Chapter Thirty-Five: Tiger Shark

The floating log slipped smoothly into the water, but quickly became unsettled.

The summer sea was cool and surging, like a beguiling, aloof beauty whose true thoughts were impossible to decipher.

“Not bad at all!” Liu Quan couldn’t help but praise as he watched Qin Zhen calmly floating in the water, showing none of the flailing panic of a novice. “For someone’s first time, that’s impressive!”

He had expected Qin Zhen to react like every other beginner—panicking at the first touch of water, gulping down more than a few mouthfuls in distress.

Yet, to his surprise, the young man swam with remarkable ease.

“Benefactor, have you learned to swim before?” Li Erniu asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.

“I’ve never seen him in the water,” Liu Quan replied, equally puzzled.

His thoughts were troubled. The boy had no background in carpentry, yet handled the complex textile machine as if born to it; now, his maiden swim was smoother than Liu Quan himself could manage.

Could this young man truly be a genius?

“Qin Zhen is floating!” Shan Hai shouted anxiously from the shore. “Is he drowning? We have to rescue him!”

Li Han shot Shan Hai a look as if he were the fool: “Is it possible, just maybe, that Zhen is backstroking?”

The villagers often called Li Han dull-witted, but he thought Shan Hai was even slower.

Shan Hai felt awkward—after all, he couldn’t swim himself and knew nothing about it.

Watching Qin Zhen ride the waves with such ease, Shan Hai felt a spark of envy and longing.

“Everyone, hold tight to the rope. They’re swimming out far,” Li Han reminded those left on shore.

The rope was their lifeline, leading Qin Zhen and the others back. If anything went wrong, they could be hauled in.

Out at sea, Qin Zhen and the group had already covered more than two hundred meters and had a long way to go before reaching the channel between the cliffs.

Taking safety into account, Qin Zhen halted their progress and signaled for everyone to cast the net.

The thousand-fathom silk net was heavy enough on its own, no stones needed; once thrown, it sank straight down.

“Wait a bit,” Qin Zhen said, not rushing the shore crew to haul the net in.

By his estimation, the seabed lay at least two or three hundred meters below. The silk net would take time to sink and spread out; only after it was fully extended would they catch the maximum number of fish.

“Damn it, something’s biting me!” Liu Quan’s curse drew everyone’s attention.

He scrambled onto the floating log, revealing a blue sea fish clamped firmly onto his rear.

Liu Quan wrenched the fish free, and a faint trickle of blood seeped from the wound.

“Whoa, that’s a fierce fish!” Li Erniu exclaimed excitedly. “The fiercer the fish, the more there are here—I’ve heard they fight for food and space! Benefactor, this haul could make us rich!”

It was the first time Qin Zhen had heard such a theory.

“Liu, as long as your eggs aren’t busted, you’ll live!” someone joked.

“If they were, you couldn’t please your wife!” More laughter erupted as Liu Quan angrily strung the fish onto a rope and tied it to the log.

“Damn it, tonight I’m making soup out of you,” he muttered.

Judging that it was time, Qin Zhen waved to the shore, signaling to haul in the net.

Li Han and the others sprang into action. Dozens of people chanted in unison, their voices booming.

“Let’s head back,” Qin Zhen said, starting towards the shore.

Just then, Li Erniu, who had been keeping a watchful eye on the water, suddenly pointed toward the channel and shouted in alarm.

“Everyone, look over there—what is that?”

On the surging blue sea, a pair of enormous black dorsal fins cut through the waves, heading swiftly toward the raft. Beneath the surface, a massive, menacing shadow thrashed with terrifying energy.

“What a huge fish!” Liu Quan marveled. “Never in my life have I seen one so big! If we could catch that, it’d fetch a fortune!”

“Could it be the Sea Dragon King?” someone muttered anxiously. “I’ve heard tales of man-eating Dragon Kings along these coasts. All the fish are its subjects, and when people catch too many, the Dragon King appears to drag the fishermen away!”

The words sent a tremor of fear through the group.

In such a superstitious society, anything mysterious was branded as supernatural.

Qin Zhen squinted into the distance. When he finally made out the distinctive shape of the dorsal fin, a chill ran through him.

“That’s no damn Dragon King—it’s a shark!”

He had been so caught up in fishing, he’d forgotten: the sea was home not only to fish for the taking, but also countless savage predators.

Sharks were one of them.

Even near the shore, sharks hunted, though they usually didn’t come in so close—something must have drawn it in.

Qin Zhen’s eyes snapped to Liu Quan, whose blood was steadily trickling into the sea.

A shark’s senses can detect blood from kilometers away.

He screamed, voice raw, “Everyone, onto the raft! Now!”

In the water, facing a shark meant almost certain death.

At his shout, everyone scrambled for the floating log.

The shark drew closer and closer. Qin Zhen instinctively reached for his waist—only to find his crossbow was back on shore.

“What’s that?” someone on the beach cried out.

Li Han scrambled up a tree, squinting out to sea. All he could see was a line of white surf racing toward them.

The next moment, a colossal and terrifying shape burst from the water, nearly capsizing the raft.

“Holy hell!” Li Han tumbled from the tree, shouting desperately as he scrambled to his feet, “The Dragon King is here! Don’t just stand there! Pull them in, now!”

Out at sea, the force of the impact sent the log rocking violently. Several men lost their footing and plunged into the water.

Only then did Qin Zhen see it clearly: it was a tiger shark.

A real monster, over four meters long and weighing half a ton—a true tyrant of the ocean.

With a thunderous crash, the raft was struck again, nearly splintering apart. Qin Zhen and the others were thrown into the sea.

“Swim!” Qin Zhen roared, desperately striking out for the shore.

He had the courage to fight a bear on land, but he wouldn’t dare battle a tiger shark in its own domain.

In the water, the shark reigned supreme.

A bloodcurdling scream rang out behind him. Blood fanned across the waves as the tiger shark sliced through the group, its jaws clamped around half a man’s body.

On shore, the villagers hauled frantically on the rope, but the raging sea clung to Qin Zhen and the others like a mire, making every stroke a struggle.

“I don’t want to die…” a terrified wail was abruptly cut short as the tiger shark’s massive form tore through the group once more—another familiar face lost to its gaping maw.

“We’ll never make it back!” Liu Quan’s eyes were wild with despair.

The hundred meters to shore seemed an impassable chasm, separating life from death.

The tiger shark circled again, and this time, its cavernous, tooth-filled jaws were aimed straight at Liu Quan, who lagged behind.