The merchant ship sailed into the distance, water rippling, and fish followed in its wake.
Swish.
A seagull swooped down, plunged into the water, grabbed a sea fish, and soared back into the sky.
"I'm hungry."
Xia Qiu felt an intense hunger in his belly. It had only been two hours since they left the harbor, covering about twelve or thirteen nautical miles.
At this speed, sailboats typically moved at six or seven knots, much slower than he could swim.
His digestion was very fast. Even though he had eaten before leaving, it was already completely digested.
"I need to eat."
Xia Qiu looked at the surrounding sea fish, which were swimming alongside him and the merchant ship.
In the ocean, some small fish followed ships and large fish, such as sharks or whales.
The main reason was to use their large bodies for cover and to scavenge for scraps left over from their prey.
Many of these small fish were solitary or separated from their schools.
They would often follow for a distance before dispersing.
Seagulls, attracted by the presence of sea fish, would also often circle above ships, waiting for an opportunity to hunt.
Xia Qiu wasn't interested in hunting them; they were too small, not even enough to fill a gap in his teeth.
Xia Qiu dove straight down.
Deep.
The water here was already quite deep, at least several hundred meters. The end of his vision was just a vast, dark abyss.
Xia Qiu wanted to keep up with the sea ship, so he didn't dive too deep.
"There."
Xia Qiu's gaze locked onto a group of fish swimming freely in the distance. They were silvery white and slender.
They gathered together, swimming left ahead for a while, then right ahead, sometimes swirling with the currents, forming a silver-white vortex.
Xia Qiu charged directly at them, opening his mouth wide and taking a bite.
Splash.
The fish scattered, but seven or eight were still swallowed by Xia Qiu, crushed, and consumed.
Too few.
These fish weren't even enough for a single mouthful.
Xia Qiu didn't chase the fleeing fish. He figured the energy expended in pursuit would outweigh the energy they provided.
Xia Qiu searched for prey elsewhere. There were many schools of fish, but most were small and not worth catching.
Xia Qiu looked at the surrounding sea surface and continued to dive. The light around him began to dim.
He reached a depth of a hundred meters and continued swimming forward, but he was always aware of the ship above him.
Xia Qiu possessed a lateral line system and mechanoreception, allowing him to sense vibrations caused by fish or animals in the water up to six hundred meters away.
The merchant ship was large, and its vibrations during travel were even greater, extending up to two hundred meters. Xia Qiu had no fear of the ship leaving his range of perception.
Both his lateral line system and mechanoreception developed after he started feeding; they were evolved abilities.
Many of his special evolutions came from the creatures he preyed upon.
Therefore, these two abilities were largely acquired from sharks. He had eaten dozens of sharks during his growth, and he had evolved corresponding abilities.
Of course, he gained more than just these from sharks. For instance, his molars. He had multiple rows of teeth, originally all sharp, but after several molts, the back ones transformed into molars.
His sense of smell also greatly improved, becoming his fastest-developing ability.
Sharks have a keen sense of smell, capable of detecting blood at a concentration of one in a million. They could even detect one gram of amino acid in ten thousand tons of seawater.
His sense of smell was incredibly strong, allowing him to easily track injured creatures.
Xia Qiu swam forward. After he left, the small fish he had scattered regrouped.
After swimming for a while, Xia Qiu suddenly noticed a massive fish appear not far above him.
"Hmm?"
Xia Qiu slowly ascended, locking onto his target.
The fish was about fifteen meters long, slender, and spindle-shaped. Its body was covered in black scales, its head slightly flattened, but its mouth was enormous, filled with rows of fine teeth.
Excellent.
Xia Qiu locked onto his target and immediately charged.
The sea fish sensed Xia Qiu's approach. Although it was only three meters shorter than him, when it came to fish of the same species, a fifteen-meter-long one and an eighteen-meter-long one had a weight difference of over ten tons.
Its body was narrow and elongated, weighing even less than Xia Qiu at fifteen meters, perhaps only twenty-five tons.
Xia Qiu was now around fifty tons, so the difference between them was significant.
Xia Qiu's arrival put immense pressure on the sea fish, and it chose to flee almost instantly.
Run?
Can you escape?
Xia Qiu twisted his body, his massive fins propelling him. He had pelvic and anal fins, unlike many other fish, which naturally made him much faster.
Xia Qiu quickly caught up to the other fish and lunged, opening his mouth to bite.
Swish.
But the next moment, the fish veered left, and Xia Qiu bit empty air.
So agile.
Xia Qiu pursued again, the distance closing rapidly. He got behind it and suddenly dove.
The fish swam left once more, but the instant it turned, Xia Qiu, anticipating its move, turned his head and bit down.
Snap.
Xia Qiu bit the sea fish in its midsection, tearing off a large portion of its body.
The sea fish thrashed a few times before going still.
Xia Qiu immediately pounced, tearing into the flesh and swallowing it greedily.
Xia Qiu decided to eat his fill this time, consuming nearly three tons of food, which would ensure he wouldn't be hungry for the next two hours.
After finishing, Xia Qiu swam towards the surface and caught up with the ship.
And after he left, other fish swarmed in, surrounding the dead sea fish.
...
"That fish is back."
Marcel, perched on the ship's railing, shouted towards the distance.
"Is it? Looks like it's fallen in love with our ship," a voice called from afar.
Marcel turned his head, staring at the sea fish below. He was curious why the fish was following the ship.
He had been on ships since he was very young and had seen dolphins, whales, and sharks follow ships for a while.
But most would only follow for a short distance before leaving.
This fish, however, had been following for three hours. What was it trying to do?
Marcel watched the sea fish with great curiosity and interest.
But at that moment, a voice suddenly rang out from the mast, "Pirate ship, a pirate ship is heading this way."
Pirates?
As the voice spoke, everyone felt a knot of unease in their stomachs, but their actions remained calm. Each of them had encountered pirates before.
As long as they handed over their wealth, most pirates wouldn't kill. As for kidnapping, with no valuable targets on board and belonging to a large merchant guild, they generally wouldn't bother.
So, they prepared methodically. Some went to notify the captain, some raised the sails, and some prepared to steer away.
Meanwhile, Joezer raised his telescope and looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Did you see? What pirate crew is it?"
The captain emerged from the cabin, asking loudly.
Joezer's face turned grim as he replied, "It's the Dominic Pirates."
Upon hearing Joezer's words, everyone's expression darkened. Marcel, in particular, showed a look of anger and hatred.
The Dominic Pirates were the ones who had killed Marcel's father.
Fierce and greedy.
Their chances of survival were slim.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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