Today is the last day for Hailong to go out to sea. Tomorrow, Hailong has to go to school to register. Bored, he sat on the fishing boat, watching the two brothers work hard to pull the fishing net back onto the boat. He spat out the leaf in his mouth and said to the two brothers, "Tomorrow, your big brother will go to college. You two shouldn't run around for the next five days. I'll come back on the weekend, and we'll continue working."
Thanks to Hailong's help, the two brothers could earn 1,000 yuan each time they went out to sea, making over 7,000 yuan in a week. Hailong often gave them extra money, so the two brothers earned nearly 20,000 yuan in a week. This made the two brothers deeply grateful to Hailong. They only provided physical labor, while finding crabs and negotiating deals were all Hailong's responsibilities, which had nothing to do with them. Thus, they only needed to work in the morning and could do what they wanted in the afternoon. There was no such leisurely and well-paid job. Following the big brother, not only did they not repay his kindness, but they often needed his help, which made them feel very guilty. However, they really couldn't help Hailong with anything. The only way to ease their guilt was to follow his orders. Hearing Hailong's request, the two brothers immediately agreed.
After putting all the crabs into the crab baskets on the boat, Hailong urged the two brothers to return quickly. He had a lot to prepare today, and his mother was packing his luggage at home. If he didn't return early, Hailong was afraid his mother would pack so much that he would need to hire a car to transport it.
Hailong had never thought that the world could be so coincidental. On the first day of class, the biology teacher standing on the podium turned out to be Li Aiguo, the technical director in charge of the biological electricity research at the institute where Hailong worked. He never expected that the old man was also a senior teacher. Back then, Hailong, who was also responsible for the Dragon King project, had frequent interactions with Li Aiguo, who was very kind to him. He never thought he would meet him here. Clearly, Li Aiguo also saw Hailong.
For Li Aiguo, the Dragon King project had once sparked his intense interest. Creating a new species with supernatural abilities captivated him from the moment he first encountered it. Unfortunately, the Dragon King project was abandoned due to the company's lack of patience. After the institute was dissolved, some of the original team members went to foreign companies to continue the research, while others returned to their original units to work on other projects. Li Aiguo, who had spent his entire career at Donghai University, was reluctant to leave, so he chose to resign and return to the university to continue teaching.
Li Aiguo still had a strong impression of Hailong, as he had worked at the institute for five years. From the start of the Dragon King project, Hailong was part of the team and was familiar with most of the people. Later, he was solely responsible for the Dragon King's daily life, which made everyone know him well. Seeing Hailong become his student, Li Aiguo patted him on the shoulder during the break and said, "I heard you got into college. I didn't expect you to come to Donghai University, and you're studying biology. How did you become interested in this field?"
Hailong respected Li Aiguo, a true academic master who was humble and approachable. Hearing Li Aiguo's question, Hailong scratched the back of his head and smiled, "Isn't it because I learned from you guys for five years? I've been influenced to only be interested in marine biology." In fact, Hailong chose this major partly because he had been influenced by the researchers at the institute and partly because he needed to learn more about marine biology to better help the Dragon King live in the sea. Donghai University's marine biology program was the most authoritative in the province, so Hailong applied for it, though he couldn't tell Li Aiguo this.
Hearing Hailong's response, Li Aiguo was very pleased. The first class in college was for teachers and students to get to know each other, but they finished in half a class. Li Aiguo originally planned to let the students have free time, but when Hailong opened the book, he saw the chapter on weak electric fields, and every word in the book shocked him.
The book mentioned that electric eels, which can generate electricity, form a weak electric field. Adult electric eels can use this weak electric field to sense if there is danger within 30 meters. Since the Dragon King is also an electric fish, could it also have a weak electric field? If so, its survival ability would be greatly enhanced. Even if it could only sense a 30-meter range, it could avoid many enemies.
The underwater environment is very complex. In the Devil Sea where the Dragon King lives, the visibility is usually less than 20 meters, and during storms, it can be less than 5 meters. If not for the four whiskers on the Dragon King's chin that emit low-voltage electricity to illuminate the surroundings, Hailong might have been eaten by large fish like black fish or grouper. If the Dragon King had a weak electric field, it could detect the distribution of creatures around it when entering the Devil Sea, preventing enemy attacks and putting it in a position to attack. The difference is significant; in the ocean, a single mistake can mean death, while a well-prepared attack can be fatal. A weak electric field would be a god-like skill for the Dragon King.
