That unique fish tail is exactly like the tail of the legendary mermaid.
Furthermore, there are two shadows in the front half that look like hands.
Could it be that mermaids really exist?
What unknown creatures dwell in the deep sea? This is a question that humanity has been exploring for thousands of years.
The place where Fu Wan is now is not considered the deep sea; the real deep sea is thousands or even tens of thousands of meters deep.
There is no light there, it is dark all year round, and due to the pressure of the deep sea, humans cannot venture there. Naturally, we do not know what kind of creatures live in such an environment.
So whether mermaids exist or not, nobody knows.
This is similar to discussing whether aliens exist in the world; it's an unknown.
Thinking of this, Fu Wan felt goosebumps all over her body.
She is currently at a depth of about 20 meters underwater. Logically, things that live in the deep sea shouldn't come here.
But she had just seen it clearly again; apart from a large tail, the thing had no dorsal fin or scales, and it looked very strange.
Especially now that it's late at night, Fu Wan felt uneasy.
No, I'd better grab the fish and run away quickly!
She had originally planned to catch two more fish, but she had lost interest now.
Fu Wan hurriedly carried the two bags of fish and swam towards the surface of the sea. Just then, a large creature slowly swam towards the spot where the sea monster had disappeared. Fu Wan turned her head and took a look, and the anxiety in her heart instantly subsided.
Hey, so it really is a mermaid!
Although it is called a mermaid, its scientific name should actually be dugong. In Chinese folklore, people have believed this creature to be a mermaid since ancient times.
Because this creature, like humans, uses its fins to hold its young when nursing, it looks like a mermaid holding a baby mermaid from a distance.
Dugongs are also commonly known as sea cows, while fishermen in the South China Sea resorts call them seahorses.
These creatures are born milky white, but as they age, their skin turns a subtle brown or gray.
Dugongs have no scales and only have a pair of pectoral fins besides their tails. These creatures are docile, and because of their docile nature, they have been hunted extensively in some areas, such as Southeast Asia, ultimately leading to the extinction crisis of dugongs.
Image of a dugong (image from the internet, please delete if it infringes on copyright).
To Fu Wan's surprise, she actually saw such a rare animal in this sea area. She almost subconsciously stopped what she was doing, afraid that she would scare the big guy.
The dugong in front of her should be an adult. Fu Wan estimated that it was at least two meters long, but she couldn't estimate its weight.
Putting everything else aside, if that thing slaps its tail, it can cause a concussion.
However, given the dugong's docile nature, it generally wouldn't attack people unprovoked. The dugong slowly swam past Fu Wan, even accidentally bumping into her shoulder.
Fu Wan watched the dugong leave. This big guy was no smaller than an orca. Although it didn't have a dorsal fin, it had several suckerfish resting on its back.
Not only on its back, but also on its belly, the dugong had two or three suckerfish attached to it.
Fortunately, this thing only hitches a ride and doesn't affect the dugong's health like barnacles, otherwise Fu Wan would have to step in to get rid of it.
The suckerfish, also known as the guillotine fish, is most notable for having an oval-shaped sucker on its head.
Image of a suction cup fishnet, please delete if it infringes on copyright.
This sucker is quite interesting. It's filled with rows of cartilaginous plates. When it encounters a large fish, these cartilaginous plates can expel air, creating a vacuum, which helps the sucker fish attach to the fish's body.
These suckerfish are usually small; compared to large creatures like dugongs, their existence is almost like a piece of seaweed.
Generally, suckerfish are about 30 to 90 centimeters long, and their bodies are a low-key grayish-brown or brown.
Unlike the pesky barnacles, suckerfish have a symbiotic relationship with large fish.
Remoras clean up the leftovers from large fish, and they also eat parasites found on fish.
Of course, large fish also provide remoras with a sense of security. Imagine hiding on a giant's back—not only can they show off to their predators, but they can also get a good meal. Who wouldn't do that!
As Fu Wan swam upstream, she was thinking that if a big fish could help her get the fish out of the net, she would really like to be a suckerfish.
However, dreams are just dreams. Fu Wan surfaced and blew her bamboo whistle twice. Not long after, Fu Laoda, who was sailing a boat not far away, heard the noise and hurriedly steered his boat over.
"Wan, you must be exhausted, come on up!"
Ye Lin stood at the stern and reached out to Fu Wan, who handed him the rope of the net she was holding.
"Brother Lin, you take the fish up first."
After saying that, she swam to the side of the boat, took a breath, pushed herself up with both hands, and then boarded the boat.
"Hey, you guys set up the net?"
"Yes, what a coincidence, we just finished hauling in the nets from our extended fishing."
Fu Shi stepped forward and together with Ye Lin, pulled up the fish that Fu Wan had brought back.
Fu Wan glanced over and saw that the net had just been set up; the trawl net was still standing there unwashed.
Many eels were stuck in the mesh of the net, and Fu Qing was using his hands to pull the eels off the top.
The deck was filled with all sorts of fish; Fu Wan glanced at it and saw crabs, octopuses, and large squid, among other things.
She kicked off her flippers forcefully, then slumped onto a nearby stool.
I didn't feel it while I was in the sea, but I started to feel a bit tired after I got ashore.
At this point, Boss Fu simply stopped the boat and went up to the deck.
Seeing Fu Wan resting on the stool, he couldn't help but urge her to go back to the cabin.
"Ah Wan, quickly go into the cabin and change your clothes."
It's so cold on the deck, and there's quite a bit of wind. I'm sure I'll catch a cold.
Fu Wan responded and took the dry towel Fang Min found to wipe the water off her face.
She wore a diving cap when she went into the sea today, so her hair wasn't very wet, but to be honest, her sharkskin suit was really warm.
But she couldn't ignore her father's words, so Fu Wan turned and headed towards the cabin. Before leaving, she didn't forget to give Ye Lin some instructions.
"Brother Lin, remember to put the lobsters and mantis shrimps in the live water tank. As for that grouper, put it in a bowl. After we sort through the fish, I'll cook everyone a midnight snack."
"Okay!"
Ye Lin readily agreed. To be honest, he was quite shocked when he hauled the fish ashore. He was amazed at how strong A-Wan had become.
She could pull those two big bags of fish while swimming in the sea; even a man like him felt they were quite heavy.
Could it be that I haven't been carrying anything lately and my strength is failing me?
Ye Lin muttered to himself as he emptied the seafood from the net bag.
He originally wanted to ask which of the talismans was the Swallowtail Starfish, but when he emptied the net, he found that there was only one sea fish in it.
"This fish looks pretty good, but I wonder if it tastes good!"
Ye Lin turned to Fu Shi and started chatting. Upon hearing this, Fu Shi looked closely and then said incredulously, "Is it delicious? Are you kidding me? This fish costs two yuan and fifty cents a pound now. Do you think it's delicious or not!"
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