Human Radar for Finding King Crabs

The North Pole slowly sailed out of the port.

The engine of the dilapidated crab fishing boat made a strange noise, and the sea surface was torn apart by the bow, as if a paper cutter had sliced through a canvas.

Nedup is a middle-aged man in his thirties. Zhang Jian said that this crew member used to be a sailor on a snow crab fishing boat, but because of his history of using prohibited drugs, he has been "blacklisted" by all crab fishing boats.

Nedup had followed Zhang Jian's father in his early years, so he sought out Zhang Jian, wanting to go to sea with him.

Many of the crab fishermen and sailors secretly used illegal drugs because they made money too quickly and were too exhausted on the ship. They thought these drugs would give them a boost, like Dopamine and Endorphin chips from the Inner World.

However, the consequences of using illegal drugs are dire, and no crab fishing boat wants to associate with such sailors.

Zhang Jian decided to give Nedup a chance and took him to get a urine test. Only after confirming that his test was negative did he finally agree to let Nedup board the ship.

Old John told Nedup that if he wanted to start over on the crab boat, he should be a newbie and start by tying crab traps.

After Qing Chen and Yang Yang boarded the ship, Nedup only gave them a cold look before continuing with his work.

"Hello, you'll be my fellow passengers on the North Pole from now on," Yang Yang greeted him with a smile in English...

But Nedup simply said coldly, "Only sailors who have been recognized by the other crew members are true companions; those of you who come on board for sightseeing don't count."

Yang Yang smiled but didn't say anything.

Before the North Pole had even left the port, the ship's radio crackled to life, and Craig's mocking voice came through. "Zhang, I heard you finally let that drug addict on board, and two students under 18, one of whom is a girl. Is that true? Zhang, the North Pole's former glory has been completely squandered in your hands."

Zhang Jian remained silent with a cold face, but Craig did not stop.

Over the radio, bursts of laughter came from the bridge of the Alps: "Zhang, can drug addicts and students help you move the crab traps? Old John is probably going to be exhausted on the North Pole. But I have some traditional gifts from the Barents Sea that I'm ready to receive."

At this moment, Qing Chen and Old John were both in the cockpit. Zhang Jian was puzzled and looked at Old John: "What traditional gifts are there on the Barents Sea?"

Old John's expression changed as if he had just realized something. He quickly said to everyone, "Quick, close the doors and windows! Everyone get into the driver's seat!"

The next moment, the Alps caught up from behind and ran alongside the North Pole, which was three meters away.

Qing Chen saw seven sailors on the Alps carry out three white boxes and take out... rows and rows of eggs!

That was three whole boxes, containing hundreds of eggs.

However, this thing isn't for eating, it's for throwing away!

Just then, the sailors on the Alps picked up eggs and started throwing them at the North Pole, like they were having a snowball fight...

Qing Chen was puzzled. "What kind of strange tradition is this?"

Old John trembled with anger. "There are many traditions among crab fishermen. Long ago, when the ships left the port, the crab boats would play similar little games to enhance their friendship."

Qing Chen looked at the egg white and yolk on the windowpane. "You call this enhancing friendship...?"

Seeing that the sailors of the Alps had smashed hundreds of eggs in one go, they immediately set off at full speed.

Qing Chen stepped out of the cockpit and glanced at it, immediately noticing that the North Pole was starting to look worn and grime...

These crab hunters are a bit eccentric.

As he watched the Alps sail away, he suddenly stretched out his arm and gave a thumbs-up.

Furthermore, he closed one of his eyes.

At that moment, Captain Craig of the Alps stood on the deck, looking back through his binoculars, and said cheerfully to his crew, "That student even gave us a thumbs up and praised us for smashing it well."

A sailor took the binoculars from Craig with a puzzled look, pondered for a couple of seconds, and said, "Doesn't this look like a gunner aiming and ranging before firing?"

Craig: "???"

In fact, Qing Chen was indeed measuring distances. There were few reference points on the high seas, so he needed to get used to the new way of visually estimating distances so that he Conquer by Virtue.

Yang Yang, who was standing next to her, laughed and said, "It's not that serious. If someone throws eggs at you, you're going to blast them back with a sniper rifle. That's going too far."

Qing Chen smiled and said, "Nothing like that, we were just measuring the distance."

Yang Yang thought to herself, "You're the kind of person who goes all the way. What's the point of ranging? Isn't it to snipe people?"

After sailing at sea for 20 hours, the North Pole finally entered the Barents Sea in the early hours of the next day.

During those 20 hours, Qing Chen witnessed the cruelty of the crab fishing industry.

Zhang Jian was in charge of steering the boat and didn't close his eyes for 20 hours straight, because if the helmsman fell asleep, the boat would deviate from its course in no time.

