Hailong handed out the money on the spot, paying each person a thousand yuan. Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Hailong distributed the wages. Once they received the thousand yuan, the crowd went wild, for the money was too easy to earn. The journey from the fishing village was only a few kilometers, and their role was merely to set and retrieve the nets. Earning a thousand yuan a day, and another thousand the next day, they could make nearly ten thousand yuan a month. These children, accustomed to poverty, had never had more than 100 yuan in pocket money. Suddenly realizing they could earn ten thousand yuan a month, they all became bewildered. Then, Hailong called over Liu Yong'an's team and gave them a bonus of two thousand yuan, which averaged out to about 300 yuan per person.
Seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces, Hailong gathered them around and said with a smile, "How does it feel to earn ten thousand yuan a month? Follow me, and in a year, you'll all be rich, earning a hundred thousand yuan annually. Then you can find a white-collar worker to marry in Donghai City, because their annual salary is also around a hundred thousand yuan. But they have to work every day, stay up late, and face criticism from their bosses the next day. You, on the other hand, only need to work two days a week, for just a morning each day. The other five days are all yours to do as you please. How does that sound?"
The crowd's eyes shifted from confusion to excitement, and then to intense desire. Without hesitation, they responded to Hailong's question, "We want to live like this, always like this." Some were already thinking about what kind of white-collar worker they would marry, refusing to settle for just any ordinary one.
Seeing the fervent looks in their eyes, Hailong said with a smile, "Go home and rest well. We have to go out to sea again tomorrow. You've caught all the crabs here, so we'll have to change locations." Although the crowd dispersed after Hailong spoke, Liu Yong'an and Liu Yongquan exchanged a glance. In the morning, when they overheard the old men talking, they were already filled with anger. When the leader asked what to do if Guan Dahai came, they had such an indifferent attitude, even wanting the leader to solve Guan Dahai's problem for them. Could the leader, who was just one person, deal with Guan Dahai, that thug? The leader was giving each child a thousand yuan for going out to sea, so why should he face Guan Dahai alone when he came to demand money?
Moreover, when they asked for help, they said they would take responsibility for any future problems. But when it came to the crucial issue today, they all shrank back like turtles, asking the leader to find a solution for them. Why should they get all the benefits while the leader suffered? Who were they to treat the leader this way? The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, and they looked at the young people from the fishing village with disapproval. But since the leader had already agreed, they had no choice. In the end, they decided to probe the young people's attitudes, to see how they felt about Guan Dahai. If they were willing to fight Guan Dahai like the brothers, they would say nothing. But if they acted like the old men and cowered, the brothers would advise the leader not to bring this group along to make money, as they were too ungrateful. They put their plan into action, sending Hailong home and then visiting each household to gauge the crowd's feelings.
Although Hailong was not a petty person, he was not a saint either. He had always harbored resentment over the jellyfish's ambush. Hailong had analyzed the reasons for the jellyfish's attack. When he controlled the Dragon King to fight with the groupers and crabs in the Devil Sea's border area, the marine creatures might have thought the Dragon King was there to claim territory. The Devil Sea's border area did not belong to any specific marine creature, and whoever was the strongest would dominate. Therefore, the groupers and crabs saw the Dragon King as a threat. Seeing the Dragon King's small size and slender body, they underestimated him. After several battles, Hailong killed over ten groupers over a meter long, and the groupers retreated to their territory inside the Devil Sea. The crabs were all sent to the rich area, so the marine creatures in this region recognized the Dragon King's control. However, the crabs hated the Dragon King and would attack him whenever he entered their territory. Although the Dragon King could easily handle them, to catch more crabs for his fishing fleet, Hailong had to control the Dragon King to enter the crabs' territory, which posed a problem. The crabs would attack the Dragon King on sight, making it impossible for him to enter their territory directly. He had to approach from the side, entering at the boundary between the crabs' territory and other marine creatures' territory, which included the jellyfish, especially the giant jellyfish that lived in the Devil Sea without any natural predators. The jellyfish had grown to over 200 kilograms, and the last group Hailong encountered seemed even larger. Believing they had no natural predators, the jellyfish saw the Dragon King's actions in the Devil Sea's border area and thought he was there to claim territory, so they ambushed him on his way back.
