stjorthotic Chapter 253 The Guardian of the Coral Reef
Chapter 253 The Guardian of the Coral Reef
Chapter 253 The Guardian of the Coral Reef
Late at night, on the East China Sea continental shelf, amidst an impenetrable expanse of dark ink, Zhou Miao was unusually invigorated.
He stood on the ship's side, his eyes fixed on the electric winch.
Those rapidly fluctuating numbers on the screen were just small change to him.
The tip of the fishing rod trembled violently and made a faint "whistling" sound.
The pitch-black sea was actually quite eerie, but Zhou Miao found it particularly pleasant to listen to.
There were already five longfin tuna, and only an hour had passed.
At this efficiency, the cryogenic chambers of the Flying Swallow could be completely filled overnight.
Even if it's not completely full, it still takes up most of the space.
He was previously quite satisfied with the cryogenic chamber that could hold 5,000 kilograms, thinking it was big enough.
But at this moment, he suddenly realized that with his system abilities and inexplicable luck, the cryo-chamber needed to be at least twice as large.
However, this sixth fish seemed a bit difficult to catch; the numbers on the screen were changing much slower.
However, this is good news for the people who caught the fish, as it means that the fish this time is much bigger than before.
Based on past experience, this fish weighs at least 150 jin (75 kg), but definitely not over 200 jin (100 kg).
If the fish weighed 200 pounds, he wouldn't be able to fish so easily with that electric reel.
In fact, the metal fish that was passing by underwater had already gotten tangled in the fishing line.
However, this time the metal fish was only 1.2 meters long, not heavy enough, and not as powerful as the previous metal tube, so Zhou Miao couldn't detect the problem from the numbers jumping on the screen.
Finally, after about half an hour, an irregular, angular object with a dull metallic sheen appeared on the sea surface illuminated by the lights.
Zhou Miao was stunned when he saw it clearly. It wasn't the common fish, nor was it one of the listening devices he had seen before.
This is actually a mechanical fish?
"Holy crap, this is a high-end model!"
Once Zhou Miao realized what was happening, his eyes lit up. The mechanical fish had a ferocious appearance and looked quite imposing.
But its mechanical body is made up of sections of metal, giving it a high-tech feel. Isn't that much better than any Transformers model?
Even knowing that this was probably another kind of listening device, Zhou Miao couldn't resist the urge to possess it.
"What a pity!"
But Zhou Miao thought that bringing this kind of thing back would definitely cause trouble, and the only way was to hand it over.
After using a crane to lift the metal fish up, he dragged it to the foredeck and placed it there.
However, the strange fish kept wriggling, and Zhou Miao looked around but couldn't find the switch button, so he simply tied it up with a rope to prevent it from wriggling around like a snake.
I didn't find any solar panels, and I have no idea how this thing gets its power.
Ignoring everything else, Zhou Miao returned to the aft deck to continue fishing for longfin tuna.
There shouldn't be too many fish, because if there were, the coral reefs at the bottom would have been eaten away long ago, leaving no chance for rescue. So he might be able to complete his mission tonight.
However, at this moment, the metal fish trapped on the foredeck was blinking its eyes, as if it were sending some kind of signal.
The fact that there was no seaweed or barnacles clinging to the metal fish indicated that it had only recently been thrown into the sea.
These so-called listening devices primarily detect areas near the coast.
This metal fish was not the only one released this time; it had many "companions" heading towards the nearshore waters.
Unfortunately, this one was caught by Zhou Miao.
At this moment, its stalled signal and coordinates have appeared in a secret base, and photos are being generated, including Zhou Miao's physique, the side profile of the Flying Swallow, and its deck structure.
Zhou Miao was wearing a hat and a face mask because of the cold weather, so her face wasn't showing.
While some of his information was being intercepted, the previously silent system suddenly sent him a surprising request for help.
[A long-term request for assistance has been received from the East China Sea within the Huaxia territory. This mission can be accepted or abandoned, but accepting it carries certain risks. Please choose carefully.]
"Hiss~ Why did I suddenly get a mission like this?"
When Zhou Miao first heard about the long-term mission, he was both excited and surprised.
But when he heard that there was some danger involved, his heart sank again; clearly, this mission was very special.
He's doing well in his career now, has two girlfriends, and could easily have a third if he wanted to.
We must definitely eliminate all dangerous tasks and not gamble with our own safety.
But this inexplicable mission came from the East China Sea, which is part of China, and it was triggered suddenly after he caught that metal fish. Zhou Miao vaguely felt that this mission was special.
