Atavism

Chapter 10

"Public security?" I was completely baffled.

"City Legends, is that what they say?"

I was stunned for a moment. This world is truly surreal. But after Liu Er's performance just now, my mental fortitude has strengthened considerably.

"It's you?"

"Of course. Only I, only I, can create this city's legend!"

Liu Er couldn't help but laugh. A very unrestrained laugh.

Tall, with similar techniques, a lone wolf, highly skilled, impervious to blades, and with a different appearance and gender each time—it turns out to be Liu Er.

Many people say that these lone wolves practiced hard qigong, but Guizi Tang's explanation is closer to the truth. The strength and toughness of the mutated hair on Liu Er's body far exceeds that of ordinary hair; it is indeed a "Heavenly Silkworm Armor."

There's no need to ask him why he did it. He must think of himself as a real-life Spider-Man or Flash. This outcast is determined to create an immortal legend in the human world.

This is probably just the beginning.

I sighed and said, "You must uphold justice in the darkness."

Liu Er stopped laughing and nodded: "Yes, you think it's inappropriate?"

I don't want to say anything like all crimes should be punished by law; he won't listen. The current Liu Er (a nickname for a person) must believe that his actions have upheld a justice that the system cannot reach. Of course, allowing personal will to replace the law is very dangerous, but that's not what I'm truly worried about.

This world is made up of all sorts of rules, some of which are visible and some are not.

Whether you can see it or not, a rule is a rule.

However, Liu Er is breaking the rules.

Even in the corners where the law cannot reach, there are rules. Destroying them so thoroughly and ruthlessly will eventually lead to hitting the rock.

Moreover, in my memory, no so-called "non-human" beings are so fond of showing off. Their world is called the dark world because they always hide in the shadows.

Is this a rule of the underworld?

If the dark world were exposed to sunlight, the world that was already bathed in sunlight would surely descend into chaos.

"I just think it's dangerous."

"Danger?" Six Ears laughed. "There's no danger. My little guys are the best weapons. I can make them as hard as steel needles, piercing from any angle. My eyesight, hearing, and stamina are many times better than before. In fact, I don't even need those little guys to fight. No strong man could stand up after taking a punch from me. I've tried. I can jump more than ten meters high, and spreading out my fur when jumping down increases air resistance. Don't think I only go out during the day. Many times, while you were sleeping, I jumped directly out of the window and came back through the window. What's that French Spider-Man who climbed the Jin Mao Tower compared to that? If it weren't inconvenient during the day, the cameras you installed wouldn't be able to catch me."

I was surprised; Liu Er's abilities were even more astonishing than I had imagined: "You're practically Superman, just one step away from flying!"

"Fly?" Six-Eared's expression shifted. "I could actually give it a try and see if the little things can handle it. But I'm afraid I'll have to wait until they grow a bit more; they're growing too slowly right now. Hmm, in a while, I'll be able to spread my wings big enough. Maybe then I can even descend into the church as an angel." The possibility of flying excited Six-Eared considerably.

Damn it, isn't this Sun Wukong's 72 Transformations? I suddenly realized.

And Liu Er can transform into far more than seventy-two different forms; he can transform into almost anything he wants.

"How far can your body deform?" I couldn't help but ask.

"It depends on how long the little thing is. I can transform things with a diameter of three to four meters. But I can't shrink them. I don't know how to shrink bones. I can feel the existence of muscles, bones and blood more and more clearly now. I can shrink a little bit by desperately trying to control it, maybe a few centimeters shorter. That's the limit. So it's inconvenient when I dress up as a woman. It's too conspicuous."

"So... what are your plans for the future?"

"Plans?" This time, Liu Er was stunned.

"Since you're not going to get treatment, have you thought about what you'll do in the future?"

I already knew Liu Er would be stumped before I even asked him; he's currently in a frenzy over his new toy and hasn't thought about the future at all. I asked him hoping he'd calm down; there's no savior in this world, and he doesn't even know where his own path lies.

"Do you want to be Spider-Man forever? You know the police are looking for you, and you'll soon be a wanted criminal," I continued.

"Wanted criminal? Why!" Liu Er shouted.

"You killed someone, didn't you?"

"I killed trash, they deserved to die. Besides, I didn't intentionally use excessive force, I just lost control..."

“You killed people.” I stared at him, and his eyes began to redden.

"This isn't a world of martial arts novels. Even if you injure someone, the police will arrest you, especially since someone has already died."

"Oh, so you're going to call the police?" Liu Er stared at me, his breathing clearly audible.

I shook my head inwardly; his emotions were too unstable. "I just want you to know that this road is not easy," I said calmly.

"I'm sorry, I..." Liu Er realized his slip of the tongue.

"I've always considered you a friend, which is why I hope you can think this through."

"Thanks for reminding me, but those police won't be able to find me. What can they do? I don't have fingerprints, taking photos won't help, and no one can follow me." Liu Er said, then became somewhat smug. "I like this city, and I want to keep it clean, so I'm helping to remove some filth. I'll stop when I feel it's enough, and then I'll think carefully about what to do next."

"In that case, you should be careful. Even if the police can't find you, those vicious thugs are not easy to deal with. The ones you encountered before were just ordinary hooligans. I think you've already angered many guys. If you continue down this path, you might run into danger."

"Those trash, those chickens and dogs, no matter how many come, they're not enough for me to beat with one hand," Liu Er said dismissively.

"I know you're not afraid of knives, but what about guns? Can you withstand bullets? Although China has strict gun control and Shanghai has good public security, there's no guarantee that gangsters don't have one on hand."

"A gun..." Liu Er frowned slightly: "I've never tried that before. Maybe it can hold its own, maybe it won't. I understand, I'll be careful."

