The Gluttonous Sea Turtles

"Next, let's use crabs as an example and discuss how to preserve crabmeat you can't finish..."

Zhang Ming seriously suspected that the satellites overhead were secretly watching him.

Whenever he reached a particular step, the radio would play exactly what he needed to hear.

"If the satellites can see me, why don't they send a rescue team? At the very least, they could deliver some supplies by drone."

"Could it be..." A bold thought surfaced in his mind. Have I ended up in The Truman Show?

He pondered it for a while with his brows knitted, then decided there was little point agonizing over it.

After all, the superpower he had gained was real and reliable: Strength Burst, which he could use at any time.

The enormous coconut trees on the island and the crabmeat in his hands were real, too.

Zhang Ming didn't believe humanity possessed the technology to pull all this off just to put on a show.

"The radio broadcasts were probably carefully compiled by a team of experts after the satellites overhead gathered the information..."

"Today is the fourth day since the global earthquake. The people stranded in the Mysterious Zone are either starving, with no leisure to listen to the radio, or they've already solved their food crisis."

"So the experts are broadcasting the information survivors need."

"Of course, in a world with supernatural phenomena, anything is possible. Who knows? Something might be able to see me."

Zhang Ming carefully assessed his complicated circumstances and reached a terrifying conclusion. "From now on, I have to take a dump in the bushes. Even if there's a livestream, at least I won't expose myself!"

"Otherwise, being treated like a pervert after I get home would be way too horrifying..."

Listening to the radio, he tidied up the crab scraps. Having learned his lesson, he planned to dump the waste on the shore this time, where the tide would sweep it all away.

Suddenly, he heard rustling nearby.

He turned to look.

A bare sea turtle's head poked out of the grass. Its dark, shiny eyes glanced at the fire in his camp, then, apparently realizing Zhang Ming had spotted it, it immediately pulled its head into its shell.

"Oh, it's you. Want more crab, huh?"

Zhang Ming breathed a sigh of relief. It was the giant sea turtle that had fled earlier that day.

As long as it wasn't something dangerous.

But you're as big as a car, damn it, and you're still pretending to be some cute little thing. You think nobody can see you just because you're hiding in the grass?

Talk about fooling yourself!

Then he took a deep breath and noticed several sea turtles of various sizes crouching in the grass!

Pair after pair of eyes stared eagerly at the crabs smoking over the fire.

The largest turtle was as big as a car, while the smallest was only the size of a fist.

They desperately wanted a bite!

But Zhang Ming had worked hard to hunt down this food, and he still wasn't in any position to keep pets.

"What I grant you is yours. What I don't grant you, you may not take!"

Amused, Zhang Ming stared back without a trace of fear.

Something remarkable happened!

Whichever sea turtle he glared at would immediately withdraw its head into its shell in fright.

Once he stopped looking, it would poke its head back out, gaze eagerly at the pile of crabs, then glance at the food's owner.

So Zhang Ming simply went on the offensive in both directions, taking them all on at once, his gaze sweeping wildly back and forth like machine-gun fire!

Before long, every last one of those timid turtles had retreated into its shell.

These turtles had become supernatural creatures. They really had developed intelligence!

Though they didn't seem all that bright.

Once they tucked their heads away, they apparently thought nobody could see them. It was almost absurd how stupid they were.

Zhang Ming didn't hurt them. He carefully approached and tossed a piece of crab gill toward one of the turtles.

Sure enough, that timid turtle couldn't resist the temptation of food. It cautiously poked its head out and sniffed. That smelled pretty good.

It opened its mouth, took a bite, and began munching away.

It ate with such relish, practically swallowing everything whole, afraid its companions might snatch it away.

The other turtles hiding in their shells caught the crab's aroma and began to waver.

Crabs were naturally part of their diet, too. But those crabs possessed Strength Burst and were formidable fighters, so the turtles rarely got to eat them.

Zhang Ming let out a mischievous chuckle, his mood growing brighter. He recalled something someone or other had once said: "For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them."

So he kept feeding the same turtle, letting it enjoy itself even more.

The other turtles grew increasingly resentful and poked their heads out again, watching with mournful expressions that seemed to say, Why don't we get any? Why are you only feeding that one?

One particularly greedy turtle stretched its neck out as far as it could. Just as it was about to reach a crab scrap, it discovered that the piece had been tossed to another turtle instead.

Its long neck kept swaying, its mouth opening and closing. After being teased several times, its eyes looked utterly bewildered!

It just stayed there in a daze, its mouth still hanging open at the end.

"Awuh?"

[Mental energy +1]

"Go on, eat. There's some for everyone."

"Looks like life isn't easy for you either."

After playing with the supernatural sea turtles for a while, Zhang Ming carried a large container of discarded crab shells down to the shore.

The turtles waddled after him, looking timid but unable to resist the temptation.

Zhang Ming flung the shells out of the drawer with a forceful toss.

The food scraps scattered through the air and tumbled onto the shore in a heap.

Then he rinsed the metal drawer with seawater.

When he turned around, the turtles were already feasting.

They had a particular fondness for crab. Even the incredibly hard shells were devoured with gusto, as though they contained some precious element that could strengthen their bodies.

Zhang Ming didn't rashly disturb their meal. He watched with fascination.

"Maybe I should eat some shell, too?"

"Such simple happiness..."

The sight of them happily foraging reminded him of his childhood, when his grandfather had kept a big yellow dog named Wangpi, an ordinary village mutt.

Its yellow coat was glossy, and its furry tail was as big and fluffy as a feather duster.

At every meal, Wangpi would wag its tail beside the table, begging for food.

Its tail wagged so vigorously that even

its rump swayed along with it. With its expressive face and lolling tongue, it constantly tried to charm them-if it had been human, it would surely have become the finest cabaret performer.

But his grandfather had passed away five years ago, and the yellow dog had kicked the bucket seven years ago...

After finishing the crab scraps, the sea turtles still seemed to want more. Compared with their enormous bodies, this food was little more than a snack.

Yet they were very happy.

He could tell that this tiny snack had given them a moment of happiness.