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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Six: Injured
Under the sea, Xiaqiu opened its large mouth and swallowed a Pomfret whole. Looking around, it noticed that all the fish had already fled, but its own belly remained hungry.
After half a month of growth, Xiaqiu's length had now approached two meters, weighing around two hundred pounds, and its appearance had undergone a significant transformation.
First was its shape, resembling a spindle, with an extremely robust body covered in silvery scales.
Next was the fish's head, which was enormous and somewhat reminiscent of a Catfish, though not flattened. The top of its head was rounded, with a slight bulge in the center forming a vertical line.
Moreover, its mouth had a large gape that could open at astonishing angles.
Inside its mouth, the teeth had been replaced twice; they were longer, thicker, sharper, and now there were four rows of teeth.
Then there were the barbels; Xiaqiu had grown a pair of barbels near its mouth, each about thirty centimeters long.
The barbels served significant purposes; they could be used as measuring tools to determine whether it could pass through certain spaces.
Additionally, they could sense ocean currents and provide feedback upon touching objects, which was immensely useful for hunting at night.
Aside from that, Xiaqiu's dorsal fin had changed as well; it began to thicken and developed hard spines.
The first dorsal fin was shaped like a vertical triangle with hard spines covering its front edge.
The second dorsal fin was longer and rectangular in shape but featured four to five hard spines protruding from it. This made the fin undulate like waves in the water, with the highest point clearly marked by a sharp tip.
With the hard spines on its dorsal fin, Xiaqiu's vertical stability improved significantly, making it more stable in the water while also providing some defensive capabilities.
Meanwhile, Xiaqiu's appetite was astonishing; it could consume around seven or eight pounds in one sitting, and at most, it could reach twelve pounds. It needed to eat several times a day, with its daily intake exceeding half of its body weight.
The fish that only fed on smaller prey like fish, plankton, sea worms, and algae could no longer satisfy Xiaqiu.
Xiaqiu had no choice but to expand its hunting range, venturing into farther areas to catch larger sea fish.
With a swift motion, Xiaqiu swam towards the distance, where the water grew deeper and the light from the surface dimmed.
The surrounding fish were becoming larger, with many measuring between fifty to sixty centimeters in length.
Was that a Bass?
Xiaqiu focused on a fish in the distance, approximately sixty centimeters long, with a laterally flattened body, a high back, a somewhat pointed head, and a large mouth.
Its surface was covered in fine comb scales, and its gill covers had serrated edges. It was fierce and preyed on smaller fish and shrimp.
A Bass could grow up to about one meter long and weigh over twenty pounds.
The fish before Xiaqiu was sixty centimeters long and weighed around eight pounds.
This was the one.
Xiaqiu immediately darted forward, charging towards the distant Bass.
Wow.
Bass encountered Xiaqiu, whose massive body radiated an oppressive aura. Even though Bass was fierce by nature, it chose to flee.
Whoosh.
Bass swayed its body and swam away into the distance.
However, it hadn't gotten far when Xiaqiu's enormous form surged forward. Closing in, it lunged again, snapping at Bass's tail.
Crunch.
The gigantic head engulfed half of Bass's body, its four layers of sharp teeth clamping down, instantly severing a chunk from its prey.
Splash.
The rear half of Bass erupted in a spray of blood, dead beyond recovery.
Then Xiaqiu continued to gnaw, devouring everything except for the head of the Fish Body, swallowing it all into its belly.
Looking for more food.
Xiaqiu intended to eat a bit more to reach its maximum capacity; this way, the digestion time would be extended.
But at that moment, a swarm of fish rushed in, glimmering like silver.
The fish were not particularly long, measuring only about thirty to forty centimeters. They had slender bodies, larger heads, and wide mouths that gleamed with a silvery sheen.
There were many of them.
Almost thirty or forty, this was the largest school of fish that Xiaqiu had ever encountered. He slowly lowered his body and quietly waited, planning to attack once they came closer.
As the fish swam toward him, some began to feast on the scattered flesh of the Bass.
A few fish descended to gnaw at the bones below.
However, more fish surged toward Xiaqiu.
"Hmm?"
Xiaqiu was momentarily taken aback and shifted his body, intending to retreat.
But in the blink of an eye, he found himself surrounded by these fish. In the next moment, they opened their wide mouths and lunged at him.
These fish had sharp teeth in their mouths.
This was bad.
Although these fish were small, their teeth were sharp, and their numbers were overwhelming. They could attack creatures much larger than themselves.
No wonder they could thrive in this area.
Facing these fish, Xiaqiu quickly retreated, but some of them still managed to bite it.
A faint sound echoed. Their teeth could not penetrate Xiaqiu's scales at all, and since Xiaqiu's body was quite rounded, they couldn't open their mouths wide enough to swallow it. They could only stab at Xiaqiu's body with their teeth, but under the protection of its smooth and hard scales, they were unable to inflict any harm.
There was no threat.
Xiaqiu stopped retreating, opened its mouth wide, and bit down on one of the fish.
Crunch.
The fish was crushed instantly and swallowed whole.
Xiaqiu continued to devour two or three more fish, while the others did not flee; instead, they continued their attacks.
It was useless.
You cannot break through my defenses.
Just as Xiaqiu thought this, it suddenly felt a sharp pain.
Ah!
Pain surged through Xiaqiu's whiskers, near the dorsal fin by the tail, the Pectoral Fin, and its abdomen.
These areas either lack protective scales or are relatively fragile.
Damn it.
Xiaqiu felt some anger, but she knew she couldn't linger on it, so she twisted her body to shake off the fish.
However, there were still some fish clinging to her, especially around her abdomen.
So, Xiaqiu lowered her body and rubbed against the sandy ground, squeezing them all down.
Bang.
Xiaqiu swung her tail, sweeping it against two Fish Bodies, sending them flying before dashing off into the distance.
The fish behind her chased after, but they couldn't catch up to Xiaqiu's speed, falling further behind.
Before long, Xiaqiu returned to the sunken ship.
She was injured.
A portion of her whiskers had been bitten off, her belly had been struck, and her Pectoral Fin had been bitten as well, along with the area where her tail fin connected to her body.
Damn it.
Injured at the bottom of the sea, she had no idea how long it would take to heal, and with so many marine microorganisms around, infection was a real concern.
But at that moment, the food in Xiaqiu's stomach began to digest, transforming into a rolling Heat Flow that spread throughout its body.
Accompanying the emergence of the Heat Flow, Xiaqiu felt a tingling sensation in the injured areas, such as its whiskers and belly.
It was healing.
Its wounds were healing.
In no time, the food in its belly was consumed completely, and Xiaqiu's whiskers had already returned to their original state.
Its recovery ability was strong; as long as there was enough food, its body could repair itself from injuries.
However, healing wounds would consume additional energy, causing hunger to increase more rapidly.
Xiaqiu realized this and completely set its mind at ease.
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