Pre-Apocalypse: My Brother Got the Water Serpent First

I snapped my eyes open. The smell of disinfectant mixed with the pungent musk of magical beasts rushed violently into my nasal cavity.

I looked down at my hands. The body that should have been utterly incinerated and squeezed dry in an 80°C (176°F) scorched purgatory was now completely intact.

My heart beat fiercely and steadily in my chest.

I had been reborn.

"Victor, it's your turn to choose," the instructor tapped the table impatiently, pointing to the two isolation pods lined up in front of us.

My gaze swept over the pod on the left. Inside was an ice-blue water snake flicking its tongue against the glass—Naga.

My eyes turned cold. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, a frantic figure rushed past me, lunging to the front.

"Sir! I’ll choose first!"

My adopted brother, Simon, practically crawled to the contracting table, his hands gripping the edges of the pod holding the water snake.

Panting heavily, his eyes gleamed as he stared at the snake. He then turned his head, forcing a disgustingly righteous smile. "I choose the water snake! I want to leave the White Wolf King, the one with the top-tier bloodline, for my brother!"

The hall instantly fell dead silent.

Everyone thought they had misheard him.

After a moment of shock, our mother rushed forward and grabbed Simon's arm. "Simon, are you crazy?! The instructor just made it perfectly clear—that Wolf King has immense potential! This water snake is just a useless piece of trash with zero combat power; all it can do is spit water and cool things down!"

"Once the contract is signed, there's no going back. What on earth are you thinking?!" our father scolded severely. "Don't be a fool!"

Faced with our parents' objections, Simon clung to the pod door like a wild dog protecting its food. His eyes turned red as he put on the act of a devoted younger brother willing to sacrifice everything for his sibling. "Even if it's trash, I accept it! My brother has always taken care of me since we were young. My talent is poor anyway; contracting the Wolf King would be a waste on me! The best things should naturally be left for him!"

Watching this supposedly touching performance from the shadows, a cold, mocking smirk curled the corners of my lips.

In our past life, no one even gave this useless water snake a second glance.

I was forced to take the literal leftovers. Fortuitously, when the extreme heat apocalypse struck, I managed to build a cooling zone using the snake’s abilities.

And what happened next? I was emotionally blackmailed and morally extorted by these so-called family members, becoming their free, perpetual AC unit and water pump, ultimately meeting a miserable end.

"Water-type abilities are quite practical. I like it too," I said, stepping forward with a faint, unreadable smile, looking down at him coldly. "Since you think the Wolf King is so great, then the white wolf is yours. I want the water snake."

"Brother, please don't fight me on this! You know I only want what’s best for you!"

Simon shrieked as if he’d been electrocuted, throwing his arms wide to physically block the water snake. Perhaps realizing he was overreacting, he quickly swapped to a flustered yet obedient expression. "Brother, I'm the younger one. Please don't fight me for this. Just consider this my way of repaying you."

In that split second, our eyes met in mid-air.

From the extreme panic and poorly concealed greed in his eyes, I understood everything.

This idiot had indeed been reborn too.

He clearly remembered what an absolute, privileged godsend water was in the extreme heat apocalypse, and he remembered that the White Wolf King was just a useless burden in the early stages.

So, he struck first, trying to steal what he thought was my "amulet" from our past life.

"Fine," I withdrew my gaze, concealing all my murderous intent beneath a calm facade. "As you wish."

Ignoring Simon’s instant, relieved exhale, I walked straight past the whispering crowd toward the glass pod everyone else had neglected.

As the pod door hissed open, a scrawny, dirty-looking creature resembling a white puppy came into view.

This was Sirius—the high-tier magical beast meant to rule the absolute top of the food chain. Right now, he was issuing weak whimpers, staring at me with wary, pitiful blue slit-pupils.

Without a ripple of emotion, I bent down, scooped him up by his belly with one hand, and tucked him into my chest.

Sensing my deep-seated affinity for him, this future King of All Beasts miraculously stopped trembling, docilely resting his head on my forearm.

Holding Sirius, I walked out of the contracting hall without looking back.

Outside the doors, the glaring sunlight was already beginning to heat up unnaturally.