I Am Your Natural Enemy

Chapter 20 - 20 Street Lights

Wen Yan now understood why it was always the honest people.

It was just a bottle of water, just the willingness to listen to what had happened. This small act of kindness alone was enough to trigger that ominous, skin-crawling sensation in Wen Yan, prompting him to actively avoid the man.

Initially, Wen Yan had only wanted to see if he could evade the feeling of extreme danger and unease.

He had prepared a lot to say, but now it all seemed pointless.

His heart settled, and after a brief chat, all other thoughts vanished. He found himself genuinely listening to Pei Tugou’s story.

Pei Tugou explained that his elderly relatives and his child were hospitalized. His wife was busy caring for them, leaving him as the sole breadwinner for the entire family.

Previously, he’d taken a small construction job that paid two hundred yuan a day, including room and board. There was also a promised bonus—an additional 30% of their wages—if they finished ahead of schedule, so he’d signed up.

Unexpectedly, once the work was done, the boss not only reneged on the promised bonus but also withheld their wages.

He had borrowed a considerable sum from relatives and was now at his wit’s end. A coworker told him the boss lived in Donghua Residential Area in Virtue City. Believing this, he had come alone and waited here for two days, finally spotting the boss.

Listening to Pei Tugou’s story, Zhang Laoxi, who was standing nearby, scoffed disdainfully.

”That bastard doesn’t look like someone who can’t cough up a few thousand yuan. He’s just deliberately refusing to pay, preying on an honest man.”

When Wen Yan heard Pei Tugou had been waiting here for two days, he stood up and glanced at the nearby noodle shop.

”How about this, brother?” Wen Yan suggested. ”I just finished my shift and I’m starving. Why don’t you join me for a bowl of noodles? We can talk while we eat, and I’ll see if I know anyone who can help you get your wages back.”

Pei Tugou was unsure how to refuse. He glanced at the noodle shop, subconsciously touched his pocket, and figured he could still afford a bowl of noodles.

”Alright then, you go ahead and eat.”

The three entered the noodle shop. Wen Yan and Zhang Laoxi both ordered Zha Jiang Mian. Wen Yan then looked at Pei Tugou.

Pei Tugou quickly said, ”I just ate. I’m not hungry. You two go ahead.”

Wen Yan turned to the waitress. ”Then we’ll have another Zha Jiang Mian, a large bowl.”

Wen Yan saw Pei Tugou touch his pocket, as if about to stand up. Wen Yan quickly rose first, grabbed three bottles of soy milk from the nearby refrigerator, and casually settled the bill at the counter.

The three ate together, with Zhang Laoxi remaining silent and just listening. He was beginning to see that Wen Yan truly seemed to be the type to step in and help when faced with injustice.

He’s still young and idealistic, Zhang Laoxi lamented inwardly. If it were me, I’d definitely question the full story first, wondering if it was really this straightforward.

A bowl of noodles for each of them. Regardless of the taste, at least it was filling.

Pei Tugou had nearly finished recounting his ordeal, clarifying all the details of what had happened.

”Brother, let’s add each other on Feixin.”

”I don’t have Feixin...” Pei Tugou said, pulling out a basic candy-bar phone. It could only make calls and send texts, but its battery lasted for several days.

Wen Yan exchanged phone numbers with Pei Tugou. Then, he went straight to the ATM at the entrance of the residential area and withdrew five thousand yuan. He still had three to four thousand yuan left in his account, which would definitely last until his next paycheck.

He pocketed his card and stuffed the cash directly into Pei Tugou’s arms. Seeing Pei Tugou flusteredly trying to return it, Wen Yan quickly said, ”Consider it a loan. Take it and go back quickly. I’ll help you get your wages, and I’ll call you when I do. Don’t refuse; medical treatment is more important. You can repay me later when you have the money.”

Pei Tugou’s eyes reddened. He thought of the aimlessness and despair he’d felt leaving the residential area earlier, and of his family still in the hospital. He wanted to refuse the money, but the words wouldn’t come out.

”I... I’ll definitely repay you. Or... or you could come with me, see, I...”

”It’s okay, I trust you, brother. Go back first; you’ve been away for two days. I’ll find someone in the next couple of days to help retrieve your wages. We can definitely get them back.”

Wen Yan saw a tearful Pei Tugou off into a vehicle and waved goodbye.

Just then, Zhang Laoxi, who had been holding his tongue, finally asked, ”I also believe his story is true, but aren’t you afraid he’ll just vanish after he leaves? You gave him cash directly, without even a transfer record.”

