Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
One Piece: Strongest Sea King
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One: Becoming a Fish
The pale blue sky was incredibly serene, with thick white clouds stacked high above. The sun hung at the edge, casting bright and scorching rays downwards.
Beneath the sky lay a deep ocean, its blue waters stretching far into the distance. The sea breeze brushed past, bringing with it a salty and fishy scent.
Above the ocean floated a massive island, and in the distance, a schooner was sailing, its sails billowing as it carried the large vessel further away.
Not far from the two-masted ship, just below the surface of the sea, a pair of eyes watched the vessel intently.
It was a fish.
Measuring about thirty centimeters in length, it had an oval-shaped body that was somewhat flattened.
Its head was large, with a prominent jaw and a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth.
It had smooth gill covers that slightly curved inward above, and its body was covered in round scales.
It possessed a dorsal fin, a pair of enormous pectoral fins, a pair of pelvic fins, and a tail fin that was elongated with two pointed sections, indented in the middle as if it had been cleaved.
At that moment, this fish had half of its head poking out above the surface of the sea, watching as the three-masted ship sailed further away, finally letting out a sound of confusion.
What on earth happened?
Just moments ago, it had been a twenty-one-year-old college junior named Xiaqiu, lying in bed resting. And now, it had transformed into a fish in the ocean?
Why did this happen?
Why had he turned into a fish?
Xiaqiu was utterly perplexed, unable to comprehend what had happened.
Based on what he had been doing before losing consciousness in bed, he should have transformed into a tadpole, right?
Curiosity gnawed at him about where he currently was.
Just moments ago, he had seen a sailboat powered by wind. The vessel had a massive curve, two masts, a wooden structure, and a horizontal sail. On one side of the hull, there were three cannon ports.
Such sailboats were quite rare, as most modern sailboats were designed for racing or as luxury yachts, with the majority being made of metal. Wooden sailboats were few and far between.
Moreover, large wooden sailboats were seldom seen except for a few countries that used replica sailboats for commemorative purposes or for private collections and leisure sailing.
Among large wooden sailboats, those with three masts far outnumbered those with two. Most sailboats also featured pointed bows rather than wide ones.
Not only that, but the main mast of the ship he had just seen had only two sails, while the secondary mast had just one. The number of sails was insufficient.
In contrast to the limited number of sails, the hull appeared enormous; the sails could hardly withstand much wind. It would be difficult to propel the vessel solely by wind power; it would require assistance from ocean currents to aid in sailing.
Additionally, the hull's shape was overly full, creating significant wave resistance and making forward movement challenging.
A ship like that had never existed before and likely never would again; it was impossible for it to sail safely on the sea.
It felt strange.
Xiaqiu wanted to know his current location but could not find an answer at the moment. He needed more time to observe.
He looked around, submerged beneath the water. The ocean was deep and silent, with only the sunlight filtering down from above, casting a faint glow in all directions.
Xiaqiu found it hard to accept the reality of becoming a fish, but there was no choice; he had to survive first. Thus, his responsibility was to find food.
Xiaqiu swam, his fins gliding gracefully as he headed toward the nearest island.
As he approached the island, Xiaqiu slowly descended toward the seabed. The water here was shallow, less than ten meters deep, with a sandy bottom that was white and pockmarked by rocks eroded by the sea. Hidden among the sand were starfish partially obscured.
Most marine fish feed on algae, plankton, sea worms, shrimp, and shellfish.
However, Xiaqiu knew he had teeth—not the pharyngeal teeth but those in his jaws.
Many fish have teeth: Tiger Fish, Pike, Barramundi Cod, sharks, Stingrays, Eels, Snakehead Fish, Viperfish, Dragon Fish, and Piranhas.
Most of them are carnivorous, feeding on other fish and shellfish.
Xiaqiu noticed that his mouth was large and filled with numerous teeth. He felt it was highly likely that he was a carnivorous fish, so he focused on hunting fish and shrimp for food.
There.
Xiaqiu neared the seabed and immediately spotted a shrimp hiding beneath the sand, most of its body concealed.
His fish body twisted left and right as he quickly closed in on the shrimp. He opened his wide mouth and snapped his sharp teeth directly at the shrimp hidden in the sand.