Ignoring the other students' surprised looks, Hailong directly asked his question. For those who had worked on the Dragon King project, discussing the Dragon King was an irresistible topic. Li Aiguo had this idea back then, and his concept was always integrated into the Dragon King's body. Otherwise, how could the whiskers on the Dragon King's chin emit electricity, or how could there be two high-voltage discharge points in its mouth? This was all due to Li Aiguo's efforts.
Hearing Hailong's question, Li Aiguo immediately responded, excitedly saying, "Back then, I had this idea, hoping the Dragon King could generate a weak electric field. The whiskers on its chin were designed for this purpose. As long as the four whiskers on the Dragon King's chin simultaneously release a constant current, the current would automatically circulate inside and outside the Dragon King's body, with low-voltage electricity continuously radiating out and being reabsorbed by the whiskers. When the current passes through the brain's nerve cells, I modified the Dragon King's nervous system to have a specialized neural center to analyze the information from the weak electric field, similar to a radar, displaying the situation within dozens of meters around the Dragon King. The range of the weak electric field is determined by the voltage. For example, when the Dragon King grows to 10 meters in length and releases several thousand volts, it can detect situations hundreds of meters away." Speaking about his field, Li Aiguo couldn't help but feel proud, but thinking about the unfinished Dragon King project, he sighed heavily. Hailong could only offer words of comfort.
Actually, no one outside the institute knew what the Dragon King was. So, to the rest of the class, Hailong and their tutor seemed like two lunatics, speaking incomprehensible terms and names. When the class ended, Hailong followed Li Aiguo to the teacher's office to continue discussing the Dragon King. He only returned to the classroom when the next class started. Then, the Dragon King lay on the table, pretending to sleep, while its soul entered the Dragon King's body. When the class ended, what Hailong and Li Aiguo discussed immediately became a topic of discussion among the students. Seeing the two of them talking animatedly, everyone understood that Hailong was a top student, and the class was surprised to have such a student. They wanted to ask Hailong what they discussed during the break, but Hailong went directly to the teacher's office, which only reinforced their curiosity.
Hailong didn't sleep but transferred his soul to the Dragon King's body. Although the class was short, Hailong understood Li Aiguo's explanation quite well. After working with these people for five years, he was eager to see if the Dragon King could use this ability, as it was crucial for its survival.
Hailong had always been curious about the four whiskers on the Dragon King's chin. The current they emitted was very weak, and the voltage was low, not enough to stun fish. They were only useful for lighting. Even for lighting, the Dragon King could open its mouth and release high-voltage electricity. So, Hailong always considered the whiskers as useless. Now, he finally knew their true purpose and was eager to try.
He controlled the Dragon King to swim to the edge of the Devil Sea. Following his tutor's instructions, he slowly guided the current from the Dragon King's body to the four whiskers. Immediately, the whiskers began to emit low-voltage electricity. Hailong estimated that the maximum voltage was around 60 volts. He started with 30 volts. Gradually, the whiskers lit up, and it seemed there was a positive and negative relationship between them, forming a loop with the Dragon King's head. At this moment, a previously unknown organ in the Dragon King's head suddenly activated, taking control of the whiskers. The Dragon King used this organ to command the whiskers, such as forming a weak electric field. As soon as Hailong gave this command, he could clearly feel the weak electric field forming between the whiskers. He continued to command the Dragon King to sense the surroundings within 30 meters. The weak electric field instantly expanded, scanning the area within 30 meters. All the data was transmitted to the brain through this special organ, and all the living creatures within 30 meters appeared in Hailong's mind, like having a spy satellite. The Dragon King only needed to continuously supply 30 volts, which it could easily maintain.
If 30 meters required 30 volts, then 60 volts could scan 60 meters. This would greatly increase the chances of survival. Hailong increased the voltage to 60 volts, and indeed, the weak electric field expanded to 60 meters, making him very excited. So far, no known creature could attack from 60 meters away, and 60 volts could be sustained for 24 hours, meaning the Dragon King wouldn't be ambushed. With this new skill, Hailong was very excited and controlled the Dragon King to swim around the edge of the Devil Sea, testing the new ability.
Through practice, Hailong adapted to maintaining the weak electric field while the Dragon King swam quickly, making it like carrying a radar, preventing enemy ambushes.
It wasn't until noon that Hailong transferred his soul back to his body. Looking around, he saw that everyone had left. He stretched and prepared to go buy food. He remembered that the Mapo Tofu near the bus station was the best. Mixed with leftover rice, stir-fried, the spicy and numbing flavor with the soft tofu and warm rice was a heavenly taste, and it was cheap, only 6 yuan.
