Sea Monster Rumors

"Sorry, I didn't expect something like this to happen," the curly-haired youth said apologetically when Mo Qiong mentioned the shipwreck.

Mo Qiong waved his hand, indicating he didn't mind.

Then, everyone entered the cabin together and locked the door.

The wind howled outside, while the cabin was quite warm.

Mo Qiong first took a careful look at the eight people. They were all young, four men and four women.

Looking at the interior, with its exquisite decoration and abundant alcohol, he knew they were probably having a party when they hit his boat.

There was nothing wrong with that; what else would you do with a yacht if not party? Many sailors involved in transportation get very bored during long voyages at sea and constantly look for entertainment.

"You can go to the bedroom to change. We have plenty of fresh water, and you can even take a shower," the curly-haired youth said. He seemed to be the owner of the boat.

Mo Qiong nodded and quickly showered and changed. The clothes were also provided by the curly-haired youth.

When he came out, the curly-haired youth poured Mo Qiong a cup of coffee in the living room.

"I wanted to make some hot soup, but it's too shaky," the curly-haired youth said.

The yacht was currently in a storm, rocking violently. The only thing they could make was hot coffee with the coffee machine.

Mo Qiong also wanted something hot, so he didn't stand on ceremony.

After chatting with them for a while, Mo Qiong had a general idea of who these people were.

They loved sailing and extreme sports, considered themselves explorers, but had no formal jobs. They had all the necessary documents, but weren't seasoned professionals. They could probably be described as rich second-generation individuals who enjoyed going out to sea for fun.

"Why were you out here sailing alone?" one of the youths asked.

Mo Qiong replied, "I was drifting."

Normally, no one would pilot a small boat like his fifty nautical miles offshore.

Would there be enough fuel to return? How much could a small boat withstand in unpredictable storms?

All these factors made it impossible for a small boat like Mo Qiong's to be found on the high seas.

So, if Mo Qiong had said he was out for fun, it would have been ridiculous.

Hearing Mo Qiong say he was drifting, everyone immediately believed him. They assumed his boat had malfunctioned or run out of fuel, and since it was too far from shore, it had drifted further and further, carried by the currents into the open sea.

"Wow, that's too dangerous! Why didn't you call for help when you saw our boat?" the youth exclaimed.

Mo Qiong said, "I was sleeping at the time. You hit me, and that's what woke me up."

Hearing Mo Qiong mention the collision, the group felt a bit awkward.

They hadn't expected such bad luck; they were just having fun and got careless.

However, they soon felt Mo Qiong was too laid-back.

"You drifted over a thousand kilometers from the coast, and you were still able to sleep?" a beautiful woman asked in astonishment.

Mo Qiong laughed, "The distress radio was broken, and the engine was broken too. I could only go with the flow – eat when I could, drink when I could, and sleep when I could."

The group thought that made sense. If there was nothing they could do, they could only leave it to fate. What else could they do but sleep? Staying awake wouldn't help.

But while it made sense logically, not everyone could sleep soundly in such a situation.

Being alone and adrift at sea, waiting for fresh water and food to run out, meant only waiting for death.

In such a desperate predicament, most people would have already despaired and wished for death, unable to eat or sleep properly, driving themselves into mental exhaustion.

Seeing that Mo Qiong's mindset was still so good, they were all impressed by his optimism.

"Haha, then us hitting your boat must have been fate guiding us to help you," the curly-haired youth laughed.

"Ah... yes..." Mo Qiong gave a helpless, wry smile. His brand-new boat.

The curly-haired youth said, "Even though we hit your boat, it's good that you're okay. You can go back with us. When we get back, I can even buy you a new one."

Mo Qiong listened, also feeling helpless.

His current location was in the high seas east of Taiwan Province. Further south was the Philippine Sea, and the Great Pearl was located in the territorial waters near the Philippines in that area.

He couldn't ask these people to take him across international borders. The waters near the coast were within the Philippines' territorial waters.

And these people would absolutely not abandon him in the vast ocean.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Where were you originally headed?"

The curly-haired youth replied, "We didn't have a specific destination. We went out to sea looking for a sea monster."

"A sea monster?" Mo Qiong looked at them strangely.

