Chapter 24 The Delicious Can't Stop~

Watching the fish lively jumping and wagging its tail in the arms of the young man with puppy eyes, the exiles who had ordered fish, shrimp, and crabs beside the aquarium were dumbfounded and speechless for a full three minutes.

Coming back to their senses, while internally exclaiming how outrageous this was, several people stealthily moved to the glass wall of the aquarium, pointing at the spirited fish, shrimp, and crabs they had their eyes on, and spoke up.

"Ahem, dear fish, seeing you so lively and in good shape, I reckon you must taste delicious. How about jumping out and letting me have a taste?"

The same daring Atlantic salmon that would headbutt walls had no intention of being smitten by this human pointing at it. Instead, it gave a cold, indifferent stare with its fish eyes and turned away with a flick of its tail, slapping the glass wall as if to slap the face of the foolish human expecting a free meal.

"Let you eat?"

"In your dreams!"

The two other exiles pointing at crabs and shrimp expecting them to jump out freely were met with similar scorn.

A large blue crab fiercely poked the glass wall with its claw, and a group of shrimp even climbed up the wall to form the letters "S" and "B," mocking these humans' wild fantasies.

So, everyone understood that only that young man with puppy dog eyes could make these fish and shrimp willingly offer themselves.

Could it be that his talked-about affinity is actually a mesmerizing ability that drives fish, shrimp, and crabs crazy for him?

By then, the young man had found a large basket with a plastic bag in it, filling it with water. Clearly, he intended to take the freshest fish back with him.

His demeanor was so relaxed and natural, with a slight smile on his lips, as if he was just making a routine purchase at the supermarket.

Such a comparison truly felt unfair.

So, Chen Shijin turned around only to find himself blocked by two people.

……

He tried to move left with his basket, but the person on the left stopped him. He tried to move right, and the person on the right also cheerfully blocked his way.

Chen Shijin slowly lifted his gaze, which, had it been his usual sharp and cold look, would have been enough to intimidate.

But the naturally droopy, round puppy eyes lacked any intimidating effect, instead making him seem more like someone people wanted to tease and bully.

"Why, why are you blocking my way?"

"Brother, we're not really blocking your way, we just want to ask for a favor. You see, your ingredients are already prepared, but we haven't gotten ours yet.

"Since you have such a high affinity that you can make fish jump into the net, why not help us out? Just a few words, it won't be any trouble."

"Exactly, exactly! Young man, your aunt knows you're a good kid, so please help your aunt out. I'm a first-level exile living a tough life! If you don't help your aunt, it's like you're watching her die!"

"It's just a small favor, young man, please help!" At this moment, the aunt's face was all smiles, her eyes even carrying a hint of triumph and delight as she glanced at the arrogant youth preparing to enter the water.

Fortunately, she hadn't just spent her energy points on those taking advantage of others by the water, and now she's saved 20 energy points, hasn't she?

"Your aunt doesn't ask for much, just one big blue crab will do!"

"Me too, I only need eight, no, six shrimp will be enough!"

"And get me a salmon too, preferably one as lively as the one you have in your basket."

Saying so, they pushed Chen Shijin in front of the aquarium's glass wall, waiting for him to catch a big fish from the heavens just like him.

Chen Shijin tugged at the corner of his mouth, his round eyes slightly drooping.

So, the saying "goodness is often taken advantage of" is absolutely true; now someone wanted to ride on his coattails.

"If that's what you want, then I'll give it to you."

So, Chen Xiaomo looked up and spoke to the big blue crab that the aunt was eagerly pointing at.

"Um, you look very mighty, could you come out and let this aunt eat you?"

Everyone watched nervously to see how the big blue crab, as big as half a basin, pointed out, would react.

Would it come out, or would it disdainfully ignore the request?

"Oh! It's starting to swim upwards! It's going to climb down! Hahaha, young man, you're really something!" The aunt clapped her thighs in joy.

Seeing this, the others got excited. One of the people blocking Chen Shijin's way even pushed him in front of a large octopus.

"Quick, quick, quick! Point out this big octopus for me! I want this octopus!" His favorite dish was grilled octopus tentacles, and he couldn't imagine how much joy he'd have eating such a large one!

Chen Xiaomo, looking at the large octopus, kindly reminded, "But it looks very big and fierce. And you probably can't finish it by yourself, right?"

"Stop the nonsense! I want this big octopus! I must eat it today!" The middle-aged man pushed Chen Xiaomo impatiently, "Just say it if I tell you to!"

