21 Chapter 21 (Two in One)
◎They are worried about the beasts eating people, but the fish are already on the table???◎
"Boss Ye! Boss Ye, wait for me!"
Zhou Shi was so frightened that his mind went blank. He instinctively got up and quickly caught up with Ye Ping'an.
The pier behind them was cracked and ripped by the strange fish, but the strange slime had disappeared. The fog on the water surface gradually dissipated, and the deep pool seemed to have returned to calm.
The croaking of frogs was noisy, and in the distance, the sound of fish leaping could be heard faintly on the water's surface, just like any other day.
But it was already getting dark, the shallow water plants were swaying, and there were heavy shadows, as if there were other monsters lurking underwater.
Zhou Shi was so frightened that he dared not look anymore. He limped and quickened his pace while pressing on the wound.
If Ye Ping'an hadn't been dragging the strange fish in his hand, she would have wanted to just stick close to Ye Ping'an.
Only when the incandescent light in the room flickered did Zhou Shi feel like he had escaped death.
The fish, with its bumpy, lumpy scales and massive size, was a bit stuck in the doorway as it emerged from the pier. Ye Ping'an switched gears and pulled it through the door. Zhou Shi didn't dare approach, but she was used to handling large fish pulled out of the reservoir or overflowing nets. She dragged a new dragnet and flatbed from the doorway and, trembling, cast it over from the side, enveloping the fish.
Splash. The strange fish emerged from the water and was successfully dragged into the car and over the threshold.
Zhou Shi felt relieved when he saw the strange fish hadn't moved. He couldn't help but ask, "Boss Ye, aren't you afraid?"
Ye Pingan was surprised, "What are you afraid of?"
Following her terrified gaze to the fish, Ye Pingan paused for a moment before coming to his senses, feeling both amused and helpless.
"Aren't you a fishmonger? You should have seen a lot of big fish, so why are you afraid of this?"
Zhou Shi just shook his head.
I’m not, I didn’t, stop talking nonsense!
"Are fish and this weird fish the same thing?!"
"How can they not be the same?" Ye Ping'an said as a matter of course, squatting down and holding the fish head up to the light. "Nowadays, the ecological environment is really well protected. The fish are getting bigger and bigger. Look at these eyeballs. They can even be made into a grilled fish eye dish."
Zhou Shi's expression couldn't help but twist. "Is this an ecological protection issue?! Boss Ye, look carefully at these teeth, these scales, there are even fish bones hanging from it! Is this thing really edible?!"
"Bones are normal. Even old turtles have moss growing on their bones. Fish of this size will have some moss on them. It's a pity that the scales are a bit fried. The scales will probably be difficult to clean out, so I can't cook with them. Teeth? What's wrong with the teeth?"
Ye Ping'an was confused and pried open the fish lips.
There was a circle of knife-like teeth protruding from the inside of the fish lips. Zhou Shi felt a chill on his back and the wound ached slightly when he saw it.
Wait... Zhou Shi suddenly realized a problem.
Didn't the fish monster bite her shoulders and waist when she escaped? How come she's still alive and able to crawl and walk until now?
He quickly checked the wound in the light and was stunned when he saw it.
The wound that I remembered bleeding from did bleed a little, but it was just a small stream flowing down my shoulder, and now the bleeding has stopped.
In the panic, I thought that the part I bit off was not broken, not even the flesh was hurt. There was just a big red mark with a circle of teeth marks around the edge. The clothes were torn, and it looked particularly scary.
This type of injury is very common when catching fish and shrimp. At most, the area is a little larger.
It was as if the escape just now was just an illusion caused by being too frightened.
The strange fish's mouth was pinched open, and Ye Ping'an's slender fingers, covered with thin calluses, poked at the thick gelatinous substance of the fish's lips. The sharp teeth that could bite through a thick board in one bite were prodded here and there by Ye Ping'an, as if he were pressing a small tooth toy.
"I've definitely never seen a black carp with teeth like these. Did piranhas get into the reservoir before and cause a hybrid mutation? When they get big, they're still pretty scary."
Zhou Shi swallowed hard, watching the strange fish with its mouth wide open, dying, its lips trembling but unable to close.
While saying "scary", Ye Ping'an continued to poke his teeth and pinch the fish lips with great interest, muttering to himself as if he was picking on the quality of ingredients in the market.
