Chapter 8

One week later.

On the eastern side of the farm—so called by Luo Mu with extraordinary audacity—lay a stretch of barren land, across which a narrow stream flowed slowly.

Clear to the bottom, the stream held numerous fish shadows gliding through; upon closer inspection, occasional red silhouettes could be spotted.

“Why are you two here again? I’m not running a buffet—please, stop eating...”

A voice full of anger yet laced with sorrow rose up; Luo Mu, holding his fishing rod, stared in despair at a pair of lifeless fish eyes.

Yet both the system’s smug text and the monarch snake beside him, impatiently flicking its tail and regarding him with disdainful serpent eyes,

seemed to say: You prepared a whole basin of bait, swore you wouldn’t return empty-handed, ended up feeding every carp in the stream, and now you think begging will scare them off—your brain is broken.

The carp, held aloft by Luo Mu with a completely defeated expression, as if certain he couldn’t do anything to it, calmly swished its tail, waiting for Luo Mu to toss it back into the water.

In truth, Luo Mu’s fishing skills weren’t bad; before his transmigration, he often went alone to a certain river on holidays. Though he didn’t always catch anything, he usually got at least a little.

He came here to fish because of a sudden whim this morning—he suddenly craved grilled fish, so he decisively prepared a basin of bait attractive only to ordinary fish, and came to this newly discovered stream.

This bait contained no ingredients Pokémon liked; to them, it was essentially pig feed.

But Luo Mu had never anticipated that these stubborn carp not only ate the bait, but used their supernatural nature to drive away all other fish.

It was sheer audacity beyond measure!

Seeing his useless trainer turn beet-red with rage, the monarch snake sighed inwardly.

Though it still wore a look of disdain, it released a faint aura of pressure toward the carp on Luo Mu’s line and the water’s surface.

The pressure was perfectly controlled—only enveloping the carp lingering nearby, without frightening the rest of the fish.

The carp, moments ago locked in stalemate with Luo Mu, now showed visible panic in its dull eyes, immediately releasing the bait and leaping into the stream with the fastest speed of its life, vanishing instantly.

“Thank you, kind Monarch Snake!” Luo Mu, moved, turned to the monarch snake and immediately dropped his rod, ready to embrace it with a grateful hug from his beloved trainer.

But before he could touch it, the monarch snake, face twisted in disgust, wrapped him in two emerald vines and hoisted him midair, dangling helplessly—slightly ridiculous.

The monarch snake grumbled: “Kaga!” (How many times have I told you? Call me Queen!)

Unfortunately, Luo Mu didn’t understand its language, but he could clearly sense its mood—it was clearly in “tsundere” mode; if he flattered it, it would be pleased.

Luo Mu, who knew the monarch snake’s personality inside out, smoothly began showering it with praise. Soon, the monarch snake, flushed by his flowery compliments, lifted its head haughtily and, in magnanimous mercy, allowed Luo Mu to embrace its body—unlike ordinary snake Pokémon, it was warm.

Luo Mu carefully felt the warmth of the monarch snake’s body, and where it couldn’t see, he smirked triumphantly.

You little tsundere snake—easily conquered in a moment. Don’t underestimate this middle-aged otaku who’s watched countless anime, kora!

After the commotion, Luo Mu stared at the residue along the basin’s edge, estimating it might still be usable for one more cast...

This time, no empty-handed return!

Though the monarch snake could scare the fish away, that meant nothing—Luo Mu cherished the process of catching them.

With determined expression, Luo Mu immediately rolled up his sleeves for a serious session.

“AllmypeopleAllmypeople~”

Suddenly, his phone, tucked in the pocket of his flowered shorts, began playing its ringtone.

Luo Mu froze, shoulders slumping like a deflated balloon. He pulled out his phone, checked the caller, and answered: “Hello? Is there another problem?”

A hearty middle-aged male voice came through: “Hey, no problem at all—we’ll start on time. But some of my workers have something they’d like your permission for.”

“Permission?” Luo Mu tilted his head, confused by what the construction foreman meant.

“It’s about that child abduction gang we still haven’t caught. Rumor says children keep disappearing in nearby towns... With school holidays, they’re worried kids left alone at home might get hurt, so they want to bring them to the construction site to keep an eye on them.”

Before Luo Mu could speak, the foreman rushed to assure him: “They swear they won’t let the kids wander off—they’ll keep them close at all times... I’ll be there myself to supervise. Could you make an exception?”

Is that all?

Luo Mu couldn’t help but laugh and sigh. Most of the farm was abandoned anyway—even if those kids danced there, he didn’t care. He only cared about the final result.

He set aside his thoughts and smiled: “Fine. Just make sure the kids don’t run off.”

Hearing Luo Mu’s approval, the foreman beamed, thanked him repeatedly, and promised to watch the children closely, even offering a discount on the project once finished.

After hanging up, Luo Mu shook his head, sighing inwardly—how rare to find a boss so considerate of his workers. Why had he never met one like that before?

“Kaga!”

The monarch snake gently tapped Luo Mu’s palm with its vine, urging him to finish this cast and leave—its sunbathing hadn’t happened yet.

“Alright, alright, I’m fishing now.” Luo Mu expertly baited his hook and smoothly cast it far out into the water.

Too bad there wasn’t enough bait left to chum the water—all because of those damn carp!

Luo Mu swore: next time those carp came to steal, he’d bring Electrike to electrofish them.

He sat motionless for minutes, bloodshot eyes glued to the water, as if he could fish the fish up with sheer will.

Perhaps due to the carp’s earlier disruption, the fish in this stretch had lost their appetite—even unwilling to sneak a free bite of his bait.

Just as Luo Mu thought he’d return empty-handed, the float on the water’s surface suddenly dipped—there was a bite!

Luo Mu’s drowsy mind snapped awake, his eyes blazing with excitement; he prepared to wrestle the fish in the water.

The monarch snake, idly watching the water, hadn’t expected Luo Mu to actually catch anything.

But the moment it saw what was hooked, its serpent pupils shrank sharply.