Only Old John on the ship knew a little about steering, but he wanted to teach the newcomers on deck.

Old John must teach Qing Chen, Yang Yang, and Nedup how to tie, lower, and hoist crab traps, and how to maintain their balance on the deck, all within 20 hours...

Moreover, the patina from the eggs smashed by the Alps also had to be cleaned off.

The cold sea breeze howled down everyone's necks, and seawater seemed ready to wash onto the deck at any moment.

Fortunately, Zhang Jian's worst fears did not come true; no one got seasick.

Old John gave the three new crew members no friendly look whatsoever. He looked at the three clumsy men and angrily cursed Zhang Jian for being unreliable, regardless of whether Zhang Jian could hear him or not.

Once everything was ready, Nedup, Qing Chen, Yang Yang were exhausted and collapsed on the deck.

The sun rose, and the morning sun appeared on the horizon.

Old John shouted from the deck, "Rookies, hurry up and rest! You only have one hour left!"

After saying that, Nedup, with dark circles under his eyes, went back to his cabin and fell asleep, while Qing Chen and Yang Yang were captivated by the sunrise over the sea and slumped on the deck watching silently.

The beautiful scenery was like an oil painting.

Qing Chen whispered to Yang Yang, "Do we really need to act this realistically? I don't think either of us is tired at all."

Yang Yang laughed and said, "You have to fit in."

"I saw some people organizing a student march in City No. 10. Have you been to City No. 10?" Qing Chen asked.

Yang Yang leaned against the railing on the deck and tilted her head to look at Qing Chen: "I haven't arrived yet. By the way, you seem to have done a lot of things in City No. 10. With your current status, you should be in charge of arresting me. As far as I remember, the main responsibility of the PCA's Intelligence Department One used to be this, as well as arresting Spade's people who were lurking in the Federation."

"What do you want to say?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

Yang Yang thought for a moment and said, "So our current identities should be opposed, and it has to be a fight to the death!"

"Can we please stop adding scenes?" Qing Chen sighed.

When Qing Chen first met Yang Yang, he thought she would be a cold and aloof assassin.

However, in reality, the other person's unconventional side is impossible to hide.

It's one thing to compare the many Awakened to wild monsters, but where did they learn their bad habit of driving anytime, anywhere?

The relationship between the two seemed somewhat intimate to Zhang Jian, Old John, Nedup, but what was the truth? Apart from Yang Yang driving her car and running over Qing Chen's face, there had never been any real, so-called "progress" between them.

Qing Chen knew very well that Yang Yang had her own goals.

She is neither a vassal of Spades nor a vassal of Daylight.

Everything she's doing now is moving in a certain direction.

Qing Chen turned and asked, "Do you want to help the residents of the Inner World?"

"Yes," Yang Yang nodded.

"But this cannot be accomplished by student demonstrations alone," Qing Chen said. "The history of the Outer World has fully proven this point."

"But there has to be a first step to enlighten the people, right?" Yang Yang looked at the vast and magnificent sea. "I have a long life ahead of me, let's take it slow."

For some reason, Qing Chen felt that he and this classmate Yang Yang were like two extremes. He was a pessimist, always thinking about the future and always wanting to make all the necessary preparations.

Yang Yang, however, is an eternally enthusiastic optimist.

I don't know how they became friends.

Just then, outside the ship, the sea was surging and a blue whale suddenly leaped out of the water in the distance, facing the rising sun.

On the vast sea, the blue whale's huge fins on both sides resemble two wings, as if it could leap into the sky with just a little flapping.

Its vast form overlapped with the rising sun, reaching the pinnacle of splendor.

This was Qing Chen's first time seeing a blue whale, and he was as surprised as when he first saw the magnificent giant tree in the Forbidden Zone No. 002 in the wilderness.

Old John strode out of the cabin. "Lower crab traps! Drop eight to scout ahead! A blue whale has appeared. We must place crab traps where it appears; it's a magnificent spirit of the sea, it will bring us good luck!"

"Only eight?" Qing Chen asked.

"Yes, only eight. Newbies in the Barents Sea, remember this: it's called a pathfinder cage. Put it in the sea and come back to check after six hours. If there are king crabs, this will be our fishing ground!" Old John said.

As he spoke, he picked up the phone at the cabin door and shouted, "Zhang, we're going to set the crab traps!"

The telephone is a wired telephone connected to the bridge, facilitating communication between the captain and the crew.

Then, he pounded on the cabin door. "Hey rookie inside, get out and get to work!"

Qing Chen glanced at Yang Yang: "Go and tie the float to the crab trap, Nedup and I will set it up."

The 180 empty crab cages are made of welded steel bars and are neatly stacked on the deck, just like cargo containers on a cargo ship.

After the captain steers the crab fishing boat to the designated area, the crew members are responsible for attaching balloon-like floats to the crab traps and then dropping them into the sea.