"It's a bit ugly... The skin and scales are useless, so I can only fillet and sell them. The meat is quite firm, so I should be able to get half of it from a little over 200 pounds? But it's old, so I'm afraid it'll be rough. I need to cook it well."
The strange fish was turned over and over to examine every detail, and its entire body was twisted like a pretzel.
An invisible and silent wail of pain seemed to come from the sharp teeth in the throat of a strange fish, and Zhou Shi was in a trance for a moment.
For a moment, she seemed to see the tail of the strange fish raised, and the mucus on the fish's body formed a huge shadow like a mountain in the mist. The mucus seemed to be a living thing, expanding and contracting like breathing.
But the next second, the strange fish, which had been lifted up and dangling by the head, fell heavily to the ground, causing the cart to stagger. The slime that had been spreading far away suddenly broke and shrank back.
A streak of black blood slowly flowed from the empty eyes of the strange fish, as if the blood had already solidified.
Its erect scales trembled, and parts fell off with a clattering sound. The small fish trapped inside soon fell out of the net. The black slime that had been flowing everywhere it moved completely converged, and the remaining traces dried up. The dehydrated skin became wrinkled, and it really did look a bit like an oversized piranha.
——Dying version.
Ye Ping'an searched online for pictures and compared them, praising his own accurate judgment. "I knew it was a piranha! Hmm... in that case, I'm afraid only the belly meat is delicious."
Somehow, Zhou Shi could feel pity for the hideous scales of the strange fish.
If it were a monster, how could it be pulled and poked around so easily? So, it must have mutated.
But... piranhas are not much better than monsters!
"Fortunately, we discovered it early." Zhou Shi wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with a pale face. She couldn't bear to think about what would happen if piranhas mixed into the reservoir without her noticing.
She tried to catch the "big blue" several times, but when she really caught one and put it home, she was afraid that the fish would eat it without her knowing!
Ye Ping'an poked the fish, and the fish's reaction became weaker and weaker. She rolled her eyes and said, "Boss, your fish looks a little dead. Can you give me a discount?"
Zhou Shi: ...
You've been pulling it ashore for so long just to get a discount, right?!
The feeling of being in a dilemma diluted the fear and tension. Zhou Shi nodded weakly, "If I die, I die. Don't even mention a discount. I'll just give it to you."
"That won't do. I'm here to do business sincerely and won't let my partners suffer. Boss Zhou, please give me a price for the other fish I want." Ye Ping'an shook his head.
"If it weren't for you today, I wouldn't have been able to catch this fish. It almost killed me in the water. I was blessed to have you save my life. A fish is nothing!"
Now looking at the strange fish, Zhou Shi was still a little scared and wished Ye Ping'an would take it away quickly.
Zhou Shi's gratitude grew as he spoke. "I'm afraid Curry won't be able to catch any fish these days because of it. I'll catch the shrimp right away and put all the fish in the tank for Boss Ye!"
Ye Pingan said righteously, "Let's put it this way. You still have to pay me. Otherwise, who do you think I am? Are you taking advantage of me? Do you still want to do business with me in the future?"
"The big fish is for you, and for the rest, pay Boss Ye the lowest price. Let's be friends!" Zhou Shi pulled out a roll of money from his waist bag and stuffed it all into Ye Ping'an's hands without counting it. "Since we're all on the same page, you must accept this as a thank you. The house is a mess today, Boss Ye, you've really worked hard!"
Ye Pingan: "This is not good..."
Zhou Shi was worried about being rejected again, and was about to hold her hand tightly to prevent her from stuffing the money back, but she saw Ye Ping'an quickly retract her hand and put it in her pocket.
It's not good, why are you taking it so quickly?
Zhou Shi's mouth twitched, and he felt much more at ease.
She held onto the wall and followed Ye Ping'an slowly into the house, only then she noticed an indescribable stench in the house.
Fish scales mingled with a pool of black vomit, a murky, rancid stream of sewage extending from the front door to the street outside. When the light shone on it, Zhou Shi could see streaks of blood. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered her husband's pale, vacant appearance.
Zhou Shi burst into tears and ran forward in panic, "Old Wang!"
"Sweeping the floor." The tall, thin figure, like a wandering soul, mumbled a reply and came in from the front door with a mop in hand. Seeing Zhou Shi, his weak steps suddenly quickened. "How did you get into this state? Where are you hurt?"
Old Wang's face was pale, but his cheekbones were flushed. Zhou Shi knew at a glance that he had a fever.
