Speculation

Crack, crack, crack.

After eating three sea shrimp in a row, Xia Qiu's belly swelled with fullness. He quickly swam to the side, burrowed into a pile of sand beneath a protruding rock, and hid in the shadows.

The familiar warm current came again. Half an hour later, he began to excrete, and an hour later, he was hungry again.

Xia Qiu left the mud and sand and examined the traces he had left behind. They were about forty centimeters long.

As for how he knew it was forty centimeters... well, a magnetic voice in his mind had told him. Such a sexy voice had to belong to the author.

It had already been two days since he had transmigrated into a fish's body, and over those two days, his body length had increased by ten centimeters.

His weight had increased by at least three hundred grams.

Such a growth rate was simply too unbelievable.

His daily food intake was nearly equal to his body weight, and his digestion speed was astonishing. After every meal, he needed to eat again within an hour.

Both his growth rate and food conversion efficiency were remarkable. Almost every time he ate, his weight increased by a noticeable amount.

This was far beyond his understanding.

What exactly was going on?

Xia Qiu had no answer to the question in his heart. He could only bury it deep down and continue eating.

Xia Qiu swam into the distance. Just as he was about to catch more sea shrimp, a school of fish, around a dozen of them, swam over from afar.

These fish had enormous heads and protruding lower jaws. Their bodies were flattened from side to side, with scales along their backs on either side of their dorsal fins. The area near the scales was yellowish-brown, while their bellies were golden yellow.

They looked very much like Large yellow croaker.

Xia Qiu was naturally familiar with Large yellow croaker. Large yellow croaker, Small yellow croaker, and Hairtail were three of China's major seafood products.

Among them, the Zhoushan large yellow croaker from Xia Qiu's hometown, Zhoushan City, was famous throughout the country.

Historically, Zhoushan large yellow croaker had been the preferred tribute used by fishermen in sea-sacrifice rituals, as well as a prized seafood delicacy for entertaining distinguished guests.

Zhoushan large yellow croaker had tender, fresh meat, abundant protein, high calcium content, and a variety of trace elements and vitamins. It was highly nutritious.

Zhoushan large yellow croaker was best steamed. If it was pan-fried, plenty of oil had to be used, or it would easily fall apart.

Xia Qiu had not expected to find Large yellow croaker here. Large yellow croaker were distributed across the southern Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea. Could he still be within the Chinese sea area?

Wouldn't that allow him to narrow down his location?

Xia Qiu felt a sliver of hope. Even if knowing where he was would not allow him to return to his original society, it would at least bring him some psychological comfort.

Looking at the Large yellow croaker swimming before him, Xia Qiu decided to switch foods and taste one of them.

Xia Qiu locked onto their bodies, flicked his tail, and immediately charged toward the school.

Splash.

Sensing Xia Qiu approaching from behind, the Large yellow croaker sped up and swam into the distance.

But Xia Qiu was far too fast, constantly closing the distance between them.

Splash.

The instant Xia Qiu drew near, the yellow croakers scattered in every direction and fled.

This one.

Xia Qiu targeted the Large yellow croaker closest to him.

This yellow croaker was around twenty centimeters long and weighed roughly two hundred and fifty grams, enough to fill his belly.

Xia Qiu caught up to it in an instant. Its body swayed as it darted to the side.

But the moment it turned sideways, Xia Qiu's speed suddenly surged. He instantly bit into its flank.

Smack.

A cloud of blood burst from its side, and Xia Qiu sucked a large mouthful of fish flesh into his stomach.

The Large yellow croaker died instantly, and its body slowly sank.

Xia Qiu followed close behind, continuously gnawing at its sides and swallowing the flesh from both flanks. He then tore off the fat from its belly.

After Xia Qiu finished eating, all that remained on the sandy seabed was a fish skeleton with the head, tail, and some scraps of flesh still attached.

So full.

Xia Qiu felt his belly swelling with fullness. He was a little stuffed.

He had probably eaten around a hundred grams of fish meat, which was a bit too much for him.

But he possessed powerful digestive abilities. Before long, it would be converted into nutrients for his growth.

Xia Qiu swam to the side and buried his body in the mud and sand, remaining perfectly still. This could slow his digestion somewhat and alleviate the pain when the warm current appeared.

Crack, crack, crack.

This warm current was even denser. It instantly spread throughout his body, and his bones let out faint sounds.

The strange sounds from his bones had only occurred after he first ate sea shrimp. The extent of his evolution then had also been greater than afterward.

Could it be because he had changed foods?

Did the first time he ate any particular kind of food always bring about a far greater degree of evolution than subsequent times?

Xia Qiu shook his head, endured the pain, and waited for the warm current to fade.

But at that moment, Xia Qiu noticed a school of small fish swimming beside the Large yellow croaker's corpse in the distance.

The smallest of these fish were only ten centimeters long, while the largest were around twenty centimeters. They had cylindrical bodies, earthy yellow backs, lighter-colored bellies, and slightly silvery-gray tails. They had pointed snouts and relatively large eyes.

They swam in groups. Upon seeing the Large yellow croaker's corpse, some immediately moved closer and sucked at the remaining flesh.

Sand lance.

Xia Qiu realized that these fish looked very much like sand lance, a fish that fed on plankton, planktonic crustaceans, and marine worms, and lived on the seabed of coastal waters.

Sand lance existed in considerable numbers in the waters of many countries. Within China, most were found along the southern coast. Combined with the Large yellow croaker, could he be in the coastal waters of the South China Sea?

Xia Qiu made a guess and decided to observe a little longer.

He remained in the mud and sand, paying no attention to the sand lance as they swam past in the distance and disappeared far away.

Once the warm current weakened, Xia Qiu slowly rose and swam toward the surface.

He would continue exploring the nearby waters.

Splash.

Xia Qiu's head broke through the surface, and he looked into the distance.

He discovered that his eyesight was excellent. Unlike most fish, which could only see nearby scenery, he could clearly see even distant sights and freely adjust his focus between near and far.

Moreover, his perception of color was not much different from before. Colors remained extremely vivid.

Most importantly, his field of vision was far broader, allowing him to take in the sights on both sides at once.

The first two traits were vastly different from those of most fish, but Xia Qiu was no longer surprised by the differences between himself and ordinary fish.

Xia Qiu looked into the distance. To his right was an island. The side of the island facing the sea was a small earthen slope covered in green plants. One particular plant made up the vast majority of them. It stood roughly four to eight meters tall, with luxuriant umbrella-like leaves shaped like inverted eggs.

Sea Mango.

It grew in coastal wetlands, along riverbanks, and in the sandy soil of islands.

It also preferred warm, humid climates and mostly grew in tropical regions.

Large yellow croaker, sand lance, and Sea Mango.

Could he really be in the coastal waters of the Chinese South China Sea?

Just as Xia Qiu was thinking this, a ship slowly sailed out from the other side of the island.

It was still a huge wooden sailing ship, with three masts, eight sails, and two rows of cannon ports along its sides.

A pattern was painted on the square sail of the first mast and the uppermost square sail of the second mast.

A seagull holding a scale in its beak.

On the upper sail, beneath the pattern, was an English word: MARINE. Navy.

At the sight of that symbol, Xia Qiu froze.

Wasn't that the Marine emblem from One Piece?

This was a Marine ship.

How could it be here?

He had never heard of a life-sized replica Marine ship.

And even if one existed, how could it be sailing at sea and passing between islands?

Where exactly am I?