Volume One, Chapter Seven: Automatically Inheriting the Enemies of a Past Life

On the third floor of the hotel, in the self-service restaurant, beneath a table holding condiments, three people hid—Chu Xinghe among them, having just narrowly escaped death.

“Xinghe, I’m sorry... I’m so sorry...” Wei Hongying clung to Chu Xinghe, her face streaked with tears born of lingering fear. Had they reacted even a moment later, she would have lost him forever.

“It’s alright, it’s alright,” Chu Xinghe soothed, feeling the trembling of her delicate body in his arms. Such genuine fear was not something one could feign. At first, he doubted whether he had trusted the wrong person, but he quickly dismissed that thought. There had been countless opportunities for Wei Hongying to harm him if she had wanted to; there was no need for such complexity.

Since it wasn’t Wei Hongying who wished him harm, only one possibility remained—the headquarters of the Eerie Control Bureau had fed her false intelligence.

But that only deepened the trouble. If headquarters themselves were unaware, it would at worst prove them to be inept, empty bureaucrats. Yet if this was intentional, then the depths of conspiracy ran far deeper.

Someone was trying to kill him!

“Hongying, who gave you the previous intelligence?” Chu Xinghe gently patted her fragrant shoulder; at the very least, he needed to know who sought to betray him.

Wei Hongying stifled her sobs, nuzzling closer without any intention of standing. Only by pressing her warm body against Chu Xinghe’s could she soothe the dread in her heart.

“Xiao Zhengxiong—the deputy director of the Eerie Overseers’ Inspection Department. He’s in charge of supervising and managing domestic Overseers; all official Overseer records pass through his hands,” Wei Hongying explained, although she herself couldn’t understand why Xiao would have provided false information.

“Xiao Zhengxiong?” Chu Xinghe repeated the name silently, committing it firmly to memory. Then he asked, “Did I have any grudges with this Xiao Zhengxiong in my previous life?”

Wei Hongying reflected briefly and shook her head. In his past life, Chu Xinghe had little interaction with Xiao Zhengxiong—they had kept to their own affairs.

“Is that so?” Chu Xinghe muttered. Could it really be an unintentional mistake? Was he overthinking this?

“Um…” Suddenly, Wang Defa, who had been on watch, timidly interjected, “I’ve actually heard some rumors about this Xiao Zhengxiong, but I can’t guarantee their truth.”

“Oh? Do tell.” Chu Xinghe’s interest was piqued. He trusted Wang Defa to some extent—after all, the man had risked his life to draw away the monsters earlier.

Wang Defa shifted forward, lowering his voice, “They say this Xiao Zhengxiong is a white glove put forward by the Shi family of the capital.”

“?” Chu Xinghe grew more confused—another Shi family from the capital? “What does this have to do with me?”

Before Wang Defa could answer, Wei Hongying’s expression changed upon hearing the name of the Shi family.

“Boss, you really don’t remember?” Wang Defa hesitated to believe Chu Xinghe had amnesia, but seeing the blank look on his face, he had no choice.

“Strictly speaking, I don’t have the memories from before my rebirth two years ago like you do. And please, don’t call me ‘Boss’—just Chu Xinghe is fine,” he said, still uncomfortable with the title.

“That won’t do!” Wang Defa shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum. “Once Boss, always Boss!”

A joke—how many times had Chu Xinghe saved him in their previous lives? Not just ‘Boss,’ even ‘godfather’ would be acceptable. Many had wanted to call Chu Xinghe ‘Boss’ but never found the chance.

Seeing Wang Defa so insistent, Chu Xinghe dropped the subject. These were trivial matters compared to what lay ahead. “So, did I have any conflicts with this so-called Shi family of the capital in my past life?”

“Well… not exactly a grudge,” Wang Defa smiled awkwardly yet politely. “You just happened to snatch the Overseer Commander position the Shi family had coveted for a long time, killed their heir, and forced their patriarch to kneel publicly… that’s all.”

Chu Xinghe: *old man subway phone.jpeg*

That hardly qualified as a mere grudge. Calling it mortal enmity would be a light understatement. No wonder they wanted him dead—if they didn’t strike while he was still rising, would they wait for him to regain strength?

“Sigh, fine. I accept it,” Chu Xinghe said, tears welling in his eyes. Others who were reborn at least inherited memories from their past lives. He inherited no memories, yet his enemies had all returned.

“Xinghe, don’t worry too much. With headquarters here, the Shi family won’t dare act too openly,” Wei Hongying tried to comfort him, though her words betrayed a profound helplessness.

“Heh,” Chu Xinghe gave a bitter smile. “Openly, huh? Meaning behind the scenes, they’re untouchable. Besides the Shi family, do I have any other enemies? If so, just tell me all at once—better to get it over with.”

He was curious to see what ‘surprises’ his previous self had left him.

Wei Hongying and Wang Defa silently turned their heads away. How could they put it into words? In his past life, Chu Xinghe was globally recognized as the number one Overseer. And the world’s consensus? Surely not decided by a vote.

Seeing their expressions, Chu Xinghe grew more anxious. “Come on, say something!”

...

Lost in thought for quite some time after learning that enemies surrounded him, Chu Xinghe was deep in contemplation.

“Xinghe…” Wei Hongying couldn’t bear it any longer and wanted to tell him that no matter what, she would stand firmly by his side.

“Let’s go.” Chu Xinghe suddenly stood, the gloom vanishing from his brow, his face calm once more—gone was the worried expression from moments before.

“Where to?” Wang Defa asked instinctively. Now that the intelligence from headquarters was proven false, and Chu Xinghe had total amnesia, where else could ordinary people like them go?

“Of course, to find a way to detain that eerie creature. Problems won’t solve themselves by hiding,” Chu Xinghe said, stretching his shoulders.

“Xinghe…” Wei Hongying hesitated, unwilling to let him risk himself again. “Maybe we should wait for headquarters to send other Overseers.”

Chu Xinghe shook his head. Before, he might have agreed, but not now.

“Leaving aside whether we can even wait for backup, even if it arrives, who can guarantee they come to eliminate the eerie threat and not to eliminate me?” Chu Xinghe had lost faith in headquarters. The only people he could trust were those around him.

He sighed. Waking up from what had been a peaceful sleep, first rebirth and apocalypse, then forced to confront the eerie, and now a host of enemies scheming to kill him.

At this point, he was truly cornered. There was only one way to survive—to become an Overseer!