The great white shark was smarter than expected. Its eyesight was indeed poor, but its sense of smell was even keener than a dog's. Natasha had swum less than thirty meters with the woman when the blood from the wound on her thigh spread through the water, immediately drawing the great white shark's attention.
Bella sensed something was wrong at once. After catching the smell of blood, the creature became far more aggressive, its strength surging noticeably. Was it entering some kind of berserk state?
She pummeled the great white shark with her fists while stealing a glance into the distance. The woman's injuries were extremely severe—her left leg was still bleeding continuously, and that blood was driving the great white shark completely mad.
The woman's consciousness was hazy. She swung her arms mechanically, with almost no actual effect. Natasha supported her by the waist, paddling rapidly toward the shore.
The great white shark completely ignored Bella on its back. Its tail fin slapped the water as it surged straight toward the two of them.
Natasha changed direction twice, but the great white shark remained firmly locked onto them.
When the distance between them shrank to only five meters, Bella shouted, "Grab my foot!"
Two ice rapiers appeared in her hands. One left, one right—she stabbed them fiercely into the great white shark's head, then used the blades as leverage to forcibly wrench the shark's head to the left.
She lay sideways, extending her right leg. Natasha seized the opportunity and grabbed her ankle.
"I can barely hold on!"
Bella's ankle was slender, and Natasha's hand wasn't large either—she was barely able to keep her grip.
"Now's really not the time for complaining!"
"I'm just stating a fact. Besides, this woman's about to pass out anyway."
With two hangers clinging to her leg, Bella forcibly steered the great white shark toward the shore. One fish and three people shot forward over a hundred meters in an instant. When the shark refused to approach the shallows no matter how much it was controlled or beaten, Natasha released her grip at the right moment and, using the remaining momentum, dragged the woman toward the beach.
Anxious to save her, Bella condensed psionic energy once more. A Mind Blast knocked the great white shark unconscious. She then chased after Natasha, and together they rushed the woman toward the shore.
The woman's condition was extremely poor—almost completely unconscious. Her body trembled nonstop, her lips turned pale, and her breathing was barely perceptible.
"We're here!"
Eight hundred meters was nothing to them. Even carrying someone, the two reached the shore without much difficulty.
They ran quickly back to the jeep. With no time to change clothes, they simply wiped off with towels inside the vehicle and sped onto the highway, searching for a nearby hospital.
"Hello? Can you hear me? What's your name? Do you know where there's a hospital nearby?"
Natasha drove at high speed while Bella checked the map and questioned the woman in the back seat.
The warmth inside the car helped the woman regain some clarity. She said weakly, "My name is Nancy… Nancy Ingram. My father… is Nathan Ingram… the phone number is…"
Bella took out her phone and dialed. The call connected quickly. On the other end was a middle-aged man with a notably magnetic voice.
"Mr. Nathan Ingram? There's a woman here claiming to be your daughter. She's injured. Her name is Nancy—"
Bella had barely finished her opening sentence when the other side exploded.
"Nancy?! What happened to her? Is she badly hurt? Where are you?"
The rapid-fire questions left Bella momentarily at a loss.
She looked around. The area was desolate wilderness with no place names. She could only give an approximate location.
"We should be on Highway 206. We need to get Miss Nancy to a hospital as soon as possible. She seemed to think you might be able to help?"
In truth, Bella wasn't particularly optimistic. Judging by the number, what kind of help could someone all the way in New York provide? He wasn't Superman—he couldn't fly over instantly. Still, a daughter reaching out to her father in a crisis was only natural. Bella had made the call mainly to notify her family.
She hadn't expected the other side to actually be capable.
She heard the middle-aged man shout to someone nearby, "Finch! Nancy's been in an accident. Help me locate this phone number and see if there are any hospitals nearby!"
The sound of rapid typing followed. Less than thirty seconds later, another calm, gentle voice spoke.
"There's a small town three kilometers away from them called Oak Street. It has basic medical facilities."
"Oak Street? I remember now! Nancy lived in that town when she was little…"
Nathan Ingram picked up the phone again. "Please drive northwest. About three kilometers. You'll see a small town called Oak Street. There are medical staff and facilities there. I'll rush over as soon as possible—please, help my daughter!"
"Oak Street, got it."
There were simply too many small towns in America. Renamings, dissolutions, and even entire towns relocating were common occurrences. Ordinary maps couldn't possibly be accurate down to every settlement. The two searched the map for a long time without finding this so-called Oak Street.
However, the man's instructions were clear and confident. At a moment like this, Bella didn't believe any biological father would lie.
The BMW M3 sped along. The three-kilometer drive passed in a blink. A bustling small town came into view. Before entering, Bella deliberately glanced at the town sign—"XX Street Welcomes You."
The town name bore scorch marks from fire damage, making it difficult to read.
Nathan Ingram appeared to be a highly influential figure. When they arrived at the town hospital, several medical staff were already waiting at the entrance.
A flurry of activity followed as preparations for surgery began, leaving Bella and Natasha with nothing to do.
"Give me your car keys. I'm going to catch that big fish," Bella said with keen interest.
"The big fish? You mean that great white shark? You want to catch it and bring it back to Los Angeles?"
The little beauty had always been fond of exciting things.
This time, however, Bella poured cold water on her enthusiasm. "My dear little sister, I should remind you—Charlie and Samantha will never agree to you raising a shark. I'm… I'm planning to catch it and sell it for money."
Mentioning money made Bella, who considered herself a cultured person, feel somewhat awkward. But she truly was short on cash. Even if The Da Vinci Code sold extremely well, royalty settlements would still take at least half a year.
That meant she would remain very poor during that time—extremely poor.
Experts claimed there were only a little over three thousand great white sharks worldwide. In reality, the number was certainly higher, but not by much. Catching it to sell was the only plan Bella had.
"Fine, fine. Go ahead. I'll find a hotel in town and rest."
Once she heard she wasn't allowed to keep it, Natasha immediately lost interest. She tossed the car keys over and left the small-town hospital, cheeks puffed out.
Bella drove back to the beach. The great white shark had fled after breaking free from the Mind Blast's influence. She searched the area for a long time before finally finding it again just before dawn.