IRDFPFCIW Chapter 38

“The meaning of being a king of the sea, ahem…” There was clearly no concept of ‘Sea King’ here, but it was a well-known online term before his transmigration. Jiang Tang lowered his voice to explain, “It refers to a scumbag who uses a wide-net fishing strategy. They’ll draw suitable candidates into their fish pond and be ambiguous with every fish in it…”

[I get it! My ex-boyfriend is a Sea King! He even lied to me, saying that girl was his sister. Bah!]

[Sisters! My ex is the same! His lightbrain was filled with contacts of various sisters. Thankfully, I dumped him early!]

[Me too…]

[Everyone has a story, huh? / Staring blankly]

[The one above, you can’t be talking about the same ex…]

[……]

As Jiang Tang enjoyed the barrage of comments, he suddenly felt a strange gaze from the fluffy one beside him. He inexplicably felt guilty. He began to avoid eye contact, wanting to say something else to change the subject quickly.

Help! What is he feeling guilty about? He’s not a Sea King!

The climate on the barren planet was similar to where Jiang Tang had lived before. Although it was already autumn, the daytime temperature was still high and only began to cool slowly as night fell.

The sea suddenly calmed down, with no waves, only birds that looked like seagulls flew close to the sea surface. They flew very low, occasionally touching the sea surface and shattering the mirror-like golden reflections.

Jiang Tang walked slowly along the beach, leaving a trail of uneven footprints behind him.

He wore a large straw hat made from woven grass leaves. The small portion of his cheek exposed was flushed red from the sunset, making him look exceptionally cute.

Jiang Tang loved the sea and his mood was naturally very cheerful. He leaned over to the fluffy ones beside him and asked, “Should I sing for you guys?”

Unbeknownst to Jiang Tang, he had earned the title of “Microphone Master” in his previous life, but he didn’t wait for any response from the fluffy ones before he began to sing—

“Evening breeze gently brushes Penghu Bay, white waves chase the sandy beach, no coconut trees and setting sun, just a blue sea~”

Jiang Tang recalled an old song he had heard before. He closed his eyes, swayed his head slightly, and wore a peaceful smile. With the golden sand beneath his feet, the setting sun about to fall below the horizon, and the calm sea, everything looked like a beautiful oil painting.

But all of this was ruined by the song coming out of Jiang Tang’s mouth.

You see, KTV often has this type of person who won’t easily let go of the microphone, transforming into a Pavarotti and singing loudly, even inviting others to duet with them. They are completely oblivious to the fact that no matter how musically talented the duet partners are, they will be overshadowed by the “magical sound” produced by that person.

Such people are affectionately called “Microphone Masters”, and undoubtedly Jiang Tang was one of them.

And he was completely unaware of it.

Listening to the lyrics “sunshine, beach, waves, cactus, and an old captain~”, Lin Yucang turned his eyes from Jiang Tang to Wen Renyuan with a complicated expression.

…Why was this person unresponsive?

“Is something wrong?” Wen Renyuan noticed Lin Yucang’s gaze.

The singing sounded quite emotional. It was no different from what he had heard in the army before.

Lin Yucang replied, “…Although I’ve never heard the original singer of this song, it’s clearly off-key, isn’t it?”

Seeing Wen Renyuan looking perplexed, Lin Yucang: “…”

“Brother! Look what I found!” Qin Fei’s voice came from afar, finally rescuing Lin Yucang’s ears from this terrible singing.

Qin Fei pointed at a strange and gray creature in the shallow sand and mud, too scared to approach. Jiang Tang took a closer look and realized that the creature raising its claws toward them was none other than a mantis shrimp!

Of course, it had another more commonly known name—Pipi shrimp.

Jiang Tang immediately got excited. “Hey, hey, hey! Be careful!”

Hearing Jiang Tang’s anxious voice, Qin Fei felt a bit touched. “Brother, I’m fine…”

“Just be careful not to step on it. Pipi shrimp is delicious!”

Qin Fei: …

In Jiang Tang’s eyes, this was clearly a pot of spicy pipi shrimp waving its claws to greet him!

“What are you still standing there for? Quickly catch the pipi shrimp. The person who catches the least won’t have any to eat tonight!”

Qin Fei: “…Oh!”

Jiang Tang washed off the mud and sand from the pipi shrimps and set them aside to drain for later use.

Lu Rongming set up a fire pit and pot by the seaside. Once the oil in the pot was hot, Jiang Tang added scallions, ginger, and garlic to sauté. After the aroma was released, he poured in dried red chili and Sichuan peppercorns. The intense fragrance immediately filled the air. Jiang Tang skillfully stepped aside, while Qin Fei and the others were a second late and sneezed several times.

[Ah, this familiar smell! I love chili!!]

[Me too! Although this smell is very stimulating, it feels addictive~]

[Is it just me, or does no one get used to this smell no matter how many times?]

