Chapter 9: Bighead Catfish

Suming looked down and saw several small green fish, about one to two inches long, swimming circles around his feet.

The little fish seemed hungry, each one nipping at his feet with their round little mouths.

"Right, with such a big lake, there must be fish. I wonder if my 'Animal Friend' ability works on fish as well."

Suming tentatively projected a thread of spiritual power into the water, and the fish circling his feet became more lively upon contact with it, waggling their tails and swimming around joyfully.

Two slightly bigger fish, about the length of a middle finger, even jumped out of the water, leaping over Suming's foot as if they were attempting to pass through a dragon's gate.

It seemed that the 'Animal Friend' ability worked underwater too, but the intelligence of the fish was very low, allowing them to express only the simplest of emotions, such as fear or affection. It seemed unlikely that he could communicate with the little fish.

Suming thought for a moment, then slightly moved his foot and lifted it out of the water to squat on the steps.

Fish were easily scared, and any ripple on the water's surface would certainly frighten these little ones away. Yet instead of leaving, the fish turned towards the surface and raised their heads, opening their small mouths, which were the size of small dots, and opening and closing them on the surface of the water.

"Are you looking for something to eat from me? Ha-ha, a bunch of little gluttons. Just wait!"

Ever since gaining the 'Animal Friend' ability, Suming had truly become closer to animals on instinct, treating them almost like friends. He checked his pockets and found nothing edible, so he dashed to the convenience store and came back with two large loaves of bread.

This type of large loaf was common, about the size of a small watermelon, wrapped in plastic and mostly generic with no special taste. Even at the scenic area's convenience store, they were cheap and unwanted items, which is why there was a surplus; at two yuan each, they were very affordable.

Not suitable for human consumption, they were perfect for feeding to fish.

"Time to eat!"

Suming stood by the lake again, crumbled the bread into pieces, and sprinkled a handful into the water.

A few fish scrambled for the bread, causing a small wave on the surface, and the floating crumbs were quickly eaten up. The little fish then opened their mouths wide, smacking their lips as they looked to Suming for more food.

Fish were pure gluttons, eating as much as was available. Some especially foolish ornamental fish would even eat until they literally burst.

"Go on, get out of here, there's nothing for you anymore." Suming grabbed a few more handfuls of crumbs and threw them forcefully towards the far reaches of the lake.

Large flakes of bread floated on the lake's surface, but there was no bustling scene of a feeding frenzy as he had imagined.

After several seconds, only a few splashes appeared as medium-sized fish surfaced. Most of the bread crumbs slowly sank beneath the water.

"How come there are so few fish?" Suming was surprised.

The body of water in front of him wasn't small—about ten acres with a depth of over two meters in the center and just over a meter in the shallow areas. Otherwise, the zoo wouldn't have originally placed boats there.

Normally, such a large body of water should have more fish, even without anyone stocking or managing it.

Having seen many supernatural movies and TV shows from his childhood, like "Jaws" or "Anaconda," Suming's mind couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of lake creature here that had eaten all the fish.

But that was just a playful thought. It was broad daylight under a clear sky, and strange creatures weren't permitted after the founding of the nation; with a distinguished state enterprise involved, there wouldn't be any mythical beasts, right?

Even if there were a water monster, it couldn't have grown in such a small lake.

Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious, so Suming decided to project his spiritual power into the lake once more, aiming to explore it further.

Water was a good medium. After entering, the spiritual power spread out like a fan, extending in all directions. The distance and area it could cover were far greater than in the air.

Suming's spiritual power had covered nearly half of the lake before he began to feel somewhat exhausted.

The fish under the water were indeed pitifully scarce. Not only could they not compare with fish farms, but they were also far inferior to those abandoned wild ponds. After scanning a good part of the water area, Suming hardly found any fish, and most of them were the same kind of small fry he saw at the beginning.

Just then, a dark shadow with tentacles drifted by in the water not far away!

Huh? A tentacle monster? Suming quickly followed this shadow with his spiritual power!

When his spiritual power covered it, Suming realized it was actually a catfish about half a foot long, and the so-called 'tentacles' were the fleshy whiskers on either side of its mouth.

Twenty or so centimeters below the surface of the water, the catfish was leisurely swimming and shaking its head with ease.

A catfish 'half a foot long' could only be considered small, but in this lake where fish were rare, it was definitely a 'tyrant'-level existence. No creature could threaten it, and its daily routine consisted of loafing around and occasionally bullying other smaller fish.

However, its easy days were over. While the catfish was relaxing, its body suddenly shook slightly, and the whiskers fluttering on either side of its mouth suddenly spread out as if it had been 'electrified.'

"Hehe, it really works!"

Suming concentrated all of his spiritual power. Unlike before, when he dispersed it over a wide area, he now focused solely on the catfish, and instantly took control of it.

After a moment's 'daze,' the catfish quickly became agile again and, under Suming's control, dived into the water, becoming his 'scout,' swimming back and forth in the lake and scouting the situation at the bottom.

After swimming several rounds in the water, aside from occasionally encountering a few other fish, and seeing some aquatic plants, lake bottom mud, and stones, the catfish discovered nothing like water monsters.

Once it was under the control of spiritual power, its 'brain' seemed to function much better. After swimming for a while, it actually returned to the shore, opened its mouth wide towards Suming, and smacked its lips, clearly begging for food.

"Heh, you're quite smart," Suming chuckled and threw the last small lump of bread crumbs into the water.

The catfish sucked in the water and bread crumbs into its mouth all at once, joyfully spun around on the spot, and with a flick of its tail, its long whiskers fluttered in the water. Then it opened its mouth wide towards Suming, asking for more food.

"No more, no more, go play," Suming said, clapping his empty hands together, and he withdrew his spiritual power.

Once it lost the control of spiritual power, the catfish flicked its tail and swam back into the deep water of the lake.

Suning was left alone, standing at the edge of the water on the platform, looking over the lake. A gentle breeze blew and created soft ripples on the water—pleasant, yet it felt as though something lively and vivid was missing.

"Next time, I'll stock some fry in here so I can fish whenever I have nothing to do," Suming thought to himself.

This delay meant that half an hour had gone by, and the Fengshui Pavilion was now well-ventilated. Suming found a broom and a mop inside the storage room along with a bottle of cleaner, its expiration date unknown, and he began cleaning the pavilion.

Suming was quite skilled at housework from doing chores at home, and despite his efficiency, it was still a great deal of work. After three to four hours, he finally got the entire Whisperwind Pavilion cleaned.

"Looks like I need to make a trip to the supermarket to buy some necessities. Cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, rice, meat, vegetables, water bottles, a thermal flask... ah, and I can bring over the bedding from my dormitory..."

Suming listed a long shopping list, all of which he needed to buy. Mentally calculating the total, he realized he would barely have any money left after the purchases.

Fortunately, he would receive his salary in a month, and he had already secured a place to live, so he wasn't in immediate need of money.

He took a long sigh, feeling a sense of relief. After all the complications, he had finally settled his work issues and could get settled.

Just as he was about to leave, his phone suddenly rang. When Suming looked, it was Nangong Yan.