Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Yu Fei paused. His two weakest younger brothers had vanished, and for a moment, he feared they had simply dissolved from weakness. But then he found faint traces they had left behind and followed.

He swam to where their presence was strongest, only for a fishing hook to suddenly appear before him. He bit it instinctively, unable to break free, and was reeled in by Ying Yuanxing.

But could he admit this to his younger brothers?

Absolutely not. What would become of his elder brother's dignity then?

"I knew you two had been taken by this Great Weird, so I deliberately followed," Yu Fei said, sweeping his gaze over his brothers.

The two fish exchanged glances. Though unconvinced, they dared not argue. After all, they were counting on their elder brother to devise a plan—what now?

Had they been eaten by the Great Weird immediately upon capture, they might have accepted it. Such was the law of this world: big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp. But to be caught, confined, and left to await their fate—that naturally stirred their will to survive.

Even if they weren't devoured by the Weird, they might not last much longer, but still...

"Big brother, if we can't escape, just eat us," one small fish said weakly, flicking its tail.

The other echoed the sentiment. Though their elder brother didn't say it, they could sense his own aura weakening. Rather than being consumed by the Great Weird, it would be better for their elder brother to eat them. It might sustain him longer, perhaps even allowing him to reach another realm and feed on living flesh.

"Silence!" Yu Fei snapped, glaring fiercely. He swam to the surface, preparing to assume human form and escape, when a faint squeaking sound reached his ears from nearby.

Startled, Yu Fei instinctively looked towards the sound. In a nearby field, a black-furred Weird was enveloped in a swirling black mist. The Weird seemed to struggle briefly, but as the mist contracted, it fell silent. When the mist dispersed, nothing remained—only disturbed earth, as if something had clawed at the ground.

Yu Fei immediately dove back underwater, not even daring to swish his tail vigorously, fearing the splash might draw the attention of that unfamiliar Weird.

If they were noticed, Yu Fei was certain he and his brothers were doomed.

*Creak.*

The wooden door opened, and Ying Yuanxing stepped out, yawning and peering around. He had heard the squeaking earlier but hadn't given it much thought. Then, he remembered that field mice might eat newly planted seeds. His seeds had just gone in; he had to check immediately.

If they were eaten, he'd be furious.

And indeed, upon closer inspection, Ying Yuanxing noticed something amiss. The field looked as if something had been digging there.

He hurried out to investigate and quickly found the problem. The marks suggested an animal had tried to dig but failed.

Ying Yuanxing scanned his surroundings but found nothing unusual.

Wait—was that patch over there a bit too dark?

He noticed a distinct black shape beneath a thorny bush, roughly the size of a small cat.

A cat?

Ying Yuanxing's spirits lifted instantly. In the original game, once players chose their preferred pet, a stray kitten would be delivered to the farm by the carpenter within a few days. Though it was still early, a cat appearing beforehand wasn't impossible. After all, stray cats had to exist before one could be brought to him.

So, it must be a kitten digging for seeds.

As for why, Ying Yuanxing figured it was probably hungry. Taoxi Village's trash bins were empty, and after walking nearly two laps around the village today, he hadn't seen any food scraps. Cats had keen noses—it probably smelled the seeds.

"Meow," Ying Yuanxing called softly, and the small black ball twitched. Encouraged by the response, he took two tentative steps forward, planning to get a fish from his backpack to feed it, only to realize his backpack was empty. No fish.

"Good kitty, stay right there. I'll go get you a fish, don't move," Ying Yuanxing said, his voice automatically softening as he glanced between the pond and the little black shape.

As he spoke, he peered under the thorny bush, then briskly walked to the pond. He scanned the water, looking for a smaller fish to feed the kitten.

The moment Ying Yuanxing emerged, Yu Fei cautiously surfaced to observe. He saw Ying Yuanxing talking to something.

Yu Fei carefully glanced over and recognized the huddled black shadow as the same black mist Weird that had just devoured another Weird. Yet, Ying Yuanxing mistook it for an ordinary cat.

*Is the Great Weird's eyesight really that poor?*

Yu Fei was silent for a moment, but then he quickly dismissed the thought. Ying Yuanxing was approaching the pond, intending to scoop out a fish to feed the black mist Weird.

If that happened...

Yu Fei swiftly dove back down, pulling his two brothers into a corner. If they were caught now, death was certain.

Facing Ying Yuanxing alone, or even just the black mist Weird, Yu Fei felt he might have a chance to fight and at least one of them could escape. But against two Great Weirds? Hiding and surviving seemed a far better option than trying to flee.

If they could just endure, their parents and kin would surely come to rescue them.

His two brothers, sensing the danger, huddled close to their elder brother.

When Ying Yuanxing's figure appeared by the water, all three fish shivered involuntarily. Though Ying Yuanxing's face showed no ferocity, his gaze as he scanned them was utterly devoid of emotion—the look one gave to food.

If Ying Yuanxing knew what the three small Weirds were thinking, he would only feel misunderstood. He had no idea some of the fish he caught were Weirds. To him, fish were simply food.

Keeping them as pets might foster some affection, but he caught these fish to eat and sell. Getting emotionally attached would only cost him money.

Ying Yuanxing noticed the three fish huddled at the bottom of the pond, but only gave them a passing glance. Though they seemed inactive, they were likely still alive. He quickly scooped up a fish.

Holding the fish, Ying Yuanxing turned back with a smile, only to find the shadow beneath the thorny bush gone.

"Meow?" Ying Yuanxing looked around. The farm was pitch black at night, and the small black shape was nowhere to be seen. He wondered if he had imagined it.

He approached the bush and saw a tuft of black fur caught on the thorns. It didn't look particularly soft; in fact, it seemed a bit coarse.

Just as he reached for it, a gust of wind blew the fur away, leaving no trace.

Ying Yuanxing sighed. He had hoped that feeding the cat might encourage it to stay, but it seemed that wouldn't happen.

He stood up, ready to go back to bed, but the thought of the poor kitten being so hungry it was digging for seeds made him leave the fish behind. What if he wasn't there and the cat returned?

Besides, if the cat had fish to eat, it wouldn't dig up his seeds.

"I'll leave the fish here for you. Come eat if you want," Ying Yuanxing said before heading back inside. He didn't deliberately listen for sounds outside, but just before falling asleep, he heard a faint noise and smiled, then drifted into a deep sleep.

Ying Yuanxing didn't see that what he thought was a small kitten was actually a Weird, not small in size, with the appearance of a rat.

A gust of wind blew, lifting its fur and revealing that it was hollow inside—just a moving skin.

A wisp of black mist floated out from beneath the skin, forming a blurry humanoid figure. It looked towards Ying Yuanxing's house for a moment, then settled on the fish, picking it up and walking away, the black rat skin following obediently behind.

Yu Fei tensely monitored the sounds outside until all was completely silent. Only then did he cautiously exhale. He turned to discuss their next steps with his brothers, only to see the two fish fighting with the other fish.

As Weirds, they shouldn't have struggled against ordinary fish, but they were still too weak. Fortunately, their intelligence prevailed, and they eventually defeated the other fish, then promptly swallowed the floating pond grass.

Yu Fei glared. While he had been consumed with anxiety, they had been fighting other fish for food? *You were caught like fish, and now you're truly acting like fish?!*