I Am Your Natural Enemy

”What else do you guys want to see?”

The barrage immediately fluttered past.

”This pig’s eye is a bit old and tough. You really struggled to bite into it. Have you ever eaten roast sheep eyes?”

”This is getting a bit boring, host. It’s already 11 o’clock. Aren’t you getting to the main point?”

The host smiled, waved at the camera, and said goodbye.

Then he asked, ”Thanks for the five planes from ’Can’t I Just Like to Smile’, Boss. Did you think today’s live stream was to your taste?”

Wen Yan replied that it was very good.

After a single sentence, he saw on the screen that the host had ended the broadcast.

But the screen, which had gone black, only remained so for a moment before lighting up again.

The host from before said with a smile, ”The appetizer earlier might not have been satisfying enough for you bosses. Let’s continue with the main course today.”

The host, still smiling, walked through the barbecue restaurant to the back, into a dark alley where it seemed even the streetlights had vanished.

After walking for a few minutes, he heard sounds coming from ahead—a shop located deep within the alley.

A barbecue grill stood at the entrance, where a thin barbecue master was fanning the flames, which looked like they had just been lit.

The host, holding the camera himself, greeted the barbecue master.

”Master Niu, do you have sheep eyes today?”

The barbecue master gave a simple, honest smile and nodded.

”Yes, do you want some?”

”Give me three skewers, the tender ones.”

”Alright. We also have sheep soup today; do you want that too?”

”Yes, this weather is perfect for some sheep soup.”

After finding a table and sitting down, the host said,

”Boss Hu introduced me to this place. I tried it once, and it was unforgettable.

They usually open after eleven at night and stay open until five in the morning. If any of you want to come, you can make a reservation.”

Just as he was saying this, the sheep soup was served.

The host saw the person coming and immediately stood up, greeting them warmly.

”Boss Tao is here too? Then today there must be some good stuff.”

Wen Yan was completely bewildered. He couldn’t figure out who was who when he saw a stream of barrage comments pass by:

”Hello, Boss Tao.”

”Haven’t seen Boss Tao in a long time.”

”Boss Tao is so whimsical with this shop. He’s hardly ever around to manage it.”

”If Boss Tao is here, then there must be some good stuff.”

The host turned the camera, and a smiling little old man appeared in the frame.

The little old man, dressed in a short jacket, glanced at the barrage and then at the host.

”You’re a lucky one, my friend. On my way back from my latest trip, I happened upon something quite special—it’s nearly extinct now.”

”Come on, let us all have a look!”

”Show what? You all know about it; some of you have probably even tried it.”

The little old man led the host into a courtyard and lifted the cloth covering a cage. The first thing they saw was the delicate, tear-streaked face of a young girl, looking utterly pitiful.

Looking down, they saw that beneath the head was a pitch-black serpentine body.

”Whoa, this creature really is rare. Isn’t it supposed to be extinct?”

”People didn’t care much for them before. Now that they’re nearly extinct, they’ve become precious, and even the taste is different,” Boss Tao remarked with a sigh.

As he spoke, he opened the cage and grabbed the medusa’s head. With a flick of his wrist, he seemed to dislocate its entire spine. Then, he took a spoon, scooped, and two eyeballs dropped onto a plate.

Then, using a small blade, he made an incision in the medusa’s abdomen and squeezed out the gallbladder.

”Do you want it?” Boss Tao casually asked the host.

The host shook his head repeatedly.

”I can’t afford this thing; it’s way too expensive.”

Then the host looked at the camera.

”Any of you bosses interested? A medusa’s gallbladder. This is a real treasure nowadays, a rare sight indeed.”

Wen Yan, holding his phone, watched everything on the screen and let out a long breath.

This really isn’t normal.

What kind of normal food vlogger explores a place that has something like a medusa?

Wen Yan looked at the barrage on the screen.

”I bid three million.”

”I bid three Soul Nourishing Pills.”

”I’ll offer two Little Ghosts as burial sacrifices.”

”I bid eight hundred Gold.”

As Wen Yan was watching the barrage, the host on the stream suddenly asked,

”’Can’t I Just Like to Smile’ Boss, do you need it? This thing used to be common, but now it’s a rarity.”

Wen Yan, his expression unchanging, typed a reply:

”I’ve tried it before. It’s pretty useless, and the taste is just average. It’s only being hyped up now because it’s become so rare.”

The host instantly grinned and said,

”Alright then! Boss, if you need anything, just let me know. And if you want to try some exotic delicacies, you can also visit Boss Tao. He often manages to get his hands on some amazing things.”

Wen Yan didn’t send any more barrage messages but just quietly watched.

He watched for a while. Seeing the host on screen consume the eyeballs with the white soup, Wen Yan’s expression gradually darkened.

He could still tell whether they were sheep eyes or not. On that skewer, only two were clearly sheep eyes, because sheep have horizontal pupils. The third one looked like a pig’s eye, but it was noticeably smaller.

Wen Yan watched silently.

He put the phone down on the table, preparing to search for something on another phone.

However, as soon as he placed that phone on the table, the screen immediately went black. The numerous messages he had just been seeing vanished, and the display showed that the broadcast had ended.

He picked up the phone again; a ripple, like a glitch, flashed across the screen, and the live stream resumed as normal.

Wen Yan focused on the sensation from that brief moment and drew in a light breath.

He felt as if he had entered a Domain.

However, this sensation was much fainter than normally entering a Domain. He hadn’t even noticed it at first.

Now he understood. This was another rather peculiar trait.

It used certain traits of a Domain to filter out those who weren’t supposed to be viewers.

And those who could see this live stream undoubtedly met the requirements to be a viewer.

The question the host had asked him earlier was, in fact, an invitation.

He had been invited, and because he possessed the necessary trait, he could continue watching the broadcast.