So, Chen Xiaomo honestly spoke to the large octopus: "Your skin looks so smooth, and your tentacles so strong, could you come out for this big brother to eat?"

The deep red octopus, with tentacles over a meter long and a head the size of two human heads, glanced at the young man from the glass wall. Its eight tentacles simultaneously exerted force, and in the blink of an eye, it leaped out of the water.

The excited middle-aged man, already displaying an uncontrollable smile, reached out to catch this easily baited "foolish fish," only for his vision to darken the next second as his entire head and face were enveloped by something smooth and sticky!

"Ahhh! Ahhhhh! Let me go, let me go! My, head! My head, ah, ahhh!"

Unlike the obedient Atlantic salmon that jumped into people's arms, this giant octopus ferociously wrapped around the middle-aged man's head.

Its eight tentacles, each over a meter long, were wrapped around the middle-aged man's neck, one over the other.

"Heh, heh, let, heh, heh, help! Help—"

In just a few seconds, the middle-aged man was almost unable to speak, with only his hands gripping the octopus's tentacles desperately, veins bulging.

Meanwhile, another scream rang out, "Ahhhh! My nose, my nose! Let go of my fingers and nose, ahhh! Someone, help, help me!"

Everyone looked over in horror to see that the aunt who had been trying to catch the big blue crab with a net hadn't caught it at all; instead, the crab had climbed onto her face and viciously pinched her nose.

She reached out to pull the big blue crab off, but another claw of the crab caught her right thumb.

Both her nose and her thumb were now in a precarious state, halfway between being attached and detached.

！！！！

"Good heavens!"

"For the love of God, save them!"

"Damn, are these seafood always this aggressive? But why does that salmon not show any aggressiveness at all?!"

The Atlantic salmon in Chen Shijin's basket snickered and swished its tail.

You are using force, while the fish came willingly; how can that be the same? Don't even bother looking in the seawater if you don't have the face for it!

Eventually, the people around the aquarium managed to deal with the big blue crab and the large octopus after much struggle.

Truly, these two creatures wouldn't let go unless they were killed, one clamping too tightly and the other wrapping too firmly.

But the outcomes for the two people attacked were quite gruesome—

When the big blue crab's shell was smashed, each of its claws held a nose and a severed finger. The aunt, now missing her nose and right thumb, sat on the ground emitting painful wails.

Even so, she was luckier than the uncle because, even after the octopus's head was crushed, due to its unique nerve structure, its tentacles remained tightly wrapped around the uncle's neck.

When a girl skilled with a knife carefully chopped the octopus's tentacles into pieces, the uncle's neck and face underneath were covered in purple swollen circular suction marks, and his neck bones were shattered.

Such a ghastly scene made those who saw it involuntarily gasp in shock. When they looked up at the young man standing in front of the aquarium, who seemed harmless and easy to talk to, an indescribable chill spontaneously arose—

Behind him, the entire aquarium full of countless fish, shrimp, and crabs seemed to be silently clustering around the young man through the glass wall.

"Um, do you still want any fish or shrimp? I didn't expect them to be so fierce, but my fishy here is really nice though."

Everyone shook their heads like rattle-drums: "No, no, young man, no need. We should fend for ourselves, better to catch our own fish and shrimp!"

Clearly, that big crab and large octopus preferred death over submission; aside from you, they probably wouldn't willingly offer themselves to anyone else.

"So, I'll be leaving then?"

"Yes, go on! Hurry up and leave!"

"With you here, all the fish, shrimp, and crabs in this tank are acting up. Once you leave, they'll probably calm down."

Thus, Chen Shijin silently curled his lips into a smile, turned around with his basket, and walked away.

Watching his departing figure, the crowd's expressions varied, with most reluctantly seeking out the young man with water abilities, although his price had gone up a bit this time.

"It's more dangerous here than I thought. Either someone with a special ability helps increase my defense or something, or you'll have to pay up!"

As the crowd grumbled, three people exchanged glances and ultimately nodded, following Chen Shijin as he left.

Catching fish was perilous, energy-consuming, and without guarantee of success. But that young man's fish were definitely the freshest and most vigorous. Given that they were all staying at the Royal Hotel, they figured it might be better to just buy fish from him.

Such a large Atlantic salmon; he couldn't possibly use it all in one meal.

As long as this seemingly docile but inexplicably fierce young man didn't demand an exorbitant price.

