Good heavens!
When the transformed Gou Fugui saw Xie Tianlang, he didn't know how many mythical beasts were stampeding and roaring in his heart.
He truly couldn't understand why he ran into this guy everywhere he went, with such pinpoint accuracy it was as if the man had fitted him with a flashing, ringing collar.
But even though Gou Fugui had already roared and cursed this wolf-man hundreds of times in his mind, on the surface he couldn't utter a single word. He could only express his utterly crappy mood with a flurry of chaotic "Aah aah aah oww!" and "Aah aah aah dammit!" sounds.
After all, he was currently a noble, aloof, and speechless Rich Otter.
Rich Otter rolled his eyes so hard at Xie Tianlang, who was calling himself 'daddy' and demanding a hug, that they nearly fell out of his head. Without another word, he prepared to leave.
At this moment, Gou Fugui was extremely grateful that he had hidden his clothes and small backpack before transforming. Otherwise, if he were carrying the backpack now, he'd probably be suspected of having a secret identity on the spot.
Sure, an otter appearing in a shopping mall and even understanding how to shop automatically was still... pretty bizarre.
But, it could more or less be forcibly explained—for example, he was an otter who had received specialized training from humans and had a deceased former owner.
Or perhaps he was the hope of his generation, the Otter of Fortune among the local sea otter community, possessing wisdom and bearing far beyond that of ordinary otters...
Tch.
Anyway, as long as there was no evidence, as long as he stubbornly refused to speak, no one could claim he was human!
And it was even more impossible for them to know he was the peerlessly handsome Gou Fugui.
But Rich Otter ultimately failed to leave.
Because the moment he turned, he felt the hairs on his body stand on end—a sense of crisis!
"Oh no, dodge!"
"What the f—?!"
The instant Otter Fugui sensed the danger, he reflexively pushed off hard with his front paws, using the water's force to fling the huge~ mesh bag of supermarket goods he was holding directly in front of himself. Simultaneously, his nimble little body slipped swiftly to the side, narrowly avoiding the fatal strike!
Otter Fugui stared at the sharp, serrated bone spike that had pierced through his entire shopping bag, skewered his twelve-pack of soda, and even speared his two cans of milk powder and three cans of meat before grazing the tip of his nose. All his fur stood on end—
"Aah aah aah dammit dammit dammit dammit!"
What the hell is this thing?!!
If he had reacted even a fraction slower, his head would have been pierced through, aah aah aah aah!
And it was only then that Xie Tianlang's voice, unusually tinged with anxiety, reached him from over there:
"It's a swordfish! Watch out for its rostrum! It's extremely hard and sharp! And it's incredibly fast! Don't move around! I'm coming to help you!"
The moment Gou Fugui heard the word "swordfish," his round sea otter face instantly contorted with fury. The desire to curse Xie Tianlang's ancestors for eighteen generations welled up within him!
Of course he knew about swordfish! How could he not know about swordfish! If it weren't for the fact that swordfish weren't cute enough and were inherently too ferocious, they might have even earned a spot in his handbook of bizarrely adorable creatures!
One of the ocean's top predators, creatures even sharks and orcas hesitate to confront head-on, capable of swimming up to 130 kilometers per hour, with its most legendary feat being spearing through a military submarine with its snout. There's still a large specimen on display in a European museum because that particular swordfish impaled a passing fishing boat!
Such. A. Vicious. And. Brutal. Fish!!!
Why is it here, aah aah aah?!!
This is terrifying for an otter, okay?!
While Otter Fugui was inwardly screaming and couldn't help trembling a little, the swordfish, having failed to kill its prey with one strike, began thrashing its body wildly.
The force generated by the massive tail of an adult swordfish was absolutely not something a little sea otter could resist. Even with the hindrance of the shopping bag, Gou Fugui was flung aside with brutal force in just a couple of swings!
At that moment, Xie Tianlang swiftly swam over and reached out, scooping up the still-furious and muttering Otter Fugui.
Xie Tianlang felt the otter's round little body, which was still trembling slightly involuntarily. Breathing heavily from the intense swimming, he nonetheless smiled and patted the little sea otter.
"It's okay, it's okay, don't be scared, don't be scared, Yuanyuan! I'm here, I'm here. Daddy's here."
"Aow aow aah dammit dammit dammit!!"
Okay my foot! It's precisely because you're here that I'm uneasy! Can you honestly say this fish has nothing to do with you?! I was just fine with my underwater self-serve shopping; a deep-sea swordfish couldn't possibly just suddenly appear out of nowhere, aah aah aah!!
The furious sea otter ranted incessantly at Xie Tianlang.
And Xie Tianlang actually seemed to understand Otter Fugui's roar, a rare hint of embarrassment appearing on his handsome, domineering face.
He directly slung Otter Fugui over his shoulder, wiped his face, then swung his arms and swam rapidly towards the supermarket, offering an explanation:
"Ahem, actually, this is an accident. I just wanted to catch a big fish. Who knew my luck would be so good, running into this one at the seafood market up ahead."
