Gazing ahead, the first thing that caught Yang Lin's eye was an enormous ocean-going freighter.
Not far from the freighter, a bustling cargo terminal could be faintly seen.
Upon seeing this, he immediately understood where he was.
"My heavens, how did you end up in the sea?"
"The sea? What is this 'sea' you speak of?"
Clearly, Li Yongxin had no concept of the ocean.
"I understand. The underground dark river eventually flows into the sea, and you must have followed the current all the way here."
"So, the underground water system of Xihong Zoo connects not only to the Yong River but also to the Beibu Gulf? How fantastical."
Realizing this, Yang Lin was stunned. He couldn't help but recall an ancient Chinese saying – "A hundred rivers flow east to the sea."
Regardless of the river, its ultimate destination was the vast, boundless ocean.
However, after a moment of awe, he immediately sensed something was amiss.
After thinking for a while, he finally pinpointed the discrepancy.
Li Yongxin's original form was a seven-gilled lamprey that lived in freshwater. Yet, it was now in saltwater and seemingly unharmed.
Normally, a freshwater fish exposed to saltwater would perish in no time, with only a few exceptions.
"Is this mutant talent really that powerful? In just a few hours, it's already adapted to the marine environment. I wonder what would happen if it were thrown into lava."
While his mind raced with these thoughts, Li Yongxin was already having a feast in the sea.
Back in the artificial lake, it had never encountered such an abundance of delicious seafood.
In its eyes, these marine creatures were all its prey.
As it gorged itself, Yang Lin soon noticed another anomaly.
Li Yongxin's body had actually grown larger after entering the seawater.
It had increased from over six meters to nearly eight meters.
Clearly, its evolution in the marine environment extended beyond just adapting to saltwater.
"Alright, since you've swum to the sea yourself, you can stay here. Perhaps this is where you truly belong."
As he spoke, Yang Lin prepared to exit the shared vision. Just then, a black silhouette on the water's surface caught his attention.
With just a glance, Yang Lin immediately recognized its identity.
"Oh, a striped dolphin?"
"Almost forgot these fellows like to inhabit the continental shelf near the coast."
Before he could get a closer look at the marine creature, several more dolphins emerged.
Including the first one, there were a total of six striped dolphins.
The largest was about two meters long, and the smallest was about one and a half meters.
Seeing such a group from this perspective for the first time, Yang Lin marveled.
But soon, he realized something was wrong.
The dolphins seemed to be fleeing rapidly towards the shore, as if something were chasing them.
Yang Lin even spotted a massive wound on one of the dolphins.
The wound was so large it almost spanned its entire body.
Before Yang Lin could figure out the origin of the injury, a much larger figure rapidly approached from the distance.
Although the figure remained hidden beneath the water, its raised dorsal fin immediately betrayed its identity.
"Damn it, what's a shark doing here?"
At this moment, Yang Lin finally understood what the dolphins were running from.
As the dolphins continued to head towards the coastline, the shark lurking behind them finally revealed its full form.
Its nearly four-meter-long body was covered in stripes like a fierce tiger.
With a single glance, Yang Lin recognized it: a tiger shark, also known as a galjoen shark. It was a medium-sized shark found in nearshore waters. Though not particularly large, it was extremely ferocious and greedy, relentlessly pursuing its prey once discovered.
As Yang Lin, through Li Yongxin's vision, spotted the tiger shark, the shark also noticed the peculiar presence of Li Yongxin.
Yang Lin could clearly sense a flicker of surprise in its gaze.
Perhaps it was because, in its long tenure in these waters, it had never encountered such an ugly marine creature.
After a moment of stunned silence, it opened its toothed maw and lunged at Li Yongxin.
Undoubtedly, in the eyes of this nearshore overlord, all marine creatures were divided into two categories:
Those that could be eaten, and those that couldn't.
Despite Li Yongxin's strange appearance, it only piqued the shark's curiosity for a taste.
As the tiger shark's gaping maw drew closer, Li Yongxin remained unfazed.
The next second, a bolt of blue electricity erupted from its tail.
The tiger shark, which was practically nose-to-nose with it, was instantly electrocuted, rolling onto its back.
Seeing this, Yang Lin's face showed a hint of disdain.
"Tch! How dare a mere warrior offend a mage."
"Did you really think there was nothing in the ocean that could deal with you?"
With that, he turned his attention back to the fleeing dolphins.
"Consider it a favor I've done you. I hope you have good luck going forward."
"Alright, Yongxin, you can stay in the sea for now. Next time, I'll accompany you on a treasure hunt in the ocean depths."
After speaking, Yang Lin severed the shared vision.
For him, Li Yongxin ending up in the ocean was merely a minor incident.
However, it might prove useful for an upcoming sea voyage.
After all, he had just witnessed its combat prowess in the seawater.
Upon returning to Xihong Zoo, Yang Lin began to wander around the park.
His "wandering" was actually a search for a suitable recipient for the Primary Life Light.
This daily opportunity could not be wasted.
Soon, he arrived at the savanna area for free-range animals. His gaze fell upon a pair of elephants recently brought back from Diannan Zoo, and he nodded in agreement.
"It's decided, it's you two!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a beam of Primary Life Light struck a male and a female elephant.
The next moment, the two elephants, which had been aimlessly milling about, began to engage in a rather amorous display in front of a crowd of tourists.
Just as Yang Lin was contemplating which animal to bestow his opportunity on tomorrow, an unfamiliar phone call came in.
As soon as he answered, a voice came from the other end.
"Director Yang, I'm from the branch of the Port City Animal Protection Association. We currently have a few dolphins stranded on our beach, two of which are quite seriously injured."
"I just contacted the main office, and they told me to reach out to you."
Upon hearing this opening, Yang Lin's face displayed a peculiar expression.
"Could it be those very dolphins? Is my mouth suddenly blessed?"
"Also, I've only just joined the association, and they're already assigning me tasks."