Seven kilometers west of Waiheke Island, fifty meters below sea level, lies the Shark People's Reservation Area.

Yego, the shark-man leader, who was swimming in the sea, led a dozen or so of his people to explore the surrounding seabed. He then pointed to a flat seabed shelf and said, "This place is good. Let's graze here."

Several shark-men carefully placed the enormous net, woven from seaweed and carried on their backs, onto the flat ground.

The remaining shark-men inserted hundreds of round sticks made of strange wood into the mud on the seabed, forming a circular array with a diameter of 100 meters.

Next, these ferocious marine creatures slowly lifted the seaweed net that had already been woven, tied the end of the net to the bottom of a round stick, and created a simple yet practical large aquaculture cage.

Yege looked at the completed breeding shed and nodded gently: "Now, catch fish fry and let the livestock graze. Next year, harvest."

One of the tribesmen swam up to Yege, scratching his shark fin as he said with difficulty, "Food? No, we're starving. How about we graze our livestock? Or maybe we can hunt first?"

After a moment's thought, Yegor nodded in agreement: "Predation is fine. But control over food supplies is crucial."

"After thousands of years of reproduction, your brains are still only the size of sardines. How pathetic."

The sudden burst of laughter made the sharks turn around angrily, looking in the direction from which the sound came.

The mermaid chieftain Rita, dressed in a well-tailored and exquisitely made sealskin outfit, holding a jewel-encrusted alloy trident, led several mermaid warriors and slowly swam to Yego.

Yego opened his eyes wide, glared at Rita, and roared, "You! You've crossed the line!"

Rita waved her hand dismissively: "Crossing the line? Listen to what you're saying. Visiting your new neighbors is a perfectly normal thing, isn't it?"

Just as Yege Zhang opened his mouth to speak, he suddenly remembered something and quickly turned around to make a gesture to his people.

The sharks realized what was happening and swam frantically, using their bodies to block the newly built breeding shed.

Seeing this, Rita said, both amused and annoyed, "You guys don't actually think I'd be interested in these broken pieces of wood and this tattered net, do you?"

Yego gritted his teeth and said, "Mermaid, thief, liar! Lying, stealing food!"

Listening to the accusations, Rita didn't get angry. Instead, she smiled magnanimously: "Yegor, look at your people. They're practically starving. I know you didn't bring any food with you when you fled the Black Plague. So, what can I steal from you? What can I cheat you out of?"

Yege raised his head and said, "You occupy fertile seas. We are barren here."

Rita laughed and said, "In the words of land dwellers, this involves a matter of first come, first served. We found the Dragon God before you, so naturally we can apply for a better sea area. However, it's early spring now, and in another month or two, the fish here will naturally become more plentiful..."

Yege nodded unconsciously.

Rita rolled her eyes and changed the subject: "However, the problem is, can your people survive for a month or two? I heard that this migration involves more than six thousand people, a large portion of whom are pregnant female sharks. With food shortages, it's questionable whether they can give birth to healthy babies."

Rita's words caused the sharks to exchange bewildered glances, and some of them began to whisper among themselves.

Hearing the worries of his people around him, the agitated Yege roared, "Mermaid! Get out of here!"

Rita waved, and a mermaid warrior swam over and placed a cylindrical object wrapped in sausage casing into her hand.

Rita glanced at Yego, then flicked her wrist and tossed the sausage in her hand toward the shark-man chieftain.

For some inexplicable reason, Yege caught the round sausage. Its weight and smooth texture made him ask, "What is this?"

"This is food invented and produced by merchants in Muxi City specifically for mermaids. The outer membrane comes from a sac called 'bloodworm.' Using it to wrap things can prevent liquids and air from entering, thus preserving and storing them."

Looking at Yego's bewildered expression, Rita spoke eloquently: "As for the ingredients, the merchants of Muxi City first mix fish, squid, shrimp, crab meat, seaweed, and seasonings together, stir them thoroughly, then dehydrate them, sterilize them at high temperatures, and finally compress their volume before stuffing them into sausage casings."

"This seafood sausage comes in three sizes: the large size is 40 centimeters long, which can meet the daily nutritional needs of an adult; the medium size is 25 centimeters long..."

Seeing that Yege still looked completely bewildered, Rita rolled her eyes, sighed, and said, "Anyway, this stuff is just rations. You should try it."

Yege stared at the sausage in his hand, his face full of vigilance.

Behind him, an older sharkman swam over and suggested, "Chief, let me do it."

Rita spoke loudly, as if talking to an idiot, "Don't worry! There's no poison in there. If you don't want to eat it, just give it back to me!"

Yego glared at Rita, then threw the sausage into his gaping maw, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

Ten seconds passed.

The sharkmen watched their chieftain nervously, only to find him standing there motionless, his eyes glazed over, his mouth agape, as if he were under a spell.

"Mermaid! Liar!"

A volatile shark-man picked up a bone club beside him, swung his fins, and roared as he tried to attack Rita and her group.

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