Chapter 178: Roasting Octopus, Fragrant and Delicious

A fair, breezy day, a perfect time for robbery.

The Mutation weeds, having eaten meat, grew to human height in a single day; when the morning and evening lake breezes blew, they would collapse in large patches.

With Native Skin and a Hydraulic Membrane for protection, Liu Mu strolled through the weed "forest," not a single strand of her hair getting cut.

It was eight in the morning when she reached the lakeshore; finding that same crispy rock and that same flat spot, Liu Mu sat down and shouted toward the lake.

"Old Octopus, throw two fish up here for me to eat!"

She acted like a customer ordering at a restaurant, and the kind with a very big ego and a very bad temper at that.

Yes, the sucker Liu Mu was looking for was the Giant Octopus. Wasn't it introverted? That was perfect, as Liu Mu was exceptionally extroverted.

Introverted fish often become toys for extroverted people.

After a minute without a response, she grew impatient. "Hurry up, hey, don't pretend you're not there, I can see you."

As she spoke, she picked up a stone and threw it into the lake.

The stone landed, splashing a small cluster of water, and that spot began to bubble.

At first there were only a few, but gradually they formed a large patch, and finally, a large octopus tentacle stretched out; with a flick of its bifurcated tip, several large fish were tossed onto the shore.

Liu Mu shifted her body to dodge, barely avoiding being hit.

Looking back, good heavens, eight fish, each weighing at least several dozen pounds.

Unfortunately, the grass on the ground reacted faster than she did; the moment the large fish landed, they were coiled up and dragged in, followed by that teeth-grinding crunching sound.

The person who wanted the fish raised an eyebrow and continued shouting, "Aim better, they're all being eaten by the grass, what am I supposed to eat? I didn't even have breakfast before coming to play with you, go catch a few more."

The octopus tentacle, which had been retreating underwater, paused; it took several seconds before it slowly sank back down.

Although it was just a segment of a tentacle, Liu Mu could clearly see a hint of helplessness in its movements.

A few minutes later, another wave of large fish was thrown up.

This time they all landed on the rock, and there were two extra, of different varieties, with even a small octopus mixed in.

The small octopus tumbled onto the rock, its round head emerging from a pile of legs, rotating as if still dazed.

After orienting itself, it crawled toward the water, its legs moving with extreme speed, as if it had already sensed the danger.

Unfortunately, a second before it could leave the boulder, one of its legs was stepped on.

"Want to leave? If you leave, what am I supposed to eat?"

Calling it a small octopus was only in comparison to the Giant Octopus; this one alone weighed over twenty pounds. When its eight legs spread out, it occupied more space than Liu Mu did when she lay down and rolled over.

Liu Mu had intended to grab it, but its slimy body really wasn't worth getting her clothes wet; yet, just as she decided to pinch a leg and throw it back, she heard a 'pfft' sound.

"Damn it, where are you squirting?"

The small octopus hadn't actually defecated, of course; in its stress response, it had spat out a large mouthful of ink, completely drowning both of Liu Mu's shoes.

"I'm going to roast you for sure!"

Half an hour later, over the fire, the octopus, which occupied more space than a person, was emitting steam that made one's mouth water.

The octopus was tied to a spiderweb-like rack, with a thick branch running through it, propped up on tree forks on either side of the fire, rotating slowly.

Liu Mu occasionally sprinkled some of Xu Xiaofeng's exclusive secret seasoning on it, then took a swig of beer.

Before long, she began to complain, "It's so big, how long will it take to roast through? If I'd known, I would've sliced it and pan-fried it."

She did have tools in her space, but... trussing it up like this was just cruel enough, and impressive enough.

Unable to wait any longer, she tore off a piece of a tentacle tip and put it in her mouth to eat.

Good news: it was cooked.

Bad news: it was over-roasted.

That's what happens when the size and thickness are uneven; some parts weren't cooked yet, while others were already overdone.

So she took out a small knife, cutting wherever it was cooked, and finally started eating in earnest.

Around the fire, there were several upright branches, each with a fish skewered on it.

Just like that, talking to herself, drinking and eating by herself, Liu Mu rarely managed to savor the beauty of a wild barbecue.

However, as for how delicious the food was, that wasn't the case; after all, her culinary skills as an Instant Noodles expert were what they were. If the ingredients hadn't been fresh enough, the taste would likely have been even worse.

"Should I bring some back for Big Sister? With her skills, she could turn this into a delicacy in no time!"

She had just finished eating the thinnest parts of the eight legs when she heard movement in the lake.

Liu Mu braced herself secretly; things of the same kind feel for each other, it would be strange if the Giant Octopus could keep its cool after seeing the small octopus roasted on the fire like that.

But she had guessed wrong, because the thing emerging from the water wasn't targeting her, nor the octopus on the rack, but the few bottles of beer placed beside her.

"Hey!" Liu Mu pressed down on the beer with one hand and pulled away the giant tentacle with the other. "You booze thief! You're so huge, my stash wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps in your teeth, and you still want to drink?"

The tentacle did let go, but the suction cups took a large chunk of the crispy rock with them.

But it didn't retreat back into the lake; instead, more tentacles stretched out, covering almost all the open space except for Liu Mu and the fire.

Even the Mutation weed patch was crushed by these tentacles and immediately wilted.

Yes, it truly wilted, and then rapidly withered.

Liu Mu didn't have megalophobia, but with this sky-blocking behemoth emerging right in front of her, at such close range, she had to admit her heart was beating a bit fast, and she had a strong urge to run.

Moreover, this big guy was actually poisonous; if her body hadn't been robust, she feared she would have already been poisoned to death.

Just like those weeds.

"I, I say," Liu Mu pursed her lips, regretting her actions deeply in her heart.

Her actions today were truly ill-considered; the Rebirth CD was still a long way off, and if she were killed now, she feared she would really be dead for good.

Whatever Modification, whatever Complete Form—under the suppression of absolute power, even if the King of Hell refused to accept her, it wouldn't be able to save her life.

"What are you doing? It's not like I won't let you drink, I can get you a few more bottles. Let's talk from a distance..."

—"Really? You have more?"

The abrupt voice was even more terrifying than the Giant Octopus pressing its face onto the shore; Liu Mu jumped up immediately, and looking up, she saw a massive hemisphere.

The reason it was a hemisphere was because the other half hadn't risen yet; it was precisely the giant octopus's head.

"Are you the one talking? Holy crap, no, have you become a spirit? Isn't it said that after the founding of the nation, one isn't allowed to become a spirit... ptooey, giant octopus, is it really you talking?"

Liu Mu was truly becoming numb, so whether it was a Mutation or it had become a spirit, she urgently needed an answer.

"Yes, and also no," the voice continued, "do you really still have beer?"

It even knew about beer; Liu Mu's eyes widened, her peach-blossom eyes almost turning into large apricot eyes, and a thought suddenly popped into her mind.

A form of Mutation she had seen before and was very familiar with.

That's right, it was Big Sister Xu Xiaofeng.

Moreover, while this giant octopus was huge, its speaking volume was about the same as a normal person's, which was enough to explain many things.

"I do have beer, but, friend, where are you?"

Liu Mu was setting a trap, "If you are in this size, even if I gave you all my wine to drink, it wouldn't be enough for a single mouthful, right?"

The voice: "Wow, you guessed it, Boss Liu is indeed clever!"