Part 7. Getting the octopus

With a burning passion, Ricky wore the fishing clothes provided by the system, and he also brought his fishing rod.

All the way down from the apartment building to the beach, many people stared at him. Some secretly, some openly sneered at him.

But Ricky was indifferent and didn't care about them. After all, Ricky had been living alone in a dark room, with no other humans to keep him company. So he didn't care about them and didn't want to know what they were talking about him.

Ricky's smile began to grow after he reached the beach, he wanted to go fishing right away. But his energy was drained after walking about 500 meters from the apartment to the beach. So he stayed put first, sitting in a cool spot while watching the waves on the fairly calm beach.

Ricky could see a few people fishing, some going to the beach to board yachts and fish from there. There was also the tourist side, which was cleaner, with no people fishing and lots of people selling food or drinks.

But Ricky didn't think he could go there, he didn't want to be in a place with so many people.

"Why are you staying here, young man? You brought your fishing rod, why aren't you fishing?" Asked an old man whose hair had turned white, but the old man still looked fit, he was also holding some expensive-looking fishing tackle.

Ricky smiled so as not to look creepy, then he shook hands with the man. Because the custom of courtesy in that country was for the young to extend their hand first to shake hands.

Ricky wanted to avoid other humans, but if someone approached and spoke to him, he had to be polite and treat that person well.

The man seemed pleased with Ricky's polite behavior.

"I really want to go fishing, but since I walked from my apartment to come here, I'm still tired and I'm resting." Ricky said.

The old man unfolded the folding chair he had brought, and sat down with Ricky.

"I think you're right, we'd better take a look at the conditions first, by the way I also live in that apartment, but I've never seen you." said the old man.

"I just moved in, just today. do you like fishing?" asked Ricky, he tried to be as friendly as possible.

"I don't really fish, just started because I wanted to pass the time." replied the old man.

"It's been a long time since I fished, but I can do a little bit. I want to fish for octopus after this," Ricky said.

The old man smiled, then said, "Then we can fish together, I wonder if you can get an octopus or not."

Ricky just laughed awkwardly, actually he also wanted to know, whether he could still fish or not.

After that they went to the place where people were fishing, looking for a place that was quieter than the others.

"I think there are a lot of octopus here," said Ricky, he was quite sure of his instincts. Even though he hadn't fished in a long time, for some reason Ricky felt that he was more sensitive than he used to be as a child. Maybe because he'd been locked up for so long, his sense of hearing had become more sensitive. For example, if there were rats fighting on the roof, even though the roof was far away, Ricky could hear it. Sometimes, the crazy doctor who always gave Ricky poison was still walking a few meters away from Ricky's room, Ricky could already feel it.

"How did you know there were so many octopuses?" the old man asked.

Ricky turned his head and smiled at him, "My instincts told me."

The man laughed at Ricky's words, "Really? Then prove it."

Remembering how he had fished for the octopus, Ricky went ahead and cast his bait. He tried to feel the movement of the octopus in the sea, the octopus does not really feel if it has eaten the bait, but if it has memorized, it can quickly know if the octopus has eaten the bait.

Ricky pulled the bait, and sure enough, he had caught a medium octopus.

He himself was very surprised and amazed by his abilities.

It turned out that his skills from a few years ago had not just disappeared. Ricky had also read books on fishing tips while locked up in that hellish place. He didn't think all his past knowledge and experience could be used today. Thankfully, Ricky had learned all sorts of things as a child.

The old man who was waiting for Ricky clapped his hands, "You're doing great! It hasn't been five minutes since you were standing there and you caught it."

[You caught an octopus!]

[You get level B beginner cooking skill]

[You must cook the octopus to complete the mission]

Ricky smiled proudly, then put the octopus away, "I'm going to fish some more octopus, do you want me to teach you?" Asked Ricky, who was happy to have caught an octopus.

"Of course, I'd be happy if you taught me, but what's the point of getting so many octopuses?" Asked the old man.

"I'll cook it later in the apartment, if you want to come taste the cooking, you can come to my apartment on the eleventh floor."

The old man nodded, "okay, I can come with my granddaughter, right?"

Ricky smiled widely, in his mind, the old man's granddaughter was a cute and adorable little girl.

"Of course, you can bring your granddaughter, sir!"

"Just call me Robert, or Rob, so we can get along."

"Very well, Mr. Rob."

They spent a few hours fishing, until Rob managed to get two octopuses. In total, they got about six octopuses. They didn't get them from just one place, they moved from place to place.

Rob gave all his octopus to Ricky to cook, of course Ricky was very happy.

But after he arrived safely at the apartment, he realized.

"What should I cook this octopus like?" Ricky muttered in confusion.

Then Ricky remembered that he had read recipes when he was locked up, because he was so hungry, but he had no appetite. Even though rice and fried chicken were prepared for him at that time, after drinking the poison, all the flavors were very graphic to him and made him nauseous.

Ricky remembered once he read a recipe for octopus in oyster sauce.

"Is there a supermarket nearby?" Ricky asked.

The system screen turned into a map, and showed Ricky the nearest supermarket, which turned out to be about two hundred meters from the apartment building.

"It's close enough, I'll shop for ingredients there."

After preparing the octopus, and storing it in the refrigerator, Ricky took a shower so as not to look strange and be seen by people again, because Ricky was uncomfortable.

"You said you'd give me a free set of toiletries?" he asked.

A large box came out and Ricky opened it.

The system explained what was in the box.

[That's a liquid soap that nourishes the skin and gives the body a fresh fragrance, used with a soft puff]

[Then it's a shampoo to nourish the hair and scalp, leaving your hair strong, healthy and shiny]

"Will my hair color change after using the shampoo?" Ricky asked.

[No, it's a shampoo, not hair paint]

Ricky was disappointed by the system's answer, "well, then what is this, toothpaste right?"

[That's right, it's toothpaste that will clean your teeth and make your teeth strong, all the problems in your mouth will disappear after you use the toothpaste, use it with a toothbrush]

"I think your explanation is too much." said Ricky, he had already taken off his clothes and was wearing a towel that he also got from the big box.

[It's not excessive, just try it on and feel the difference]

"Then what's that?" Ricky pointed to some other items that the system had not yet explained.

[That's body lotion, use it after you shower to protect your body from UV rays]

[The one in the round container is sunscreen cream, use it on your face before going out, so your face doesn't get sunburned]

[Then the colorful round thing is a bathbomb for soaking, use it to remove toxins and dirt from your body]

What interested Ricky the most was the bathbomb.

"I'm going to take a bath now."