Super Zoo

As the first underwater passage was completed, Shuijun Lake and Huating Reservoir were finally connected, and the waters from both sides began to flow slowly through the underground channel.

The national standard classifies water quality into five grades, with Grade I being the water source quality, natural reserves, and reputed to be the best in quality, but it is very rare and almost nonexistent in human settlements;

Grade II is suitable for centralized drinking water sources, first-class protection zones of surface water, habitats of rare aquatic organisms, spawning grounds for fish and shrimps, and foraging grounds for juveniles and young fishes; Grade III covers second-class protection zones for surface water sources, wintering and spawning migratory passages for fish and shrimps, aquaculture areas, and swimming zones; Grade IV applies to general industrial water areas and recreational water areas with no direct human contact; Grade V serves agricultural water areas and general scenic water bodies.

Water below the fifth grade is basically of no use and is generally referred to as wastewater.

Huating Reservoir itself is a national AA scenic spot with water quality reaching the second grade. Grade II water sources can be said to be the best water available in human settlements, and because of this, the fish cultivated in Huating Reservoir are of high quality and popular in the market;

In contrast, the water quality of Shuijun Lake is at the fifth grade, the lowest level, which is vastly different from that of Huating Reservoir. There's no guarantee the fish can survive in it, and even if they do, the taste would definitely be poor. It's barely suitable for personal consumption, let alone selling in the market for profit.

It was for this reason that the old fisherman Zhu Chenggui once told Suming that to raise fish on a large scale in Shuijun Lake, the lake's ecology must first be improved, and the water quality enhanced over several years.

Now, with the underwater passage connecting Shuijun Lake and Huating Reservoir, allowing the waters from both sides to flow through, theoretically, it should not be long before the water quality of Shuijun Lake can approach that of Huating Reservoir!

By dawn, the remaining passages had also been opened up.

"Big Head, follow the channel and swim over to the other side," Suming commanded the Mekong giant catfish.

The ones sent to explore are usually expendable; a collapse in the tunnel, a large fish appearing in the reservoir on the other side, just about any minor accident could result in losing one's life. The Mekong giant catfish, being a creature that feared death and coveted life, did not hesitate to gather dozens of loaches and a group of crabs before cautiously entering one of the larger underwater passages, with the loach and crab squad following closely behind.

It wasn't foolish; in case of blockage or collapse, if trapped in the mud, the 'rescue squad' behind it could come in handy, ready to begin rescue operations at any moment.

"My goodness, you're not as dumb as I thought. When it comes to fearing death and coveting life, you're as shrewd as anyone!" Suming was taken aback and chuckled softly.

Big Head swam slowly through the passage, surrounded by the gentle flow of water from both lakes. Occasionally, some small fish or shrimp from either side would slip into the channel, scattering in panic as Big Head passed.

The journey was safe throughout. Most parts of the passage were reinforced with pipes, which essentially prevented collapses. At most, some mud and gravel created obstacles, but with the rescue squad following close behind, it wasn't a problem. The loaches could easily loosen up obstructions at the front, and then the crabs and lobsters would join forces to clear the pipes.

In short, everything was calm. After about half an hour, a faint light suddenly appeared ahead in the pitch-dark passage, signaling the end of the tunnel was near!

With a powerful flick of its tail, Big Head shot out of the passage like a torpedo and entered the waters of Huating Reservoir!

Upon entering the reservoir, Big Head instantly felt an exhilarating sense of relief and began to circle around joyously, thoroughly enjoying itself.

The water quality here was far superior to that of Shuijun Lake, reminiscent of someone who had been living in a smog-filled capital city and suddenly arrived in an idyllic haven of green mountains and clear waters.

Bighead was considered an 'old troop' under Suming's command, and after many instances of 'collaboration,' the spiritual power connection between the two was much more stable than with ordinary animals. With other animals at such a distance, Suming wouldn't be able to make contact at all.

Even so, a distance of over a kilometer made Suming feel powerless, the spiritual power connection with Bighead felt as if it were barely there, extremely weak, prompting him to bellow, "There will be plenty for you to play with later, but first scout the area clearly for me!"

Suming was Bighead's boss, provider, and spiritual anchor. His commands were more effective than anything else, to the extent that they could even subdue Bighead's innate love for water typical of fish. On receiving the instructions, Bighead immediately stopped wandering aimlessly. Its whiskers by its mouth swayed with the ripples of water, and with bulging round fish eyes, it carefully observed the surroundings.

The tunnel's exit lay beneath a small hillock made of a mix of rock and soil, which was relatively sturdy and would not collapse except in the rare case of a heavy downpour. Its location was quite secluded with no nearby roads, just shrubbery, with some waterfowl nesting among them.

The exits of the five tunnels were all about three meters deep under the water surface, with the shallowest being over two and a half meters.

This was something Suming had planned before the tunneling: the exits had to be secluded and hidden enough to ensure they were not easily discovered by others. He didn't want to go through the effort of creating the tunnel, only to have someone easily seal it from the other end.

From what he saw so far, the locations of these exits were very good, almost impossible to be found.

In a nearby reed bed, a long-beaked water bird seemed to notice Bighead's presence. It opened its wings, its long legs forcefully kicking as it took to the air, swooping down towards Bighead, skimming the water's surface!

Like an arrow released from a bow, the water bird dived with lightning speed directly above Bighead, its long sharp beak thrusting viciously towards Bighead's head!

Whoosh...

The bird's sharp beak carved a long ripple on the water surface, almost flying past flat against it!

Luckily, Bighead had been with Suming for so long that both its reactions and fitness were far superior to a typical catfish. In the nick of time, Bighead executed a 'thousand-pound plunge', its plump tail thrashing desperately as it dove headfirst into the deep water, narrowly escaping danger!

Even so, Bighead was scared out of its wits, and pfft—behind its tail, a cloud of murkiness emerged; it had lost control of its bladder and bowels in fright…

Don't be fooled by Bighead catfish now over a foot long, almost equal in size to the water bird—water birds were its natural predators. No matter if it grew to ten or twenty pounds, the sight of a water bird would still send it into hiding, as in the bird's eyes, it was merely a larger lump of flesh.

Seeing its meal slip away, the water bird circled resentfully above the water for a few rounds, quacking strangely a couple of times at the water before eventually flying away listlessly without finding a solution.

In the water, Bighead was still recovering from the shock, darting around crazily almost as if it had lost its mind, with even Suming's spiritual power unable to calm it down immediately due to the great distance separating them.

One moment up, the next diving down, now darting to the east, then bolting to the west—after more than ten minutes and having moved several dozen meters away from the shore, Bighead's emotions gradually began to settle.

It flicked its tail, ready to turn around and swim towards the tunnel, but it couldn't muster any strength, feeling as though something behind it was 'clutching' it tightly!