Leaving the coffee shop, he went to the basement supermarket and bought a lot of things, including cigarettes, alcohol, and some snacks.
After leaving Wanda City, Li Haochen ate fried noodles in an old alley and rode his bike home.
When he returned to the bumpy road, it was pitch dark all around, with gusts of cold wind. Li Haochen had to endure the grinding torment and sped all the way back.
By the time he got off the bike, his buttocks were numb, and it took a long time to rub away the numbness.
After taking a sip of water, he went into the bathroom to shower, undressed, and prepared to wash, but then...
"Damn, I forgot we were out of gas."
His clothes were already off, and he was too lazy to put them back on. Li Haochen got on the ground and started doing push-ups.
Doing push-ups naked was quite awkward, with a lot of swaying... indescribable.
After dozens of push-ups, his body felt warm. He turned on the shower, and the cold water flowed down. Just looking at it made him involuntarily shiver, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
Li Haochen reached out and scooped some water, patting it onto his chest, took a deep breath, and jumped in. He then did high knees in place, picked up some body wash with both hands, and scrubbed vigorously, looking like a monkey scratching for fleas.
After finishing his shower, his whole body was emitting steam. If he had sat on the ground and crossed his legs, he might have looked like someone in a wuxia novel achieving a supreme divine skill and breaking through a bottleneck.
Taking a cold shower in winter was still quite refreshing. His body warmed up very quickly. As soon as he put on his clothes, he felt like a warm stove.
He came out and checked the time. It wasn't too late, so of course, he had to flirt with his wife.
The video call connected, and as they looked at each other on the screen, they both felt as if they hadn't seen each other for ages. Their words were filled with longing.
After exchanging sweet nothings, they hung up the video call, opting for a rendezvous in their dreams.
The next morning, Li Haochen packed everything. The tide was already rising, and the Star was slowly being lifted by the water. However, its waterline was deep, and the hull was still a bit tilted.
He boarded the boat, opened the live bait well, and found two blue crabs still alive and kicking. However, after being starved for two days, they seemed to have lost some weight.
The tide rose very quickly. In less than half an hour, the Star was completely afloat. However, Li Haochen dared not set sail immediately; it was safer to wait for the tide to rise a bit higher before departing.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Haochen entered his space. Just as he was about to go and get the mussels, a flash of light caught his eye.
He looked back and saw the Yuan Datou coin that he had split in two with his hoe.
He walked over, squatted down, picked up a handful of Yuan Datou coins and a beautifully crafted, jet-black box, and looked at them. "I almost forgot about these things."
After a moment of thought, Li Haochen decided to find some time to deal with them. They were useless just sitting there, and it would be nice to exchange them for some spending money.
"How should I handle them?"
Li Haochen pondered, and Zi Lin Jewelry came to mind. "They deal in jewelry, so they should have something to do with antiques, right?"
Li Haochen put a few Yuan Datou coins in his pocket and went to get the mussels. When he came out, the tide was already very high.
He raised the anchor, and the engine churned up a huge spray of water. The Star slowly backed up. When it reached a suitable depth, Li Haochen executed a hard left turn to change the boat's heading.
As he was sailing, Li Haochen took out the Yuan Datou coins from his pocket, took some photos, and sent them to Zhang Zilin. He sent a voice message saying, "Do you guys buy this kind of stuff?"
After a long time with no reply, Li Haochen called Li Dehai and informed him about going out to sea, so they wouldn't worry.
In a little over an hour, Li Haochen arrived at his destination, "Da Shi Gu." This was not an island but a very large, massive rock.
This was an area Li Haochen frequented in the past because he could collect oysters from the seabed, and occasionally find some scallops.
Speaking of oysters and scallops, most people would probably say, "Scallops? Aren't they just oysters?"
If you think that way, you're terribly mistaken. Scallops are a type of oyster, but scallops and oysters are different, and their nutritional value is vastly different.
Scallop shells are thick, with the lower shell being large and concave, and the shell is very rough. Oyster shells have one side small and flat, while the other is large and convex, generally triangular in shape. It's not difficult to distinguish them upon careful observation.
The prices also differ significantly. For scallops and oysters of the same size, scallop meat is more than three times more expensive than oyster meat. That's why most barbecue restaurants sell oysters as scallops, which is very profitable.
Li Haochen entered his space and took out his equipment. He changed into his clothes and put on his small oxygen tank. This oxygen tank was specially purchased, a portable type, weighing 10 catties. This way, Li Haochen wouldn't be restricted when entering and exiting his space, improving harvesting efficiency while reducing the threat to his life.
Although it was small, when filled with air, it could be used for nearly half an hour, which was excellent. There were two fully charged spares in the space, so with three tanks alternating, he could stay in the sea within his space for over an hour.
With all the tools and weapons, and after rechecking all the equipment to ensure everything was in order, he dove backward into the water.
"Plop~"
The water wasn't deep, only seven or eight meters. He could dive straight down without any issue, but to be safe, Li Haochen paused at three or four meters before diving down several more times.
Soon, Li Haochen reached the bottom. The water was relatively clear, and the beautiful underwater scenery was fully visible.
The surface was just a plain-looking large rock, but underwater, the scenery was different and very peculiar. There were rows of stone pillars, some even hollowed out, very similar to the stone pillars in Lake Crowley, but not as massive.
Some small fish were not afraid of Li Haochen, an outsider, and continued to dart and play among the low-lying seaweed below.
This seaweed was also one of Li Haochen's targets. He took out a shovel and began digging around an unknown type of seaweed. The roots were not deep, and he quickly dug it out completely.
After digging up several plants, the small fish that had been playing there came over with some displeasure and swam around Li Haochen, their little mouths opening and closing, releasing bubbles as if scolding him.
After swimming around for a while, he finally spotted two oysters in a rock crevice about ten meters away. They were quite large, and it was evident they had reached the legal age and were ready to reproduce.
Oysters do not grow as slowly as scallops; they grow very rapidly and reproduce very quickly.
He switched to a long pry bar and used its flat, pointed end to poke at the base of the oysters a few times, prying them out entirely.
After collecting these two oysters, Li Haochen continued to swim slowly. He collected sea anemones, seaweed, and anything else that caught his eye.
In fact, many things were not valuable and couldn't be sold for money, but they were indispensable to the sea within his space, as everything had its purpose.
He checked his oxygen level and saw that he had reached the bottom. With a few strokes, he surfaced.