Chapter Forty: The Bull Shark Predator

It is said that bull sharks begin practicing their hunting skills while still in their mother's womb, engaging in brutal battles with one another. Only the strongest and fiercest individuals have a chance to be born. As a result, they are naturally combative and exceptionally ferocious. These creatures not only prey on marine life, but are also known to swim upstream from river mouths into freshwater, hunting animals much larger than themselves, such as hippos and crocodiles, to satisfy their appetite.

In other words, young saltwater crocodiles are among the bull shark's natural prey. Moreover, they also attack humans. Incidents abroad like “yacht collisions,” “swimmers being attacked,” and “arms bitten off by sharks” are all the handiwork of bull sharks. According to records, there have been over a hundred documented bull shark attacks on humans, with countless others unreported.

The most famous of these incidents took place in New Jersey, where a monstrous creature attacked people. In just twelve days, four people died mysteriously in Matawan Creek, a waterway only twelve meters wide. The surrounding towns and villages were thrown into a panic, with rumors swirling about a monster lurking in the water. Eventually, an official search caught a bull shark nearly three meters long at the river’s mouth, solving the mystery. This event inspired the film "Jaws." In reality, great white sharks are not particularly interested in humans; it is the bull shark that bears the true blame.

Lu Chen never expected that on his very first hunt in the ocean, he would encounter such a creature. It was a truly inauspicious start. He quickly realized that he had simply taken the bullet for the pod of dolphins. The bull shark's original targets were most likely the dolphins chasing the yellow croaker school ahead, but he had stumbled right into its jaws by accident.

Even as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Lu Chen's body did not hesitate. He had no intention of engaging the bull shark in a drawn-out battle—its bite force was truly formidable. An adult bull shark can exert up to 1.8 tons of pressure, the highest among all large predatory sharks. Although the current shark had not yet reached its peak, Lu Chen dared not take the risk, nor did he feel any desire to fight. With a powerful sweep of his massive crocodile tail, he turned and swam toward the reef zone a dozen meters away.

If he were near the shore, Lu Chen would not have to flee in such panic, even if he was at a disadvantage. But in the vast, open sea, there was nowhere to gain leverage; neither his claws nor his running speed could be fully utilized, putting him at a natural disadvantage. His only asset was his thick, rugged armor. Since evolving to tier two, he had been steadily increasing his “scale armor defense” attribute—now up to thirty points from the original ten—but he still doubted it could withstand the bull shark’s teeth.

So the moment they encountered each other, his first thought was to escape. Bull sharks have poor eyesight, but, like saltwater crocodiles, their other senses are highly developed.

For example, they possess an acute sense of smell, capable of detecting a single drop of blood diluted in a hundred thousand liters of water and homing in precisely on its source. Additionally, bull sharks have many sensory cells in their skin, which can detect vibrations and sounds in the water, allowing them to locate prey within a thousand meters. Once targeted by such a creature, there is virtually no way to hide or escape detection. Most importantly, when bull sharks charge after prey, their burst speed can reach an astonishing 27 meters per second. Given Lu Chen’s own swimming speed, trying to flee was, in truth, a foolish choice.

But the reef was only about twenty meters away; if he could just climb onto it, he would be safe. After missing its first ambush, the bull shark flicked its tail and changed direction again, its gaping maw exuding a savage and bloody aura that seemed to pervade the surrounding water. Even though he was still more than ten meters away, Lu Chen felt his whole body go cold, as if frozen stiff. This was the natural aura of a top predator.

With a sudden rush, the bull shark’s dorsal fin sliced through the seawater, appearing behind him with explosive speed. Lu Chen barely managed to change course before a searing pain tore through his back. A large chunk of his thick scales was ripped away, and blood billowed into the ocean in great clouds.

Wounded in the back, Lu Chen immediately lost his balance, his movements slowing. If the shark hit him again, he might lose his life. Fortunately, he had reached the edge of the reef, his hind claws finally scraping the stones below. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he thrashed his tail to churn the water. With a splash, his body—over a meter long—leapt nearly two meters into the air. In this moment of life and death, he truly achieved a feat of supernatural strength.

But to Lu Chen’s surprise, the bull shark followed, launching itself into the air close behind. Its dark gray body shimmered silver in the sunlight, and its gaping jaws revealed rows of menacing, razored teeth, as if it would swallow Lu Chen in the next instant.

However, out of the water, the shark’s body was nothing like its agile self in the sea, moving only on momentum. Lu Chen twisted in midair and lashed his tail at the shark’s head.

Thud—the massive shark crashed down, sending up great splashes.

“Damn it,” Lu Chen muttered as he tumbled onto the reef, finally letting out a sigh of relief. The whole ordeal—really more an escape than a fight—had been perilous in the extreme. Had he made a single wrong move, he would have been finished.

After a brief rest, he finally had time to check his wounds.

A deep, bloody gash marked his scaled armor, likely only grazed by the bull shark’s teeth, not reaching bone or sinew. What he did not expect was that the bull shark had not left; instead, it continued to circle the reef, clearly unwilling to let its prey slip away.

But now Lu Chen was no longer too worried. The reef, though small, was still seven or eight square meters—enough to provide temporary refuge. No matter how powerful the shark, it was unlikely to launch an assault on the rocks. Those dramatic scenes in movies, like a great white shark attacking people on the shore, were pure exaggeration.

If it dared to come ashore, he would quickly teach it a lesson—and maybe harvest some energy points to staunch his bleeding.

Fortunately, what he feared did not come to pass. The bull shark was no fool and merely circled in the nearby sea. “Damn,” Lu Chen thought, “I came here just fine, but now I can’t get back.” With no other choice, he had to spend the night on the reef.

The temperature swings between day and night at sea were huge, but fortunately, his adaptability had greatly improved; otherwise, he would have caught a chill. By dawn, Lu Chen found his wound had already scabbed over. Though still sore, it was nothing serious. Such rapid recovery was likely due not only to the crocodile’s inherent resilience, but also to his evolutionary upgrades.

As the sun climbed higher, Lu Chen felt his strength returning. He surveyed his surroundings before slipping quietly back into the water, then quickly scrambled up onto the reef again. Sure enough, a dark dorsal fin flickered in the water a dozen meters away, soon followed by a grim, predatory head.

Once again, things took an unexpected turn: the bull shark had actually kept vigil nearby all night. Well then, let’s see who can outlast whom, Lu Chen thought. He doubted the shark had that much patience.

As for food, as long as he lowered his standards, there was plenty to be found among the rocks in the shallow water. With a swipe of his claws, he overturned two stones, revealing a palm-sized blue crab. Before the little creature could escape, Lu Chen smashed it and swallowed it whole. Next, he found several sea snails. Foods he once disdained now tasted especially delicious.