Chapter Eighty-Two: Hunting the Tiger Shark (2)

As the tiger shark drew near, Lu Chen realized it was far larger than he’d imagined. It measured nearly six meters in length, and weighed well over a thousand pounds. Compared to it, he was clearly a size smaller.

Such a behemoth would obviously be no easy opponent. Yet Lu Chen had no intention of backing down. The rapid growth of his strength had filled him with confidence, even when facing a giant predator. In a word: just go for it! If he ran away again, he wouldn’t be able to respect himself.

The only thing that gave Lu Chen pause was the shark’s bite force. Though not as formidable as a great white, it still exceeded a ton. His own “Scale Armor Defense” was near 300 points now, but he couldn’t be certain it would withstand the tiger shark’s razor teeth. So, he chose to stick to his plan: he lowered his limbs, dug his claws into the silt, and assumed a defensive stance.

Unexpectedly, the tiger shark didn’t attack right away. On the contrary, it circled him in the surrounding waters, its eyes fixed with an intensity that suggested caution—even gravity. Lu Chen could see it in its gaze.

After a moment’s hesitation, the massive creature finally succumbed to temptation. With a powerful sweep of its tail, it shot through the water, closing the distance in a flash. Its dorsal fin sliced through the sea like a blade, and in a blink, it was only a dozen meters away. Its gaping jaws stretched nearly a meter wide, triangular teeth glinting cold and ominous...

When it was less than two meters away, Lu Chen sprang into action. All four limbs launched him forward, his tail lashing for momentum as his body twisted, and his foreclaws seized the shark’s lower jaw in a vice-like grip.

The shark jerked upward in pain, trying to shake him off. Lu Chen quickly shifted tactics: he latched onto the shark’s belly, clutching tight like a man climbing a tree.

Like all sharks, the tiger shark’s skin was armored with rows of sharp dermal denticles, making its hide as rough as sandpaper. Any fish brushing against it would be flayed open in an instant. But Lu Chen was unfazed—his claws had been honed through long training, as tough as iron hooks, and they pierced through the shark’s thick skin with ease, sinking deep into muscle.

The tiger shark’s eyes flashed with terror as it bolted, leaving a trail of blood in its wake across the seafloor.

Lu Chen found himself unexpectedly surfing the ocean depths.

But such force couldn’t last. He’d expected the shark to tire quickly, but its stamina was extraordinary. Dragging a predator weighing several hundred pounds, it swam for several kilometers without slowing.

Just as Lu Chen marveled at this, darkness suddenly enveloped him. He glanced back and saw that the seafloor ahead had vanished abruptly.

Damn—it was an undersea trench, a swirling vortex.

Lu Chen gasped in alarm. Before he could react, a powerful current surged around him, sweeping both he and the shark straight into the black abyss.

An undersea trench current forms in deep depressions with steep sides, where unique topography causes dramatic changes in water pressure and density. Anything caught in the vortex is quickly swallowed up. Many submarine disasters of the past were caused by such hidden currents.

Lu Chen didn’t know the tiger shark’s maximum diving depth, but as a marine creature, its pressure tolerance far exceeded that of the saltwater crocodile.

They were now at least 200 meters deep. For now, he could withstand the pressure, but if the current dragged him deeper, his body might be crushed by the immense force of the sea.

Seeing there was nothing he could do, Lu Chen decided to release his grip.

Just as he was about to swim upward, the raging current suddenly calmed.

Had they reached the bottom?

Lu Chen’s heart leapt with hope. He swung his massive tail and struck the shark’s body hard.

Thud. Thud. Thud... He’d tested this before—at full strength, his tail could snap a tree trunk. The force was reduced underwater, but still, the tiger shark couldn’t maintain its balance after being struck by several hundred pounds of force.

Sharks lack vocal cords, but pain drove this one into a frenzy, sending it careening into a nearby reef.

A dull crash echoed through the water.

Then the shark began spinning in place, its body wavering.

Had it been knocked senseless?

Seeing this, Lu Chen knew exactly what to do.

Strike while the foe is weak.

He let go, lunged forward, and tore into his prey with jaws agape.

Crunch! With a death roll, he ripped off more than ten pounds of shark flesh.

The rumors were true—there was definitely a strong smell of ammonia.

Wracked with pain, the tiger shark snapped back to its senses and darted deeper into the trench. In the blink of an eye, Lu Chen lost sight of his quarry.

"Tiger shark, true shark family, genus Galeocerdo, provides 126 energy points..." The system panel’s message sent a rush of excitement through him.

Over a hundred energy points—meaning each pound of flesh contained more than six points, even more than the black-tailed rock python he’d devoured before.

This creature was definitely mutated.

If he could consume the whole thousand-pound tiger shark, he’d gain nearly seven thousand energy points.

A walking energy pack!

Shark meat was unpalatable, but for this much energy he could stomach it.

Lu Chen’s excitement surged, his beastly eyes turning crimson. There was no way he’d let the shark escape.

His tail lashed, propelling him more than thirty meters in a few breaths.

At the bottom of the trench, more than two hundred meters deep, sunlight barely penetrated. Visibility was less than ten meters.

But Lu Chen wasn’t afraid of losing his prey. He’d torn nearly twenty pounds of flesh from the shark, leaving it badly wounded and unable to flee far. The blood from its wounds would serve as a perfect trail—if he followed it, he was sure to find it.

He didn’t dare slow down; if another predator intercepted his prize now, it would be a huge loss.

He swam another fifty meters, the smell of blood growing stronger.

Suddenly, a sense of danger prickled through his awareness—his instincts’ warning had never failed.

He slowed at once, scrutinizing his surroundings.

Even in the dim trench, life abounded. As he’d chased the tiger shark, he’d seen many deep-sea fish, even schools of ribbonfish, darting among the reefs.

But now, all the fish had vanished.

He swam forward cautiously, turning to scan every direction. The murky water made it impossible to see the trench's full extent—its length and breadth were a mystery.

A dozen meters ahead, a long black shadow appeared, swaying gently in the current.

Lu Chen stopped in his tracks.

After a few seconds of careful observation, he relaxed. The thing hadn’t moved from its spot; it probably wasn’t alive.

He swam closer and discovered it was a giant kelp anchored to the seafloor.

Giant kelp could be called one of the fastest-growing plants on Blue Star. Under the right conditions, it could grow nearly sixty centimeters in a single day, reaching fifty meters in just a year. The largest specimens in his previous life had reached several hundred meters in length and weighed over two hundred kilograms.