16: Inventory of the spoils

Chapter 16: Counting the Spoils of War

Quickly diving back to the seabed, Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan immediately ordered Xiao Jiu and Tentacle Shrimp to dig holes rapidly in the seafloor!

The two had already scouted the area and found no good hiding places, so they could only hide underground.

Tentacle Shrimp's two sharp tentacles flailed about, and Xiao Jiu also used Steel Rend Claw to attack the ground. Soon, a sizable cave was quickly formed by the combined efforts of the two beasts.

While Tentacle Shrimp continued digging, Jiang Chen rode Xiao Jiu to the edge of the grassland to gather a large amount of soft seaweed and algae leaves, which could be used as bedding in the cave later.

After collecting enough marine plants, Jiang Chen dove into the underwater grassland again and caught several small yellow fish, shaped like pine cones and about twenty to thirty centimeters long.

These small yellow fish were quite special because their heads were glowing!

As dusk settled, these small yellow fish looked like light bulbs floating in the seawater, emitting an orange-yellow glow, appearing very unique.

These were Pinecone Fish, whose appearance resembled pine cones.

Jiang Chen was very familiar with this type of fish from his previous life; he had seen them in aquariums.

Pinecone Fish have a light organ on their heads, which contains a symbiotic bacterium called Vibrio fischeri. When the concentration of this bacterium reaches a certain level, it starts to glow, helping them find and hunt prey in the dark ocean.

Jiang Chen had accidentally discovered these small fish while hunting earlier.

The reason for catching these few small fish was simple: for illumination at night.

Otherwise, the cave would be pitch black, making it impossible to see anything, which would be unsettling!

Because of this characteristic, Pinecone Fish are also called light bulb fish in this world.

By the time Jiang Chen returned to the cave with these small fish, Tentacle Shrimp had finished digging the entire cave.

The cave was about three meters deep, five meters wide, and seven meters long, rectangular in shape. Besides the most obvious entrance, a more concealed exit was also set up at the other end.

This way, even if some creature blocked the entrance at night, the two could still exit through the other opening.

After laying down a large amount of seaweed and algae in the cave, Jiang Chen lay down to test it. It was very soft, even more comfortable than his mattress at home, which greatly surprised him!

Xiao Jiu lay on the algae bed, his bright blue eyes immediately narrowed into slits, so comfortable he could barely keep them open!

Xiao Jiu: (￣▽￣)~*

After a day of fighting, this cat can finally rest!

Life is hard for a cat; the poop scooper is always exploiting and depriving its labor, giving it no chance to slack off and fish. How hateful!

Nangong Yan and Tentacle Shrimp also comfortably lay on the ground. Several Pinecone Fish slowly swam in the cave, like moving light bulbs, illuminating the surroundings.

After lying down for a while, Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan swam out of the cave entrance and together moved a large rock.

By then, the afterglow of the western sun was like burnt-out coal, struggling to emit its last bit of light and heat.

Finally, the sky completely darkened.

The seawater was pitch black, and their visible distance was reduced to less than ten meters.

"Roar!!!"

"Howl!!!"

As night fell, numerous unknown beast roars echoed one after another in the surrounding darkness, as if the entire dark world suddenly boiled over, exerting immense pressure!

Listening to the heavy beast roars around them, Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan quickly moved, blocking the cave entrance with the large rock. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they confirmed it was completely sealed.

The two lay down comfortably on the algae carpet, then opened their backpacks and took out their dinner for the night—dozens of lively, jumping small yellow fish!

They had caught these on the way. Encountering such common marine creatures that hadn't even reached the awakening level was simply effortless.

"Meow!"

As soon as these dozens of small yellow fish appeared, Xiao Jiu, who had been squinting and almost falling asleep, instantly transformed his fluffy white body into a blur, pouncing towards the group of small yellow fish, his cat face filled with ecstasy!

Tentacle Shrimp was much the same; his two tentacles waved excitedly, coiling around the small yellow fish and stuffing them into his mouth.

The two beasts ate heartily, vying with each other, very excited!

The wolf-like appearance of the two beasts scared the few Pinecone Fish into hiding in a corner, trembling. Their yellow light flickered erratically, causing the light in the cave to dim and brighten.

Unfortunately, although Xiao Jiu's cultivation level was low, he possessed two proficient-level skills. Once Water Concealment and Steel Rend Claw were activated, more than half of the small yellow fish were stuffed into his mouth.

Tentacle Shrimp was so angry that he spat bubbles, gurgling loudly, his stalked blind eyes constantly rotating, looking very anxious.