As the curly-haired youth was about to continue, another young man scoffed, "Alright, Zhang He, we're just out here for fun. What are you talking about sea monsters for?"

Mo Qiong smiled. From their expressions, he could tell they were just a group of friends out on a yacht for fun, with no real destination. Claiming they were looking for a sea monster was just an excuse to find some excitement.

However, this meant he couldn't hitch a ride back. He would have to return with them first.

Unexpectedly, the curly-haired Zhang He said, "What do you mean 'nonsense'? You don't believe what I said at all?"

The young man pouted, "Bro, you believe in a thousand-meter sea monster? You're too smart."

"Pfft!" Mo Qiong almost choked on his coffee.

"One thousand meters?" Mo Qiong's mouth twitched. That was too exaggerated. The largest creature on Earth is the blue whale, which can reach up to thirty-three meters in length. Perhaps there are even larger creatures in the unexplored depths. But what does a thousand-meter-long creature even mean? Could it swallow a blue whale in one bite for a snack?

Zhang He quickly said, "It's real, brother. You don't know, I have a sailor friend in America who saw it with his own eyes in the Northwest Pacific. Everyone in the sailing community has heard about it."

"Lippi, didn't he clarify that? He said it was a dream. Brother, don't listen to him. The friend he mentioned publicly apologized and said he spread rumors," the young man chuckled.

Zhang He's expression turned ugly. "That's not what he told me at first. His eyes showed genuine fear, like he wasn't lying. And the photos he took were authenticated by experts in the community early on; they weren't tampered with."

"The person you're talking about also clarified, saying he and Lippi conspired to spread rumors. The media also had those photos examined, and they were all faked, just processed images of a Leviathan," the young man replied.

Zhang He said helplessly, "Don't you guys have any aspirations? Didn't you believe me before? Lippi and the others aren't the type to spread rumors."

Although he spoke earnestly, his friends all laughed.

They outwardly agreed, just to add some fun to this sea voyage. It didn't mean they truly believed him.

Only Zhang He truly believed this kind of hype.

Mo Qiong touched his throat. "There are too many unexplored places on Earth. As for sea monsters, it's better to believe than not. After all, it's normal for some large deep-sea creatures to remain undiscovered."

He comforted Zhang He, but then changed the subject. "However, a thousand meters is truly too exaggerated. That's a bit ridiculous. If such a large creature really existed, humans would have discovered it long ago."

Zhang He scratched his head, unsure how to retort.

His friends chimed in, "See? This brother is a sensible person. If you said a hundred meters, we might entertain the idea and believe it. But a thousand meters? That's not scientific at all! This world is supposed to be based on science."

Mo Qiong was taken aback. Hearing this touched him.

Is this world really based on science? Or rather, what is the definition of science?

"Um, Zhang He, what did the behemoth you mentioned look like? Do you have any photos?" Mo Qiong asked.

Zhang He immediately stood up and picked up his tablet to search. "Yes, I do. But this is a copy, not the original photo. I don't know if the original photo was tampered with."

Mo Qiong looked at the photo. It showed a colossal figure emerging from the dark sea amidst stormy waves. Its silhouette resembled a whale, but its mouth shape was more like a predator's, truly resembling a Leviathan.

Its size was utterly outrageous. Even though it was far away, part of its body was in the sea, and another part pierced the clouds. Its length alone was at least a thousand meters.

"Do you believe me?" Zhang He asked.

"Hmm..." Mo Qiong remained noncommittal.

"Alright, alright. He's going to believe you just from looking at a photo? The waves seem to have calmed down a bit. Let's have some late-night snacks and go to sleep," his friends said, unable to watch any longer.

Zhang He sighed in resignation. His friends laughed and took out some food, setting it on the table.

Mo Qiong ate a couple of bites of bread. Suddenly, a thought struck him. He pinched a small crumb of bread and tossed it.

The bread crumb floated out, suddenly changed direction, and headed in a certain direction.

"Bang!"

Mo Qiong was startled and slammed his hand down, hitting the bread crumb onto the floor.

In fact, due to the sudden, large movement, he almost fell off his chair.

His sudden slam on the table made a loud noise, and everyone looked at him in confusion.

Mo Qiong looked at Zhang He and said, "I believe you."

"What? You believe that too? Bro, you're a chuunibyou!" the others exclaimed.