© WebNovel
"Hong long (1)"
"Hua la la (2)"
"Screw this sh*tty weather!" Chu Xian cursed as he slammed the door of his shop.
Chu Xian walked to the back cupboard and took out his mat and blanket. After washing up and brushing his teeth, he immediately dove under his blanket. The thunderstorm made him a little restless.
"One more month and then I’ll be free," Chu Xian joked with a bitter smile.
After he graduated, Chu Xian went out and found a job. After a year of abuse with nothing to show for it, he decided to make a go for it on his own.
After thinking for almost a month, Chu Xian finally turned to his parents and borrowed 30 grand of their hard-earned money, renting a storefront on the Gu Wu(3) street near the university to sell ornamental fish.
Since opening this shop, without even taking the expensive rent into account, each month’s profit never exceeded three thousand. It had reached the point where Chu Xian couldn’t even afford a separate apartment and had to move into this tiny 10 square meter shop. Now there was only a month left on his lease.
"F*ck, this novel’s author is actually a eunuch (4). F*ck you sh*tty eunuch! I hope you never get hard again!" Chu Xian cursed when he found out the novel he was following was no longer going to be updated.
Reading novels was Chu Xian’s main pastime, and now that the novel he'd been following for more than a month turned out to be a eunuch, Chu Xian was suddenly frustrated and bored. As he listened to the thunder, all he could do was laugh bitterly.
"Ai!" Chu Xian sighed. Just to kill time, he started browsing through different phone games and randomly chose "Big Fish Eat Little Fish."
"The Wi-Fi is so shitty! Can’t you upgrade to 20M? And you call yourself a computer store? Curse you! I hope you close down just like me!" Chu Xian swore shamelessly as he stared at the 20kbps download speed.
"98%... 99%... finally." Chu Xian stared at the number 99 on the phone screen, a smile on his face.
"Hong long!"
A sudden lightning bolt cut through the sky and split the air with a deafening blast.
"The f*cking rain needs an accompaniment – heaven is being such a little b*tch!" Chu Xian heatedly complained after flinching while wrapped up in his blanket.
And so Chu Xian didn't see his phone screen flash black with a new message: Big Fish Eat Little Fish is updating,1%..10%..20%...
This kind of download speed could only be from some 100 MB Optical Fiber cable.
After tidying his blanket, Chu Xian lay down again. Because of his bad eyesight, he held his phone in front of his face, but he soon felt his hand burning and saw sparks flying.
"F*ck me, my Samsung! (5)" Chu Xian paled, screamed and hurriedly threw his phone to the side.
"Hong Long!"
"Peng! (6)"
The phone exploded with the sound of thunder. Chu Xian felt his hand was fine, so he got up to turn on the light as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"What?" Chu Xian looked around confusedly. His place was clean.
"What, Samsung grenades aren’t nukes--how is there not even a piece of debris?" Chu Xian thought as his face blackened (7). His phone wasn’t some 6000 RMB brand, but a 1000 RMB poor man’s phone; he’d only used it for half a year and never expected it to explode (8).
"F*ck, my money!" Chu Xian shouted with a broken-hearted expression.
"F*ck my life!"
"Ding. Big Fish Eat Little Fish is finished installing. Start? Y/N"
A mechanical voice suddenly appeared in Chu Xian’s head (9). Chu Xian jumped and looked around in a panic. "Who said that? Who are you? Where are you?"
"Ding. Big Fish Eat Little Fish is finished installing. Start? Y/N"
Chu Xian barely finished asking and the mechanical voice reappeared, causing Chu Xian’s face color to change endlessly (sic). (10)
"Start!" Even though everything that was happening was unbelievable, Chu Xian had read enough fiction that he gradually calmed down enough to respond (11).
"Ding. Big Fish eat Small Fish System is online and merged with host. Host can now see personal status."
The mechanical voice stopped, and in his mind appeared an image.
"Horse balls (sic)." When he saw the image in his mind, Chu Xian cursed. In his mind floated a Samsung phone with a game and a character on the screen.
The screen’s character was identical to Chu Xian: a handsome appearance, melancholy expression, elegant hair, and – eh, just a poor loser. Right next to his character was a game introduction.
Name: Chu Xian
Status: Human (Can Transform into a Fish!)
Level: 1 (New-Born Little Fish, 5cm!)
Combat Power: 0.5
Passive Talent: Devour – can evolve from eating smaller fish.
Control – can control lower leveled fish.
Big Fish Eat Little Fish System Ability:
Remold – can change the shape of self or fish under your control. (Every transformation will lower your level and the level of the fish you control)
"What is this system?" Big Fish Eat Little Fish? Is this a joke? How can such an unreliable system exist? Transform into a fish? You mean turn your mom into a fish!" Chu Xian cursed. As he looked at the introduction of the system, his face became black.
"F*cking hell, just try to turn me into a fish and see what happens."
Chu Xian barely finished uttering these words when he horrifyingly discovered that the world in front of him had completely changed.
