I’m No Longer Human After Being Blacklisted – CH12

Chapter 12 – Black Star Pearls Delivered by Express Delivery

Lin Jiu rinsed the fish roe as quickly as possible, gently tearing away the membrane to let the bright red roe flow out naturally. He carefully and swiftly rubbed the roe, allowing the uniformly sized roe to pass through the sieve and into the next layer. Any roe that didn’t meet the standards was filtered out. This step was crucial; no roe could be damaged. The roe that passed the screening continued to be rinsed.

Lin Jiu manually spread out the roe for a thorough inspection. The sieve moved the roe forward through a high-temperature waterfall to ensure each piece was washed with hot water. The originally bright red roe turned into a translucent pomegranate red. The sieve continued moving forward through the scanning area, where a precision mechanical arm picked out any roe that didn’t meet specifications. Only the roe that passed the scanning area was considered suitable for making caviar.

The qualified roe gathered in the sieve, starting the most important step.

The amount of Demon Sea salt directly affects the taste and flavor of the caviar. Fortunately, Lin Jiu, with his demon-hunting chef skills, precisely measured the salt. He mixed it with the roe to ensure it was well-seasoned. Gently shaking the sieve allowed the roe to drain. Then he took out a shell-shaped box from the kitchen tools, packed the caviar into the boxes, and placed them in the refrigerator.

The Ultra-Intelligent Kitchen’s equipment was extremely advanced. The refrigerator, as large as a wall, was divided into different compartments, each independently adjustable. Lin Jiu set the refrigerator to the optimal environment for storing caviar and set it to “constant time,” ensuring that whenever the caviar was taken out, it would be as fresh and delicious as when it was first stored.

The entire process took less than ten minutes, ensuring the freshest ingredients.

The remaining Stone Skull Fish and the unqualified roe were recycled by the system, earning him 2 Demon Value points.

After finishing the caviar production, Lin Jiu was exhausted. He returned to the reef, turned off the Ultra-Intelligent Kitchen, and didn’t go back into the water. He used 5 Demon Value points to return home.

After a comfortable hot bath, Lin Jiu collapsed into bed.

The trip to the Demon Sea had completely drained him, leaving him utterly exhausted.

Once well-rested, Lin Jiu got up to deal with the large Black Star Clam in the Ultra-Intelligent Kitchen.

The Black Star Clam was so large that its meat was thick and succulent, even more so than the flesh of two one-meter-long silver-threaded fish. Lin Jiu didn’t expect to finish it all himself. He extracted the pearls, cleaned the internal organs, and chilled the clam meat for storage. With the “constant time” setting, the clam meat would remain as fresh as when it was first stored.

The shell and internal organs were recycled by the system, earning him 1 Demon Value point, which was higher than the recycling value for a small Black Star Clam shell.

The large Black Star Clam yielded quite a few Black Star Pearls, each one quite substantial. Lin Jiu looked at the bowls full of Black Star Pearls and felt a bit troubled.

The largest wild sea pearls on Earth are almost all irregularly shaped. Although the diameter of these Black Star Pearls doesn’t compare to those irregular pearls, each Black Star Pearl is perfectly round, easily surpassing even the famous Carlotta Pearls.

Lin Jiu’s difficulty lay in choosing the best Black Star Pearl for Si Xu, while also fearing it might cause trouble. He sifted through the bowls of Black Star Pearls and finally found one with a diameter of 100 mm. Although this pearl was on the smaller side among its kind and not the largest among Earth’s wild pearls, it was top-notch in terms of perfect roundness.

He decided on this one and moved the other pearls to the storage area. Since he didn’t know how to properly care for the pearls, he placed them in the time-constant cabinet for preservation.

After packaging the Black Star Pearl, Lin Jiu went out to send it to Lord Si by courier, which could be delivered the same day within the city. After sending the parcel, he went to the old street to check on his shop’s renovations.

*

Jiang Ge repeatedly called, making dozens of calls each day, but Lin Jiu’s phone remained turned off.

To find Lin Jiu, Jiang Ge even contacted “Creation Star” and, through connections, reached the only available person, Ling Chen, to ask if he knew where Lin Jiu was and how to find him.

Ling Chen, unaware of Jiang Ge’s identity, merely offered to help search. That night, he went to Lin Jiu’s house, but there was no response to the doorbell and the phone was off.

Ling Chen went several days in a row but received no answer, confirming that Lin Jiu was likely not home.

It was as if Lin Jiu had vanished into thin air; no one could find or contact him.

Jiang Ge was anxious to find Lin Jiu mainly because Si Xu’s condition had worsened repeatedly. Everyone thought Si Xu had recovered, but after being without silver-threaded fish for five days, he was once again unable to eat and had to resume receiving nutritional infusions.

The families were frantic, while Lin Jiu remained unreachable.

As soon as Manager Wen Qin entered, he asked, “Have you managed to get through by phone?”

Jiang Ge looked dejected. “No, still no answer.”

Wen Qin walked over to the sofa and handed Si Xu a courier box. “A fan sent you a gift. Take a look.”

Si Xu, who was dealing with documents, replied, “Just return it the way it came; there’s no need for me to see it.”

He hadn’t gone to the hospital this time because of the last incident. Reporters were constantly watching the hospital, hoping to get a big scoop. Since his problem required nutritional infusions, it made no difference whether he was at home or in the hospital.

