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墨書 Inktalez
The incident happened too suddenly. I barely had time to turn my body aside when the edge of the Toolbox scraped against my face and flew past, landing on the deck. Ignoring the burning pain on my cheek, I quickly looked towards the stern: Oh no! The stern's barrier had been smashed to pieces! The Toolbox lay shattered on the deck, its parts scattered everywhere. I hurriedly grabbed the Wrench and stood up.
A sound echoed beneath my feet, and I looked down to see water! The ship was taking on water; a large gash had opened at the stern, and the lowest point of the breach was nearly at the same level as the reservoir's surface. As the water rippled, it flowed in!
"Company Commander! We're taking on water!" Sheng Xiong shouted.
"I know!" I replied, my eyes fixed on the surface of the water behind us. Taking on water wasn't the main issue; the biggest problem was that this monster had clearly found a breakthrough! I couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if that creature leaped out of the water and crashed down on us with its massive body—would we be capsized?
"Watch Old Lady!" I called back, stealing a glance. Indeed, having Old Lady around made me quite anxious. It wasn't that I didn't care; it was just that without her, I wouldn't feel so restrained and would have one less person to keep an eye on.
In that fleeting moment when I turned back, I saw Old Lady, though frightened, not curled up but clinging to the ship's railing and shouting "Cat!"
"Old Lady must be scared silly!" was my first reaction.
"Company Commander! Look!" Xuanhua suddenly pointed behind me. I quickly turned around—oh no! A high ridge was clearly visible on the surface of the water, moving rapidly toward us! I knew this was the monster preparing to launch a deadly attack; it wouldn't let us stay safely aboard!
I understood that compared to their oceanic relatives, most freshwater fish appeared weaker in size and weight. However, in those murky rivers or lakes lived some enormous fish, while deep underwater lurked countless terrifying predators. They had evaded hunters, including humans, time and again and had become excellent hunters themselves, surviving in harsh environments and gradually becoming kings of their rivers or lakes. I didn't know if this creature living in the reservoir was a freshwater fish, but it was undoubtedly a carnivorous beast!
Seeing it still about ten meters away, I couldn't afford to think about the consequences any longer. Instead of passively accepting a collision and falling into the water together, it would be better to take initiative and strike while it was unprepared!
" Sheng Xiong, give me a life jacket!" I declared decisively without time for explanation.
Sheng Xiong hesitated for a moment but quickly stripped off his jacket and handed it to me. I swiftly put on the life jacket and secured it tightly before shouting to them, "I don't know how long this will hold; you all need to prepare for the worst!"
With that, I took two steps toward the back of the ship, keeping my eyes locked on the approaching ripples and the dorsal fin already breaking through the surface. "Company Commander! What are you doing?!" Jinghe shouted in terror from behind. "Aren't you afraid of water?!"
I wasn't afraid of water; however, if I didn't jump in voluntarily, I'd be knocked into it anyway. Fighting unprepared would leave me with little chance of survival! Brothers, pray for us all! Let's hope we don't perish here!
I silently chanted as I gripped the Wrench tightly. Bang! Another dull thud echoed! The monster was clearly using its back to ram against the stern again; damage increased at the rear! Water began gushing into the ship!
As I watched the monster twist around to swim back, my eyes lit up! At that moment, disregarding everyone's gasps behind me and without thinking about shedding my clothes anymore, I leaped into action—splashing into the water right onto its back! Fortunately, since it was submerged beneath the surface, my lower half sank while my upper half remained above!
The first sensation was: cold! As soon as I hit the water, a chill seeped from outside in—it sent shivers down my spine! Who would have thought June waters could be so frigid?
The second sensation was: slippery! Whatever substance I touched felt slimy—was it mucus? It felt slippery enough that I almost lost my grip. With both hands clutching onto its dorsal fin first, I stabilized myself by grabbing onto its base with my left hand before raising my right hand with the Wrench ready to strike down on its back!
At that moment, the monster sensed someone had landed on its back. It suddenly made a sharp turn, and I nearly got thrown off! In a panic, I clung tightly to its dorsal fin. The creature's back was wide, and as I rode it, my legs formed a ten-degree angle, which was quite a stretch!
Despite its size, the monster was surprisingly agile. In just a short time, it had already spun in circles several times in the water. Realizing it couldn't shake me off, it suddenly plunged downwards into the depths!
I felt myself being yanked down! Before I could take a deep breath, my head was instantly submerged! My hat was knocked off by the buoyancy! Out of instinct, I didn't let go right away. Once dragged underwater, I noticed that everything beneath the surface appeared hazy and unclear. Looking down at the monster, I couldn't see its front; all I could make out was its massive head, as thick as the front of a car, with two thick tentacles drifting around it. The body behind its neck bulged even more, feeling as solid as a truck! Looking further down, I couldn't see the bottom; the dim water felt like an abyss that instilled fear.
