Sardines lay on the chopping board, waiting to die.
Jiang Ye raised his cleaver, a small, sharp knife. He had previously dispensed medicine to many sick colonial officers, some of whom paid with money, others with goods. One of these officers had given him this knife, palm-sized and quite handy.
With a stab, the sardine gave a final twitch, then wearily surrendered its struggle.
As Jiang Ye split open the pale, tender belly of the fish, its innards were still pulsing.
He killed three fish in quick succession, washed them repeatedly, placed them in an empty pot, and added water.
A few pieces of potato and a section of scallion were added, and it was time to stew!
He still wasn't satisfied with just one pot.
In the corner were ten cans of sardines, made from the earliest catch. They had been stored away and untouched.
Jiang Ye opened a can, took out a sardine, split and washed it, then tossed it into the pot to boil.
He wanted to compare the taste of fresh fish with that from a can.
Looking out the window, the sky was still dark.
By the clock, the sun wouldn't rise for another hour.
Jiang Ye descended the escalator from the base's second floor and tapped the base panel on the first floor.
He opened the [Galactic Mall] and selected the [Fish Attracting Lamp].
He spent two thousand yuan to purchase one.
The transaction bay flashed, and the fish-attracting lamp appeared.
It was a white sphere about the size of a basketball, not entirely white, with the texture of hard candy.
Jiang Ye held the lamp, a faint sweet scent emanating from it, and it felt sticky to the touch. It truly resembled an oversized light bulb.
He carried it outside and walked to the dock.
With a mighty heave!
Splash!
The lamp dropped into the sea, floating on the surface.
Light instantly bloomed, and within seconds, it became as bright as a streetlamp!
The sea was still dark, but the bright light extended far into the distance.
Jiang Ye boarded the ship, and the captain's cabin lit up automatically.
"Good morning, Captain!" a mechanical voice announced.
"Good," Jiang Ye nodded coolly. This mechanical voice belonged to the driving system's artificial intelligence; there was no need to be overly polite.
The screen lit up automatically, and the sonar activated.
Jiang Ye stood before the screen, hands behind his back, waiting silently.
Currently, there were only three or four very small red dots on the screen, possibly passing small fish.
One minute.
Three minutes.
Five minutes!
The red dots gradually increased, seventy to eighty red dots, all gathered in one area of the screen.
Jiang Ye walked onto the deck and indeed saw the water splashing around the lamp, small fish leaping, and many fish attempting to bite the lamp.
Moreover, the lamp was brighter than before, like a searchlight, its beam shooting towards the sky!
Jiang Ye returned to the captain's cabin, staring at the screen, witnessing more and more red dots approaching.
It was as if countless red bubbles were rising from the screen.
After waiting for half an hour, the lamp extinguished precisely on time, melting into the seawater, leaving no trace.
The red dots on the screen were now too numerous to count, at least several thousand. Fish tails bumped into each other, making crackling sounds. The dock was as lively as a fish farm!
Jiang Ye decisively cast the net!
A full net of fish was hauled up, pushed into the cargo hold, scanned, and sold.
[Estimated value: 186,000 yuan]
His personal account balance rose to 2,597,800 yuan.
Jiang Ye nodded, finding the lamp quite effective, though it took a long time to work and could only be used at night.
Returning to the base, the entire base was filled with the aroma of stewed fish.
He lifted the pot lid to check. The potatoes had stewed to softness, and the soup was slightly cloudy. A rich fragrance wafted out.
Jiang Ye poked the fish with his chopsticks; it was already soft.
Likely cooked, he turned off the heat.
He covered the pot and let it steam for a few minutes, then served it to eat!
It tasted alright, a little fishy, but the texture was good.
The canned fish was clearly different from the fresh one; the canned version was much less palatable.
After eating, Jiang Ye left the base and boarded his ship.
Two barnacles were stuck to the side of the fishing boat. Jiang Ye was too lazy to clean them, deciding to deal with them later.
