As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up
Chapter 581 - 357: Sea Storm_2

Chapter 581: Chapter 357: Sea Storm_2

Afterward, it leisurely swam somewhere else.

However, it had just swum a short distance when it unexpectedly spotted a squid.

The squid was not fast, usually serving as its prey, albeit being slightly more difficult to catch than an octopus.

But this squid was strange, having stayed in the same spot for the better part of the day before moving upward at a slow pace.

Its struggle looked so enticing, that after a deep-sea octopus had its fill, adding one more squid seemed like a fine idea.

Therefore, it charged at its prey once more, catching up and swallowing the squid whole with a large gulp.

Yet after just a few bites, it felt something was wrong—why was its mouth in so much pain?

It was not just the creature that felt something amiss, as Chu Mingcheng also sensed something was off—how could the little prey suddenly exert such a strong force?

Luckily, anticipating a big fish might bite, he had equipped a thick fishing line and rod, which could handle the fish as long as it did not pull too hard.

After reeling and tugging for a while, Chu Mingcheng discovered an important piece of information.

The creature biting the bait was strong and heavy, but particularly slow under water.

Had it been a Golden Spearfish of the same size, it would have dashed more than two hundred meters away under these circumstances, but this fish had barely managed ten meters.

This reassured Chu Mingcheng even further in his fishing; the fish’s slow speed indicated a lack of strong bursts.

A fish like this was basically quite difficult to lose unless one was incredibly unlucky with a line break.

After more than forty minutes, the large fish from over two hundred meters deep finally surfaced.

"What a strange fish!" Illuminated by the light and roughly seeing its form, Chu Mingcheng found it strangely familiar in his mind.

It gave off an ancient illusion, looking quite odd.

Continuously exerting force with his hands, he soon had the fish pulled up to the side of the boat.

"It’s a Coelacanth!" Getting a closer look, Chu Mingcheng realized instantly.

He had never read about this ancient fish in encyclopedias, but data on Coelacanth had been recommended when he was researching Parrot Shells because of its status as a living fossil.

This was also why he was able to recognize it instantly.

He took a photograph with the fish, calling over Jiang Luoluo to join in for a snap, and finally, using a hook remover, Chu Mingcheng extracted the fishing hook from the fish’s mouth and released it back into the sea.

It’s uncertain how many of these fish still existed in the world, and given their notably slow growth rate, it seemed better not to harm them any further.

...

Time gently flowed by, and it was already October.

While others went out to enjoy their holiday on October the first, or stayed indoors, Chu Mingcheng and Jiang Luoluo had already been drifting at sea for more than a month.

The days at South Africa for resupply had passed half a month ago, when Chu Mingcheng, in those territorial waters, had gathered many unknown sea products, unexpectedly upgrading his "Poseidon Mode" to level five.

[Poseidon Mode (5/10)]

[Experience: (12/50)]

[Unlock Degree: 50%]

[Duration: Six hours]

[Cooldown: 1 Day]

[Abilities: Ten tons of strength, land speed one hundred meters in three seconds, water speed one hundred meters in two seconds, night vision ability.]

[Diving Depth: 3,500 meters]

[Note: When the host captures five hundred types of aquatic products beyond those already captured, only then can the Poseidon Mode be completely unlocked, becoming a true god of the ocean. Every fifty types captured will unlock an additional 10%.]

At this moment, whether he could continue upgrading this Poseidon Mode did not particularly matter to Chu Mingcheng.

He still preferred searching for and exploring unknown marine creatures.

Now capable of diving to depths of 3,500 meters, he truly broadened his horizons.

For instance, a few days ago, while stealthily diving, he encountered a special type of crab living in deep-sea volcanic vents.

Their bodies were covered in white hair, but these hairs were not their own; rather, they were a special type of fungus, which also served as the crab’s primary food source.

Due to the unique water quality of the volcanic vents, no other creatures could survive there.

Lacking other food sources, the crabs had evolved into this form.

They didn’t need to search for food; when hungry, they could pluck a feather at any time.