Crab fishing boats don't need to wait here.

If there are king crabs on the seabed, they will follow the scent of cod and crawl one by one into the crab traps that they can only enter and not leave.

After waiting for 6-12 hours, the ship returned to the buoy, the crew cast out grappling hooks to catch the buoys floating on the sea surface, and then used a crane to pull the crab traps from the seabed onto the deck one by one.

Each of those floats is a coordinate of the crab trap.

Next comes measuring, sorting, and finally, depending on the number of king crabs in the test cage, deciding whether to continue placing them in the same cage.

At this moment, Nedup glanced at Qing Chen and muttered, "I hope you won't be exhausted when you go down into the cage."

Qing Chen smiled but didn't say anything. Old John, who was controlling the crane, hoisted the crab trap onto the launching platform, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Rookies, don't get distracted! Be careful, the ropes holding the floats on the crab traps might get tangled in your feet and drag you to the bottom of the sea."

One of the most dangerous things in the Barents Sea is being dragged to the bottom of the sea by crab traps.

The ropes were coiled up on the deck. The ship was violently rocked by the waves, and the crew members could easily step on the ropes if they lost their footing.

At this moment, the crab trap is rapidly sinking to the seabed, and the rope is being pulled down with it. If a crew member's ankle gets tangled in the rope, he will go into the sea along with the crab trap.

So, after all the crew members boarded the ship, Old John gave each of them a dagger, meaning that if anyone got entangled, they would need a companion to help them quickly cut the rope.

In the Barents Sea, the only person who could save the crew member was his companion.

Qing Chen and Nedup stood on either side of the launching platform and pushed the crab traps into the sea until all eight sank to the bottom.

The North Pole continued its journey forward, Zhang Jian, in the bridge, continued to search for the next place to put crab traps, following the nautical chart left by his father.

Six hours later, the North Pole returned to the location of the exploration cage. Old John stood on the deck and threw out the grappling hook, trying to hook the rope under the buoy and then use the crane to lift it up.

However, Old John was too old, his strength was not what it used to be, and his body, which was heavily intoxicated, was constantly trembling.

The waves were too big, and the boat was constantly rocking, affecting Old John's accuracy.

No matter how many times he casts, it is difficult to hook the rope below the float.

The boat was constantly drifting with the current. If the hook missed the first time, Zhang Jian had to turn the boat around. For an experienced sailor on a crab fishing boat, having to constantly adjust the direction of the captain to hook the rope was a disgrace.

After thinking for a moment, Qing Chen said to Old John, "How about I give it a try?"

Old John chuckled. "A newbie thinks he can do it? You want to try? Then give it a shot. Remember, don't break the float, or the crab trap will sink to the bottom of the sea forever, along with the float."

The next second, he handed the grappling hook to Qing Chen casually tossed it and hooked the rope under the balloon float.

Old John was stunned for a moment. "This is unbelievable! Is this really your first time crabbing?"

"I used to practice javelin-like sports," Qing Chen made up a random excuse.

Old John ran to the crane and pressed the switch. A rumbling sound came from inside the crane cab, and the winch made a sound of being overburdened.

Old John, who was experienced, immediately sensed something was wrong and slowed down the speed at which he was pulling the crab trap.

The crab traps on the seabed continued to rise until they emerged above the surface.

However, when the rope reached its end, what emerged from the sea was not a crab trap, but a two-meter-high portable public toilet.

Even the usually composed Qing Chen was dumbfounded. He'd never heard of public toilets being produced in the Barents Sea.

Qing Chen pointed to the public toilet. "To be honest, I really can't understand why something like this would appear in the Barents Sea."

Is it reasonable for a portable toilet to suddenly be suspended from the vast ocean?

However, it was soon discovered that the portable toilet door had words written on it in marker, "A gift from the Orca to the North Pole."

Zhang Jian stepped out of the cockpit, roaring furiously, "It must be Fenrir from the Orca!"

The captains of the Orca, Alps, and Longtail crab fishing boats were the same people who had tried to buy the North Pole king crab fishing quota at the Walnut Bar.

It seems that all three captains are targeting Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian explained, "This is an old prank by crab fishermen. Before going out to sea, they go to a scrap yard and buy these things or a scrapped car at the cheapest price, and take them with them. If they see the floats of other crab fishing boats, they will hook up the floats and replace other people's crab traps with these large pieces of garbage."

Old John said, "The crab traps weigh only 680 pounds, but this thing filled with water weighs 4,000 pounds, much heavier than the crab traps. They know the North Pole is old and dilapidated, and if they overload the crane, they could very well break it. If the crane breaks down, the crab fishing boat will have to go back to port to repair it before returning to the Barents Sea."

Qing Chen was both amused and exasperated. Could this really be done?

