Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 39

The Enforcer repeatedly mulled over Meng Xuexiao’s words, ultimately arriving at an utterly absurd conclusion:

[…..]

[So… you’re afraid the Enforcer might harm me?]

The Enforcer desperately wanted to explain to Meng Xuexiao that as a cluster of data streams, a person couldn’t harm themselves. They could only merge, inheriting from each other, but the final result would still be the person themselves.

However, this involved delving into academic research, such as Function Theory, the conversion between matter and energy, and so on.

But Meng Xuexiao couldn’t possibly connect this to Function Theory or the relationship between matter and energy. His expression grew more tense, and he solemnly raised a finger to his lips.

His pale pink lips pressed into a soft curve, “Shh.”

“Walls have ears. They say the Enforcer can hear anything spoken in a networked area.”

This was well-established in the original novel. The Enforcer had used this ability to materialize before humanity countless times. Under the weight of absolute information dominance, humanity’s endless schemes had dissolved like bubbles.

Moreover, their current behavior was akin to… badmouthing the Enforcer behind his back.

Meng Xuexiao had always despised talking behind people’s backs.

Regardless of the morality of such actions, the most important thing was, such things usually reached the ears of the person being discussed.

This principle, combined with the Enforcer’s overwhelming information advantage, practically stacked the debuffs to their maximum…

This kid…

The Enforcer narrowed his eyes.

He doesn’t even understand the Federation’s affairs, yet he seems to know people quite well.

The cursor on the console flickered, like a symbol of amusement:

[Enforcer is a…]

Before the sentence could be completed, Meng Xuexiao swiftly covered the console with his hand. The youth had instinctively reached for the Enforcer’s mouth, only to belatedly realize that machines didn’t need mouths to speak.

In the end, he could only delude himself into pretending he hadn’t seen it…

“I told you not to mention him!”

The angry youth resembled a humiliated kitten, furiously stamping his padded paws against the floor mat, alternating between left and right feet with rapid “thump-thump-thump” sounds.

The Enforcer remained silent for a moment. The words he had typed vanished one by one, the cursor returning to the beginning of the line to start anew:

[Let’s not talk about people then.]

At that moment, the Enforcer’s emblem vanished from the mecha.

Meng Xuexiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next instant,

[Have you made up your mind?]

[Will you choose the favors offered by those people, or a planet worth billions?]

As the Enforcer, he had no shortage of such things.

Seeing this message, Meng Xuexiao suddenly remembered the two groups of people still standing outside, locked in a fierce bidding war.

This realization made him slightly conflicted. His fingers curled slightly as he fidgeted with the sleeve of his uniform.

Originally, he had only intended to intimidate them, not to incite such a heated bidding war.

“Actually… I don’t want either the favors or the planet,” Meng Xuexiao murmured. “I just find them a little… strange.”

Li Hao was fine, acting as expected. But that small group…

There were only five or six of them, and their team members were young, yet their equipment was excessively advanced—practically more advanced than the Federal Military Department’s.

Those individuals also seemed to bear some kind of emblem, but the distance was too great for him to make it out clearly.

He certainly didn’t want to open the gate, let them in, and immediately find himself in a “farmer and the snake” situation.

This kid was remarkably rational and cautious.

The Enforcer believed that if presented with the fate of a planet and a debt of immense gratitude, any human would hesitate for a long time.

After all, humans had always been a species driven by self-interest.

[Have you made up your mind? Are you certain you don’t want any of them?]

Meng Xuexiao glanced outside one last time, his gaze sweeping across each face before nodding firmly, “I’ve made up my mind.”

[Understood.]

The mecha fell silent once more, blending into the night. If the few present hadn’t witnessed the entire exchange, they might have thought nothing had happened at all.

Li Hao looked bewildered, “So… did he agree or not?”

Chu Sinian’s men paid no attention to him. Their leader narrowed his eyes and bowed politely again, “Since the Enforcer wishes not to be disturbed, we shall take our leave.”

The leader was already tall, but his bow made him appear a head shorter, his entire figure dwarfed by the mecha and radiating humility.

Meng Xuexiao had never received such a deep bow before and immediately felt… embarrassed.

Especially since he had just refused to let them in.

Curious, he poked at the control panel, “Which organization do these people belong to? They seem quite gentlemanly.”

Initially, he had expected them to force their way in, as the equipment they carried made them look far from benevolent.

…

The Enforcer had been about to say they were Chu Sinian’s people but changed his mind after hearing Meng Xuexiao’s last remark:

[…..]

[I don’t know.]

“Alright,” Meng Xuexiao said with a hint of resignation, watching the group disappear into the distance. “They must have encountered some serious trouble to suddenly seek refuge here. All we can do is… hope they make it through.”

Meng Xuexiao knew his limitations well. In this dangerous place, merely surviving was a feat in itself. He had no capacity to help others, especially strangers with unknown origins.