Then, the three found the young man stopping in his tracks, turning his head to look over.

The two men and one woman were a bit nervous, but then they heard Chen Shijin say, "Does anyone of you have the strength? Help me carry the fish and basket back to the Royal Restaurant, and I'll give you a piece of the fish."

The trio was momentarily stunned, then the only girl with a round face quickly jogged over: "Me, me, me! I have Level 2 gravity manipulation abilities, capable of altering an object's gravity. Give me the fish and basket, and I guarantee I'll deliver it to the restaurant without spilling a drop of water!"

Then, the two men showed a hint of frustration for being a step slow but quickly followed:

"Hey, young man, I can help too! I've been slaughtering fish at RT-Mart for ten years! I'm especially good at handling fish scales, gills, and bones. If there's anything you don't know, just ask me, I promise to share all I know!"

Chen Shijin looked at the man, who wasn't particularly muscular, surprised by his unexpected expertise.

"You'll also get a piece."

The last young man with a bun hairstyle, unable to think of how he could be of help, blurted out in desperation: "Can I serve you tea, move chairs, massage your legs? Ah, my special ability is sensing fortune and misfortune, plus I have divination skills, I can fortune-tell for you every day!"

Chen Shijin's lips twitched.

Turns out he's a little Taoist priest.

"...Did you predict this major calamity for yourself?"

The young Taoist sighed, "This one time I was incredibly accurate, pity I didn't believe it at the time."

"Alright, you get a piece too."

The young Taoist's face immediately lit up with joy, "Brother, you're truly a kind-hearted and good-looking person! Even if dark clouds loom over you, you're bound to turn misfortune into fortune! Uh,"

Chen Shijin slowly cast a questioning look.

The young Taoist gave an embarrassed laugh, "Just kidding, I calculated it when I was bored, definitely got it wrong. With your pure and kind aura, how could you possibly attract two great calamities? My divination skills are always mocked by my senior brother, haha."

Chen Shijin:.

"Then you should be ready to graduate now."

"After all, he does have two formidable enemies looming over him."

Afterwards, the four of them headed to the restaurant together, passing by the vegetable and fresh meat sections, noting that the situation there was hardly any better than in the seafood area.

In fact, it was even more chaotic here, with teams ganging up on chunks of pig or beef, and others scrambling to catch chickens.

Some people successfully caught the meat chunks and poultry they wanted, leaving with faces full of joy.

But many more were unable to catch the lively meat and vegetables in time. After the freshest ones were taken, over half of the people had to settle for the piled-up dead meat and non-biting vegetables.

Chen Shijin remembered the message collected by the Golden Gem phone, stating that a third of today's meat and seafood were not fresh.

It's uncertain what adverse effects using not fresh ingredients could have on the cuisine.

"Do we need soy sauce for slicing the salmon? Should we also get some mustard and lemon?"

The round-faced gravity girl, Tangyuan, spoke up, her gaze already moving towards the seasoning area.

"I think we'll need at least one bottle of soy sauce."

Chen Shijin nodded, and the four of them made their way to the shelves with seasonings. Then, they were confronted with hundreds of bottles of completely different soy sauces, sushi soy sauces, and more.

It was overwhelmingly dazzling.

"Ah, this."

"Which soy sauce should we choose?"

At this moment, Fish Slaughtering Brother finally found his moment to shine, rubbing his hands together before speaking in a decidedly professional tone:

"Let me tell you! When shopping in a supermarket, don't just look at the products placed in the middle of the shelves! These spots are often bought by distributors in cahoots with the supermarket for promotion. The items here are either expensive or not worth the price."

"You should look towards the top or bottom shelves, especially the bottom two rows. These often contain more affordable and value-for-money items."

As he spoke, he squatted down, grabbed a bottle of soy sauce from the lowest shelf, stood up, and flipped the bottle to read the ingredient list: "Next, you need to check the ingredients! The key is to find something reassuring, without too much technology or trickery involved."

"Some technology and trickery are necessary for preserving food, but some are just to cut costs and add an industrial taste, which we should avoid!"

"Look at this, this bottle of soy sauce lists a whole string of technological processes and additives! But real brewed soy sauce, the good stuff, actually doesn't need any of that. We just need it to be natural, with soybeans and water as ingredients!"

Fish Slaughtering Brother selected while speaking, finally satisfied with a bottle of soy sauce free from excessive technology and fancy packaging.

