Only I Have the Law: A Realistic Cultivation Game

The Liangxi River runs through the city, and its banks are lined with lush ecological trails.

As Xu Zhiyi rode his shared bicycle down the river, a group of middle-aged women carrying empty plastic bags passed by him. They were chatting and laughing, and made an appointment to release animals at Jiulihe River again the next day.

When Xu Zhiyi arrived at the riverbank, she saw the boy with glasses staring blankly at the water, his face full of helplessness and frustration, and she didn't know what he was thinking.

He looked at the river. The Liangxi River was not very clear, but rather a light green color. Ripples spread out with the breeze, and occasionally bubbles rose from the bottom of the water, as if large fish were swimming.

I've encountered a problem!

Although Liangxi River is not a large river, it is still tens of meters wide and several miles long, stretching from the Grand Canal in the east to Taihu Lake in the west, making its water area quite extensive!

Finding those cleaners in a river like this is no easy task!

He stared at the river for a while, but didn't see a single cleaner.

They've probably already run away.

This task is ridiculously difficult!

No wonder, in addition to experience and silver, they also received an extra water-repelling talisman as a reward.

He thought for a moment, then walked over to the boy with glasses and asked, "Excuse me, were those older women releasing catfish?"

"Um?"

The boy turned around and paused slightly when he saw Xu Zhiyi, probably not expecting anyone to approach him. He hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"They were cleaner fish, at least twenty or thirty of them, quite large, all adults. I told them that cleaner fish shouldn't be released, but they wouldn't listen, saying it was for good deeds and accumulating merit, completely disregarding the ecological impact. I don't know what kind of merit they could accumulate!"

"The pleco is those spotted fish with sucker-like mouths, right? I think they're an invasive species?"

Xu Zhiyi noticed that the boy with glasses seemed to know a lot about the mission, so she specifically confirmed with him to avoid misunderstanding the target.

"That's right, the pleco is an invasive species." The bespectacled boy nodded, perking up slightly. "The scientific name for this fish is leopard catfish, which is native to South America."

They are incredibly resilient and can survive for a long time out of water. They eat almost anything, especially the eggs and fry of other fish, causing significant damage to the ecosystem.

If they are allowed to reproduce, the native fish and shrimp in this river will probably all die out!

"You know a lot about this fish; have you studied it?"

"I'm Xu Zhiyuan, a freshman in the Biology Department at Jinling University." The bespectacled boy introduced himself, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. "I just came back from vacation and saw this. If I just sit idly by, I feel like I've wasted my time studying; but if I do something about it, I really can't do anything about them."

Xu Zhiyi could understand his thoughts.

But that's not what he's concerned about.

He gazed at the shimmering water and asked with some curiosity, "After those cleaner fish are released, will they swim away immediately, or will they stay around here for a while?"

"Cleaners like to attach themselves to rocks." Xu Zhiyuan pointed to the riverbank at his feet. "They would probably like riverbanks made of cement and stones like this. After entering the water, they would probably attach themselves first, adapt to the environment, and then settle down."

It turns out that the cleaner fish can attach itself to the riverbank.

Having acquired this new knowledge, Xu Zhiyi quickly searched along the riverbank and, sure enough, found a cleaner fish a dozen meters away.

This cleaner fish is about fourteen or fifteen centimeters long, with irregular dark spots all over its body. It has a large, sucker-like mouth on its head, which is firmly attached to the rock, and its tail sways gently with the water flow.

found it!

Xu Zhiyi quickly took out a slingshot and steel balls from her backpack.

Because the target was underwater, he had to consider the visual distortion caused by light refraction and the resistance when the steel ball entered the water, so he was not certain of hitting the target.

He took a deep breath, put the steel ball into his leather bag, tightened the rubber band, aimed at the cleaner attached to the stone wall, estimated the angle of refraction, and then let go.

"Pounce!"

The steel ball shot out and plunged straight into the water.

A ripple spread across the water's surface.

Xu Zhiyi saw it clearly.

The steel ball shot straight at the cleaner after entering the water, with almost no deviation in accuracy.

However, due to the resistance of the water flow, the steel ball's speed decreased sharply, giving the cleaner fish time to react. It simply flicked its tail and darted to the bottom of the water, disappearing from sight.

I messed up.

Xu Zhiyi frowned slightly.

Shooting fish with a slingshot was more difficult than he had anticipated.

This is no longer a problem of accuracy, but a problem of the bullet itself.

The resistance the steel ball encounters after entering the water is too great!

"Huh? What...what are you doing?"

Hearing the commotion, Xu Zhiyuan walked over curiously. Seeing the slingshot in Xu Zhiyi's hand, he immediately understood. "You want to use a slingshot to fish? Do you have a fish spear?"

"A harpoon?"

Xu Zhiyi's heart stirred slightly. "What is that?"

"A fish dart is a dart with a barbed head and a fishing line attached to the tail. It can be launched with a slingshot or a crossbow and is specifically designed to shoot fish."

You can search on Douyin (TikTok); many people are now using harpoons to fish. Harpoons are powerful, have strong penetrating power, and can even be used to pull the fish up with the fishing line after a hit.

Xu Zhiyuan paused for a moment, then reminded him, "However, hand crossbows should be considered controlled items, so they are not easy to obtain and are quite dangerous. Using the slingshot you have is a good alternative."

The problem is that slingshots aren't as easy to aim as crossbows, and many people buy them only to have them gather dust.

As he spoke, Xu Zhiyi had already taken out her phone to search for fish spears. Sure enough, she found many videos of shooting fish, and the fish spears used in them were all very similar and could be bought in online stores.

He quickly selected a set of eight hexagonal tungsten steel darts, along with a fishing reel, a special slingshot rubber band, protective gloves, a portable waist bag, and so on.

It cost him another 165 silver dollars.

When Xu Zhiyuan saw that he ordered a set of fishing darts without saying a word, he became interested as well. He took out his phone and ordered a set of fishing darts as well, and even added him as a friend.

Xu Zhiyi did not refuse.

Having a friend who is familiar with the habits of organisms might be helpful in the future.

After they added each other as friends, Xu Zhiyuan reminded him that he could take action at night because plecos are nocturnal fish that prefer darkness and avoid light. They usually hide during the day and only come out to forage at night.

Xu Zhiyi nodded; this was exactly what he wanted.

He doesn't have much time during the day, and it's inconvenient with so many people around. He comes over in the evening after school, and there probably won't be many people there, making it the perfect time for him to make his move.

But it's definitely not going to happen today.

The fish spear won't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest.

I glanced at the time; it was already past nine.

It's time to become a beast of burden.