The unusual activity on Qingmeng Mountain was reported truthfully. After an agonizing half-hour wait, Yu Lan received her orders:
The trapping plan would proceed as scheduled.
Evacuation of the surrounding residents had already begun. If necessary, heavy firepower support could be requested to seal off Qingmeng Mountain completely.
The fog over Qingmeng Mountain showed no signs of dissipating.
However, around Mulian Lake, the soldiers were fully prepared.
“Baa!”
“Baa, baa, baa!”
“Baa!”
Over a dozen goats were driven to the water's edge, bleating anxiously without pause.
They seemed to sense that something terrifying was lurking beneath the surface.
At the command, soldiers holding daggers lined up in sequence. With swift, decisive strikes, crimson blood spurted out, falling directly onto the riverbank.
The agonizing bleats of the livestock mixed with the roar of heavy machinery, creating a bizarre and uncanny scene.
Freshly slaughtered cattle and goats were dumped into the water, staining Mulian Lake red. Viewed from above, the spreading blood slowly diffused into the jade-green water—
a sight no palette of paint could ever replicate.
“It’s coming.”
Sitting in the command center, Yu Lan kept her eyes glued to the radar display. A flicker of relief flashed through her gaze.
“It’s working. Attracted by the smell of blood, we might not even need torpedoes to drive it to the target location.”
On the screen, sonar pulses reverberated layer by layer, and a massive point of light rising from the lakebed was strikingly conspicuous:
Two hundred meters.
One hundred fifty meters.
One hundred meters.
Fifty meters.
“The model is out! Target speed is around 17 to 19 knots—it’s fast! That’s almost equivalent to a conventional submarine—”
Someone cried out in surprise. Zhang Jin refused to look away for even a fraction of a second. Watching the light dot approach the surface, she even forgot to breathe.
“Here it comes!”
Just as the words left her mouth, drone footage streamed back. On the surface of the dark green lake, a massive black shape suddenly materialized, looking like a gigantic shadow projected underwater.
It lurked beneath the water, motionless as a silent island, as if observing the situation above.
Humanity’s innate fear of colossal creatures stemmed from an instinctual dread of apex predators wired into their genes.
The moment this monster revealed itself, the operations room fell into total silence.
It was far too big.
The estimated data provided by researchers had just been a string of cold numbers on a computer screen.
When actually confronted with such a colossal creature, goosebumps erupted across everyone’s backs despite their prior preparations.
It was a massive catfish with a flat head and long barbels flanking a wide mouth. Its spindle-shaped body held its fins tight against its belly, while its drooping tail swished slowly through the water, stirring up whirlpools.
One look was enough to tell this creature had lived for many decades. Its skin was caked in a thick layer of river mud that resembled hard armor, overgrown with aquatic weeds and moss. Floating motionless, it could easily be mistaken for a giant submerged boulder.
“Measurement results are in! Body length is 9.6 meters, with an estimated weight between 1,500 and 1,800 kilograms. Detailed data will have to wait until after sample collection.
This is unbelievable. How on earth did it grow this big? The maximum recorded size for catfish of this species was 3.7 meters long and 345 kilograms, which was the largest recorded freshwater fish ever caught on Earth. But this one’s size and length far exceed all known records!”
The researcher stared at the screen, unable to stop muttering:
“Even accounting for supernatural factors, theoretically speaking, a biological organism shouldn't be able to breach its genetic limits like this. It’s miraculous... truly miraculous.”
Such a nine-meter-plus giant creature was cunning and cruel. For years, it had fed on humans and animals, capable of creating poisonous miasma to actively hunt prey.
To satisfy its higher energy demands, it had even begun feeding on human souls.
Zhang Jin dared not imagine: if more creatures like this appeared in the future, what would become of humanity, who claimed to be the masters of Earth?
Catfish were typically scavengers, but the giant catfish before them clearly transcended that definition.
As the blood spread, it grew impatient and spewed a trail of bubbles, sending a series of gurgling sounds echoing across the calm surface.
Finally, it could no longer hold back.
“Splaaaash!”
“Splaaaash!”
“Splaaaash!”
A huge splash burst from beneath the water as the dying goats thrashed wildly. The giant catfish gaped open its mouth, revealing rows of terrifying, gleaming white teeth.
“Crunch!”
“Crunch!”
A hair-raising crunch echoed before the water returned to peace, leaving only tufts of shredded goat wool floating on the surface—mute witnesses to what had just occurred.
“Team One, fall back. Team Two, move up and continue dropping bait.”
“Keep your movements as quiet as possible. Do not spook the target under the water. Remember, this thing may have developed intelligence and is extremely dangerous.”
Yu Lan issued commands methodically, even sparing enough attention to monitor surveillance footage of the Qingmeng Mountain isolation zone.
“Speed is of the essence. We must complete the live capture as quickly as possible without alerting Qingmeng Mountain Number One—keep throwing bait and lure it toward Stone River according to plan.”
One live goat after another was thrown into the lake. As predicted, the giant catfish began drifting slowly toward Stone River. Everyone at their posts had their hearts in their throats.
It was going so smoothly it felt almost surreal.
The moment the giant catfish entered the Stone River basin, soldiers who had been lying in wait moved swiftly. Operators drove heavy machinery to sever the connection between Stone River and Mulian Lake.
Upstream on Stone River stood a temporary dam hastily built overnight. Following Yu Lan's order, the water flow from upstream gradually slowed, shrinking to a trickle—
Meanwhile, diversion channels had been dug along the midstream section. Like boiling a frog in warm water, the water level slowly receded, and the back of the giant catfish gradually broke through the surface.
Dams and diverted rivers—these were miracles unique to human engineering.
Focussed on devouring its feast, the giant catfish seemed to finally sense something was amiss, but it was already trapped with no way out.
Unbeknownst to it, only a shallow layer of river water remained around its body, and the water level continued to drop. Its massive bulk stood out starkly in the unobstructed riverbed.
“That's enough! Fire the anesthetics! Don't let it escape!”
Seeing the giant catfish try to flee, Yu Lan quickly gave the order. A massive net dropped from the sky, firmly trapping it in the water and pinning its movements. A thick whaling harpoon attached to a rope shot downward, yet it failed to pierce the giant catfish’s skin as expected!
“Splaaaash!”
The giant catfish snapped its head up, opening blood-yellow eyes. The four long barbels beside its mouth whipped around, and its slightly parted jaws twisted into what eerily resembled a “smile.”
In the next second, like a death-rolling crocodile, it spun frantically in the water wrapped in the heavy net. Its weighty tail slammed into the riverbanks, sending sprays of mud flying through the air—
“Splat!”
A concentrated surge of foul, yellowish venom erupted from its mouth, spraying toxins outward like a massive dry powder fire extinguisher!
“Sizzle, sizzle...”
“Sizzle, sizzle...”
The venom proved highly corrosive, burning straight through the specialized net and corroding half the cabin of the crane attached to it!
Molten iron mixed with melted glass hissed and sizzled, resembling a lump of melting ice cream.
—Fortunately, the operator possessed quick reflexes and escaped the cabin immediately, avoiding a gruesome demise.
Having broken free, the giant catfish did not dive into the water. Instead, supported by a pair of strange little feet under its belly, it scampered toward the riverbank with terrifying speed!
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