I Am Your Natural Enemy

At this moment, iron chains flew out ahead, hooking onto the back half of the yacht. One by one, the ghosts rode the chains, as if still floating in the water, gliding rapidly along the iron links.

The girl at the very front, with long straight black hair, tied it up, gripped a butcher knife, and leapt straight down from the second-story platform, swinging the blade down in one fierce motion.

One of the ghosts who boarded first, body and weapon together, was split cleanly in two by the strike.

Dark murderous energy surged on the butcher knife; in the blink of an eye, that century-old old ghost dissolved like a mirage, blown apart by the wind and vanishing without a trace.

The skinny-looking girl, butcher knife in hand, actually seemed fiercer than those water ghosts.

Those water ghosts coming to kill hadn’t expected this at all; they hadn’t taken these girls seriously in the slightest. Who would’ve thought, before even making it aboard, they’d already lose a ghost to a single slash?

...

Wen Yan had originally planned to search the boat and then head out to sea, but after performing Soul Summoning, he felt like he’d stirred up something, and decided to be more cautious.

Just then, he checked the yacht’s location—it seemed to be making its way back.

Upon further checking, he found the record showed a report had come in; they were, indeed, returning to port.

So he wasn’t in a rush—he could just wait at the harbor.

The records showed only about twenty people on that yacht; picking out one or two from among them would be simple.

While he was waiting, a notification popped up automatically on his Scorching Sun Department phone.

The message said detection equipment had picked up traces of a large number of water ghosts several dozen nautical miles from Cape of the Sea.

It also said the water ghosts were attacking ships, and nearby Scorching Sun Department members were urged to respond immediately.

Below was a small map app window, with a flashing marker.

Wen Yan tapped it open, seeing a photo shot from sea level.

A battered old boat, overgrown with water plants and covered in barnacle shells, was breaking the surface with its bow.

There were also photos showing ghosts standing on the derelict boat.

Some iron chains from the wreck had hooked onto the back of the yacht up ahead.

The pictures also caught Zhang Qihui, standing high up on the yacht wielding a magic sword.

Wen Yan frowned slightly.

Were water ghosts in the sea really this brazen?

Did they think no one could touch them just because they’re out at sea?

He’d never heard of water ghosts being this wild in the Southern Sea before.

He’d heard tales that only certain enormous giant beasts would dare attack ships at sea.

Any creature in the sea with a brain would avoid ships if they could.

Those without intelligence just act on instinct—nothing you can do about that.

Wen Yan glanced over the intelligence automatically sent by the system—he was the closest and held the highest clearance, so by default, all detailed intel went straight to him.

He enlarged a photo, looking closely—those water ghosts clearly all had spiritual intelligence, not just some brainless pawns acting on instinct.

That iron chain operation—boarding maneuvers and all—was obviously organized and planned out in advance.

Yet there was no record of this derelict boat in the logs. Wen Yan’s mind worked quickly.

Suddenly, it struck him—was the instigator on that boat about to get silenced too?

He’d only summoned the boss from Yu State Entertainment Company to ask a few questions, and that guy had his soul obliterated on the spot by some mysterious force.

That power was bizarre: stealthy like a bubble rising underwater when dormant, but astonishingly destructive when it blew.

He hadn’t considered that maybe Zhang Qihui had stirred something up either.

Looking at the scene in these photos—it’s a bunch of girls who don’t even care about catching a cold, just like Feng Yao described.

These thoughts flashed through his mind quickly.

Just then, Wen Yan saw uniformed personnel charging at full speed from the distance toward the harbor.

They boarded a speedboat, and Wen Yan’s own phone pinged—there was a speedboat ready for immediate dispatch.

As for an idle helicopter, it was prepped and ready, but the nearest one was still dozens of miles away.

Wen Yan strode to the water’s edge, boarded the speedboat, and without any pleasantries, gave his orders directly.

”Start the boat now and get to the target as fast as possible. You have the coordinates on your phone, right?”

”Sir, you are...?”

”I’m from Nanwu County—just got the notice. For now, I’ve got the highest clearance here. If you have questions, save them for later. Start the engine, now.”

Wen Yan flashed his Scorching Sun Department phone, showing the urgent notification page.

The other man’s face hardened immediately. Intelligence, location, photos, and more information kept streaming in.

No need to ask—whoever Wen Yan was, he was certainly the highest-ranking authority within dozens of miles.

The man responded promptly and started the speedboat.

The speedboat shot across the water at top speed. Wen Yan gripped the edge with one hand, his body swaying with the boat’s rise and fall, but standing rock steady.

He checked the latest data—one photo already showed a girl being stabbed clean through by a ghost wielding a weapon.

Looking at the spot, it had gone in under her left ribs and slanted out below her right—she was as good as dead...

Wen Yan’s expression darkened. He said in a cold tone,

”Faster. As long as we don’t capsize, anything goes.

Cape of the Sea is supposed to be a major tourist site, and yet there’s not a single helicopter within ten kilometers of the port?”

”Boss, the patrol area for Southern Sea County is way bigger than Nanwu County’s. All the choppers are out, and the last one’s under maintenance.” The boat operator couldn’t help but explain.