And then, while Xie Wolf-man was still contemplating whether to catch such a big fish, the oceanic fierce fish had already decided ahead of him to turn the tables and hunt him instead...
After all, in terms of size alone, this swordfish was already three meters long and weighed over 150 kilograms, making it a whole size larger than Xie Wolf-man himself.
With the swordfish's innate speed and power, plus its sword-like rostrum, skewering Xie Tianlang should have been easy. But because Xie Tianlang swiftly swam into the streets, and since Xie Tianlang was also a recognized wolf-man who even his teammates and superiors feared when he got serious, relying on the terrain and various obstacles in the streets, Xie Tianlang finally swam three blocks and found this mall.
Midway, Xie Tianlang had two chances to leave voluntarily, and there was even one point where the swordfish found this prey too annoying and didn't want to hunt him anymore.
But Team Leader Xie's deeply ingrained competitive spirit made him refuse to run. Instead, he kept provoking the swordfish all the way to the mall—
It's true that the swordfish is a top predator in the deep sea, but that's in the open ocean without any obstacles!
It definitely hadn't experienced the dangers and numerous difficulties of human society.
Xie Tianlang's plan was to let it have a taste, and then... let this fish become trapped by human ingenuity, ultimately becoming his meal.
As Xie Tianlang swam swiftly towards the supermarket, Otter Fugui, perched on Xie Tianlang's shoulder, tilted his little head and glanced back.
Then the otter couldn't hold it in and let out a puff sound.
The swordfish was still fast, its thrashing tail still powerful. If you ignored its pointed rostrum, it truly was a ferocious, robust fish of the sea!
But now, that pointed rostrum of the sea fish was still impaling four soda bottles, two cans of milk powder, six cans of food...
The fierce fish didn't seem so fierce anymore.
It looked a bit like a delivery fish in the sea. The violent kind of delivery.
Gou Fugui also understood why Xie Tianlang swam into the supermarket. Supermarkets have many displayed items; even when flooded, the large shelving units occupy a great deal of space, creating an environment that could restrict the swordfish's speed and attacking power.
If utilized well, such an environment could make subduing this swordfish not entirely impossible.
Sure enough, once inside the supermarket, Xie Tianlang swam without hesitation towards the large steel shelves. He probably intended to use the steel shelving to trap the swordfish's most dangerous weapon—its bill.
The fierce fish chasing him, already thoroughly provoked and enraged, was unaware of his plan. It quickly caught up to Xie Tianlang, aimed for his back, and with a powerful flick of its tail—
It shot forward like a massive, living spear of the sea, piercing straight and fast towards Xie Tianlang!
"Aoaoao ah!!"
Dammit, dodge now!!
Sea otter Fugui was so frantic he used his furry little paws to desperately scratch Xie Tianlang's shoulder.
Yet, at that moment, Xie Tianlang suddenly grinned. His right hand firmly pressed down on the little sea otter's body, while his left hand tightly gripped the shelving unit in front of him. Just as the swordfish's spear-like rostrum was about to pierce his back, he let out a sharp shout!
His body twisted sharply to the left, narrowly grazing past the sharp bone spike!
Meanwhile, the swordfish's long bill continued its momentum without pause, piercing straight through the metal shelving unit laden with pots and knives!
Seizing the moment, Xie Tianlang grabbed the swordfish's long rostrum with his bare hand. With his other hand, he snatched a kitchen knife hanging from the shelf and, with a fierce roar, brought it down with all his might!
Clang!
When the kitchen knife struck the sharp bill, it produced a sound like metal clashing against stone!
Xie Tianlang didn't manage to sever the swordfish's rostrum with that one blow, but he made the fish sense the danger, and it began to struggle violently.
Unfortunately for it, Xie Tianlang's hand held its rostrum in a death grip. Using the metal shelf for leverage, even as his palm was scraped raw and blood streamed freely, he refused to let go.
Clang!!
Xie Tianlang delivered a second savage chop!
The swordfish let out an angry roar and began a frantic, desperate struggle!
Despite Xie Tianlang's innate, extraordinary strength and physical prowess far surpassing an average person's, he was almost at his limit against the wild thrashing of this massive sea beast.
Just as he gritted his teeth, preparing for a final desperate effort, he heard a dull but heavy-sounding thud.
Thump!
Then Xie Tianlang, his hands covered in blood and the taste of blood filling his own mouth, noticed the swordfish's frenzied struggles seemed to be weakening.
Thump! Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
A rapid series of thudding sounds followed, and the fierce sea fish appeared to… stop moving?
Xie Tianlang was taken aback. He didn't relax his grip on the swordfish's rostrum but turned to look at the other side of the shelving unit. And there he saw—
A round little sea otter, a ferocious expression on its face, clutching a heavy stone frying pan with both paws, madly smashing it against the swordfish's head.
The sound! The force!
Clearly, this was a powerhouse among otters.
And it was utterly, devastatingly adorable.
