Reincarnated In a Cthulhu World And Everyone Is Obsessed With Me - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Suspicion – How on earth do you control this damn pheromone?

Sentinels and Guides killing monsters is a common sight, and killing each other is hardly rare. Heaven-sent abilities have greatly inflated human ambition, vanity, and bloodlust.

Despite this, Xia Mingyu lifted his eyelids and cast a cool, detached glance toward the Sentinel who was speaking. He wasn’t acting out of curiosity; he carried a cold sense of being an outsider, yet he was desperate to absorb more information.

The Sentinel, oblivious to Xia Mingyu and Daniel in the corner, continued, “The Hunting Guild wants to interfere in the Nirvana Guild’s leadership election. Other guilds, large and small, are wading into these muddy waters as well.”

A Sentinel beside him clinked glasses with him. “None of our business.” The Shadow Guild never meddled in such affairs.

Another voice mocked slowly, “Tell me, does this count as us being… ‘virtuously independent’ in another sense?”

The group shared a knowing laugh and dropped the topic.

On the surface, Nirvana was seen as approachable, Hunting was rebellious, and Shadow was neutral. Despite the dark undercurrents, they had formed a delicate balance. However, after Ao Nie’s death, cracks had appeared in the triangle at the summit of the post-apocalyptic world. The hibernating players were beginning to stir.

In his previous life, Xia Mingyu had nothing to do with these struggles. Those standing at the crest of the storm turned clouds into rain, letting the ruthless consequences lash the innocent, while Xia Mingyu was merely a member of the passive masses.

The words of the church priest seemed to echo in his ears again: “—Will you maintain the existing balance, or break it? I look forward to your choice.”

Remaining indifferent and waiting for death was simple; standing up and facing horror required immense courage and conviction.

…And yet, he had never really had a choice.

Being an ordinary person, dying a tragic death in the ruins, waking up reborn, awakening as an S-class—not a single one of these things was his active choice. Xia Mingyu was merely following the tide of fate, stepping bit by bit toward the unknown abyss lurking in the future.

His emotions fluctuated uncontrollably. In a gap he failed to notice, his Guide pheromones quietly leaked out.

Before Daniel could warn him, the circle of Sentinels who had been chatting caught the faint scent. They turned simultaneously to pin their gaze on Xia Mingyu, their eyes unreadable.

Xia Mingyu realized his slip and retracted his emotions, meeting the predatory, searching gazes of the Sentinels. Internally, he suffered a minor breakdown.

He couldn’t help but curse inwardly: How on earth do you control these damn pheromones?

The lead Sentinel with tanned skin walked over first. He glanced at the emblem on Xia Mingyu’s combat gear before softening his stance slightly. “A newly awakened Guide? When did you join the guild?”

Xia Mingyu gave a non-committal “Mm.”

Someone in the back let out a loud whistle and egged him on, shouting, “Hey pretty boy, you single?”

Sitting opposite him, Daniel coughed pointedly. “Joseph.”

The tanned Sentinel looked as if he just noticed Daniel. “Ah, Daniel? When did you get back from the domain?” His tone shifted. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re on a date with this young Guide?”

Daniel looked away, his face flushing. “…No, I’m not.”

Xia Mingyu’s mood was currently sour enough to want to fight every frivolous, loose-tongued Sentinel in the room, but he maintained a gentle smile, his peach-blossom eyes looking soft and radiant.

“Daniel, didn’t we say we were going to take a walk around the base? It’s a bit stuffy here, let’s go now.”

Blushing or not, Daniel understood the subtext. He followed Xia Mingyu’s lead and escorted him out of the Shadow Guild building.

…

Stepping outside, Xia Mingyu realized the building was constructed right next to the General Sentry Tower—truly the Shadow Guild, wealthy and overbearing.

His emotions had stabilized. He turned to look at Daniel. Under the dawn light, the Guide’s face seemed tinted with a soft golden glow, breathtakingly beautiful.

A faint blue fluorescent light flickered in Xia Mingyu’s eyes. Daniel’s Star-Net interface chimed—a large sum of money had been deposited.

These were the tips Xia Mingyu had earned the previous night. He had originally intended to use them for rent or to treat Tang Yaopeng to a meal, but now he transferred them all to Daniel.

Daniel froze.

Xia Mingyu smiled slightly. “Thank you for your help. I believe this is enough to cover the medical fees, food, and lodging.”

“Mr. Xia Mingyu, I don’t need—”

“Keep it. After all, I don’t know if we’ll have the chance to meet a second time.” If it could be settled with money, he wouldn’t use favors; that was Xia Mingyu’s rule for life.

His words were clear enough that Daniel lowered his head, looking somewhat hurt.

As Xia Mingyu walked past the main gate of the Sentry Tower alone, he remembered Sheikh was in the “Tower’s white noise room” and couldn’t help but pause.

In the worst-case scenario, Sheikh had killed him in the past for a specific reason. The Shadow Guild never meddled in the power struggles of Sentinels and Guides; that was a decision made by Sheikh as the Leader. If Xia Mingyu joined a major guild and rose to the top, his life would no longer be just his own; it would be tied to the guild.

Could such a chip make Sheikh hesitate at a critical moment?

Thinking of this, Xia Mingyu laughed self-deprecatingly. “Hesitate”—the word didn’t fit Sheikh at all. Sheikh didn’t stay away from the struggle because he was afraid; his strength was enough to shatter the balance and take the top spot for himself. He simply chose not to.

