Chapter 246: Chapter 236: Strange Fish

Tang Mo looked at the fish in her hand, finding it exceptionally strange.

You could tell it was a fish at a glance, but it was different in every way from the fish that existed before the apocalypse.

For instance, its body had more vibrant markings, its tail had protruding spines, and it even had a long, barbed tongue.

It was the first time Tang Mo had ever seen a fish with a tongue. Its appearance was so bizarre, it was rather unsettling.

However, Da Yu was clearly unfazed by such sights.

"All the fish are like this after the apocalypse, but their meat is still just as tasty, and it’s not poisonous. I’ve heard the deeper you go into the ocean, the weirder the fish get."

Da Yu skillfully tossed the fish into the pail he had brought, which was woven from pliable branches.

"Do fish like this have Crystal Cores in their bodies?"

The presence of a Crystal Core was the most important factor distinguishing mutant beasts from regular animals.

"Crystal Cores? They have them, but they’re tiny—just a little bead the size of a fingernail. People usually just swallow them by accident when they’re eating the fish. No one bothers to take them out on purpose."

Tang Mo nodded. ’No wonder everyone in this fishing village seems so healthy. It must be closely related to the fact that they’ve unintentionally consumed so many Crystal Cores.’

From a certain perspective, although the villagers didn’t actively train to raise their attributes, they were essentially eating Crystal Cores as if they were regular food.

But if they were mutant beasts, why didn’t they actively attack humans?

Tang Mo still couldn’t figure that part out.

It wasn’t that she’d never seen mutant beasts that didn’t attack humans, but such creatures were always of a very high level or intelligence.

Her Jingjing, and the gorilla family with Da Hua and Xiao Hua she had met before, were all such beasts.

Low-level mutant beasts were genetically wired to be hostile to humans.

"Could someone with no experience learn to fish quickly and go out to sea on their own?"

A bold idea surfaced in Tang Mo’s mind. ’If I can master the techniques quickly, I’ll be able to go out to sea by myself in the future. It would be much more convenient.’

After all, Da Yu was just a boy; she couldn’t just recklessly drag him into danger.

"No way. Sister Tang Mo, don’t be fooled by how simple going out to sea looks. Whether it’s controlling the small boat, reading the weather changes, or keeping your bearings, you can’t master it without a few years of practice. An experienced fisherman can predict the day’s weather and catch just by looking at the ripples on the water’s surface."

"Is that so." Tang Mo was forced to give up the idea of going out to sea on her own.

The day’s haul was, in a way, both large and small.

After an entire day, they had a pail full of various strange and bizarre fish.

They caught something every time they cast the net, but each haul was only two or three fish, or sometimes just one. It could hardly be considered a bountiful harvest.

For three consecutive days, Tang Mo went out to sea with Da Yu. She saw more and more types of fish, but the most surprising thing was that, due to mutation, every single fish in the ocean looked at least slightly different from the next.

Many of the fish were vibrantly colored and had sharp teeth, but they never actively tried to harm humans.

Only when they were caught did they open their mouths and struggle desperately to break free.

On the evening of the third day, Tang Mo called Da Yu into the kitchen.

Then, right in front of him, she began taking food out of her Space.

Rice, white flour, meat, snacks, drinks...

Everything Tang Mo took out was the kind of stuff you’d find in a supermarket, and it all piled up, covering the floor.

"This is all for you. How about taking me somewhere farther out tomorrow?"

After the past few days, Tang Mo was no longer satisfied with staying so close to shore. Such a safe distance wouldn’t allow her to gain a deeper understanding of this sea.

Da Yu naturally knew what Tang Mo was talking about. Seeing the ambitious glint in Sister Tang Mo’s eyes over the past few days, he knew she wouldn’t be content staying this close to shore for long.

But any farther...

Da Yu’s parents weren’t the only ones who had disappeared into the deep sea.

Before that, Aunt Lai’s husband had also gone missing at sea. It was precisely because of this shared tragedy that Aunt Lai took such good care of the two siblings.

Still, the number of people who met with disaster was small...

Most people who ventured out there came back safe and sound.

Later on, Aunt Lai had even organized groups to go search for people farther out, and Da Yu himself had gone a few times.

"Okay."

Fortune favors the bold. Da Yu agreed in a heartbeat.

Even earlier the next day, Da Yu left Xiao Yu with Aunt Lai, asking her to look after his sister.

This time, they didn’t know how far they would be going and feared they might not make it back before nightfall.

"If I don’t make it back, everything in our house can be your payment for taking care of Xiao Yu, Aunt Lai."

With only the two of them left in the family, Da Yu always made sure to arrange a safety net for his sister whenever he did anything remotely risky.

The food Tang Mo had given him was more than enough to cover Aunt Lai’s expenses for taking care of Xiao Yu.

"What are you talking about, you silly boy? Just come back soon."

Aunt Lai patted Da Yu on the back.

She was childless and had long ago come to see Da Yu and Xiao Yu as her own children.

This time, Da Yu didn’t take out his own small boat. Instead, he borrowed a larger, sturdier one from a villager.

The farther out you go, the more unpredictable the weather becomes, and a boat that’s too small can’t handle the wind and waves.

Since they were traveling a long distance, Tang Mo joined Da Yu in rowing the boat this time.

Tang Mo’s strength was far greater than Da Yu’s. With both of them rowing, the boat moved swiftly.

But it was manually powered, after all, so reaching a more distant location would still take a very long time.

To pass the time, Da Yu told Tang Mo many stories about the area.

One of them was about Aunt Lai.

Aunt Lai was the daughter of the previous village chief. Some years ago, a wanderer in his thirties had arrived from out of nowhere.

Although he had nothing to his name, the young man was strongly built, hardworking, capable, and rather handsome.

He started out as a hired hand at the old village chief’s house, and eventually, one thing led to another, and he married into the family, wedding Aunt Lai.

The couple was very much in love, but shortly after the apocalypse began, Aunt Lai’s husband went out to sea and never came back.

He was the strongest man in the fishing village; after the old chief died, he had even been entrusted with leading the village.

But he left and never returned.

Not even the wreckage of his boat was found. He vanished without a trace, leaving neither a living person nor a corpse behind.

Plenty of people have died at sea throughout history, but for the most experienced and strongest men to be disappearing so frequently in these waters... one couldn’t help but be suspicious.

What kind of accident could have made them stay there forever?

The chances of it being a storm were very slim. After all, experienced fishermen could predict the weather and would never knowingly put themselves in danger.

Tang Mo rowed, her gaze fixed on the endless expanse of sea stretching out before her.

This time, she was determined to lift this mysterious veil.

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