The Uprising of the Mudskippers

The day's excursion had been fruitful; Song Weishi had nearly explored the entire surrounding area, learning the original terrain and plant distribution of the mountain region. Most of the farmland had been abandoned, reverting to its natural state. Besides weeds, large patches of wild fruits and vegetables grew among them. As long as they avoided meat, their food supply was secure for now.

Song Weishi suspected there was meat on these hills, but the animals were hiding, and they hadn't found any. Still, being this close to the sea, if they ever ran out of food, fishing by the coast wouldn't be a bad fallback. But with her past experience, she knew the ocean was full of dangers, and she had no intention of courting trouble there anytime soon.

If circumstances allowed, Song Weishi would have loved to settle here permanently. Aside from the loneliness and lack of human contact, there were no downsides.

That evening, everyone washed the vegetables they had dug up and sorted them neatly. With air conditioning available, leaving them out overnight without refrigerating was fine for a day or two.

Song Weishi lay down in comfort. Xie Yi had gone with Xiaoli to find a signal tower. Though they planned to stay here for a while, they couldn't afford to be completely ignorant of the outside world. But that wasn't Song Weishi's concern. While the aunties took turns caring for Xie Huiqing, they broke out two decks of cards and started playing.

Song Weishi, meanwhile, kept eating hotpot. She got hungry quickly. She'd had a bowl of rice earlier, some of Xie Huiying's meat dishes, and was now diligently cooking ingredients in the bubbling broth.

The aunties had discovered some more unusual delicacies—peach gum from the trees and wild wood ear fungus. Song Weishi treated them as dessert and a cold side dish, eating while catching up on a drama, like she was on vacation.

After eating and drinking her fill, everyone was ready to rest for the night, planning to rise early for work. But Xie Yi hadn't returned yet. Song Weishi, unable to sleep after her meal, waited by the door for her.

With Xiaoli around, no one worried about Xie Yi finding her way back; Xiaoli was a seasoned navigator, completely at home in the jungle.

Outside, it was pitch black. Song Weishi leaned by the window, watching the insects drawn to the light. Even this remote spot had mosquitoes, along with small bugs and moths she couldn't name, perched on the sill, staring back at her.

Suddenly, white threads streaked across the sky. Song Weishi thought her eyes were playing tricks, but when she blinked, she heard the patter of rain. She shot up—it was raining, and Xiaoli and Xie Yi were still out there.

Xiaoli was too big to find shelter. If a person got sick, that was one thing, but an animal? That would be a problem.

She immediately pulled on a raincoat and headed out. As soon as she opened the door, she found Xiaoli crouched obediently by the entrance, doing its best to keep its furry body dry. It looked up at her with those big, innocent eyes, arms hanging naturally at its sides.

Song Weishi sighed with relief, then glanced around. "Where's the other one? Xiaoli, why are you back alone? Where is she?"

Xiaoli stretched its arm and pointed toward the back mountain. A slope led up to the hillside—not a very high peak—where the signal tower stood.

Song Weishi understood. "Still up there?"

Xiaoli nodded and tugged at her hand. She patted its head soothingly. "Alright, you go inside. I'll go up and find her. Be a good pup and wait for me to come back."

Hearing the commotion, the others poked their heads out. "It's raining outside. Did Xiao Yi not take an umbrella?"

Song Weishi nodded. "It's fine, I'll go find her. I'll be back soon."

She'd checked the path up the mountain before; it was well-maintained and not too high. The rain had lightened to a fine mist. Song Weishi threw on her raincoat, grabbed a bamboo hat and an umbrella, and headed out.

At the top, she could still see the beam of Xie Yi's flashlight. She told the others to stay put, that she'd fetch her and return.

The air was humid and hot, but far better than the daytime heat. The rain added a touch of coolness—this was what a normal summer night should feel like, not a furnace.

She walked up, and in just fifteen minutes she reached the top. As she drew closer to the light, it stopped bobbing around.

When she got closer, she saw Xie Yi seemed to be staring at something intently. It wasn't that dark out; moonlight spilled across the ground, and in the distance, the black sea glittered, as if coated in a layer of silver frost. It was a beautiful sight, one that could easily hold one's attention.

But it wasn't enough to have Xie Yi staring this long, was it?

Xie Yi wore a bamboo hat, but her clothes were already damp. Song Weishi raised the umbrella, handed her the raincoat, and asked, "What are you looking at? So absorbed?"

