10 The Fattening Plan (1/2)

If the shark could roar, it would have. Its whole body numb, the shark turned sharply, opened its bloody mouth, and dashed toward Chen Fan.

Chen Fan, who felt rather than saw the shark turn, managed to dodge the attack just in time. Twisting with all his might, he managed to escape what would have been a fatal blow. Even so, he did not escape unscathed; the shark’s razor-sharp teeth nicked the eel’s cheek, leaving a white gash.

The shark considered retreating at this point, the potential meal not worth the high electrical charge. Chen Fan noticed the shark beginning to retreat, but could not keep up the high voltage. As the charge weakened to only a few dozen volts, the shark’s numbness decreased as well. With regained feeling came renewed spirit. It was not going to retreat! The shark charged Chen Fan again at top speed.

”Ah!” Chen Fan had calmed a little at the prospect of the shark’s retreat. When it renewed its charge, Chen Fan succumbed to a depthless fear, screamed again, and swam for his life.

This vicious shark would not give up after being attacked. To catch up with its prey, the shark flicked its tail faster than a piston engine.

I'm so dead!

Exhausted, Chen Fan couldn’t generate a trace of electric current. Watching the shark gain on him, he was ready to close his eyes and wait for his death.

”Wait! What was that?” In the moment before his death, Chen Fan noticed an intricate orange-red coral with a cave about the size of a small pail down on his right.

He was like a drowning man given a straw. In milliseconds, Chen Fan was full of adrenaline. With new energy, Chen Fan twisted like a rope and managed to get into the pitch-black cave.

Bang!

As soon as he got into the cave, it started shaking as if there were an earthquake. Small pieces of coral rained down on his head.

Chen Fan knew the shark had crashed into the coral. He could smell blood.

The cave was big enough for Chen Fan to turn around. As he did so, he saw that the shark's entire face had coral and stone pieces sticking out of it. The sight made Chen Fan laugh out loud.

When Chen Fan realized the shark had no intention of leaving, he stopped laughing. Stirred into a frenzy, it swam back and forth at the entrance of the cave.

”Oh God. It’s testing my patience!”

Half an hour later, the shark still refused to leave. After resting a bit, Chen Fan decided to shift his consciousness back to his own body. Since the cave would be safe enough for the eel for the time being, he simply went to sleep. The encounter with the shark had given him a headache.

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Early the next morning, Chen Fan’s intense hunger woke him up just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

The shark from last night was gone. It had probably run out of patience.

Still uneasy, Chen Fan stretched out his head cautiously and looked around. There were no large fish around. He waited patiently for a little while longer until he was sure there was no danger.

”When am I going to leave if not now?”

Chen Fan didn't want to hang around in this area anymore. The sunken ship was very attractive, but if he lost the electric eel avatar, it wouldn’t matter if it was a mermaid!