Chapter 80: Ocean Kin Transformation

Wu Chang did not follow the villagers in their frantic dash; he followed slowly behind the crowd, admiring everything unfolding before him.

Harrison and the others charged up the cliff and ran into the small town.

Amidst their shouts, the other townspeople roughly understood what had happened, so they grabbed tools and torches and followed Harrison and the others.

Even the priest and nuns of the cathedral were swept into this massive, high-stakes manhunt.

A tremendous killing intent filled the entire island.

What was the Golden Flying Fish? It was a blessing bestowed upon Brifu Island by the gods! Stealing divine grace was even harder for them to accept than if someone had stolen their own parents.

Simply put, even if the culprit were the missing Count Jermaine, if they caught him today, he would have to die!

No one could escape.

Unfortunately, the fish thief was too cunning; the place where the aura of divine grace was exposed was too far from the divine grace ceremony, and by the time the townspeople arrived, the aura had completely vanished.

The culprit had escaped with the Golden Flying Fish.

Wu Chang, who was moving slowly behind the crowd, walked up to Mo Leina and asked, "Sheriff, what is the situation?"

Mo Leina frowned deeply. "The fish thief got away, but it's only temporary. With me here, I will catch that damn thief sooner or later."

"Have you found out who it is?" Wu Chang asked with concern.

Mo Leina gritted her teeth and squeezed three words through them. "It's Ma Di."

"No wonder Ma Di, who always looks forward to the divine grace ceremony the most, was uncharacteristically absent today. It turns out he took advantage of us not paying attention to catch a large number of Golden Flying Fish beneath the water's surface, swallowing the share of divine grace the gods bestowed upon us all by himself!"

Wu Chang said in disbelief, "How could it be Mr. Ma Di? We met just this afternoon, and he was very enthusiastic when he signed the recommendation letter for me."

"Could it be a misunderstanding?"

Mo Leina let out a cold snort and took a kraft paper bag from her pocket, which was filled with golden fish scales.

"We found a secret room in Ma Di's grocery store, and these freshly peeled scales were scattered inside. You didn't see the scene at the time—so many scales, at least thirty or forty fish worth. That damn wretch!"

Wu Chang sighed. "I didn't expect things to turn out like this."

Mo Leina took a deep breath, calming the anger in her heart, and said, "Thank you for the fish."

Wu Chang smiled and shook his head. "I don't care about those."

"That's only because you haven't experienced the greatness of divine grace." Mo Leina's tone was somewhat low, as if she were ashamed for having plotted against a noble and pure good man.

Wu Chang: "It's alright, I will experience it sooner or later."

Mo Leina threw the paper bag containing the scales to her subordinate, took out a towel to wipe her damp hair, and said:

"Thanks to that bastard Ma Di, tonight's carnival is ruined. Do you need me to take you back?"

Wu Chang shrugged. "It's not far from the post office; I know the way."

"You could stay for a cup of coffee."

Whoa, drinking coffee in the middle of the night—are you trying to enter combat mode for the whole night?

Wu Chang: "Another day. Everything I saw tonight makes me feel like I'm in a dream; I need time to process it all. Besides, you still have a fish that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible; everyone else is eyeing it."

Mentioning the Golden Flying Fish, Mo Leina's desire instantly shifted. She winked at Wu Chang and said, "I ordered two bottles of high-end liquor in the royal capital; they'll arrive in a couple of days. Don't send them to the police station; send them directly to my house, at this same time. Remember that."

Wu Chang performed a gentleman's bow and replied, "Happy to serve."

If, in two days, the returned-to-normal Mo Leina no longer smelled of fish, he wouldn't mind a late-night drinking party.

But for now, forget it.

And it wasn't just Mo Leina who had fish to eat; there were plenty of fish waiting for him, too.

Bidding farewell to the others from the town council, Wu Chang did not linger and returned all the way to the post office.

