My Name is Hogg, Owner of Remlu's Fish Stall, Now Bankrupt

The Gnoll, bound all over with waterweed bandages, was naturally Li Wei in his transformed state. The Koutao Fishman, whom he was shaking so hard it looked like it would turn into fish floss, was Pipim's transformation.

It was clear that the master and subordinate, pressed for time after their escape following the battle on the riverbank, hadn't made detailed arrangements before parting ways. Pipim's brain, unlike that of a higher intelligent being, couldn't actively devise ways to better complete the tasks assigned by the BOSS. Following vague commands, they would simply try to approach the task's outcome based on their previous habits.

Thus, in order to earn more ore, they chose to put their remaining stock of Salted Fish Jerky, which had lost its main source, on discount. This nearly broke Li Wei, the Silver Dragon,'s heart.

One had to admit, in the bizarre world of Zelandia, the Koutao Fishmen's salted fish stall was quite an oddity.

These Koutao Fishmen, who initially couldn't even speak the common tongue, first appeared about two years ago. According to some speculations, they might have swum up from underground rivers.

Originally, this was nothing. After all, Zelandia was a loose collective of escaped slaves. A few new Koutao Fishmen wouldn't cause any major ripples. Even if the Koutao Fishmen couldn't produce any value, at worst, they could be pickled and made into Salted Fish Jerky.

But within a few days, these Koutao Fishmen started selling Salted Fish Jerky. The main ingredient was Sawfathead Fish, cured with mineral salt and air-dried. Even after dehydration, each piece weighed three to four pounds.

One such piece of Salted Fish Jerky was enough to provide a strong man with the nutritional needs for a full day's hard labor.

And how much did they sell this Salted Fish Jerky for? Three pieces for every two hundred pounds of iron ore!

Before this, how much did the cheapest Black Bread in Zelandia sell for? One piece for two hundred pounds of iron ore! It weighed less than five pounds and was made primarily from Fluorescent Moss and underground gray wheat bran. The black-hearted dwarves, to save materials, had even mixed in a lot of sand and dirt.

This Black Bread had to be soaked in hot water before it could be eaten. Otherwise, it was more than capable of being used as a self-defense weapon. A single loaf could crack open a Goblin's head.

As a result, this Salted Fish Jerky instantly became a massive hit in the Zelandia market. On the first day, the stock brought by Pipim and the others was sold out in less than an hour. The frenzied miners almost snatched the Koutao Fishmen, who were transformed Slimes, along with the fish jerky.

At first, people thought the Koutao Fishmen, with their walnut-sized brains, couldn't do the math and were happy to take advantage of the deal. But as time went on, the refugees of Zelandia discovered that these Koutao Fishmen still didn't raise their prices, and their supply of fish jerky seemed endless.

Thus, the market in Zelandia, which had been solidified for decades, was severely disrupted by the influx of cheap Salted Fish Jerky. The dwarves, in order to deal with their increasingly moldy, black-hearted bread, had to lower their prices as well. As a chain reaction of price drops ensued, the refugees of Zelandia as a whole found that their quality of life had actually improved.

Such adorable Koutao Fishmen, in a different time and space, would likely be worshipped as deities.

Initially, it wasn't that some dwarves didn't propose replacing these fishmen who were disrupting the market. However, they were stopped by Old Tiger.

The reason was simple: food in the Underdark was already scarce, considered a rare resource. Even the dwarves themselves were beneficiaries of the cheap fish jerky.

A more fundamental reason was that Sawfathead Fish were a species found in the river depths. Apart from the Koutao Fishmen, there were almost no other amphibious species in the entirety of Zelandia capable of fishing on a large scale.

To eliminate these fishmen would be akin to draining the pond to catch the fish, a decidedly unwise choice.

Although not everyone understood this reasoning, they could do simple calculations. With the limited daily supply of Salted Fish Jerky, they could save more ore to exchange for better pickaxes, even purchase some defensive equipment, and occasionally visit the Drow technicians. Why wouldn't they?

Through this process, the fish stall opened by Pipim and the others under Li Wei's instruction became the most well-connected vendor in all of Zelandia.

Thus, Pipim and the others, merely as a few Koutao Fishmen, managed to thrive in this chaotic and sinful land.

Occasionally, a few ignorant refugees would try to bully the fishmen with their physical strength and attempt to dine and dash. But each time, before the dwarf law enforcement could act, these foolish individuals would be beaten half to death by enthusiastic citizens.

As time went on, everyone knew that these Koutao Fishmen had someone backing them, and such foolishness became increasingly rare.

