Chapter 132: How Could Someone Compete with Fish for Feed?!

Chapter 132 Who Competes with Fish for Feed?!

"Normally, looking better is a good thing."

"Who doesn’t want to look good, right?"

"Otherwise, treatment devices wouldn’t have made cosmetics less popular."

Sheng Qingquan admitted to himself—he cared about his appearance too. If he became more handsome, he’d be happy as well.

"Who knew beauty could be a trap? The cost would be this steep."

"Aside from improved skin, many noticed their facial features had become more refined. People who weren’t detail-oriented didn’t pay attention; regular people chalked it up to good days; the meticulous ones who noticed attributed it to their diligent skincare or cosmetic procedures finally paying off."

"Another group, upon noticing, immediately checked their martial arts progress, convinced they must have made a breakthrough."

"Even if results showed no improvement, they doubled down, insisting there had to be progress—just too subtle for the masters to detect."

"Though undetectable, this refinement manifested in their appearance."

"Haven't you heard? Martial arts can prolong life and slow aging—Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng became a centenarian. Many techniques have beautifying effects, like the Bright Jade Art practiced by Yaoyue and Lianxing."

"That must be it. Even if manuals said otherwise, improving physical health and eliminating health issues naturally enhances one’s looks. This was just another step in that direction. So everyone still believed it was due to their martial arts achievements."

"In short, whether these reasons convinced others or not, they convinced themselves. No one saw any issue."

"Couldn’t convince others? If I hadn’t heard those inner thoughts, I’d have believed it too," muttered a now-handsome young man. "If martial arts made me handsome once, surely it could happen again."

"I always thought this was a reward for all my hard training!"

To become even more attractive and find an equally good-looking partner sooner, he had put in extra training hours.

Had all that effort been wasted?

Many like him felt as though they’d been struck by lightning!

Tell people martial arts strengthen the body, and not everyone will train diligently. But say it makes you more beautiful, and suddenly they’re practicing through scorching summers and freezing winters.

"At first, only appearances changed, but soon many noticed changes in their bones and organs."

"Initially, everyone feared cancer or radiation exposure causing mutations."

"Until someone zapped electricity in public."

Was this "zapping" the literal kind, or the flirty, smoldering kind?

People couldn’t help wondering.

Given the earlier talk about people becoming more attractive, minds went straight to the gutter.

Clearly, Sheng Qingquan shared the same concern, but upon looking further, he saw it was actual electricity.

"It was the literal kind, but the way this person used his newfound ability was... questionable."

So, had their bodies changed, granting them supernatural abilities? Before they could decide whether to celebrate or freak out over this revelation, Sheng Qingquan’s shocked thoughts rang out.

"What the hell?"

How did a decent person discover their ability to discharge electricity? It happened because they got so frustrated watching people feed the fish at the park's koi pond that they ended up zapping all the fish in a panic.

He wasn’t stunning the fish to catch and eat them—he was doing it to compete with the fish for the food.

He was taking out the competition!

["I don’t know what got into me, but suddenly those fish pellets smelled so good! I just had to eat them—I couldn’t help myself."]

["But I couldn’t just grab it from people’s hands. The park’s free to the public, not some tourist spot, just a place for leisure. No one even sells fish food by the pond—folks bring their own."]

["I hadn’t completely lost it. I figured, since I couldn’t take from others, the pellets already in the water were up for grabs. Eating those shouldn’t be a problem."]

["They were already tossed in—who cares who eats 'em?"]

["I originally planned to wait until they finished feeding before going in, but those chubby koi were bottomless pits. They were so plump they could barely swim, yet they kept gobbling everything up in seconds. In the blink of an eye, there was hardly any feed left on the surface."]

["In my rush, I just went for it."]

At first, people thought he was using an electric device to stun the fish. When no device was found, they suspected poisoning. By the time bystanders dragged him to the cops, his mouth was still packed with fish food.

Not just fish food—some aquatic plants from the pond too.

He chomped away, scarfing it down like it was gourmet, as if it were the most exquisite delicacy.

The look of pure bliss on his face almost convinced the crowd to send him to a psychiatric hospital instead.

Honestly, he seemed a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

The citizens in the story didn’t know, but Sheng Qingquan, having read the earlier events, understood. This was probably another side effect of the changes.

No normal person would do something like this.

I’ve heard of people sneaking a taste of their pet’s food—but those are usually healthy recipes, made of normal meat and grains. A little taste won’t hurt. Fish feed is different, though. A lot of it contains appetite stimulants.

Wait—could that be why he lost control?

Even people with pica aren’t usually this desperate.

Do fish attractants even work on people?

Though they wondered, most had a pretty bad feeling about it.

As for eating aquatic plants—that’s not so strange. Stuff like kelp and nori’s totally normal to eat. Freshwater plants probably aren’t much different. Might as well call it lakeweed salad.

"Speaking of which," a resident suddenly chimed in, "are we eating way more kelp these days?"

Cold dressed kelp, kelp and pork rib soup—even hotpot and noodles had kelp in them.

