At five in the morning, Jiang Ye had finished breakfast and pushed open the base door.
He held a diving suit and a shock gun in his arms, both newly purchased.
The diving suit was ordinary, a common black wetsuit with a yellow oxygen tank secured to the back. Jiang Ye had already tried it on; it fit perfectly.
The shock gun was somewhat peculiar, resembling a silver-white hunting rifle with a barrel a meter long and a solid muzzle. Jiang Ye tried pulling the trigger a couple of times, but the shock gun remained unresponsive, likely due to being submerged and inactive.
The weather was still excellent today, with a gentle breeze caressing his face.
Jiang Ye walked forward onto the rocky shore, carrying the diving suit and the shock gun.
He boarded the boat and entered the captain's cabin.
As soon as he stepped inside, the previously dark screen lit up, and the lights automatically turned on.
"Good morning, Captain!" a mechanical voice announced.
"Mm, good," Jiang Ye nodded expressionlessly, placing the diving suit and shock gun in a corner.
He clicked the screen. "Start the engine!"
The boat rumbled to life, ripples spreading across the calm waters of the dock.
The fishing boat smoothly exited the dock and accelerated towards the vast ocean.
Jiang Ye kept his eyes on the coordinates displayed on the screen:
(1299, 0779)
(1299, 0780)
(1299, 0781)
(1299, 0783)!
"We're here, stop the boat decisively!"
Yesterday, at this very spot, he had cast his net and caught a black pearl oyster. Jiang Ye intended to dive down and check the seabed for more pearl oysters. If there were, he could strike it rich!
First, he adjusted the sonar, changing it from wide-area detection to downward detection.
Soon, the seabed topography appeared on the screen: relatively flat, with a depth of thirty meters.
Thirty meters deep was a depth reachable with a diving suit.
Jiang Ye, carrying the diving suit and shock gun, walked onto the deck.
Following the sequence, he put on all parts of the diving suit.
Mask, fins, oxygen tank, underwater flashlight, and a pressure gauge on his wrist that indicated water depth. The current depth displayed was 0 meters.
He held the shock gun in his arms, walked to the railing, and peered down at the dark blue water below.
A thin retractable rope was attached to the diving suit. When not extended, it was sixty meters long. One end was tied to his waist, and Jiang Ye tied the other end to the base of the railing with a secure knot.
He climbed over the railing, turned, grabbed the railing, and pushed off the edge of the boat with his feet.
Taking a deep breath, he back-flipped into the water!
Splash!
With a sound of water, he opened his eyes again underwater.
Initially, Jiang Ye felt a bit panicked. It was his first time diving, and he felt quite unaccustomed, as if his limbs couldn't move freely.
However, after two minutes, he could move with ease.
He took the shock gun from his arms and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
With a sound, the gun's muzzle visibly vibrated for a moment. The recoil was quite strong, leaving his hand numb.
Jiang Ye nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied that the device was functional and could be used underwater.
He turned and began to descend into the deep sea!
The sun had not yet fully risen, so the water was quite dark and shadowy.
As Jiang Ye descended, he checked the depth gauge on his wrist.
One meter.
Three meters.
Five meters!
Ten meters!
It felt quite deep. Looking up, he could see the underside of the large fishing boat, dark and still on the surface like a giant steel whale.
Jiang Ye finally understood what perspective the fish underwater had of his boat.
After a brief rest and acclimatization, he continued his descent!
He could see some small fish now, inch-long little white fish swimming slowly.
One small fish was quite bold and swam towards Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye raised the shock gun and aimed at it.
The little fish, unaware of the danger, swam directly to the muzzle of the shock gun.
Bang!
With a violent vibration, the little fish took a direct hit and died instantly. Its two eyeballs floated in the seawater. Its scales had burst open, and a few had fallen off. A stream of blood emerged and then dissipated.
"Good heavens!" Jiang Ye looked at the shock gun in his hand in surprise. Was this thing so powerful?
Looking at the depth gauge on his wrist, he continued to descend.
15 meters!
20 meters!
25 meters!
30 meters!
The light grew dimmer, so Jiang Ye turned on the small light on his shoulder. The white beam immediately illuminated a large expanse of deep blue water.
He hovered in place, acclimatizing to the depth.
Some small fish swam towards him from all directions, attracted by the light, like moths to a flame.
Jiang Ye repeatedly pulled the trigger, striking the approaching small fish with the shock gun.
Seven or eight small fish were instantly killed, bleeding all over. The remaining small fish, frightened, turned and swam away.
He continued to descend.
33 meters!
35 meters!
Jiang Ye suddenly frowned.
He could smell something.
A very pleasant aroma!
Similar to honey, mixed with the scent of white wine, and a hint of banana.
This smell was ore!
Jiang Ye was shocked. He had thought that breathing the air from his oxygen tank would prevent him from smelling anything else. But now, he could smell a strong mineral scent. Was this special ability to sense ore so effective?
He continued to descend.
At a depth of forty meters, he finally touched the seabed.
The seabed was covered in fine white sand and dust. His fins stirred it up, causing it to swirl in the water.
There were also many worm-like white creatures that fled from the sand in fright, swimming away.
Jiang Ye was disappointed. As far as his light could reach, it was all white, fine sand, like an underwater desert. There were no pearl oysters in sight as he had hoped.
However, his disappointment quickly vanished.
He suddenly realized that the mineral scent he could smell was getting stronger!
Based on his experience, there should be ore directly below him!
He raised the shock gun, stuck it into the fine sand, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Large piles of fine sand and dust erupted, as if swept by a whirlwind.
The surface sand and dust were washed away by the water, revealing yellow ore underneath.
Jiang Ye bent down and looked closely. The ore was full of holes, and within these holes were many dazzling yellow particles, like millet grains, brilliant and eye-catching under the light.
"Holy cow! Is this gold?" he couldn't help but exclaim.
He bent down again, almost lying on the ore, and peered through his goggles.
There were indeed many small golden particles embedded in the holes of the pale yellow rock.
The more he looked, the more it resembled gold!
But Jiang Ye couldn't be sure. After all, there were many golden things in nature, and this might not be actual gold.
The only way to confirm was to take a piece of the rock back to the boat and scan it with the trading terminal.
He didn't have a pickaxe to break the rock, so he had to rely on the shock gun.
Jiang Ye placed the shock gun against the rock and pulled the trigger repeatedly!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With dull thuds, a piece of rock the size of a chess piece shattered!
Jiang Ye rejoiced and reached out to grab it.
He stood up and swam upwards.
His swimming was awkward, but fortunately, there was the rope, which he could use to quickly ascend.
Splash!
Jiang Ye surfaced, shaking water from his head.
He grabbed the rope and climbed back onto the boat.
Without even taking off his fins, he rushed to the cargo hold with urgency.
He threw the mineral he was holding into the trading terminal at the end of the cargo hold!
After a brief scan, the results appeared on the screen:
(I have a marathon to run tomorrow. If I feel good after finishing, I'll update more.)