“Achoo!” Zhong Xiwang sneezed suddenly while putting on her diving suit.
“Hey, Xi! Are you okay?”
Parker, who was inspecting the fishing boat, asked with concern upon hearing her.
Zhong Xiwang waved her hand. “It’s nothing.”
Several other new crew members sat beside her, chatting and laughing, curiously asking why a girl like her would take on such dangerous work.
Zhong Xiwang looked at them with amusement. “Why did you come?”
What a pointless question! If not for the money, was she here to work for free out of passion?
The others didn’t grasp the deeper meaning of her retort and laughed, saying it was partly for the money and partly to conquer the sea.
Zhong Xiwang feigned surprise. “Oh! I really admire your courage.”
“Hahaha…”
Amidst the cheerful banter, the fishing boat gradually sailed away from the dock.
The weather was good today, with clear skies all the way.
The roar of the engine accompanied the sound of the waves, and everything before her eyes turned half-blue and half-white.
In the distance, on the vast sea, she saw several small black triangular fins swimming swiftly. As they leaped out of the water, Zhong Xiwang recognized them—a pod of orcas hunting.
From above, she could see they were chasing a group of rays. Several orcas dashed into the ray school, disrupting their formation, then targeted smaller groups of rays.
Zhong Xiwang wondered if it was Big Fatty’s pod, but she merely watched from afar.
“Oh, the orcas are having a bountiful harvest,” someone beside her remarked with admiration.
Zhong Xiwang nodded. “I hope we can have such a harvest today too.”
Since they couldn’t go near the islands, Parker had to take everyone to a more distant location.
Here, there was a massive reef covered in sea urchins.
However, the waves here were much more turbulent. Being slammed against these hard rocks by the waves was no joke.
Thus, everyone needed to dive to deeper waters to stay safer.
But it was still better than returning empty-handed.
After the fishing boat stopped, two small boats were lowered, each heading to a different spot for underwater work.
Before diving, Parker reminded the only female among them, “Please be extra careful, Xi.”
Zhong Xiwang waved at Parker and set off in the small boat.
After confirming her location, Zhong Xiwang gave her gear a final check, then grabbed her net bag and iron hook and flipped into the water.
The fish here rarely encountered such strange creatures. As she worked, they curiously swam around her.
Upon realizing she was collecting the sea urchins they despised, these brightly colored fish grew bolder, some even approaching the divers.
Many fish lived among the seaweed, relying on it for shelter from predators, reproduction, and more.
But sea urchins were like unreasonable bandits, mercilessly gnawing at the roots of the seaweed, destroying their homes and disrupting the ecological cycle.
After the fish carried these pests away, the sea urchins would sneak back in droves while the fish rested.
Zhong Xiwang paid no attention to them, not wanting them to delay her “money-gathering.”
After collecting half a bag, she surfaced to take a few breaths before diving back down to continue.
Gradually, she noticed a large gathering of golden-yellow damselfish nearby.
Going over to investigate, she found a group of plump sea urchins quietly clinging to the coral.
Zhong Xiwang’s eyes lit up, and she quickly swam over.
Humans and fish collaborated—the fish were responsible for guiding the way, while the humans took care of eliminating the sea urchins they despised.
After a busy morning, everyone’s faces were beaming with joy as they looked at the half-filled container of sea urchins.
During lunchtime, Zhong Xiwang quietly gazed at the unfamiliar sea while eating a bland sandwich.
Suddenly, the boat shook, and the sandwich in Zhong Xiwang’s hand fell into the water.
She turned around to see the other teammates also startled.
“What are you doing, Vincent?”
The man named Vincent chuckled sheepishly, “Haha… just a joke…”
“Your joke means I’ll have to go hungry for the day,” Zhong Xiwang said with a faint smile, spreading her hands.
“Take his share, Xi!”
The other teammates immediately chimed in, egging her on.
Vincent had only pressed the boat’s crane for fun after finishing his meal—he had no food left now.
So, he scratched his head apologetically and asked, “How about this?”
Seeing the half bottle of alcohol he offered, Zhong Xiwang’s smile grew even more “nuclear” in its kindness.
“Have mine,” Parker said, noticing the situation, and handed half of the hamburger his wife Emily had prepared for him to Zhong Xiwang.
Zhong Xiwang wiped the strange smile off her face and looked at Parker, who was burly and strong, quickly waving her hands. “No need, I’m already full. I was just joking with Vincent earlier.”
He looked like he needed more food than she did.
Parker pushed it directly into Zhong Xiwang’s hands. “Eat it. I have this.”
With that, Parker snatched Vincent’s alcohol and started drinking.
Zhong Xiwang was slightly taken aback. Wasn’t anyone concerned about drunk driving at sea?
Unable to refuse such kindness, Zhong Xiwang stopped declining and took a bite of the hamburger, which was far more flavorful than the sandwich, while gazing out at the sea again.
“Mmm! Captain Pike, Emily’s cooking is amazing. Thank you both!”
Parker, his cheeks slightly flushed from the alcohol, grinned through his thick beard upon hearing her praise his wife.
“Emily would be thrilled to hear that!”
As Zhong Xiwang turned around, she suddenly noticed a white figure swiftly diving underwater, causing ripples to spread across the sea’s surface. The half sandwich she had dropped earlier was now gone.
Her chewing froze, and she thought with a headache, “No way?”
After a moment’s thought, she discreetly tossed a piece of bread from her hamburger into the water while no one was looking, then stared unblinkingly at the spot.
A while later, to Zhong Xiwang’s astonishment, a pure white creature emerged halfway, clutching the bread in its mouth before quickly diving back underwater.
Just before it submerged, it glanced up and caught sight of the wide-eyed human staring at it in shock.
Though it hadn’t revealed its entire body, based on its submerged shape and appearance, Zhong Xiwang recalled the urban legends she had read while researching the Multi-finned Sea Snake and the Tall and Thin Ghostly Shadow.
Similar to humans, with smooth, white skin, long fins, and five sharp, webbed-tipped fingers, its head resembled that of a beluga whale, complete with a rounded bulge. Its mouth was shorter than a beluga’s, with two rows of sharp teeth inside. It was said to measure between 20 to 30 meters in length.
A legendary large artificial lifeform said to exist in Antarctica—Ning En.
Zhong Xiwang recalled the approximate length she had just seen. It certainly didn’t look 20 to 30 meters long, and this wasn’t Antarctica either.
Maybe… it was just a lone… beluga whale?
Zhong Xiwang nervously comforted herself, hoping it wasn’t really that creature.
She just wanted to earn money properly and didn’t want to be swallowed like a sip of water by that legendary creature after going down later.