Walking and thinking, he almost drooled. Turning the corner at the bus station, he walked to the restaurant entrance. Hailong was a regular here, so he ordered his usual Mapo Tofu stir-fry and found a seat by the window, looking outside.
The first day of the university's opening was also the time for parents to return home after sending their children to school. This moment was always filled with laughter and tears. Some were happy to finally leave their parents and explore the world, while others cried, feeling sad about the departure of friends and family. Hailong, sitting by the bed, saw a girl who had just bid farewell to her parents. Seeing her parents and relatives' car disappear, she walked into the restaurant, looking lonely. Because it was noon, the restaurant, which was not very full earlier, was now packed. Seeing the girl about to leave for another restaurant, the waiter, noticing that Hailong was alone, politely led her to Hailong's table. Hailong didn't mind, especially since he was sitting with a beautiful girl, enjoying the food and her company.
However, the girl seemed to be in a bad mood. She was pouting, and then tears started to fall. Hailong quickly looked around, relieved that no one was paying attention to their table, otherwise, they might think he was mistreating his girlfriend. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Hailong, being a homebody, decided to just eat, as he didn't know her.
But the girl seemed to cry even more. Her delicate face, tear-streaked, made Hailong feel very sorry for her. He noticed that many men at other tables were glaring at him, as if they wanted to kill him. "What the hell, I don't even know her, why are you glaring at me?" But the girl was really beautiful, so beautiful that Hailong couldn't focus on his food.
Helplessly, he took out a tissue and handed it to the girl, saying, "Growing up means leaving your family to explore the world. You need to be strong."
Hu Jing, who was immersed in her own pain, had never left her parents. As the youngest and a girl, she was always pampered by her parents and brother. Suddenly leaving, she couldn't adapt, feeling more and more sad. Just as she was venting her emotions, a tissue appeared in front of her, and she heard the boy's words, which felt like a wake-up call. Seeing the boy's handsome face and thinking about her own embarrassment, she blushed and took the tissue, saying, "Thank you. I don't know why, but the more I cry, the more I want to cry. I feel better now."
Hailong almost laughed but teased her, "Eat something. You've been crying for a long time, and you must be tired. I'll treat you."
Hu Jing insisted she didn't need to, but Hailong insisted. Women often eat more when they're sad, and as a man, he had to step up. He called the waiter and started ordering dishes. Hu Jing, unable to resist, ordered a few dishes she liked.
Actually, Hu Jing never thought about letting the boy treat her. She felt he wasn't from a wealthy family, as he was eating a 6-yuan Mapo Tofu stir-fry. But he ordered a table full of dishes, costing over 100 yuan, which was expensive. Thinking about it, Hu Jing was surprised. "I don't even know your name, and you treat me like this. You're quite interesting," she said, smiling. "I'm Hu Jing, a new student. What's your name?"
Hailong was surprised by Hu Jing's beauty, especially when she smiled. He was so stunned that Hu Jing blushed and started eating, making Hailong very embarrassed. He quickly introduced himself. Hu Jing, used to such situations, didn't mind and chatted with Hailong.
When it was time to pay, Hu Jing wanted to pay, but Hailong had already paid without her noticing. She could only smile helplessly.
After sending Hu Jing back to her dorm, Hailong returned to the classroom to continue training the Dragon King. As soon as he entered the Dragon King's body, he felt its hunger. The Dragon King's appetite was growing, possibly due to its frequent electricity use or its growth. It would feel hungry every few hours. The East Sea was running out of fish, so Hailong controlled the Dragon King to enter the Devil Sea. The whiskers on its chin emitted a weak electric field, and a 3D image of the 60-meter range appeared in the Dragon King's head. Even small fish hiding in holes couldn't escape the weak electric field's detection. Hailong could now judge the size of the objects based on the light points. Large light points were usually big yellow croakers, while small light points were crabs, small fish, and shrimp.
Today, the Devil Sea was stormy, and the underwater visibility was only a few meters. Most fish were waiting for the storm to pass, but the Dragon King could ignore the weather, using its weak electric field to search for big yellow croakers. Passing a section of the seabed, he found a group of mackerel, about dozens of them, enough to satisfy the Dragon King. He controlled the Dragon King to release high-voltage electricity. The Dragon King, now nearly two meters long, could generate 900 volts, enough to cook the fish. Although it took longer, it was better than eating raw.
After eating, Hailong wandered for a while but didn't find any big yellow croakers. The near-shore area of the Devil Sea probably didn't have any, so he would have to search the open sea or the inner Devil Sea. With the weak electric field, Hailong was eager to explore the inner Devil Sea.