"...Is this Pufferfish Whale crying?"
Komatsu looked utterly bewildered as he instinctively raised a hand and pointed at the Pufferfish Whale on A Xue's cutting board.
"Hmm?"
Hearing that, everyone lowered their heads for a look and discovered that something really was off about the Pufferfish Whale. If they had to put it into words... there was an eerie glimmer in its fish eyes.
"What's going on?"
Toriko was clearly stunned by the sight. "Pufferfish Whales can cry? I've never heard of that."
"Could it be... that we're being too cruel?"
Coco seemed to have noticed something. He hesitated as he spoke. "Miss A Xue, could we use another Pufferfish Whale instead?"
"Huh? Switch to another one?"
A Xue was as easygoing as ever and readily nodded. "Sure, I don't mind..."
"Hold it."
Just because she was gentle didn't mean Fang Mo had the same temperament. "Why are you making such a big deal out of processing one fish? Can't you imitate those fish butchers at RT-Mart?"
"Huh?"
Toriko asked in confusion, "...Is RT-Mart some kind of gourmet restaurant?"
"Good grief."
Fang Mo let out a helpless sigh, then slowly held out his hand toward A Xue. "A Xue, come on. Lend me the kitchen knife..."
"Alright, Master. Please be careful."
A Xue obediently nodded, turned the blade around, and gently offered the handle to Fang Mo.
Fang Mo said nothing. He simply gripped the kitchen knife, then, with a thought, rapidly linked his internal storage space with the Crafting Workshop and slapped it without another word.
"...I told you not to slack off!"
The slap landed, and the kitchen knife actually let out a ding.
Immediately afterward, a purplish-gold sheen began spreading across it, eventually covering the entire blade. The ordinary kitchen knife now seemed to possess some strange