"Giant ladies, you wouldn't believe it too, would you? I'm an honest Fishman. You were introduced by those kind and beautiful Mermaids like Seli. How could I possibly do something as low-down as poisoning!"
Gölz looked at him as if he were an idiot and said as a matter of course: "Linlin is our Captain. Why wouldn't we believe her?"
"Exactly!" Ripley snorted coldly and directly picked up the fragrant bowl of Fresh Fish Soup, pushing it in front of Old Ba with a 'clatter.' The soup inside sloshed, nearly spilling out.
"If you really didn't put anything in it, prove it to us! Drink this pot of 'Fresh Fish Soup' you made yourself!"
Old Ba looked at the scalding bowl of soup, knowing exactly how much "extra ingredients" he had added. His face turned pale instantly. To drug these giants, he had added the ingredients without any restraint.
He couldn't guarantee he would be fine if he drank it. His octopus tentacles twisted together uneasily as he incoherently tried to find an excuse:
"We Fishmen... we Fishmen actually..."
"You Fishmen," Charlotte Linlin coldly interrupted him, accurately piercing through what he was about to say,
"Are not like Mermaids who only eat shellfish and not fish, right? As far as I know, Fishmen have no dietary taboos."
Charlotte Linlin had already researched the habits of the merfolk. After all, they were members of her future Pirate Crew, and she had to respect the customs of all her Crew members. Just like the Heavenly Calamity Pirates now refused all food related to snakes.
Although Mermaids and Fishmen lived in the same place, their habits were completely different. Mermaids considered fish their own kind, so fish were not in their diet; their protein source primarily came from shellfish. But Fishmen were different; they had no taboos at all. Not only did they eat fish, but there were even cases of octopus Fishmen grilling octopus to sell.
Having his thoughts exposed by Charlotte Linlin, Old Ba's octopus tentacles rubbed even faster, and a smile more painful than crying was squeezed onto his face:
"Hehe... guests, this... this Fresh Fish Soup is extremely precious, specially prepared for you... How could a small cook like me drink such precious soup..."
"Look how hard you've been working," Ripley said with her arms crossed, mocking him, "What's a bowl of soup? If you don't dare to drink it, then it proves you really did poison it!"
Old Ba was backed into a corner, cold sweat pouring down. He knew that further excuses would only lead to complete exposure. He gritted his teeth, picked up the bowl of soup with trembling hands, and forced a distorted smile, as if convincing himself as much as others:
"Fine... I'll drink it, I'll drink it... Drinking soup is such a wonderful thing!"
He closed his eyes and downed the soup in the bowl as if facing death, then feigned composure and smacked his lips:
"Ah~ not bad, not too salty or bland, the taste is truly excellent! See, guests, I'm fine, right?"
But his swaying figure as he tried to stand steady did not escape Charlotte Linlin and the others' eyes.
He looked at the three who remained unmoved and urged: "Drink... drink while it's hot..."
Seeing no reaction from the three, he pinned his last hope on Charlotte Linlin, not realizing his voice had already begun to tremble,
"Cap... Captain... you have to take the lead. If you don't lead the way in drinking, how... how can they... dare to drink?"
Charlotte Linlin watched with amusement as Old Ba swayed, unable to even stand straight. With him looking like this, only a fool would believe the food wasn't drugged!
"Wha... what are you all looking at me for?" Old Ba's consciousness was gradually blurring, and his speech began to get muddled. "Drink... drink... quickly... drink while it's hot!"
He suddenly became agitated and slammed the table: "Damn it! Why won't you drink?!"
Seeing that the plan had completely failed, a fierce light appeared in Old Ba's eyes as he finally tore off all pretenses!
"Drink! Drink! If you won't drink... then we'll have to do it the hard way!"
He slammed the empty bowl in his hand onto the ground, making a crisp shattering sound! Almost simultaneously, from the surrounding coral thickets, behind buildings, and from the shallow water, hundreds of strangely shaped Fishmen armed with knives, forks, and fish spears swarmed out, surrounding Charlotte Linlin and the others with menacing looks!
"None of you dare to drink? You're all afraid of death, aren't you?!" Old Ba leaned against the table, barely supporting himself from falling, and shouted at Charlotte Linlin and the others,
"I'm telling you! If you don't drink... don't think you can escape! Since you already know, I'll stop acting! Remember, the ones capturing you are the Jondy Family! And I, I am a high-ranking officer of the Jondy Family, known as—'Pangolin'!"
Just as he finished shouting, the drug completely took effect. His eyes rolled back, and with a 'thud,' he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
As the hundreds of Fishmen surrounded Charlotte Linlin and the others so tightly that not even water could leak through, a massive Horned Scale Sea Bream mount slowly swam forward from behind the crowd.
On the fish's back was precisely that shark Fishman, Jondy, while the previously departed Mermaids Seli, Nelly, Aofi, and Ersha were snuggling beside him, serving him.
Their gazes, especially those of Seli and Nelly, carried undisguised jealousy, occasionally darting glares at the still-composed Charlotte Linlin in the center of the encirclement.
Jondy nonchalantly tore off the decorative bras of the two female Fishmen beside him, using them extremely crudely as rags to wipe away non-existent food residue from the corners of his mouth, then tossed them aside in disgust.
He glanced at the unconscious Old Ba on the ground, his tone carrying a hint of mockery:
"Old Ba, you failed? What a useless thing."
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