Nobody’d picked up on it before, but now that Sheng Qingquan mentioned algae, everyone realized their tastes had shifted.

And it wasn’t just seaweed.

"We’ve been buying way more seafood too. Fish, shrimp, shellfish—we’ve been cooking them every which way."

"I used to prefer beef, but now that I think about it, it’s been at least a week since I last bought any."

"I always found seafood too fishy before—never touched it. But lately, everything from the sea tastes delicious. Last night, I even ate raw sashimi, which I used to hate. I wouldn’t touch raw stuff—not even boozy dishes like drunken shrimp."

Some people now find it hard to believe: "I thought I just hadn’t had good seafood before, so I didn’t like it. But after tasting the real stuff, I finally got what seafood is really about."

It’s not like money was an issue—if they liked it, they just ate it.

Nobody gave it a second thought. It’s perfectly normal for people’s tastes to change as they grow.

Some people hated vegetables as kids—no matter how they were prepared, they always tasted bitter and unpleasant. But as adults, they could eat them just fine and didn’t taste the bitterness anymore. Some even wondered why they ever disliked vegetables in the first place.

Others used to dislike beef or lamb, finding them too strong or having a weird smell, but later found them tolerable or even enjoyable.

Some loved dishes like pork intestines until one unlucky bite with something unpleasant left them traumatized, and they wouldn’t touch them again…

These are all common examples.

Just a change in taste—no big deal.

But little did they know, it might actually be a very big deal.

"Besides people discovering they could generate electricity, some found they could produce poison or project sound waves…"

"Wow!" Unlike the worried adults, the kids didn’t see the big deal about eating fish food.

If this was the price for gaining superpowers, they were willing to pay it!

After all—

"This is so cool!"

One child excitedly mimicked a pose they’d seen on TV and shouted: "Pikachu’s Thunderbolt!"

The adults, watching the kids’ flushed, excited faces, couldn’t bring themselves to laugh. Especially those whose children kept fish—some were already digging for fish food like it was some kind of magic potion.

Parents had no choice but to put a stop to their superhero fantasies.

"At first, everyone was thrilled and weren’t concerned about side effects."

"Who cares about cancer or radiation? This wasn’t mutation or deformity. Given the physical changes, people started believing this was evolution."

"Otherwise, how could some have developed superpowers?!"

"The atmosphere of anxiety in society instantly dissolved. Many began eagerly anticipating what kind of abilities they might gain."

"Some even wondered if superpowered people had weird cravings. So why not grab some fish food, just in case? Even if they hoarded too much, they could always sell the extra for a profit."

"Until they realized they were overthinking it. Only a handful gained abilities—a tiny fraction."

"Not only that, but soon, people discovered worse was yet to come."

"Whether their bodies improved or deteriorated, it was all downhill from there."

"One woman woke up thirsty in the middle of the night, only to find her husband missing from the bed—replaced by a giant fish head on the pillow."

"What the hell?! You trying to give me a heart attack?!"

She was so startled, her glass slipped onto the bedsheets.

After the initial fright came fury—she assumed her husband was playing a stupid prank, deliberately hiding a large fish under the covers to scare her.

"You’re doing the laundry, right? Do you have any idea how fishy this is? What a pain it is to change bedding in the middle of the night?"

"As the wife angrily yanked off the covers, she realized it wasn’t someone placing a large sea fish there, nor was it her husband wearing a lifelike fish-head prosthetic to sleep."

"That was undeniably a living being. Except, where there should have been a neck and a human head above the shoulders, there was now a fish’s head in its place."

"With trembling hands, the wife groped around but found no trace of seams."

"Her husband had no body heat—what she touched was cold, slippery fish scales."

"Moreover, under the dim glow of the bedside nightlight, the wife, whose nearsightedness had long been cured, now possessed perfect 20/20 vision. She wished she weren’t seeing so clearly."

"Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had to witness the gill flaps pulsing faintly or see the bright red gill filaments through the faintly opening gill slits."

"It was still alive!"

"Equal parts terrified and relieved, before she could even console herself or convince herself that this monster in familiar pajamas wasn’t her husband, the thing woke up, seemingly sensing the light and her gaze."

"The fish’s mouth opened and closed, revealing needle-like teeth."

"Horrifyingly, the wife realized she could understand what it was saying."

[‘“What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”’]

"Along with the familiar concern, it reached out to try spooning her."

"The wife lost it."

[‘“Ahhh!” She screamed, clutching her head as she scuttled backward, even tumbling off the bed.’]

"But what broke her was seeing her legs melt into two tentacles, which then split into four—and seemed capable of dividing further."

"The tentacles were covered in suction cups of all sizes."

"The wife blacked out. Meanwhile, her husband, still confused, bolted upright, dazed, to check on her after she fell—only to freeze at the sight."

"What a horrifying scene it was."

"Her elegant sleep pants had been torn to shreds. Below the waist, where legs should have been, were now several gnarled tentacles, faintly writhing. The suction cups clung tightly to the floor and the bed frame."

[‘“Monster!” He, too, passed out.’]

