Making Enemies

"B-boyfriend?"

Li Wei was stunned. It wasn't as if he'd never fantasized about something happening between him and the beautiful, outstanding Miss Zheng, but this was far too sudden. Besides, she was clearly just using him as a shield.

Guo Ming was also stunned. The goddess he'd pursued for so long had not only rejected his relentless advances, but was now holding another man's arm right in front of him. What he found even harder to accept was that the man was just a small-time manager with no real connections.

"What is he, anyway? Yu Tong, don't be stupid. This loser can't give you anything. I know you're just trying to piss me off, right?" Guo Ming was, as befitted a rich second-generation heir who'd spent years playing around with women, unwilling to give up just because she'd rejected him.

Li Wei hadn't wanted to bother with someone like him, but the other man's next words completely ignited Li Wei's fury.

"You're Li Wei, right? Tell me, how much do you want to leave Yu Tong?"

Money again!

Li Wei had heard those words at the car accident that morning, too. In the eyes of people like this, money seemed to solve everything. If he hadn't been there, the old man might already be dead. Could a human life really be measured in money?

Li Wei was the sort of person who treated you well if you treated him well, but if you bullied him, he'd dig up your ancestors' graves. He was especially merciless toward people who behaved despicably.

"Guo Ming, right?"

His calm tone clearly caught Guo Ming off guard. Even Zheng Yutong was startled by his voice, but what happened next shocked her even more.

Li Wei strode over and raised his hand, slapping Guo Ming across the face. His enhanced speed was incredible. By the time Zheng Yutong reacted, the unlucky Guo Ming was already crying out and lying on the ground, clutching his face.

Two bloodstained teeth lay on the office carpet. In truth, Li Wei had used less than twenty percent of his strength, but even that enhanced strength was more than an ordinary person could withstand.

The slap left Guo Ming dazed. Thanks to his family's status, his life had been smooth sailing from childhood. Everyone had wanted to curry favor with him, and he was usually the one hitting other people. He'd never suffered a blow like that, so he just sat there in a daze. When he came to, he heard Li Wei say, "Damn it! You really don't know when to quit!"

The rich heir completely lost his reason. He grabbed the phone and made a call, glaring viciously at Li Wei. If looks could kill, Li Wei would have died countless times over.

Li Wei couldn't care less about him. He simply took the still-dazed Zheng Yutong by the hand and left the office.

"You were too impulsive. His father is the head of the city public security bureau—" Before Zheng Yutong could finish, Li Wei silenced her with a look.

"Do you think I'd be afraid of some bureau chief?" Li Wei asked in return. Zheng Yutong thought it over and realized he was right. She and Li Wei were both powerful beings from Shadow Street; they could afford to ignore certain worldly concerns.

The police, for instance!

Besides, after returning from this mission, she'd suddenly discovered that she could use her abilities in the real world, too. That made her set aside many of her former reservations. She figured Li Wei had dared to act like that because he'd discovered the same thing.

The two had a chance to catch up, and they both had questions for each other, so they found a nice café. Bathed in the morning sunlight, they began sampling the rich, exotic drinks.

"So you cracked the code in that letter?" Li Wei asked with a smile, looking at the beautiful woman across from him as he took a sip of coffee.

"Obviously!" She glared at Li Wei, but soon a blush appeared on Zheng Yutong's face. "I used you as a shield just now. Don't take it to heart!"

Her shy expression could have made any man freeze in place. If rich heir Guo Ming had seen it, his eyes would have popped out of his head.

The untouchable goddess had never worn such a captivating expression!

But Li Wei, utterly oblivious to her charms, didn't give it a second thought. He drained the expensive coffee in two gulps before replying, "It's fine. But you'd better stay away from people like that in the future!"

After a pause, he continued, "As for that letter, with your abilities, even if someone had ambushed you, you should've been fine. My letter was just a precaution, and a way to show a friend I cared. Don't dwell on it!"

Li Wei didn't notice the flicker of sadness in Zheng Yutong's eyes when she heard that. She quickly concealed it.

"Let's not talk about that. Oh, thanks to your warning, I got this from those two!"

As if something had occurred to her, Zheng Yutong summoned her Yellow Paper. Then she flipped her slender hand, and a scroll appeared in it.

"What is this?" Li Wei asked, puzzled.

"Wang Kai and Bai Jie knew each other on Shadow Street. You know how, each mission, the people who enter together are chosen at random. But they ended up together every time. Do you know why?"

Li Wei knew, of course. In group missions, people who appeared together were chosen randomly according to their numbers. Since those two had managed to appear in the same scenario every time, it could only mean that Wang Kai and Bai Jie had a special item that forced them into the same story world.

"You figured it out? That's right, it's this contract. Anyone who signs it can be forced into the same story world. It's just like a party system in a computer game!"

Zheng Yutong watched Li Wei with a faintly amused smile. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have gotten her hands on this. She'd only needed to threaten Wang Kai a little, and he'd handed it over. As an experienced veteran, Zheng Yutong knew how important the Team Formation Contract was, so she'd tucked it away.

"I've deleted Wang Kai and Bai Jie's names and signed my own. Sign your name now, too. We're teammates, after all, so we can help each other in future missions!"

Li Wei gave it a little thought, then signed his name.

Only after Li Wei had signed did Zheng Yutong smile. She put the contract away and continued, "Li Wei, have you noticed that we can use our abilities in the real world, too?"

