novelraw Chapter 269: Destination
Chapter 269: Destination
The Poseidon's economical cruising speed was slightly slower than his previous small boat—only fifteen knots—so it was four and a half hours later when they arrived near Crescent Moon Island.
Chu Mingcheng sounded the horn, then found a nearby spot to drop anchor.
They had arrived at the pier at ten in the morning, and with all the loading and preparation, it was nearly eleven by the time they set sail.
After lunch, they reached Crescent Moon Island just past four in the afternoon.
Chu Mingcheng planned to stop here for a bit, have dinner, and then see if the sea lions were around.
If not, he'd have no choice but to continue onward.
"Luoluo, want some seafood tonight?" Chu Mingcheng left the pilothouse and came into the living area.
Jiang Luoluo was reviewing new choreography sent by the dance instructor at her studio. She had brought the USB drive with her before leaving. After watching the dances, she would categorize them.
Those that she was satisfied with and only needed minor adjustments would go into one category—she could practice those while at sea.
Those she felt weren't quite right would go into another category. She'd note down what she didn't like and discuss it with the instructor online later.With the small mobile base station, they no longer had to worry about being unreachable.
"I've been craving seafood lately. Are you going fishing?"
Although she'd been angry with Chu Mingcheng two days prior, she had to admit those Black Tiger Prawns had been incredibly delicious, really stirring up her cravings.
Hearing his question about seafood tonight, she naturally wanted some.
"We've got Regal Mantis Shrimp and Giant Tiger Prawns here. I'll dive down and see if I can catch some." It wasn't just Jiang Luoluo whose cravings had been triggered—Chu Mingcheng felt the same.
With delicious ingredients readily available here, he certainly wouldn't pass them up.
"Want me to come with you?"
"No need. Go get the chicken breast and beef out to thaw. Later, cook them up with some cat food for Mimi and the others."
"Alright then. Go catch them quickly—don't take too long."
Chu Mingcheng nodded, then went to change into his wetsuit, slung the fish spear on his back, and picked up his speargun and foraging tongs.
He quickly swam to the small island first. After a lap around and finding no trace of the sea lions, he had no choice but to head to the Regal Mantis Shrimp habitat, activating the Fish Gathering function and sweeping through the area.
By the time he reached the Giant Tiger Prawn area, he had already caught fifteen forearm-sized Regal Mantis Shrimp. The number felt no less than the first time he'd come.
The Premium Aquatic Species Codex had reached level fifteen while he was in Australia, but the two-level increase didn't seem to have a huge effect. It was likely due to the combination of rapid growth and rapid reproduction.
Besides, before the fishing ban, he had originally planned to catch more, but Jiang Luoluo getting ciguatera poisoning had derailed those plans. So it wasn't strange that there were still many large Regal Mantis Shrimp here.
Fifteen was enough for the two of them to eat for several meals, so Chu Mingcheng didn't catch any more, instead grabbing some relatively large Giant Tiger Prawns.
It took about half an hour, and he had caught about ten jin worth of Giant Tiger Prawns.
He left this area and swam toward the coral reef on the back side of the island.
However, before he even reached the back side, three dark figures suddenly appeared ahead.
Since he could tell from a distance that their shapes weren't large, Chu Mingcheng boldly approached, only to find it was Little Black and the others.
The three sea lions seemed to still be living together and hadn't left the area.
But when they spotted Chu Mingcheng, they didn't approach; instead, they swam back and forth about five or six meters away.
Seeing this, he removed his mask, revealing his face.
Intelligent animals have memories. Once he took off his mask, the little sea lions immediately recognized him.
Compared to Little White and Little Yellow, who hung back, Little Black, being closer to him, swam right up.
Chu Mingcheng reached out and patted its head, then beckoned with his hand, signaling them to follow him.
With the system's help, the three sea lions immediately understood his meaning and quickly followed behind.
Meanwhile, the fish leisurely swimming around the coral reef were about to meet their doom.
Chu Mingcheng held his speargun, hitting a fish every so often.
He chose small targets, only about one or two jin each.
Sea lions eat fish, but unless the fish is exceptionally large and they can't swallow it, they usually gulp it down whole.
Little Black had gnawed on fish a few times, but normally, other sea lions live their whole lives without knowing what fish actually tastes like.
Just like now—Chu Mingcheng took the fish off the spear shaft and handed it to Little White, whose turn it was.
After being fed a few fish, Little White and Little Yellow became friendly with him again. Seeing the fish now, they immediately swam forward and snatched it.
Then they tilted their necks back, and like seabirds, swallowed the fish whole in just a few gulps. Just like the gluttonous Zhu Bajie from the old tales—gone before they could taste it.
About half an hour passed. Chu Mingcheng used both his speargun and the fish spear on his back, finally managing to fill the three sea lions' bellies.
He didn't even know how many fish he'd caught, but it was probably around a hundred jin.
He'd started by feeding them small fish, but feeling it was too inefficient, he eventually shot a few larger ones and let them gnaw on those themselves.
As for Chu Mingcheng himself, he only managed to shoot one Blackspot Tuskfish and two Red Groupers.
Red Groupers are relatively small—the ones you normally encounter are only about one or two jin.
These two were enough for a dish, though, so the seafood for the evening was sorted.
