Dolphins

There were roughly a dozen dolphins, the longest around seven meters, the shortest over three meters.

They were enormous.

At seven meters long, they were already considered quite large among the Dolphin family.

Other than Orcinus and Pseudorca, few dolphins in the Dolphin family could grow that large.

Yet the dolphins before him had moderately long beaks and pronounced, distant forehead bulges. They were not killer whales, but looked more like Common Bottlenose Dolphins.

On Earth, however, adult Common Bottlenose Dolphins only reached around two and a half meters at most. It was simply impossible for them to grow this large.

But in this world, there were island whales larger than islands, Island-Devouring Monsters that looked like goldfish and swallowed islands, and elephants whose backs could support an entire nation.

Xia Qiu was not surprised to see dolphins like these.

Dolphins were nearly the smartest animals in the ocean. Other intelligent creatures included cephalopods such as Octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.

Dolphins had an extremely high brain-to-body ratio, with many deep cerebral folds and highly developed brain cells.

Most importantly, they possessed powerful Sonar Systems.

They could emit Ultrasound and use echolocation to locate targets.

Moreover, dolphin sonar was highly sensitive. The Dolphin family had the most sensitive sonar among cetacean mammals.

They could detect metal wires with a diameter of 0.2 millimeters and nylon ropes with a diameter of 1 millimeter several meters away, distinguish between two signals separated by 200 picoseconds, and detect schools of fish hundreds of meters away.

At the same time, their sonar had powerful discriminatory abilities. They could distinguish different fish species and materials, even telling apart the echoes from their own sounds and echoes replayed by humans.

Their sonar could also convey emotions, and they could use their Sonar Systems to communicate with one another.

What Xia Qiu wanted was a Sonar System.

His vision far surpassed that of sea fish, but as his hunting range expanded, the light grew dim in deeper waters, making it difficult to see his surroundings clearly.

But if he possessed a Sonar System, he could accurately catch prey and evade enemies.

His ability to sense vibrations had high requirements for vibrations. The stronger the vibration, the more clearly he could sense it.

Moreover, vibrations were easily obscured and affected, and their detection range was not very far.

He needed a better detection system.

Both the positioning and discriminatory abilities of a Sonar System were what Xia Qiu needed.

Capture them.

With that thought, Xia Qiu accelerated toward the distant dolphins.

This pod of dolphins had discovered Xia Qiu long ago, but they had not paid him much attention and kept a certain distance from him.

But when Xia Qiu charged toward them and suddenly sped up, they sensed it and accelerated as well.

Whoosh.

They were incredibly fast, their streamlined bodies granting them tremendous speed.

Dolphins could reach speeds of thirty to forty kilometers per hour. Ordinary sharks could not catch them.

But Xia Qiu was different.

His body contained tremendous power. The size of his fins and the strength of his muscles far surpassed those of fish of the same size.

This made him incredibly fast, comparable to the Great White Shark, the fastest among sharks, reaching speeds of forty-five kilometers per hour.

Whoosh.

Xia Qiu rapidly closed in on the pod, continuously narrowing the distance.

Faster, faster.

Xia Qiu drew closer to the dolphins and soon reached their rear.

Faced with Xia Qiu's pursuit, the dolphins suddenly scattered and swam into the distance.

Were they splitting up to escape?

Xia Qiu continued chasing them, only to realize that they were not fleeing. After opening up the distance, they maintained a fixed interval and swam side by side.

Were they trying to make him attack one dolphin while the others took the chance to flee?

Xia Qiu closed the nictitating membranes over his eyes and charged at one dolphin. The dolphin sped ahead, and Xia Qiu pursued it with all his strength.

But just as Xia Qiu closed to within two or three meters behind it, he suddenly realized that he had been surrounded by dolphins.

The other dolphins were at his sides and behind him, encircling him.

What was this?

Xia Qiu was startled, and the next moment, the dolphins charged toward him.

Were they trying to ram him?

