At those words, everyone’s hearts gave a small, uneasy lurch.

Ashalina took the flashlight from her, walked briskly out of the cabin, stepped up onto the iron railing, and peered carefully at the shells, her expression grave.

“Everyone stay alert — keep watching the surroundings at all times. Something may be living in these caves.” Ashalina’s frown deepened as she examined several other clusters of shells in different spots. “Judging by the bite marks, this creature has extremely sharp teeth, but its body is probably not much bigger than a person.”

A’Long asked nervously: “What could it be?… A shark?”

“Sharks don’t specifically feed above the waterline.” Bai Youwei rejected the idea. “And sharks don’t pick bones clean either.”

Near the broken shells, there were also the remains of fish bones.

“I’ll bring the boat in closer,” Ashalina said.

Bai Youwei thought for a moment, then turned to Pan Xiaoxin: “You go keep watch too. If something sudden happens, you’ll be the one steering the boat.”

Pan Xiaoxin nodded obediently and followed Ashalina into the narrow helm.

Despite the fishing boat’s battered exterior, its controls were surprisingly modern — a touchscreen interface. The helm had a control panel with a flat display showing the ship’s layout, which could be operated by pushing and rotating one’s finger on the screen to control the boat’s direction and movement.

After showing Pan Xiaoxin how it worked, Ashalina rolled up her trouser legs, vaulted over the railing, and jumped down onto a nearby stretch of volcanic rock.

She scooped up a handful of broken shells and stuffed them into her pocket, then picked out a few pieces and arranged them in a cross shape on one of the rocks jutting out above the waterline.

“Making a marker.”

Ashalina hopped back toward the ship in a few strides, standing on a rock and jumping upward with all her strength. At the peak of her leap, she grabbed the iron railing and climbed nimbly back onto the deck.

She pulled the handful of broken shells out of her pocket, scattered them across the deck, and picked out a few fragments to hand to Bai Youwei for a closer look.

“See these — are they shed scales?”

Bai Youwei was hit by a heavy, fishy smell and wrinkled her nose involuntarily.

Before her was a cluster of semi-transparent gray-green scales. Under the strong beam of the flashlight, she could make out concentric rings of pattern on their surface.

“The bigger ones are roughly thumb-length; the smaller ones are like tiny clipped fingernail pieces.” Ashalina analyzed. “Whatever this creature is, judging by the scales and the bite marks, its body should be roughly human-sized.”

A’Long and A’Qing kept a watchful eye on everything around them.

The water’s surface was calm, with only shallow ripples — no sign of anything unusual, no creature visible anywhere. There was no doubt danger was lurking somewhere in the darkness, but it had yet to reveal itself.

“This time — which cave do we take?” Ashalina asked Bai Youwei.

Seven caves. They had entered from the starting point, chosen the middle one, and now faced seven caves again. Which to pick?

Bai Youwei was quiet for a moment. “Let’s try the first one.”

“Alright.” Ashalina didn’t hesitate. With no leads at all, any choice was as good as another — it was pure luck either way.

She stepped into the helm and steered the fishing boat toward the first cave mouth.

The ship had a few bamboo poles on board. A’Long and A’Qing each grabbed one to use as a weapon.

Pan Xiaoxin stayed by Bai Youwei’s side, ready to act at a moment’s notice.

They entered the cave.

Same as before — relentlessly damp and cold, with a faint, rotten stench drifting through the air.

The deeper in they went, the stronger and thicker the stench grew.

Bai Youwei swept her flashlight across the water’s surface, then shone it suspiciously along both sides of the stone walls. The heavy, surrounding reek made her deeply uneasy.

Then, the boat jolted — as if it had struck something.

A’Qing lost his footing, and his bamboo pole plunged into the water. He bent to retrieve it — and a dark shape suddenly burst from below the surface!

A’Qing was startled and flung himself backward, crashing hard onto the deck!

The shadow lunged and missed, crashing against the side of the hull! Sharp claws raked against the iron plating as it slid back into the water, producing a grinding screech that set one’s teeth on edge!

Everyone on deck stood frozen, hearts hammering, staring at one another.

What on earth had that thing been?

—