"Xiao Chen, I can hold my breath underwater for ages!"
"Xiao Chen, I can see so clearly underwater! I can even make out every grain of sand on the seabed!"
"Xiao Chen, the fish in the water aren't afraid of me!"
"..."
At Lin Zichen's suggestion, Shen Qinghan kept trying all kinds of things in the water to test her aquatic abilities.
After each attempt, her little face was filled with astonishment. She hadn't expected she could do so many incredible things underwater.
She suddenly felt like she didn't know herself at all.
Lin Zichen watched from the side the whole time, just as astonished.
Shen Qinghan's abilities in the water were in no way inferior to his, despite his [Water Fusion Fortune] attribute.
With aquatic abilities this insanely good, what could it be if not a supernatural power?
Bed-Wetter King? Water Elementalist!
For the rest of their time there, Lin Zichen had Shen Qinghan try all kinds of things underwater, watching to see whether her body underwent any unusual changes.
For example, whether her pores expanded or contracted abnormally, her body temperature suddenly rose or fell, or her heartbeat suddenly sped up or slowed down.
But after observing her for a while, he found nothing.
While Shen Qinghan was submerged, her physical condition was no different from an ordinary person's. There were no unusual changes at all.
It looks like I won't find the answer just by watching her. I'll have to search online or look through relevant books when we get back. That might be the only way to solve this mystery...
Lin Zichen thought to himself.
As he pondered, Shen Qinghan, who had been holding her breath underwater for more than ten minutes, burst up out of the water with a splash.
Her entire little face was flushed red.
She gulped down huge breaths of fresh air.
After a moment, when she'd caught her breath a little, she looked at Lin Zichen expectantly and asked, "Xiao Chen, how long was I holding my breath?"
"Eleven minutes and two seconds." Lin Zichen checked the timer on his phone before answering.
Without proper training, no one could hold their breath underwater for that long.
Yet Shen Qinghan had never even been to a swimming pool in her life, and she could still hold her breath underwater for that long. It was simply incredible.
Realizing this, Shen Qinghan grew so excited that her whole face lit up. "Xiao Chen, I think I'm really talented when it comes to being in the water. I'm not a useless girl after all!"
"You were never useless. You ranked in the top hundred across the whole district in the cultural subjects of the high school entrance exam. How many people could ever hope to get a score like that?"
"But in front of you, I'm just..."
"...I told you, you're not useless."
Before Shen Qinghan could finish, Lin Zichen, floating in front of her, cut her off.
After that, the air around them fell silent.
Only the swell of the sea and the sea breeze brushed past their ears from time to time.
About three seconds later, Shen Qinghan smiled sweetly. "Mm, I'm not useless. I wasn't before, I'm not now, and I won't be in the future."
It was a smile from the heart, brimming with the purest joy.
Just then, Lin Yansheng called loudly to them from the shore. "Xiao Chen, Hanhan, hurry over and eat some barbecue!"
Along with his voice came the tempting aroma of grilled meat.
Just smelling it from a distance made Shen Qinghan swallow. She smiled at Lin Zichen and said, "Xiao Chen, come on, let's go eat!"
She turned toward the shore, eager to swim back and dig into the barbecue.
But just as she was about to start swimming, she suddenly stopped moving in the water for some reason. Her expression looked a little strange.
Recognizing that familiar look, Lin Zichen realized what was happening. He instantly went numb, quickly pretended not to notice anything, and swam for shore.
Though he was numb with shock, he knew Shen Qinghan hadn't done it on purpose, and he didn't blame her at all.
After all, there were some things Shen Qinghan truly couldn't control.
That night.
Lying on his stomach in bed with his phone in hand, Lin Zichen searched online, describing one by one Shen Qinghan's incredible feats in the water that day.
In the end, he found nothing.
He was at a loss. How could this world's search engines be so useless? No matter what he asked, they knew nothing!
First it was the "Abyssal Giant Butterfly," then the "Life Origin," and now Shen Qinghan's "incredible aquatic abilities." He couldn't find the information he wanted about any of them.
This world really was mysterious. So mysterious that everything was unknown.
It had the beauty of, "Without math and science, life is full of myths."
He shook his head and put his phone down.
While everyone was asleep, Lin Zichen slipped out of the seaside villa and went swimming in the ocean to train.
He'd originally meant to go running, but the moment he thought of the indescribable feeling of being immersed in water, he couldn't help changing his mind and going for a swim instead.
At this stage, his longing for water was stronger than ever.
It was all because of the effect of the [Water Fusion Fortune] biological attribute.
He figured that after spending more time in the water, he would eventually get used to it, grow tired of it, and lose that sense of novelty. Only then would he return to normal.
[You swam 10 kilometers. Vitality +8888, full-body muscle strength +2000, full-body muscle coordination +2000, aquatic ability +1000, swimming technique +1000] [You swam underwater for 10 kilometers. Vitality +8888, full-body muscle strength +2000, full-body muscle coordination +2000, aquatic ability +1000, oxygen deprivation resistance +1000, water pressure resistance +1000, underwater swimming technique +1000]
After more than two hours, Lin Zichen finally finished his swimming workout.
He sat on the shore and rested for nearly half an hour. Once he felt he'd recovered enough, he plunged back into the water.
This time, though, he didn't swim for exercise. He held his breath and explored the underwater world.
[You are using your eyes on the dim seafloor. Oxygen deprivation resistance +1, water pressure resistance +1, underwater vision +1, night vision +1...]
After exploring for a while, Lin Zichen found that the seafloor seemed much richer than the land.
To sum it up in two idioms, it was dazzlingly colorful and endlessly varied.
The marine life that lived below was more diverse and stranger in shape than terrestrial life.
"The ocean really is the Origin Land of life. It seems to have far deeper foundations than the land. I hope that one day I can evolve enough to survive underwater and explore the mysterious world beneath the sea..."
Carrying this perhaps attainable fantasy with him, Lin Zichen continued exploring the seabed while holding his breath, training his oxygen deprivation resistance and water pressure resistance.
[You are holding your breath on the dim seafloor. Oxygen deprivation resistance +1, water pressure resistance +1] [You are using your eyes on the dim seafloor. Oxygen deprivation resistance +1, water pressure resistance +1, underwater vision +1, night vision +1,] [You are moving around on the dim seafloor. Underwater mobility +1, aquatic ability +1...]
And so, Lin Zichen trained underwater in fits and starts for nearly two hours. When the time seemed about right, he surfaced and returned to the seaside villa to rest.
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