123: Chapter 122 Megalodon and Vulcan Cannon

When he woke up, it was already afternoon. He opened the motorized curtains, and dazzling sunlight flooded the bedroom. After washing up, he leisurely left the room and walked along the corridor to the deck. Luck was on his side; everyone was gathered on the third-level deck having a seafood barbecue. It seemed today's catch was quite good. Cao Xiao couldn't wait to dive in and snatch some food, eating until he was satisfied. Then, he pulled up a chair by the railing to sea fish while digesting. He didn't use his Detection Function to cheat; the joy of fishing lay in the anticipation of the unknown. Fishing just for the sake of the fish would be boring.

However, Cao Xiao's fishing luck wasn't great today. After half a day, he had only caught a few small miscellaneous fish. In contrast, Niu Zhen had incredible luck, actually hooking a small shark weighing over a hundred kilograms. Without asking for help, he spent half an hour wrestling with it alone before getting it onto the boat. If the guy weren't so quiet, this small shark would have been enough for him to brag about for half a year.

A group of people crowded around the shark, chatting excitedly. Cao Xiao watched from the side, nearly driven mad with jealousy. Once his competitive spirit was ignited, it couldn't be contained. His eyes darted around twice as he thought to himself, 'It's just a small shark! I'll catch a big one right now to show you all!'

He went back to his bedroom alone and returned a moment later carrying a strange fishing rod. After placing it by the railing, he asked Duan Hong, who was watching the commotion, to get half a side of raw beef from the cold storage. This fishing rod was something he had just crafted using the Super Alloy from his space. The rod handle was ten centimeters in diameter and two meters long, looking like a small cannon barrel. When extended, it reached ten meters in length, with extremely high elasticity and strength. Forget a few hundred pounds; even a few hundred tons wouldn't snap it—provided the fisherman could withstand that much force. The fishing line was made of h1s alloy, three millimeters thick and five hundred meters long, coiled on a large, labor-saving gear winch on the rod handle. The hook was a metal spike one and a half meters long and twenty centimeters thick, with a movable metal ring on the surface. If reverse pressure was applied, the ring would slide toward the tip, and eight sickle-shaped metal blades, each 1.2 meters long, would pop out from the sides of the spike. The rod had a mounting device that could be firmly fixed to the deck's railing. This was the ultimate weapon Cao Xiao prepared for shark fishing. Sharks would gather once they smelled the blood from the raw beef; as soon as one swallowed the beef, it would be hooked fast by the 2.4-meter diameter hook. If the railing was sturdy enough, he was confident he could even prevent a blue whale from escaping.

"Mr. Cao, the beef is here." Duan Hong pushed a small cart and delivered the half-side of beef to Cao Xiao.

"Xiao Xiao, don't be childish. Who fishes like this? With such a large piece of beef, be careful not to attract a giant shark that pulls you right off the boat," Mrs. Ren said to Cao Xiao, caught between laughter and tears.

"It's fine, just watch. We'll be having fresh shark fin for dinner today," Cao Xiao said with full confidence to the crew and bodyguards who had gathered around curiously.

Seeing that Cao Xiao was going to make a big scene, Ren Keke, who loved chaos, excitedly cheered him on: "Brother-in-law, go for it! I want two servings later!"

"You want two servings? How much fin can one shark have? It won't even be enough for you alone; I'll give you a sip of soup later." Cao Xiao gave Ren Keke a sharp look and then said to several bodyguards, "Help me thread the beef onto this spike. Whatever you do, don't touch that ring! Once it's threaded, help me throw it into the sea."

Duan Hong and the others spent some effort threading the beef, then lifted it and threw it over the railing into the ocean.

Between April and September every year, the waters of Cape Town often host large numbers of Great White Sharks from around the world, coming here to feed. One can find 98 species of sharks here, including Great Whites, Whale Sharks, Spotted Jagged Sharks, and Tiger Sharks. Local legends even speak of sea monsters coming here to hunt.

Cao Xiao lay on a beach chair, cracking sunflower seeds and drinking beer. The others watched the sea from the railing for a while out of curiosity, but seeing no movement for a long time, they all went back to their own activities.

After waiting for nearly an hour, Cao Xiao was becoming impatient. Logically, there should be many sharks in this area, and the bloody scent from the beef should have attracted a large number of them in a short time. Yet, after so long, not even a shadow of a shark had appeared, which was quite strange.