The raincoat was a bit short on Xie Yi. She flicked her flashlight, and the beam dispersed far below without reaching the ground. She switched it off, not wanting the sudden brightness to hurt their eyes.

"Look over there. Isn't that a bit strange?"

Song Weishi followed her pointed finger. The normally pale coastline seemed to be shrouded in a shadow. The sand there was darker than the rest, and the dark patch was visibly growing, inching closer to the shore.

"Looks like something crawled up. Quite a lot, too. Crabs, maybe?"

Many creatures came out at night near the sea. That patch might not be sand but mud. Song Weishi couldn't think of anything that would gather at the coast in a group at night.

Could it be the Devil Fish from before?

"It's too far to see clearly. Did your danger warning trigger?"

Song Weishi shook her head. "No. Nothing at all."

She didn't have the memory montage thing; she didn't know how her precognition was supposed to work. But since her forewarning hadn't gone off, it probably wasn't life-threatening.

The two stood there, watching, neither moving for a long while. But the shadow's growth was slowing, and after waiting, it never reached the shore. They still couldn't tell what was underneath.

"Should we go down and check?" Song Weishi said decisively.

Xie Yi shook her head. "No need. It's spread over such a large area; what could we do even if we saw it? If it's still expanding, the two of us can't stop it."

Song Weishi turned and headed home. "Then let's go. We'll prepare early, just in case."

Xie Yi followed, and they jogged back to the house.

As soon as they entered, they woke everyone, loaded everything back into the vehicle, and prepared to leave at a moment's notice. They didn't have much, so packing was quick. With enemies on both sides, they couldn't leave even if they wanted to; there were people out there searching for them. So they'd stay put, watch, and wait to see what came.

They waited until midnight. Nothing happened. Everyone else had fallen asleep, except the person in the driver's seat. Song Weishi's eyes were glued to the slope guarding the coastline. There was nothing there, but her nerves were taut, and she couldn't relax.

The moon drifted to one side of the sky, hanging low over a small hill, illuminating everything around. It was only then that she spotted a tiny dark silhouette suddenly appear on the walkway at the door.

It seemed to have slid down the slope, carried by rainwater all the way here—a wriggling loach-like thing, slithering across the ground. Then came two, three, four... countless squirming fish piled up at the doorstep of the small villa.

Song Weishi raised her flashlight, illuminating the writhing shadows. The fish were covered in mud and froze in the bright light, too scared to move. Then one from the group suddenly leapt up and smacked against the windshield.

Now she could see what they were. They had wing-like fins that helped them move on land, their bodies small and delicate—just looking at them made one imagine how delicious they'd be. These were a type of fish she used to love as a child: mudskippers.

They normally dwelled in the coastal mudflats, a famous specialty of Huihai City and fairly pricey. Song Weishi quickly woke the others. "Wake up! Something's out here!"

Her shout was piercing, waking everyone, and it startled the mudskippers, who scattered in every direction. The windshield was instantly covered in muck, blocking all visibility.

Once they assessed the situation, everyone relaxed. If the dark shadow at the coast was just this kind of fish, then there was no real problem.

The only strange thing was, why had they swarmed up from below?

After confirming there was no danger, they suited up in waterproof gear and climbed out of the vehicle to start catching fish. There were quite a few mudskippers on the ground, and with such numbers, they weren't hard to catch. The little fish weren't aggressive; they just squirmed endlessly, but on flat ground they couldn't move fast, and even their jumps were easily blocked. In no time, Xie Huiying was scooping them up by the netful.

Her face was beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest, all trace of worry gone.

Even Xie Huiqing, resting on a stretcher, itched to join in. The mudskippers came in a rush, in numbers, and the group filled several large buckets, working until morning.

The drizzle never stopped the whole night, following them into dawn.

Sky was already turning light. Aside from these fish that had thrown themselves at their doorstep, nothing else had happened all night.

Song Weishi's tensed heart didn't relax; instead, she grew more vigilant. What was down there on the beach that had driven these fish to flee over the hills?

She skirted around the people catching fish and climbed back up the slope. The path was now completely caked in mud, not nearly as easy to walk as yesterday. She grabbed the railing, steadying herself, moving carefully to avoid slipping.

Mud splotches and trails where the fish had "swum" were everywhere.

The beach and mudflats below were eerily calm, nothing out of the ordinary except for the tracks left by the fish.

Xie Yi came up to check as well; clearly she had the same thought.

The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Let's go down and take a look."