"What the?" Chu Xian swallowed some saliva as he stared at the blanket right in front of him. He tried to turn his head but discovered that his head couldn’t move at all. He couldn’t feel his hand or feet.
"I turned into a f*cking fish!" Chu Xian opened his mouth to speak but immediately felt like he had lost his life-source and was so thirsty he was about to die.
"I want to be human again!" Chu Xian hurriedly yelled in his mind.
In a flash, his body returned to normal. Chu Xian looked down at his body with an incredulous expression. He walked up to his mirror to look at himself then said, "Transform into a fish!"
In the mirror, a pinky-sized fish appeared in his vision. As Chu Xian saw his body he finally believed that he really turned into a fish.
He looked at the status in his mind again and saw some minor changes.
Name: Chu Xian
Status: Fish (Can Transform into a Human!)
Level: 1 (New-Born Little Fish, 5cm!)
Combat Power: 0.5
Passive Talent: Devour – can evolve from eating smaller fish.
Control – can control lower leveled fish.
Big Fish Eat Little Fish System Ability:
Remold – can change the shape of self or fish under your control. (Every transformation will lower your level and the level of the fish you control)
"Fish. Human. I can actually transform."
Chu Xian transformed back into a human and stared numbly into the mirror.
I may insert (sic) for creative effect when things aren’t strictly speaking incorrect. And I may have added more swear words for REALISM. Realism only, I promise.
(1) – this is what thunder sounds like in China
(2) – this is what rain sounds like
(3) – 古屋街 or Ancient House Street
(4) – Authors (and the novels) who discontinue their novels are referred to as eunuchs. I think this is probably because the authors are considered impotent for not finishing what they started, but the genius of this phrase may be eluding me.
(5) –Allegedly, Samsung is well known for creating excellent grenades. The conspiracy is whether this was written before or after Samsung released their product.
(6) – This is one of the many intricate sounds of exploding things – joining the ranks of boom and bang and many others
(7) – the many abilities of the Chinese face are just another aspect of the inherent superiority of yellow skinned people.
(8) – or did he? *conspiracy hat on*
(9) – this is a question for our resident scientists: is there a difference between a voice in your head and a voice outside it? Answer in the comments section for a chance to win an iPhone XXL!
(10) – and you thought I was kidding with 7
(11) – I’ve never figured out whether or not I would actually say yes to this kind of thing. What would ya’ll do? Maybe if it was a really hot voice.
"Big Fish Eat Little Fish. Does this mean that after I transform into a fish, I can grow and evolve without limits?"
Chu Xian’s expression(1) kept changing as he thought about the implications.
Chu Xian approached the big fish tank at the back of the room. The tank was filled with ornamental fish: Zebra Fish, Koi Fish, Ray-finned Fish, Black Banjo Fish, Little Goldfish, Mickey Fish, Bucktooth Tetra and many others.
All these were cheap, small-sized fish bought from the seaside market for 10 RMB at most, with the largest being only 10 cm in size.
After observing these fish, Chu Xian pulled out a small net and placed some of the fish into a separate, smaller tank. Then he placed his finger into the tank and willed himself into a fish.
"Pa!" With a sound of falling into water, Chu Xian transformed into a small fish. As he swished his tail, he felt comfortable and free. He swam quickly and naturally as if he had been a fish since birth.
The little fish he turned into was an indistinguishable species and had no special features except a sharp row of teeth in its mouth.
As he swam next to a Bucktooth Tetra, a message appeared in Chu Xian’s mind.
Bucktooth Tetra: Level 0.
Combat Power: 0
Passive Talent: None
Chu Xian was excited by this discovery; knowing the status of other fish was a big help for his own safety. After hesitating for a moment, Chu Xian steeled himself and bit at this Bucktooth Tetra.
This 4cm, tiny Bucktooth Tetra swam along minding its own business, with no idea what was in store for it.
"Ka Cha!" Chu Xian heard the sound of breaking bones (sic), and the subtle taste of blood filling his mouth didn’t faze him at all as he used his sharp teeth to tear a chunk off the Bucktooth Tetra’s body.
Chu Xian quickly swallowed this piece and bit at the Bucktooth Tetra a second time, and within a few short seconds, he devoured the entire fish.
After eating this slightly smaller Bucktooth Tetra, Chu Xian felt the power in his body gradually growing, his speed improving, and a sense of comfort filling his body. He turned his increasingly intense stare towards the remaining dozen or so fish.
With a flash of his tail, Chu Xian appeared next to another fish. Gaping his small mouth, Chu Xian took a bite out of the little fish’s tail and began devouring it with big bites.
"Right, I also a special control power." After recalling that he had this ability, Chu Xian concentrated his mind and a mysterious scene appeared. It was as if he had an omnipresent view of everything and could see everything within a one-meter radius of himself, including the table outside the tank.
These dozen or so fish in the tank were like slaves, and he could arbitrarily rule over all of them. With a slight movement of his mind, all the Bucktooth Tetra (2) fish swam towards him. Chu Xian opened his mouth and cruelly swallowed all of them down, bite by bite.