Entering the captain's cabin, he skillfully maneuvered the fishing boat out of the dock and set sail towards the vast ocean.
The sea today was shrouded in mist; nothing could be seen beyond a hundred meters. The dark blue ocean was quiet and mysterious.
Jiang Ye activated the autopilot and stood at the bow, feeling the sea breeze.
Bored, he spread his arms, imitating Jack, then felt foolish and lowered them.
Suddenly, a grayish-black object drifted towards him on the sea.
It took Jiang Ye several seconds to discern what it was, and he was slightly taken aback.
Half a shark, including a sliver of its belly and tail.
This shark had been torn apart by some sharp weapon; the pinkish-white flesh was macerated, fragmented, with bones protruding, quite disgusting.
Jiang Ye stopped the boat, lowered the fishing net, and hauled the half-shark carcass aboard.
As soon as he pulled it up, he chuckled. Judging by the wounds, it looked like it had been shot. It must have been one of the sharks he had killed yesterday, drifting here overnight.
What a coincidence.
The power of a 12.7mm caliber bullet was beyond imagination. There was little fish meat left, and it crumbled to dust in his hand. It was utterly unappetizing.
Jiang Ye tossed this section of shark into the transaction bay.
After a brief scan, the information appeared:
[Item: Lemon Shark Juvenile Fragment]
[Item Description: If you really want to sell shark, use a harpoon or something similar to get a whole one. Don't blast it with cannons and bring back a unrecognizable mess. It can't be eaten, nor can it be looked at; it's pure ocean garbage.]
[Estimated value: 90 yuan]
Jiang Ye shrugged, clicked sell, and considered it disposing of trash.
Next time he encountered marine life, he should use the Opech-Assault Rifle to shoot it, at least to get a complete body. The six-barreled rapid-fire cannon was too brutal; after a sweep, shredded meat flew everywhere, and it wouldn't fetch a good price.
Soon, the fishing boat reached the location above the gold mine.
No more debris was visible on the sea surface; it was a expanse of azure waves.
Jiang Ye scanned with the sonar, confirming no giant creatures were lurking underwater.
He put on his diving suit, grabbed the stun gun and a sack, and leaped into the water!
On the seabed, hundreds, even thousands, of gold ore fragments were scattered, twinkling like stars, a scene reminiscent of a movie.
His flippers crunched on the sand. Jiang Ye bent down and picked up the scattered gold ore.
The gold ore today had changed somewhat from yesterday.
Some noodle-like creatures were clinging to the edges of the holes in the rocks, swaying with the currents.
They looked very much like worms. Jiang Ye frowned. Were there worms on the seabed too?
Every time he picked up a piece of gold ore, he shook it vigorously to dislodge the noodle-like sea worms.
Twenty minutes later, a sack full of gold ore was collected.
Pulling the rope, he swam upwards.
As soon as his head broke the surface, Jiang Ye froze.
The surroundings were a vast expanse of white fog, as thick as milk. Even in a raging fire, the visibility wouldn't be worse.
Beyond five meters, nothing could be seen!
Jiang Ye felt a chill. Since arriving on this planet, he hadn't encountered such dense fog. Twenty minutes ago, when he went underwater, he could see the sea a hundred meters away. Within twenty minutes, the visibility had reduced by twentyfold.
The climate was abnormal.
He boarded the ship, removed his mask and flippers.
As he dragged the ore to the cargo hold, he suddenly remembered something very strange.
He hadn't seen a single fish underwater today!
In previous dives, he had always seen some fish swimming by, but in the past twenty minutes, there hadn't been a single fish on the seabed. He had felt something was amiss while mining for gold, and now he finally understood.
It was as if all the fish had fled in fear.
And those worms on the gold ore were also trying to burrow into the holes within the ore, but some holes were too shallow, with the worms' heads inside and their tails still exposed.
Something was wrong.
Jiang Ye had an inexplicable intuition:
Something was coming to this sea!