I Am Your Natural Enemy

Chapter 2 - 2 Your Dad

Soul...

At the thought of this, the dream Wen Yan had last night began to emerge in his mind, becoming clearer and clearer.

He dreamed of a strange Stele Forest, where some steles were so weathered that the inscriptions had vanished, while others looked quite new.

When he touched a stele, information naturally surfaced in his mind. It asked him to choose one.

The first stele he touched was severely weathered, with clear inscriptions, though missing a corner on the side. The front was engraved with the character for ”doctor.”

Information was transmitted from the stele.

In a trance, he saw figures, some dressed in ancient robes and some in white lab coats. But without exception, these were images of their deaths.

As he continued to touch other steles, invariably, they all showed the death scenes of people associated with the professions represented by the steles.

He saw a Taoist being torn apart by a twisted monster.

He saw someone holding a White banner, his body emitting black Qi, bleeding from seven orifices, dying on the streets at night.

He saw a large, bearded man in a Python robe, turned into a hedgehog by arrows flashing with blood.

A Taoist stood before the Dharma Altar, summoning heavenly thunder that obliterated everything around him.

The further he went, the more gruesome the deaths in the images; most died in battle. Even those who died on their beds suffered torture, living worse than dying until they breathed their last in misery.

As someone who had just been officially hired that day and hadn’t even received his first month’s salary, he naturally didn’t choose any of those professions that looked extremely dangerous. He didn’t even want to choose at all.

He felt that his current benefits were already very good: a monthly salary of four thousand eight hundred, weekends off, comprehensive social insurance and housing fund, and separately calculated bonuses. Additionally, there were meal, transportation, and communication subsidies. Especially since the director had told him in private that last year’s highest year-end bonus was one hundred and eighty thousand.

Now he wanted nothing else but to work peacefully for the first half of the year and then get the year-end bonus. He specifically asked and confirmed that working for the first half of the year would still entitle him to a year-end bonus.

However, if he didn’t choose now, he also didn’t know how to leave this place. Probably... maybe... it was like he was stuck on the profession selection screen.

He touched each stele one by one, only hoping to pick one that was not so dangerous, where the death was not so tragic.

As for those so-called career introductions, some inscriptions were blurred. For those that weren’t, he didn’t believe a single word. They sounded impressive, but then, a look revealed that everyone in those professions died violently.

Until he found a stele so weathered that the inscriptions had almost completely disappeared.

This time, he didn’t see numerous tragic deaths, only an old man, sitting withered on a stone platform in a cave, holding a scroll of beast skin, his expression peaceful as he slowly closed his eyes.

This was the only profession he found where choosing it meant a death that wasn’t so tragic and allowed for a peaceful passing.

This one would do.

The moment the thought arose, he saw the stele suddenly crumble, turning into a stream of light that entered his body.

He felt the Stele Forest receding, and he kept falling, about to wake up.

It was only at this moment that he suddenly became lucid in his dream. A flood of memories emerged, and he remembered that this was not his first time here. He had been here many, many times before, but he had always refrained from choosing until today when he had to make a choice.

In the midst of falling, everything around him turned into streaming light and nothingness, and the Stele Forest disappeared completely.

And within the light, a point of light rushed from behind. Only when it drew near did Wen Yan see it clearly.

It was a jellyfish, larger than a mountain, emitting a faint blue glow, dragging tentacles and oral arms at least several miles long.

Just as the fluorescent light dazzled his eyes for a moment, he became absent-minded, his eyes turning hollow.

Information immediately surfaced in his mind: Soul Devouring Beast. It has no natural enemy.

The azure glow illuminated his body, disrupting the light of the Stele that had just merged into him.

The information took shape before his eyes. Countless disordered characters flashed by, constantly breaking apart and reassembling. They transitioned from ancient oracle bone script to bronze inscriptions, and finally to the simplified characters he was familiar with.

”You’ve encountered the invincible Soul Devouring Beast that can consume the souls of all beings and is immune to all harm.

Having just witnessed countless professions and the dying moments of numerous creatures, you feel that invincibility is pure nonsense; there is no such thing as complete invincibility.

That makes a lot of sense.

The perfect match for your profession: Natural Enemy.

In line with your thoughts, it seems you have found your path as a Natural Enemy.

Now, summon your strongest presence and shout: I am Your Dad.

Activate your first fixed ability.

Friendly reminder, speaking in Central Plains official dialect might yield better results.”

Wen Yan didn’t hesitate; he didn’t even have time to think it through.

Because he clearly felt, and inexplicably knew, that his soul was being torn apart. He hadn’t even made contact, yet he felt as if he was being devoured.

Any hesitation, and he wouldn’t have had the chance to shout out a single word.

Thus, he yelled out those words at the colossus radiating a ghostly azure glow, a creature at least several miles in length.

”I am Your Dad.”

After the words were spoken, he saw a blinding radiance burst from the colossus, and then he couldn’t see anything, not even having time to understand the effect.

In an instant, he awoke with a start from his bed. Everything from the dream, upon waking, began to blur and settle down, as it always did.

Wen Yan lay on the couch, involuntarily recalling the dream from last night.

During the day, he was preoccupied with his first day at work, and upon waking up, the memory of the dream had begun to fade.

But after experiencing a day of strange occurrences, some memories involuntarily began to resurface.

There had to be a reason for these changes; surely not everyone was acting out just for him?

Especially that chubby chef from the Sichuan restaurant. After Wen Yan guided him in cooking, the chef had stared with wide eyes, as if he had encountered a rival trying to sabotage his establishment. The chef probably only restrained himself from hitting Wen Yan with a ladle for fear of being extorted.

The things he could think of that were not quite normal included, firstly, the extremely vivid dream he had last night. Secondly, there was his first day at work today, where he’d signed a stack of papers and was then smoothly enrolled.

He had originally thought it would take at least a year or two to have such an opportunity.

After his food had mostly digested, he organized a pile of documents and made preparations for tomorrow. Then, he stretched his body a bit, took out some feed, and began feeding the goldfish in the tank.

Watching the goldfish swallow the feed and then sink back below the surface, Wen Yan couldn’t help but mumble to the goldfish, ”I am Your Dad.”

The goldfish showed no reaction, continuing to swim in the tank. Upon reaching the surface, it splashed, sending droplets onto Wen Yan’s face.

Wen Yan touched his face. It doesn’t seem to be much use, huh?

In Duanzhou, Cai Qidong, who hadn’t slept for two days and nights, stared at the map and spoke wearily on the phone.

”Yes, the population within a fifty-kilometer radius has been evacuated. Thankfully, this area is all mountains and lakes, so there weren’t many residents to begin with.”

”That’s right. The official reason given was a chemical plant leak. That plant did indeed have some serious issues, so it was a good opportunity for a proper cleanup.”

”No, nothing has been found. We’ve had teams go in, and with satellites and drones, we’ve scoured the area dozens of times. No anomalies have been discovered.”