She pounced on him and groped him up and down, "Are you hurt? What happened this afternoon? This..."
Zhou Shi glanced terrifiedly at the fish scales and dirty water all over the floor, "What's going on?"
"Thank goodness, young boss." Old Wang was relieved after seeing her wounds, and sighed slowly and vaguely, "A fish died this afternoon, and I figured you'd go out to meet some customers and grill it for us. But I was too sleepy to handle it properly, and I felt it wasn't grilled well, so I ate it myself. I dozed off while eating, and when young boss woke me up, I realized you hadn't removed the bones or scraped off the scales. Not only did I get an upset stomach, but my mouth was also scratched. I just found it and sprayed it with medicine, but my stomach still feels uncomfortable. I almost vomited on young boss, but luckily he didn't pursue the matter."
Zhou Shi was frightened when he saw his bloody mouth. "I know, I know. Stop talking. Let's go to the hospital to get some medicine later. Let's go and have a look."
The couple were both still in shock. They looked at each other, their minds filled with the thrilling experience of the entire afternoon.
The strange fish is mutated, but the husband's appearance doesn't seem normal at all. The couple is really unlucky.
Zhou Shi murmured softly, "I'm afraid our ancestors would be so happy to have Boss Ye save us."
The husband nodded sympathetically.
Despite the shock, they were still busy with their accustomed work. They worked together to clean up, weighed the fish for Ye Ping'an, emptied the tanks one by one, and hauled them into the van.
The strange fish was so big that the bucket Ye Ping'an brought with him when he went out was not big enough to hold it.
Zhou Shi cleared out a large, bathtub-like plastic tub and barely managed to fit the largest of the fish. Once in the van, it practically filled the entire compartment. The rest of the fish and shrimp had to squeeze into the gaps on either side. Even the two cartons of eggs he'd just picked up and a tied-up old hen were crammed pitifully into a corner.
Several buckets of fish were only filled with some of the original water in the tank. Ye Pingan looked at them and said, "I saw on Boss Zhou's WeChat Moments that the water quality of the reservoir is good. Usually, when selling fish, they will fill some and take them home to raise them for a few more days. How come..."
When Zhou Shi went to the shallow water to fish for shrimp with the shrimp net, his nerves were tense to the limit, fearing that something else would emerge from the water. When he heard the question, his scalp tingled.
She raced through her brain to come up with an excuse, "Well...well...the pier was just damaged, and we can't carry that much water now."
"It's okay, I'll go fetch some water. Just don't go into the middle." Ye Ping'an agreed readily.
Zhou Shi opened his mouth and reached out to grab the person, but Ye Ping'an had already picked up the bucket and walked towards the back door with light steps.
The sun had completely faded, leaving the mountain lights scarce and the sparse stars unable to penetrate the water, leaving it completely dark. Even the outline of the mountain in front of the reservoir was cast in shadow, like a monster lurking in the darkness.
The ripples on the water surface are so shallow that if you don't look carefully you might think it's a pool of quiet stagnant water.
Gulp.
The bucket was dropped from the floating bridge, and the dark water surface shook.
The black slime running around underwater had already spread far away, but the moment the bucket fell, it was like being caught in a fishing net, and it slowly retreated back to the shore.
They were gathered together helplessly and clump together in the bucket, like a bucket of wriggling tentacles.
In the past, there was a good well on the mountain near the hotel, and Ye Pingan often went there to fetch water. With a flick of the rope, he easily lifted up a bucket of water.
The sticky black liquid shrank and dried up the moment it was exposed to her eyes.
"I haven't pumped water recently, so I'm not very good at it. I didn't even fill it up. Why is the water a bit green and dark? It was too dark and I didn't pay attention. Did I pump some algae?"
Ye Ping'an shook the bucket and poured the water back into it.
Black liquid seemed to be evaporating, and black mist rose up. There was no sound of water flowing back, and it had all disappeared.
Ye Pingan filled a bucket with water again, looked at the clear bottom of the bucket, and nodded with satisfaction, "It's enough for a few days."
Qianqian poured a layer of water on the big fish to preserve the texture of the meat, and put an extra bucket of water on the passenger seat of the van, filling the entire van.
The couple saw Ye Ping'an out. "We'll take you out and stop by the hospital for bandaging. If you need anything in the future, Boss Ye, just let us know and we'll definitely help!"
Ye Pingan touched his chin and said, "Hey, there really is something."
