CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 63 HOW TO FISH WITHOUT A ROD

"I’m thinking of nabbing some stuff,"

Liu Zheng said bluntly.

"Got a thieving addiction, kid? Forget it."

Niu Ma rejected the idea outright.

"You think the kitchen is your home or something? Go whenever you want, take whatever you like."

"If you get caught again, it’s a small thing if you die, but a big deal if Napoleon adds me to the blacklist."

It muttered in disapproval.

"Aren’t you planning to skip town anyway? Why do you care about being blacklisted?"

"I haven’t skipped yet, have I? Besides, I don’t need to work at the restaurant to take on restaurant jobs. With my relationship with Napoleon, smuggling will be like taking candy from a baby."

Niu Ma fantasized about counting stacks of money and almost drooled at the thought.

"Do you think the followers of the Round God cult will agree to this? They’ll be willing?"

"They’ll have to be willing. When the time comes, I’ll join forces with Oynk. A minor sect like them thinks they can cause trouble?"

Niu Ma snorted coldly.

"Can Oynk even come out of the black market?"

"Technically it can’t, but it’s not like there’s no way around it,"

Niu Ma stated.

"Must be a big cost, huh?"

"At least two years of profits,"

Niu Ma said with a twitch in the corner of his mouth.

This was based on the premise that it made money every time.

But given its strength and contacts from delivery gigs, losing money wasn’t likely.

"Actually, I have a method that doesn’t require Oynk’s intervention,"

Liu Zheng said as his eyes rolled around.

"Oh? Let’s hear it."

Niu Ma asked with interest.

"Partnership with Dai Legao."

He suggested.

"That tree? No way, no way."

Niu Ma shook its head like crazy.

"I’ve spared it from being burnt to a crisp, and now you want me to partner with it? Absolutely not."

"The Round God cult sold you out, and you managed not to retaliate. All Dai Legao did was give you a beating, plus you sold it fake booze in the first place, so what deep hatred could there be?"

Liu Zheng reasoned.

"The Round God cult was doing Napoleon a favor, but approaching that tree for a deal would be so humiliating for me."

Niu Ma grumbled.

"You have face only when you have money. On my last delivery to the office building, the security guard scanned his card for me voluntarily. The person who ordered the meal was taken care of, and his assistant even thanked me. How prestigious is that?"

"Why? Because I slapped them with my money."

"Have you forgotten the time we went gambling and nearly got swindled of all our money by a Demon?"

"Don’t you want to make big money easily and peacefully?"

Liu Zheng bombarded him with questions and finally pried Niu Ma’s mouth open.

"Even if I wanted to cooperate with that tree, what help could it possibly provide?"

"It’s not as if the people from the Round God cult are fools who would wander into its territory."

Niu Ma commented.

"That’s precisely why I need to grab something from the kitchen."

Since they reached this point in the conversation, he laid out his plan.

"The kitchen might have a Wood Elf stored in it. Dai Legao needs its acorns to complete its evolution, which would extend its territory to the nearby few streets."

"Then we’ll use that to lure the Round God cult there and catch them all in one go,"

Liu Zheng explained.

This way, he could complete the deal with the French Plane Tree, help Niu Ma eliminate a competitor, and take care of a potential enemy for himself.

It would be killing three birds with one stone.

After hearing his plan, Niu Ma thought for a long while, then abruptly stood up.

"Wait here, I’ll go ask."

With those words, it dashed out.

About half an hour later, Niu Ma came back.

"Napoleon said okay to the acorn, but we’ll have to trade something for it,"

It reported.

"What does he want?"

"A giant mouth whale."

"A whale? Does Napoleon think too highly of me?"

Liu Zheng’s face was a picture of confusion.

Although he did have a connection with the mermaid princess, it was another matter entirely if she would acknowledge it.

Even if the mermaid princess was willing to help, he couldn’t drag it back by himself.

Even an orca weighed several tons, let alone a "giant" mouth whale.

"Why the panic? It’s just a name, not a real whale,"

Niu Ma responded.

"Then what is it?"