Just as he was about to use his Detection Function to check the underwater situation nearby, the bell on the fishing rod suddenly rang violently. The line snapped taut, and the rod bent slightly downward.

A shark was on the hook!

Cao Xiao tossed his beer can into the sea, jumped up, and lunged for the rod. He grabbed the winch handle, extended it to one meter, and began cranking hard, shouting at the top of his lungs, "A shark's hooked! Quick, come help!"

"It's hooked? A giant shark actually ate half a side of beef! Quick! Go help Xiao Xiao! Everyone be careful—anything that can swallow a piece of beef that size in one bite must be massive, maybe a Great White! If you can't pull it, just cut the line!" Ren Keyong happened to see this and muttered to himself in surprise, but he immediately realized something was wrong. A shark capable of biting off half a side of beef would weigh at least several tons, and with its strength in the water, it was essentially impossible to reel in. He urgently shouted to Duan Hong and the others who were playing nearby.

"Ah! My shark fin is here! Don't fight me for it, it's all mine!" Seeing the commotion, Ren Keke threw down her playing cards and ran toward Cao Xiao with a scream.

The rod and line were incredibly sturdy, so there was no fear of them snapping. Cao Xiao turned the winch with all his might to retrieve the line. Under the leverage of the handle, the winch turned slowly. With the material strength of the Super Alloy, this rod could practically be used as a crane. Although it was strenuous, it meant the fish could be slowly pulled up.

Niu Zhen was the first to arrive. With his powerful help, the winch turned faster; the two of them managed a full rotation in just a few seconds. Then Duan Hong took over, and together with Niu Zhen, they turned the winch even faster. The rod was vibrating; the shark underwater must have been struggling desperately, yet it was still being slowly pulled toward the surface.

In less than five minutes, about eighty meters of line had been retrieved. Just when everyone thought it wouldn't be long before the shark was pulled up, the previously taut line suddenly went slack. Duan Hong and Niu Zhen had been pulling so hard they nearly tumbled into the sea from the sudden loss of resistance.

Did the shark get off the hook?

Did the line snap?

Cao Xiao was stunned. This was impossible; even a Great White caught by that oversized hook wouldn't get free, and the line certainly wouldn't break. What exactly was happening in the sea?

The others were also disappointed and began to disperse. Niu Zhen stepped aside, while Duan Hong frowned and began to quickly reel in the slack. But at that moment, the previously straight rod suddenly bent downward by at least thirty degrees, the tip forming an arc.

It bit again?

Duan Hong was startled. Fortunately, the winch had a reverse-lock function, so he wasn't injured by the handle. Otherwise, under the influence of this massive force, the winch would have spun rapidly. Since Duan Hong had retracted the handle while reeling in and wasn't using much force, the handle would have flown out of his grip and struck his palm.

Duan Hong reacted quickly, extending the handle again and beginning to crank with all his might. But even with his full strength, he could barely move it. Seeing the situation was bad, Niu Zhen also rushed forward to help. Yet, even with two men whose strength far exceeded that of ordinary people giving it their all, they could only move the winch by less than ninety degrees.

Cao Xiao was also extraordinarily shocked. He knew the load-bearing capacity of the rod very well. Bending the rod to this degree was not something an ordinary shark could do—not even an adult Great White. It would take at least tens or even a hundred tons of force to achieve this!

Had he hooked a whale?

But it wasn't over. The unknown giant fish below seemed to be provoked; it suddenly dived, dragging the line down. The rod bent a full ninety degrees, and the metal railing where the rod was mounted emitted a creaking sound as if it were about to snap. The yacht also rocked violently, causing several female servers who hadn't braced themselves to fall onto the deck, followed by a chorus of screams.

His body swayed, and Cao Xiao finally realized something major was happening. The giant fish below couldn't be a shark or a whale. Sharks didn't have such terrifying strength. Whales were hard to say, but except for a few small species, most whales were gentle and not this aggressive. For a moment, he really couldn't imagine what other giant fish existed in the ocean besides whales. Had he hooked a sea monster this time?

He didn't hesitate any longer and immediately activated his Detection Function. The underwater scene appeared before his eyes. When he saw the culprit, he couldn't help but gasp! He cried out in his heart: 'How can this damn thing actually exist?!'

Strictly speaking, the creature on the hook was indeed a shark, but it wasn't an ordinary Great White or similar species. It was a prehistoric giant shark believed to have been extinct for ages—the Megalodon.

