"Isn't it great? This deal is a very good one."
He kept asking questions, and for some reason, Zhai Man found himself talking more and more about the mutant who had saved him.
He encountered quite a few mutants, and even some powerful mutants were among those he had recruited.
After muttering to himself for a long time, just when Zhai Man was disappointed and thought he would not get a response, a fish leaped out of the water and into his arms as if it had thrown itself into a net.
Zhai Man: "!"
This aberration is still there!
His eyes lit up instantly. He casually tossed the fish behind him and asked again, "Can you come out? I want to see you."
"Don't worry, no matter what you look like, I won't look at you differently."
The prototypes of most aberrations are not very attractive. I've heard that the prototypes of top-tier aberrations are all quite distinctive.
However, there are only a handful of top-tier aberrations, and for the average person to see them is virtually impossible.
Moreover, these top-tier aberrations are notorious for their violent and unpredictable nature, and their hatred of humans.
If he were to actually encounter that, he wouldn't even know how he died.
This aberration in the water is definitely not a top-tier aberration.
He called out a few more times, but there was still no response from the water, so he assumed the other person was just shy.
"Never mind, I'll go grill the fish first."
With plenty of weeds, starting a fire was easy. Zhai Man quickly cleaned the fish and then found a slightly salty type of grass among the weeds.
I estimate that about ten minutes have passed.
Zhai Man's grilled fish was cooked, and he confidently took a bite.
The next second, he almost gagged.
The fish was bitter, astringent, and fishy; one bite and you felt like you were ascending to heaven.
Zhai Manjun frowned, rubbed his face, and after adjusting his facial expression, he picked up the fish that was speared on the tree branch and came to the water's edge.
Are you hungry?
He threw the fish into the water and tricked the aberrant creature in the water: "I grilled this for you. I can't eat fish; it makes me feel unwell."
"Could you get me some shrimp or shellfish or something?"
After making his new demands, he then promised, "If you help me get the money again, I'll give you an apartment."
"In our human world, many people spend their entire lives just to buy a house and a car."
Zhai Man made empty promises to the other party: "If you don't want a house, I'll buy you a car."
"If all else fails, I'll find you a partner."
Zhai Man drew a big, round cake, just waiting for this deformed creature in the water to eat it.
However, it is obvious—
This aberration in the water has a kind heart, but not much.
He stood there making wishes for ages, but no one paid him any attention.
Seeing this, Zhai Man regretted throwing the fish in. He stayed by the water until the next day, eating only some wild vegetables.
The aberrant creature in the water still didn't seem to be planning to show itself, so he decided not to wait any longer.
"I'm leaving now. I hope we'll meet again someday."
After Zhai Man finished speaking, he turned and left.
Less than two minutes after he left, a terrifyingly large python slowly surfaced. Its cold, vertical pupils stared at Zhai Man's departing figure, lost in thought.
As Zhai Man left, he said he would meet again someday, but he didn't expect that fate would bring them together so soon.
After escaping his pursuers, he secretly contacted his people. Over the years, he has been incredibly resilient. His mentally unstable mother didn't torment him to death, and his unreliable father ignored him and even brought a bunch of brothers who wanted to kill him, but he didn't die as they wished.
The only close relative he had was his strict aunt. His aunt had died a few years earlier, and the two of them hadn't lived together for very long.
Having lived in harsh environments since childhood, Zhai Man naturally doesn't have much of a saintly heart in his behavior.
He has a handsome appearance and usually has a gentle expression, but his "brothers" know that his gentleness is just a disguise.
When it comes to ruthlessness, he is second to none.
After returning, Zhai Man killed his eldest brother, who was the most likely heir to the East District. His brother's men became ruthless and fought fiercely against him.
Several times, Zhai Man was pushed to his limits by these people.
He once lured one of his most ruthless assassins to that river, and then he jumped in. He was gambling on a guess, a guess he considered risky and daring.
The assassin didn't come up; instead, he climbed out of the water, soaking wet.
Looking at the river, which was sometimes turbulent and sometimes calm, Zhai Man raised his hand to wipe his face, and then laughed: "You really are still here."
He used this tactic several more times.
His men told him that the river was teeming with aquatic mutants. No one who had ever fallen into the river before had ever survived.
He was the only survivor who came out of the river.
After hearing about this, Zhai Man went to the river again. Thinking back to the scene that night, he suddenly asked, "Did I kiss you that day?"
He only realized later that when he was struggling, he had pressed his face against the other person to prevent them from shaking him off.
When their faces touched, it seemed as if his lips also touched the other person's.