Did they take me for a shark?

Although most dolphins were smaller than sharks, they were not afraid of them.

Aside from killer whales, other dolphin pods also possessed considerable fighting strength when they encountered sharks.

They were fast. Unless they encountered a Great White Shark, they could stay away from most sharks.

Even when they did encounter sharks, they could charge them in groups and drive them away.

Ordinary sharks would not actively attack dolphins. It was not worth the trouble. Even if they occasionally attacked and managed to eat one, they would be driven away afterward.

And if they encountered the big brother of dolphins, the killer whale, then the shark would become the prey.

Whether one-on-one or in a group fight, killer whales were no weaker than sharks.

Killer whales had tremendous strength, sharp teeth, and ample intelligence.

When killer whales attacked sharks, they would flip them over and expose their bellies, potentially causing the sharks to enter a state of tonic immobility.

Some killer whales would even attack a shark's heart, causing it to stop.

More importantly, killer whales could even use "Karate," stirring the ocean currents with their tails to form a vortex that forced sharks to rise to the surface through lift. Then they would rotate their bodies and slash at their enemies with their tails, similar to a Karate palm strike, even knocking sharks unconscious.

But he was not an ordinary shark.

His body was enormous, covered in hard scales and thick muscles. How could they possibly ram him away?

Ignoring them, Xia Qiu swam forward with all his strength and bit down on a dolphin.

Crunch.

Xia Qiu swallowed the dolphin whole and crushed it in his jaws.

The instant he bit down, the remaining dolphins slammed into Xia Qiu's body.

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

Xia Qiu felt waves of force coming from the upper right, while the dolphins on his left began striking the lower right.

One pushed upward, the other downward, forcing him to turn over.

They really were smart.

Dolphins could communicate through their Sonar Systems and devise tactics.

They could surround, cross over, and ram their opponents.

And killer whales among them could even use themselves as bait, letting seals and sea lions chase them onto shallow shores before having other killer whales hunt them.

Under their impacts, Xia Qiu's massive body swayed slightly. Though their strength was insufficient to flip him over, it did halt his movements.

But at that moment, Xia Qiu rotated in the direction of the dolphins' impacts.

Boom.

His enormous body suddenly crashed down as they launched their second attack, while his pectoral fins swung down viciously with the rotation.

Rotating Palm Strike.

Boom.

The dolphin on his left that had struck his lower body was crushed beneath him.

Bang.

His pectoral fin struck a dolphin, directly knocking it unconscious.

Then Xia Qiu turned his body and bit at the dolphin on his left. As he turned, he swung his tail, the thick appendage sweeping sideways and striking two dolphins.

Bang, bang.

The dolphins were sent flying.

And Xia Qiu's jaws had already bitten down on another dolphin.

Crunch, crunch.

Xia Qiu ate the dolphin, and the dolphins' actions had no effect whatsoever.

But the next moment, five or six dolphins suddenly swam away, opening up the distance.

Xia Qiu did not pursue them. He had already taken down enough dolphins, more than enough for a meal.

There was no need to chase those dolphins any further.

Xia Qiu gnawed on the dolphins and swallowed them into his stomach, their blood dyeing the surrounding waters red.

After eating seven or eight dolphins, Xia Qiu reached his maximum intake. It would probably take more than two hours to digest them.

Xia Qiu slowly returned to his habitat and waited for evolution to begin.

"What an incredible fish."

On a massive rock northwest of the sea island, an orange-haired girl sat with binoculars raised to watch the distant sea. She watched the enormous black fish hunt dolphins, dive into the ocean, and disappear. Lowering her binoculars, she revealed a puzzled expression. "There's such a huge sea fish around here? It swims quickly and is extremely vicious. It isn't a shark or a whale. What species is it?"

The girl thought for a while, then shook her head. Looking at the sky, she said, "It's going to rain soon. Time to head back."

She stood up, leaped across the rocks, left the shore, and ran toward home.