A god-tier fishing spot, anglers lined up to give me money.

Evening, by the reservoir.

The lights were off, the water was dark and murky, and only the moon overhead grew ever rounder.

"Yang Qi, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away."

Chen Zilu leaned on Yang Qi's shoulder, looking up at the sky. A few strands of her hair were blown up by the night breeze.

Hearing this, Yang Qi looked up at the sky and asked, "What's wrong? Missing home?"

Chen Zilu lowered her head and after several seconds softly hummed in agreement.

Yang Qi opened his mouth, but before he could think of what to say, the system's voice suddenly sounded in his mind:

[Warning, warning! A large-scale, unnatural death of fish has been detected in the aquatic world. The mortality rate for large fish is 99%. Please check yourself.]

"What...?" Yang Qi exclaimed in surprise.

Startled, Chen Zilu turned her head to look at him, her brows furrowing: "What? What?"

Yang Qi's mind raced in that instant: the underwater world, a 99% mortality rate, and unnatural deaths.

That string of information churned in his mind, but when he saw Chen Zilu's eyes staring at him, they were clear, focused, and filled with a hint of doubt.

He immediately composed himself, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and reached out to take Chen Zilu's hand, patting the back of her hand:

"Nothing much, I was just thinking, it's almost Mid-Autumn Festival, shouldn't we take a holiday?"

"Um……"

After thinking for a moment, Chen Zilu agreed, saying, "Health is the foundation of everything. We're not worried about money, so taking a vacation is a good idea."

"Is there anywhere you'd like to go? I'll take you there," Yang Qi asked, continuing the conversation.

Chen Zilu shook her head: "Not at the moment."

"How could there not be? Think about it carefully. Let's go down the mountain and go home for dinner."

As he spoke, Yang Qi took her hand and led her home.

……

On the way down the mountain, Yang Qi kept thinking about the system's warning.

What's going on? What dangers are there in the underwater world? Apart from the fish I put in and the original plants, there are no other creatures.

How could there be such a large-scale death, with the mortality rate of large fish reaching as high as 99%?

He glanced at Chen Zilu, determined to thoroughly investigate the situation after dinner.

The more Yang Qi thought about it, the more anxious he became, and the faster he walked.

Chen Zilu followed behind Yang Qi, being pulled along by him, taking three steps for every one step he took, faster and faster, as he pulled her back forcefully.

"Yang Qi, slow down, why are you walking so fast?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Qi paused, then realized he had been walking too fast and turned back to smile at her:

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, this will be slow."

Chen Zilu didn't move, standing on the road, staring intently at Yang Qi, trying to see through him.

Seeing this, Yang Qi scratched the back of his head and laughed a little dryly.

He awkwardly asked, "Zilu, is there something on my face?"

"Are you hiding something from me?" Chen Zilu questioned.

"No way, how could that be?" Yang Qi denied.

"You're lying. You were so anxious and frowning just now. You must be hiding something from me. Are you going to tell me or not?"

Yang Qi's smile froze on his face. He still wanted to argue, "Really, no. I was anxious because I was thinking about something, and I was frowning because I couldn't figure it out..."

"If you can't figure it out, can't you talk to me about it? What if I have some ideas? Humph."

Chen Zilu shook off Yang Qi's hand, turned her head away, and was very angry. Why did you hide things from me? Why...

"Zilu..."

"Don't touch me." Chen Zilu avoided Yang Qi, feeling wronged and angry, and complained:

"You always hide things from me, you never want to tell me anything. What do you take me for? An outsider? Or something else?"

Seeing Chen Zilu angry for the first time, Yang Qi knew he was in the wrong, gritted his teeth, ignored her objections, and hugged her tightly.

"Loosen up, loosen up..."

"Don't let go, Zilu is not an outsider," Yang Qi said in a low voice.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"

Chen Zilu stopped struggling and looked at him silently.

Yang Qi swallowed hard, organized his thoughts, and said, "This all happened so suddenly, I didn't know what to do, and I don't know how to apologize to you. Please don't overthink it."

"Then tell me!"

Chen Zilu turned around and approached him, her chest rising and falling slightly from her rapid breathing, and something flashed in her eyes.

This feeling of not being trusted is really painful and heartbreaking.

Yang Qi looked into her eyes and knew he couldn't get past this hurdle without saying something.

But the truth about the underwater world certainly cannot be revealed; at least it's not the right time to lay it all out now.

"Sigh, I just saw dead fish in the reservoir, quite a lot of them. I now suspect that a large number of dead fish have appeared in the deepest part of the reservoir."

I'm currently struggling to figure out why this happened, but I have no clue. I was planning to finish my meal first and then come back to check the underwater surveillance footage.

His words were half true and half false. The dead fish were real, and so was the sorrow; he had simply replaced the underwater world with the bottom of a reservoir.