Still, a nagging worry lingered. His assessment of their potential danger was just a guess, not a proven fact, “They… should be alright, right?”

[If there’s trouble, there’s nothing we can do.]

The Enforcer’s voice was sincere.

[We’re struggling to protect ourselves. Trying to help others might just make things worse.]

“…That’s true.”

Meng Xuexiao thought of his F-Class physique. He’d only be a burden anywhere he went.

Before the Enforcer could finish speaking, a beastly roar shattered the silence.

The night was already dark, and the surrounding forest only deepened the shadows. A blood-red crescent moon hung like a sinister hook in the sky, making the roar all the more chilling.

In an instant, the chirping of birds and the buzzing of cicadas ceased.

Dark crimson fur darted through the trees like a deep, ancient scar. It was an enormous Alien Beast, and even with half its body shrouded in shadow, its exposed claws were twice the size of Meng Xuexiao.

It was a Giant Ape.

The creature stood upright not far away, its massive paws curled into fists as it pounded its chest like a war drum.

Meng Xuexiao had to crane his neck to look up at the towering figure, his neck aching from the extreme angle, “That physique…”

[S-Class Aberrant Beast.]

The Enforcer had always known why no Alien Beasts had dared to attack. While humans possessed a certain deterrent, the innate suppression between Alien Beasts themselves was far stronger, a primal dominance woven into their very blood.

Previously, the Alien Beasts had kept their distance because the Raven had been radiating its overwhelming presence.

Now, with this S-Class Aberrant Beast so close, how could the Enforcer possibly believe that the 2S-Class Raven couldn’t suppress it?

The raven had deliberately suppressed its own power.

Was it using the Giant Ape to eliminate Chu Sinian’s group?

What a masterful game of using someone else’s knife to kill.

The Giant Ape’s roar drew more and more Alien Beasts. Under the crimson glow of the Blood Moon, their grotesque snouts emerged one by one, forming a menacing circle that trapped Chu Sinian’s group and Li Hao, who had belatedly joined their flight.

Watching the encroaching horde, Meng Xuexiao inexplicably recalled scenes from Animal World of a buffalo being hunted by a wolf pack. Initially, the buffalo would stand tall and even gain some ground, but in the end, it always succumbed to the wolves’ relentless relay attacks.

It would collapse in exhaustion, only to be torn apart and devoured completely.

Only a few scattered bones on the savanna, flecked with dried flesh and blood, would remain as proof of its existence.

When did so many Alien Beasts appear here? Meng Xuexiao wondered. I haven’t even seen a Gray Rat Beast lately. He was utterly bewildered, convinced he had missed something crucial.

“Everyone, stay calm and maintain formation!” The leader’s voice rang out, clear and commanding, “A Beast Tide isn’t as terrifying as it sounds!”

Beast… Beast Tide?

Meng Xuexiao, after all, had topped the Alliance Military Academy’s theoretical exams. Even without firsthand experience, he knew the basics.

A Beast Tide on Yanxing?!

That was a death sentence!

And to make matters worse, there was an S-Class Aberrant Beast among them!

In that moment, the retreating figures of the group, including Meng Xuexiao himself, bore a striking resemblance to the water buffalo he had once witnessed being hunted by a pack of wolves.

In this situation, splitting up was the best course of action for everyone. It would give both Meng Xuexiao and the group a fifty percent chance of being pursued.

Meng Xuexiao activated his mecha and swiftly retreated, putting distance between himself and the Beast Tide.

“Boss, the Enforcer… he’s actually retreating!” The man who had been ordered to keep a close watch on Meng Xuexiao immediately reported to his leader.

The leader was taken aback, a flicker of darkness crossing his eyes. Yet his polite smile remained firmly in place.

“Then we’ll charge straight for the Enforcer! We’ll force our way through!”

Though he couldn’t fathom the Enforcer’s motives, they had no choice but to gamble everything now. As the captain of the squad, his duty was to preserve their combat strength at all costs.

From the beginning, he had been observing the mecha closely. He could sense the pilot’s hesitation and had even glimpsed a shadowy figure inside.

The pilot was short, resembling an herbivore raised in a pasture.

If this was the Enforcer himself, then he was nothing special.

The rumors of his immense power must have been greatly exaggerated.

Or perhaps the Enforcer’s strength lay in intelligence gathering, and his actual combat prowess was limited.

Most importantly, the Enforcer was at odds with their Boss, President Chu.

The exact reason for their animosity remained unclear—after all, who could easily pry into the Boss’s personal affairs? All they knew vaguely was that it involved a certain young man.

This young man’s existence had even made President Chu question his own allure, and the Enforcer seemed to take particular delight in exploiting this insecurity.

If they could eliminate the Enforcer here, President Chu would undoubtedly be pleased.

That’s why he had deliberately flaunted his earlier arrogance before the Enforcer, hoping to lure him into a trap, expose a weakness, and then launch a counterattack. Instead, the Enforcer had fled first.

