“Boss, give me two crucian carp—make them plump ones. No need to kill them.”
Chen Xiaoyang shouted to the fish-stall owner while wearing a duckbill cap.
The fishmonger was a woman in her forties, currently scraping scales off a fish for the previous customer.
Hearing a voice that sounded familiar, she looked up.
Seeing a regular customer, she immediately smiled and said, “Oh, handsome, here to buy fish again? What a coincidence today—these crucian carp were caught by my old man in the river. Just these few, wild ones. They taste much better than farm-raised fish!”
“Then I’m really in luck,”
Chen Xiaoyang replied with a smile, not particularly caring whether they were wild or not.
He casually glanced at the fish on the chopping board.
The boss lady’s knife skills—still no improvement after all these years.
“Two fish, five jin six liang. You’re a regular, so I’ll count it as five jin.”
The fishmonger especially liked customers who didn’t ask for the fish to be killed—those were rare.
Every time Chen Xiaoyang bought fish, he never wanted them killed. Most city folk nowadays didn’t know how to handle fish, and it was already uncommon for young people like him to buy fish and cook them themselves.
What’s more, this young man came to buy fish almost every day, so she was even more courteous.
After paying, Chen Xiaoyang didn’t linger in the market. He lifted the fish and headed home.
He lived in a villa complex on the outskirts of H City, only about a ten-minute walk from the market, in Villa No. 12.
After getting home, he casually tossed the two large wild crucian carp into the sink.
He washed his hands, picked up his phone, and ordered takeout.
Cook? That was impossible! He had no talent for cooking and couldn’t be bothered to learn.
An hour later, Chen Xiaoyang patted his belly in satisfaction. “This braised crucian carp is really good!”
After cleaning up the takeout containers, he went to the kitchen, took out one fish, placed it on an 80-centimeter chopping board, and casually smacked it unconscious with a cleaver—then switched to a dagger.
That’s right—a dagger, not a kitchen utensil.
Chen Xiaoyang narrowed his eyes slightly, his whole body tensing. Holding the dagger in a reverse grip, his right hand moved swiftly over the fish.
Slices of fish scales quickly piled up at the upper-right corner of the large chopping board, with only a few scattering around.
If slowed down, one could see the dagger in his hand moving as lightly as a butterfly.
Each strike landed precisely at the junction between scale and flesh, without cutting into the skin at all.
As precise as a machine—every swing of the dagger sent a scale flying.
If anyone else saw this, their jaw would drop. Who removes fish scales one by one like this?!
Soon, one side of the fish was completely descaled.
Flip it over. The dagger switched to his left hand, continuing its dance.
In less than five minutes, both large crucian carp were completely cleaned.
“Today’s training—complete!”
He exhaled lightly, shook out his hands, and carried the fish outside, placing them into a large basin in the corner of the villa courtyard.
“Da Huang! Dinner’s ready!”
Chen Xiaoyang called out toward the yard.
Before long, an orange-and-white Chinese domestic cat sprang up onto the one-meter-high wall.
It meowed at Chen Xiaoyang, then familiarly hopped down and walked toward the servant it had acquired over the past few years, stepping gracefully like a cat should.
Its fluffy head rubbed against Chen Xiaoyang’s pant leg, showing favor to its human.
Chen Xiaoyang squatted down, rubbing its head and squinting his eyes in enjoyment.
Petting a cat feels good in the moment—petting it long-term feels even better, especially when he’d been doing it for three years.
The key point was that he didn’t even have to raise it himself—he’d traded training fish for a feline master. No matter how you looked at it, that was a profit.
If Da Huang could see its own head, it would notice that the fur there wasn’t as thick as it had been three years ago.
Watching Da Huang bury its head in the fish with interest, Chen Xiaoyang didn’t stop petting it, just moved his hand to its back.
As for the fur on its back… better left unsaid…
“Huh? What’s this?”
Chen Xiaoyang noticed that after Da Huang had eaten through one side of the fish, there was a black strip inside the fish skeleton.
