"How exactly do I fish? By taking off my pants to fish?"
Liu Zheng said with a skeptical look.
"Vulgar."
Bullhorse gave him a disdainful glance.
"You have so many tentacles - aren't they all fishing bait plus fishing line?"
"I suspect it would bite them off at the roots."
He looked at the gamouth Whale's mouth full of sharp teeth and said.
"If they get bitten off, then they get bitten off. You can always grow them back anyway."
Bullhorse expressed indifference.
"If the line gets broken, how am I supposed to land the fish?"
"That's why I gave you that knife. Napoleon never said it had to be alive - just stab it to death and be done with it."
Bullhorse said.
"Oh, that would work."
Liu Zheng nodded.
Catching dead things was much easier than catching live ones.
"Don't make it too unsightly though, otherwise Napoleon might not accept it."
Bullhorse reminded him.
"Got it."
He acknowledged.
"Speaking of which, where's the sewer entrance?"
Liu Zheng took out the map and asked.
"It's called a sewer system - it's everywhere, obviously."
Bullhorse looked at him strangely.
How could this guy be so cunning one mont and so stupid the next?
"Only because your world is such a ss."
Liu Zheng felt irritated but didn't say it out loud.
"I'm asking if there's a fixed entrance?"
"No, any manhole cover or ditch can lead into the sewer system. But if I had to recomnd, I'd say either go down through the restaurant's entrance or use the entrance on That Tree Street."
Bullhorse replied.
"Why?"
"gamouth Whales prefer nutrient-rich water quality. The sewer under the restaurant has accumulated years of essence, making it perfect for their growth. If you can catch a Gold Crown grade gamouth Whale, Napoleon might just give you the knife outright."
Bullhorse said.
"What's the advantage of going through the entrance on Delago's street?"
"It can cover your back. Did you think it accumulated all that wealth just by digging in the dirt?"
"However, the sewer system beneath it probably isn't very well maintained, so there might not be any gamouth Whales there."
Bullhorse said. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI~Fire
"Then I'll try Delago's place first."
Liu Zheng quickly made a decision.
If he couldn't catch anything there, he'd try under the restaurant.
"Suit yourself. Also, take this - it's also from Napoleon."
Bullhorse gave him a bag of freeze-dried substance.
"Na: Special High-Potency Fish Attractant"
"Type: Item"
"Quality: Excellent"
"Effect: After consumption, the user will emit pheromones specifically attractive to gamouth Whales and their related species."
"Note: Bro, you sll so good."
"Can be taken out of dungeon: No"
"Wait, what's this about 'related species'?"
Liu Zheng spotted the problematic detail.
"Biological classification - kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Didn't you pay attention in class?"
Bullhorse looked down on him like a top student.
"I know about biological classification. What I an is, will this attractant lure things other than gamouth Whales?"
"Of course. How precise do you think attractants are? Being limited to the sa genus as gamouth Whales is already pretty good."
Bullhorse said.
"Where do gamouth Whales rank within their genus in terms of combat ability?"
Liu Zheng asked sowhat apprehensively.
"If you're talking about at quality, they're definitely top tier. I once managed to get so offal - it was incredibly tender when used in hot pot."
Bullhorse said while smacking his lips.
"What about combat ability?"
"Combat ability? The juvenile forms of other species play with adult gamouth Whales by slapping them with their tails."
Bullhorse shrugged.
"Heh, then I think this should be renad 'High-Potency Suicide Agent' instead."
Liu Zheng complained.
"Anyway, I've given it to you. Use it or don't - your choice."
"Actually, catching other related species isn't bad either - Napoleon accepts them all. If you don't want money, you can trade with it for other things. Not to ntion, its collection of vintage wines alone would keep you quite satisfied."
Bullhorse said.
"I'll think about it."
He responded noncommittally.
At the very least, he needed to confirm the gamouth Whale's strength first.
If catching a gamouth Whale was already difficult, then he definitely didn't want to catch its relatives.
Liu Zheng had no intention of using himself as bait.
With the plan set, he now faced a recurring problem again.
Ti.
Based on his limited fishing experience, the delivery ti definitely wouldn't be enough.
It seed he could only seek outside help again.
Two phone numbers flashed through Liu Zheng's mind.
After so consideration, he made a decision.
"Senior, what can I do for you?"
Novelist's voice was still full of energy when she answered the phone.
"How's the novel writing going these past couple days?"
He asked.
"The plot is fine, but my editor says the writing style isn't working. When I asked specifically what wasn't working, he hasn't replied yet."
As soon as the novel was ntioned, Novelist imdiately beca distressed.
"Send it to to look at."
"Won't that be too much trouble for you, Senior?"
Novelist sounded sowhat embarrassed.
"It's fine. Actually, I need to ask you for a favor too."
"Okay, I'll send it to you right now, Senior."
Hearing his straightforward words, Novelist beca more decisive.
Soon, she sent several MMS ssages.
The photo quality wasn't great, but the words were still barely legible.
It only took Liu Zheng a few minutes to read through her manuscript.
"The pacing is too draggy."
As soon as he entered his professional domain, Liu Zheng switched into tyrant mode.
Liu Zheng complained.
"No, they don't."
Novelist mumbled in response.
"Then why are you writing about them? The first chapter is pri real estate, and you're wasting it like this?"
Liu Zheng said fiercely.
"I was thinking it would add so imrsion."
Novelist explained.
"What imrsion do readers get from reading about supporting characters? It only causes perspective confusion."
"O-okay."
Even through the phone, Liu Zheng could almost see her lowering her head.
"Also, why are all your sentences so long? Not a single sentence has fewer than forty characters."
He pointed out another problem.
"I feel like I can't finish what I want to say without writing this way."
Novelist thought about it and replied.
"You might finish saying it, but readers don't want to hear it. Change it - no sentence should exceed twenty characters, and delete all those aningless rhetorical flourishes."
"You're writing urban fiction - why are you using phrases like 'eyebrows like faintly gathered mist, eyes that seem happy yet not happy, filled with emotion'? Are you trying to make sure readers get completely pulled out of the story?"
Liu Zheng said sternly.
"When I used to write historical romance, readers quite enjoyed it when I wrote like that."
Novelist said quietly.
"Do you wear a qipao when you go swimming?"
He asked.
"N-no, I don't."
Novelist understood his aning, her voice becoming even quieter.
"Word choice and sentence construction should match the genre, even conform to that genre's readers' reading habits. Otherwise, it's like selling braised pork at a temple dedicated to Ding Zhen - no matter how delicious, nobody will buy it."
Liu Zheng said with profound sincerity.
"I understand, Senior."
Novelist responded loudly.
"I'll rewrite a version for you, and you can compare it when revising your own version to send back to ."
He said.
"Mmhmm. Thank you, Senior."
Novelist's voice beca slightly higher pitched again.
After hanging up, Liu Zheng spent ten minutes writing an opening and sent it to her via text ssage.
Five minutes later, Novelist replied with a text ssage.
"!!!"
He smiled slightly.
Although he didn't write web novels anymore, creating a standard opening was still effortless for him.
Thirty minutes later, Novelist sent several more MMS ssages.
"How do you feel about it yourself?"
Liu Zheng called her after reading them.
"It feels a bit unfamiliar, but it does read much more smoothly than before."
Novelist said.
"Exactly, this is standard web novel writing style. First lean in this direction, and after you've mastered the basics, then explore developing your own style."
His tone softened a bit.
"Mmhmm."
On the other end of the phone, Novelist nodded vigorously.
"Senior, what do you need to do? I'm available these next few days."
She offered proactively.
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