Chapter 36: Capture Them All in One Fell Swoop

The little dolphin that leapt out of the sea was swallowed whole by a great white shark that burst from the water at the very same moment.

"Fool!"

The great white shark let out a low, satisfied chuckle, snapped its jaws shut, and plunged back into the depths, leaving only the long, sword-like dorsal fin slicing swiftly across the surface.

"This is utterly disgusting!"

Inside the belly of the great white shark, Lin Qiu muttered gloomily to himself.

Ever since the ocean began to mutate, creatures had been evolving to monstrous sizes. This great white shark was more than a hundred meters long, while he, as a dolphin less than a meter in length, was nothing more than a speck before it.

Lin Qiu gazed at the sharply delineated organs within the shark, watched as torrents of water surged past like mountains collapsing and seas overturning, the roar of the waves echoing all around. He could even see the remnants of half-digested prey swirling atop the water within, which made him gag and retch involuntarily.

"I swear, this is the last time I'll ever let myself get swallowed by a fish."

Driven to madness, Lin Qiu vowed furiously and was just about to use his shark teeth to bite his way out.

At that moment, a familiar "ding" sounded in his mind.

"Congratulations, Host. You have completed the task of becoming the Lord of the City of the Other Shore. The skill 'Water-Parting Technique' has been rewarded. Please check your skill inventory."

"Water-Parting Technique!"

Lin Qiu's eyes lit up. He had completed the mission some time ago and thought the system had forgotten about it, but now the reward arrived at just the right time.

His interest was piqued; despite his current predicament, he started examining the new skill.

Meanwhile, his body, buffeted by the powerful currents within the great white shark, drifted along helplessly into its digestive system.

"Water-Parting Technique: grants mastery over all the waters of the world, enabling the user to part and control water at will."

Such was the description of the skill. And with its power growing alongside his own, it would indeed allow him, as promised, to command the waters of the world.

A faint smile played upon Lin Qiu's lips. "Perfect timing. Let's see what this technique can really do."

A ruthless light flashed in his eyes as he observed the carcasses of sea beasts floating around him, being rapidly digested.

At the same time, he sensed a mysterious force corroding his own body, seeking to dissolve him.

Lin Qiu understood: this was the great white shark's digestive power at work.

"That's why you should never swallow unknown prey alive," he sneered. Not every creature possessed an infinite devouring system like his. Anything that entered his mouth wasn't digested by his own body—it was the system that broke it down and extracted its power.

"Water-Parting Technique!"

Lin Qiu straightened his body. A mysterious energy surged through him.

The surrounding gastric acid began to bubble, then coalesced together, forming a long sword.

"I'll cut my way out!"

With malice gleaming in his eyes, Lin Qiu controlled the sword of gastric acid and slashed it down fiercely.

"Riiip!"

The blade sliced through, opening a massive gash in the shark's stomach.

Seawater poured in from outside the stomach—directly into the great white's body.

Lin Qiu seized control of the incoming flood and rode the waves outward.

The great white shark, still swimming in the ocean, let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Ouch! It hurts! My stomach—damn, it hurts!"

The great white rolled and thrashed at the bottom of the sea, its colossal body sending waves surging all around.

"Look! The dorsal fin—it's a great white!"

A cry of astonishment rang out from the deck of a distant fishing vessel. A man shouted, his voice filled with disbelief.

"There really is something wrong with the ocean—how did the dorsal fin of a great white get so massive? It looks like a giant sail!"

"All hands: ready the high-potency tranquilizer darts. Deploy the steel net and prepare for capture!"

"Captain, adjust our course, maintain pursuit!"

"Coordinates: thirty-six degrees north. Fire the tranquilizer!"

The burly man on deck issued his commands with calm authority.

A two-meter-long tranquilizer dart launched from the vessel's firing tube, striking the struggling, rapidly moving great white shark at thirty-six degrees north.

"What the hell is this? Why is my body going numb?!"

The great white felt a sharp sting on its surface, as if something had pierced its hide. Numbness began to spread from the point of impact, radiating through its massive form.

The tranquilizer was powerful—a new formula, recently developed. Even a sperm whale would be belly-up after a dose like that.

Within moments, the great white's entire body was paralyzed, numb and unresponsive. It could no longer feel the pain gnawing at its stomach.

Yet the agony only grew worse, for it had lost all control over its movements and began to roll helplessly, belly turning upward.

Thus, it never saw the fishing vessel approaching, nor the vast net launched from its deck, enveloping it completely.

"Haul in the net!"

The order was crisp and efficient.

The steel cable began to retract.

"Huh?"

Within the great white's belly, Lin Qiu made a startled sound.

Just as he was about to forge another weapon with his Water-Parting Technique and carve his way out, the system's voice sounded again.

"Alert: Human fishing vessel detected. Great white shark is being hunted."

"What...?"

As the system spoke, Lin Qiu felt his body growing numb, sinking uncontrollably, his belly rolling upward.

"Tranquilizer," he sighed bitterly.

He hadn't expected to get caught up in the great white's misfortune from inside its own body. The tranquilizer's power seeped through the shark's organs, reaching him as well.

Numbed by the drug, he lost all control over the water. The effects were so potent that even his mind began to reel, growing sluggish.

Slowly, his gaze dulled. The anesthetic reached his brain, numbing his nerves, and he drifted into unconsciousness.

"Good heavens!"

As the steel net raised its catch, everyone on deck exclaimed in shock.

There, resting in the net, was the great white shark, its enormous body making their hearts quake.

Over a hundred meters long, its massive form curled within the steel mesh, its skin glinting brilliantly in the sunlight.

"Is this really a great white shark?"

On the deck, a man in his forties, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and tanned by the sun, squinted at the giant beast.

"Haul in the net—let's head home!"

"Aye, sir!"

At the captain's order, the crew began their work.

The great white was colossal, but the fishing vessel was no small craft either—over three hundred meters in length.

With the help of a massive crane, the great white was hoisted from the sea, rising slowly above the waves.

As the shark left the water, streams cascaded from its body, forming a shimmering curtain that connected sea to sky—a sight both breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

The instant the great white was dumped onto the deck, the entire ship sank several meters lower in the water.

"Captain, open the liquid cargo hold and drain the water!"