Zhou Shi pricked up his ears and listened attentively, then he heard:
"Come on, come on, take my restaurant's business card! We've just opened a new shop, and we've inherited our family's craftsmanship. Come often and take care of our business!"
Zhou Shi:?
That's it? His expression was so serious, I thought he was going to go through fire and water.
Ye Ping'an responded confidently to Zhou Shi's complicated look.
After all, they are a couple, so isn't it enough to just give her a business card? Do you think it's free to print her business card?
If Zhou Shi hadn't asked her about it, and she had already added the contact information of those who could see her mass promotion, she wouldn't have wasted money on sending out more business cards.
The two cars drove out of the mountain road one after the other, separated at the intersection, and each merged into the busy traffic.
Ye Ping'an returned home with a full load, having only spent half of the money she had prepared for buying fish. She hummed a little tune happily, and was not worried about the traffic jam on the way.
After leaving the vicinity of the mud house, the chickens quickly became active, either pecking at the ropes or flapping their wings at the bucket next to them, trying to create more space for themselves.
Gradually, it stopped flapping. The fish and shrimp that had been jumping around in the car also quieted down, diving under the bucket one by one, as if they sensed some dangerous enemy on the surface of the water.
The "fish stick" lay straight in the water, its scales peeling off piece by piece, dragging along with it invisible slime, revealing its huge body with the outline of a herring barely visible underneath.
But... the fish head has turned into a skeleton.
The slime dragged the scales along as it slowly squeezed between the feathers, causing the old hen's feathers to shatter into a fluffy mass, frozen in place. The hen's eyes gradually turned bloodthirsty. She looked up at the driver's seat, saw Ye Ping'an, and shuddered as if she had been electrocuted, then looked out the window again.
It was a little after seven, the evening rush hour. The non-motorized vehicle lane outside the car window was packed like a school of sardines, with noisy horns blaring one after another.
People, a lot of people.
The hemp rope that bound the hen was coated in slime, melting away as if corroded. The hen flapped her wings and leaped up, flying straight towards the polished car window.
Before the hen could jump up, the seat removed from the carriage seemed to be shaken, moved slightly, and fell down at an angle.
Bang!
The chicken was pinned down, its wings spread out, standing still, its ferocious eyes dull.
The scales fell to the floor of the carriage and quickly disappeared.
"Is the chair not in the right place? Why did it fall over when I braked?" Ye Pingan leaned over from the driver's seat and saw the chicken lying flat on the ground. He gasped, "My chicken!"
Taking advantage of the red light, Ye Ping'an leaned over and picked up the chair.
Fortunately, the carriage was packed and the seats were folded over the water basin, so the chicken just had its feathers flattened and felt dizzy.
"Glad it's not dead. The ropes were broken. This chicken is quite strong."
Ye Ping'an tied the chicken legs again and turned around to see the big fish in the basin that had turned into half a skull.
"I haven't even made the fish head soup yet, and the fish head is gone?!"
The other fish are all in the bucket. Even if the big fish mutates, it is impossible for it to bite its own head. There is only one truth -
Ye Pingan gritted his teeth and glared at the hateful chicken, "I'll stew you when I get home!"
The van drove all the way back to Xile Hotel, and the sounds of sharpening knives and boiling water came from the kitchen.
The van sat perfectly upright in the parking space, even its wheels, which had been parked crooked, turned back to their normal orientation. The dirty water and feathers that had spilled from the van during the loading process gradually disappeared from the ground, as if swallowed by an invisible swamp.
-
Other departments of May 1st Hospital are closed, and the emergency room is overcrowded.
Zhou Shi went straight to the nearest hospital emergency room. When the couple came, even the experienced doctors were shocked.
"One of you got bitten by a razor blade, and the other got caught in a trap? Luckily the wound isn't deep... Let's clean it first and then take anti-inflammatory medicine. If I'm really worried, I can give you a tetanus shot."
After quickly bandaging the wound, Zhou Shi hesitated for a moment and made a phone call.
"This is the Jiang City Public Security Alien Species Prevention Team."
"Hello, it seems that piranhas have sneaked into the reservoir I contracted..." Zhou Shi briefly recounted his experience.
If there are still piranhas in there, reporting it for investigation and losing money is better than losing your life for no apparent reason. Boss Ye can't stay at her house all day to catch fish!
The person on the other end of the line immediately took it seriously. "Which reservoir? Which hospital are you in now? We'll send someone over there quickly."
