CH 92

Jun Ye reached under the blanket and pulled his companion, who had been nuzzling his tail, out.

“Cheep cheep—” Xiao Xiu kicked his legs. He hadn’t even gotten a bite before the big fish grabbed him. The big fish glared at him. The big fish’s eyes were so beautiful, so tempting.

Jun Ye’s expression was dark, but he wasn’t angry enough to take it out on the tiny bird. He placed Xiao Xiu on the pillow on the other side and prepared to get out of bed to make breakfast.

He needed to buy some tools for preparing raw food.

Opening the system shop, Jun Ye was surprised to see his total points were 1001. Hadn’t he spent enough yesterday to bring the points down to the 980s?

In the previous world, points were primarily earned through plot completion and his partner’s voluntary intimate contact.

Jun Ye glanced at Xiao Xiu, sitting obediently on the pillow beside him. Could it be because of the pecks?

“Cheep?” Xiao Xiu stood up from the pillow.

Jun Ye silently turned away and got out of bed. He couldn’t exactly ask the bird to peck him again to verify.

Xiao Xiu thought the big fish was hinting at something and immediately hopped down to follow.

The big fish really was a good fish. Even though he had pecked it, it wasn’t angry. So, even though the big fish was fragrant and good-looking—truly a feast for the senses—he would try his best to resist eating it.

Of course, given his current size, he couldn’t eat a whole big fish anyway.

He would just take a few pecks and maybe lick it…

Listening to the noisy bird calls outside, Jun Ye slid to the door and looked at the sky. It was still a grayish-blue with a few bright white stars.

It was barely dawn, the sun hadn’t even risen yet. Were those sea eagles really that diligent?

The tip of his tail was bumped by a warm, soft bundle of feathers. Jun Ye looked down and saw his companion flapping its wings at the spot where his tail had been hit.

Xiao Xiu weakly chirped when he saw the big fish looking at him. “Cheep cheep…” It wasn’t me stepping on your tail, it was your tail running under my feet…

“Are you hungry?” Jun Ye asked, concerned by the weak chirping.

Jun Ye bent down and picked Xiao Xiu up, rubbing his chest with his thumb. It didn’t seem as full as it was before feeding last night.

Xiao Xiu instinctively puffed up his chest.

“I’m going to catch some fish. Stay here and don’t wander off.” Jun Ye instructed, still a bit worried. He carried Xiao Xiu back to the inner room.

He placed the fluffy bird on the bed and closed the inner door, which only came up to his waist, before leaving.

“Cheep…”

Jun Ye watched a flock of sea eagles flying out of their nests as he made his way to the river.

Thinking about it, he realized he had become one of the early birds catching fish. He should set up a fish tank at home to store food for the next day.

Jun Ye swam in the lake, heading toward a densely marked area on the system map.

As he approached the school of fish, he sensed something coming from above. Although this time the sense of danger was weak, he cautiously dodged to the side.

Sploosh—

A black, elongated object fell into the water, scattering the fish.

As the bubbles cleared, the object was revealed.

It was… a fish? He had caught one like this last night and cooked it.

The fish was motionless, not even its gills were moving—it was dead.

Jun Ye swam upward, curious to see who was playing high-altitude fish toss so early in the morning.

Breaking the surface, he saw a familiar group of sea eagles circling above. They seemed to be working together, most of them carrying prey, except for one with empty talons.

The empty-taloned sea eagle flew low, as if trying to retrieve the fish from the water, but when it saw Jun Ye, it flapped its wings and soared higher.

Jun Ye had no interest in helping a bird retrieve its prey. Seeing it was a clumsy sea eagle tossing fish, he planned to dive back down and find the scattered fish.

Just as he was about to dive, he noticed another fish being tossed, this time toward a group of pigeons also searching the water for food.

The pigeons scattered with sharp cries as another dead fish splashed into the water.

Jun Ye: “…”

This scene felt familiar. Was this group of sea eagles trying to imitate his tactic from yesterday, using fish to knock out pigeons?

With this spectacle, the sea eagles stopped watching the merman below, and the largest among them immediately began scolding the one with poor aim.

A slightly smaller sea eagle called out, “Coo coo coo—” The merman threw the fish from the water into the air. We should fly down and throw it.

The sea eagle leader reprimanded, “Coo coo coo coo!” That merman is right below. If you fly down, it’ll catch you. You’re not like that little bird with no meat that needs fattening. It would drag you underwater and eat you directly!

The sea eagles fell silent.

Jun Ye: “…” Why were these birds looking at him so strangely? As if he had listed them as prey, even though they were supposed to be his natural enemies.

Even out of consideration for his companion, Jun Ye had no intention of trying out the taste of a sea eagle.

With a flick of his tail, Jun Ye dove back underwater. He was indeed impressed by the sea eagles’ learning ability, but since he couldn’t bring them back to feed his companion, he focused on catching fish.

Sea Eagle: “Coo.” The merman is gone.

Sea Eagle Leader: “Coo, coo coo coo.” Yes, you all go and throw fish from below.

…

Jun Ye returned with a basket of fish and used his points to buy a refrigerator, freezing the leftovers.

The plan to keep live fish in a tank was also put on the agenda.

One day, with the sun shining brightly, Jun Ye was taking his bird for a walk.