His two tentacles flailed menacingly, as if he desperately wanted to fight Xiao Jiu, but he also felt he couldn't win. He wanted to fight but dared not, which was very awkward.

Having successfully snatched more than half of the small yellow fish, Xiao Jiu looked triumphant. His fluffy white cat face proudly raised, he looked at Tentacle Shrimp with disdain, an expression of "You little punk, you dare to contend with me?" on his face.

Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan watched from the side, speechless. They shook their heads and each pulled out a large chunk of meat, weighing nearly 10 jin, from their backpacks.

As these two large chunks of meat appeared, a rich spiritual energy emanated from them.

Xiao Jiu and Tentacle Shrimp, who were still bickering, immediately stiffened, then their heads swiveled in unison to look!

This was sea beast meat!

Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan had kept these as reserves when they handed in the sea beast spoils earlier.

For awakening level pet beasts like Xiao Jiu and Tentacle Shrimp, common marine creatures like small yellow fish were just snacks; sea beast meat filled with spiritual energy was the main course!

Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan still had several similar meat chunks in their backpacks; those were Xiao Jiu and Tentacle Shrimp's rations for tomorrow.

As Beast Tamers, even if they forgot to prepare their own rations, they couldn't forget their pet beasts'.

The two beasts took their sea beast meat and immediately began to devour it again, their mouths dripping with oil.

Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan smiled, then took out the remaining small yellow fish from their backpacks, peeled and gutted them, then sliced them into sashimi to eat.

In an underwater environment, Beast Tamers generally could only eat raw flesh and blood, just like their pet beasts.

Although it was raw, these small yellow fish were very fresh, and Jiang Chen felt they tasted quite good.

However, due to Xiao Jiu and Tentacle Shrimp's activity earlier, the water in the cave was murky, and the smell of mud and blood mixed together.

As Jiang Chen ate the raw fish slices, he naturally couldn't avoid ingesting this murky seawater, which significantly diminished the tender texture of the fish slices.

They were underwater now, and they were here for combat training, so they couldn't be too particular.

As for the seawater swallowed, it could be expelled through the post-auricular gills, so there was no need to worry about that.

At this moment, Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan's post-auricular gills were open, and the two were making regular 'pa pa pa pa' movements in the cave.

However, spending almost an entire day in the water, eating, sleeping, and even excreting in the water, felt very novel to Jiang Chen.

This was a first-time experience.

Jiang Chen heard that in some regions, humans already lived completely in the sea, like fish.

After all, people in this world had evolved post-auricular gills, so living entirely in water was not difficult, just like him at this moment.

But even so, if conditions allowed, everyone still preferred the feeling of living on land.

Class Teacher Jian Qingqiu had also explained: she said this was an instinct etched into human genes!

Humans are naturally drawn to the sun and to land!

After eating and drinking to his fill, Xiao Jiu let out a satisfied burp, then waddled his chubby body close to Jiang Chen, wiggled his big bottom, found a comfortable position, and quickly fell asleep.

A few soft snores came from his delicate, fluffy white nose.

Jiang Chen smiled and stroked Xiao Jiu's cat head, then began to tally today's spoils: 14 awakening level early-stage sea beasts.

An awakening level early-stage sea beast sells for 1000 yuan on the market, but the purchase price is naturally not that much, only about 70%, which is 700 yuan.

Jiang Chen and Nangong Yan also kept the essence blood from these 14 sea beasts for themselves. Essence blood is the essence of a sea beast and is very beneficial for their cultivation, so they kept it for personal use.

Because it is essence, the value of essence blood accounts for half the price of the sea beast.

The remaining sea beast flesh and blood could only be sold for 350 yuan per beast.

One beast for 350, 14 beasts would be 4900 yuan, and after being split between two people, that's 2450 yuan!

Not only did he get a large amount of essence blood, but he also got 2450 yuan!

Jiang Chen's eyes immediately narrowed in happiness!

Jiang Chen: (^▽^)!

His earnings for one day today were more than what he would get from working part-time at school for a month. Awesome!

However, a slight drawback was that he did not encounter Arhat Fish and One-Tailed Fishing Cat today.

The blood of Arhat Fish sea beasts could help him refine his body, and the essence blood of One-Tailed Fishing Cat sea beasts could help Xiao Jiu improve his strength. The blood of both was very important!

There were still six days left of practical training, and Jiang Chen prayed he would encounter them next!

After tallying the spoils, sleepiness finally overcame him, and Jiang Chen slowly fell asleep.

The few light bulb fish also seemed to feel sleepy, slowly swimming in the cave. Their orange-yellow light illuminated this small shelter, making it feel warm and cozy.