Volume 1, Chapter 3: The Opportunity to Become a Spirit Controller

On the outskirts of the city center, a ruggedly modified off-road vehicle sat silently by the roadside. Chu Xinghe watched Wei Hongying, who was currently on a phone call. It was rumored that the person on the other end was a top-tier official from the headquarters of the Anomaly Control Bureau.

"...Alright, I understand."

Wei Hongying hung up after saying this and reached up to rub her brow. A hint of exhaustion lingered in her expression; she had expected a perfect start, but instead, it turned into a chaotic mess.

Chu Xinghe sat nearby, feeling uneasy. Every now and then, he would glance at Wei Hongying’s expression out of the corner of his eye, hoping to glimpse his impending fate. Would he be tossed out of the car like a piece of trash, or would he be forced to go to his death regardless of his protests?

While Chu Xinghe observed her, Wei Hongying was observing him as well. This was the first time she had seen Chu Xinghe in such a callow state.

In her previous life, their first meeting took place after Chu Xinghe had cleared the anomaly infestation in the city center. The man who walked out from the piles of corpses had long since shed that greenness; his immature shoulders had become broader, and the burden he carried had become far heavier.

She suddenly realized that she might not actually know him at all. What she knew was only the Chief Captain of the Anomaly Control Bureau, the guardian deity of Dayan City, and the savior in the eyes of the world.

"Chu Xinghe, the headquarters is aware of your situation. An investigation into the cause of your 'amnesia' will be launched, but that is a matter for another time."

"Given the current special circumstances, the headquarters has provided two contingency plans. The final decision rests with you."

Wei Hongying looked at Chu Xinghe with a complex expression. If this were her previous life, she would have known exactly how he would choose without even asking, but for this callow boy before her, she knew nothing.

"What... what are the two plans?" Chu Xinghe asked, feeling anxious. He prayed they weren't options where one was "volunteering to go," and the other was "volunteering to go" with a gun held to his head.

"The first plan is the original one: you deal with the anomaly in the city center yourself."

"Although you have lost your memories, you successfully contained that anomaly in your past life while knowing nothing about it. Coupled with the intelligence we can provide, the chances of a successful containment this time will only be higher, not lower."

Despite what she said, Wei Hongying could not hide the worry on her face. Matters involving life and death could never be measured simply by probability.

"Ugh..."

Chu Xinghe shook his head like a rattle. What a joke—let whoever wants to go handle such a dangerous task. He had heard from Zhou Boren and the others that tens of thousands of people had died in the city center back then.

"The second plan is that the headquarters will temporarily dispatch more experienced Anomaly Controllers to handle the entity in the city center. You only need to remain on standby on the outskirts, and you can leave on your own once containment is successful."

Seeing Chu Xinghe shake his head, Wei Hongying offered the second plan—a more reasonable and safer one.

As expected, Chu Xinghe’s eyes lit up as soon as he heard it. He hurriedly clapped his hands and agreed, "Let's go with this one. It's better to leave professional matters to professionals. I’m an outsider; I shouldn't be sticking my nose into this."

"Are you sure you’ve thought this through? Once the headquarters sends someone else to suppress the anomaly in the city center, you will lose the opportunity to become an Anomaly Controller. You might just remain an ordinary person for the rest of your life." Wei Hongying stared directly into his eyes, hoping he would reconsider before answering.

"I think being an ordinary person is just fine. Besides, if the sky falls, there will always be someone taller to hold it up..." Chu Xinghe did not dare to meet her gaze, his voice growing quieter and quieter.

Chief Captain, guardian deity, savior—why should he, a college student who hadn't even graduated, have to shoulder such things?

Looking at the timid young man before her, Wei Hongying couldn't tell if she felt disappointment or heartache. She only felt as though her chest were blocked by something, suffocatingly tight.

Chu Xinghe kept his head lowered further and further. He knew his evasive behavior was shameful, especially in front of a beautiful young woman, but he truly couldn't bring himself to risk his life for a hollow, uncertain future.

Perhaps as much time as a century had passed, or perhaps it was only the duration of a single deep breath, but Wei Hongying finally turned her head away, and the heavy gaze that had been pressing down on him vanished.