"It’s a kind of catfish, common in many places. But Napoleon specifically wants the one from the sewer,"

Niu Ma replied.

"Why?"

"Sewer water nourishes people. All the waste water in the city has to pass through the sewers first; it’s all essence down there."

Niu Ma licked his lips.

"Yuck~"

Liu Zheng showed a disgusted expression.

"You don’t know shit. Tell me, ’the rich rely on technology’, what comes next?"

Niu Ma asked.

"The poor rely on mutations?"

"Exactly. There’s a shortage of everything in the sewers, except stuff that can mutate you. Take a bath in there, and you might come out as a hermit crab."

Niu Ma nodded.

"Crazy, why are you suddenly speaking in dialect and acting cute?"

Liu Zheng said with disdain.

"Who the fuck is speaking in dialect? I’m talking about hermit crabs."

Niu Ma said angrily.

"That’s the most common type of mutation in the sewers. No matter what race you were before, you’ll turn into a dumbass shrimp, and the only thing you’ll think about for the rest of your life is finding a big and hard shell for yourself."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

"Isn’t it a good thing?"

Niu Ma looked at him oddly.

"In this world, the smarter you are, the more pain you suffer, the more you want, the more torment you endure. Better to be a hermit crab, living simply and comfortably, happy for days just finding a shell."

As he spoke these words, his expression was unexpectedly full of compassion for the world.

"You’re just quoting from Bai Langzi’s poetry collection again, aren’t you?"

However, Liu Zheng immediately called him out.

"Mind your own business. Just tell me if you’re going or not?"

Niu Ma said in annoyance.

"Go, of course, I’m going. But from what you’re saying, this place doesn’t sound safe."

"No shit. Other than this lounge, where’s safe?"

Niu Ma said matter-of-factly.

"Heh."

Liu Zheng glanced at him.

You’re the biggest safety hazard.

"Aren’t you the one who wants to go to the Garbage Processing Plant? That place is way more dangerous than the sewers. If you don’t dare to go to the sewers, just give up early."

Niu Ma provoked.

"Can’t you come with me?"

"I don’t have the leisure for that. Besides, the sewers don’t welcome me either. If I go, it’s more likely I’d be attacked."

"But you, a freak like you, might just fit right in with them," Niu Ma said.

I bet we’d ’fit right in’ physically.

Liu Zheng thought to himself.

Despite his sarcasm, he started to strategize.

Firstly, White Feather Chicken already knew he was after the Wood Elf’s acorn.

Stealing was impossible, and robbing was even more of a pipe dream; he could only barter with the giant mouth whale.

Secondly, Niu Ma’s statement that the sewers weren’t as dangerous as the Garbage Processing Plant was probably true.

He could use this opportunity to get used to the harsh conditions.

Lastly, Liu Zheng did have certain advantages in going to the sewer.

First, he was still under the "Eternal Navy" state, which could significantly increase his fishing success rate.

Second, with the Heart of the Ocean, he could gain two strong effects underwater, plus the bonuses from the Legendary Armor, he should be able to protect himself without issue.

"Alright, I’ll go."

After he had finished thinking it through, Liu Zheng said.

"Here, this is a photo of the giant mouth whale."

Niu Ma pulled out a black and white photo from his mouth.

In the photo, a middle-aged man was smiling happily, and at his feet lay a catfish almost the same size as him.

I’ll admit, from the front, it did somewhat resemble a giant mouth whale.

Seeing what the giant mouth whale looked like, Liu Zheng felt a bit disappointed.

Compared to other ingredients he’d seen, it was too ordinary.

"What else?"

He asked.

"What else do you want?"

Niu Ma looked at him, puzzled.

"A fishing rod, how am I supposed to fish without a fishing rod?"

"Who told you that you need a fishing rod to fish? What’s the guy in the photo using to fish?"

Niu Ma said, with a look of disdain.

Liu Zheng looked at the photo again, where other than the middle-aged man and the giant mouth whale, all that remained was the background.

"Don’t tell me..."

He had an ominous premonition.

"You guessed it."

Niu Ma said leisurely.

"He was fishing with himself."