"Fishing... for a Flood Dragon Egg?"
Staring at the glittering golden words on his phone screen, Xu Mo's heart skipped a wild beat.
That's a flood dragon! A creature from myths that stirs up storms and roams rivers and seas!
Even if it was just an egg, a chill ran down Xu Mo's spine.
"No, no, this is too absurd," Xu Mo shook his head violently, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "One nine-tailed fox almost cost me my life—if I take this flood dragon egg too, won't this little shop of mine get torn down?"
Reason told him this thing was a huge trouble—something he shouldn't even touch.
Xu Mo took another deep breath, ready to shut down his phone like he did with those rogue ads. Out of sight, out of mind.
But before his finger could reach the power button, a line of small text popped up next to the icon on the screen:
[Adventure Alert: After this limited-time adventure ends, the massive spiritual energy sealed in the flood dragon egg will dissipate into the surrounding waters. Within 72 hours, this is expected to spawn low-level water monsters such as "water monkeys" and "kappa," posing unpredictable dangers to nearby residents.]
"...Damn it!" Xu Mo's eye twitched. "You're threatening me now?!"
This game had him completely trapped.
First, it tempted him with benefits. When he didn't take the bait, it turned around and tied him down with a sense of responsibility.
Before Xu Mo could think more, he opened the Pet Space—and noticed a new notification in the nine-tailed fox's status bar:
[Growth Requirement: Your companion, the "Juvenile Nine-Tailed Fox," needs a large amount of spiritual energy to grow. Current spiritual energy reserves are severely insufficient.]
"Great, they even cut off my way out," Xu Mo sighed.
For the little fox's "food," and to prevent water monkeys or other monsters from actually harming the city, it seemed Xu Mo had no choice but to go.
"Fine, I'll go! Who's afraid of who?!"
Gritting his teeth, Xu Mo tapped the [Travel to Fish] button.
The interface shifted to a page that looked like a mall.
In the center of the page was a glowing fishing rod:
[Spiritual Energy Fishing Rod]: Forged from ten-thousand-year profound iron from the East China Sea and thousand-year ice silk from Kunlun Mountain. Ignores spiritual energy interference in water and greatly increases fishing success rate.
[Price]: 998 Spiritual Jade.
"Spiritual Jade?" Xu Mo froze. He checked his account info—his balance showed: 0.
Next to the Spiritual Jade icon was a small [Recharge] button.
With a bad feeling, Xu Mo tapped it:
[1 Spiritual Jade = 1000 Yuan]
"Nin... Ninety-nine thousand eight hundred?!" Xu Mo almost dropped his phone. "Why don't you just rob me?!"
He finally understood—this lousy game didn't just want his life, it wanted his money too!
He was a poor guy whose pet shop was on the verge of closing—where would he get a hundred thousand yuan?
"I refuse to believe there's no other way!"
Unwilling to give up, Xu Mo scrolled through the mall, hoping to find a cheaper alternative.
But the only item in the entire mall was that single fishing rod.
Just as he was about to give up, he spotted a [Quest Exchange] section in the corner of the mall.
Tapping into it, he found only one quest:
[Eco-Quest: Clean the Riverbank]
[Quest Description: A large amount of man-made garbage has accumulated around Moonlight Lake (the central city's man-made lake), seriously affecting the city's appearance and water health. Please go clean it up tonight.]
[Quest Reward: Disposable Novice Fishing Rod x1, Dragon Saliva Bait x1]
"There's a way!" Xu Mo slammed his thigh.
It was disposable, but at least it was a way out!
Xu Mo checked the time—it was already past 10 PM.
"I'll go now!"
Xu Mo grabbed a few large garbage bags from the shop, picked up a long-handled夹子 (trash picker), and sneaked toward the central city's man-made lake.
At midnight, the lakeside park was almost empty except for a few couples cuddling on benches.
Xu Mo found a remote corner and started his "environmental protection mission."
Plastic bottles, snack bags, barbecue skewers...
As he picked up the trash, he muttered under his breath: "Does this count as saving the world?"
Half an hour later, after tossing his third full garbage bag into the bin, his phone pinged with a notification:
[Quest Completed! Reward has been sent to your Backpack. Please check!]
Xu Mo hurried to open his Backpack. Sure enough, there was a bamboo fishing rod and a fragrant cyan ball (the bait) inside.
He walked to the fishing spot marked on the map—it was a small pier extending into the lake.
"Alright, let's see if this is a dragon or a snake—all depends on this cast!"
Xu Mo took a deep breath. On the game interface, he solemnly tapped [Use Novice Fishing Rod] and [Attach Dragon Saliva Bait].
Then he pressed [Cast Line].
"Whoosh—"
A translucent beam of light actually shot out of his phone screen, carrying the cyan bait. It sliced silently through the night sky and landed precisely in the very center of the lake.
The scene was so surreal that Xu Mo's heart skipped a beat.
He knew—the game had begun.
Minutes ticked by.
Ten minutes.
Half an hour.
An hour.
The lake surface was as calm as a mirror, and the fishing line on his phone didn't move an inch.
Xu Mo grew uneasy as he waited.
"No way... This lousy rod can't even catch anything—are they messing with me?"
Just as he was about to fall asleep from waiting and ready to give up—
"Buzz—!"
The phone in his hand suddenly vibrated violently!
The beam of light extending to the center of the lake snapped taut in an instant!
A massive force pulled from the other end of the phone, almost yanking Xu Mo into the lake!
"Damn it!" Xu Mo jolted, gripping the phone tightly. He dug his feet into the ground, but his body was dragged several steps toward the lake.
The screen of his phone changed dramatically too.
A gauge needle was swinging wildly back and forth between the red and green zones.
Beneath the gauge, a line of blood-red text flashed repeatedly:
[Target is struggling! Tap the screen to keep the needle within the green safe zone—otherwise, the line will break!]
"QTE?!" The thought flashed through Xu Mo's mind, but his hands didn't slow down.
He pressed the phone firmly against his stomach, his pupils narrowing. His thumbs blurred as he furiously tapped the screen!
"Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap—!"
The rapid tapping echoed clearly in the night.
Xu Mo unleashed the hand speed he'd honed over twenty-odd years of being single, forcing the needle—which was almost in the red zone—back into the green safe area!
The standoff lasted a full three minutes.
Xu Mo's arms and fingers started to go numb and cramp.
Just as he was about to give out, the massive force from the phone suddenly vanished.
Two golden words popped up on the screen:
[Reel In!]
Without hesitation, Xu Mo used his last bit of strength to slam his finger down!
"Splash—!"
A huge spray exploded from the center of the lake.
A giant stone egg—about the size of a washbasin, entirely cyan, and covered in strange patterns—burst out of the water. It whistled through the air and flew straight toward Xu Mo.
"Thud!"
The egg landed heavily on the pier at his feet, shaking the entire wooden platform three times.
Xu Mo panted heavily, staring at the giant egg glowing faintly in the moonlight. His heart thundered.
I did it!
I actually did it!
He really fished up the flood dragon egg!
Xu Mo reached out, ready to touch the egg.
At that moment, a cold female voice suddenly sounded behind him:
"Put it down. This isn't something you should touch."