Everyone projected Sheng Qingquan’s inner monologue onto themselves.

A collective shudder ran through the crowd.

They glanced at their families, then at themselves, unable to fathom turning into half-human, half-fish or half-human, half-octopus hybrids.

Even if, like the wife, the upper half remained human while only the lower half mutated, it was no less terrifying.

If mermaids were still kinda hot, then “mer-octopuses” were pure nightmare fuel for most.

"People discovered parts of their bodies mutating into seafood. Not just fish or octopuses—some developed armored plating resembling shrimp exoskeletons; others had their hands turn into crab claws, almost snipping off their own fingers; some even had their legs fuse into a single serpent’s tail…"

"This happened to adults. Younger children experienced even more extensive mutations."

"Some infants even transformed entirely into fish in their parents’ arms."

"One such fish wriggled free from its mother’s embrace and slapped wetly onto the tiles before the parents stood frozen."

"The younger the individual, the more severe the effects. Over time, adults warped beyond recognition until, eventually, no humans remained on Tianlanxing—only a menagerie of sea beasts."

Now everything makes sense.

Those previous changes were indeed signs, just not signs of awakening supernatural abilities.

"Those who felt their skin becoming smoother and pores finer were probably turning into marine mammals like dolphins. Dolphin skin is famously smooth."

"Those who felt their skin getting wrinklier were likely transforming into fish like the ocean sunfish, which has very pronounced folds."

"People who felt their heads enlarging were probably becoming big-headed fish, like the bighead carp—though those are freshwater, the ocean has no shortage of large-headed species."

"As for those who felt prettier—while many deep-sea creatures, unseen by humans, end up bizarrely shaped, there are also stunningly beautiful marine animals. Like the egg-yolk jellyfish, chain-linked sea stars, or those vibrant tropical fish, each prettier than the next."

"The 'spots' on some people weren’t spots at all, but patterns found on marine creatures. Some patterns are beautiful, others less so."

"Those who felt weak and limp were turning into invertebrates like octopuses, squids, or nautiluses—no surprise they felt limp—they literally lost their bones!"

"Others who felt soft and sluggish were becoming various sea snakes. Their bodies aren’t built to stay stiff."

"These people might lack strength early on, but once the transformation completes, their strength will come back with a vengeance. Think how strong octopus arms are, or sea snake tails—even mollusks like clams possess tremendous force. Otherwise, their shells wouldn’t be so hard to pry open."

"As for those gaining weight, just consider the sheer size of whales—the ocean’s heavyweight champs."

"Starfish are covered in bumps—what’s so strange about that?"

"Stiff neck? That’s your gills coming in. Constant thirst and craving for water? For marine life, land is like a desert to them. The humidity humans find comfortable is practically a drought to them—of course they need hydration."

"It all adds up."

"Not to mention those with 'superpowers.' Electric shocks? Think of electric eels or stingrays—plenty of sea creatures generate electricity."

"Poisonous secretions? Many marine animals are venomous. Emitting sonar? Plenty use sound to hunt or talk..."

"And why would someone fall in love with a fish? Because they’re the same species! Loving your own kind—what’s weird about that?"

"Why crave fish food or feel drawn to it?"

"If the fish feed you developed didn’t appeal to fish, you’d be out of business by now. No way would it still sell."

"Craving seafood like fish and shrimp, or seaweed like kelp and nori? It’s the circle of life—big fish eat little fish, little fish eat algae."

Everything that was once confusing suddenly clicked.

But it didn’t end there.

"After everyone turned into marine creatures, a massive disaster struck—earthquakes and tsunamis submerged the land. From then on, Azure Star finally matched its name."

"The entire planet became as blue as the sky."

Sheng Qingquan’s corny joke made everyone’s blood run cold, as if icy air seeped from their bones.

Talk about literal—every scrap of land was gone. All mountains, plains, deserts, and forests now drowned beneath endless oceans.

"So we should be grateful we turned into sea creatures, built to survive this mess?" someone sneered.

Everyone knew better. Turning into sea creatures right before disaster? Too neat to be chance.

Sheng Qingquan knew better too.

He jumped back and saw that it was indeed the case.

"All of this is because Tianlanxing is too resource-rich."

"The reason Tianlanxing is named as such is that this vast azure planet has an 8:2 ratio of ocean to land. There are expansive oceans, and marine resources are countless."

"Tianlanxing's current exploitation of the ocean is extremely limited, so naturally, some find such waste intolerable."

"Dammit! Who was it last time who said they'd rather aliens invade us for our resources than just come here on a whim just to run tests? Well, now it's come true!"

"I jinxed it!" Someone smacked themselves hard.

If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have run his mouth.

Even if he knew it was inevitable anyway, when it actually arrived, who could resist feeling regretful?

"The resources Tianlanxing can't use for now are precisely what other civilizations lack. When pirates find a trove like this, they naturally won't let it go."

"The reason humans are undergoing these changes is that the other species is peaceful and avoids killing—specifically, intelligent life."

"So I should be grateful for their mercy and praise their tolerance?"

Sheng Qingquan let out a bitter laugh.