"What's going on over there?" Gwen raised her head and looked suspiciously at the large silhouette in the distance.
Ryan followed her gaze and saw a dark shadow in the distance. His expression immediately became stern. He raised the Omnitrix on his wrist and pressed the transformation screen to select Ripjaws.
"It's a sea monster. It must be!" Ben yelled.
"Is it really a sea monster?" Instead of looking afraid, he looked excited and eagerly returned to the driver's seat. "I'm going to sail over now! I want to see what the sea monster looks like with my own eyes!"
"This is very dangerous," Max said, standing up from his seat and trying to dissuade him. But he seemed oblivious and steered the boat directly toward the "sea monster."
"Grandpa, it doesn't matter. I'm ready to transform. As long as we get close, I can handle it," Ryan said, his hand on the Omnitrix. His eyes flashed with suspicion. "Also, I have a feeling this might not be a sea monster at all!" A sea monster wouldn't surface so quietly, lying on the water as if it were asleep.
As their boat approached rapidly, a gentle male voice came from the "sea monster."
"Please don't come so close, or our two ships will collide!"
Well, the truth was out. As the boat drew closer, they could clearly see that the behemoth was actually a large ship the size of a cruise liner. Many people in matching uniforms stood on the large ship. At the front stood a sturdy man with flat brown hair and a brown beard. He looked at Ryan and the others with a smile.
"Is this a sea monster?!" Ben grumbled unhappily, glancing at Ryan.
"Haha, I accidentally misread it," Ben said, patting his head and smiling in embarrassment.
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his hand. Relaxing a little, he walked to the front of the boat and looked at Jonahmel on the cruise ship. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, allow me to introduce myself, kid." Jonahmel crouched down slightly and introduced himself kindly. "My name is Jonahmel. I am a member of the Animal Protection Association, and the others here are like me. We are here to investigate the activities of the fish creatures in this area."
"They're from the Animal Protection Association," Ryan realized suddenly. There were many organizations in this country, such as the Nature Conservation Association, the Environmental Protection Association, and the Animal Protection Association. This was one of the more famous ones.
However, this Jonahmel made him feel like he wasn't truly from the association. I remember in the plot, he seems to have another identity, Ryan frowned. He couldn't recall the details, but all in all, Jonahmel was definitely hiding something.
"By the way, little ones, what's going on with you guys? Why did your boat go so fast all of a sudden? You almost ran into us," Jonahmel's puzzled voice interrupted Ryan's thoughts.
"We?" Ryan put on a sincere expression. "You may not believe it, Because of the fog, we couldn't tell from a distance whether it was a ship or something else, so we thought it was a sea monster."
"Sea monster?" Jonahmel was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing as if he had heard a huge joke. The others laughed, too. Everyone seemed amused by Ryan's "innocent" words, and the atmosphere lightened.
"Why are these people so annoying?" Both Ben and Gwen frowned, looking very upset.
"Forget it. I don't expect anyone else to believe it." Ryan remained calm. He knew that when ordinary people encountered supernatural things, their first reaction would be disbelief. Even had an impatient look on his face. Although he didn't believe the kids, most people generally agreed that sea monsters were real.
"Okay, little friend." Jonahmel laughed for a few more seconds before stopping and pretending to be serious. "My people are going into the water to observe fish. Hopefully, we won't be eaten by sea monsters!"
"Haha, goodbye, kid."
"We'll be back safely."
Several other crew members in diving suits walked to the edge of the deck. They all joked with Ryan's group, giving them half-smiles.
"You'd better be careful. I'm serious," Ryan said, knowing they wouldn't believe him. Still, he raised his voice to kindly remind them.
Unfortunately, the crew members merely responded perfunctorily and jumped into the lake one after another. They were undoubtedly provoking the sea monster!
"Oops. If I transform into Ripjaws, I might not be able to rescue everyone at once," Ryan thought, counting the people who had just jumped in. He was secretly alarmed.
"These people are really asking for it," Gwen said, holding her chin and looking at the lake worriedly.
"It doesn't matter. Let's just wait. If the sea monster attacks, we'll see movement," Ryan replied, always ready.
Gollum~
Gollum~
Just as Ryan finished speaking, the lake seemed to fulfill his prediction when a long string of bubbles popped out!