Its mouth was full of sharp, pointed teeth that could rival a shark's.
Most striking of all were the jagged bone spurs jutting out from its body, making it look like a cross between a fish and a sea urchin.
In short, it screamed "evil fish."
No wonder Kang Hose had said the fish was nothing like the ones in his farm's little pond.
Seeing such a creature, Kim Haru's first thought was definitely not about how to eat it.
At present, the large fish was frozen solid in a perfectly square block of ice.
The thick ice immobilized every joint of the creature, from its tail and fins to the scales on its body.
The fish couldn't move a single muscle.
It was only under these conditions that the fish was rendered harmless and unable to lash out.
"Won't it die being frozen like this?" Kim Haru asked curiously. "Didn't you say you were waiting for it to reproduce?"
"It won't die. These fish go into this state naturally during winter while in the water. Even if they're encased in ice, it doesn't affect their survival. When the ice around this one was accidentally broken by the sand-digging team, it became active and almost injured someone."
"As for reproduction, when it's ready to lay eggs, its abdomen will generate heat to melt a small area of the ice, just enough to give the young fish space to hatch."
Kim Haru nodded in realization.
It seemed these creatures had adapted their survival strategies to match their environment.
However…
"Can this thing even be eaten?" Kim Haru pointed at the bizarre-looking fish. "What kind of fish did it mutate from?"
Do Seungjin didn't know the answer to the second question, but he did know the answer to the first.
"Edible parts are scarce—only the section near the belly and tail is safe to eat. The area on its back that was covered in spikes, has an especially high concentration of the mutagenic virus and is absolutely inedible."
This information had been discovered through trial and error at great cost during the apocalypse.
Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēewebnovel.com Only.
"What about the fish head? Can't that be eaten either?" Kim Haru asked regretfully.
He had a particular fondness for fish-head soup, especially the tender, smooth meat around the bones, which he found even more delicious than the flesh on the body.
The thought of such a large fish head going to waste felt like such a pity.
Do Seungjin couldn't help but laugh. "Aside from the eyes, which don't show an excess of the mutagenic virus, the entire fish head is inedible. But the eyes are so hard that our teeth can't even bite through them, so they're not really edible either."
Someone had once tried.
After all, a single eye from such a massive fish was about the size of a human head.
If it could be eaten, it would be more than enough for a meal.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard the person bit—or even when several people tried together—they could only scrape off a tiny bit of powder from the surface.
They nearly broke their teeth in the process.
After that, no one wanted to eat fish eyes again.
Kim Haru sighed in disappointment.
"So, when will the baby fish hatch?"
Although the mother fish couldn't be eaten, maybe raising the offspring from a young age could reduce the mutagenic virus level in it and turning them into an edible species.
Do Seungjin checked the records hanging next to the large ice block. "If nothing unexpected happens, the baby fish should hatch the day after tomorrow."
"Save some of the fish fry for me. I want to see if I can raise them," Kim Haru said.
"Of course, take as many as you like," Do Seungjin replied with enthusiasm.
He was thrilled.
He firmly believed that if Mr. Kim took charge, the fish would thrive.
The numerous ducks and black pigs already thriving under Kim Haru's care gave Do Seungjin immense confidence in his abilities.
"Other than these spiny fish, are there any other creatures in the river?" Kim Haru wondered.
If he was going to set up a fish pond, raising just one type of fish seemed like a waste.
It would be better to find a few other species to raise together.
Do Seungjin nodded. "Of course, there are others. Nearly all the aquatic life that existed in the river before the apocalypse can still be found to some extent. However, these creatures have also mutated, growing into strange and bizarre forms. In the water, their speed and attack power are both extremely strong. They don't like exposing themselves to people, so they're very difficult to catch."
In other words, if Kim Haru wanted to raise other species, he would first need to find their fry.
However, since they were hard to catch, there wasn't much he could raise at the moment.
An idea popped into Kim Haru's head: "What if we break all the ice covering the river and dig out the frozen aquatic creatures trapped inside?"
The thought barely formed before he dismissed it himself.
First of all, the sheer amount of work would be enormous.
Even if he broke open all the ice along the river, there was no guarantee he'd find many species.
The river only had so much space.
The massive spiny fish in front of them took up significant territory by itself, so its domain was likely vast.
Unless these creatures were extremely territorial, opening up all the rivers in the Pyeongseong Safe Zone might still yield only more spiny fish.
No matter how impulsive Kim Haru could be, this was something he would never actually do.
After reserving a portion of the fish fry, Kim Haru planned to return to the small farm to prepare the equipment needed for raising fish.
However, before he could leave, Do Seungjin stopped him.
"Mr. Kim, since you're here, could you also take a look at the ducks and the black pigs? They still seem to have some issues," Do Seungjin said with a worried expression.