Chapter 462 — Xiaoshu Fights the Shark

"Huh?" Gu Mengyao jumped in fright. She followed the direction Shen Yushu was pointing and, sure enough, saw a shark fin bobbing along in the water. "Isn't this a swimming area? How could there be a shark here?"

"I opened a gap in the barrier net over there earlier, so the shark just swam in!" Zhong Yongliang came scurrying over just then, eagerly claiming credit as he explained to Shen Yushu and Gu Mengyao.

This was no idle fabrication on Zhong Yongliang's part. Fearing Shen Yushu might see through the trick, he had deliberately swum out to the distant safety barrier and torn a large opening in it.

Of course, Zhong Yongliang wasn't worried that a real shark would actually come—the odds were simply too small. Unless something here gave off the smell of blood and lured one over, why on earth would a shark bother coming to a place like this?

"Oh! That's wonderful—finally we get to eat shark meat! Little Liangzi, you did well!" Shen Yushu happily clapped Zhong Yongliang on the shoulder, but afterward she asked with a touch of worry, "Say, Little Liangzi, you're all washed clean, aren't you? There's no lingering stink, is there?"

"No more, none at all—I soaked in the seawater for ages, so now there's only salt!" Zhong Yongliang said, deeply embarrassed, and hurried to explain.

"That's more like it!" Even as she said so, Shen Yushu edged away from him in a way that was barely noticeable.

The students swimming in the sea were badly frightened when they saw the shark coming and scrambled frantically for shore. Within moments, apart from the shark, there was no one left in the water.

Gao Xiaofu also swam over to the near side with an easy mind. Zhong Yongliang was rubbing his hands together, raring to dive in and bravely do battle with the shark, when he saw Shen Yushu dash over ahead of him.

"Xiaoshu, what are you doing? It's dangerous!" Gu Mengyao was badly startled by Shen Yushu's move and hurriedly called out to her.

"It's fine, I'm just going to take a look!" Shen Yushu felt no particular fear of sharks. Last time, even in a daze, Wei Zhao had brought her along and they had finished off a shark together, which made her feel that sharks were nothing much and ought to be fairly easy to kill. So she wanted to see whether she could take this one down herself.

"That's right, Xiaoshu, don't go over there—it's too dangerous. Let me go catch this shark!" Zhong Yongliang, too, was afraid that if Shen Yushu got close she might notice something off.

But Shen Yushu paid Zhong Yongliang no heed and ran straight to the water's edge. There was nothing for it—Zhong Yongliang could only dive into the sea ahead of her, for he was terrified that she might recklessly leap in too.

On the sand not far away, Wei Zhao raised his head, glanced at the shark in the water, then glanced at Shen Yushu, and lowered his head again, paying it no further mind.

"Hey, aren't you their bodyguard and attendant? There's a shark in the water—why aren't you going to protect Shen Yushu?" Feng Xiaoxiao asked, looking at Wei Zhao's behavior with some puzzlement.

"Isn't Zhong Yongliang there? I'll stay out of it," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"Him?" Feng Xiaoxiao had assumed Wei Zhao would rush forward, which would have exposed his relationship with Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu. But Wei Zhao seemed to have no intention of going. "If there's danger, he runs faster than a rabbit."

"Ha, since you know that too, why should I bother going? The moment there's danger, Zhong Yongliang will be long gone. Does he look like he's in any danger right now?" Wei Zhao asked.

"I suppose not," Feng Xiaoxiao said with a nod.

"Besides, is that even a shark?" Wei Zhao gave a cold laugh. Did sharks swim like that? Moving horizontally, was it? That shark would have to be truly extraordinary.

"Not a shark? Then what is it?" Feng Xiaoxiao was taken aback, unable to fathom what Wei Zhao meant.

"Just watch and you'll see," Wei Zhao said. He wasn't certain what was in the water either, but from the look of it, it didn't seem to be machine-operated—more like a person.

Zhong Yongliang leapt straight into the sea, pointed at the shark, and bellowed, "You brazen shark, how dare you come here! Prepare to meet your death at once!"

"Wow, I never thought Zhong Yongliang was so brave—actually daring to fight a shark!" The students on shore, unaware of the truth, all voiced their admiration, which made Zhong Yongliang feel rather full of himself.

"Xiaoshu, let's keep our distance—it's too dangerous here!" Gu Mengyao pulled Shen Yushu away from the water's edge.

"Yao-yao, watch this!" Shen Yushu was not the least bit afraid. She hauled an enormous cobblestone straight up out of the sea and shouted, "Little Liangzi, get out of the way!"

Zhong Yongliang nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned his head and saw a gigantic oval object hurtling at him at tremendous speed. He dodged on instinct, and the oval thing smashed into the "shark" in the water with a loud bang.

"Fan—" Gao Xiaofu let out a bloodcurdling scream as the cobblestone struck him square in the forehead. Blood gushed out in a steady stream, dyeing the surrounding seawater red in an instant.

"Yes! I killed the shark!" Shen Yushu danced with excitement, waving her arms and legs. Even she hadn't expected to hit it on the first try and make it bleed.

"Wait, did I just hear a scream? Can sharks scream?" Gu Mengyao stared at the water in puzzlement, as if trying to make out something beneath the surface.

"Uh—that was me!" Zhong Yongliang started in fright and rushed to explain, though inwardly he was worried sick. Could Gao Xiaofu have been smashed to death?

"You? I hit the shark—what were you screaming for?" Shen Yushu asked, puzzled.

"Well—the shark was in pain, and I saw it couldn't scream, so I screamed for it! Right. Screaming on its behalf!" Zhong Yongliang explained with a dry laugh.

"I see, Fan—" Shen Yushu nodded. "Little Liangzi, hurry up and haul the shark I killed out of the water. I want to eat grilled shark meat!"

"Uh... sure!" Zhong Yongliang was thoroughly disgruntled. He had meant to show off his own skills, but Shen Yushu had beaten him to it. All that preparation for nothing.

Zhong Yongliang dived under. He saw Gao Xiaofu grimacing and clutching his forehead, but the man seemed otherwise fine—just a flesh wound. Zhong Yongliang breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to the frozen shark they had bought at the supermarket and readied in advance on the seabed, and signaled Gao Xiaofu to push from behind while he dragged it up.

Gritting his teeth against the throbbing pain in his head, Gao Xiaofu helped Zhong Yongliang push the shark ashore, then quickly slipped back into the water and found a spot to surface elsewhere.

"This shark's pretty big!" Shen Yushu ran excitedly to its side and poked its body with her finger. "Huh? Why is it so cold? It feels like it just came out of a freezer."

"Uh, well—sharks are cold-blooded, so of course it's cold!" Zhong Yongliang started in fright, but he came up with an excuse on the spot, and even he had to marvel at what a genius he was.