Chapter 2 — I'll Make the Wolf King Pay in This Life

The voice still possessed that gravel-on-metal texture, yet it was far more lucid than before.

"I am asking you."

Chi Loc Minh clutched her blanket, bowing her head to peer at the creature.

"What is your name?"

The snake tilted its head. "I must know who it is that dared to insult My dignity with a single unit of currency."

"Chi Loc Minh."

"Chi Loc Minh." The snake repeated the name, flicking its tongue with a soft hiss. "Very well. I have noted it."

"And then?"

"And then?" The snake stretched its neck, lifting its head high, even though its total length was no more than a chopstick. "I shall grant you an opportunity."

"What kind of opportunity?"

"The opportunity to serve Me."

Chi Loc Minh regarded the snake. It was as thin as a finger, its scales dull and lacklustre, as gaunt as a dried vermicelli noodle. It was attempting to coil itself into a posture of grand majesty, but due to its frailty, it looked more like a knotted shoelace.

"Fine," Chi Loc Minh nodded. "But what do I gain from serving you?"

The snake fell silent for a moment. "I... I am not in the best of states at the moment." Its voice dropped, becoming faint. "I cannot grant you anything yet." Another pause followed. "However, I can offer you my conversation."

"I don't need that."

"..."

The snake’s tail slapped the pillow in frustration, producing a pathetic, soft thud. "Ignorant human." It grumbled, burying its head into its own body. "I am the God of all beasts... thirty thousand years ago... ten thousand tribes knelt before me..." The voice faded into a murmur, and the tail stopped twitching. It had fallen back asleep. Chi Loc Minh pulled the blanket up and closed her eyes, the corner of her lips curling into a faint smile. A God of beasts, indeed. At present, it looked no different from a soggy noodle. But that was fine. She had plenty of time.

Chapter 3

The following morning, Chi Loc Minh’s phone vibrated 37 times. They were all photos of Chi Oanh hospitalized. A message from Chi Kien Bang read: "Chi Loc Minh, get over here right now! Do you even know your sister’s hand has been chewed to shreds?" A voice note from On Chi, sobbing until she couldn't breathe, followed: "Loc Minh... your sister’s hand... the doctor says they might not be able to save it... please come visit her..."

Chi Loc Minh switched her phone to silent and tossed it under her pillow. She turned over to see An Cuu Uyen coiled on the bedside table, head pointed toward the phone.

"Your family?" the snake asked.

"Yes."

"They seem very anxious."

"It has nothing to do with me."

The snake tilted its head but asked no more. Chi Loc Minh got up and boiled two eggs. She ate one, mashed the other into a small plate, and set it before the snake. "Can you eat this?"

An Cuu Uyen looked down at the mashed egg, remaining silent for a long time. "I... thirty thousand years ago, I swallowed the stars and drank the moonlight as my sustenance."

"So, in short, are you going to eat the egg or not?"

"...I will eat."

It buried its head in the plate, eating very slowly because its mouth was so tiny. Chi Loc Minh crouched nearby, watching, suppressing a laugh. The God of Ten Thousand Beasts was eating mashed chicken egg. It did so with the utmost solemnity.

The phone vibrated again. This time, it was an unknown number. Chi Loc Minh answered.

"Is this Ms. Chi Loc Minh?" The voice on the other end was male. "I am Doctor Giang, from the Orthopedic Department of Long Thanh General Hospital. Your family has requested your presence to sign some papers."

"Sign what papers?"

"Well... Ms. Chi Oanh’s right hand is crushed. She needs emergency surgery. We require a direct family member to sign the consent forms."

"Can't her parents sign them?"

"Mr. Chi and Mrs. On are currently in a state of extreme agitation. The hospital suggests having another family member present."

Chi Loc Minh thought for a moment. "I’m not coming."

The line went silent. "Ms. Chi..."

"Her hand was mangled by the pet she bought herself. It has nothing to do with me. Her parents are both there; they don't need me." She hung up.

An Cuu Uyen swallowed the last morsel of egg and looked up. "Your relationship with your family is quite poor." It was not a question.