After Zhou Shi finished administering the anti-inflammatory medication, he hurried back to the reservoir. Police cars were already parked in a row, and professional salvage and diving personnel were carrying equipment down.
The high-intensity searchlights illuminated the water, making it transparent, and the fish scattered in panic. Fragments of wooden planks remained near the pier, clearly a result of a thrilling pursuit.
Seeing the mess at the water's edge, everyone gasped. "The impact force was at least 300 kilograms, and the size described has already exceeded the record. Ms. Zhou, are you sure it's a herring or piranha from the reservoir?!"
The alien species expert who was called in to examine the traces left behind shook his head. "Hybridization and mutation? Unlikely. But these traces do have traces of herring and piranha. Strange... Wait, I've thought of a possibility. We need to notify our colleagues in the other department."
The investigation team arrived at the scene shortly after. After a quick look, they shook their heads and said, "There's no strange aura remaining on the shore, and the large fish we caught isn't a ferocious beast. Although the picture is unusual, it's probably just an ordinary fish that's a bit too big and ugly."
Old Li let out a long sigh. "Our Jiang City has been experiencing frequent strange outbreaks. I was worried that they would be affected by the strange aura and that ferocious beasts would appear. If they spread and mutated into a large group, it would be troublesome. Fortunately, nothing happened."
The investigators carefully questioned the client about whether she had encountered any strange incidents that afternoon. Zhou Shi was stunned and felt very embarrassed. "My husband vomited after eating fish this afternoon and was also cut by a fish bone. Does that count?"
The more he listened, the more Lao Li realized something was wrong.
Memory confusion, drowsiness, pale skin—aren't these the hallmarks of ghost slavery?! Yet, there's no strange aura lingering here; it's incredibly clean. This is strange.
She looked through the transcript again and sent a message to her colleagues in the information department, "Please get Zhou Shi's husband's hospital records for me to see."
Looking at the bloody mouth, Lao Li hissed.
She turned to Zhou Shi, "Where is the fish carcass?"
Zhou Shi: "The customer who helped catch the fish took it away."
"Catch?!" Lao Li's voice suddenly rose eight octaves and he repeated in surprise.
Even the weakest beasts retain a strange aura, capable of being treated as if they were half-bodied creatures. Once affected by this strange aura, they will quickly influence the surrounding populations, giving rise to more ferocious beasts. Killing the carrier might temporarily dispel the attack, but capturing it directly is like sending it directly into its mouth.
"Yes, I was so scared that I almost fell into the water. Thanks to Boss Ye."
Zhou Shi raised his phone and said, "She took the photo for me."
AAA Happy Restaurant: [I know Mr. Zhou must want to take a photo with the big fish. Did you forget about it? Here, I took one for you. Photos x9]
Zhou Shi: Thank you!
If she hadn't remembered that she had to show it to the police, Zhou Shi would have deleted the message the moment she saw it. If she looked at the strange fish a few more times, she would really have a nightmare!
The search team called off the reservoir after several hours, finding only a small school of piranhas and some signs of herring activity. But no trace of the strange aura remained.
Old Li: ...There’s a 90% chance that it’s not a ferocious beast.
Bai Xuan, holding Hedgehog, examined the salvaged items one by one. She was so sleepy she yawned as she returned to the car. Watching the road rapidly change, she realized she was heading in the wrong direction. "Deputy Captain, where are we going?"
Old Li was still worried: "Xile Restaurant. Xiaobai still needs to work hard to see if there is anything wrong with the fish."
The new investigator in the car heard the key words and immediately looked up from his report paperwork. He snorted, "Going to eat? I've been wanting to go to that restaurant for a long time. I've been too busy and they won't take us there on duty. QAQ"
Old Li glared at him coldly, "Eat? Do you want the beast to eat you?"
When the car turned the intersection, the glass door of the Xile Hotel was closed, and there was a wooden sign hanging on it saying that the business was temporarily suspended.
A strong aroma of chili peppers came out from behind the door, breaking through the smoky aroma of snacks in the food street and making people lose their focus on work.
The fat kid sitting at the table had been drooling for a long time. Ye Ping'an came out with the fish fillets and saw the group of people outside. He waved enthusiastically and said, "You've come at the right time. I'm trying a new dish. Boiled fish for 100 yuan a pot. Want some?"
Old Li: ...
What to eat?
What to eat?
They were on high alert, worried about the beasts eating people, but the fish were already on the table???
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