Hailong found this unacceptable. If the jellyfish didn't want him to enter, they should have said so. Instead, they set a deadly trap to kill him. If not for the Dragon King's ability to release high-voltage electricity, he would have been killed. Although Hailong didn't know the exact connection between himself and the Dragon King, the Dragon King's pain was his pain, making him feel the danger. If the Dragon King had been killed, would Hailong have died too? Even if he didn't, Hailong with the Dragon King's body could live a better life, while Hailong without the Dragon King would just be an ordinary college student. Hailong hated the jellyfish deeply. On the weekend, he planned to take his team to make money, and with four days until the next trip, he could vent his anger. Hailong decided to break through the jellyfish's territory and catch crabs from there.
From what Hailong had learned, there weren't many jellyfish in this area, only about thirty to forty that were over 200 kilograms. After gathering all the information about the jellyfish's territory, Hailong, enraged, controlled the Dragon King to swim directly into the jellyfish's territory, activating the weak electric field to scan the surroundings. He found many jellyfish swimming nearby. Hailong controlled the Dragon King to swim to the jellyfish, standing nearly two meters tall in the water, and roared at them before opening his mouth and releasing a 900-volt high-voltage electric shock. In less than five seconds, the jellyfish were all dead. Hailong didn't stop there; he controlled the Dragon King to roar and swim into the center of the jellyfish's territory, declaring his revenge. Any creature that challenged the Dragon King would pay the price. The jellyfish, perhaps not expecting the Dragon King to return for revenge, had not taken any defensive measures and continued to live leisurely in their territory, unaware of the powerful enemy they had provoked.
After entering the jellyfish's territory, Hailong controlled the Dragon King to charge through without hesitation, electrocuting any giant jellyfish he saw. In no time, he had killed over ten jellyfish. Most jellyfish moved in groups, so Hailong just needed to release a high-voltage shock to kill a large area of them. Hailong felt that the jellyfish were intentionally appearing in his path, trying to lead him to other areas. After entering the jellyfish's territory for a few hundred meters, he noticed many jellyfish deliberately appearing on his path, usually in small groups. Hailong's energy was running low, and he could only release 900 volts for another half minute. But the jellyfish kept appearing in small groups, and if he ran out of energy before killing them all, he would have to retreat. This would make his angry revenge meaningless.
Realizing this, Hailong stopped following the jellyfish and turned directly toward the center of their territory. He felt there was something there. The jellyfish were terrified by the Dragon King's actions, and those responsible for leading him waved their tentacles frantically. Hailong ignored them, and they had no choice but to charge at the Dragon King, hoping to stop him from entering the center. Once the jellyfish realized the Dragon King's intention, countless jellyfish gathered from all directions, hoping to stop his advance. But they couldn't, as they were too slow and too far away. They had been hiding dozens of meters away to conserve energy and ambush the Dragon King, but now their plan backfired. The Dragon King didn't follow their plan and instead entered the center, where all the jellyfish's young were. In just a few minutes, Hailong found that dozens of giant jellyfish were charging at him. Feeling that there were enough, he stopped the Dragon King and turned around, charging at the jellyfish with maximum speed. The jellyfish, still chasing Hailong, didn't expect him to turn around. Realizing they had been tricked, it was too late to turn back. The closest jellyfish were less than two meters away from the Dragon King, and they could only extend their tentacles, hoping the Dragon King's energy was insufficient to kill them. Unfortunately, they were wrong. When the distance was less than a meter, Hailong controlled the Dragon King to release a 900-volt high-voltage shock, charging into the jellyfish and releasing the electricity wildly. After breaking through the jellyfish, Hailong estimated that they were all electrocuted and carried to the surface by the water.
After dealing with the jellyfish, Hailong continued toward the center. He calculated that he had killed dozens of jellyfish initially, then another ten or so, and finally another dozen, totaling about eighty. He remembered that there were about a hundred jellyfish over 200 kilograms in the area, so the remaining twenty were likely protecting the center. Using the weak electric field, Hailong found that the center was filled with jellyfish larvae. Hailong believed that the jellyfish would come to fight the Dragon King for their species, and they probably knew the Dragon King's energy was running low. If the twenty jellyfish had this thought, Hailong was happy to show them the Dragon King's incredible recovery ability. The jellyfish in this area were small, and Hailong controlled the Dragon King to eat them for nutrition. Jellyfish are rich in nutrients, containing 12.3 grams of protein, 4 grams of carbohydrates, 182 milligrams of calcium, and 132 micrograms of iodine per 100 grams, as well as various vitamins. Hailong was worried about the Dragon King's recent calcium deficiency, so eating jellyfish would help. He also needed to restore the Dragon King's energy. The Dragon King could release a maximum of 900 volts for about two minutes, and after the previous battle, his energy was almost depleted. He needed to recover quickly, and the Dragon King's recovery speed was impressive, taking less than half an hour to fully recharge.