Inside the post office, in the breakroom that served as his living quarters, sat a large wooden crate.

Lifting the lid of the crate, it was filled with Golden Flying Fish.

Golden Flying Fish whose Ocean Kin aura had dissipated.

He rubbed his hands in excitement; wealth is sought in danger—the ancients did not deceive me.

Something that a whole team of veteran players from the Deep Water Society couldn't find, he had obtained forty-four of in one go.

Not only did he have enough for the Ocean Kin transformation, but he also had enough for the subsequent share needed to lift the "Away from Water" state. Now, there was only one thing left for him to do: eat! The Golden Flying Fish were streamlined and slender; although each one was less than two pounds, a normal competitive eater would shake their head at the prospect of eating fifteen in one sitting.

But for the sake of the transformation, he had to force them down even if he couldn't eat them.

As a person from Xia, the pursuit of food was engraved in his bones; he certainly wouldn't be like the townspeople, holding them and eating them raw.

He cleaned the chimney, took out a small grill, lit the charcoal, set up the rack, and then arranged the Golden Flying Fish neatly on the grill.

Under the heat of the charcoal, the fat sizzled. He sprinkled on some simple sea salt, and the natural umami of the fish meat was brought out, mixing with the smoky aroma of the charcoal fire to emit a scent that made one feel happy just by smelling it.

Amidst the rising smoke and fire, Wu Chang seemed to hear a narrator with background music.

High-end ingredients often only require the simplest cooking methods.

As the skin of the grilled fish became crispy, Wu Chang, who hadn't eaten dinner, couldn't wait to pick one up and start eating.

The Golden Flying Fish carried an inexplicable sweetness. One bite down, and Wu Chang felt a momentary trance.

He felt as if he were wearing a white dress, waving white gauze, and running on a beach illuminated by the sunset.

It's explosive, juicy beef balls! No, wait, it's explosive, juicy Golden Flying Fish.

No wonder the townspeople ate with such infatuation; even he couldn't resist it after eating one.

Although the Golden Flying Fish were fish, once they entered his body, they quickly dispersed into energy and barely filled his stomach, which allowed him to finish all fifteen fish very quickly.

Accompanied by a burp, a notification popped up before his eyes.

"Consumed 15 Deep Sea Gifts, obtained bloodline talent: Ocean Kin Transformation."

"Ocean Kin Transformation current status: Pending Randomization. Do you wish to transform and randomly fix the form?"

Wu Chang took two deep breaths, pressed his palms together, and bowed toward the cathedral.

If he had to turn into a fish-headed person, he wanted to be an anglerfish.

Use the little lantern on his head to lure targets in the darkness, and when the target got close, stick his head out and swallow them in one gulp.

He liked this kind of 'old six' tactic the best.

"Proceed with transformation."

Hum—the moment he confirmed the transformation, a buzzing sound rang in his ears, followed by the gurgling sound of bubbles rising, and finally, everything fell into dead silence.

His consciousness seemed to sink into the pitch-black deep sea; there was no light, no sound.

Beneath the endless darkness and void, his consciousness seemed to sink along with the deep sea.

Thinking became very tiring, and staying awake was also very tiring.

If he just fell asleep like this, it seemed quite nice.

It seemed something was wrong.

He couldn't rest yet!

Just as he was about to sink, his willpower woke him up. The drowsiness and fatigue in his mind gradually dissipated, and his consciousness became clear again.

With the recovery of his willpower, a point of light appeared in the pitch-black deep sea.

Deep sea, a point of light—is it really an anglerfish?!

He stirred up all his willpower and dashed toward the point of light, subconsciously shouting:

"Man!"

The next moment, the darkness dissipated, and his consciousness returned to his body.

"You have activated the Ocean Kin bloodline compatible with you."

"You have obtained the bloodline transformation effect—Ocean Kin: Sea Snake."

Wait, what the hell, a sea snake?

No, have I become a Black Mamba of the sea?

(End of chapter)