Well… walking his companion.

Xiao Xiu was running behind Jun Ye’s tail, mastering the technique of clinging to the big fish’s tail fin.

Usually, the big fish would take him for a spin and then lift his tail to sweep him off. Xiao Xiu loved the feeling of being swept by the big fish’s tail fin.

Suddenly, the big fish stopped. Xiao Xiu seized the opportunity and pounced on the tail fin, only to find that this time the big fish didn’t spin him around.

Confused, Xiao Xiu looked up. In front of the big fish, a male sea eagle landed with a bundle of feathers in its talons.

Jun Ye raised his tail fin, nudging his companion backward, subtly shielding him.

Although only one bird had approached, there were dozens of adult sea eagles perched in the surrounding trees. If they all attacked at once, Jun Ye wouldn’t have time to buy weapons from the system. Protecting his companion on his own would be difficult.

“What’s the matter?” Jun Ye asked.

Given the sea eagles’ previous mimicry and teamwork, these birds had some intelligence. They hadn’t attacked him despite living nearby for so long, so something must have prompted this visit.

Could it be… his companion’s bird parents coming to claim their child?

As this thought crossed Jun Ye’s mind, the gray-backed, white-bellied sea eagle transformed into a naked man right in front of him.

Jun Ye: “!!!”

Wow! Such a chest! No, wait, it can turn into a human! There’s such a trick?

The naked man bent down in a classic “picking up soap1I literally have no idea why the author chose this particular description lmao, if it has a particular meaning aside of comedy, pls don’t hesitate to share with me and other readers!” pose to retrieve the feather bundle, which he then tied around his waist.

With a booming voice, he said, “Merman, I am the chief of the sea eagle tribe. I come on behalf of my tribe to propose cooperation.”

Another surprise. It even came with a language translation feature.

Jun Ye wiped his nose, pretending to be serious.

Xiao Xiu trotted over to Jun Ye, who picked him up to show his innocence, keeping his gaze fixed on the man’s chest.

“What kind of cooperation?” Jun Ye asked.

The sea eagle chief replied, “We hope you can teach our hunting team the technique of throwing fish at white birds.”

“Since it’s a cooperation, what do I get in return?” Jun Ye asked, holding his companion to his chest, his eyes firmly fixed above the man’s chest.

The sea eagle chief confidently said, “We can give you two white birds from our daily hunts.”

“But I don’t need those white birds.”

The sea eagle chief, confident in his negotiation skills, responded, “We can change it to fish or fruit. The fruits grow on tall trees in the jungle, which you can’t reach or climb. Our warriors can bring you an abundance of fruits.”

Jun Ye: “…” How demeaning. He had several baskets of fruit at home. With points in hand, he could create a national stadium.

“No,” Jun Ye said. “Since you have a team for cooperative hunting, you must also have an organization for teaching your young birds. I need my… my young bird to study with your tribe’s young ones.”

“We, the Grey-Crested Eagles, are a powerful tribe. Of course, we have a school,” the eagle chief replied, glancing at the molting young bird in the merman’s arms. He couldn’t understand why the merman, who seemed to want to fatten up the young bird before eating it, would want to send it to school. Wasn’t he afraid the bird might fly away?

The eagle chief didn’t voice his thoughts and simply said, “We welcome all young birds from our tribe to study at our school.”

Jun Ye stroked his companion’s head and asked, “When can my young bird start school?”

The eagle chief replied, “Today.”

“Good,” Jun Ye said, smiling with satisfaction.

After all, he was a fish. Despite being able to teach his companion many things, some things were beyond his natural abilities—like flying, or transforming into a human.

He guessed the system would be disappointed once again if he failed.

With the cooperation settled, the eagle chief instructed the other birds to disperse. Then, looking somewhat embarrassed, he said to Jun Ye, “The school starts when the sun reaches the top of the nearest mountain. I can take… er, your young bird there.”

Jun Ye watched as the 1.9-meter-tall man awkwardly scratched the ground with his foot. It seemed that despite their appearance, their bird nature was still evident.

The sight was so uncomfortable that Jun Ye had to cut him off. “Do you have anything else?”

“Well, um… could you give me one of your scales?” The eagle chief had nearly uprooted all the grass at his feet.

Most birds can see a wide range of colors, and the eagle chief had seen many beautiful things. He thought nothing in the world could captivate him anymore. But the brilliance of the merman’s scales had deeply struck him. He was sure that using such a beautiful scale in his courtship display would win over even the most aloof female eagle.

“Chirp chirp!!!”

Before Jun Ye could refuse, his companion began to struggle violently as if greatly distressed.

Xiao Xiu pushed his head through Jun Ye’s fingers and turned to issue a warning chirp at the eagle chief.

Xiao Xiu felt like he was dying, his chest swelling with both anger and fear.

How dare another bird try to take the big fish’s scale?

I’ve been pecking for so long and haven’t managed to get a single scale! And you, an outsider bird, think you can get one?

No scales! No big fish! Nothing!

Everything belongs to me, chirp!!!

adkjskjdskjsd what a cute lil birdie

Though I’m kinda confused about Xiao Xiu’s parents… did they die? did they abandon him? I mean it’s kinda awkward teaching a youngling that you left to die lol…?

Thank you for reading