Chen Zilu stared at his face for a long time, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. Finally, seeing Yang Qi's firm gaze, she believed him.

At the same time, his anger subsided considerably, and he asked in confusion, "Dead fish?"

"Yes, dead fish."

"Could it be an infection in the wound?"

Chen Zilu frowned, her tone shifting from questioning to analysis.

"Those anglers, when fishing, sometimes catch fish with broken rods and snapped lines, the hook might still be stuck in their mouths, turning small injuries into major ones. Plus, when they reel in the fish, they're often injured, and they might be infected with some kind of bacteria, which then spread, polluting the water, creating a vicious cycle. So, when there are dead fish..."

Yang Qi nodded, finding it quite reasonable, and continued in her footsteps:

"You know what, it's actually possible. Once the infection spreads, injured fish, especially large, wounded fish weighing over 100 pounds, will be the first to be affected..."

As he spoke, Yang Qi's mind raced, comparing her words with the system warning: bacterial infection and water pollution could indeed cause a 99% mortality rate. It made sense.

"Zilu, you're so smart."

Thinking she had found the right Yang Qi, she smiled sheepishly, "Just now, I was so anxious my mind was completely blank, but you sorted everything out in just one sentence."

Chen Zilu pulled her hand away, punched his chest, and said arrogantly:

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You just kept it to yourself."

"It won't happen again next time."

"You dare to do it again?" Chen Zilu opened her mouth and bit down.

"hiss……"

Releasing her grip, Chen Zilu looked at Yang Qi and asked, "Why didn't you dodge?"

"Because I made you worry."

"Hmph, don't think this matter will be over in a few words." Chen Zilu quickly turned her head away, her lips trembling for a while before she looked up, pouting, trying hard not to cry.

"No, you can't do that again, okay? Otherwise, I'll feel really insecure..."

"I'm sorry." Yang Qi hugged her tightly, holding her close. "I've made you sad."

"stupid."

Chen Zilu gave a wry smile. "We've found the cause. Let's eat first. We'll come back after we eat and take another look. If it's really an infection, we need to deal with it as soon as possible."

"good."

……

The underwater world

After a day of slaughter, the alligator gar had become bloodthirsty.

Wherever they went, fish carcasses and limbs littered the ground; if there were no large fish, they killed medium-sized ones.

It has grown even bigger.

Besides the alligator gar, the other three were also frantically killing and feeding.

They just couldn't bring themselves to fight each other. Even if they did meet, they would eventually leave peacefully.

……

The two walked back home along the road.

Yang Qi ate dinner rather slowly, and he managed to hide his absent-mindedness quite well.

Su Guanyin sat in the main seat, constantly piling food into Chen Zilu's bowl, saying, "Come, come, Zilu, eat more. How have you been adjusting this past month? Has that brat Yang Qi been bullying you?"

Chen Zilu, holding the bowl, said apologetically, "That's enough, Grandma, that's enough."

Su Guanyin pouted: "It's been a month, and you're still calling me grandma, is that...?"

"Grandma," Yang Qi interrupted her, "a month has passed, what's the rush? Besides, how could I possibly bully her? It's more like she's bullying me. Let's eat, I have things to do after we eat."

"What are you busy with? Do you need my help, brother?" Yang Xiaojin asked.

"It's nothing, there's just a small problem with the reservoir, I'll go back and take a look."

Su Guanyin glanced at him, said nothing more, and ladled another spoonful of soup for Chen Zilu.

……

Finally, dinner ended with Su Guanyin's hospitality and special treatment.

"Be careful going up the mountain at night," Su Guanyin said, standing at the door.

"Okay, milk."

"I understand, Grandma."

As soon as Yang Qi returned to the reservoir, the system notification sounded again:

[Mutant fish species detected. Alligator Gar. Current weight: 2000 kg, length: 5 meters. Potential: Legendary.]

It is a mutation of the alligator gar and contains a thin lineage of the mythical fish species 'Sky-Devouring Carp'.

However, due to its impure bloodline, it lacks the characteristic of the Devouring Carp growing as much as it consumes; instead, it is a low-tier version of the Devouring Carp, fond of killing and possessing an extremely strong bloodthirsty tendency. Its vitality and defense have not yet awakened.

Yang Qi stopped abruptly, his heart filled with shock.

"What's wrong?" Chen Zilu stopped and turned to look at him.

Yang Qi smiled at Chen Zilu: "It's nothing, let's begin. Zilu, go and turn on all the lights in the reservoir."

"it is good."

After sending Chen Zilu away, Yang Qi looked at the water. The Sky-Swallowing Gar was a savage killer. Could it be that it killed all those fish?

The problem is, I didn't release any alligator gars, so where did they come from?

Thinking about it, I started walking towards the shore.