“This one is a bit different. It’s labeled as a Black Star Pearl, delivered within the city, and it didn’t include a return address.”

“Is this a fake?” Jiang Ge took the parcel and saw a handwritten note on the box that read, “Benefits of Black Star Pearls… Wearing a Black Star Pearl can make the skin smooth, delicate, and elastic; it can deepen sleep, eliminate fatigue, and keep the body full of energy; long-term wear can prolong life, delay aging, and solve various skin problems…” It sounded almost too good to be true.

Jiang Ge opened the box and when he saw the Black Star Pearl inside, he exclaimed, “Damn! This is definitely fake! Look at the size!”

Ever since the actress Hua Xian, wearing the Starry Sky Series from Blue Duke Jewelry, overshadowed Han Shiqing’s “Celestial Maiden Series” at the Golden Drama Awards, Black Star Pearls had become incredibly popular.

Besides the unique starry brilliance, the key factor was the benefits!

Hua Xian, now in her forties, had skin that was tender and smooth, radiant and translucent. In a short time, she had even signed endorsement deals with major skincare brands, causing envy among countless female stars. Unfortunately, the “Starry Sky Series” was a limited edition, and even if one had money, it was impossible to buy.

The three largest Black Star Pearls were too big to be made into earrings, pendants, or rings, so they were ultimately designed by Ji Nanzhou into bracelets. The unique Black Star Pearl bracelet looked elegant and sophisticated.

The elderly Mrs. Ji wore hers everywhere, her skin glowing and her facial wrinkles diminished, making the wealthy ladies of City A envious. They all wished to follow Mrs. Ji’s example, hoping to get at least one piece, but the “Starry Sky Series” was simply too rare.

The Black Star Pearl given to Mrs. Si was also made into a bracelet, which she loved and wore every day.

Now, many people were imitating Black Star Pearls, claiming their pearls were authentic. To prevent consumer deception, Blue Duke Jewelry announced that there were only 30 genuine Black Star Pearls on the market, each with a certificate from Blue Duke Jewelry.

Because of this, the price of Black Star Pearls had been driven higher and higher.

“I opened it and saw starlight in the brilliance. I couldn’t tell if it was real or not, so I brought it for you to look at,” Wen Qin, who had been called back to the company by his assistant, brought the gift to Si Xu.

Jiang Ge examined the pearl in the light and said in surprise, “There is indeed starlight! So is this real or not? A pearl this large—if it is real, how much must it be worth?!”

Jiang Ge handed the Black Star Pearl to Si Xu, who examined it closely. The brilliance was colorful, and the starlight floating inside was very noticeable.

The appearance seemed too genuine to be fake, but was such a large, perfectly round pearl really possible? Even if it were, it would be rare to see one, and this one had come by courier—what if it got lost?

Si Xu thought for a moment, took out his phone, dialed the number, and put it on speakerphone. He placed the suspicious Black Star Pearl back into the box, feeling helpless at the shabby paper box.

To their surprise, the call went through.

“Hello, who is this?” a clean, pleasant male voice came through.

The three of them were stunned.

Si Xu didn’t expect the call to connect. “Hello, I’m Si Xu…”

“Beep beep beep.”

The call was disconnected.

Si Xu: “…”

“Ahhhhh—Don’t hang up!!!!!!” Jiang Ge shouted in despair, realizing too late that he had missed the chance to speak!

*

Lin Jiu settled the final payment with the renovation company and only then remembered he hadn’t turned on his phone. As soon as he powered it up, he was bombarded by numerous missed call notifications, and his phone vibrated incessantly.

At that moment, a call came in. Lin Jiu answered it, only to hear the caller claim to be Si Xu.

Without a doubt, it was a scammer—Si Xu would not have a fan’s phone number.

Once the phone stopped vibrating, Lin Jiu checked his missed calls: Jiang Ge had called him no fewer than fifty times each day; Ling Chen had called a few times as well; the renovation company had called twice; and there was also a dozen calls from an unknown number. Other than that, there were no additional calls.

Just as Lin Jiu was about to return Jiang Ge’s call, Jiang Ge’s phone call came in.

“Why have you called me so many times? Is there something you need?”

In this world, there are few people Lin Jiu cares about, and there are almost no people who care about him in return. His agent wouldn’t contact him unless it was work-related, nor would they call the police to find him.

He hadn’t expected to receive so many missed calls after disappearing for more than ten days.

On the other end, Jiang Ge nearly cried out, “What’s going on? Why is your phone always off? If you don’t show up soon, I’m going to call the police.”

Lin Jiu paused, “I went to stock up. Is there something you need?”

“Stock up?” Jiang Ge hesitated, then tried to get back to the main topic. “I need your help. Do you still have any Silver Carps?”

Lin Jiu replied, “Yes, but it’s not for sale.”

Jiang Ge: “…”

Jiang Ge glanced at Si Xu and Wen Qin, almost begging, “No matter the price, just name it.”

Lin Jiu: “It’s not about the money. I’ve opened a store, so I’m keeping it for myself.”

Jiang Ge, excited, stuttered, “Wh-where? Where is your store? We want to come and eat.”

As long as they could get to eat Silver Carps, it didn’t matter if they bought it themselves or went to the store.