Chapter 13

Chapter 13

In the early morning, the birds that had just settled on the trees were the first to wake, perched in a row, chirping noisily, disturbing everyone's sleep.

Bai Zhizhi turned over halfway in bed, calling out habitually with his eyes still closed: "Bei Shan, it's so noisy. Where did these birds come from? Go chase them away for me."

Before he finished speaking, Bai Zhizhi paused, then opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar room, where Bei Shan, who had grown up by his side, was not beside the bed.

The strangeness of being in a different world suddenly became real at this moment.

He sat on the bed in a daze for a while, then obediently got up on his own. This was the first time in his life that he hadn't needed to be coaxed out of bed with repeated calls.

Jiang Lin had taught him how to wash up yesterday, and Bai Zhizhi tried to use human methods to clean himself. But out of habit, he felt that human things weren't clean enough, so he took out spirit tea and spirit water from his storage item to rinse his mouth and wash his face, feeling much cleaner.

He casually poured the used tea water out the window. The flowers and plants by the window had been growing poorly, but since they were growing outside his window, he naturally wanted to feed them a bit.

Just as he finished washing up, Yue Zhihuan came to knock on his door. Seeing him, she instinctively made a sign, then remembered he couldn't understand sign language, so she flashed a bright smile and made an eating gesture, meaning to call him for a meal.

Bai Zhizhi smiled back at her and followed her out.

The weather was beautiful today, with bright sunshine. The big tree in the courtyard swayed in the spring breeze, exuding a warm vitality.

Yue Zhihuan walked briskly ahead, occasionally picking up a few intact leaves from the ground. These could be processed and laminated into bookmarks, and if she made enough, she could sell them casually to generate some income for their East City team.

Bai Zhizhi followed unhurriedly behind her, occasionally smiling at her when she turned around.

His skin, already extremely fair, seemed to reflect light under the sun, becoming almost dazzlingly white. In contrast, his eyes and hair were pitch black, creating a striking contrast that was breathtakingly beautiful, making Yue Zhihuan go "wow" over and over in her head.

Enjoying a visual feast early in the morning—today was going to be a great day!

When they arrived at the dining room, everyone was there except Wu Yue. Lin Xiaoyang was munching on a flatbread bigger than his face: "Zhizhi, you're here! Brother Jiang said you might not be used to it and didn't sleep well, so we didn't wake you for breakfast. Come eat! This is sauce-filled flatbread, this is lamb giblets soup, this is Uncle Gao's special beef bun, this one's a bit spicy, and there's tofu pudding. Do you like it sweet or savory?"

He knew about steamed meat buns and flatbreads—Qingqiu had them too—but the fillings were probably different, so the taste would likely vary. As for tofu pudding, he had no idea what that was.

Jiang Lin placed two bowls of soft, jiggly things in front of him: "Try these first. This one's sweet, this one's savory. See which you like."

Bai Zhizhi picked up a spoon and tasted both, then pointed at the sweet one. Jiang Lin smiled and moved the savory one to his own spot.

While eating breakfast, Jiang Lin assigned the day's tasks: "Zhihua, you go with Ye Nian. Get a list from the Bureau and investigate everyone who ate the fish. Qiu Yan, you follow Wu Yue today and be ready to support if anything comes up. Dao'an, you and Yanting check the source of the fish. That fish moved with spiritual energy, proving it wasn't ordinary. The place where it grew might have something special—possibly a spirit object."

Hearing that there might be a spirit object, Ren Daoan and Yue Yanting's eyes lit up, and they replied, "Got it. We'll search thoroughly."

Lin Xiaoyang pointed at himself: "What about me? What about me?"

Jiang Lin: "You keep following up with the Zhou family and monitor the research institute's progress. Update the group with any developments."

With tasks assigned, no one dawdled. Those who were almost done eating finished quickly, while those still hungry grabbed a few things to eat on the way. In less than a minute, the bustling dining room was nearly empty.

Seeing how swiftly they moved, Bai Zhizhi looked at Jiang Lin while chewing on his unfinished meat flatbread.