"This one it is! Trust me, you can't go wrong with this bottle of soy sauce!"

Chen Shijin, Tangyuan, and the little Taoist all nodded in agreement, recognizing that Fish Slaughtering Brother truly had experience.

When the four of them returned to the restaurant, only six people had come back. The remaining twenty people gradually returned over the next half hour.

While listening to Fish Slaughtering Brother explain how to clean and scale a fish, Chen Shijin observed the expressions of those who returned later. From the sixteenth person onwards, the quality of the ingredients they brought back was visibly poorer.

They seemed to be aware of it themselves, as the expressions on their faces were rather grim.

However, fortunately, this was only the first day. Those who didn't manage to get the freshest ingredients today could try again earlier tomorrow. Despite their unhappy expressions, they didn't seem particularly anxious or unsettled.

"It appears everyone has managed to procure the ingredients they need."

The tuxedo-clad chef then silently appeared, his gaze sweeping over the ingredients laid out on the stainless steel long table, pausing momentarily at Chen Shijin's large water basket.

Inside, the Atlantic salmon was still vigorously flipping its tail.

The tuxedo-clad chef: .

"Well, everyone can start attempting to cook their first gourmet dishes."

"Looking forward to the exquisite flavors you all will create!"

Suddenly, a unique cat's meow sounded from outside the window, and a shadow like a small whirlwind jumped in from outside, landing on the stainless steel long table.

It was an entirely black cat, only its deep blue eyes shining with a noble and aloof color.

All the exiles defensively guarded their ingredients as if facing a great enemy.

Chen Shijin promptly shifted his large water basket aside.

The black cat, dissatisfied with his movement, let out a complaint and sauntered elegantly across the table.

Before any of the exiles could think to shoo the cat away, the tuxedo-clad chef quickly spoke up.

"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to a very special guest! This is our Culinary City's very own Gourmet Cat!"

"You're quite fortunate to encounter it, as the Gourmet Cat's favored and approved dishes are ones that even a food critic wouldn't criticize!"

"And should it rate your cuisine with an 8 out of 10, its approval counts as three people, granting you immediate recognition from Culinary City!"

"So, what are you waiting for? Start preparing your dishes to present to the Gourmet Cat!"

"This is a rare opportunity, perhaps you could complete your task in just one day?"

Suddenly, everyone's view of the black cat shifted, from hostility and disdain to affection.

Especially those who had chosen seafood were even more delighted, for what cat could resist the temptation of fishy treats? What cat doesn't love fish, shrimp, and crab?

This time it's a sure win!

Thus, everyone quickly began to cook, regardless of the black cat still pacing on the table.

Chen Shijin cast a doubtful glance at the black cat, somewhat reassured upon confirming that the cat wasn't acting suspiciously.

He looked down to see the Atlantic salmon poking its head out of the water basket, smiling slightly.

Upon seeing that smile, the Atlantic salmon very consciously leaped from the basket onto the solid wood chopping board.

Lying flat.

It then wiggled its tail up and down.

"Come on~"

"Love can heal all pain!"

"Let the fish die sweetly in love! Die~"

Chen Shijin blinked his innocent puppy eyes, reaching out to tenderly stroke the fish's body: "Don't worry, fishy, I'll make sure to turn you into the most delicious sashimi!"

As the Atlantic salmon closed its eyes, awaiting its blissful demise, the Gourmet Cat, who had been pacing on the table, had silently approached the chopping board.

Then, in the moment the fish lay flat, a swift paw strike! The fish awaiting its happy end was instantly decapitated.

Fish: ???

Dying with eyes wide open, aghast!

Chen Shijin: !!!

Chen Shijin lifted his puppy eyes in shock, while the Gourmet Cat sat in the center of the long table like an emperor, disdainfully licking its paw and flicking it twice.

Tsk.

No fish can die happily under a cat's claw. Pfft, green tea fish.

After finishing with its paw, the black cat stood up and strutted its alluring cat walk, affectionately rubbing its head against Chen Shijin's hand.

"Meow-wow~"

Come on, snuggle up.

Just offer your cheek, red lips, chest muscles, butt, or slim waist, and the cat will give you full marks!

"Meow-wow~~"

Having rubbed enough, the black cat directly lay on its side next to the chopping board, exposing its soft belly in a seductive pose.

Why aren't you petting the cat yet? Isn't the cat more fragrant than that fish?!

Chen Shijin: …………

He had never seen such a flirtatious cat before!