Chapter 349 - 321: Mosasaurus Attack
At this thought, Qin Ziwen’s expression turned serious. "Beaked Eagle!"
Qin Ziwen called out twice.
There was no response.
’Where did the Beaked Eagle go?’ Qin Ziwen frowned. With the Beaked Eagle’s sensitive hearing, it was impossible for it to have not heard his voice.
"The Beaked Eagle is probably outside right now, sir," the warehouse keeper suddenly said.
Qin Ziwen looked at him, a trace of doubt in his eyes.
Noticing Qin Ziwen’s gaze, the warehouse keeper quickly explained, "Everyone in the Qin Alliance knows the Beaked Eagle sometimes goes out for a stroll during the day. It even caught quite a few sharks from the sea recently."
Qin Ziwen sized up the keeper. "You look a little familiar."
The warehouse keeper hurriedly replied, "Sir, I was recruited along with Manager Liu San."
"Oh, it’s you."
Qin Ziwen remembered. Back at the Salt Well, besides Liu San and Da Zhuang, they had recruited two other workers.
It was just that back then, he had been very thin with dry, yellowed hair, and looked quite plain.
Perhaps from eating well recently, his complexion was much healthier, and he’d put on some weight. His face looked simple and honest; he was a trustworthy man.
’No wonder he was put in this position.’
The loyalty of units he personally recruited was naturally guaranteed.
"What’s your name?" Qin Ziwen asked casually.
"My name is Cai Jing, sir. My mother was by a well when she gave birth to me, so she gave me the name Jing."
"Cai Jing..." Qin Ziwen gave him a deep look. "Have you studied before?"
Qin Ziwen noticed he didn’t speak like someone who was uneducated.
"I studied at a private school for two years, but then something happened to my family, so I had to stop," Cai Jing said with an embarrassed smile.
"You should go read more at the book tower when you have the chance." Qin Ziwen was relatively lenient with the units he recruited; they could go to the tower and read books for free.
"Yes! I will definitely read more books, sir!" Cai Jing was overwhelmed with gratitude.
He left the warehouse, went outside, and climbed up to the eighth Celestial Tower.
On the Celestial Tower, dried fish were laid out everywhere to sun, and the air was thick with the rich, fishy smell. A thin plastic film covered the tops of the fish, and an old man with a long pole was shooing away wild birds.
"Be careful, don’t knock the dried fish off." The old man was a bit nearsighted. He pushed up his reading glasses and warned Qin Ziwen not to move around carelessly.
Qin Ziwen smiled. "I just came up to have a look."
With that, he looked up at the sky. After a moment of searching, he quickly spotted the Beaked Eagle in the western sky.
It seemed to have just spotted a target. It dove, then pulled something up from the sea.
As it flew back, the Beaked Eagle saw Qin Ziwen on the roof.
"SCREEE—"
Even from far away, Qin Ziwen could hear the joy in the Beaked Eagle’s cry.
It spread its wings and accelerated. The airflow around the edges of its wings even formed a visible, long cyan arc.
"Oh dear, why is this bird here again?" the old man muttered, noticing the commotion. Just as he finished speaking, the Beaked Eagle landed on the rooftop terrace.
"THUD~"
A spindle-shaped marlin, over three meters long, lay on the ground, thrashing about.
This marlin had a blue fin on its back like a ship’s sail, and its head was sharp, as if a Long Spear was attached to it.
Qin Ziwen took a closer look. He had only ever heard of this creature, never eaten it.
’I wonder if it tastes any good.’
After putting down the marlin, the Beaked Eagle cheerfully walked over to Qin Ziwen, spread its huge wings, and wrapped him in an embrace.
After a moment of affection, Qin Ziwen pushed the Beaked Eagle away. "Alright, alright. I was looking for you because I have a mission for you."
The Beaked Eagle let out a curious "Oh?" from its beak.