Jiang Lin handed him a napkin: "No rush, eat slowly. Later, do you want to stay in the courtyard and play on your phone, or come out with me?"

Bai Zhizhi, his mouth full, mumbled, "Go out."

With everyone gone, the courtyard would only have Zhihuan and two old men. He didn't want to stay there.

Jiang Lin didn't object. He wasn't comfortable leaving the little fox alone in the courtyard either. He believed the little fox wouldn't harm ordinary people casually, but they hadn't known each other long enough for him to be completely at ease.

After Bai Zhizhi finished breakfast, Jiang Lin took him to the Bureau.

The owner of Fulu House was just an ordinary person and couldn't handle being interrogated. He hadn't even realized the severity of the situation, thinking he had just caught a strange-looking fish. Since it wasn't documented or a protected species, he tried to keep it alive.

"I found it while fishing. It was huge, and I scooped it up with a net. When I brought it back, I planned to raise it. I fed it fish food and water fleas, but it wouldn't eat. The fish was really beautiful—though slender and a bit like a sea snake, its entire body was covered in red scales. Under the light, its fins fluttered gracefully, looking almost magical. I thought if I could keep it alive, I'd put it on display in the shop."

A fish never seen before—just that gimmick alone would draw curious customers to the shop. Business would come naturally.

At the time, he figured even if the fish had issues, the worst that could happen was it being confiscated. He didn't know, hadn't killed or sold it, so at most he'd get a lecture. What could they do to him?

The interrogator continued: "Then what? How did you start selling the fish meat? Was it from this fish, or did you catch others?"

Fulu House owner: "It was from this fish. I fed it all kinds of feed, but it wouldn't eat—not even small fish or shrimp. I thought maybe it was the water quality or environment, and the fish probably wouldn't survive. So I casually threw in a piece of meat, thinking if it didn't eat, I'd stop forcing it. But it ate the meat I threw in, and the fresher, the more it liked it."

"It ate ferociously, and it was huge. When I caught it, it was almost a yard long. I wanted to see how big it could get."

"At first, I threw in a leg of lamb, and it finished it in under half an hour. Later, I threw in half a pig, and it ate that quickly too. Then whole sheep and whole cows—it devoured everything, bones and all. The more it ate, the faster it grew. In less than a month, it was almost two meters long."

The fish was too big—it would definitely attract attention. But soon, his focus shifted from curiosity to the fish's growth rate. In just two months, the huge tank he'd specially bought couldn't hold it anymore.

The fish grew so fast it got him interested. He bought anesthetic, took the fish out, cut a small piece from its tail, kept some, and sent the rest for testing.

The test results showed nothing unusual—just ordinary fish meat, no drug residues, no microbial contamination. Everything matched freshwater fish characteristics. But he couldn't get more detailed tests done as an ordinary person.

Fulu House owner: "I fed the other half of the meat to mice I bought. I wanted to see if the meat was toxic and if the mice would die. But not only did the mice not die, the cut part of the fish healed in two or three days."

Interrogator: "Then you sold the fish meat to people?"

Fulu House owner: "I tested it on many animals—cats, dogs. I noticed that animals that ate the fish became unusually docile and seemed smarter. They'd obey as soon as I brought out the meat. After feeding them for half a month with no issues, I tried a bit myself."

Hearing this, the interrogator stopped writing and looked at him with a look he couldn't describe. He thought the man was raising the strange fish and constantly cutting its meat for profit to make a shady profit, but it turned out he was just plain stupid—not even knowing what the fish was, he tried it himself after seeing cats and dogs survive. Truly reckless.

The rest was obvious. They understood: rapid growth, special regenerative healing—as long as the fish was kept, the meat supply was endless.

Under the guise of "special wild river fish," a plate of fish meat sold for 2,888 yuan, but only 100 grams, available only to regular customers. Those regulars were probably screened from well-off clientele. It was a gold mine.

From less than a yard long when brought to the shop, in a year it grew to nearly eight meters. The owner had even converted the entire basement into a giant tank. Even with daily feedings of meat, selling a few cuts from the fish earned him back double his costs.

