Chapter Nine: The Glazed Jewel Oyster
The clerk’s voice was like a celestial melody, and Wu You immediately realized he had fallen into a mental trap. Judging from her words, it seemed that this aquarium shop had other luminous creatures.
Wu You rushed back to the clerk. “No, no, as long as the animal glows, that’s fine. It doesn’t even have to be aquatic. Do you have anything like that?”
The clerk smiled gently.
“That’s no problem. Although we don’t have glowing fish, we do have luminescent jellyfish.”
“How much do they cost?” Wu You thought it best to ask in advance. After paying his father’s fifty thousand yuan medical bill, he had just over eight thousand left on his card. If it was too expensive, he wouldn’t be able to afford it.
“We currently have comb jellyfish, each costing about one hundred yuan. They glow,” the clerk patiently explained.
Only a hundred—Wu You’s heart immediately relaxed.
“Great, could you please show me these jellyfish?”
The clerk nodded with a smile. “Of course, sir. Please follow me.” She led him inside, toward a wooden door on one side.
Wu You followed her in; the door closed behind them. Inside, it was dim but not pitch dark.
His gaze was instantly drawn to several large tanks in the center, each housing dozens of beautiful jellyfish, no bigger than a fist, emitting cool blue or green light.
“That’s it. I’ll take ten,” Wu You said happily to the clerk.
...
When Wu You left the Miracle Ocean Aquarium, he carried a five-liter plastic fish tank covered with a black cloth. Inside were ten precious comb jellyfish.
Not long after leaving the shop, he found a quiet corner and reached into the tank, selecting the jellyfish by touch.
Capture successful, material obtained: comb jellyfish.
Capture successful, material obtained: comb jellyfish.
...
He transferred all ten jellyfish into his material warehouse, then found a public restroom to empty the tank’s water. Carrying the empty tank was much easier.
He bought plenty of fruit from a roadside stand, some cooked food and side dishes from the market, and took a cab to Qiantang City Central Hospital. Zhang Guojun had already gone home, leaving only Zhang Guihua caring for Wu Jianguo.
Wu You comforted his mother, assuring her not to worry about home—he would keep an eye on things. He also told her to take care of herself and promised to handle the medical expenses.
Before he left, Zhang Guihua repeatedly reminded him to stay safe and keep warm.
He used to find his parents’ concern irritating, but now it moved him deeply and left his heart aching. Still, Wu You felt confident about the future: first solve the financial problems, then try to create a creature that could help Wu Jianguo’s recovery.
...
When Wu You returned home, it was already half past six in the evening. He saw many villagers dining outside, and only then remembered he hadn’t eaten lunch. The cooked food he bought was all left at the hospital for his mother.
Having spent the day in a state of excitement, his stomach now growled uncontrollably at the thought of food.
But Wu You suddenly wondered: do alchemical creatures need to eat?
They probably do. They are living beings, after all—even machines need fuel.
He searched carefully in Garuru’s beast pen and found two small bars resembling health meters. Upon selection, the system’s explanation popped up.
One was health, which was full. The other was satiety, showing 96%. The system noted that beasts in the pen don’t consume satiety and slowly recover health.
So, for the moment, he didn’t need to worry about Garuru—the apparent glutton.
Yet the beast pen’s capacity was limited. Even if it could be expanded later, it would never keep pace with Wu You’s rate of creating new creatures. When he had to keep them outside, finding hidden places and arranging their food would be major challenges.
But he thought, when the time comes, things will work out. Worst case, he could modify his family’s leased garden or even lease all the surrounding hills.
For now, he needed to feed himself.
The vegetables in his garden were ready and fresher than anything at the market.
Wu You steamed a pot of rice, cooked tomato scrambled eggs, braised eggplant, sliced a cucumber with salt and sesame oil for a cold dish, and made braised chicken pieces from half a mountain king chicken in the fridge.
Half an hour later, a sumptuous dinner was served, making Wu You’s mouth water.
Famished, he polished off every dish.
After dinner, he rested for half an hour—then it was time for real business.
He first summoned Garuru to stand guard, then took a deep breath and selected Level One Biological Alchemy in the system.
He chose a male triangle sail mussel and comb jellyfish from the material warehouse.
Prompt: Male triangle sail mussel, comb jellyfish selected. Confirm?
Wu You knew the crucial moment had arrived. He pressed confirm.
The next moment, the alchemy canvas with a black, flowing background appeared.
Wu You focused all his attention, drawing from his imagination: a thick, ancient shell, translucent flesh, and inside, a bright pearl forming. When his final mysterious stroke was complete, a pearl mussel full of ancient charm and mystique appeared on the canvas.
System evaluation: Flesh arrangement rationality 49%. Alchemy success rate increased by 4.9%.
Current success rate: 50% + 4.9%.
Proceed with alchemy?
Though the success rate was low, Wu You had no items to boost it, so he could only proceed immediately.
The triangle sail mussel and comb jellyfish transformed into streams of light, merging into the canvas. On the canvas, the pearl mussel began to take shape, becoming increasingly vivid until at the last moment, it started opening and closing slightly.
Prompt: Alchemy successful. Please name.
Yes—success! He had prepared ten jellyfish, but succeeded on the first try. Wu You flashed a victory sign at the bewildered Garuru.
He entered the name: Glazed Treasure Mussel.
Naming confirmed.
Alchemical creature: Glazed Treasure Mussel. Name: None yet.
Innate abilities: Absorb water essence, produce pearls.
Skills: Clamp shell.
Basic rating: Intermediate Black Iron (can be cultivated).
System description: By the moonlit sea, the pearl bears tears. This is a wondrous mussel that can spit out treasures.
Though he wondered why the quest hadn’t been completed, the appearance of the Glazed Treasure Mussel should solve his immediate needs.
Unable to wait, Wu You went to the bathtub, filled it with water, and summoned the Glazed Treasure Mussel.
The shell was about the size of a mouse pad, colored dark yellow, and its surface was etched with mysterious symbols.
Wu You ordered it to open.
The moment the shell opened, Wu You was disappointed. There was indeed a pearl, but it was barely larger than a sesame seed—he didn’t even bother to test if it was a luminous pearl.
But then he remembered—wasn’t there a cultivation function? He hadn’t tried that yet.
Without hesitation, he selected the cultivation tab in the system and found that even when Garuru and the Treasure Mussel were summoned, he could still choose to cultivate them.
He selected the Glazed Treasure Mussel.
A bit more alchemical energy was consumed.
He then watched as the Treasure Mussel grew rapidly, visibly expanding, its shell color deepening. Soon, he realized something was wrong.
The bathtub was about to overflow!
“Garuru, quickly pick up the Treasure Mussel and throw it into the river!” Wu You ordered urgently, or soon even the bathroom door wouldn’t be accessible.