As Li Haochen and the others were feeling disheartened, the big screen flashed again, displaying the individual rankings for each project.
Li Haochen's 79 entries topped the list for the most individual tails, just one more than the second-place "Little Sunrises." He secured 9 points, but his hoped-for three-meter large mackerel yielded nothing. The tenth point came from Zhang Yuan's "little fatty" yellowfin, which was just enough to place eighth.
Meanwhile, on the "Little Sunrises'" boat, over a dozen people were gathered, discussing animatedly. "Koharu-kun, it seems the China team intends to use individual tails as their breakthrough point. Make sure they don't get first place in any single event, understand?"
"Hai."
Ueno Koharu stared intently at the rankings on the big screen, his fists clenched. "The most individual tails must belong to me."
Although Li Haochen was temporarily leading in individual tails, he couldn't withstand the barrage of online attacks. As the host nation, they were ranked third from the bottom. The internet, fueled by those desperate for clicks, saw an increasing number of people joining the criticism, forcing Li Haochen and his teammates to hide in their hotel, afraid to go anywhere or even look at their phones.
The team, which had just managed to regroup, was now mired in trouble again. The mood among them was somber. Liu Qinghe had spent the entire night being reprimanded, sleepless.
Li Haochen was likely the only one in the entire team whose sleep was not disturbed last night. After all, he was temporarily ranked first in individual tails. Although he was criticized, it wasn't to the extent that it significantly impacted his emotions.
At 5:30 the next morning, Li Haochen woke up early, left the hotel, did a set of warm-up exercises, and began his slow jog towards the pier.
The distance wasn't far, only about a ten-minute run. Arriving at the "Star," which was already covered in a thin layer of gray dust, Li Haochen spent over half an hour cleaning it before entering the cabin to inspect everything.
With everything in order, he entered his space. Time was still ample, so he didn't rush to get the mussel meat.
Looking at the coconut grove before him, he thought of the coconut shop back home and the "One Flavor Stewed Soup." He had called home the day before yesterday. Under the research of Liang Minfeng and others, two new coconut meat desserts had been created and were now exploding in popularity. Their branches had also synchronized, and they were making a considerable profit, with the consumption rate of coconut meat significantly slowing down.
Liu Zijun's stewed soup shop was even more so. It had successfully transformed, offering a greater variety of stewed soups, with less reliance on coconut soup bowls.
"I used to be so busy with the coconut supply for these few shops, constantly on the go. Now that the demand has drastically reduced, I feel like something is missing. It's quite a dilemma."
Shaking his head, he didn't dwell on his thoughts and headed towards the reef area. The twenty-odd abalone in the rock crevices had grown several sizes, now about the size of eggs. At this size, they would fetch 7.99 each in the market, and wild ones at least 15 apiece. Unfortunately, they were still too young to reproduce.
"Next spring, I need to find time to dive in the Bohai Sea; the abalone population is too small."
Li Haochen continued to check on the breeding and growth of other sea snails. All were thriving. What pleased him most were the rock-clinging snails in the deep rock crevices. He hadn't eaten any for a while, and they had already proliferated.
He found a small iron hook and dug out a few clumps, placing them in other rock crevices to expand their breeding area. Li Haochen also wanted to check on the ten mussel bamboo poles in the sea, which he assumed were already covered in silk threads. However, it would take some time to go back and forth, so he suppressed the urge and began preparing the mussel meat for fishing that afternoon.
It took him a full two hours to prepare twelve boxes of mussel meat, each containing about 30 pieces. Looking at the mussel meat, Li Haochen grinned conspiratorially.
He exited his space, locked the cabin, and carrying a large bag of bait, walked back to the hotel. Unexpectedly, he saw Liu Yuxuan talking to a young man in the corner of the parking lot. He handed the man a plastic bag, a satisfied smile on his face. After shaking hands with the other person, he hurried away.
"Who is that?" Li Haochen wondered curiously. Just as he was thinking this, the man suddenly walked towards him, startling Li Haochen. However, he soon felt awkward because the man wasn't looking for him.
"Hai."
Just as Li Haochen was about to leave, he heard a few Japanese words from behind him, which surprised him greatly. He turned and saw the young man from earlier bowing respectfully to the greasy, perverted fishing expert from "Little Sunrises."
"Isn't that the fishing expert from 'Little Sunrises'? Why is Liu Yuxuan interacting with them? Do they know each other, or is there some ulterior motive?" This discovery made Li Haochen harbor a hint of suspicion and vigilance towards Liu Yuxuan.
Back at the hotel, he went to the beverage area in the restaurant and asked the waiter for a large bag of ice cubes. He returned to his room and spread the ice cubes over the mussel meat.
While having breakfast, he received a call from Liu Qinghe, his tone quite urgent. Li Haochen quickly finished his meal and hurried to his room.
Upon arrival, everyone was already seated, looking worried, with smoke swirling around. Li Haochen specifically glanced at Liu Yuxuan, who was sitting in a corner, wondering, "This guy was always by Zhang Yuan's side before. Why is he sitting by himself in the corner today?"
"Haochen, come sit here first."
Li Haochen, who was about to delve deeper into his thoughts, was interrupted by Liu Qinghe's call. He snapped back to attention, glanced at Liu Yuxuan again, and then walked over to his seat.
"Everyone is here, so let's begin. I believe everyone slept poorly last night, and so did I. I haven't slept at all. Since we still have some time, let's discuss how to proceed."
For a moment, the room was like a marketplace, with everyone bargaining and speaking one after another. Although it seemed lively, it was ultimately unproductive, filled with empty words.
"Alright, alright, let's take a short break and discuss again later. Sigh…" Liu Qinghe, having listened to over an hour of nonsensical chatter, was feeling somewhat agitated. He decided to let everyone rest for a bit to clear their heads.
During this break, the others did not leave. Only Liu Yuxuan went out, saying he needed some fresh air. Li Haochen felt something was off with him but couldn't quite pinpoint it. He squinted at the room door, stood up, and walked out.
He saw a figure dart into the nearby fire escape. Li Haochen walked over quietly. "Mr. Sato, please rest assured, I will inform you of any news immediately... Yes, yes, absolutely, but... your promise... Hahaha, you're straightforward..."
"Informing on them, this damned traitor."
Li Haochen's heart leaped. He had figured out the entire situation. Clenching his fists, he wanted to rush in and beat him up, but after a moment's thought, he stopped himself. Hearing something was not the same as seeing it, and based solely on what he had heard, it wouldn't be convincing.
He turned and quickly walked back into the room. In a few seconds, Liu Yuxuan also returned, a hint of joy on his face. Li Haochen subtly observed him, his mind racing.
"I need to figure out a way to get rid of him."