I Am Your Natural Enemy

Wen Yan just quietly watched Little Mustache.

”I hope you’ll still be able to laugh later.”

”I have over three minutes left, and I want to make sure there are no mistakes,” Little Mustache continued.

”I used to be troubled too. To ensure the existence of the Anchor, I had to share my secret with another person. But it was difficult for me to trust someone else unconditionally, which made me feel insecure. At that time, I took a risk. I told him everything, then I rewound time to make him forget it all. I tried it, and it seemed to meet the conditions because, at the moment he became the Anchor, all conditions were indeed satisfied.

”And as I have said, the timing of my save point is irrelevant to the Anchor. It’s just that without an Anchor, rewinding would carry a huge risk; I could get lost in the years. This is even more dangerous than encountering problems during teleportation and getting lost in space.

”But luckily, you came. I will go back to two days ago and then immediately dispose of my phone and other traceable items. Then, with the Power of the Magic Cube, I’ll leave Divine Land and start anew with a different identity in Europa.”

When Wen Yan heard these words, he somewhat understood why the limitation was a remaining lifespan of more than sixty years.

More than twenty thousand days... Together with the other descriptions in the hints, this guy doesn’t have ten thousand tries left. It turns out that the hint from the beginning of ten thousand was not an adjective but a literal count of ten thousand times.

He silently equipped Wave Calming.

It wasn’t that he needed to consume sixty years of life, just that the other party’s rewind point was two days ago, and in a one-to-one exchange at its limit, it would be sixty years. He was beginning to understand.

When Little Mustache finished his last sip of coffee and waved goodbye to Wen Yan, Wen Yan looked at him and added one more sentence, ”I hope you’re naturally cheerful.”

He blessed himself with an Explosive Great Sun, then his right hand formed the Four Seas Calming Waves Seal. The title of Water Ghost Nemesis had long been equipped, and he had already eaten Grandma’s offering in advance—fully, this time.

He felt a momentary stillness, as if everything around him had frozen. Then, everything seemed to dissipate. It was as if he saw a corner of a boundless great river where a wave curled backward, falling towards its origin. As that wave began to fall and ripples were about to surface, he cast Wave Calming.

He formed the hand seal and gently pressed it forward.

”Wave Calming.”

He could feel it: he had burned two days of his lifespan, and the Yang Energy blessing his body also began to be consumed as a price.

The wave fell, but the ripples it created were smoothed out as if by a pair of giant hands, contained to the very instant they began. Apart from that single wave, there was no other effect.

The vague illusions Wen Yan had seen vanished, and everything returned to the coffee house. He stood in place, one hand still forming the Four Seas Calming Waves Seal. Across from him, in the corner by the window, Little Mustache still sat at his table. Everything seemed as if nothing had changed, but in reality, much had.

Wen Yan had lost two days of his lifespan. Moreover, he could feel Grandma’s buff activating—and it remained continuously active.

If it weren’t for this absurdly powerful and exceptional buff, he would have died just now, without needing to burn two days of his lifespan.

Across from him, Little Mustache’s eyes blinked. Everything around him remained unchanged, yet he was certain he had successfully rewound to two days ago.

No, to be precise, the whole world remained unchanged; only I myself have changed. My body feels the same as when I set the rewind point two days ago.

I’m shocked to the core! How did Wen Yan manage to do that?

”Aren’t you fond of laughing? Why aren’t you laughing now? Could it be that you no longer like to?” Wen Yan asked, looking at him calmly.

Little Mustache’s expression flickered. Still not giving up, he rewound once more, but the result was identical. He finally began to waver, his confidence faltering.

He began to realize that Wen Yan wouldn’t have dared to come unless he was completely certain. He also finally understood the feeling he’d had: that nothing good would come from confronting Wen Yan. This was their first true face-to-face encounter.

After two consecutive attempts, his expression started to turn ferocious.

”So that’s how it is! You’re exchanging your lifespan for my rewind chances! How much lifespan do you have to trade? To ensure no one knew my secret, I even dared to risk erasing my Anchor’s memories. You think you can suppress me now? I’d rather die! I’d rather exhaust all my rewind chances! Exchanging your lifespan for mine—do you think it’s worth it?”

Wen Yan decisively shook his head.

”Just for a few days of lifespan, I don’t think it’s worth it. These few days are enough for me to do many things.

”But someone like you—an undying creature that can rewind time, with a mindset completely different from normal people—it’d be uncomfortable for me if you didn’t die. It’s like being startled awake by something falling on your face at night. You grab it without thinking, only to wake up and find it’s a cockroach. Then, it’s like sinking into a Nightmare, repeating the process endlessly. That feeling isn’t good at all.

”So, I think it’s better if you just disappear.

”I once considered catching you and turning you into a human-shaped wondrous item.”