Ren Yuanyang pursed his lips. He was just trying to give the guy a heads-up, but it seemed his warning wasn’t appreciated.
The other survivors also began to discuss it.
"I think that last guy was right. What else could be in the water? It’s gotta be a fish!"
"But he’s on a solid wood door. How much force would a fish need to make a bang like that?"
"If it really is a fish, doesn’t that mean we’ve got another source of food?"
"Good point. I’m getting in the water to take a look!"
The survivor whose door had been struck by the unknown creature was still a bit hesitant, but after seeing this message, he immediately grabbed a nearby watermelon knife and cautiously slipped into the water from the side of his raft.
"Don’t be reckless! What if it’s not a fish?"
"You guys think it could be something... unclean?"
"You’ve been watching too many ghost stories! That’s all superstition. You have to trust in science!"
"Oh yeah? And which branch of science told you it could rain long enough on Blue Star to submerge all the continents?"
"Er..."
"Exactly. This world isn’t scientific anymore. Stop trying to explain what’s happening with science!"
"Now that you all put it that way, I’m starting to get the creeps!"
"I used to feel so lonely, but now it feels like I’m surrounded by people!"
"Stop talking, I’m scared!"
Just then, the survivor who’d gone into the water sent another message.
"Holy shit, it really is a fish! A snakehead, over half a meter long!"
"No way. A snakehead over half a meter long? You’re not exaggerating, are you?"
"Not exaggerating at all. When it saw me get in the water, that snakehead didn’t run. It charged right at me! Luckily, I brought a watermelon knife and managed to drive it back!"
"You had a chance like that and you didn’t kill it? You wouldn’t have had to worry about food for the next few days!"
"Damn it, I wanted to kill it! But it was too strong and fast. I’m lucky I made it back in one piece!"
"There’s not much entertainment these days, so I guess having someone tell us stories counts as a pastime. Let’s just listen for the fun of it and not take it seriously!"
"Who the fuck has time to tell you stories!"
"Ask around! Who’s ever seen a snakehead attack a human? They prey on small fish and frogs. How could a full-grown adult like you possibly be attacked by one?"
’Didn’t expect that boomerang to come back and hit me so fast!’
’Just a moment ago, he was doubting Ren Yuanyang, and now it was his turn to be doubted!’
The survivor couldn’t be bothered to explain further and simply replied, "Believe it or not!"
Then, he immediately sent Ren Yuanyang a friend request.
Ren Yuanyang thought for a moment, then accepted the request.
"Hey, I shouldn’t have doubted you earlier. Please forgive me!" The other person’s ID was Tattooed Haonan.
Ren Yuanyang was stunned by the immediate apology. He shook his head and replied, "It’s fine."
"I wanted to ask, how did you know it was a fish hitting my raft?" Tattooed Haonan asked.
"Because I’ve run into one before," Ren Yuanyang explained. "If what you’re saying is true, then the one you encountered must have been an evolved snakehead, too."
’He had nothing better to do, anyway. Explaining things to the guy would be a decent way to pass the time.’
"An evolved snakehead?" Tattooed Haonan was clearly shocked.
"That’s right. Humans can evolve now, so why can’t fish?" Ren Yuanyang retorted.
"I get it!" Tattooed Haonan responded, then asked curiously, "What kind of evolved fish have you encountered?"
"I’ve had two encounters. Once with a bream, and once with a crocodile." Ren Yuanyang tried to make his message sound as nonchalant and casual as possible.
This time, his attempt to act cool really paid off.
Tattooed Haonan replied instantly, his shock palpable in every word: "You actually encountered an evolved crocodile? You must be an Evolver!"
"Not quite," Ren Yuanyang replied truthfully.
"Then you must be insanely strong! To be able to fight off an evolved crocodile!" Tattooed Haonan was astounded.
He had just fought that evolved snakehead, so he knew exactly how ferocious these evolved fish could be.
To say nothing of crocodiles, which were already ferocious to begin with. After evolving, they would be even more so.
"Just got lucky!" ’I’ve already successfully flexed,’ Ren Yuanyang thought. ’No need to tell him I actually killed the evolved crocodile, not just fought it off.’
"Thank you so much for telling me all this. I owe you one, and I’ll definitely repay you in the future!" Tattooed Haonan replied.
Ren Yuanyang was taken aback for a second. He could practically feel the wave of teenage melodrama coming through the screen. He smiled and replied, "You don’t have to do that. It wasn’t any big secret."
"I, Haonan, mean what I say. My word is my bond, and I never go back on it!" It seemed Tattooed Haonan was determined to carry this cringey persona to the very end.
Ren Yuanyang sighed in resignation and just let him be. ’A promise like that is basically an empty check, anyway,’ he thought.
’The world had become like this; it wasn’t even certain they would ever meet again, let alone talk about repaying debts.’
Ren Yuanyang shook his head and switched his screen back to the regional channel. Everyone was still discussing the message Tattooed Haonan had just posted.
"See? I told you he was just telling a story. I must have hit a nerve, so he got all butt-hurt and logged off!"
"Here, let me tag him for you. @Tattooed Haonan."
"Hurry up and admit you were spouting nonsense! Don’t be such a coward!"
"I, Haonan, never lie. Believe it or not, that’s up to you. I can’t be bothered to explain myself. I just hope that when you run into one, you don’t get so scared you cry for your mommy!" Tattooed Haonan couldn’t resist replying.
"I don’t know... I’m starting to think he’s telling the truth."
"Yeah, I remember someone warned him right away that it was some kind of fish. You think that person has seen one too?"
"Can’t be. So many of us haven’t run into anything like that, so why have only those two?"
"Let me summon the other person involved for you. @Taoyuan Yang."
The screen name Ren Yuanyang had chosen for himself was Taoyuan Yang.
Seeing their debate, Ren Yuanyang smiled and typed, "Humans evolved because of some special substance in the rainwater. Our phones were likely upgraded by a similar substance. So for the fish that already lived in the water, it’s only natural that they could upgrade and evolve too. That’s not so hard to understand, is it?"
Ren Yuanyang paused for a moment before continuing to type, "The reason you all haven’t encountered any evolved fish yet is likely because the surface area of the water suddenly increased by a third, diluting the original fish population. But rest assured, if you can just manage to stay alive a while longer, you’re bound to run into them eventually!"
"And one last reminder for everyone: be careful of the evolved creatures underwater. They’re vicious!"
After Ren Yuanyang’s messages appeared, the regional channel fell silent for a moment before erupting into discussion once more.
"This can’t be real, can it? It’s already hard enough just surviving this flood. Why do we have to deal with evolved creatures on top of it?"
"You guys don’t actually believe them, do you? They’re clearly in cahoots. They must have coordinated this privately to trick us!"
"But what if it’s true? What would they even gain by tricking us?"
"I think what Taoyuan Yang said makes a lot of sense. We should all be a little more careful."
"What on earth did we do to deserve this kind of punishment from the heavens?"
"This isn’t a punishment. I’m sure it’s the work of some Advanced Civilization. The weirdness with our phones is iron-clad proof!"

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