Thinking of his rescue and everything that's happening now, his expression softened even more: "You're a girl? I was very abrupt that day."
"I'm sorry, I was only thinking about calling for help at the time." His tone was gentle and pleasant, very persuasive.
Although the female variant in the water never shows itself, Zhai Man is very patient with "her" and has a strong desire to confide in her.
"You might not believe it, but in all my years, besides my aunt, you are the only person who came to save me without wanting anything from me."
"Thank you."
Zhai Man didn't just thank him verbally; he also brought a lot of food and placed it by the river. It was a variety of delicious seafood that he had prepared.
These foods will disappear in no time after they are placed there.
Zhai Man also maintained a delicate yet harmonious relationship with the "girl" in the water. He would tell her many things and share many of his emotions.
He murmured, "Why won't you come out to see me? I'm leaving soon."
This place is too remote; he needs to go back to the main base in the East District.
His philandering father was taking a heavy toll on his health and seemed to be failing him lately. He couldn't stay here any longer.
Returning to headquarters means the danger will double.
Zhai Man wasn't sure if he would be able to inherit his father's position in the end. He wasn't even sure if he would survive if he went to the main base.
"Fine, if you don't want to come out, then don't. I'm leaving now. If I come back alive, I'll definitely come to see you again."
Zhai Man was really leaving this time. After saying goodbye, he put down the food he had brought and strode away.
Not far away, the giant python, hidden beneath the water's surface, slowly crawled ashore this time. It didn't look at the food; instead, it shrank its size and slithered to follow Zhai Man's footsteps.
After the giant python left, the deformed creatures in the water looked at each other, secretly exchanging thoughts: "Will he come back?"
"I don't know, he didn't even eat anything this time."
"If he doesn't eat, can we? His wife is so kind; she always brings him food. I want a wife too."
"You? Are you as capable as others? It's so hard to find a wife these days."
A group of aquatic mutants were chattering away, their words leaving a newcomer bewildered: "What are you talking about? What wife? Isn't that giant python male? The one who brought the food was also a man."
"You country bumpkin, can't a man be a wife?"
"Where did you come from? You're so outdated. Do you know who that giant python is? It's a top-tier mutant! It could devour a whole piece of us in one bite."
"Who says otherwise? This top-tier aberration has a terrible temper; he hates humans. But he kissed a human man, and this human man even brings him food every day. Tell me, isn't that a wife?"
"The top-tier aberration has a bad temper, but he's good to his wife! He killed all the people who came to kill his wife. The two of them are in cahoots."
"Wolf my foot! They're going in both directions!"
The chattering noise continued, except for one inconspicuous little snake mutant, who lay in the corner and whispered, "This human is afraid of snakes."
The top-tier mutant in their river is a giant python, even more terrifying than a snake.
The day before yesterday, when the mutated snake crawled ashore to sunbathe, it bumped into the man who delivered its food. The man turned pale when he saw it.
He clearly sensed that the other person was terrified of him.
The other aberrations didn't hear what the little snake aberration said. They were all chatting and waiting, planning to sneak a bite of food if the top aberration didn't return.
On the other side.
Zhai Man got into the car. His car had high safety features, and a special person personally inspected it before he drove it.
After getting on the bus, he picked up a picture book he had been frequently reading lately.
This picture book contains illustrations of various fish and other aquatic animals. In addition to these illustrations, it also includes information about aquatic anomalies.
Some mutant creatures look quite good, while others look extremely grotesque.
Zhai Man wondered what the aquatic mutant he was feeding would look like. He initially thought it was a male, after all, he had vaguely heard a man's deep voice.
But later, one of his subordinates, also a girl, complained to people that her voice was being mistaken for a man's again.
He then began to waver, realizing he shouldn't have relied solely on voice to determine gender. Besides, in such an urgent situation, when he was practically suffocating, what he heard might not have been the truth.
Judging from the fact that the aquatic mutant doesn't come out to see him, but secretly eats his food and helps him solve his problems, it's clear that the other person is a somewhat reserved girl.
As Zhai Man looked through the picture book, his emotions remained calm.
Three days later, he arrived at the East District headquarters.
The old man felt no grief after his eldest son, who was originally the most likely heir, died. He had no shortage of sons; if this son was gone, he would simply move on to the next one.
When Zhai Man arrived, the old man had a favored son by his side, who was half a year younger than him and named Zhai Liu.
Zhai Liu had a rather effeminate appearance and didn't resemble the old man at all. But the old man was convinced that Zhai Liu was his own son and treated him differently from his other sons.
At first, Zhai Man thought it was because his newly emerged son was good at coaxing people.