Time slipped by, and before anyone knew it, more than a month had passed.
December arrived quietly, ushering in the depths of winter.
As the temperature dropped further, pedestrians on the streets in the early morning wore thick down jackets, wrapped heavy scarves around their necks, and pulled on warm gloves, bundled up from head to toe.
Steam billowed from the breakfast stalls along the street. People waiting in line hunched their shoulders and tucked their hands into their pockets, their bodies occasionally shivering from the cold as they muttered complaints about the bone-chilling weather.
"Boss, three meat buns and a cup of soy milk without sugar, please."
Lin Li strode up to a breakfast stall and quickly placed his order. Then he pulled out his phone, scanned the payment code, and took the plastic bag of breakfast. Turning around, he headed for a tree by the roadside.
Standing beneath the tree, sheltered from the wind, he took a big bite of a meat bun. The rich aroma of meat mingled with the wheaty fragrance of the dough, bursting across his tongue. He quickly followed it with a gulp of warm soy milk, and warmth spread from his throat throughout his body.
"This weather is really cold." As Lin Li ate breakfast, he grumbled to himself, "Winter was cold in past years too, but compared with this year, it was nothing.
"The wind cuts like a knife. It stings when it scrapes across your face. I hope it lets up a bit soon."
Over the past month or so, the situation at sea had remained at a stalemate.
Investigators and Deep Sea Exotic Beasts fought a small-scale battle every day, with both sides claiming their share of victories and defeats.
Overall, however, humanity still had the upper hand. They had