The image of that hand, meticulously encased in a black leather glove, surfaced in Xia Mingyu’s mind. If his judgment back then was still sound, Sheikh hadn’t actually shown any aggressive intent toward him—he was even, one might say, friendly.

A man surrounded by too many legends and rumors. Impossible to understand, with nowhere to begin.

Xia Mingyu looked up at the Sentry Tower, suddenly sensing a powerful burst of mental energy from above. He knit his brows and looked up.

But the top floor of the Sentry Tower was empty.

…An illusion?

…

Flashback: Inside the Tower

After leaving the white noise room, Sheikh had gently placed Xia Mingyu on a soft couch in a suite. This was a lounge prepared for him by the Tower. Sheikh had never used it, yet the Tower kept it vacant just for him.

Sheikh took off his military trench coat and hung it up. His combat gear was custom-made to suit his extreme speed and strength, fitting snugly over perfectly defined lean muscles.

He took a medical kit and sat by the bed, looking down at the unconscious Guide.

Even the usually unflappable Yin Chengfeng couldn’t help but ask, “…Leader?”

Sheikh gave a quiet “Mm” and said indifferently, “Report.”

Yin Chengfeng provided a meticulous account of the events. After listening, Sheikh’s cold, piercing light-colored eyes looked over, but he asked instead, “Where is Gong Ziliao?”

Gong Ziliao was a Shadow A-class Sentinel whose ability was Flesh Reconstruction. When someone lost a limb in battle, they went to him.

Yin Chengfeng reminded him, “Ruan Congyun used a mental attack.” Healing physical wounds was only a temporary relief; it wouldn’t fix the root cause.

Sheikh used his ability to control bandages, wrapping them around Xia Mingyu’s arm. He tied them off with a bow. His tone was flat. “He is an S-class Guide; surely he can’t be taken down by such a minor mental strike.”

“Take him to see Gong Ziliao. After that…” Sheikh pursed his lips and said slowly, “Take him to the Guild.”

“To lock him up?”

“No, let him rest.” Earlier in the white noise room, the pheromones leaking from the Guide were weak. This was a Guide who was constantly tense and hadn’t had a good rest in a long time.

He had violated a major taboo for Guides. A competent Guide should manipulate mental power with ease, maintain full strength at all times, and always have reserves.

“Letting him go like this? Is it okay?” Yin Chengfeng hesitated.

Sheikh looked at the Guide again. Even in unconsciousness, his brow was knit as if enduring a painful delirium.

“His pupils.” Sheikh keenly caught the fluorescent blue currents flowing more boldly through the space. He paused, his words becoming clearer. “The Star-Net interface covering his pupils is full of loopholes. The Base is monitoring him at all times; they are far more worried about him losing control than we are.”

Unlike other bases, the Southern First Base was “alive.” That was why it housed the General Sentry Tower and the General Sanctuary, and why it was disliked by high-ranking Sentinels and Guides.

As soon as Sheikh spoke, the hidden currents instantly froze like startled snakes. Sheikh ignored them.

Yin Chengfeng’s black hole opened and closed, and soon he was back before Sheikh.

Sheikh stood by the window, his spine straight and cold, arms crossed as he rested with eyes closed. The base outside the white noise room was too noisy for him; in just a few minutes, he had already parsed the latest gossip and intel.

Sheikh opened his eyes. “Hunting is intercepting Nirvana? Intercepting whom?”

“An A-class squad led by Lu Keyi. You Yanzhou arrived in time, and the assassination failed.”

Lu Keyi was a Nirvana A-class Guide. Her ability hadn’t been officially publicized, but it was rumored to be Memory Manipulation. Even when Ao Nie was the Leader, she reported directly to the second-in-command, You Yanzhou.

You Yanzhou was the clear favorite for the next Leader, but there was one fatal obstacle—the cause of Ao Nie’s death.

When the Northern Base showed signs of falling, Ao Nie led the core members to support them. Sheikh had then departed for the last domain with peace of mind. But within half a month, nine Northern bases fell. Sheikh emerged to the news of Ao Nie’s death and an emergency contact from the Tower.

You Yanzhou’s subsequent report was flawless on paper, and Sheikh had reviewed it with S-class clearance. It was a nested domain; too many people lost their way and died or went manic. No faults could be found, but Sheikh’s intuition as a warrior told him You Yanzhou was hiding something.

“Leader, do you still insist Chief Ao’s death was suspicious?” Yin Chengfeng asked.

The currents began to stir again. Sheikh raised his hand, pinching a wandering strand of fluorescent blue current as if grabbing a snake by the neck.

Gently, he closed his hand and then opened his fingers. Countless perfectly cut metal particles fell from the ceiling like a brilliant meteor shower.

With the annoyance cleared, Sheikh finally spoke. “It’s not just me. the Hunting Guild thinks so too.”

Otherwise, Hunting wouldn’t have sent people to surround Lu Keyi—an A-class Guide who could manipulate memory and participated in the Northern Base rescue. But Hunting went too far this time, not just to find the truth, but to block You Yanzhou’s appointment.

Yin Chengfeng wanted to ask about Sheikh’s stance—just because he didn’t intervene didn’t mean he didn’t have one.

But a Red Emergency Mission was issued by the Tower, transmitted directly to every Sentinel not currently on duty, including Yin Chengfeng and Sheikh.

“Intercept Northern Base survivors; purge the monster tide in the Southern Base.”

At the bottom of the intel for the Great Migration’s final stretch, there was a full page of names. Black names were the living; red names were the fallen squads. At this moment, the red was overwhelmingly drowning out the black.