"Your ability to manipulate airflow—you need to train it more, you hear? Even when you’re not hunting, you should practice it often. It’s best to raise your proficiency with this skill. You can find some time to go to the Blood Sand Beast Fighting Arena for some life-or-death combat. I hear you improve faster in battle."
The Beaked Eagle slowly relaxed its wings, then raised them to cover its ears.
"Okay, I’m done. I’m taking this marlin back to see how it tastes."
Qin Ziwen said, and with one hand, he lifted the marlin off the ground.
Once the marlin was out of the water, the countdown on its life had begun. Its body structure dictated that it would have difficulty breathing once it stopped swimming.
The lifted marlin was still struggling, its tail thrashing wildly. Qin Ziwen, holding it with one hand, gave his arm a shake, and the marlin instantly passed out.
At that moment, the old man on the terrace looked at the Beaked Eagle, then at Qin Ziwen. He finally recognized him. This was the leader of their Qin Alliance.
"Leader."
"You saw it, so you get a share. I’ll let you try some later," Qin Ziwen said, brandishing the marlin in his hand.
Hearing this, the old man replied, "Alright! I’ve never tasted this fish before."
Back home, Qin Ziwen brought the marlin into the kitchen.
He was at a loss as to how to prepare it.
He had never cooked marlin before and didn’t know the best way to make it delicious.
But it didn’t matter that he didn’t know. Someone in the Qin Alliance did.
Wang Yun rushed over when she heard the news. "This fish’s meat is very firm. The back meat is like beef; it’s delicious grilled or smoked. The belly meat is more tender and elastic. Fresh marlin can be made into sashimi, or it can be seared."
"Say no more, just cook it." Qin Ziwen was already salivating just listening to her.
A few minutes later, a plate of freshly sliced marlin sashimi was served.
He took a bite. It was rich, flavorful, and melted in his mouth. He felt as if he had swallowed the ocean in a single gulp.
Wang Yun watched Qin Ziwen’s expression. "See? If you can’t finish it all, we can always grill the rest."
"I think it tastes pretty good," Qin Ziwen said, picking up another piece with his chopsticks.
After eating four or five pieces in a row, Qin Ziwen’s pace slowed.
Seeing this, Wang Yun smiled faintly. "The belly meat tastes good, but it’s fatty. It’s easy to get tired of if you eat too much."
Taking the plate back, Wang Yun turned to the other side, where an iron plate was already sizzling hot.
"Is this an iron plate you guys made?"
Qin Ziwen stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the "teppanyaki" grill in the kitchen—a structure made of stacked bricks, filled with firewood at the bottom, and topped with an iron plate.
Wang Yun smiled. "Xiaowu made it. He said we could use it to grill things sometimes."
"That kid. He likes to tinker with things like this." A smile touched Qin Ziwen’s face at the mention of Qin Ziwu.
Wang Yun placed the slices of fish from the plate onto the iron griddle.
Soon, they were SIZZLING and releasing their oils.
The kitchen filled with the fragrant aroma of searing fat.
While flipping the fish on the griddle with tongs, Wang Yun said, "I think the last few days have been quite relaxing. If you don’t count being stuck inside the Gated Community, it almost feels like a vacation."
The words had barely left her mouth.
Hurried footsteps were heard from outside, followed by an anxious voice.
"Leader! Bad news! A fishing boat was just attacked by a Mosasaurus! It tore a hole in the hull, and the boat is sinking!"
Qin Ziwen: "Next time, don’t say things are relaxing."
Putting down the plate in his hand, Qin Ziwen wiped his hands on a nearby cloth.
He turned to Jiang Shan. "Where is the boat?"
Jiang Shan replied subconsciously, "The boat is on the sea."
Qin Ziwen: "..."
He glanced toward the Stable and shouted, "Beaked Eagle, time to get to work! Old Wang, go find Lorne and Mogu. Tell the Fishman Warriors to move out."
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