That's all I can say; I'll see how much he can take in.

"Bang!" A stack of RMB was thrown onto the table.

"Rent," Liu Er said.

I frowned and pushed the money back.

"This is ill-gotten gains." Liu Er smiled, didn't press me, and put the money away.

I don't understand why he's still lingering here with me; he could go anywhere else in the world. Strictly speaking, I'm harboring a serious criminal, and if I get caught, I'll probably go to jail. In any case, I can't accept any more stolen money.

What reassured me a little was that the arrest warrant had not yet been issued.

The city's legend was unfolding right before my eyes. Every night, Liu Er would tell me what he had done that day and how it went. His storytelling skills were improving day by day, and he was almost catching up with me. The next afternoon, I listened to Yang Hua's interview at the newspaper office. Many people were shouting and cheering, but little did they know that the original story in my head was ten times more exciting.

“Sometimes I wonder if there’s any need for the existence of gray-area forces,” Liu Er said thoughtfully. I think he must have seen or heard something.

"This is a very simple principle; the Italian Mafia has also played a positive role in the past."

Liu Er smiled and said, "In any case, a cleansing is always necessary. I've started to figure out how these forces work. I'm going to start tomorrow."

His unspoken meaning was...

"You're not thinking of becoming a mafia godfather, are you?" I glared at him.

"That's a good idea!" Liu Er laughed heartily.

Seeing my sullen face, Liu Er waved his hand and said, "I was just saying that. I haven't thought about my future path yet."

He didn't know that I wasn't a righteous person who viewed the underworld as an enemy. Anyone who could truly become a godfather of the underworld must have something about them that I could learn from and even respect.

But he—Six Ears—was far too immature psychologically compared to his bizarre and extraordinary abilities. Even an ordinary thug, let alone a mafia godfather, had a far deeper understanding of the world than he did.

Even the largest and sturdiest ship will eventually hit a rock if a child is in charge.

"What are you planning to do tomorrow?" I asked.

"I'll report the results to you tomorrow night. Good night." Liu Er walked into the bedroom.

tomorrow?

How far is he from the reef?

What is this? Liang Yingwu made a V-sign with his fingers.

"victory."

Don't overthink it.

"Oh, it's two."

Liang Yingwu sighed: "These are two fingers."

I gave in to him: "Cold-faced, please don't play such a stupid game. This world is complicated because of people like you."

"Hey, please don't give people nicknames so casually."

"Ha, but I think it suits me perfectly. Oh, hehehe, look, look."

Liang Yingwu quickly lowered his head, his face immediately contorting in pain. He had been busy gesturing with his hands, and a fly had circled in front of him a few times before finally deciding to land on the half-eaten bowl of cold noodles he hadn't had time to finish, and began to crawl along the noodles.

"Boss, another bowl, please!"

My eyes widened immediately: "I thought you'd had enough to eat. How come you don't gain weight with such a big appetite?"

Liang Yingwu pointed to his head: "The energy that mental laborers expend is something that you, a manual laborer, can never imagine."

“I see it, just one finger.” I crouched at strategic height and looked down on him with utter contempt.

A mysterious cold noodle shop recently opened in an alley near my workplace—yes, that's the name. The shop only sells cold noodles, all kinds of cold noodles, with over twenty different toppings displayed in a row—absolutely delicious. Liang Yingwu had heard about it from me several times, and finally had some free time this afternoon to rush over and try it out.

"One bowl of Seven Scoundrels' Cold Noodles is here." The fat waiter's voice was deep and resonant, like a bass, as he slammed the noodles onto the table with great force.

A noodle dish with seven ingredients is called "Seven Swordsmen Descending from Heaven," but noodle makers have no say in which seven ingredients to use; it's entirely up to the skinny man who makes the noodles. Therefore, the "Seven Swordsmen" Liang Yingwu ate this time tasted different from the previous one, though equally delicious. To prevent noodle makers from mistaking it for "Seven Swordsmen Descending from Heaven," the walls were covered with vertical menu banners.

If it's the "Eight Immortals Jumping into the Sea" cold noodles, it'll cost an extra dollar, and so on. Originally, the promotion was only until the 11th (October 11th) and then ended. I guessed the owner had limited cultural knowledge and couldn't think of any new phrases, so he told the chubby waiter that there were also "Twelve Guessing Games of Jinling" and "Thirteen Too Full." As a result, two more banners appeared the next day, and I also got a 20% discount as a VIP.

“You see, this is how spiritual civilization is transformed into material civilization,” I said to Liang Yingwu.

In such an environment, it's not surprising that I had the urge to give Liang Yingwu a nickname.

"The highest level of nickname creation is pun. I used to have a boss who had a doctorate, and his surname was Tian, so everyone called him Tian Bo. Later I found out that it wasn't Tian Bo, but Tian Bo (a nickname implying a senior official).

"What's the meaning?"

Do you know what Tian Boguang's abbreviation is?

Liang Yingwu shook his head.

"That's a figure at the pinnacle of the flower-picking world, yet he hasn't even read the surreal masterpiece 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.' I'm speechless."

"Bullshit, you're talking too much today, and you're speechless! What's with that 'cold noodles' thing, it's a double entendre again?"

I chuckled and said jokingly, "In the food world, I'll give you a code: 'Good noodles' means noodles that are chewy, elastic, and have excellent qualities. You should learn a lot from cold noodles."

Half of the cold noodles were gone. He stopped talking and asked, "Are you done rambling?"

"That's all."

"You can't understand why Six Ears can control so many hairs at the same time. You think the human brain can't handle such a complex task, right?"