Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Great School of Yellow Croakers

Lu Chen finally understood—what he had encountered was not the site of a sunken ship, but rather a large-scale operation to manufacture fake “sea-recovered porcelain”! This kind of forgery had already been exposed in his previous life, so he was well aware of the tricks. Genuine sea-recovered porcelain, after lying dormant on the ocean floor for hundreds or even nearly a thousand years, would have its glaze severely eroded by seawater, forming a layer of calcium carbonate mineral deposits. Many pieces would also be encrusted with shells, coral, and other impurities.

The people on the fishing boat were exploiting these characteristics to artificially age their forgeries: they submerged the fakes in seawater, periodically scattered bait to attract fish, shrimp, and shellfish, which would then attach themselves to the pieces and leave excrement. After a few more months, these so-called “sea-recovered porcelain” items would be ready to be brought to market. Some might even take buyers directly to this patch of sea, letting them witness the “recovery” firsthand.

But knowing all this was utterly useless to Lu Chen at the moment, and he had neither the time nor inclination to get involved. He simply memorized the exact location, then quietly surfaced some distance away.

He had been out at sea for quite some time—it was probably time to return.

The vast expanse of water offered no clear landmarks. Relying on the magnetic sense in his saltwater crocodile brain, he was easily able to determine the location of his nest.

“Gah gah… gah gah…”

“Jee jee jee…”

He had only swum a few miles when strange sounds reached him through the water. The noise was unique: a low rumble mixed with high-pitched tones, reminiscent both of the hiss of leaking balloons children played with, and the croaking of frogs.

This was clearly an unusual disturbance caused by a school of fish—there had to be something big ahead!

He hadn’t expected to have another feast before returning to shore.

GO, GO, GO!!

Excited, Lu Chen paddled furiously, following the sounds. After swimming over a hundred meters, the noises grew clearer and more penetrating. The saltwater crocodile’s hearing was extremely acute, covering a frequency range of 20–6000Hz, much lower than a human’s, making it easy for him to pick up subtle, deep sounds underwater.

But at that moment, the noise felt unusually grating, even making him anxious and irritable, as if someone were operating a power drill right beside him, triggering an instinctive urge to flee.

What on earth was making that sound? Lu Chen quickly raised his head high above the surface. The noise diminished significantly, now barely within tolerable limits.

He swam forward another few dozen meters, where a cluster of seven or eight rocks of varying sizes broke the water’s surface. Around the outskirts of the reef, a dazzling golden light suddenly appeared.

A school of fish—a massive school!

Yellow croaker!

The moment he recognized the fish, Lu Chen became elated. The large yellow croaker, a type of drum fish also known as cucumber fish, osmanthus yellow croaker, or red melon, was held in equal esteem with abalone and lobster by the wealthy. Even those who knew little about seafood had likely heard of it. In his previous life, the wild yellow croaker had become extremely rare due to years of overfishing, driving prices sky-high—there was even a saying, “yellow croaker is worth its weight in gold.”

Lu Chen recalled a news story: one fisherman caught sixty thousand jin of yellow croaker at sea, which sold for over a million yuan.

Unfortunately, as a saltwater crocodile now, he could only watch this fortune slip through his jaws.

Still, he could at least catch a few to enjoy the taste.

As Lu Chen approached, he noticed something amiss. The yellow croaker were constantly fleeing forward, as if pursued by something.

While he was still guessing, three gray-black shapes suddenly appeared.

Dolphins—they were being hunted by dolphins.

The dolphins’ spindle-shaped bodies were sleek and grayish-black, with hooked dorsal fins. The largest measured over three meters long—a true behemoth from Lu Chen’s perspective.

Now he understood the whole scene. No wonder the yellow croaker were making such high-pitched cries—they were trying to evade the dolphins’ hunt.

Besides their yellow hue, these fish were especially famous for their calls. The drumfish family are among the rare marine species that vocalize during spawning; the yellow croaker had perfected this skill. The males, overcome with emotion, would cry “gah gah” in a piercing, resonant voice. The females’ calls were more subdued: “gah-woo… gah-woo…,” low and gentle. Their calls were like secret codes—once they matched frequencies, the fish could cheerfully “applaud” together.

Of course, the calls served not only as mating songs, but also as a way to intimidate and drive off predators.

A single yellow croaker could produce sounds as loud as 177 decibels. In his previous life, it was believed that the maximum noise humans could tolerate without hearing loss, sleep disturbance, anxiety, or learning difficulties was 70 decibels.

It was easy to imagine how terrifying it would be if countless yellow croaker called out in unison—their cries could disrupt any predator’s sense of hearing, causing temporary or even permanent deafness.

Yet the dolphins before him were clearly clever. They didn’t stay close to the yellow croaker all the time, but would intermittently leap from the water and keep their distance, as if flying kites.

No wonder people online said dolphins had the intelligence of a 4-to-6-year-old child. These creatures were truly cunning, masters of guerrilla tactics.

In another setting, Lu Chen would have quietly admired the dolphins’ performance.

But for now, it was more urgent to snatch some food.

If he let these fellows keep hunting, he’d gain nothing.

As for hunting dolphins, Lu Chen harbored no such illusions. Dolphins were undisputed masters of ocean swimming, able to cover fifty kilometers per hour—about as fast as a city bus. When fleeing danger, they could reach bursts of fifteen meters per second. Unless he lay in ambush in just the right spot, he’d never have a chance.

Better to eat a few yellow croaker and fill his belly.

With his mind made up, Lu Chen swiftly swam to the edge of the school and opened his jaws wide.

The yellow croaker clustered together in dense throngs.

Crunch!

With little effort, he caught one in his mouth and swallowed it whole.

But the noise from the school was unbearably loud, and even as he ate, Lu Chen was tormented by their racket. His mind grew ever more agitated, making him oblivious to his surroundings.

Just as he was about to hunt again, a sudden, indescribable sense of danger surged in his awareness.

It felt just like the time he’d suffered decompression sickness.

Danger!

Lu Chen immediately abandoned the yellow croaker, eyes wide, scanning the water around him. At the same time, he paddled frantically toward the surface.

Seconds later, a terrifying shape emerged from the depths.

Its back was dark gray, it had two dorsal fins and no keel ridge, its belly pale gray. Its broad mouth was slightly open, revealing rows of sharp, serrated teeth. Its slightly protruding round eyes radiated a menacing aura.

It was a shark!

Damn, a bull shark!

As a fan of “Animal World” in his previous life, Lu Chen quickly identified the creature’s true name—the bull shark. This was a large shark inhabiting bays, estuaries, rivers, and even lakes—the only kind known to penetrate far into freshwater rivers and even live in lakes.

It was also one of the three most dangerous sharks to humans (the other two being the tiger shark and the great white), and mainly preyed on bony fish, but would also hunt other sharks, crustaceans, cephalopods, sea urchins, sea snakes, turtles, and more.