Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Memory
Having obtained the exam admission ticket, Jellyfish Boss let the poor Cigarette Guy off the hook.
The red fox carried Jellyfish Boss as he left the office. He was in an especially good mood—it had been many years since he had felt such considerate care. Even though Jellyfish Boss was currently employed by him, and this attention was due to their employment relationship, he still felt happy.
The little umbrella cap on his head, wet and soft, was awesome. Hua Ji actually thought having an umbrella cap on his head was quite nice—not only cool but comfortable!
Unfortunately, once the great jellyfish readjusted to human society, he would probably leave.
Hua Ji’s mood sank again, but he quickly perked up.
Over two hundred years of worldly experience had given the red-furred fox a deep understanding of separation and a carefree attitude toward it. Even if the day of parting came in the future, he wanted to say goodbye with a smile. So… cherish the present and make more happy memories.
Hua Ji’s shift in mood was too fast, but Jellyfish Dada still sensed it.
He found it a little strange—why had the little fox first been happy, then sad, and finally become so… complicated?
What was that long, drawn-out emotion? Unfortunately, the little fox’s changes were too rapid, and what he sensed was somewhat blurry. Otherwise, he could have compared it against the emotion database in his memory.
Speaking of which, his own brain hadn’t been cleaned in so many years—should he take some time to organize it?
Master Jellyfish has many brains. Each time he wakes up, he only needs to use four of them to handle all kinds of situations. But even though he has lived through countless years and even tried to participate in the course of human development, there are still some things he simply cannot understand.
He does not know that some things only come into being when he mobilizes all of his brains.
That state is called being in love.
Great Jellyfish is awesome at exams!
The three-day exam passed quickly. Since there weren’t many examinees, the results came out very fast—the rankings were posted on the third day, and Great Jellyfish was at the top.
Great Jellyfish said, “Does this count as first place in the metropolitan examination?”
Hua Ji couldn’t help but laugh. “The real top scorer in the imperial examination is worth far more than this!”
Shuimu-dada nodded deeply. “Mm, I think so too. But does this mean the exam is over?”
Hua Ji looked at the instruction manual and said, “No, there’s still a practical exam. The so-called practical exam refers to how to handle emergency situations—what to do after your true form is exposed and causes panic among ordinary citizens, and things like that.”
Shuimu-dada said lazily, “Just turn transparent, isn’t that enough?” He paused, then added, “I’m already transparent to begin with.”
Hua Ji didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Doesn’t the great Shuimu ever take human form?”
“I don’t want to.” The great Shuimu said, “Becoming human means you have to socialize. What a hassle.”
Hua Ji smiled. He said softly, “Yeah, it is a hassle. But when all that’s left are memories, you’ll find those social interactions incredibly precious.”
The great Shuimu was taken aback. He noticed that the little fox’s mood had shifted again. He thought for a moment, then said, “I have plenty of memories. They’re all stored in my other brains. Whenever I want to look at them, I just flip through them directly.”
Hua Ji was speechless. To the great Shuimu, his head was like countless USB drives—whatever was needed could simply be searched and retrieved. Unlike himself, whose memories were too many and too precious, always fearing he might forget. But time, that kind of magic, was invincible against anyone. He could now barely recall what that official’s daughter who had saved him back then even looked like.
He only remembered her gentle hands, her soft tone of voice, and her eyes that held a smile.
“…It’s good that the great Shuimu is like this.”
Once the great Shuimu grew tired of human society, she would probably return to the sea to slumber again. A thousand years later, he would have completely turned into a handful of dust, while the great Shuimu would still be playing in the mortal world.
“Just keep storing it like this, don’t look at it and it’ll be fine.”
Record past memories, don’t savor them, and there won’t be any burden.
He laughed and said, “I like this Shuimu-dada!”
Shuimu-dada was stunned.
It wasn’t the first time someone had told him they liked him.
He asked, “What is liking?”
In the past, whenever he asked this, the other person would always look at him with a shocked and sorrowful expression—despairing not only for their own hopeless love, but also grieving because he didn’t understand love.
But Hua Ji smiled and said, “Ah, it’s just being happy!” He broke into a big grin. “If Jellyfish-dada feels happy being with someone, then that’s liking!”
Shuimu-dada thought seriously. After waking up this time, he had encountered quite a few supernatural creatures, yet he was only willing to perch on the little fox’s head, and even had the urge to reach out and touch the fox’s ears.
This is love, isn’t it?
Shuimu-dada said, “Mm, I like you too.”
Hua Ji paused mid-step. A strange feeling rose from the bottom of his heart, though he himself didn’t notice it.
He said cheerfully, “Great! Since Master Jellyfish likes me, you won’t leave, right? That way I won’t need to look for a second bodyguard either?”