Sand flowed through his teeth as Xiaqiu ignored the shrimp's struggles. His sharp teeth clamped down hard, breaking through the shrimp's shell and slicing its body apart.
This shrimp measured about fifteen to seventeen centimeters long—roughly half the length of Xiaqiu's own body. He needed to crush it before he could eat.
Accompanied by Xiaqiu's biting, Shrimp stopped struggling, and a pit formed where it was bitten, the shrimp meat being swallowed into Xiaqiu's belly.
Then Xiaqiu continued to bite down, gradually consuming Shrimp, leaving behind its head, tail, and part of its claws.
Still feeling hungry.
Xiaqiu felt the hunger in its belly significantly ease but was not yet full. So it searched again and found another Shrimp hidden beneath the mud. Waving its Fish Body, it charged towards it and bit down hard, then swam upstream.
As the mud flowed out from between its teeth, Xiaqiu swallowed this shrimp as well.
This time, Xiaqiu felt a sense of fullness.
It was satisfied.
Xiaqiu was very pleased but surprised by its own appetite, having eaten two shrimp in one go.
The shrimp measured about fifteen to sixteen centimeters and weighed around thirty grams each. Together, they weighed sixty grams; after discarding the heads and tails along with the claws, there was still about half the weight left, which was around thirty grams.
Such a weight was quite substantial for a fish like Xiaqiu.
By pressing its body against the mud to leave a mark and then observing its length and shape, it realized it was about thirty centimeters long.
This length meant that depending on the species of fish, the weight could range from three hundred fifty grams to six hundred grams; Xiaqiu likely weighed around five hundred grams.
The daily food intake of fish varies based on their size and species.
Larger fish tend to have a greater proportion of their body weight dedicated to food intake; however, as their weight increases, the proportion of food intake decreases.
For example, the feeding amount of a Carp varies from one-fifteenth to one-thirtieth of its body weight.
Among sharks, the warm-blooded Great White Shark consumes about one point six percent of its body weight, while the cold-blooded Blue Shark and Sandbar Shark only eat about zero point four to zero point six percent of their body weight.
In whales, the Blue Whale consumes about five tons per feeding, which is roughly two to three percent of its body weight.
An adult Sperm Whale eats over one ton of food daily, around three percent of its body weight.
My own body weight is approximately five hundred grams, and my feeding amount is about one-twentieth of that, which is twenty-five grams.
However, this feeding amount refers to the total food consumed in one sitting, which usually needs to be divided into two or three feedings, with at least a four-hour interval between each.
In other words, as a fish of my size, I can eat a maximum of fifteen grams at once.
But now I have directly consumed thirty grams; this amount feels a bit excessive, yet I do not feel any significant sense of fullness.
It's somewhat strange.
I should move around a bit to speed up digestion.
Thinking this, Xiaqiu began to sway its body and slowly swam toward the distance.
However, after swimming just a few meters, Xiaqiu felt a surge of warmth in its body. Waves of Heat Flow spread outward from its core. Not only that, but there was also a slight pain and swelling sensation in its body.
What’s happening?
Xiaqiu was puzzled and increased its swimming speed. The Heat Flow became more pronounced, and the sensation of swelling pain intensified.
He had no choice but to stop, hiding himself in the mud and sand, enduring the pain while waiting.
Thud, thud, thud.
He could even hear the faint sounds of his bones creaking.
What was happening? Was it something wrong with the food?
He was perplexed and could only pray to get through this crisis.
Half an hour later, the bloating sensation disappeared.
Splash, splash.
He had relieved himself.
So soon?
The digestion cycle for fish varies; it usually takes about two hours to excrete waste, and for adult fish, the average digestion time can reach five to nine hours. Yet here he was, having relieved himself after just half an hour.
He was hungry.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of hunger from his body.
Was he really hungry so soon?
Something felt off; he had eaten too much—almost two to three times the normal amount.
A sensation of pain accompanied by Heat Flow emerged.
The digestion was extremely fast; within half an hour, hunger struck again, demanding another meal.
If only one issue had arisen, it could have been a coincidence, but with everything out of standard, Xiaqiu felt a sense of worry.
Was there a problem with his body?
Or was there another reason?
Xiaqiu didn't know, but the feeling of hunger compelled him to eat again.
Comment 0 Comment Count