”Ha! If I’d suggested a transfer, do you think he would have accepted?” Wen Yan replied, feeling great. ”Besides, the man is too honest. If he were to scam me out of my money, I’d just chalk it up to a lesson learned.”

During the meal, the ominous sense of danger Wen Yan had felt completely vanished. In his perception, the bloodied and ferocious image of Pei Tugou had dissipated, replaced by that of an ordinary man.

Now I’m completely certain, Wen Yan thought. It’s not that a Natural Enemy couldn’t be generated; there was simply no need for one.

After leaving the noodle shop and lending Pei Tugou the money, Wen Yan had no ulterior motives; he simply wanted to help.

Besides, I’m sure that once the man has money again, he’ll insist on paying me back. He wouldn’t let me refuse even if I tried.

”Are you heading home to sleep? Your eyes are a bit red. You should hurry back and get some rest,” Zhang Laoxi remarked.

Hearing Zhang Laoxi, Wen Yan immediately yawned. A wave of fatigue washed over him, intensified by the recent meal, making him even sleepier.

”Yeah, I’ll head back and sleep. We can chat with him another day,” Wen Yan said.

After Wen Yan returned home, he showered and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

He slept soundly until well past ten o’clock at night and still hadn’t awakened.

Across the street from Donghua Residential Area’s entrance, the eyes on a billboard celebrity suddenly moved, gazing towards Wen Yan’s building within the complex.

It was past midnight. Other than occasional passing cars, the streets were nearly deserted.

The figure that had previously appeared on the bus stop billboard now materialized as the celebrity from the current advertisement, slowly stepping out of it.

He had been waiting for Wen Yan for several days. Unfortunately, Wen Yan hadn’t returned to stay there since that particular day.

Now, he stood by the roadside, hand outstretched, counting the building numbers on their exterior walls.

”Building One, Building Two...”

In the Divine Internal Medicine Ward of Duanzhou Second Hospital, Pei Tugou was asleep in his chair, his face etched with exhaustion.

On the main road outside, a blood-soaked and ferocious version of Pei Tugou materialized. He was whistling as he retraced the route the original Pei Tugou had taken home earlier that day.

No one could see this figure on the street, and no camera could capture its image.

He moved with increasing speed, even hitching an unseen ride on a vehicle. Two hours later, he arrived in Virtue City and continued along the main road towards Donghua Residential Area.

”...Building Seven, Building Eight... Ah, here it is. Building Eight, Unit One, Apartment 502.”

The celebrity from the billboard peered past the obstructing buildings, his gaze fixed on the target window. He took a step forward, onto the road, and began to cross.

Just then, the celebrity’s footsteps faltered. A whistling sound reached his ears, and with it, a sudden, chilling sense of foreboding.

He turned to look and saw a figure, clothes seemingly drenched in blood, strolling down the middle of the road towards him, whistling a light tune.

The celebrity froze, then retreated a step onto the sidewalk in a gesture of deference.

He watched as this new Pei Tugou walked by. The moment the blood-soaked figure passed the celebrity, he stopped.

This Pei Tugou glanced at the celebrity, then looked in the direction the celebrity had been staring. He sensed Wen Yan was there. He also sensed the intense malice the celebrity from the billboard held for Wen Yan.

And Wen Yan, the original him, had just helped him earlier that day.

A gruesome grin spread across the blood-soaked Pei Tugou’s ferocious face, and his whistling abruptly ceased.

Perfect, he thought. A little warm-up.

Pei Tugou’s figure blurred and vanished. An instant later, he reappeared behind the celebrity.

A blood-soaked rope snaked around the celebrity’s neck. As the celebrity realized what was happening and began to struggle, the rope tightened violently.

Pei Tugou dragged the rope as if hauling a dead dog, walking step by step across the pavement to a lamppost by the roadside.

The dragged celebrity’s form and face constantly shifted until it finally coalesced into a Black Shadow.

The Black Shadow writhed like a water-filled sack, but no matter how it struggled, it couldn’t break free from the rope.

Pei Tugou scaled the lamppost and tied the blood-soaked rope to it.

The next moment, the Black Shadow snapped back into a humanoid form. With its neck ensnared, it plunged heavily downwards.

Pei Tugou climbed down the lamppost, resumed his whistling, and walked off into the distance.

From the lamppost, a humanoid Black Shadow hung, struggling. Its struggles grew weaker and weaker, until finally, the Black Shadow went limp, its head lolling to one side.