Jiang Tang also added a bit of the hot pot base he had made earlier to the pot this time. Once the red oil was sizzling, the color of the broth was so appetizing that it made one’s mouth water. He then added the pipi shrimp and stir-fried them. The shrimp shells quickly changed color and were coated in a bright red sauce. Even Lin Yucang, who couldn’t eat much spicy food, found it tempting.

Jiang Tang served the spicy mantis shrimp. Considering the audience and fluffy ones who couldn’t handle too much spice, he used another pot to make seafood porridge.

Earlier while gathering mantis shrimp, they had also collected a few swimming crabs and some shellfish Jiang Tang didn’t recognize. He added rice and water to the pot, boiling it until it thickened. He then added a bit of oil, followed by the prepared swimming crabs and other seafood, and stirred it evenly.

Once the seafood changed color and was fully cooked, he added shredded ginger and chopped scallions, along with a suitable amount of salt and white pepper powder, and mixed it well.

Jiang Tang stirred the porridge in the pot slowly with a spoon. The seafood porridge retained the original “fresh” flavor of the seafood. The shredded ginger neutralized any fishy taste from the seafood. Since the seafood was cool in nature, the ginger was a warming food. It was a pity Jiang Tang didn’t have any huadiao wine, otherwise foodies knew that seafood and huadiao wine were a perfect match.

Taking a sip of the seafood porridge, the smooth texture and delicious flavor were completely different from the spicy mantis shrimp and the grilled oysters from earlier.

[Ahhh! I’m in love with this porridge!]

[This is so delicious. I was almost biting my tongue while smelling it and drinking nutrient solutions / crying]

[I need to find a way to go to Tang Tang’s house for a meal!]

[Just thinking about how I won’t smell this porridge tomorrow makes me so sad! / breaking apart]

Jiang Tang had become accustomed to the playful antics of the fans in the live stream room. He picked up a mantis shrimp and said, “How about trying this?”

The impatient fans bit into it— the taste was great! But it was a bit hard…

Jiang Tang: …

“Don’t rush, you need to peel it first!”

Jiang Tang loved eating seafood, so he was naturally skilled at peeling shrimp. He demonstrated for the fans, showing how he pressed, pried, and peeled the shrimp shell off effortlessly.

Fans: Wait, how did he do that?

Who cares how he did it? The main thing was to eat it.

Qin Fei and the others, along with the fans in the live stream room, started clumsily peeling the shells. The shrimp shells had absorbed the flavor during cooking. Once the shells were removed, they stuffed the shrimp meat into their mouths. The combination of the spicy seasoning and the unique freshness of the seafood burst in their mouths. The shrimp meat was chewy. Finally, they licked their fingers covered in red oil. Perfect!

[Not gonna lie, my mom just saw me suddenly licking my fingers and scolded me. I shared the live stream with her, and now she’s sitting here licking her fingers with me…]

Seeing that they had instinctively grasped the secret of eating spicy mantis shrimp—“savoring the shrimp”—Jiang Tang felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

Although the action wasn’t so elegant, it was incredibly enjoyable. Soon, a pile of shrimp shells accumulated next to the table.

After eating something too spicy, take a sip of the warm and fragrant seafood porridge. Such a night was simply to beautiful.

In the end, the few people indeed finished all the shrimps and porridge. After Lu Rongming cleaned up the leftovers, he straightened up, and suddenly felt that the air became a bit oppressive.

Years of military experience made him instinctively alert.

He looked around. The sea was disturbingly calm, but Jiang Tang was nowhere to be seen.

“Xiao Fei, where’s your brother?”

Qin Fei pointed into the distance. “My brother said he felt a bit bored and went for a walk over there.”

Lu Rongming frowned, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding. “Let’s pack up. We should head back tonight.”

“Huh? Okay, Uncle Lu, I’ll help you.” Qin Fei looked at Jiang Tang in the distance before lowering his head to help Lu Rongming clean up.

Jiang Tang walked to the distance and felt a bit bored. The moon had risen, casting a thin layer of light over the sea. He looked at the clear water and suddenly felt the urge to swim. Jiang Tang put the shells in his hand down, kicked off his shoes, and did a few simple warm-up stretches before stepping into the water.

Once he adapted slightly, he dove into the water. The water was not cold. Jiang Tang stretched his limbs like seaweed, his posture graceful. The moonlight illuminated his fair arms. The damp black hair on his forehead was softened by the water and fell delicately over his exquisite profile.

If mermaids or sirens truly existed, they would probably look like Jiang Tang. Wen Renyuan, who followed him because he was worried about Jiang Tang, suddenly had this thought.

Jiang Tang swam joyfully and unknowingly drifted farther from the shore.

At this moment, a large mass of dark clouds suddenly blocked the moon, as if signaling something. The sea instantly tore away its calm facade.

A fierce wind whipped up massive waves. Wen Renyuan’s pupils dilated in alarm. He hurriedly searched for Jiang Tang, but saw no sign of him!

This was bad!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wen Renyuan plunged into the water, swimming vigorously toward the direction Jiang Tang had gone.