world.
"Fuck that," Blake snarled, gripping the edge of the dresser until his knuckles turned white. "I died once from overwork. I am not dying again just to be some protagonist's XP boost."
He wasn't the original brain-dead Blake. He knew the plot. He knew the future.
'Lin Feng... right now, you should be nothing more than a broke mountain villager who just arrived in the city, right?'
"He was about to call a hitman when a noise pinged in his brain. Crisp. Digital. Annoying."
It was crisp, cold, and the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
[Ding!]
[Destiny Villain System Activated.]
[Binding Host: Blake Vane...]
[Binding Successful.]
A translucent blue panel floated before his eyes.
[Host: Blake Vane][Identity: Third-Rate Villain (Cannon Fodder)][Luck: 10 (Black Omen)][Charisma: 85][Combat Power: 5 (Weak)][Villain Points: 0]
[System Notice: The Protagonist, Lin Feng, is currently blessed by the Heavenly Dao. Direct confrontation while his Luck is high will result in 'Accidental' failure (e.g., gun jamming, car crashing).]
Blake frowned. "So I can't just kill him yet?"
[Correct. To kill the Protagonist, you must first plunder his Opportunities, destroy his support network, and lower his Luck.]
[Current Opportunity Detected!]
[Target: Lin Feng] [Location: West City Antique Market] [Event: In 45 minutes, Lin Feng will purchase a 'Muddy Rock' from Stall #42 for $500. Inside is the 'Spirit Essence Jade'.] [Effect: Consuming the Jade will unlock Lin Feng's 'Golden Pupils' and allow him to start Cultivation.]
[Mission: Intercept the Opportunity. Steal the Spirit Essence Jade.] [Reward: Absorb Protagonist's Luck +50, Villain Points +500, Novice Gift Pack.]
Blake stared at the screen, a predatory grin slowly stretching across his face.
The Spirit Essence Jade.
He remembered this. This was Lin Feng's first "Golden Finger." It was the cheat that allowed him to see through objects, dominate the gambling dens, and identify medical ailments, which he used to woo the heroines.
Without that jade, Lin Feng was just a hillbilly with a bit of kung fu.
"Steal his opportunity?" Blake straightened his silk pajamas, his gray eyes flashing with a ruthless light. "I'll take everything he has."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West City Antique Market.
The midday sun beat down on the crowded streets. The air smelled of dust, old wood, and sweat. Hawkers shouted their prices, trying to scam tourists with fake Ming Dynasty vases.
A sleek, black Rolls-Royce Phantom tore through the noise, silencing the crowd as it pulled up to the curb.
The driver, a burly man in a suit, hurried to open the rear door.
Blake stepped out. He was dressed in a tailored Italian suit that cost more than most people here earned in a decade. He adjusted his cufflinks, his expression indifferent as he scanned the crowd.
"Wait here," Blake ordered.
He didn't need a map. The System guided him with a glowing red arrow only he could see.
He moved through the crowd like a shark in a fish tank. People instinctively parted ways, intimidated by his aura of wealth and arrogance.
He spotted him.
Standing in front of a run-down stall near the back of the market was a young man in plain linen clothes. He looked ordinary, perhaps a bit dusty, but his eyes held a hidden sharpness—the trademark look of a "hidden dragon" protagonist.
Lin Feng.
Lin Feng was currently squatting down, pretending to inspect a porcelain bowl, but his gaze kept flickering to a dirty, football-sized rock in the corner of the mat.
"Boss," Lin Feng said, his voice feigning hesitation. "I'll take this bowl. But throw in that ugly rock as a bonus? I need something to press my pickles at home."
The stall owner, a greasy middle-aged man, rolled his eyes. "That rock? Fine, fine. Just give me $500 for the bowl."
Lin Feng suppressed a smirk. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a wad of crumpled bills. 'Fools. They have no idea. The energy radiating from that rock... it's a supreme treasure. With this, I can finally unlock Master's technique!'
His hand reached for the rock.
"I'll take it."
A cold voice cut through the air, followed by a heavy leather wallet slapping onto the stall table.
Lin Feng froze. His hand hovered inches from the rock.
Blake stepped forward, his polished leather shoe casually kicking the rock away from Lin Feng's reach. He didn't even look at the protagonist. He looked straight at the stall owner.
"That rock," Blake said, pulling out a stack of crisp $100 bills—at least $10,000. "I like the shape. I'll buy it."
The stall owner's eyes bulge. He looked at the crumpled bills in Lin Feng's hand, then at the thick stack in Blake's hand. It wasn't even a choice.
"Deal! It's yours, Young Master!" The boss snatched the money instantly, grinning like a dog who found a bone.
"Wait a minute!" Lin Feng stood up, his face flushing with anger. "I saw it first! We had a deal!"
Blake finally turned to look at him. He looked at Lin Feng as if he were looking at a stain on his shoe.
"Saw it first?" Blake let out a mocking laugh. "In this world, seeing isn't owning. Paying is owning."
"You..." Lin Feng clenched his fists. He could feel a strange sense of loss, a panic in his chest, as if something destined for him was being ripped away. "You're doing this on purpose. You don't even know what that is!"
"It's a rock," Blake said dismissively. He motioned to his bodyguard who had followed him. "Pick it up."
"Put it down!" Lin Feng stepped forward, releasing a trace of killing intent. He was a cultivator, even if only at the beginning stages. He wasn't afraid of a rich young master.
Blake didn't flinch. He leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper only Lin Feng could hear.
"What are you going to do? Hit me? I'm Blake Vane. Touch me, and you'll spend the rest of your life in a dark cell." Blake smirked, channeling the arrogance of a true villain. "Go back to the mountains, peasant. The city isn't for you."
Lin Feng gritted his teeth so hard they creaked. He wanted to strike, but he couldn't. Not here. Not in public against someone so high-profile. He didn't understand why he felt so angry, so... robbed.
The bodyguard picked up the rock.
[Ding!]
[Plunder Successful!][Protagonist Lin Feng's Luck -50!][Host's Luck +10!][Reward: 500 Villain Points.]
Blake felt a warm current rush through his body. He watched Lin Feng, who suddenly looked a little smaller, a little less "shining."
Without another word, Blake turned and walked away, leaving the protagonist standing in the dust, humiliated and empty-handed.
Back in the safety of the Rolls-Royce, Blake held the dirty rock in his lap.
"System," he commanded internally. "Open the Novice Gift Pack."
[Opening Gift Pack...][Congratulations! You have received: Master-Level Appraisal Eye.][You have received: Body Strengthening Serum (Low).]
Blake smiled, his reflection in the car window looking more sinister than ever.
"This is just the beginning, Lin Feng. By the time the engagement party comes... you won't even have the courage to show your face."