Once he was taken in for questioning, the owner realized how screwed he was. Before he could mourn the shop's losses, he had to worry if he was going to jail.

The big fish was taken away, the shop was destroyed, and his belongings at home hadn't been moved. If someone searched his place, the ledger would be easy to find. So the owner held nothing back, answering every question and providing the list of regular customers, cooperating as much as he could.

After listening to the interrogation outside, Jiang Lin planned to check with Ren Daoan and the others on their progress—if there were any signs of spirit objects where the Xian Fish came from. But when he turned, he saw Bai Zhizhi frowning at him in disgust.

Jiang Lin was puzzled: "What's wrong?"

Bai Zhizhi looked at Jiang Lin, then back at the owner in the interrogation room: "You humans are really cruel. Eating is one thing, but raising it just to eat it?"

He had heard everything the man inside said.

Even we demons give a quick, clean kill when we eat meat. You think demons are scary? I think humans are scarier.

Jiang Lin: "..."

There was nothing he could say to that, because he couldn't argue back.

He was about to say that not all humans were like that, but his phone rang before he could speak.

Jiang Lin stepped aside to answer the call. After a moment, he frowned: "Why is Hull moving so quickly? Are you and Yanting the only ones there right now?"

Ren Daoan stared at Hull in the distance and replied softly, "No idea why they're here. They probably got some news. Yesterday's trending topic blew up, and transporting the fish and making arrests wasn't done under the radar. His people might have caught wind of it. Maybe they suspect there's a spirit object here and came to check it out."

The place where the owner of Fulu Ju caught the Xian Fish is currently only known to the Bureau, but the Bureau is not an iron fortress—there are people who are pro-foreign and look down on their own country everywhere. Besides, the matter has already blown up and is no longer confidential. It's not surprising that they found out.

Jiang Lin: "The Lin City station is closest to you. I'll contact Xiao Yu from their brigade and have him bring some people over first. You and Yan Ting keep a low profile and avoid conflict with them. If it really comes to a fight, don't hold back—just protect yourselves."

Upon hearing the name "Hull," Bai Zhizhi's ears perked up immediately. The golden-haired boss he fought with yesterday was Hull. So without waiting for Jiang Lin to call him, Bai Zhizhi pressed up against him before Jiang Lin could hang up.

Jiang Lin happened to turn sideways and almost bumped into him. "What's up? I'm not leaving without you; no need to crowd me."

Bai Zhizhi: "Are you going to fight?"

Jiang Lin looked at his eager face and said with a chuckle, "No fighting. Why would we fight for no reason?"

Bai Zhizhi was puzzled: "Aren't you going to compete for the treasure?"

He heard it loud and clear—they suspected there was a Spirit Object where the fish was caught, so they were sending people to look, and then Hull showed up. Isn't that two groups fighting over a treasure?

Jiang Lin: "It's not certain there's even a treasure. We're just speculating."

Bai Zhizhi pointed at himself: "I'll help you. I can tell if there's a treasure with one sniff."

Yesterday, Jiang Lin had to bribe him with a phone to help find the fish. Today, he was so eager—Jiang Lin didn't buy it: "I'd be very grateful if you're willing to help, but there's no fighting."

Bai Zhizhi's eyes darted around: "I'll help you find the treasure, and you pay me."

Last night, when Lin Xiaoyang and Yue Zhihuan played games with him, he learned that games have items. But items were scarce and ran out quickly. To get more items, you either watch ads or spend money to buy them.

He couldn't be bothered to waste time watching lame ads, but he had no money. Now, wasn't this a chance to make some money? With his cultivation level, a sweep of his spiritual sense would make any treasure crystal clear.

Jiang Lin pretended to think it over, watching Bai Zhizhi's eyes get wider and wider, then laughed and said, "Alright. If a treasure is really found, I'll definitely put in for a nice bonus for you."

Bai Zhizhi was instantly overjoyed. This little mortal world—easy to get by!