The great white shark continued to ram into the cage, again and again. But as it moved, the surrounding ropes and nets, influenced by the water currents, wrapped more and more tightly around its body. Its range of motion became increasingly limited, and both the frequency and force of its strikes gradually diminished.
"That's great…"
Susie shouted excitedly. Owen and Jason finally understood her intent.
Susie's eyes sparkled. "Great white sharks rely on movement to absorb oxygen. They have to keep swimming to continuously get oxygen. Now that it can't move, it won't be long before it dies from lack of oxygen…"
Hearing Susie's explanation, Owen suddenly remembered—it was true. Back at the Colorado SEAL base, the instructors had said the same thing. He had completely forgotten.
"Wait a bit. Come out only after the shark dies from lack of oxygen…"
Dr. Susie called out from above. Underwater, Clay heard her and gave a thumbs-up in response to show he understood.
Their spirits were high—but the good mood lasted only a few seconds. Another great white shark had somehow arrived and was already launching attacks on the shark cage.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. This new shark had probably been drawn in by the scent of Clay's injury. It was just a normal great white, smaller than the first-generation one and clearly less intelligent. Despite the first-generation shark being tangled up like a mummy beside it, the newcomer remained unfazed and simply kept ramming the cage.
Soon enough, it too got entangled in the ropes and nets. Even with its movements hindered, it kept struggling, not realizing that the more it struggled, the tighter the net became.
Well done!
With both sharks trapped, everyone was in high spirits. Owen, seeing that it was about time, decided to go down and rescue Clay. He wasn't about to bet on whether more sharks might be drawn in.
After some discussion, it was agreed that Owen would be the one to go, since he was the only one without any injuries. The others had minor wounds, and entering the water with blood on them would be too dangerous.
To be safe, Owen detached the winch cable from the fishing net and clipped it to himself. He also took Jason's gun and dove into the water. Susie would keep watch from above and signal if there was any danger. At that point, Jason would hit the winch switch and pull Owen back at top speed.
The plan sounded fairly solid. Owen bit down on a portable respirator obtained from the CIA—a small device that could provide him with fifteen minutes of oxygen.
Owen carefully approached the shark cage. The two tangled-up sharks were still alive, their bodies still writhing, but the nets restricted their movement. They could do nothing as they watched Owen approach.
Owen gave them a wide berth, cautiously circling around and finally climbing onto the cage and lifting the top to help Clay out.
Even though Clay had stayed inside the cage, his physical strength was nearly exhausted. When Owen found him, he could barely stand. Just standing still might seem easy, but it took great effort under stress. With two sharks clearly trying to kill him just outside, even his oxygen consumption had been far higher than normal.
Owen was just about to flash his light to signal Susie when the regular great white shark suddenly thrashed wildly. Maybe it had sensed its prey escaping. It twisted and turned violently. Owen and Clay watched it warily and sighed in relief when they saw that the more it struggled, the more tangled it became.
Owen then looked at the first-generation shark and suddenly felt a chill deep in his heart. That shark was turning its body in the opposite direction of the normal one. While the regular shark got more entangled with every move, the first-generation shark was actually loosening its binds.
Damn, is that really a shark? This thing is too smart.
A wave of cold ran through Owen. Being hunted by a creature this intelligent, and on its home turf—did they really stand a chance of getting away?
But thoughts were one thing—Owen's hands never stopped moving. He quickly turned on the flashlight, and a beam of light shone from the seabed.
"Pull!"
Seeing the agreed-upon signal, Susie shouted, and Jason Bourne, standing by the winch, hit the switch.
Driven by the electric motor, the winch began retracting the steel cable. Owen, dragging Clay, sped through the water.
Behind them, the first-generation shark finally used its intelligence to break free. It twisted its body and surged toward Owen and Clay. Its beady black eyes, to Owen, seemed filled with burning fury.
Technically speaking, a great white shark swims faster than the winch pulls. Last time, they'd made it out because they had a decent head start. But not this time—they were too close.
The massive body of the shark swayed a few times and was soon right behind them. Owen could even see its sharp teeth as it opened its mouth. With a flick of its tail, it closed the gap even more.
Suddenly, the winch hesitated. Owen felt a jolt—something had just pulled hard. The shark had bitten Clay.
Clay panicked, bubbles pouring from his mouth. Owen yanked on him, and Clay held onto Owen's arm with all his might, his expression filled with terror.
But the sea wasn't stained red as Owen had expected. Only then did he realize the shark hadn't bitten Clay directly—it had clamped down on the oxygen tank on his back. A powerful force threatened to tear Clay away. The shark thrashed its head back and forth as if attacking prey, its ferocity overwhelming.
Clay clung to Owen, eyes pleading. If Owen let go, he could escape—but Clay would be doomed. Owen didn't know what was going through Clay's mind; he was too focused on unclipping the oxygen tank.
And just at that critical moment, the clip seemed jammed. No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't come loose.
The shark's force increased. The steel cable groaned under the strain. The winch had completely stalled. Jason, up on the platform, noticed something was wrong—but there was nothing he could do.
At last, the buckle released. Man and shark were suddenly wrenched apart. The shark, still gripping the tank, was flung aside. Owen held onto Clay as they continued to be pulled by the winch. With the pressure gone, the winch picked up speed, dragging them farther and farther from the shark.
Unfortunately, their relief didn't last long. The intelligent great white quickly realized it had the wrong target. It spat out the tank and chased after them again. Even with the added weight of the oxygen tank, its speed was terrifying. Within seconds, it had closed the gap once more.
The massive, vicious head was only seconds away from a close encounter. Without hesitation, Owen drew the pistol from his waistband. Time slowed. He fired directly into the massive open jaws.
With a dull boom, blood burst into a red fountain, flesh and debris scattering in all directions. Owen's bullet had struck the oxygen tank, and the resulting explosion blew the shark's head to pieces.
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