The world's oceans are unfathomably deep, harboring many unknown creatures, including those once thought to be extinct. Giant squids, coelacanths, and right whales—ancient marine life thought to have vanished millions of years ago—have suddenly left traces or been sighted and even captured by humans in recent years. The Megalodon was among them. Coincidentally, a Megalodon, which had disappeared for over two million years, had appeared in the deep sea area where the yacht was currently located a few years ago. It had directly attacked a chartered fishing boat, causing it to sink with no survivors.

An adult Megalodon can reach thirty meters in length and weigh over eighty tons. A Tyrannosaurus Rex, at about 13 meters long, is like a child compared to a Megalodon; a Megalodon could swallow a T-Rex's head in one bite. Feeding on whales and other large fish, this super monster needs to eat 1.1 tons of food every day—equivalent to a small truckload—and is more efficient than any predator in history. A Megalodon can surge up from the deep with the force of a freight train, instantly launching an attack on its prey before moving on to the next. Its camouflage in the water is incredible; the skin near its back is dark while its belly is light. If you look down from above, you'll find this behemoth blends into the dark depths, completely invisible. If you look up from below, its color blends with the sky. Even sensitive whales cannot detect a lurking Megalodon.

The creature dragging the line underwater was an adult Megalodon. The seawater in that area had been stained red with blood. This blood wasn't just leaking from its mouth; most of it came from a shark nearby. This shark's head was missing, likely bitten off by the Megalodon, and its body was slowly floating upward. Meanwhile, the hook had entered the Megalodon's mouth. Furthermore, many other sharks were swimming rapidly around this colossus, many with large chunks of flesh missing—undoubtedly the Megalodon's work. Seeing this, Cao Xiao finally understood what had happened: that unlucky juvenile Great White had fortunately bitten the beef-laden hook, only to unfortunately have its head bitten off by the Megalodon.

The strength of the railing's metal was far inferior to the Super Alloy; it wouldn't hold for long before snapping or being torn right off the hull. The situation was critical, and he couldn't afford to hesitate. Killing this Megalodon would be easy for him, but it was better to do it openly. After all, he had hooked it himself; catching a prehistoric shark like this would be enough to brag about until the day he died.

Thinking of this, he didn't hesitate. He sprinted back to his bedroom and then laboriously dragged a large wooden crate to the railing.

"Brother Niu, Brother Duan, forget the rod! Come here, quick!" Cao Xiao shouted to the two men who were still trying to turn the winch. He then turned to Li Quanshuo and the other three bodyguards: "Quick, go to my bedroom and bring down the other crates!"

Cao Xiao opened the wooden crate, revealing over a dozen black metal spheres the size of small watermelons. These were depth charges he had created. Yesterday at the port, he had found a lot of weapons and ammunition on those warships. After having the AI improve the internal explosive charge, he produced many using the original materials. One reason was to prepare for the mercenary group, and the other was to keep them in his space for future use. These depth charges, being the same size, weren't much more powerful than the originals, and since they were miniaturized, their power was limited. However, he didn't plan on using these bombs to kill the Megalodon. As long as he could stun it or drive it to the surface, he had plenty of good things to greet it with.

Duan Hong and the other man guessed Cao Xiao's plan upon seeing these items. Following Cao Xiao's instructions, they set the depth and began throwing them into the sea one by one. Li Quanshuo and the others also arrived with two crates. Cao Xiao had them open the crates. People might not have recognized the depth charges since their shapes had been altered to be round, but no one failed to recognize the items in these two crates. These were the famous Vulcan Cannons—and not the original versions, but oversized, magically modified versions.

They had six more barrels than the original, a much larger caliber, and were a third longer, yet they were actually slightly lighter. After being redesigned by the AI, the recoil was much smaller than the original, while the power was increased rather than decreased. In this way, the name 'Vulcan Cannon' truly lived up to its reputation.

"We might have encountered a sea monster. Except for the bodyguards, everyone else get into the cabins immediately! Now! Brother Duan, you two form a team to operate these two Vulcan Cannons. The bullets are all armor-piercing. When that big guy appears on the surface, give it everything you've got. The other two, keep dropping the bombs," Cao Xiao arranged the panicked crowd with an authoritative tone.

His mind remained focused on the Megalodon. Several bombs were already nearing the area, but Cao Xiao immediately pulled all the bombs in the water into his space and then released them all around the Megalodon at a distance of twenty meters. He didn't want to blow the Megalodon to pieces; he only needed to stun it or force it to the surface.