"Since you have decided, I will inform the headquarters." Wei Hongying took two steps forward and dialed the phone again.

Chu Xinghe stood to the side, acting like a child who had done something wrong. Even though he was about to save his own skin, he couldn't feel happy at all.

As Chu Xinghe fretted, the call on Wei Hongying’s end was connected.

"Yes, Chu Xinghe has considered it. Regarding the anomaly infestation in the city center, his decision is..." Wei Hongying glanced at Chu Xinghe as she spoke; this was his last chance to change his mind.

Chu Xinghe understood her look, but he opened his mouth and couldn't say a word. He lowered his head in shame, wishing he could crawl into a hole in the ground; he felt he had no face to show anyone.

Wei Hongying’s expression shifted from earnest anticipation to dim disappointment. He was not the Captain Chu she knew, after all; he was just an ordinary college student.

"Chu Xinghe’s decision is—"

"Proceed with the original plan!"

"He will handle the anomaly in the city center himself!"

Wei Hongying’s words were firm and resounding, shaking Chu Xinghe so much that his eyes widened on the spot, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"Wait, no..."

"Beep—"

Just as Chu Xinghe was about to retort, Wei Hongying had already hung up and was walking slowly toward him.

"What are you doing!" Chu Xinghe was truly angry. He didn't understand why this woman was trying to hurt him when he had clearly stated he wasn't going.

"Take this."

Wei Hongying didn't answer his question; instead, she handed the thick, heavy-duty phone to him.

"If you haven't heard from me by dawn, dial the first number in this phone and tell the headquarters to dispatch a new Anomaly Controller as soon as possible."

Chu Xinghe had intended to defiantly knock the phone from her hand, but after hearing her words, his hand froze in mid-air. The spirit he had just mustered leaked away like a punctured balloon.

"You... you’re going to contain the anomaly in the city center yourself?" Chu Xinghe vaguely guessed what she intended to do, but he didn't understand why she would go to such lengths.

Wei Hongying clearly didn't have the ability to handle this mission; otherwise, the headquarters wouldn't have looked further afield to dispatch other controllers in the alternative plan. Furthermore, by giving him the phone as a final insurance, it was clear she was prepared for failure and death.

So, why?

"The ability of the anomaly in the city center is very unique. Although the headquarters only rates it as B-level, that only means its danger level is relatively low—it does not mean its ability is weak."

"The reason you were able to go so far on the path of an Anomaly Controller in your previous life, aside from talent, hard work, and willpower, was primarily due to the anomaly you contained early on—a piece of a shriveled, withered finger."

"The lethality of this withered finger is not exceptional, but it possesses an extremely powerful ability to break through restrictions. With it, even an S-level anomalous zone cannot trap you. That was the source of your confidence in your previous life when you navigated through so many high-risk anomalies."

As she said this, Wei Hongying’s gaze grew distant. In her previous life, she had been trapped in an S-level zone, and it was Chu Xinghe who used the power of that withered finger to save her.

She steadied herself, banishing that determined figure from her mind, and continued:

"Perhaps you aren't ready to face anomalies right now, but I believe that one day you will once again become the Chu Xinghe I know."

"When that day comes, you will crave powerful strength like a madman, all to change that desperate and painful future."

"Therefore, I am going to win a trump card for you—a trump card that will allow you to turn the tables in the future."

After saying this, she turned and walked away, as if she had made a firm resolution. She never looked back at him again, leaving Chu Xinghe stunned where he stood.

He didn't understand. He didn't understand what he had done to deserve a girl he met for the first time betting her life just to win him a chance to turn things around.

What did she mean by "the day you become the Chu Xinghe I know"? Who gave her the confidence to say such things? Don't go defining someone else's life so casually!

He was just a selfish, small-time person. Dying for someone like him wasn't worth it—it really wasn't worth it at all.

...

On the other side—

"Ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

"..."

Wei Hongying walked forward, counting down silently in her heart, as if waiting for something.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Fine! I'll go! I'll go, okay!"

Wei Hongying stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. Looking at the young man whose face was twisted into a mask of misery, the smile on the corners of her lips could no longer be contained, blossoming like an epiphyllum.

It seemed she wouldn't have to wait for that day after all. He had always been that kind of person—in the past, in the present, and in the future.