It wasn’t very big—about one centimeter wide.
Had the fish accidentally swallowed it?
The strip faintly emitted a black glow, and Chen Xiaoyang was a bit surprised.
A reflection?
But today was overcast.
That black glow immediately caught his interest.
He didn’t mind the mess, and Da Huang didn’t guard its food.
He casually pushed aside some scraps of flesh and bone and took out the strip.
Pure black, about fifteen centimeters long. He gently pinched it—it seemed to be made of silicone.
The strange thing was that the strip wasn’t stained at all, as clean as if it were brand new.
He brought it closer to smell it—no odor either.
This wasn’t scientific at all. Forget being inside a fish’s guts—Da Huang drooled while eating. How could it be this clean?
Maybe? Possibly? Forget it, no point overthinking.
Chen Xiaoyang didn’t dwell on it—bad for the brain.
Since it was special, he might as well wear it for a bit. At least it didn’t need washing.
He could throw it away in a couple of days. Business had been slow lately anyway, so having a ring on his hand wouldn’t matter.
Huh? There’s no clasp?
He tried it on his wrist, only to realize it couldn’t be worn at all.
The strip had no clasp, no holes—just a plain silicone band.
While he was fiddling with it on his wrist, puzzled, a voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
“Activation at 0.1%.”
Hm? What was that sound?
He didn’t panic, only narrowed his eyes slightly.
The sound had come directly from his mind, not from outside.
And he hadn’t ordered takeout, nor did he even know a single neighbor.
Telepathy?
Who was it?
Replaying the situation—Da Huang was impossible.
If Da Huang had gained sentience, he’d probably have already turned into cat poop.
Da Huang the Cat Demon: Insolent Chen Xiaoyang! Where’s this demon’s fur?!
Chen Xiaoyang raised an eyebrow and looked at Da Huang with ill intent.
Da Huang, who was eating fish, shuddered. Who dares plot against this emperor?
Could it be the fish?
Impossible too.
If a wild crucian carp had become a demon, he’d already be fish poop.
Crucian Carp Great Demon: Insolent Chen Xiaoyang! Where’s this demon’s armor?!
Chen Xiaoyang shook his head. This damn sense of immersion…
The last thing he’d touched was only this strange strip.
It really was suspicious—staying clean like that was completely abnormal.
Could it be silicone gaining sentience?
Silicone King: Insolent Chen Xiaoyang! How dare you disturb this king’s cultivation!
Chen Xiaoyang trembled all over!
……
After silently imagining all this, he decided that whatever unknown demon this thing was, it was better to stay far away from it.
With a casual flick, he threw the Silicone King in his hand away.
Holy shit! How did it turn into a ring?!
Silicone King, is that you?
While Chen Xiaoyang had been lost in his thoughts, the silicone strip had unknowingly turned into a circular band and automatically slipped onto his wrist.
No matter how steady Chen Xiaoyang’s mindset was, no matter how many bloody storms he’d endured, he still couldn’t help but shiver—followed by a full-body tremble!
Pull it—couldn’t pull it off!
It was just like that one friend of his who, as a kid, stuck his head through the gaps in the school fence. It went in just fine—then wouldn’t come out.
His miserable howling brought the gatekeeper running, who then called the teachers.
The teachers called the principal, classmates followed along, and that friend of Chen Xiaoyang’s became famous both inside and outside the school…
In the end, they called the firefighters. Only after prying open the solid iron bars with huge tools did he escape.
That construction team back then were real men—the bars were solid iron!
Wouldn’t pure silicone have been fine? Why did it have to become a demon?!
He refused to believe it.
Chen Xiaoyang took out tools. Scissors couldn’t cut it. Pliers couldn’t clamp it apart.
He burned the skin black with a lighter, yet the Silicone King didn’t show the slightest bit of pain!
Did he have to cut off his hand?
Could this be the legendary system?!
Has it recognized a master?
Or maybe an old grandpa spirit?
Even a fairy would do!
An empress would be even better!
Would it take him soaring to the Divine Realm…