He paused, stopping in front of the fish tank.
The fish in this tank was fed once a day. It hadn't been fed this morning, so now was feeding time.
He simply stared at the lone Old Grouper Fish in the tank, completely baffled.
'This is the "Kunpeng" the system was talking about?'
He picked up the fish food by the tank and tossed it in.
The Old Grouper Fish sensed the ripples on the water's surface, slowly drifted over, opened and closed its large mouth, and swallowed the fish food.
「You have fed the Juvenile Kunpeng. Favorability has increased.」
This…
Gu Ming looked at the Kunpeng in the fish tank, then at the fish food in his hand.
Without a doubt, the Kunpeng the system mentioned was the old fish in the tank.
He seriously suspected the system had some kind of cognitive disorder. It seemed to see everything backward.
Gu Ming put down the fish food and was about to head to the next section.
The system's text scroll updated:
「The Juvenile Kunpeng sends you a distress signal. It is trapped in a forbidden dead end and cannot leave, hoping to be rescued.」
「You lingered here for a long time but found nothing, so you can only leave.」
「The Juvenile Kunpeng looks disappointed, but it will keep waiting until someone comes to its rescue.」
Gu Ming had been about to leave, but after reading the three messages, he stopped in his tracks and fell into deep thought.
'This is a forbidden zone?'
'I walk through here every day. How could I not know?'
'And the Grouper Fish is trapped?'
'But there isn't even a decorative rock in the fish tank. There are no obstacles at all, so how could it be trapped?'
He returned to the fish tank and met the Old Grouper Fish's gaze.
The Grouper Fish looked at Gu Ming, then at the Little Cyan Snake, and blew a few bubbles.
Its eyes were already cloudy, and a few of its scales had fallen off. It was ancient and decrepit, nearing the end of its life.
It had lived in the store for several years but had never broken through to the One-star Level.
The other Fish Pets from its generation had all been chosen one by one, leaving only it behind.
Later, as it grew older, new customers always chose younger Fish Pets, so it had been neglected until now.
"Don't tell me... you want to leave this place?" Gu Ming asked.
The Grouper Fish stirred. Its cloudy eyes suddenly cleared, and for the first time, it looked at Gu Ming with focus.
It flapped its fins and blew some bubbles, trying its best to communicate with body language.
It wasn't asking for a contract, only for a different place to live out its final years.
Living here, with every new batch of fish that arrived, it was always the new ones that were chosen, while it remained in the store.
The store itself was state-owned, so the employees would never haphazardly discard a Pet Beast.
As long as a Pet Beast wasn't dead, they would keep raising it until it was sold.
The Grouper Fish was old and thought it had no hope of ever leaving in this lifetime.
Gu Ming's question snapped it back to its senses.
But when it saw the juvenile Little Cyan Snake on Gu Ming's shoulder, its hope instantly vanished.
'A human who already had a Pet Beast would never take it with them.'
'Who would bring a burden home, anyway?'
The Little Cyan Snake blinked, flicked its tongue, and conveyed the Grouper Fish's intentions to its master.
Gu Ming nodded, understanding the Grouper Fish's meaning.
Unexpectedly, he didn't refuse. Instead, he told the Grouper Fish to wait.
"Don't worry, I'll go ask the manager," Gu Ming said.
He had no intention of forming a contract with the old fish; he just couldn't bear to see the pitiful Fish Pet live out its final days in misery.
He could tell it wanted dignity, but its Talent was lacking and it was getting old. Such things couldn't be forced, so it had fallen into a state of self-destructive despair.
If it weren't for the system's text display, he really wouldn't have known this was what the Old Grouper Fish was thinking.
...
"You want that fish?" Ruan Jing sounded a little surprised to hear it.
Gu Ming briefly explained what he had just discovered, relaying what the Grouper Fish was thinking.
Ruan Jing just said, "Oh," and replied nonchalantly, "Then take it with you after your shift. It's getting on in years, so it's not good to just leave it there anyway."
