Chapter 5 — I'll Make the Wolf King Pay in This Life

In the next heartbeat, Chi Loc Minh’s palm was empty. She turned her head, only to find An Cuu Uyen already curled up on the shoe rack by the door. With a mere flicker of her eyes, the creature was back in her hand. The entire process had taken less than 0.3 seconds.

"Agreed," Chi Loc Minh nodded. "Three days to prepare for our escape."

"I am the majestic God of Ten Thousand Beasts," An Cuu Uyen muttered, his tail flicking with clear irritation, "and now I have been demoted to a mere getaway tool."

"Only temporarily."

Chi Loc Minh placed him back onto the desk lamp. "Once you have recovered, I will let you fight back." The snake let out a soft hiss and buried its head into its own body, though the tip of its tail gave a gentle tap against her finger—a silent way of saying "fine."

The next morning, Chi Loc Minh went to meet Tong Soc. The Far Ocean Mining Corporation operated with ruthless efficiency. After the survey results were made public, Tong Soc had moved overnight to secure the mining rights for the plot of land at the cost of 8.6 million. Its estimated value had already skyrocketed to 3.2 billion.

"Miss Chi," Tong Soc’s expression held a complex blend of respect, "your 15 percent share, based on current valuations, is worth 480 million. Once extraction begins, that figure will increase at least tenfold."

Chi Loc Minh sat across from him and nodded. "Director Tong, I have an additional request."

"Please, speak."

"Keep 10 kilograms of the first batch of raw ore for me."

Tong Soc looked startled. "Ore samples? What would you do with those?"

"Personal matters."

Tong Soc studied her for two seconds before deciding not to press further. "No problem. The first trial batch will be available in three days."

Three days. It was three days again—the exact same deadline that Le Hanh had set. The two timelines overlapped perfectly. As Chi Loc Minh left the Far Ocean Mining Corporation, her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She answered.

"Chi Loc Minh?"

A woman’s voice drifted through, young, laced with sobs and bitter hatred. It was Chi Oanh.

"You must be very happy now, aren't you?" Chi Oanh’s voice trembled. "You knew that wolf would bite people, yet you didn't stop me. You did it on purpose!"

Chi Loc Minh remained silent.

"My hand... the doctor said I need at least four surgeries just to restore basic functionality! Four!" Chi Oanh’s volume rose to a shrill pitch. "You have to pay for this! You owe me!"

"Owe you what?" Chi Loc Minh’s tone remained flat.

"You—"

"Chi Oanh," Chi Loc Minh interrupted, "you spent a billion of your own money to buy that wolf. Reaching into the cage was your own decision. Is it not natural for an adult to be responsible for their own actions?"

"You knew—"

"I knew what?" Chi Loc Minh leaned against the roadside railing. "That a wild beast would bite? Is that something that requires 'prior knowledge'? The cage had eight large characters plastered on it: 'Dangerous Species, Do Not Touch.' Chi Oanh, are you illiterate?"

The other side fell silent for two seconds. Then, Chi Oanh’s tone shifted from fury to something cold and insidious. "Chi Loc Minh, don't think I don't know what you're planning. That wolf is Le Hanh, your wolf from the previous life."

Chi Loc Minh narrowed her eyes. So, Chi Oanh had been reborn too?

"Do you think you’re the only one who came back?" Chi Oanh laughed, the sound twisted with pain. "I am back too. In our past life, when I pushed you down the stairs, that wolf bit me back. I died three days after you."

Chi Loc Minh’s fingers tightened around her phone. Three people reborn: her, Le Hanh, and Chi Oanh.

"And yet, the first thing you did upon your return was to go and steal the wolf," Chi Loc Minh said, her voice as detached as if she were commenting on the weather.

"I—" Chi Oanh choked. "I thought that if I struck first, I would win. I thought if I bought him, I could control him."

"And the result?"

A suppressed sob echoed through the phone. "He shredded my hand."

Chi Loc Minh did not laugh, even though she desperately wanted to. "Chi Oanh, listen carefully. In this life, I no longer want that wolf. And you should stay away from him. Le Hanh is not anyone's pet; he is a man-eating predator. In our past life, you used him as a tool to kill me. In this life, he bit you at the very first opportunity. That is what we call karma."

"You don't want him anymore?" Chi Oanh sounded incredulous. "You don't want him? Then what did you take? What did you bring out of the black market?"

Chi Loc Minh did not answer.

"Chi Loc Minh!" Chi Oanh shrieked. "You took that snake, didn't you? That black snake! I remember now! Someone said that snake was not simple at all—"

Chi Loc Minh hung up and blocked the number. Inside her pocket, An Cuu Uyen’s tail was wrapped tightly around her inner garment. He had insisted on coming out today, claiming he "needed to sunbathe," but in reality, he just wanted to crawl inside her clothes and sleep.

"Your sister has also been reborn," the snake’s voice rumbled from near her waist.

"Yes."

"Three people reborn, and two of them are targeting me," An Cuu Uyen’s tone was curious. "I am truly popular."

"Being popular to the point of being hunted is a unique talent," she replied.

"...I prefer the kind of popularity that involves being worshipped with incense."

Chi Loc Minh looked down at her waist; the snake’s head peeked out, its golden pupils meeting her gaze.

"Chi Loc Minh, you need to move."

"I know."

"Move today."

"I know."

She pulled out her phone and called Tong Soc. "Director Tong, does your company have any employee housing with high-level security?"

Tong Soc paused for a second. "Miss Chi, are you in trouble?"

"A little. It's a personal matter."

"There is a luxury service apartment on the 32nd floor of the Far Ocean building with military-grade security. I will arrange it for you."

"Thank you."

"Miss Chi," Tong Soc hesitated, "you helped me earn billions. An apartment is nothing. But if you need further support—"

"Not for now," Chi Loc Minh cut him off. "Thank you, Director Tong."

After hanging up, she returned to her rented room and spent fifteen minutes tossing everything into a single suitcase. There wasn't much: two changes of clothes, a phone charger, a bag of eggs, and an empty glass tank. She looked around the small, 30-square-meter room where she had lived for three years. Her past life had started here with those three years alongside Le Hanh. This life was also starting here, but the path ahead was vastly different.

"Let’s go." She grabbed the suitcase.

An Cuu Uyen poked his head out of her shirt, glancing at the room. "The environment is truly abysmal," he remarked. "I've endured two days here; that is my limit."

"For someone who costs one yuan, this is quite luxurious."

"..."

The snake sullenly retreated into her clothes. Its tail retaliated by squeezing three times around her waist, uncomfortably tight. Chi Loc Minh tapped him lightly, and he pretended not to feel it.

The 32nd floor of the Far Ocean building featured a luxury apartment that far exceeded her expectations. It was 120 square meters, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of Long City, and a security system that required dual-factor authentication—iris and fingerprint—to open the door.

An Cuu Uyen slithered out of her shirt, crawled along the sofa, and reached the glass window, pressing his body against the sun-warmed pane. "This is at least acceptable."

"You know how to enjoy yourself." Chi Loc Minh threw her suitcase by the door.

"My palace thirty thousand years ago spanned three mountain ranges," the snake said, stretching out lazily. "This room is not even a tenth of the size of the toilets in my palace."

"Then right now, you are in a place that is not even one percent the size of that toilet. Learn to be content."