At that moment, I could clearly feel the buoyancy of my life jacket. However, it was evidently no match for the monster's downward force; I was still being pulled deeper!
As a land-dwelling creature, it was hard for us to comprehend what life in water truly entailed. Especially for someone like me who couldn't swim; experiencing it underwater was even more challenging. Underwater, my senses seemed to blur significantly; I couldn't see clearly or hear anything, and my mind felt somewhat foggy. For a brief moment, I felt dazed, almost as if dreaming. I had never tested how long a person could hold their breath underwater; being suddenly dragged down made me realize I was close to suffocating. Reluctantly, I had to let go with my hands and kicked fiercely against the monster's body. With the buoyancy of my life jacket propelling me upwards, I shot towards the surface!
Soon enough, I heard a splash beside me as all my senses returned to normal. I spat out water and gasped for air when I heard someone shouting, “Company Commander! Company Commander! Come here!” It was Xuanhua calling out. I knew that staying put would only lead to death; once the monster shook me off, it would quickly launch an attack from below. At that point, survival would be nearly impossible!
Not knowing how to swim, I desperately paddled with my arms and kicked my legs towards the Speedboat. Thankfully it wasn't too far—just over ten meters away—I still had hope. I wedged the Wrench between my life jacket and camouflage gear and pushed myself harder.
“I’m coming!” I heard Jinghe shout from the boat!
I knew it would come; every second counted! At this point, I was less than ten meters from the Speedboat—just a little more! My heart raced with determination—I could do this!
Just then, Sheng Xiong shouted in alarm, “What the hell! Another one is coming!” I didn’t have time to ponder what that meant because I felt an unusual disturbance in the water behind me—the monster was closing in!
I used every ounce of strength to propel myself towards the Speedboat while kicking frantically. This was better than getting bitten on both legs! Only five or six meters left! Hurry!
“Ah!”
“Company Commander!”
At that moment, a sudden surge of water erupted beside me. Before I could react, a powerful force shoved me to the right; even through my life jacket, my left side throbbed painfully!
What was that? I rolled over in the water several times before stabilizing myself and saw huge splashes erupting where I'd just been. Whirlpools formed on the surface as if the entire water body were trembling—where was the monster? This puzzled me greatly.
Before I could gather my thoughts again, another violent impact struck my chest and sent me flying several meters away. “Company Commander! Get up here!” Sheng Xiong shouted.
“There are two monsters fighting!” Xuanhua called out.
Two monsters?! Confusion washed over me; however dangerous it might be underwater right now made me reluctant to stay any longer. The turbulent area seemed to be moving toward me intentionally or not, sending chills down my spine. Without hesitation, I swam towards the Speedboat!
Without the monsters chasing us, I managed to scramble onto the side of the disabled Speedboat. "Company Commander! Hurry!" Sheng Xiong reached out his hand to me. I grabbed his hand, and with a few others helping, they pulled me up. Before I could catch my breath, I climbed up to the cockpit of the Speedboat to cover it. From there, I had a better view and wanted to figure out what had saved me.
Not looking was one thing, but seeing made my heart race. Underwater, there were two massive shadows. One was the monster from earlier, while the other was something else, measuring about four or five meters long. Judging by its shape, it was definitely a fish, but I couldn't tell if it was a Grass Carp or an Azure Carp; it just felt like it resembled a fish more than the previous monster!
The two giant creatures collided and bit at each other beneath the surface, with large swathes of red continuously rising. I couldn't tell whose blood it was as they entangled in battle. "I wonder if that one eats people?" Jinghe suddenly asked.
"Let's hope they both take each other out!" Sheng Xiong replied.
I remained silent; after all, whether intentionally or not, this guy had saved me. I noticed that Old Lady had stopped shouting and was staring intently at the Water Area where the monsters were fighting. Suddenly, a thought struck me: "Could 'Cat' be referring to that fish?"
No, I quickly dismissed that idea. How could 'Cat' possibly be a name for a big fish? Besides, could a fish grow that large?
I turned to look at the Water Area again. The vast expanse of red made it impossible for us to see anything clearly; only the churning surface of the water indicated that the battle was still ongoing. Even though we couldn't see anything, everyone remained tense, their eyes fixed on the water's surface. To some extent, our lives were tied to whatever monstrous fish appeared next.
The question was: could it defeat an opponent nearly half its size?
(To be continued; more exciting developments tomorrow!)
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