"System, can I review the task before deciding?"
Zhou Miao decided to take a look at the mission details first.
The host can open the system panel at any time to view the task details.
"Okay, then open the mission details."
[A plea for help from the East China Sea: As a fisherman from ancient China, you have been favored by the fortunes of Chinese waters. Your repeated catching of unusual listening devices while fishing has drawn the attention of the East China Sea.]
The East Sea, with its strong sense of territory, soon discovered itself being invaded and spied upon by an increasing number of malicious "eyes" and "ears." It instinctively felt discomfort, anger, and crisis, yet was powerless to eliminate them on its own.
[Current task chain activated: Eliminate "Spy"]
[Mission Reward: For each "spy" successfully eliminated, the host will randomly receive one of the following rewards:]
[Random base physique enhancement, random fishing season information, random special skills]
[Warning: Cleanup actions may attract the attention and trigger a reaction from the sender. Hosts, please act with caution and within your capabilities.]
"A fisherman for ten generations?" Zhou Miao's face couldn't stay serious at all when he saw this.
So his previous ten lives were so tragic?
Why can't we let him become rich and powerful just once?
Oh, is this life about to bring great wealth and prosperity?
That's all!
But looking at this task, Zhou Miao chuckled bitterly to himself, "What kind of mess is this..."
""
If he didn't look at the mission, he could justifiably refuse based on the perceived danger.
But after reading the task, he had no choice.
He could certainly refuse against his conscience, but he happens to have some conscience and a sense of responsibility.
"System, I've accepted the quest. Do you have a map?"
[A precise location map cannot be provided. Only hosts favored by the waters of China can rely on luck to remove these listening devices.]
"So I've already caught a metal fish, what's the reward?"
Rewards are only available after the quest is accepted; rewards cannot be provided before that.
Zhou Miao opened his mouth, wanting to curse, but considering that the reward came from Donghai, he couldn't bring himself to do it, after all, they were his bread and butter.
What if I scold them and they take back their favor?
Alright, let's hurry up and finish the current task on the coral reef. Maybe it will give us a useful ability.
Zhou Miao immediately set up the other electric reel, and started fishing with both rods at the same time to increase the speed of catching fish.
He used to be able to work easily with just one fishing rod, but now he's busy.
The fish are taken to the boat, bled, and then put into the freezer. Then, freshly caught fish are taken to the boat again, and so on in a cycle.
Therefore, as dawn broke, the system's voice sounded again.
[Congratulations, host, for completing the Coral Reef's request for help and receiving your reward from the Coral Reef.]
[A reward from the Coral Reef: The Coral Reef is very grateful for your help, so it is sharing its most precious possession with you. Congratulations, host, on gaining the ability "Guardian Heart".]
[Guardian's Heart: With unwavering resolve, protect the people and things you care about most. Grants invincibility for five minutes, with a fifteen-day cooldown.]
"Hiss~"
"This ability is unbeatable!"
"System, can I use this ability on myself?"
[The host can apply the ability to the Flying Swallow, or to themselves or others, and will be immune to any harm for five minutes.]
[Note: If applied to the Flying Swallow, the host in the cabin or bridge can remain absolutely safe.]
】
"Awesome!"
Zhou Miao immediately stopped worrying about the potential dangers of the East China Sea mission.
From now on, I can go out to sea once every two weeks without worrying about my safety.
After his initial excitement subsided, Zhou Miao realized that there were seven or eight longfin tuna lying on the deck, and the freezer was already full.
This immediately gave him a headache; the tuna was rotting too quickly, and he had to deal with it immediately.
Gaining survival skills is certainly something to be happy about, but the money shouldn't be wasted.
Fortunately, considering the issue of keeping the bluefin tuna chilled, he brought two large buckets with him.
Zhou Miao removed all the ice crammed into the freezer, barely making room for two fish. After stuffing two more fish inside, he closed the freezer door.
Then, ice and water were added to the large bucket, and the remaining bled longfin tuna were stuffed inside. The two buckets were just the right size to hold the remaining six longfin tuna.
Fortunately, these fish only weighed about 70 or 80 pounds. If they were 200 or 300 pounds, there wouldn't have been enough room for them.
After finishing all this, Zhou Miao didn't even have time to sleep before rushing back to base.
We need to sail at least several dozen nautical miles away from the continental shelf.
The continental shelf was too close to the high seas, and coupled with the dangers warned of by the East China Sea mission, he instinctively felt uneasy.
