I Am Your Natural Enemy

"Alright, alright, we'll do it your way."

Cai Qidong felt a bit of a headache.

But he had to admit, Wen Yan's solution really was the best of both worlds—mainly because Jiang Yanyan was truly solid herself, and this achievement was downright rock solid.

According to the policy of the Scorching Sun Department, and the overall trend, this was smooth sailing.

Absolutely no one would have any objections.

He hung up the phone and immediately entered the temporary command vehicle to start a small video meeting with the higher-ups.

Very quickly they set the tone; no one had any opinions—it was just going along with the flow.

The three top dogs at headquarters were way more sharp than Cai Qidong—a single glance and they could tell this was someone deliberately digging a pit, waiting for Cai Qidong to jump in.

Everyone fights normally, and that's fine, but if no one's fighting anymore, then that's a big problem.

But even if you fight, you absolutely can't use this kind of method. If you piss off the Water God, the Demons, and all the other groups at once, and a bigger mess breaks out later, nobody can take the blame for it.

"What's that kid's name again?"

On the video, an old man with completely white hair and beard, after the business was done, casually asked a question.

"His name is Wen Yan."

"Surname Wen, huh..." The old man seemed to think of something and looked a bit lost in thought.

"Minister, is there some story behind that?" Cai Qidong asked bluntly.

"No, nothing, it's good. That kid's not bad—and you got lucky this time, taking a hit can be a good thing."

"You're right." Cai Qidong admitted honestly; he really got lucky this time.

Otherwise, after showing off and flaming people, he would've turned around and made a massive mistake himself—would've just handed the leverage right to their hands.

Once the call ended, Cai Qidong called in his people and quickly drafted up a document. After signing it, he sent it off to headquarters.

Then, over at headquarters, the old man took the document and, from a nearby box, pulled out a fountain pen with a good bit of history.

As his pen touched down, the pen gave off wisps of golden fluorescence, turning into ink that followed his writing, solidifying into a name.

This was the official recognition document. Then another reward commendation—by rights, didn't require his signature, Cai Qidong could've signed it himself.

But since things had reached this stage, they might as well do it properly—go with the current, make the gesture count—so he kept holding the pen and signed another name.

Then, under the witness of No. 2 and No. 3, he took out the Scorching Sun Department's square seal and stamped both documents.

The next instant, both documents shot out two visible rays of golden light, instantly vanishing to the horizon.

"Alright, we better get a move on too—Qidong's pace is even faster than ours."

No. 2 held a tablet, looking at the documents on it.

"Rare to see a Demon who's also a Water God and walks the righteous path with genuine loyalty, and such solid achievements over the years—can't fake that. Logically, we should've known about this long ago."

The old man chuckled, with a hint of deeper meaning.

"From where we sit, unless it's a disaster on a massive scale, otherwise, we're not likely to know everything that happens."

"True, unless it's something terrible—otherwise, all we get is what's put on our desk by the folks below. We have so much to handle every day, it's just impossible to personally pursue every unknown out there."

"That's where Qidong is better than us—at least he's willing to stay on the front lines."

The old man's words had the other two shake their heads and smile wryly—they really didn't know how to respond.

...

Wen Yan was still by the riverbank, shooting the breeze with Jiang Yanyan, listening to Jiang Yanyan talk about the past years—how there were always kind folks coming by with big bags of fish feed every day. The whole group couldn't help but burst out laughing.

It wasn't even an hour before Wen Yan saw two streaks of golden light shooting out of the sky, descending rapidly and landing right on Jiang Yanyan.

Threads of golden light flowed over Jiang Yanyan, and a strange new power emerged.

Wen Yan immediately sensed it—this power, that hint of divine essence, was just like the force that erupted from his Scorching Sun Department protective vest when he was invaded by a Ghost.

And the divine essence was several levels above that of the vest.

Jiang Yanyan floated atop the water, head held high and eyes closed, as if receiving a baptism.

At the same time, Wen Yan also got a prompt.

"River God (In Transition)."

"The endangered river dolphin, having gained spiritual intelligence and received guidance, with a kind and pure nature, has saved more than a thousand people. Thus, she was worshipped by the people and gained a trace of divine power from a water deity.

Now, she has received official recognition and a bit of Divine Land's luck as a blessing, and may officially begin her transition, evolving to become a true River God.

This is her due, and has nothing to do with her Demon body."

"Temporary Ability.

1: Blessing.

Based on your fixed extra ability, Scorching Sun, progress has already surpassed 50%; prerequisites met. Blessing can be activated, briefly allowing her to manifest the River God Golden Body as a commendation.

2: Burning Body.

Based on your extra fixed ability, Scorching Sun, progress has already surpassed 50%; prerequisites met. Burning Body can be activated, scorching her divinity as a punishment."

Feeling the prompt, Wen Yan couldn't help scratching his head. The Burning Body part he could understand—his job was, after all, Natural Enemy, so having targeted tools was completely normal.

But this Blessing—wasn't that a bit weird?

Then he remembered, when he ran into Uncle back then, what he got was Scorching Sun.

Back then, he didn't really get the core point behind this Temporary Ability.

Now that it's Blessing and he doesn't get it, well, that's normal too.

Minister Cai really was efficient—such a short time and the official recognition came through.

But what did that other golden light mean?

Wen Yan looked at Feng Yao, asked her, but Feng Yao just stared blankly.

"What golden light?"

"Huh? You can't see it?"

"Nope."

Wen Yan looked at Zhang Laoxi, who also shook his head.

"I didn't see anything either. What golden light did you see?"