So these fish, since they possess the biting force to destroy steel bars, then it means that the schools of fish underwater could easily damage those ships that survived from before the calamity, whose hulls are no more durable than steel reinforcement.

Since those small fish can bite through steel bars, it becomes a very simple matter for them to damage the bottoms of those vessels.

Despite the Imperial Court overseeing the construction of many water platforms in various places, when the flood arrives, not everyone is able to board these water platforms in time.

Now, the vast majority of survivors do not live on those large ships or water platforms.

Most survivors never had the privilege of boarding a ship, so when the flood came, the majority of them relied on many makeshift boats to go out and seek a way to survive.

Life had already become quite difficult for them even before the fish appeared; it was clear from the vessels they were using that their continued survival could only be considered barely hanging on.

When there was no life in the water, things were still manageable despite the lack of clothing and food, but at least the safety aspect was somewhat satisfactory.

However, now that schools of fish have appeared in the water, even though their appearance has provided a new food source for the vast majority of survivors,

unfortunately, there have been no laboratory tests yet to check if these fish are poisonous or if they are safe to eat.

To be honest, the Chinese people have a simple classification for everything: edible or inedible.

Or to be more precise, directly edible, indirectly edible, usable in medicine, or utterly useless.

Observing the fish on the deck, Dong Tianyu felt that these small fish should be the edible kind; after all, even creatures like pufferfish that are full of deadly poison have yielded cooking methods when in human hands.

Even with the poisonous mushrooms from places like Yunnan, people who end up in the hospital don’t blame the mushroom’s toxicity but think they might not have cooked it thoroughly.

So facing these underwater creatures very similar to fish, Dong Tianyu felt that although they are currently somewhat of a plague, once other survivors learn that these small fish can be eaten, and the specific methods of cooking them,

Dong Tianyu believed that these small fish might not be around for long, even if they are currently proliferating like a pest, because once everyone knows how to eat this kind of small fish,

provided no one stops them and lets people eat freely, these fish will probably quickly become a protected species.

But until these fish become a protected species, for those survivors who are alone or live on small boats, these schools of fish represent a disaster.

After all, given the biting force of that fish just now, it would be very easy to destroy the boats that the survivors depend on for living.

And once the vessels that the survivors rely on for living are destroyed, it would be a catastrophic blow for those living on small boats.

At this moment, aside from Dong Tianyu, other people started to ponder in their minds, whether if they had not left with Dong Tianyu and continued to stay on that boat, could they have defended themselves perfectly against the fish’s harassment like the Wave Rider.

Perhaps because a considerable amount of time had passed and after so long being gnawed on, the underwater schools of fish began to realize that they could not damage the hull and gradually shifted their target, no longer circling the bottom of the ship.

When the other people on the deck fell into contemplation, Ye Liuyun, without meaning to, noticed that the fish on the ground began to retract the mouths that were originally clinging there and guessed that the fish might have loosened their grip.

Subconsciously, Ye Liuyun kicked with her foot, and the fish that she kicked was instantly sent flying by Ye Liuyun, clearing the railing and dropping into the waters behind it.

Ye Liuyun’s subconscious movement instantly awakened the others from their deep thoughts. Only then did they notice that the small fish, which had been firmly stuck to the deck with their suction-like mouths, had released their grip and were slowly wriggling around, trying to find new targets.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Dong Tianyu immediately entered the cabin and then came out with a rather large glass tank. He called for the others to help, picking up the small fish from the deck and tossing them all into the glass tank.

Although they were still unsure of the specific use of these fish, since they had been caught, there was no reason to release them carelessly. Even if they were to die in the tank, it was better than letting these "fish return to the mountain."

As the last fish was tossed into the tank by Dong Tianyu, there was no longer any sign of the fish on the deck.

Everyone had gone to the deck in high spirits to smoke, but now they returned to the cabin each with a heavy heart.

Dong Tianyu did not follow the others back inside the cabin, but instead continued to stand alone on the deck.

Leaning against the railing, Dong Tianyu looked down at the school of fish that weren’t able to damage the ship but still seemed reluctant to leave.

Watching the school of fish that kept swirling around the Wave Rider, Dong Tianyu suddenly had an idea. He then threw a piece of bloody meat into the water.

With a "plop," the blood-soaked pork plunged into the water.

Dong Tianyu’s heart was full of anticipation, but the big fellow he was expecting did not appear. After all the flesh was devoured by the small fish, Dong Tianyu threw another bloodied piece of meat into the water.

But just as the school of fish approached the flesh, intending to devour it just like they had before, Dong Tianyu suddenly summoned his Companion Spiritual Treasure from his Sea of Consciousness, controlling its gentle descent to the water’s surface.

As soon as the bottom of the Jade Ship touched the water, the small fish, originally fighting over the chunks of meat and ignoring the pieces right in front of them, scattered in all directions to escape, as if facing a ferocious flood.

Watching the school of fish disappear in an instant, Dong Tianyu finally understood why the Companion Spiritual Treasure had come with the Disperse ability when it first appeared. It seemed it was meant to target aquatic creatures like these small fish.

After all, if creatures like these small fish weren’t present, the Companion Spiritual Treasure wasn’t of much use to the survivors. Even after multiple upgrades, the most that would change would be a slightly larger size, but the facilities inside the cabin would remain bare, like an unfinished rough house.

Meanwhile, the ship currently being used by the survivors was like a fully furnished apartment. It had everything they needed, making living inside quite comfortable.

Therefore, before the school of fish appeared, the majority of people were willing to exchange their Mysterious Core for rest time on others’ ships rather than upgrading their own Companion Spiritual Treasure.

The reason this situation arose was that everyone had a Companion Spiritual Treasure, which was no longer scarce, and its initial ability wasn’t useful before.

There were no creatures in the water at the time, so even though everyone knew that the Companion Spiritual Treasure’s initial ability was to Disperse, no one knew what the ability was for.

No one expected that what seemed to be a useless thing at first would become so important later on.

Just as Dong Tianyu thought the trouble was over and was preparing to return the Jade Ship to his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Sense suddenly detected that the school of fish, which should have left, had circled around the Wave Rider and stopped on the other side of the ship.

At this point, Dong Tianyu didn’t know whether to call the school of fish clever or foolish; they already knew they couldn’t break the defense, yet they still hadn’t left. It looked as though they had targeted them.