"Thank you, Sister Ruan. How much is it? I'll pay," Gu Ming said gratefully, getting ready to pay with his phone.
But Sister Ruan waved her hand.
"It's a five-year-old fish with only a few months left to live.
"I'll file it under 'convalescence.' You're an employee, so you can take it home to recuperate. Just treat it as a change of scenery.
"Technically, it's still the store's fish. You can take fish food to feed it as usual, so you don't need to spend your own money. Don't waste it."
Sister Ruan's method was the standard procedure for handling elderly Pet Beasts, not some under-the-table deal.
In community shops all over the country, there were countless Pet Beasts like this one that couldn't be sold and were steadily growing older.
Letting elderly Pet Beasts with only a year or two of life left spend their final days in an employee's home was a state-issued policy.
It was just that not every Beastmaster who came to work as an employee was willing to take on the responsibility of an elderly Pet Beast's final years.
That was why no one had been available for this fish.
Since Gu Ming happened to be interested, she would let him take it home and care for the Fish Pet until the end.
Barring any surprises, the old fish would pass away in a few months.
Seeing that Gu Ming still wanted to pay, Sister Ruan said:
"It's not worth wasting money on this fish.
"Besides, you don't have to pay to raise it. If it's still alive in half a year and has even had a breakthrough, you can come back and buy it then."
"Alright, thanks."
And so, after finishing his afternoon work, Gu Ming returned to the fish tank as he was getting off his shift.
He knew this was an act of rescue done on a whim. He hadn't considered forming a contract with the Grouper Fish; he just wanted it to be more comfortable.
"I'm here to take you home to live out your days," Gu Ming said.
HISS—
The Little Cyan Snake excitedly flicked its tongue as well, greeting the Grouper Fish. 'We're going to be friends now,' it seemed to convey.
The Grouper Fish's eyes cleared once more, and it excitedly wagged its tail.
Gu Ming took out a small fish tank. It was a freebie from the store, several times smaller than the large one, with not much space inside.
The water inside had already been replaced with fresh, pristine Spiritual Water.
He scooped up the old, black-and-white-spotted Grouper Fish and placed it in the small fish tank. Instantly, the system's text scroll updated again.
「You have accidentally broken the restriction on the forbidden dead end and found a path to survival.」
「You have brought out the Juvenile Kunpeng.」
「The Juvenile Kunpeng's favorability toward you has maxed out!」
'That's it? I broke the restriction just like that?'
'Isn't this a bit too much like a game? The so-called "dead end" was, for me, just a matter of scooping it out.'
Gu Ming watched the system's messages scroll by, secretly anticipating a reward.
This was one of the reasons he had been so insistent on helping the "Kunpeng" escape.
But the system didn't issue a reward. It just calmly described that after the "Kunpeng" escaped, its favorability increased.
As for Spirit Stones, it didn't mention a single thing.
'Where are my Spirit Stones? My Achievement Points? At least give me some kind of reward!'
'No, wait a minute.'
A key point vaguely formed in Gu Ming's mind.
'That's not how the system works.'
He remembered how he had gotten his Spirit Stones.
According to the system, the Sect was distributing Spirit Stones, but in reality, he was just collecting his salary.
If he wanted to obtain more Spirit Stones, he had to find a way to turn money into Spirit Stones.
Simply rescuing the "Kunpeng" from its predicament wouldn't bring him any Spirit Stones.
Unless... he could have the "Kunpeng" and the "Time Dragon" search for Spirit Stones for him within the forbidden zone.
'But, is that even possible?'
Thinking of this, Gu Ming felt it was worth a try.
'What if it actually works?'
Just then, he reached the bank of the slow-moving city river. Looking at the water, he asked softly:
"Grouper Fish, can you find Spirit Stones for me?"
The Grouper Fish in the tank was completely baffled. It had no idea what Gu Ming wanted it to do or what he wanted it to find. 'Spirit Stones?'
'What kind of stones are those?'
On the system's end, the text scroll updated again.
「You have issued a quest to the Juvenile Kunpeng: Find Spirit Stones and gather Cultivation Resources.」