And now, at the beginning of the workday, when the crowd was densest, someone dared to bully their adorable Koutao Fishman boss! It was as if they didn't respect these rough men at all!

Li Wei, who had just arrived, also sensed something was wrong. In just a few seconds, he was completely surrounded by thousands of people. A dense crowd, all rolling up their sleeves with unfriendly expressions.

Li Wei immediately sensed something was amiss. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a gruff voice say, "Let go of that murloc! I, Garuru, will beat you! Saruga!"

"Huh?" His thoughts interrupted, Li Wei, in his gnoll form, frowned and looked at the ogre, instinctively baring his teeth in a fierce manner.

Perhaps it was because he had killed at least a dozen ogres on the riverbank battlefield, combined with the lingering scent of blood on him, that the ogre suddenly had the illusion of facing a ferocious beast.

"I, Garuru, Garuru, Old Tiger! This gnoll is so scary! Garuru can't win." Garuru instinctively retreated a few steps, startled by Li Wei's gaze, and his backside sat on a dwarf behind him, eliciting a yelp.

Seeing that even the ogre was scared away by a single glance, and then looking at his imposing seven-foot-tall physique and powerful muscles, the others immediately lost the urge to be the first to step forward.

At this moment, Old Tiger, the person in charge of the Golden Miner Brotherhood, arrived at the fish stall under heavy guard from the dwarf enforcement team. He sized up the gnoll, who was carrying a giant stone tablet on his back and had an unusually powerful build. Seeing the waterweed bandages wrapped tightly around him, his instincts as a long-time labor selector made him frown and sniff.

There was still a fishy smell on him; he must have swum in from the dark river. He wondered how he managed to hold his breath and swim underwater for so long while carrying such a large stone tablet. Besides that, he was quite clean. Although he seemed to have suffered severe injuries and most of his fur was gone, his wounds had already scabbed over and had no strange odor, so he likely didn't have any infectious diseases.

"This is a tough one," Old Tiger instinctively judged, his scalp tingling.

He hated variables, especially at a time when Gershon City's exploitation of the lower districts was becoming increasingly excessive.

But as the chief executive of the Golden Miner Brotherhood, he had to step forward and resolve this troublesome matter.

Old Tiger tapped his forehead with his index finger, then calmly looked at Li Wei and said, "Esteemed Gnoll Warrior, please release our murloc brother, Remlu. This is Zelandia, and I am the head of the Golden Miner Brotherhood, Tiger Stonebeard. No matter how you got here, since you are here, please abide by our rules. Many warriors like you have appeared over the decades, but those who didn't follow the rules are now fossils in the mines."

Li Wei saw that someone in charge had appeared. He seemed to pay no attention to the threat in the other's words. Instead, he placed Pipim, who had named himself Remlu, on his right shoulder, clenched his left fist and pounded his chest, nodded slightly at the old dwarf, and then grinned from ear to ear, saying:

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hogg. I am the owner of the Remlu Fish Stall. Due to the bankruptcy of my fishery, I was forced to wander here. There was a slight dispute because my subordinate did not effectively carry out the company's tasks. Please do not misunderstand."

Li Wei's brief but information-packed self-introduction caused a huge stir.

"Shocking! The mastermind behind the Koutao Fish Stall is actually a gnoll!"

"Wait! What does the bankruptcy of the fishery mean?"

Everyone was clearly very sensitive to the information about the fishery bankruptcy. Their expressions were extremely varied. Did this mean they wouldn't be able to eat such cheap dried fish in the future?

Old Tiger raised his hand to quell the rising murmur around them and asked with a frown, "Then, Boss Hogg, what brings you to Zelandia today?"

Li Wei's smile became even brighter. He took the giant stone slab, almost as tall as himself, that he was carrying on his back and inserted it next to the fish stall. A small portion of the stone slab silently sank into the ground. On it was written a series of extremely messy words:

Hogg Mining Extraction Co., Ltd.

"What does this mean??"

Old Tiger and the surrounding dwarves' faces immediately turned grim.

Li Wei ignored Old Tiger's increasingly complex gaze, scanned the crowd, and said with a smile, "From today onwards, I, Hogg, am one of the mine bosses here! I urgently need to recruit a large number of miners, with excellent treatment! The first hundred applicants will receive three dried fish as a reward. Interested parties, please hurry!"

The crowd was initially: "???"

However, upon hearing that the first hundred people would receive three free dried fish, their eyes lit up like old men and women hearing about supermarket vegetable price discounts.

Hogg Mining Extraction Co., Ltd. officially announces its opening! Interested parties, please cast your recommendation votes!