Master Jellyfish thought about her fox head being touched by someone else…
Mm! Her own things couldn’t be touched by others!
He said resolutely, “No need!”
Hua Ji was overjoyed. Going abroad required hiring bodyguards, and that would cost a lot of money! Well, the most important thing was that Master Jellyfish was way more useful than those mercenaries who took your money but screwed you over. Just think of that unreliable bat spirit—Li Shunhua’s customer reviews on the mercenary website had never improved, and that little bat deserved full credit for it.
“Mm, then I won’t look for anyone else. I only want Master Jellyfish!”
Master Jellyfish was satisfied.
The next day, Master Jellyfish performed normally in the exam. His human form was stunningly beautiful, so much so that even the examiners in charge were full of praise.
After the exam ended, Shuimu Dada received her own ID card and a series of archival documents.
Attached at the back was a career recommendation.
Naturally, studying was ranked first. If Shuimu Dada wanted to study, the Shenbao Club could help modify her age records so that Shuimu Dada could take the college entrance exam. The second career recommendation was celebrity.
Shuimu Dada did not even need any acting skills. As long as she revealed that incomparably gorgeous face, she would win the adoration of fans.
The third recommendation was an inspector from the Environmental Protection Bureau. He alone could do the work of many people—all he had to do was dip a tentacle into the water, and he could immediately detect whether the water quality met standards.
There were several more recommendations after that, but Shuimu didn’t even glance at them and directly chose to take the college entrance exam.
He wanted to learn humanity’s most advanced knowledge and expand his intellectual reserves.
Hua Ji said, “If you really plan to pursue further education, you’ll have to enter human society in human form. You can’t keep lying on top of my head anymore!”
The Great Jellyfish said, “That’s not a problem.”
One of the Great Jellyfish’s innate talents—the Clone Technique!
Yes, release a little jellyfish and turn it into a human, and all problems would be solved!!
Hua Ji was dumbfounded.
He forgot again—jellyfish have lots of brains = =
To that end, the great jellyfish lord specially took some time to clear out two brains to keep that little jellyfish running normally.
He turned the memories he had cleared out into a crystal ball and gave it to Hua Ji.
“This is the memory stored from when Blue Star was born. You can take a look.”
Hua Ji and Shuimu Dada temporarily stayed in B City. The identity that the Shenbao Club forged for Shuimu Dada was that of a student at a certain school in B City. Due to health reasons, this student had been studying at home year-round. This year, they were taking the college entrance examination. At this moment, only one month remained until the exam, and Shuimu Dada began preparing for it with full effort.
Hua Ji, on the other hand, hugged the crystal ball and stayed cooped up in the hotel every day watching The Genesis of Starfish, the memories of Earth’s birth. His perspective was Shuimu Dada’s perspective—from a clueless little jellyfish, an oceanic organism that only knew how to simply absorb seawater, witnessing the entire ocean transform from barrenness into something rich and colorful, and watching this planet change from wasteland into a paradise of life.
Hua Ji felt that his soul had been baptized.
That day, Yan Hudie called to notify Hua Ji.
“Fox, the crew’s already finalized their people. Where are you? Get ready to go to the set for your costume test shots.”
Hua Ji was silent for a long time before saying, “I understand. By the way, let me tell you something—I want to shoot a documentary. Can our company handle getting it released?”
“Documentary?” Yan Hudie didn’t ask anything else. He said, “You should go ask Old Turtle about this. But he’s lived for so long, he definitely has connections. Even getting it into theaters shouldn’t be a problem. Domestic awards are easy enough, but international awards might be a bit troublesome.”
“…It’s not that complicated. As long as it works, it’s fine.” Hua Ji said. “I remember there’s someone in our circle who’s really good with this kind of stuff.”
“You mean Zhu Mimi?” Yan Hudie said. “You want to contact her? You’re quite confident. Need help finding a composer?”
Zhu Mimi was also a bee spirit, but she was much more pitiful than the old bee who ran the shop, because she still couldn’t perfectly retract the wings on her back and could only stay home doing video editing.
Hua Ji said, “Yes, I need it.”
Yan Hudie raised an eyebrow. “It won’t be cheap!”
“Don’t worry. Once they see the footage, I don’t believe they’ll be able to hold back,” Hua Ji said. “This is the Earth as seen through the eyes of the great Shuimu!”
Yan Hudie instantly fell silent.
The great Shuimu…
A great demon who had lived for countless eons—what kind of world did it see through its eyes?
Yan Hudie couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation as well.
…What? Worried about the box office? No, no, no—the box office is a worldly trifle. Just screen it directly in Kunlun and the Demon Mountain; the cultivators and demons there pay much higher ticket prices. Mere soft currency? What even is that? =v=