While the Dragon King was wreaking havoc in the center, the jellyfish from other areas had already learned of the situation and were rushing to the center. However, the jellyfish's territory was vast, and many were out feeding, so it would take at least ten minutes for them to return. They could only watch helplessly as the Dragon King ravaged their nest.
Hailong decided to claim this area as his territory because the crabs were abundant, but after several catches, the outer crabs were scarce. Hailong needed to control the Dragon King to enter the crabs' inner territory, but the crabs would attack the Dragon King, preventing him from entering. Therefore, the Dragon King had to approach from the side, but if the jellyfish weren't eliminated, Hailong would always be on edge. No one would feel safe with a group of uncontrolled enemies in their retreat path, so the jellyfish had to die. The large jellyfish would be killed, and the small ones would be driven away. This area would be the Dragon King's exclusive territory.
After eating small jellyfish for nearly half an hour, the giant jellyfish from all directions finally returned to the nest. Seeing the Dragon King eating their larvae without hesitation, they went mad and charged at him.
Feeling his energy was almost fully restored, Hailong no longer pretended and charged at the hundreds of jellyfish. The jellyfish's charging speed was about two meters per second, slightly faster than the Dragon King. Within a few seconds, they were less than two meters apart. One more flap of their umbrellas, and they would be in front of the Dragon King, ready to kill him with their tentacles. Hailong controlled the Dragon King, seeing the cruel smiles on the jellyfish. Unfortunately, they couldn't understand the Dragon King's incredible strength. When the distance was less than two meters, Hailong controlled the Dragon King to release a 900-volt high-voltage shock, which lasted for two minutes and had an effective range of six meters. Any creature in this area would die!
For two minutes, Hailong controlled the Dragon King to stand in the center of the jellyfish's nest, watching the jellyfish charge at him in a cone shape, only to die helplessly and be carried to the surface by the water. After a minute and a half, all the jellyfish were dead, and for the remaining half minute, the Dragon King used the high voltage to declare himself the master of the area.
All the small jellyfish fled to the deep sea. Hailong didn't stop them; some escaped to the deep sea, while others left the center and settled elsewhere. Small jellyfish were harmless and even beneficial to the Dragon King as a supplement. Hailong allowed their existence.
Looking back at his new territory, although he claimed it, Hailong didn't plan to have the Dragon King live there. He preferred the Dragon King to run five kilometers to this area and then catch crabs, rather than stay in the sea longer. The ocean was too dangerous, and any creature could kill the Dragon King. Small creatures might look harmless but were highly toxic, while large ones had strong attacks. The Dragon King's small body was no match for them. The abandoned shipyard was safer, being on land and free from sea snakes and large animals near the shore. The Dragon King could stay there without fear of attack.
After claiming the area, Hailong named it the Jellyfish Corridor. By breaking through the Jellyfish Corridor, Hailong could control the Dragon King to enter the crabs' territory and catch thousands of crabs at once. He would use his tail to knock the crabs over, making them chase him and then catch them outside the Devil Sea. The crabs found the microorganisms outside the Devil Sea more abundant and stayed there to feed.
The next morning, Hailong took the group out to sea to catch crabs. He had caught many crabs the previous night, so they wouldn't finish today and could catch more the next day. Although he had to go to school the next day, he trusted Liu Yong'an to lead the team. After bringing the group to the designated location, Hailong relaxed on the deck, thinking that the twenty people and five boats he had taken out to sea, and the twenty people who had sold the goods in the rich area, would not go unnoticed by Guan Dahai's men. He expected Guan Dahai to come talk to him in the next few days.
He couldn't help but sneer, "I'm not afraid of you coming, Guan Dahai. I've been waiting for a long time. The hatred almost made me forget, but the Dragon King's soul awakened my deep memories. I must kill you this month."