Signaling the three sea lions to follow, Chu Mingcheng quickly swam toward the Poseidon.
It was past five o'clock, almost time to cook dinner.
The sea lions following him to the boat were a bit confused—this wasn't the boat they remembered.
But seeing Chu Mingcheng climb aboard, they followed him up.
Mimi, who had just eaten and was strolling on the deck, immediately let out a fierce warning cry. "Aooo!" The sound startled the kittens playing nearby.
Her back arched, looking like her fur was standing on end.
Except for Little Black, who recognized Mimi, the other two sea lions weren't about to be polite. They immediately crawled toward the little thing that dared to provoke them.
Sea lions might look gentle, but they aren't weak attackers. Under certain circumstances, they have even been known to attack humans.
Little Black had been beaten by Mimi before without retaliating, looking pitiful, but that was because he was still small then.
These two female sea lions had just reached adulthood, and compared to Mimi, their size difference was enormous—naturally, they weren't afraid.
Chu Mingcheng frowned at this. "You need to get along. No fighting!"
The sea lions, understanding his words, immediately stopped. Then he went to soothe the cats, and the conflict was averted.
Seeing there was no problem, Chu Mingcheng then sorted the Giant Tiger Prawns and Regal Mantis Shrimp from the mesh bag into the live well.
With dividers separating them, the two species wouldn't come into contact, preventing the Giant Tiger Prawns from being eaten by the Regal Mantis Shrimp.
He turned on the aeration, hoping they could stay alive longer.
Then Chu Mingcheng stripped off his wet wetsuit right there on the deck, leaving only his boxer briefs.
There was no one else at sea, and only his wife was on the boat—he wasn't worried about being seen.
He then picked up four Regal Mantis Shrimp and about two jin of Giant Tiger Prawns, carrying the fish into the kitchen.
Jiang Luoluo was cooking rice and washing vegetables. Seeing him return, she quickly came forward to take the seafood from his hands.
"Go take a shower first. I'll handle the fish later. How are you planning to eat these shrimp?"
"You decide—I'm good with anything! The Red Grouper tastes great; just steam it. I'll take care of the Blackspot Tuskfish tomorrow."
After saying that, Chu Mingcheng went back to the deck, rinsed his wetsuit clean, hung it up to dry on the foredeck, and then went to shower.
By the time he came out, Jiang Luoluo had already prepared dinner.
The two carried the dishes to the small coffee table in the pilothouse, then started the Poseidon and continued onward.
Chu Mingcheng set the navigation. Looking at the time, the estimated arrival at the destination was about seven hours.
His destination was actually the southern waters of Treasure Island.
In southern Treasure Island, there's a place called Donggang, which has a specialty called "tuna"—another name for bluefin tuna.
Bluefin tuna are often brought ashore at the Donggang pier, so Chu Mingcheng guessed this area was where bluefin tuna frequented.
If not, he could continue east all the way to the Bashi Channel—billfish and tuna could be encountered there.
Or he could continue south to Dongsha.
Coming to the pilothouse to eat was to avoid delaying the journey and reach the destination sooner.
After all, every time a fishing yacht stops and restarts, the fuel consumption is actually higher than normal cruising.
While the boat was moving, if another vessel or large whales appeared nearby, the navigation system would automatically sound an alarm, which is why they chose to eat in the pilothouse.
By the time they finished eating, the sky had already darkened, and the lights on the Poseidon automatically turned on.
The antenna on the roof flashed in the darkness, serving as a warning to other vessels at sea to avoid getting too close.
Jiang Luoluo cleared the dishes and went to wash them in the kitchen, then took a shower, changed into her pajamas and slippers, and returned to the pilothouse, sitting in her seat and applying a facial mask.
"Ah Cheng, want one?"
"Do you think I need it?"
"..." Jiang Luoluo had to admit defeat on this point. "I don't know what's going on with you. When I first met you, your skin wasn't this good."
"Now that you're fishing and out at sea every day, your skin condition is actually getting better and better. You haven't even gotten particularly tanned. It's so strange."
Jiang Luoluo herself, every time she went out to sea, made sure to bring sunscreen and various other skincare products.
Hats, face coverings, sun-protective clothing—none were missed. Plus, she didn't go out to sea that often, which was how she managed to maintain her skin.
"Maybe… it's called reverse aging?" Chu Mingcheng rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Ugh… you're so shameless!" Jiang Luoluo, mask already applied, rolled her eyes expressionlessly.
Fifteen minutes later, she stood up, removed the mask, went to the bathroom, spent a long time tidying up, and then came back with her laptop.
"Ah Cheng, help me look at the songs for the next dances? Give me some suggestions."
"Sure!" Chu Mingcheng took the earbud she handed him and started watching the dances with her.
Jiang Luoluo had already screened the songs and dances, but others' opinions were important, so she wanted to hear Chu Mingcheng's evaluation.
The two leaned against each other, discussing the dances and songs. Time slipped by unnoticed, and soon it was past nine at night.
"Yawn!" Jiang Luoluo had filmed five videos consecutively two days ago, and today had been busy with setting sail. Sleepiness crept up on her, and she couldn't hold on any longer.
"I'm getting sleepy—going to bed first. If you get tired, come sleep early too. We can always continue sailing tomorrow."
"Mm, you go ahead!" Chu Mingcheng gently rubbed her head.