The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 64: Brother, you smell so good in - 64.

Chapter 64: Brother, you smell so good in Chapter 64.

"How am I supposed to fish, by taking off my pants?"

Liu Zheng said, feigning confusion.

"Vulgar."

Niu Ma disdainfully glanced at him.

"You’ve got so many tentacles; aren’t they all just bait and fishing lines?"

"I suspect it would bite them off completely."

He looked at the giant mouth whale’s full mouth of sharp teeth and said.

"If they get bitten off, so be it; you can always grow more."

Niu Ma said indifferently.

"If the line’s all broken, how am I supposed to bring in a catch?"

"That’s why I gave you that knife, Napoleon didn’t say it had to be alive; just stab it to death, and that’s that."

Niu Ma said.

"Oh, that could work."

Liu Zheng nodded.

Catching a dead one is much easier than catching a live one.

"Just don’t make it too ugly, or Napoleon might not take the catch."

Niu Ma cautioned.

"Got it."

He acknowledged.

"So, where’s the sewer?"

Liu Zheng pulled out a map and asked.

"When they say sewer, it’s everywhere, obviously."

Niu Ma looked at him strangely.

How can this guy be sly one moment and dumb the next?

"It’s all because your world is a mess."

Liu Zheng was annoyed inside, but he didn’t voice it out.

"I meant, is there a fixed entrance?"

"No, any manhole cover or ditch will lead to the sewer. But if you insist, I recommend either the entry from the restaurant or from that Tree Street."

Niu Ma replied.

"Why?"

"The giant mouth whale likes nutrient-rich water; the sewer under the restaurant has accumulated essence over many years, making it perfect for their growth. If you can catch a gold crown-level giant mouth whale, Napoleon might even gift you the knife."

Niu Ma said.

"What’s the advantage of entering from Dai Legao Street?"

"It can cover you. Do you think it can accumulate such wealth just by rooting around in the soil?"

"However, the sewer below might not be well-maintained; it’s unlikely to have a giant mouth whale."

Niu Ma said.

"Then I’ll try Dai Legao’s place first."

Liu Zheng quickly made a decision.

If I can’t catch anything there, I’ll go under the restaurant.

"Suit yourself. Also, here, Napoleon gave this too."

Niu Ma handed him a bag of freeze-dried stuff.

"Name: Specially Formulated Strong Attractant"

"Type: Prop"

"Quality: Excellent"

"Effect: After consumption, one will emit pheromones especially effective against the giant mouth whale and its related species."

"Note: Bro, you smell awesome."

"Can it be taken out of the instance: No"

"Wait, what the heck does ’related species’ mean?"

Liu Zheng spotted the loophole.

"Biological taxonomy, you know, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Didn’t you pay attention in class?"

Niu Ma looked down at him like a know-it-all.

"I know about biological taxonomy. I mean, does this attractant also lure things other than the giant mouth whale?"

"Of course. There’s no attractant that’s that precise, being able to target the whale’s genus is already not bad."

Niu Ma said.

"So what rank is the giant mouth whale among its relatives?"

Liu Zheng asked, somewhat nervously.

"If you’re talking about the quality of its meat, then it’s top tier. I had a bit of sewer whale back in the days, made for tender hotpot meat."

Niu Ma said, smacking his lips.

"And its fighting skills?"

"In terms of combat, the juveniles of other species could flick a mature giant mouth whale around with their tails."

Niu Ma shrugged.

"Heh, sounds like this should be renamed ’Effective Suicide Agent’ instead."

Liu Zheng remarked.

"Anyway, I’ve given you the product, use it if you want."

"Actually, catching other species in the same genus isn’t bad either, Napoleon would take them all. If you don’t want money, you could also trade with him. Not to mention, his collection of wines should be enticing enough."

Niu Ma said.

"We’ll see."

He was noncommittal.

At least, he wanted to assess the giant mouth whale’s capabilities first.

If even catching the whale was troublesome, he wouldn’t dream of targeting its relatives.

Liu Zheng wasn’t about to risk his neck.

Having set the plan, he now faced a recurring problem.

Time.

Based on his limited fishing experience, he was sure there wouldn’t be enough time for deliveries.

It seemed he would have to seek help from outside the field again.

Two numbers flashed through Liu Zheng’s mind.

After some thought, he made a decision.

"Senior, do you need me for something?"

Upon answering the call, the novelist’s voice was still brimming with vitality.

"How has the novel been coming along these past few days?"

he asked.

"The plot is okay, but the editor says the prose isn’t quite there. I asked him specifically where it fell short, and he hasn’t responded to me yet."

Discussing the novel, the novelist immediately grew frustrated.

"Send it to me to look at."

"Wouldn’t that be a bother for you, senior?"

The novelist was a bit embarrassed.

"It’s fine, I actually need a favor from you too."

"Okay, I’ll send it right now, senior."

Hearing his candid response, the novelist also became straightforward.

Soon, she sent some multimedia messages.

The photo quality wasn’t great, but the text was still barely legible.

In just a few minutes, Liu Zheng had finished reading her draft.

"The pace is too dragging."

The moment he stepped into his area of expertise, Liu Zheng switched into full Tyrant mode.

"Look at the first Chapter, why did you spend three whole paragraphs on the other students’ names and appearances? Do they appear later in the plot?"

"No, they don’t."

The novelist muttered.

"If they don’t appear, why write about them? The first Chapter is prime real estate, why waste it like that?"

Liu Zheng said fiercely.

"I thought it might add a bit of immersion."

The novelist explained.

"How can your readers feel immersed with minor characters? It just confuses their perspective."

"Okay, okay."

Even though they were only connected by phone, Liu Zheng could almost see her lowering her head.

"Also, why are all your sentences so long? There isn’t a single sentence under forty characters."

He pointed out another issue.

"It feels like I can’t convey all I want to say otherwise."

The novelist thought for a moment and replied.

"You’ve said it, but the readers don’t want to hear it. Change it, no sentences over twenty characters, remove all those meaningless rhetorical flourishes."

"You write about urban themes, why use phrases like ’brows lightly knitted but not quite’ or ’eyes gleaming with a joy that’s more than meets the eye’? Are you afraid your readers won’t be kicked out of the narrative?"

Liu Zheng said harshly.

"When I wrote period dramas before, the readers actually liked it."

The novelist said softly.

"Do you wear a cheongsam when you go swimming?"

he asked.

"No, I don’t wear one."

The novelist understood his point, her voice even lower.

"The choice of words and sentences must match the subject and even conform to that genre’s readership habits. Otherwise, you’re like selling stewed pork in Dingzhen Temple; no matter how delicious, no one would buy it."

Liu Zheng said in a serious and earnest tone.

"I understand now, senior."

The novelist responded loudly.

"I’ll revise it for you, then you revise it again and send it back to me to check."

he said.

"Okay. Thank you, senior."

The novelist included a slight enthusiasm.

After hanging up, Liu Zheng took ten minutes to write a beginning and sent it to her via text message.

Five minutes later, the novelist replied with a text message.

"!!!"

He slightly smiled.

Although he no longer wrote web novels, crafting a standard opening was still a breeze for him.

Half an hour later, the novelist sent several more multimedia messages.

"How do you feel about it yourself?"

Liu Zheng asked after finishing.

"It feels strange, but it indeed looks much smoother than before."

The novelist replied.

"Exactly, this is the standard for web novels. Start with this approach, and once you have the basics down, you can then start to explore your own style."

His tone softened a bit.

"Okay."

On the phone, the novelist nodded vigorously.

"Senior, what do you need me to do? I’m available these next few days."

She offered proactively.