When I was just a little kid...
At my grandmother’s house in the countryside, a long stream flowed nearby. If you went down to the big tree by that stream, you could often ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ spot the village elders catching fish in a strange way.
A man carrying a square box on his back would dip two bamboo poles into the water—and the fish would immediately flip belly-up, floating white and lifeless to the surface. As a child, I thought it was some kind of magic.
Just putting sticks in the water made the fish float up—it felt like sorcery.
But as I got older, I learned that this was what they called "battery fishing." A form of illegal fishing.
They called it batteri fishing because of the Japanese pronunciation of "battery" (batteli)—since they used car batteries for it.
They’d put a car battery in that square box on their back, connect wires to the terminals, then attach each wire to a long bamboo rod with a giant nail at the tip. Then they’d lower the rods into the water—usually beneath rocks where fish would hide—and switch the power on.
The result? The fish, electrocuted, would float up to the surface.
That’s the essence of battery fishing.
Even back in the 1950s, when environmental awareness was virtually nonexistent, this method was banned. It wiped out not just grown fish but their eggs and fry, devastating fish populations.
Now, I was thinking of recreating this—but using Ho-ye (Tiger Lightning) instead.
It would let us wipe out the adult stickyworms, their hatchlings, and any eggs that might still be hidden in one single strike.
I explained my plan to Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin.
“I’m thinking of using Ho-ye, which contains the energy of thunder.”
“Ho-ye?”
“Yes. Thunder energy naturally permeates metal and spreads easily through water. With Ho-ye, we should be able to completely eliminate the creatures inside the cave.”
Gun Hye-rin nodded, her expression serious.
“Using thunder energy... That’s actually a good idea. Thunder spreads very well through water—and it’s explosive. It can kill living things instantly.”
From the way she spoke, it was clear Gun Hye-rin knew a fair bit about thunder qi.
But as I expected, it was Hwa-eun who raised the real concern.
“You said earlier that you were hesitant... Is the problem the time it would take to go back to the Tang Clan and retrieve the Ho-ye? I assume you already have a method to transport it, but you’re worried that while you’re gone, the stickyworms might begin to spread?”
As expected of her—she knew exactly what I was thinking without needing an explanation.
Yes.
That’s exactly why I was hesitating.
If I flew with the children at top speed, I could probably reach the Tang Clan in three or four days.
Ho-ye is an amphibian—like a salamander—so it requires water to survive. If its skin dries out, it can take severe damage. That meant I had to bring it back in a water-filled pouch.
Thankfully, that wasn’t a big issue—I planned to ask Yohwa to make a pouch specifically for that purpose before I left.
Factoring in travel and return, I estimated it would take at most ten days to retrieve and return with the Ho-ye.
But the real issue was...
Would the stickyworms remain in the cave that long?
Judging from their size, they were already fairly mature. It wouldn’t be strange if they decided to disperse at any moment.
I nodded and replied:
“Yes. I still believe it’s the best option... but I’m worried they might independently disperse while I’m away.”
“Disperse?” Gun Hye-rin tilted her head.
“Yes, Lady Gun. Normally, as I’ve said, these creatures—called four-insects—don’t care for their young. The mother lays eggs and leaves. The hatchlings drift in the water and grow up alone. That’s their natural behavior.
But in cases where the mother does raise her young, there comes a point where she lets them go off on their own. That’s what we call ‘independence.’”
“Ah... so when the mother decides they’re ready to survive alone, she lets them go?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm. I see now. Normally they wouldn’t be raised at all, but since the mother is raising them this time, you’re thinking that independence might come at any moment?”
“Yes, Lady Gun.”
The details were a bit different, but the core concern remained: the stickyworms might soon leave the cave on their own.
Just as I finished explaining and began thinking of how to proceed, Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin exchanged a glance—communicating silently.
And then they spoke—at the exact same time.
“Then stop worrying and go with your plan.”
“Then stop worrying and go with that plan.”
“If something happens while you’re gone, we’ll hold things down until you return.”
“If something happens while you’re gone, we’ll hold the line until you get back.”
They were telling me to stop hesitating and just do it.
They’d defend the place in my absence.
It was a reassuring answer—but I found myself questioning it.
“You two... want to hold down this place?”
A Huagyeong-level martial artist is nearly superhuman.
If this had been anywhere else, I’d have agreed without hesitation.
But this wasn’t “anywhere else.” We were deep within the Daewol Nation’s borders—the heart of Five Venoms territory.
And the battlefield was underwater.
Even for skilled martial artists, fighting underwater severely limits one’s capabilities.
I knew both women were strong—but there were too many unknowns. Too many disadvantages.
We couldn’t count on reinforcements, either. The Murim Alliance couldn’t send troops into enemy territory without risking full-scale war. Even though the Five Venoms had retreated temporarily, if we made a ruckus trying to fight the stickyworms, they might pounce on the opportunity.
And that was assuming they didn’t already plan to wipe us out along with the creatures.