At night, after Jiang Luoluo fell asleep, when Chu Mingcheng was preparing to dive again, he noticed something unusual about the sea conditions.

There was barely any wind or waves on the surface, eerily calm.

Yet, deep in the ocean, under normal circumstances, the wind and waves were not mild, averaging at force six or seven every day.

They say it’s calm before the storm, and this might be exactly that.

Chu Mingcheng immediately went to the cockpit to check the weather conditions on the route.

Soon, he discovered a huge storm had formed on the ocean surface, and its reach was massive.

More importantly, its very center was right on his course.

"Damn!"

The weather on the sea changed rapidly; even though he checked the weather forecast daily, it was impossible to completely avoid stormy weather, especially as they approached Antarctica.

But Chu Mingcheng was somewhat prepared; having a smooth journey from Southeast Asia up to this point meant his luck was quite good, as encountering big storms was common when sailing around the globe.

Now, diving was definitely out of the question; he needed to respond to this new challenge.

The map roughly showed the storm’s direction. If he was fast enough and headed west, there was a great chance to avoid the storm’s center, but being affected by it was inevitable.

Chu Mingcheng immediately raised the sails and maxed the engine power, steering westward.

Even if the wind was slight, there was still a bit on the ocean, which slightly increased the speed.

Once the storm hit, he wouldn’t be able to keep the sails up.

Three hours later, Hei Yao had sailed over sixty nautical miles, but still couldn’t escape the storm’s influence.

By then, the waves were significant. Chu Mingcheng stood on the deck, controlling the direction of the ship to ensure it sailed into the waves at every moment.

The waves were five to six meters high, and with each strike, seawater flooded the deck, soaking him through.

It wasn’t the waves that wet him initially; it was the rain.

At that time, the wind and waves weren’t as strong, and the sails were still up, needing his constant control.

But since he was already soaked, he didn’t lower the sails to run to the cockpit; instead, he continued relying on the growing wind, speeding up Hei Yao’s travel while also clearly observing the surroundings.

With the boat rocking so violently, Jiang Luoluo naturally couldn’t sleep.

She was in the cockpit, constantly monitoring the map for any movements of the storm.

At that moment, Hei Yao was like a lonely boat, continuously riding the rises and falls of the ocean.

Seeing the wind and waves intensify, she grew increasingly worried about Chu Mingcheng, fearing he might be swept away by the fierce waves.

She picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Ah Cheng, come inside quickly, the wind and waves are getting bigger, it’s too dangerous for you on the deck."

Chu Mingcheng wasn’t afraid of being swept into the sea, but he was worried that if he were washed away, the boat would be uncontrolled and could capsize, putting Jiang Luoluo at risk.

Moreover, the wind and waves were growing stronger, and clearly, they couldn’t escape this time.

Therefore, he completely lowered the already mostly furled sails, then hurriedly ran back inside the cabin.

It was a pity that he was the only one aboard who could sail; if there were a few more who could, he would dare to raise a storm sail, using the storm to increase speed and escape.

But with only one person, controlling a storm sail was very difficult, so he didn’t try.

At the door, he stripped off all his clothes and pants, grabbed a towel to roughly wipe the water off his body, and quickly entered the cockpit.

Seeing him return, Jiang Luoluo breathed a sigh of relief, vacated the spot, and hurried to prepare hot water to clean him.

Chu Mingcheng focused intently on dealing with the harsh sea conditions, while his wife cleaned him up completely and changed him into fresh clothes, making him feel much more comfortable.

"Boom~"

"Dada dada dada..."

The bow collided with the waves, shattering them, and the scattered droplets hit the cockpit glass like pebbles, creating a series of impact sounds.

However, half an hour later, it was no longer like that, as Hei Yao began sailing against waves of seven to eight meters, even ten meters high.

Each wave heavily slammed against the hull, creating one booming sound after another, and the real challenge had begun.

Chu Mingcheng was only thankful that his sailboat was expensive and made of good quality material.

A cheaper one, under such relentless pounding, even if it didn’t disintegrate, would surely sustain some damage.