The research team returned to the scientific vessel aboard the subrsible.
“Sixth Sister, how was the diving suit I gave you? Pretty amazing, right?” Lin Chen hurried up to Ji Shuiyao the mont he saw her appear on deck, grinning with anticipation.
Ji Shuiyao barely spared him a glance. “It felt the sa as my regular suit. Nothing special.”
With that, she turned and walked off to handle her work, leaving Lin Chen frozen in place, utterly baffled. How could that be?
【Ding! Host successfully swapped out Lin Chen’s Super Diving Suit, causing his attempt to impress the female lead Ji Shuiyao to fail. You’ve gained 800 Villain Points. Lin Chen’s Protagonist Halo -40, Host’s Villain Halo 40!】
On the deck, standing quietly among the other exploration personnel, Wang Haoran received the system notification and chuckled inwardly.
Ji Shuiyao stepped up and addressed the assembled team. “Let’s report the results of our exploration.”
“A Zone is secure.”
“B Zone is clear.”
“C Zone confird safe.”
One report after another ca in, each one more encouraging than the last. Ji Shuiyao’s usually stern face softened with a rare smile. If the zones were safe, they could begin biological specin collection as soon as tomorrow.
During her dive, she had observed several marine organisms that didn’t match any currently docunted species. If they could retrieve those specins and analyze them, the academic breakthroughs would be massive.
But just as her heart surged with excitent, a discordant voice interrupted.
“P Zone, dangerous,” Wang Haoran reported calmly.
Her expression tightened. “Explain.”
“There’s a shark patrolling the area.”
Ji Shuiyao visibly relaxed. Sharks followed certain behavioral patterns, and if they weren’t hungry, they typically didn’t attack. Even if they did, the team had high-grade tranquilizer rifles—more than enough to deter them.
“What’s a shark got to do with anything? We’ve been diving for over eight years and run into dozens. We’ve even caught a few. Look at him getting scared over nothing,” one of the divers mocked.
The others joined in, laughing boisterously.
Wang Haoran smiled coldly. “Have any of you seen a shark that’s twenty ters long?”
The laughter stopped. Silence fell like a sheet of cold seawater.
Ji Shuiyao frowned. “The largest whale shark ever recorded doesn’t exceed thirteen ters. Are you sure about what you saw?”
“I’m not a marine biologist. I can’t tell you the species. But I can tell you for sure—what I saw was over twenty ters long,” Wang Haoran said evenly. “My recomndation is to pick a different location for specin collection.”
Ji Shuiyao hesitated. This zone was the safest they’d found in a sea filled with hidden whirlpools and jagged reefs. Finding a new one would cost days, maybe weeks. But if what he said was true…
“Visibility wasn’t great. You probably misjudged what you saw,” soone offered.
“Exactly. There aren’t any known shark species that size.”
“Well, except the galodon…”
“Co on, that thing’s been extinct for millions of years.”
The murmurs swirled across the deck like ocean spray.
“We stick to the original plan,” Ji Shuiyao decided after a mont’s deliberation.
She was decisive by nature. Wang Haoran wasn’t a trained diver, let alone a marine specialist. A size estimate mistake was entirely plausible.
And besides, if that shark really was over twenty ters, it could only be a galodon. But those had died out long ago.
“Alright, show’s over—ti to eat,” soone said, and the crew dispersed with laughs and chatter trailing behind them.
The next day.
The subrsible descended once again. This ti, the full sampling team followed, fully equipped with gear and protective suits. Altogether, thirty-five people were involved.
Ji Shuiyao decided to split everyone into pairs, each assigned to one of the seventeen previously explored zones for biological collection.
During the group assignnt—
“Miss Ji, pair with you,” Wang Haoran offered with a smile.
“I need soone trained to work alongside . Not soone who’ll slow down,” she replied without hesitation.
Shrugging, Wang Haoran chuckled. “Then good luck out there, Miss Ji.”
Once the teams were finalized, collection operations began. Because of the odd number of participants, one group had three mbers—and Ji Shuiyao was in that group.
She ensured they were equipped with the vessel’s best weaponry, and then they headed straight for P Zone—the area where the shark had been sighted.
But when they arrived, the waters were strangely calm. Not even a large fish was in sight.
“Told you that guy was just trying to scare us.”
“Yeah, probably didn’t want to do any real work, so he cooked up a story.”
“Good thing Vice Director Ji didn’t fall for it.”
“Vice Director Ji’s too smart to be tricked.”
“We should definitely give that kid a piece of our mind when we’re back on the ship.”
“Hell yeah. He needs a good beating.”
The chatter from her two team mbers was incessant, but Ji Shuiyao said nothing. Her brows furrowed as she swept the area with her searchlights.
Her instincts told her sothing wasn’t right.
She’d studied the fish density in the other regions yesterday. Based on the broader ecology of the surrounding waters, the near-total absence of marine life here was… unnatural.
Could it be—
“Get out. Now.” Her voice sliced through the water like a signal flare.
Both divers froze as she barked into the underwater communicator. “Everyone, stop collection. Return to the subrsible imdiately!”
The command left the others stunned.
“Vice Director Ji, what’s going on?”
“The fish population here is too low. It’s possible they were—” Ji Shuiyao began, but her words trailed off. Her eyes locked onto sothing massive, and for a long second, she could only stare.
Then she pointed sharply behind her teammates. “Look. Behind you.”
They turned—and went deathly still.
“Is that… a galodon?!”
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