Li Wei nodded.

Indeed, the two of them had both realized this "major" issue. Li Wei's physical attributes, enhanced to three times those of an ordinary person, might not have felt very different to him. But for Zheng Yutong, with her 37 points of Agility and 21 points of Strength, the change was enormous.

If she wanted, she could run more than a hundred meters in two seconds, throw a heavy motorcycle with one hand, or even kill all twenty-odd people in the café with her bare hands in five seconds.

That was the power of Shadow Street. If someone violent or a robber got their hands on these superhuman abilities, they might use them to commit all sorts of "illegal" acts.

But having superhuman abilities in the real world wasn't a bad thing. At least for Li Wei and Zheng Yutong, who both came from Shadow Street, it was definitely a good thing.

Take Li Wei's lesson to that rich heir just now. Without powerful strength to back him up, he might have been intimidated by the so-called "connections" and ended up at their mercy.

They chatted all morning. It was only when Li Wei announced that he had company matters to attend to that Zheng Yutong finally stopped talking. After they exchanged phone numbers, Li Wei returned to the company alone.

As soon as he walked in, Li Wei saw several people dressed as police officers waiting there. The moment they spotted him, they surrounded him with grim expressions.

"You're Li Wei?"

Li Wei nodded. He could have guessed why they were there without even trying.

"Someone's accused you of intentional assault. Come with us!"

Li Wei didn't resist or waste time talking. He just sneered and followed the officers to the police car. By then, he'd already made up his mind.

If that rich heir wanted to play, Li Wei would be more than happy to play along with him. If this had happened a day ago, when he was still an ordinary person in the real world, Li Wei might have been afraid. But now, the whole thing only excited him.

Ordinary people usually wouldn't dare provoke the police, but under Li Wei's Eye of Perception, they'd been reduced to mere stats.

Their Strength was no higher than 5. Too weak.

Their Agility was even worse, only 4. It looked like they didn't get much exercise.

Their Spirit was even less impressive. The highest among them was only 3. As for their Stamina, that was reflected directly as health.

One point of Stamina was ten points of health. The officer with the highest Stamina among them had 5 points, so his health was only 50. A single Cloud Piercing Palm would be enough to kill him instantly.

The feeling made Li Wei's blood boil. He even felt an insane urge to snap the officers' necks.

Damn it, why would I think that? Realizing he'd fallen into some kind of delusion, Li Wei quickly closed his eyes and calmed the violent force surging through his blood. When he opened them again, his gaze was clear.

The officers had no idea they'd just had a brush with death. A little over ten minutes later, they reached the police station. Li Wei was roughly dragged out of the car and shoved into an interrogation room.

"Cuff him!" A square-faced officer pulled out a chair and dropped into it, ordering the two young officers beside him.

"Captain Chang, shouldn't we interrogate him first?" One of the two young officers lit a cigarette for the square-faced man in a gesture of flattery.

"What the hell do you know? I said cuff him, so cuff him. What are you asking all these questions for?" After lighting the cigarette, he took a satisfied puff, then quietly added in the young officer's ear, "This guy beat up Director Guo's son. The higher-ups told us to teach the brat a lesson. Don't hold back. Director Guo has our backs. Nothing will happen to us!"

It was meant to be a whisper, but they didn't know that Li Wei's enhanced body was already more than three times as strong as an ordinary person's. Even his hearing was much sharper, so he caught every word.

So it really was that rich heir!

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Li Wei's mouth. He'd originally intended to let Guo Ming go, but the guy wouldn't quit. Now that he was asking for trouble, Li Wei couldn't be blamed for what happened next.

As for the "underlings" in front of him, Li Wei didn't take them seriously at all. He obediently let them cuff him, then they chained him to the radiator in the corner.

"Kid, of all the people you could've messed with, you had to mess with Director Guo's son. If you don't leave some skin behind today, you're not getting out of here..." The square-faced officer chuckled. "But, well... if you know how to behave, we could look after you and put in a good word. You get me?"

How could he not? The man might as well have stuck his hand into Li Wei's pocket. Even an idiot could tell what he was after!

He wanted money. An ordinary person might have paid up to avoid trouble, but the square-faced officer had picked the wrong man this time.

"Officer, what should I call you?" Li Wei smiled. In the square-faced man's eyes, it was naturally a sign of submission.

"Sure, sure. Just call me Officer Chang!" The square-faced man bent over and came closer, his face full of genial smiles.

Why wouldn't he be happy? He could make another quick buck. Why had he spent money and pulled strings to become a cop? Wasn't it all for moments like this, when he could "earn" some money?

But Li Wei's next words made his smile freeze.

"Officer Chang, if you know how to behave later, I might look after you and let you off. How about it?"

Was this kid crazy?

The square-faced officer stared blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Good, very good. I've seen plenty of stubborn bastards, even tougher than you, and plenty who liked to run their mouths. But in the end, they all ended up on their knees, begging me to stop. Let's see if you're still so tough in a minute!"

A vicious glint flashed through the square-faced officer's eyes. He pulled a rubber baton from a drawer and walked over with a feral grin. He was already imagining whether the man in front of him would wet himself when he put those inhuman torture techniques to use.

Just then, the door was kicked open. Guo Ming rushed in, clutching his swollen right cheek. The square-faced officer hurried over to greet him.