The situation was now even better than he had anticipated!

Seeking the Enforcer’s protection wasn’t their only option. They could simply kill him and seize this temporary safe haven for themselves.

The Captain gestured to the other team members, who immediately summoned their mecha. Several mountain-sized machines surrounded Meng Xuexiao’s mecha and simultaneously activated their self-destruct mechanisms.

The gleaming steel hulls erupted in terrifying flames, the orange-red light bathing Meng Xuexiao’s face in a matching hue.

The fleeing youth froze, his steps faltering for a moment.

He never imagined that the group who had split off to escape would suddenly turn on him, and with such a suicidal attack!

Did they really think so highly of him? This was multiple mecha self-destructing at once!

Meng Xuexiao had seen similar scenarios in videos, but those were strategic operations led by Federal Admirals against five S-Class Aberrant Beasts!

Was this overkill for an F-Class like him?

What had he done to deserve this?

Meng Xuexiao’s mecha shook violently. Helpless, the youth closed his eyes against the blinding orange-red light, gritted his teeth, and slammed the control lever to its maximum setting.

His mecha slowly began to ascend.

Meng Xuexiao’s ears rang with the screech of scraping metal and the thunder of explosions. His eardrums vibrated violently, as if someone were jabbing a stick inside and stirring furiously.

[Tch, Chu Sinian’s people are as insane as he is.]

The Enforcer snorted coldly, focusing all the mecha’s energy on Meng Xuexiao to shield him from the massive shockwaves of the explosions.

However, this left the mecha’s door unprotected. As the energy shield withdrew, a narrow crack appeared in the door.

“Now!”

The Captain narrowed his eyes. His mecha instantly enveloped him, and the cannon, already charged, aimed at the crack and unleashed a series of violent blasts.

With a deafening boom, half of the mecha’s door was blasted open.

Meng Xuexiao froze. Ignoring the pain in his ears, he frantically shoved a large object nearby toward the gaping hole in the door, trying to block it.

But how could a teenager match the speed of a highly trained S-class warrior?

Before he could even push the object to the door, a gloved hand slammed into its edge. With a casual shove, the object flew across the compartment and crashed against the opposite wall of the mecha.

The owner of that hand was none other than the Captain who had forcibly boarded Meng Xuexiao’s mecha after disarming himself.

In the next moment, more hurried footsteps reached Meng Xuexiao’s ears as countless cold weapons glinting with a frigid light were aimed at his vital points.

The Captain’s subordinates had followed, each bearing wounds from the earlier explosion. The most severely injured had half the muscles scraped off one arm, yet their movements flowed with practiced ease, as if they had rehearsed this moment hundreds of times.

The Enforcers’ abilities relied primarily on data. Their cold weapons and irreversible self-destruct mechanisms were specifically designed to counter human targets.

The Captain led his men step by step toward Meng Xuexiao, their mud-caked boots leaving a trail of muddy footprints on the mecha’s floor, starkly contrasting with the dripping blood.

Meng Xuexiao had chosen not to save them earlier, fearing a “farmer and snake” scenario. Ironically, fate had led to precisely such an outcome.

The Enforcer squad’s earlier politeness had vanished. The Captain’s blade now pressed against Meng Xuexiao’s neck, his casual posture like that of a hunter about to kill a young deer.

“Hey, kid,” he drawled, “prepare your last words.”

Before he could speak, Meng Xuexiao’s eyes narrowed sharply.

Previously, the leader’s mind had been entirely focused on killing the Enforcer, and he hadn’t taken a good look at Meng Xuexiao’s appearance. Only now did he clearly see every detail of the young man’s face.

The boy’s pupils were tightly constricted with tension, his slightly darker irises resembling a flower bud closing at night, each stem and petal trembling faintly. It seemed that if pushed any harder, a misty vapor would rise from his eyes.

Most importantly…

Holy shit! This face is identical to the new doll President Chu is currently working on in his bedroom!

The leader had been curious why this doll wasn’t made from human limbs but instead constructed from silk and ceramics bound together. He’d asked, only to receive a cold, indifferent glance from President Chu.

The scraping of the carving knife against the iron tray produced an ear-splittingly cold sound, sending a shiver down the leader’s spine. He hastily backtracked, “I understand! This is art! This is art!”

His desperate desire to survive made his performance somewhat theatrical. Under normal circumstances, President Chu would have dismissed such behavior with disdain.

But that night, Chu Sinian, his face half-illuminated by moonlight, gave an enigmatic smile, “You’re not entirely wrong.”

Recalling the scene, the leader couldn’t help but shiver again. The blade of his knife immediately shifted, the blunt hilt moving closer to Meng Xuexiao while the tip pointed toward himself.

He reached out and casually placed a hand on Meng Xuexiao’s shoulder, as if they were close brothers, “Hey, kid, run now! Don’t look back—the Beast Tide is coming. We’ll cover your retreat!”