The Natives of This World Are So Fierce - Chapter 19: The Monster in the River
Whatever the case, the plan to "burn the monster" now seemed reasonably feasible.
As long as they could set the Dread Marsh alight and his assumptions were at least mostly correct, Qin Xiaoxia was confident he could make it erupt in flames.
As for how to ignite it, Qin Xiaoxia already had an idea.
Although his self-proclaimed "Reaction Formula" had serious limitations, the Dread Marsh's own weaknesses were also obvious.
"Doudou, do you know any Spellweaver formulas? Nothing complicated, just the basics. Fire, for example?"
Thankfully, Doudou proved fairly reliable this time.
Setting fires was an important part of a mischievous little sprite's pranks, so he did know a little about the basics.
Upon learning this, Qin Xiaoxia wondered whether he should be grateful that Doudou hadn't simply set his home on fire as a prank back then.
As it turned out, Qin Xiaoxia's talent for manipulating magic left Doudou in the dust.
Doudou said it had taken him three months to produce sparks by simply weaving magic into fire, whereas Qin Xiaoxia could consistently weave a small flame after just two hours.
Of course, perhaps Doudou's Wish Magic was so specialized that it weakened his other abilities.
Now that he could use magic, starting a fire was no longer a concern, and Qin Xiaoxia's imagination was already running wild.
If the marsh gas given off by the Dread Marsh suddenly had a lot more oxygen mixed into it, then met an open flame... oh, boy.
But if his guess was wrong, and the Dread Marsh didn't give off marsh gas at all, or couldn't be ignited...
Then, with their current abilities, he and Doudou couldn't take the Dread Marsh head-on. They could only put their faith in the government.
Given that Qin Xiaoxia's magic had only just awakened...
The two excitedly continued their research for quite some time.
The next day, when Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou returned to the river with bleary eyes, they were completely dumbfounded.
The water level in the section of the Crooked Loach River being dredged had dropped considerably. They had to admire the cleaning company's efficiency; it had probably started pumping last night and hadn't stopped since.
But Qin Xiaoxia had forgotten one great human instinct, especially among the people of Huaxia: gathering to watch a spectacle.
Even though this river had become a stinking waterway, quite a few people were still watching.
Some had even brought nets and buckets.
Were they seriously hoping to catch fish in a river like this?
Even if they did catch any, surely these guys weren't actually planning to take them home and eat them?
"What do we do?"
Doudou looked at Qin Xiaoxia, hoping his "older cousin" had a good idea.
But Qin Xiaoxia was at a loss too. Dredging a river wasn't like demolishing a building; there didn't seem to be anyone maintaining order and keeping spectators away.
He channeled his magic and discreetly sensed the Dread Marsh's location.
Fortunately, the less water there was, the more the Dread Marsh moved toward deeper water. It was now "trapped" in a low-lying area in the middle of the dredging section.
But at the current pumping rate, it would be "out in the open" before the afternoon.
With so many lives potentially in danger, Qin Xiaoxia couldn't simply pretend he hadn't seen anything.
Inside a phone booth, Qin Xiaoxia gripped the receiver, sounding deeply concerned.
"Yes, exactly! All those older men around there have nets ready to catch fish. You know that filthy river-it's seriously polluted..."
"They take the fish they catch and sell them at the village entrance. My older cousin bought some a few days ago because they were cheap, and he's still in the hospital! Officer, you can't let this happen! If they eat themselves to death, that's their business, but they shouldn't be harming other people!"
"Yes, yes, you're right. They shouldn't eat them themselves either..."
"All right, all right. Please get over here and take a look."
With that, Qin Xiaoxia hung up, ignoring the questions about his identity from the other end.
The Qing Town Police Station wasn't far away. In less than ten minutes, a police car arrived at the scene.
Wrinkling their noses at the stench, the officers looked toward the river. Sure enough, quite a few people were holding nets and peering into the water. Most were older, and since it was the weekend, plenty of children were watching too.
"Are these people really planning to catch fish here and eat them? Are there even any fish down there?"
The officers didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't really a matter for the police station. It should have been handled by the Qing Town subdistrict office or the river management committee. But in a small town, there was no need to draw such rigid boundaries over an occasional incident, so they had simply dispatched officers.
The four officers soon hurried over to the river and began talking to the crowd.
"Sir, sir, you can't eat the fish here. Stop trying to catch them."
"Folks, this river restoration is a key government environmental project. Please don't interfere with the work..."
Some of the older men picked up their nets and left without a fuss.
"This lousy river. Been here all morning and haven't seen a single fish, not even a dead one. Come on, let's go..."
Of course, some still wanted to linger nearby and watch.
At this point, the river management committee staff finally arrived, wearing red armbands and directing spectators away from the river.
The people had only come to catch fish or watch others catch them. With no fish to catch and officials shooing them away, they naturally weren't going to stand around breathing in the stench.
They began dispersing.
Just then, however, the people who had only just left in the distance began gathering along the riverbank again.
"What's that?"
"There's something huge moving in the river!"
"What the hell is it? It's pitch-black, and it reeks."
Someone shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
Everyone, including the police officers and committee staff, instinctively converged on that spot to see what was going on.
Behind them, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou slapped their hands over their faces in perfect unison.
Because it consumed magic, Qin Xiaoxia couldn't keep sensing the Dread Marsh constantly. At some point, it had moved into what was now shallow water.
Part of its filthy body could be seen from the bank through the murky but shallow water.
At first, only a tiny part was visible, and people thought it was a large fish or something.
But as more and more of it came into view, the Dread Marsh's horrifying form gradually revealed itself.
When it appeared to be only a few meters long, people wanted to catch this "big fish." Even when it reached ten meters, they were startled but still interested enough to watch. But when the thing's body approached the size of half a mu of land, the situation changed.
Especially as the unknown creature began moving more and more violently.
Sweat appeared on the officers' foreheads. Officer Zhao, who was leading them, switched on his radio while signaling to his colleagues behind him.
"Clear the crowd! Now!"
They didn't actually need to make a point of evacuating anyone. The crowd was already backing away.
But there were exceptions.
Some older people actually pressed their palms together and bowed toward the river, while some younger people still remembered to take out their phones and record videos.
"Shit, there are loads of dead cats and dogs inside that thing, and those fish..."
The worshippers were driven away first. Those filming kept recording as they retreated, leaving them closer to the riverbank.
Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou already sensed that things were going terribly wrong. Even without using magic, their keen senses told them the Dread Marsh's aura was growing agitated.
For an instant, Qin Xiaoxia felt the urge to run to the river and drag the people filming away. But it remained only an impulse; he didn't act on it.
A few seconds later, he was grateful for that decision.
Before anyone could react, clumps of "sludge trailing strands still connected to one another" splashed up out of the river.
They instantly covered two of the people filming, while the others dodged the remaining clumps.
"Aaah!"
The corrosive pain made both of them scream at once.
Seeing this, one officer rushed over without a second thought and grabbed one of them, trying to drag him clear of the sludge.
But those strands, which seemed like nothing more than dribbles of mud, abruptly yanked all three into the river. Their screams cut off the moment they hit the water.
"Run!"
Qin Xiaoxia roared from behind them with all the strength he could muster.
The few people who had briefly frozen after witnessing that scene snapped out of their daze, and everyone scattered away from the riverbank.
"Run!"
"Go, go... don't look back..."