His previous battles were all about life and death, but the battles he was facing now were strange and unusual.

This is a battle between crab fishermen...

But that's too despicable. The other three crab fishing boats are trying every means to cut off the North Pole's source of income.

However, this is the rule in the Barents Sea: crab fishing boats can joke with each other once, but only once.

In the past, people would hang a small toy or a broken ball at the end of the float. Nowadays, some unscrupulous crab fishermen will use this rule to cheat others out of their catch.

"What do we do with this thing?" Qing Chen asked, pointing to the portable toilet on the sea.

Zhang Jian walked towards the driver's cab with a grim face. "Remove the grappling hook and let this thing sink to the bottom of the sea. We'll start retrieval the other crab traps. They can only pull this trick once at most."

Qing Chen imagined what kind of expression someone would have if, a few years from now, they came to the Barents Sea to search for treasure and, while exploring the seabed, suddenly discovered a portable toilet standing on the seabed...

It sounds amazing!

As the remaining seven crab traps were hoisted, Old John simply stopped touching the hooks this time and watched as Qing Chen hooked the floats one by one with perfect aim.

Old John, standing nearby, simply remarked, "Do you know that even a fifteen-year veteran sailor might not be this accurate?"

Qing Chen smiled but didn't say anything.

However, the blue whales didn't seem to bring them any real good luck.

Each crab trap contained only seven or eight king crabs, resulting in a meager harvest.

In the Barents Sea, a good catch is usually 25 to 30 king crabs in each trap, which means they are close to the crab swarm.

If there are eighty crabs in the crab trap, it means they are above the crab swarm.

Old John said his highest record was 112 king crabs caught in one cage, the huge crabs almost filling the steel cage.

At that time, the captain of the North Pole was Zhang Jian's father. People in the port often said that the clever Asian captain could always find the largest crab farm in the mysterious Barents Sea every year.

Zhang Jian frowned as he looked at the spoils on the deck. The harvest was meager, and to make matters worse, the Orca had stolen one of their crab traps...

He could almost hear the laughter from the other crab fishing boats.

There's a tradition at the Walnut Bar: Amsterdam harbor has a total of nine crab fishing boats. Every year, the captains place a bet of 10,000 euros each. Whoever completes their quota first gets to take all 80,000 euros from the other eight captains, which are then divided among the crew.

The owner of Walnut Bar was stationed at the port, specifically responsible for observing the weighing of the cargo holds of each crab fishing boat.

This is why captains like to go to the Walnut Bar; crabbing is also a lucky activity.

The crew members would work their butts off for this prize, knowing that each person would receive an extra ten thousand euros, which is equivalent to receiving over one hundred thousand yuan for no reason.

However, Zhang Jian didn't mention this to Qing Chen and Yang Yang, because his ten thousand euros were basically wasted...

At this moment, Yang Yang suddenly said, "When we were sailing deeper into the Barents Sea after we put down the probe cage, there was a really nice place."

Zhang Jian looked at Yang Yang and patiently explained to his few crew members, "Crab catching isn't that simple. It's not just about finding a spot you like and putting a crab trap down. You have to understand that during this season, king crabs are concentrated on the continental shelf, and their activity patterns are quite specific."

Nedup gave them a cold look. "Don't think that just because you throw the grappling hook well, you can offer any suggestions on the ship. Sailors should just do their job as sailors."

Yang Yang smiled but didn't say anything more.

Only Qing Chen glanced at Yang Yang thoughtfully and asked in a low voice, "Has your perception range expanded?"

Yang Yang replied in a low voice, "It's expanded to 300 meters."

Qing Chen nodded; no wonder the girl suddenly spoke.

"Is the crab colony you found large?" Qing Chen asked.

Yang Yang nodded. "They're all densely packed together."

King crabs congregate in areas up to 270 meters deep, which is just within the range of Yang Yang's perception.

This Yang Yang is Humanoid Mobile Radar! If she says there's a crab colony, then there really is one!

However, they were not related to Zhang Jian and the others, nor were they actually there to catch crabs.

Now that they've successfully boarded the ship, they'll just do whatever Zhang Jian and Old John tell them to do. After all, all Qing Chen is waiting for is a storm.

According to the weather forecast, a strong hurricane with a speed of over 60 knots will hit from the north in four days, which may be an opportunity.

However, at that moment, Old John suddenly looked at Yang Yang and said, "Which direction is that location you mentioned? We can send down a few scout cages."

Zhang Jian was about to say something when Old John continued, "We've just set sail, and nobody knows where the crab farms are. Everyone's just trying to find them aimlessly, so it's fine to throw in a few probe cages as you like."

At this moment, Old John, who has 20 years of crabbing experience, is more like a captain than a sailor.

A 6,000-word chapter, with another chapter at 11 PM tonight.