The corner of Flora Bloomâs mouth twitched. She immediately shouted to Cynthia Grant, "Quick, pull the vines back! Forget the crate! Thereâs a shark!"
Cynthia Grant froze for a moment, then scanned the sea, searching for the shark Flora Bloom had mentioned.
Flora Bloom slapped her hard on the back. "Hurry up, retract your superpower, and paddle back toward the yacht." As she spoke, she readied the axe in her hand.
Just from the fin sticking out of the water, the shark didnât look particularly specialâjust dark gray with a black tip. But its swimming speed was incredible. In an instant, it shot past the crate Cynthia had abandoned and accelerated toward them.
"Cynthia, whatâs the maximum range of your vines?" Flora Bloom asked Cynthia Grant as she paddled the raft.
Cynthia Grant couldnât see the sharkâs location, but seeing how tense Flora Bloom was, she paddled with all her might. "Less than four hundred meters."
Flora Bloom glanced at the yacht, which was also about four hundred meters away. The two of them paddled frantically for over three minutes. The shark seemed to be playing a predatorâs game, toying with their nerves by following closely without surfacing to attack.
"Quick, quick, quick! Grab the railing on the yacht with your vines!"
Cynthia Grant obediently shot a vine toward their yacht, wrapped it tightly around a railing on the edge, and quickly retracted it. Their raft instantly accelerated toward the yacht.
The shark sensed its prey was escaping faster than it had anticipated. With a flick of its massive tail fin, it instantly appeared beneath Flora Bloom and Cynthiaâs raft. Its triangular dorsal fin merely scraped against their boat, but it was enough to tear a gash in it.
With a PFFFT, the sound of the raft deflating echoed out. One side of the raft lost most of its air in an instant, causing the vessel to lurch to the side.
Flora Bloom lost her balance and grabbed Cynthia Grantâs arm.
"Quick, grab my waist! Iâll get you back to the yacht," Cynthia Grant said, her voice trembling as she stared at the enormous shadow beneath the raft.
Aided by Cynthia Grantâs vines, the two abandoned the raft and swung directly toward the yacht. At the same time, the massive shark finally revealed its true form.
The triangular dorsal fin that had been visible above the water shot upward the next second, revealing its full length. A fin a full two meters tall emerged from the sea, followed by the enormous sharkâs head, which flicked upward, launching the small raftâa mere tenth of its headâs sizeâinto the air. The raft tumbled several times before splashing down in the distant water.
Cynthia Grant managed to get herself and Flora Bloom onto the yachtâs deck. The next second, the vessel shook violently, sending them both sprawling to the floor.
Jade came down from the deckhouse, pulling Caleb along. Irvin Holden emerged from the cockpit. They all gathered on the deck, staring at the giant shark beneath the yacht.
"Itâs... itâs a tiger shark! A huge tiger shark!" Irvin Holdenâs voice was filled with terror. He had no idea why a tiger shark would be in this part of the sea. "Thatâs not right. Tiger sharks are deep-sea creatures. What is it doing here? This isnât scientific."
"Wake up. Itâs the apocalypse. I wouldnât be surprised if sharks started walking on land," Cynthia Grant quipped at Irvin Holden, though she herself was still incredibly tense.
Whenever the tiger sharkâs massive body broke the surface, its cavernous mouth opened toward them like an abyss, revealing rows of jagged, triangular teeth. Black scales, starting near its eyes and spreading to its dorsal fin, glinted with a dark, gloomy light in the faint moonlight, creating a deeply oppressive sight.
It relentlessly rammed the yacht. With each impact, its huge, sinister eyes stared at the five people on deck, as if eager to tear the boat apart and devour them.
In the yachtâs bilge, Caleb Bloom and Sherman Lynchâs expressions changed drastically when they heard the heavy impacts. They wanted to go up and see what was happening. But the collisions grew stronger each time, and a large section of the yachtâs metal hull was already dented inward.
The two knew something must be happening outside, but Flora Bloom had told them to reinforce the hull. This was a critical moment, and they couldnât afford to be distracted. So they increased their power, continuing to fortify the side of the hull that was taking the brunt of the impacts.
On deck, Flora Bloom yelled to Irvin Holden in the cockpit, "Irvin Holden, start the engine! Full speed!"
âThe giant tiger sharkâs frequent, powerful impacts still havenât disintegrated our yacht. It seems Dad and Sherman Lynchâs Gold Ability has done a great job reinforcing the hull.â
âBut if our yacht stays here and takes continuous hits from the tiger shark, I canât say what will happen once Dad and Sherman Lynchâs superpowers are depleted. After all, we donât have any Crystal Cores to restore their superpowers, and running out is too dangerous.â
At Irvin Holdenâs command, the yacht roared to life at top speed and began to follow its original course.
But despite its immense size, the tiger shark was unbelievably fast. Irvin Holden had already pushed the yacht to its maximum speed, yet the shark kept pace effortlessly beneath them. From time to time, it would even jab the bottom of their hull with its hard dorsal fin.
âThis tiger shark is undoubtedly the culprit behind all the wreckage on the sea. If we canât shake it, our yacht will eventually end up in pieces too.â
Irvin Holden, drenched in sweat, piloted the yacht while the tiger shark periodically rammed the hull with its head. On deck, the four of them clung to the railings to keep from stumbling and falling.
Just then, Caleb grabbed Flora Bloomâs hand. His little face was serious as he looked at her and said, "Sister, I can control it."
Upon hearing Calebâs words, Flora Bloom suddenly slapped her forehead. âRight! For the past few days, Iâve fed all our Crystal Cores to Calebâs amazing superpower.â
âThis shark may have evolved to a certain extent, reaching Level 3 or maybe even Middle Level, but it canât have developed true intelligence yet.â
Flora Bloom knew that if the yacht broke apart and they ended up in the water, they would be no match for the tiger shark. Killing it would be incredibly difficult. âThe best solution is to capture it!â she decided, turning to Caleb.
"How confident are you?"
"Iâll try, Sister." After he spoke, a strange field emanated from Caleb, sweeping toward the tiger shark beneath the yacht.
"Itâs no good, Sister. My superpower has a range limit. The shark is too big. I need to get closer to control it with my superpower."
Flora Bloom pondered for a moment, then looked at Cynthia Grant. "Cynthia, use your vines to wrap around me and Caleb and lower us closer to the tiger shark."
"What? No way!" Jade was the first to object. The tiger shark below was so big it could swallow them all in one bite. If her daughter and Caleb got too close, it would be a suicide mission.
Just then, two sets of footsteps approached from behind. A deathly pale Caleb Bloom appeared, supporting an even paler Sherman Lynch.
"What on earth is going on?" he asked. It was clear their superpowers were depleted.
Flora Bloom handed them two bottles of spiritual water. Although spiritual water couldnât restore a depleted superpower, it could help them recover some physical strength and mental energy.
"Weâre being targeted by a tiger shark."
The two men looked at the giant tiger shark under the yacht, and their faces turned another shade paler. They looked at Flora Bloom.
"Calebâs superpower lets him communicate with living creatures. He can make the tiger shark stop moving. If we can just get close to the target, I can take the opportunity to pull the shark into my space."
"What are the chances of success?" Sherman Lynch asked.