"Yes." Chi Loc Minh cleared the plate. "In my previous life, they treated me like a human ATM for twenty-six years. In the end, my sister pushed me off a rooftop. They stood down on the street and watched, never even calling the police."

The snake was silent for three seconds. "Then you were right not to go."

Chi Loc Minh cast it a look. The God of Ten Thousand Beasts was surprisingly sensible. She washed the plate, changed her clothes, and prepared to head out. "Can you stay here by yourself?"

An Cuu Uyen coiled itself into an elegant circle, the tip of its tail draped over its head. "I have existed for thirty thousand years. You need not concern yourself with me."

"Fine. Just don't crawl into the toilet bowl. My room deposit isn't that large."

"...I would not engage in such base behavior."

Chi Loc Minh stepped out. She needed money. In her past life, she had poured all her assets into that wolf; in this life, she wouldn't raise a wolf, but even keeping a snake cost money. More importantly, she had to seize financial control before the Chi family could react. Her memories held vital knowledge: first, in three days, an abandoned industrial zone in the East of Long Thanh would be scouted for rare earth deposits, and land values would skyrocket four hundred times. Second, a week later, the world's largest beast-human organization, Red Moon, would auction three entry passes, each worth five billion. Third, in a month, Le Hanh would undergo his transformation. The third point no longer concerned her. The first two were the priorities.

The problem was that her bank account currently held only 3,200 units of currency. She couldn't afford land, let alone the entry passes. But she had something else: information.

Chi Loc Minh walked into the 17th floor of an office building in the Long Thanh business district. The sign read: Far Ocean Mining, Long Thanh Branch. The receptionist glanced at her cheap, ninety-nine-unit puffer jacket and frowned slightly.

"Hello, do you have an appointment?"

"No. Please inform your General Manager Tong that someone has information regarding what lies beneath the old factory site in the East."

The receptionist was stunned. "Miss, our General Manager’s schedule is completely full..."

"Just pass on the message exactly as I said."

Chi Loc Minh found a sofa and sat down. "If he doesn't see me, in three days, he will regret this so much he’ll want to twist his own head off."

The receptionist hesitated for a few seconds before picking up the phone. Less than two minutes later, the elevator doors opened. A middle-aged man in a grey suit strode out, his hair meticulously groomed, yet his eyes fixed on Chi Loc Minh as if observing a talking rock.

"Who are you?"

"Chi Loc Minh. Just an ordinary person," she said, standing up. "But I have a piece of information worth fifty million."

Tong Soc stared at her for five long seconds. "Come inside."

In the office, Tong Soc poured her a glass of water and sat opposite her. "Speak."

"The old chemical factory site in the East district. Your company bid on it last year but didn't win." Tong Soc’s eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

"That’s irrelevant. What matters is that beneath that land lies a rare earth vein. The purity is exceptionally high, with reserves sufficient for forty years of extraction." Tong Soc’s fingers tapped the desk.

"The Geological Survey Bureau is going to announce this in three days," she added.

Chi Loc Minh took a sip of water. "Currently, the land is still owned by the municipal government, listed at eight million. In three days, you couldn't buy it for eight billion."

Ten seconds of silence passed.

"What do you want?" Tong Soc finally asked.

Chi Loc Minh raised two fingers. "Two conditions. First, you provide the capital to purchase the land, and I receive a fifteen percent share of the mining profits. Second, you grant me a legal position as a Mining Consultant."

"Fifteen percent?" Tong Soc laughed. "You think one piece of information is worth fifteen percent?"

"This information saves you seven billion nine hundred and ninety-two million," Chi Loc Minh set the glass down. "Fifteen percent isn't much, General Manager Tong."

Tong Soc’s smile vanished. He re-evaluated the twenty-four-year-old woman before him. The cheap jacket, the bare face, the haphazard ponytail. But her gaze was calm, possessing a gravity that did not belong to her age.

"What if your information is false?"

"We can sign a valuation adjustment mechanism agreement."