I Am Your Natural Enemy

Chapter 13 - 13 Director

Wen Yan took out his phone and pulled up the photo he had taken last night of the patient in the next bed. It wasn’t very clear, but the fact that he could still see the photo meant it definitely wasn’t a hallucination.

”This person showed up last night in the bed next to yours. Look into them.

By the way, also check out the guy from three months ago—features: slightly crooked mouth, about a five-centimeter scar on the side of his head.

As for this director, I didn’t dare to take a photo recklessly, so I can only describe what he looks like.”

”Hold on a sec.” Feng Yao handed Wen Yan a microphone for him to describe the appearance.

A few minutes later, an image began to take shape on the laptop; someone was sketching a portrait based on Wen Yan’s description. Wen Yan kept adjusting the depiction, and they revised the sketch according to his input.

After half an hour and several revisions, the portrait was complete. Wen Yan looked at the face in the sketch: gloomy, the corners of the mouth drooping slightly on both sides.

”That’s about it.”

”Okay, let them handle the background checks first. Let’s move on to the others.”

Feng Yao opened a new file that had just arrived and skimmed through it.

”The patient in the next bed was from Duanzhou Second Hospital, admitted for a minor surgery five months ago.

When he finished surgery and was about to be discharged, he secretly went to smoke in the stairwell at midnight and died suddenly there. He wasn’t discovered until the next morning.

When they found him, livor mortis had already set in. His family made a scene at the hospital for a few days.”

After reading the first one, Feng Yao’s brow furrowed as he got to the second case, and he turned the laptop toward Wen Yan.

The record on display featured an ordinary-looking man with a slightly crooked mouth.

The file showed that he was completely unremarkable—no real job. The only unusual thing about him was that he had a record of multiple insurance scams.

The day before he died, he staged a crash with a family sedan, misjudged the distance and got scraped, then was sent to the hospital for evaluation. He got himself hospitalized, went through the checks, but after confirming there was no big issue, immediately snuck out to get back to work.

That same night, he managed to extort a few thousand from a drunk driver, then the next morning, this dedicated scammer had breakfast and went straight back to work—only this time, he tried it on a king’s car and got sent away on the spot.

The time matches three months ago exactly.

The location wasn’t in Wei State where Virtue City is, nor was it in neighboring Duanzhou. It was in Xing State, south of Duanzhou.

Wen Yan thought of the other patients sleeping in the wards. At first, he assumed they were just regular inpatients, but now it seemed hardly any of them were; this was turning out to be way more complicated than he’d thought.

Originally, judging by the information the Scorching Sun Department provided—a domain big enough and enough people involved, making it a level 2—it shouldn’t have been that tough, or particularly dangerous.

But last night, he experienced it firsthand, and he was sure—if he’d made any noise, he would’ve died right there on the spot.

Even though the Director never physically made contact with him, he could already hardly withstand the Yin Qi. He was still cold all over, like the chill was seeping out from inside him.

Add to that the fact that people could be killed in broad daylight and make it look like an accident, and even the Scorching Sun Department failed to notice it.

Even considering only the danger factor, calling it a level 2 was clearly underestimating things.

”I think it’s necessary to re-investigate. There’s no way only one or two people died because of this domain in the past year.”

”I get it.” Feng Yao’s face was grim too.

He actually had another thought—a domain with no fixed location, able to cross commanderies, and in a year of being discovered, never turning up again.

Virtue City’s three-day annual incidents might just be a distraction technique—not completely hiding, but keeping the danger rating as low as possible, which is better than getting noticed by someone big and bringing down a crackdown the first time something goes wrong.

After all, the Scorching Sun Department’s manpower is limited—they can’t dedicate endless resources to a level 2 domain that only appears three days a year, and by danger level alone, this one is actually at level 1 standards.

It’s even possible that last year’s discovery of the inpatient department domain was just a fluke.

And all of this hints at something else: some power, or someone, has the ability to help hide it.

”Do you remember how many beds you saw? How many of them were occupied?”

”Didn’t have time to count, but about half the beds were occupied. What does that mean?” Wen Yan realized this couldn’t be simple.

