A mouthful of chili water went down.
"Gurgle!"
Little White Turtle's face instantly went through a whole range of expressions, moved to tears as those black-pearl eyes looked helplessly at Zhang Ming.
"An unrivaled delicacy. What do you think? Want another sip?" Zhang Ming nodded earnestly.
The turtle was stunned, utterly bewildered, all four limbs stretching outward like a flower blooming.
Was this food?
Was it?
Wasn't it?
This normally lively turtle slowly, ever so slowly, withdrew its head.
Then, with a sudden kick of its hind legs, it broke into a sprint!
With a bang, it made one glorious leap into a coconut shell full of fresh water.
"Abba abba abba abba!"
Little White Turtle cried out loudly, the fiery spice leaving the turtle unsure what those cries even meant.
"Anyone else here brave enough to take the challenge?" Holding the diluted chili water, Zhang Ming suppressed his urge to laugh and shouted, his face bright red.
Watching Little White struggle furiously in the basin, apparently having the time of its life, the turtles of all sizes clamored for a sip of their own.
Then, as one, their eyes filled with tears!
They looked at one another!
Mist welled up in those big, jet-black eyes as they stretched out their thick, long legs and charged madly toward the sea!
The ground-shaking spectacle was like a herd of rampaging elephants!
"Hahahaha!"
"Abba abba!"
"You little rascal! You knew it was spicy, but you deliberately acted like it was delicious so the other turtles would copy you."
With righteous indignation, Zhang Ming lectured Little White Turtle, who was gloating in the water basin.
"??"
Little White professed complete ignorance. They were the greedy ones. What the hell did that have to do with me?
The turtle really was clever. Though probably still young, Little White was far more intelligent than the other turtles.
Realizing Zhang Ming was scolding it, the turtle shamelessly retreated into its shell.
"These chilies qualify as treasures of nature. They're so spicy that hardly any creatures eat them."
"I'll find a way to pick some more tomorrow and dry them for storage."
After teasing the sea turtles, Zhang Ming discovered that his spirit had shot up to [70/80]. He had calmed down somewhat and was no longer on the verge of falling apart.
So he redistributed his attributes into a balanced state.
Seized by poetic inspiration, Old Zhang-artist on the verge of a breakdown and sea turtle enthusiast-enthusiastically wrote several lines on the ground.
"The sea turtles cried,
We're waiting at camp for you to come home and dine.
Who could have known,
Today, the mushrooms scared the shit out of me.
Yet that utterly untroubled air
Was just like an angel coming home."
"Wonderful poetry, wonderful! Just what you'd expect from the great literary master Zhang!"
He took out the barnacles and coconut oil, added the fennel bark and chilies he had just gathered, and began stir-frying the barnacles.
He also carefully cooked a small pot of rice.
It had been a very, very long time since he had eaten rice. After all, he only had two and a half kilograms, barely enough for a few meals, so he usually rationed it strictly.
But today had given him quite a fright and sent his mental state swinging wildly. He really did deserve a treat.
As he cooked, Zhang Ming said to Little White Turtle, "You must know there's an indigenous civilization in the center of this island. I wonder if any of the natives are still alive?"
"Those multicolored fungal colonies, that enormous dark shape reeking of decay, and the places I haven't explored yet..."
"What secrets does this island hold? Do you know?"
Little White: "Ah wah wah wah..."
Forget it. You really are an idiot.
The radio said, "The Mysterious Zone contains a wealth of supernatural treasures!"
"Experts believe the Mysterious Zone may contain vast stretches of land suitable for human habitation and reproduction."
"Exploring and developing the Mysterious Zone will constitute the new century's great geographical discoveries, as well as one of the largest opportunities for future economic growth."
Stir-frying the barnacles, Zhang Ming continued muttering, "Opportunities, my ass... Send an expedition, then. Stop sitting around analyzing theories."
"Send people if you've got the guts."
The radio said, "Breaking news: famed sprinter Bolin has broken the Guinness World Records mark for the hundred-meter sprint, dramatically improving the time to 8.99 seconds. Weightlifter Li Dajun has used an adrenaline surge to set a new clean-and-jerk record of 500.5 kilograms."
"The arrival of the supernatural age has raised the limits of human physical performance."
"Current statistics indicate that professional athletes have a higher probability of developing supernatural abilities of their own."
"Several renowned institutions, including Qingbei University, Zhefu University, and Yunhai University, have jointly established the New World Supernatural Laboratory to focus on researching supernatural phenomena. Anyone with supernatural abilities who volunteers to participate in experiments will receive compensation ranging from three to ten million yuan."
"Any leads on mutant creatures will also earn substantial rewards, up to ten million yuan!"
Humanity was still far too weak.
Zhang Ming kept feeling that he might, perhaps, probably be the strongest human alive.
Using Strength Burst, he could run a hundred meters in under eight seconds. With a little redistribution of his attribute points, lifting eight hundred kilograms would be no problem.
Yet even so, he remained at the bottom of this island's food chain.
Of course, humanity's strength lay not in individual bodies, but in intelligence, industry, and powerful organizational capabilities. If one person couldn't win alone, couldn't they use missiles, machine guns, or even hydrogen bombs?
What if even hydrogen bombs couldn't defeat the monsters?
Then there was no point thinking about it. Down with human tyranny; the world belonged to mutant creatures.
He sprinkled a little water into the hot oil, producing a crisp hiss.
The stir-fried barnacles were ready.
The greedy turtles gathered around again, their eyes darting toward the food.
The spicy aroma wafting from the huge pan of barnacles intimidated the turtles, yet they couldn't resist it. They opened their mouths one after another, waiting expectantly like dogs.
Zhang Ming tried one with a slurp.
The fiery flavor seared his throat like a glowing coal, stinging the root of his tongue, yet he couldn't help chewing.
The meat tasted a little like river snails, firm and wonderfully chewy.
Once the barnacle meat reached his stomach, warmth quickly spread through his body, nourishing every inch of his flesh.
Paired with a mouthful of rice, it was pure culinary bliss!
"Delicious!"
Zhang Ming couldn't stop eating. Whenever he stopped, the heat surged up, but if he kept eating, it actually felt less spicy!
"This really is good stuff. More attribute points than crab meat."
"Here, have a shell."
With a casual toss, he threw a barnacle shell into a greedy turtle's mouth.
The turtle froze.
It had expected another ordeal of fiery pain, but this time the heat was bearable. Then an expression of utter shock appeared on its face. Damn, even just the shell tasted this good!
The other sea turtles crowded closer, especially Little White Turtle, who had already started roaring, "Awoo! Awoo!"
Zhang Ming fed a shell to the Turtle King and said solemnly, "My sea turtle friends, I'd like to enter into a partnership with you."
"Share a little of whatever you normally eat in the sea, and I can work for you. Whether it's removing barnacles from your bodies or cooking meals, I can do either."
Before you continue