The defensive skill is a trump card; it should be used sparingly if possible, since exposing it would be difficult to explain and would attract attention from above.
Sitting in the cockpit, Zhou Miao activated cruise control.
At first I could hold on, but soon I started to feel sleepy, and my head began to nod off.
I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly a series of rapid and continuous buzzing sounds rang out.
This is an automatic alarm from the AIS system. It sounds when a ship is approaching from the opposite direction and the system determines that there is a risk of collision.
Zhou Miao was instantly awakened, and when he looked up, he saw a behemoth coming from the side.
It was a cargo ship, three or four times the size of the Flying Swallow.
Zhou Miao didn't take it seriously at first, because at the current distance and speed, the Flying Swallow would soon leave the cargo ship's path.
But as time ticked by, the alarm continued to sound.
He immediately realized something was wrong; the cargo ship was coming for him.
He immediately switched back to manual operation and increased the speed to the maximum.
However, it was already a bit too late, because the cargo ship was maintaining its top speed and heading straight for him.
"Fuck your mother!"
Zhou Miao was furious. He hadn't even started cleaning up the listening devices yet, and the danger had already arrived?
I thought it was some speedboat sneaking over to shoot, but it turned out to be a big cargo ship causing an accident?
Could it be that the metal fish at the bow of the ship attracted it?
So that thing not only has a positioning system, but also has an extremely powerful backing?
But is it really worth it for such a small fish?
Zhou Miao complained inwardly, but he controlled the direction with the rudder in his hand, turning nimbly and taking advantage of the large, cumbersome ship.
He would definitely avoid using his survival skills if possible, and the sheer visual impact of such a large ship charging towards him was enough to make anyone tremble with fear; he certainly didn't want to experience a heart-stopping collision.
In reality, with only one metal fish, Zhou Miao would naturally not attract anyone's attention, nor would he make such a fuss.
But he managed to get his hands on four listening devices in a short period of time!
If we installed several listening devices every time we went to sea, the losses could easily exceed hundreds of millions.
Since they happened to have their own boat nearby, they decided to eliminate him as an unstable factor.
After running for more than ten minutes, Zhou Miao realized with despair that the other party was getting closer and closer.
Is it reasonable that the ship is so much bigger than mine, and its top speed is even faster than my Flying Swallow?
In a heart-pounding moment, just as the cargo ship was about to collide with it, he decisively activated his Guardian Heart, channeling his power onto the Flying Swallow.
"Bang!"
A dull thud rang out. The Flying Swallow was as solid as a rock, while the cargo ship seemed to have crashed head-on into a giant iceberg, its bow dented.
The immense impact caused the cargo ship to break in two, unable to withstand the force.
The cargo ship was immediately filled with cries and screams. To Zhou Miao's astonishment, the cargo ship sank to the bottom of the sea at an extremely fast speed.
Many people jumped ship to save themselves, and there were also many lifeboats on the sea.
But in the end, after the cargo ship sank, a huge whirlpool appeared on the sea surface, sucking everything in this area in, leaving nothing behind.
The entire incident lasted less than five minutes, and the Flying Swallow's invincibility period hadn't expired, so nothing happened.
Zhou Miao had originally planned to leave quickly to avoid being climbed onto the boat, but now he didn't have to worry about that anymore.
"Awesome!"
After regaining his senses, Zhou Miao suddenly shuddered, then accelerated to maximum speed and sped away from the area.
Before leaving, he took a special look at the fish finder and discovered that the depth here was as high as thousands of meters.
This is truly a case of destroying the evidence; not a single clue will be found.
Zhou Miao dared not fall asleep again and persevered for five or six hours, returning at top speed, burning diesel fuel as if it were free.
Once the boat arrived at the club's dock, he rushed into the captain's lounge and fell asleep in less than three seconds.
He was under a lot of stress the whole way, and with the added stress of staying up all night, even someone with a strong constitution couldn't take it anymore.
Upon waking up, the first thing Zhou Miao did was not to sell fish, but to go to the shipyard to give the Flying Swallow a new "skin" and, incidentally, change its name.
The name was changed to Haiyunhao, and the originally white ship was changed to a black and gold color scheme, making it look exceptionally luxurious.
After staying at home for half a month, Zhou Miao dared to go out to sea again once the Guardian Heart cooldown expired.
After a week of busy work at sea, with two listening devices and a boatload of fish, they leisurely made their way back to port.
Looking at the listening device, Zhou Miao sneered inwardly, "Come on, if you're so capable, send another big cargo ship to ram me!"
(End of the book)