Chapter 393: Golden Abalones
Han Ruochen glanced at the pulley and knew that there was no point in even trying to stop it. It was rotating at such a speed that she was sure that if they tried to catch it, they would end up breaking a finger or two due to the momentum. No wonder Tong Zhaodi wanted to break this line open. She sighed before pulling on the gloves and hitching her leg up at the edge of the boat. She caught the wire line with her hands, and the raw friction caused the fabric of the gloves to heat up.
But Han Ruochen did not let go of the line; instead, she gritted her teeth and used all the superhuman strength that she had gained from the sea scanning system and started to pull the line back up. At the same time, the system started to blink and warn her about the target that was thrashing in the dark water. From the sea-scanning system, she knew that the moray eel that she had caught was not only massive but also terrifyingly strong.
"Sister Ruochen, what are you doing?" Tong Zhaodi was stunned when she saw Han Ruochen grabbing the line with her hands. Was she trying to ruin herself? The friction of the line was too strong! If she were not careful, then Han Ruochen would be dragged down by the friction of the line, and then there were the currents that were so violent that the entire boat was rocking back and forth as if they were lying in a giant’s bathtub.
"Get back!" Han Ruochen shouted when she saw that Tong Zhaodi wanted to grab the line as well. She had the strength of the sea scanning system, but what did Tong Zhaodi have? If she grabbed the line, then she would be washed down by the currents in a matter of a few seconds. "You stay back! I can do this alone."
"But—"
"No buts! Just trust me!" Han Ruochen was speaking through her gritted teeth, and her forehead was covered with sweat as she pulled the line up. Fortunately, the sea scanning system was willing to share its strength with her. With a final, explosive heave that strained the mounting brackets of the boat, Han Ruochen hauled the monster over the rail.
Seeing this, Tong Zhaodi rushed to grab the net and then brought the net over the boat.
"It’s a Giant Phantom Moray!" Tong Zhaodi gasped as she looked at the nine-foot-long, thick-as-a-man’s-thigh monster. Its skin was patterned like cracked obsidian. The way it thrashed on the deck, she wondered how Han Ruochen even managed to get this thing out of the water. The sound of the moray eel snapping its teeth alone as it tried to break the trap that had caught it was enough to send a shiver down her spine. However, when she thought about how they could sell this beast to earn at least four thousand yuan without any trouble, a smile crept over her lips.
"There should be a breeding cluster down there." Han Ruochen gasped. Her chest was heaving as she glanced down at the dark water. Clutching her hands that were burning as if she had pushed them into a vat of molten lava, she winced in pain. "We need to catch as many as possible."
"Are you sure?" Seeing the determined glint in Han Ruochen’s eyes, Tong Zhaodi did not feel that she was being greedy, but she did feel a bit troubled looking at Han Ruochen’s hands. The gloves had been torn under the friction of the line, and they only had one pair of gloves. What would happen to Han Ruochen if she continued to hunt more moray eels?
Han Ruochen clenched her teeth and nodded. "I have no other choice." If she wanted to pad the family savings, then she had to fight for this chance as much as possible, or else she could only watch the destruction of her family once again.
When Tong Zhaodi saw that Han Ruochen was determined, she did not stop her. "Alright, let’s patch up the gloves first. We cannot let you work with these torn ones, can we?"
Han Ruochen nodded and let Tong Zhaodi help her make some makeshift rag gloves to pad her hands. After that, she threw herself into collecting the moray eels that were hiding under the dark undercurrents.
By the time she stopped, four hours had already passed, and Han Ruochen could feel her hands and arms aching as if she had gone through the most extensive training. Her bleeding hands dragged the fourth moray eel that she had caught over the deck, and Han Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief. But she was not done. She looked at her sea scanning system that was still pinging. Under the eel colony, the sea scanning system had also identified a dense cluster of organic shapes that were clinging to the rock surfaces.
[Target Locked: Imperial Black Gold Abalones.]
[ Age: 35+, quantity: 19. Market Tier: Legendary.]
Han Ruochen breathed in and out before turning to look at Tong Zhaodi. "Can you take the helm? I only need you to keep the boat steady for a few minutes and nothing else."
"I have never done it before, but I can try." Tong Zhaodi replied nervously. She had never done it, but given that Han Ruochen asked her to keep the helm steady, she knew that there must be something else waiting for them.
Han Ruochen nodded and said, "Then you go ahead and take the helm. I will deal with the rest of the things." As she spoke, she was not in a hurry. She first grabbed the heavy, custom-weighted iron scraping claw that was attached to a high-tensile steel cable. It was her new addition to the motorboat, and the price was sky-high. If not for the fact that she had earned enough money, she would have to dive into the sea today!
Han Ruochen heaved a breath and then turned to look at the sea. Once her target was more or less set, she activated the vision that the sea scanning system had given her.
Comments