To top it off, fighting underwater would rob even Huagyeong-level fighters of full efficiency. No one can fight at 100% submerged.
Even if they were still formidable, it was only natural for me to worry.
“Don’t worry, So-ryong. We’ve got the children too.”
“That’s right. The children are with us.”
They assured me—but even with the children, I couldn’t be at ease.
They were powerful, yes.
But the Five Venoms specialized in handling poisons and venomous beasts.
Even Gun Hye-rin, Hwa-eun, and the children weren’t guaranteed safety here.
We couldn’t just toss all our precious people into the lion’s den.
“I understand what you’re both saying... but let me think it over a little more.”
I had to weigh it carefully.
Ho-ye really was the best solution...
But if the cost was overburdening Hwa-eun and putting the children at risk, I couldn’t choose it lightly.
***
-Crash.
A dark night after sunset.
Pebbles fell from the ceiling of the cave entrance.
-Plop!
As they hit the surface, a loud splash spread across the water.
Ripples extended over the still water—and in that instant, the liquid writhed as if disturbed from below.
It was a small sound, but enough to awaken every lifeform in the quiet cave.
The mother stickyworm stirred and immediately began circling the cave, checking the surroundings.
A pitch-black shadow slipped just beneath the surface, sweeping across and inspecting every corner. After completing its check and determining that nothing was amiss, the mother stickyworm returned to her original position.
Then, just above where the pebble had fallen, the ceiling of the cave shimmered faintly—and from it, several spiders began crawling out.
They were large—each the size of an adult man's fist.
Four in total, they scattered in different directions and settled at each corner of the cave ceiling, staring downward with focused attention.
After a short while, the cave returned to perfect stillness.
Then, Jeok-wol, who had dropped the pebble earlier, quietly rose into the air and flew back toward where she came from.
Dangling from her feet was a small blue lizard—Dong-i.
***
『-Kkyuuk. Grandpa, success on this side.』
Dong-i’s voice echoed in my head.
At the same time, Yohwa, who had been sitting with her eyes closed, opened them with a flash of light and gave a slight nod.
The surveillance spiders had been successfully deployed.
『-Kkishi. It’s working, Oppa. I can see inside the cave. It’s them.』
“Thanks, Yohwa.”
『-Kkishi-shi. Don’t worry, Oppa. I’ll keep watching them.』
In the end, I made my decision before even a full day had passed.
Time was too short.
We couldn’t afford to hesitate when those creatures could begin to disperse at any moment.
Rather than worry endlessly, I decided it was better to move.
But instead of blindly stationing Hwa-eun or the children in the Five Venoms’ territory or forcing them to fight, I prepared an alternative strategy.
I couldn’t place all the burden of risk on our people.
So I devised a plan using multiple methods—to ensure we could monitor, control, and, if necessary, contain the stickyworms as safely as possible.
The first step in that plan: surveillance cameras.
Yohwa possessed a unique ability—she could share the vision of spiders she evolved.
So I asked her to evolve several spiders and deploy them to the ceiling of the cave where the stickyworm eggs had been laid—turning them into surveillance cameras.
That way, we wouldn’t need to enter Five Venoms territory or the cave at all. We could still monitor the stickyworm larvae safely.
Additionally, we decided to use Yohwa’s silk to block off two or three downstream paths in the water.
Not within Five Venoms territory, of course.
At first, we had thought to block the cave directly—but that would’ve been reckless. There was no need to venture into danger unnecessarily.
As long as we blocked off the paths leading downstream—toward the Lancang River—we could prevent the infestation from spreading.
Even if some larvae managed to escape the cave, Ho-ye could sweep through the upper and lower streams afterward and wipe them out.
Sure, it might wipe out all the fish in the tributaries, but compared to the alternative—letting the Mekong River’s human population suffer—it was the better choice.
This idea had come thanks to Ji-ryong.
“Young Lord So, we don’t need to fight them there, do we?”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We just stop them here. It’s upstream, so they can only escape through this one point, right?”
“Oh!”
Because the creatures were all inside the cave, my perspective had narrowed. But hearing him say that, I realized he was absolutely right.
We just needed to block them off before they reached the Lancang River.
Here, we could get backup from the Murim Alliance and the Beast Palace. That made it much safer and more feasible to contain the threat.
“Well then... everything’s ready. Time to head out.”
『-Kkishishishi. Be careful out there, Oppa.』
“Thanks. You too, Yohwa.”
With all preparations complete, it was time to depart.
“Hwa-eun, I’m heading out.”
“Go safely, So-ryong. I’ll guard this place, so don’t worry.”
“Right. I’ll return as quickly as I can.”
Joining me were Cho and Yeondu.
I slung the special water pouch—crafted by Yohwa to carry Ho-ye—over my shoulder, then shot into the sky toward Sacheon.
To retrieve the ultimate illegal fishing gear—
The battery to commit one hell of an electro-fishing operation