"Even after devouring twenty fish my body only strengthened a little, and I haven’t even evolved yet. Am I supposed to just keep eating?" Chu Xian thought to himself after all the fish in the tank were eaten.
"I’ll just eat them all!" Chu Xian thought to himself and immediately turned back into a human, reappearing at the spot where he had been standing.
Chu Xian walked toward the big tank and dipped his hand in, reappearing in the tank. He immediately began using his powers. The hundred plus fish all swam to his side, and Chu Xian gaped his mouth and began eating them all one bite at a time.
Chu Xian continued to open his mouth and devoured them down bite after bite.
"Ding. Congratulations. Host leveled up (10 cm size). The four attributes strength, speed, toughness, and bite-force have been upgraded. Additionally, you may choose one attribute to power up."
"Finally, I upgraded!" Chu Xian said, swimming excitedly.
His body had grown from 5 cm directly to 10 and now appeared a cyan color; his scales were now closely knit, and his thin, long tail was very powerful; several rows of teeth could be seen, and they looked slightly intimidating.
"Strength, speed, toughness, bite force – of these four attributes: strength probably means impact, speed should be swimming speed, toughness should be body hardness, and bite force is just the strength of my teeth."
Chu Xian thought for a little, then decided to power up bite force.
Bite force could improve his devouring speed and all he needed now was to keep eating and evolving.
After the system powered him up, Chu Xian felt that his mouth was more powerful – his teeth were sharper, and he could imagine that if he became a twenty-something meter long fish, even a shark couldn’t stand in his way.
After turning back into his human form, Chu Xian looked at his information, and a big change had taken place.
Name: Chu Xian
Status: Human (Can Transform into a Fish)
Level: 2 (New-Born Little Fish, 10cm!)
Combat Power: 2
Passive Talent: Devour – can evolve from eating smaller fish
Control – can control lower leveled fish.
Big Fish Eat Little Fish System Ability:
Remold – can change the shape of self or fish under your control. (Every transformation will lower your level and the level of the fish you control)
His transformation excited him, but when he realized that there were only a dozen or so fish left in the tank, Chu Xian’s face froze and he shook his head bitterly.
Within those few minutes, he had already devoured a hundred plus small fish. All these were ornamental fish and he had just eaten 500 – 600 RMB's worth of fish, enough for him to eat for two days.
As he looked at the fish in the tank, each of them worth several RMB, Chu Xian decided against eating any more and dove back under his blanket to continue sleeping.
That night was his happiest sleep. He dreamed of roaming the seas with an entourage of sharks, whales, gigantic octopuses, and in his wake wherever he went were majestic waves, as if he were the dragon king (3)!
The next day when he woke up, Chu Xian immediately checked his system. He was afraid that everything was just a beautiful dream, but after checking, he quickly let out the breath he was holding and smiled happily.
After collecting his mat and blanket, Chu Xian opened the door of his shop, letting in a bright beam of sunshine that warmed up his whole body; the sky was an after-rain blue, and the sun was brilliant in the passing wind (4).
Chu Xian walked out, closing the door behind him. He bought a couple stuffed steam buns from Lady Wang next door, and after withdrawing a thousand RMB, he rode his moped to the outskirts of the city.
After half an hour, Chu Xian began to hear the crashing waves of the sea.
Hai Qing City was a seaside city, and the city tourism and fish industry were fully developed. In the Qing Ning district, there was a huge fishing area and fish market with hundreds of varieties of fish; all of Chu Xian’s ornamental fish were from here.
As soon as he entered the market, noise and foul fish smells welcomed him, but Chu Xian was used to it.
He did not go to the ornamental fish section. Instead, he walked around the sea products. It was the fishing season, and the market was currently at its busiest time of the year.
Every fish shop had a gigantic pool with tons of fish swimming inside, and in front of each of the pools was the fish type and price.
Chu Xian came here in order to buy fish for his system so that he could grow big by eating smaller fish.
At this point, his size was only 10cm, so he needed to buy fish smaller than 10 cm. After walking around for half an hour, Chu Xian finally decided on a type of fish called Scomber Japonicus, a very cheap type of ocean mackerel which was typically 20-40 cm long, with some shorter than 10cm.
"Boss, give me 120 of these small under 10cm mackerel; you can give me the net, and I’ll scoop them." Chu Xian said from the side of the pond, pointing at the small Scomber Japonicus.
"120?" asked the owner absent-mindedly. Even though this young man made a strange request, he did not question it any further and simply handed him a net.
Chu Xian took the net and tried to control it skillfully; to his glee, he could use his power even while human.
In order to not arouse suspicion, Chu Xian did not make the fish swim directly into the net but just controlled them a little so that they did not resist being scooped.
(1)- 脸色 Face color
(2)- This is Bucktooth discrimination!
(3)- The dragon king lives under water cause he a baws
(4)- This sentence is intellectual copyright kappa