I Am Your Natural Enemy-Chapter 429 - 179: The Gift, Blood Lock for Twelve Years (5k)_3
Wen Yan sized up the person before him, remembering her. She was one of the players who had appeared that day—just a girl who looked no more than a teenager, slender and petite, clad in thick clothes, probably from the north.
That day, he had blocked all those players outside, and this girl, standing at the back of the crowd, had not caught his eye.
No one else had come after that, and he had thought that these people had finally realized the danger and stopped coming.
Unexpectedly, the first to show up afterward was this timid little girl, who didn’t dare to straighten her back when she saw someone.
With the Mountain’s Demon gone, and this little girl appearing right before him, Wen Yan naturally wasn’t so vigilant anymore.
"This place isn’t suitable for you; it’s too dangerous. Go back and focus on your studies," he said.
As soon as the little girl appeared, she saw Wen Yan sitting at the gate again. This scared her enough to shrink her neck, and she didn’t dare to move from where she stood. She remembered that last time, Wen Yan had dared to shoot arrows directly at them.
Accuracy wasn’t the issue; she was afraid of where a stray arrow might end up. Who knew where it would finally hit?
The little girl stood timidly in place. Seeing that Wen Yan seemed to lack the malice of last time, she cautiously lifted her head, glanced at Wen Yan, and saw the word above his head.
She also saw that his current favorability was neutral.
She let out a silent breath of relief. It hadn’t been neutral last time.
Seeing Wen Yan take the initiative to advise her to leave, the little girl clenched her fists and mustered her courage.
"Can you not drive me away? I won’t be a bother. I just want to look for someone," she said.
"Hmm? There’s no one here," he replied.
"I mean, I want to find a Ghost," she clarified.
"There aren’t many Ghosts here either," he said.
"But I saw one last time!" she insisted.
"Forget it. The previous Ghosts couldn’t find release; they were controlled by other bad people. I don’t know who you’re looking for, but not everyone who dies becomes a Ghost. Only a very few do," he explained.
"My Grandma’s definitely here," the girl said stubbornly.
Wen Yan leaned back in his chair, sipping tea, and didn’t bother to argue with the little girl any longer.
Speaking of which, he was kind of missing Sparrow Cat now, and also his foolish son, and Little Zombie.
He remained silent. After a hesitation, the little girl spoke again.
"I felt it last time! Truly, I felt my Grandma; I remember it clearly. That day was the thirtieth. That night, I fell asleep and felt my Grandma feeding me. When I woke up, I still sensed her presence. She must have turned into a Ghost and must be here," she said.
Wen Yan paused, his teacup halfway to his mouth. He lifted his eyelids and looked at this stubborn little girl.
"Which day?" he asked.
"Actually, it was two days, really. The twenty-ninth and the thirtieth. I felt it both times, just last month," she said.
The girl saw Wen Yan staring blankly. He probably doesn’t understand the significance of the twenty-ninth and thirtieth, she thought, and quickly explained.
"I mean, just a few days ago. I remember it very clearly," she added.
Wen Yan was somewhat shocked. The thirtieth had seemed like a coincidence, but when the little girl mentioned the twenty-ninth, it was definitely not a coincidence.
That day, he had gone to persuade King Guilong. On the way, he met Hu Yuan, and then encountered Zhang Xuewen. Using the Temporary Ability "Grandmother," which had been triggered by Hu Yuan, he had fed Zhang Xuewen. Later, he frenziedly nourished everyone on the battlefield, granting them all a Blood Lock.
And when equipping the "Grandmother" ability, making the target call out "Grandma" was a side effect, similar to the urge to feed them.
After Hu Yuan was killed, the Temporary Ability "Grandmother" had disappeared.
But now, Wen Yan was somewhat shocked. The "Grandmother" ability... there was a strong possibility it had truly existed, or that someone had possessed it before.
No, this should confirm his previous speculation: seemingly absurd abilities might have actually been obtained by someone in the past.
Wen Yan stared at the little girl for a long time, but his Natural Enemy Profession still did not react.
He waved his hand.
"Come here, sit down."
The little girl clutched her small fists. She seemed afraid but still took steps forward. She came to Wen Yan’s side and sat with only half her bottom on the chair, as if ready to bolt at any moment.
"Don’t be scared. Aren’t you looking for your Grandma? Talk to me. If I happen to meet her, I can keep an eye out, and you can see her next time you come."
"Really?"
"I’m idle anyway."
Hearing Wen Yan say that, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief.
"When did your Grandma pass away?"
"Five years ago."
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"You’re seventeen and still so small? You look at most fourteen or fifteen."
"Really, I’m already in my second year of high school."
"Come on, tell me about your Grandma."
The little girl pondered for a moment and then said,
"Grandma said that when I was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. I almost didn’t make it.
"After that, my health was always poor. I was frequently in the hospital, and my family didn’t want me anymore. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"My Grandma took me in, and I grew up with her.
"I was always frail and frequently ill. It only started to get a bit better in the last few years.
"But it was also around that time that Grandma passed away.
"Grandma liked to wear floral clothes. In the winter, she liked to wear a big, red, cotton-padded jacket, and her pockets were always full of snacks.
"She was always afraid I wouldn’t have enough to eat, afraid I would go hungry. She cooked for me four times a day, not counting other food."
As the little girl spoke about these things, she became somewhat animated. When she was a child, whenever she felt peckish, her Grandma always had something to eat in her pocket. She had found that especially magical.
"What did she look like?"
"She had short hair, with a little black mixed in with the white. She liked to wear a red hairpin. She was about one meter fifty tall, thin. That’s about it."
"What is your name?"
"My name is Chen Qimo."
Wen Yan looked at the thin little girl. He probably understood how she had grown up and also somewhat understood why she had qualified for the Netherworld game.
Wen Yan speculated that the little girl’s Grandma had been using Blood Lock on her from birth. She had locked onto the girl’s last sliver of vitality, doing so 365 days a year, persistently for twelve years. Miraculously, she had raised a child who had seemed impossible to keep alive.
Of course, Wen Yan also considered another possibility.
An elderly woman had devotedly cared for a child for twelve years, raising a frail and sickly girl. That level of devotion, or obsession, was incredibly strong. When she passed away, it didn’t dissipate. Instead, this lingering attachment was somehow captured by him, forming an ability named "Grandmother."
None of this could be confirmed. However, Wen Yan was sure of one thing: the Temporary Ability "Grandmother" he had acquired must have been related to this little girl’s Grandma. This was because he, too, would unconsciously stuff his pockets with food. Then, when he saw someone who needed feeding, he would reflexively take the food out of his pocket for them.