”She’s advancing. She is definitely stronger than a year ago. We guessed wrong—this isn’t just domain-based, and she’s not just a regular executor. She’s the centerpiece of this domain.”

”Advancing?”

”Yeah. Not all domains are stagnant. For those with something like her at the core, there’s often an advancement path.

No matter the ability, demon, devil, or human, most have a way to advance themselves.

From my experience, the number of beds represents her path of advancement. When they’re all full, she’ll ascend to another level.

This is not a low-danger domain. I need to report up immediately, see if we can get some professionals in.”

Feng Yao quickly packed up, and as he was about to leave, a voice sounded in his earpiece. His face darkened.

”What happened?” Wen Yan immediately felt a bad premonition.

”Another field agent just got hit by a car about ten meters outside the hospital gate. He’s not in mortal danger, but he’s got several fractures.”

”Accident? Or deliberate?”

”The driver was bringing in a kid with a high fever, driving too fast, couldn’t stop in time—shouldn’t be intentional.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Yan understood instantly—it was another ’accident’ just like the nurse with the tooth decay. But Scorching Sun field agents aren’t weak—they’re all way fitter and quicker to react than the average person. That’s probably what saved his life.

If Wen Yan hadn’t seen the shadow of the falling leaves rapidly grow larger yesterday, and if the tree hadn’t been tall enough to give him time to react, he wouldn’t have made it either, despite his own fitness.

Feng Yao kept communicating, listening to the update in his earpiece.

”The only plausible reason is that he left the hospital without going through discharge.”

”Hm?” Wen Yan’s brow creased. Really?

Feng Yao put his things away.

”Let’s test it and find out.”

Following proper procedure, Feng Yao formally discharged himself and strode out of the hospital. This time, nothing happened to him.

Wen Yan stood at the window, watching Feng Yao drive away, thinking: so that’s it.

Only patients, or hospital medical staff, are affected or within range.

The Director’s malice was already hard to contain. Wen Yan didn’t believe she’d ever hold back when she had the chance—or if she struck, she certainly wouldn’t hold back.

What restrains the Director can only be the rules—the regulations of this inpatient department domain, probably even stricter than expected.

Going by Feng Yao’s theory, the rules are especially strict for entities like the Director. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good thing for them.

It means the Director can exert more power within certain boundaries, her upper limits even higher.

And without a doubt, she’s much stronger than the first day.

Less than an hour later, Feng Yao called.

”You’d better discharge yourself for now. Things are getting complicated.”

”What’s going on?”

”Just come out first and I’ll explain.”

Wen Yan went and processed his discharge. When he left the hospital, Feng Yao was waiting in his car outside. Once Wen Yan got in, Feng Yao rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, looking troubled.

”This is becoming a problem. Our commandery’s professional field agents are either tied up with higher-priority assignments or unable to act.

So many incidents are piling up lately—anyone we can pull is probably not strong enough to suppress the Director inside the domain.

The Three Mountains and Five Ridges’ outside help are also busy, and in a few months it’ll be time for the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony. Even if we called for help, no one could get here in a day.

Tonight’s the third day—if this isn’t resolved, it’ll be nearly impossible to fix after that.

As time goes on, the Director’s just getting stronger. No one knows what might happen next.

I’ve already filed a report to the higher-ups. To be on the safe side, we’re activating the evacuation procedure—everyone in the inpatient ward will be transferred out.”

”Have you found out her real identity yet?”

”We have. She used to be the head nurse at Xing State Mining Center Hospital, held a deputy director rank, but died in an accident the day before her promotion.”

”Accident?” Wen Yan was immediately suspicious at the very mention of that word.

”We don’t have time now for a full probe into the details—the records say it was an accident, but the previous night, there was another inpatient who snuck out and died in a car accident outside the hospital.”

Despite what Feng Yao said, his tone was clear—he was sure there was more going on beneath the surface.

Because regular car accidents, accidental deaths, or even homicides wouldn’t be kicked up to Scorching Sun Department. Whatever really happened, he had no time left to investigate.

Wen Yan knew time was running out too—he pondered carefully.

”With just the two of us and our pitiful strength, fighting is not an option. I do have an idea, though—I just don’t know if we’ll get a chance to try it.”