The next morning, the sun squeezed in through the gaps in the gauze curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Amidst the sea breeze and the slight rocking of the ship's hull, Xiao Mu opened his eyes.
Xu Xiaoyan was still nestled in his arms, her hair scattered on the pillow, her breathing steady and long, her eyelashes occasionally moving, as if she was having a good dream. Her body temperature spread through the thin pajamas, making her feel warm and close to his chest.
Xiao Mu looked down at her for a moment, tightened his arms slightly, and showed a smile at the corner of his mouth. Sure enough, sleeping with his girlfriend in his arms was really different from sleeping alone.
He gently pulled his arms out from under her head, Xu Xiaoyan turned over, rolled up to the other side of the bed with the quilt in his arms, mumbled something inaudible, and fell asleep again.
He put on his coat and finished washing. Xu Xiaoyan also rubbed his eyes and sat up, his hair sticking up in a mess.
"Go on the deck," Xiao Mu said, "Bask in the sun and fish."
Half an hour later, the two people were lying side by side on the deck chairs. Xiao Mu set up a fishing rod and hung the fishing line into the sea outside the side of the ship.
Xu Xiaoyan changed into a light blue dress, wore a straw hat, and held a glass of iced juice in his hand. He held the straw in his mouth for a long time without taking a sip. The sun warmed the deck, and the sea breeze blew from the side of the ship, causing the fishing line to tilt slightly.
"How many have you caught?" Xu Xiaoyan tilted her head and looked at him.
"Zero."
Hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan thought about what to do if Xiao Mu can't be allowed to fish in the future because he won't be able to eat fish in the future.
"Don't worry, fishing guys are never in the air force." Xiao Mu leaned on the back of the chair, with sunglasses covering most of his face.
Xu Xiaoyan smiled, leaned over from the recliner, and handed the straw she had been chewing on for a long time to his mouth. Xiao Mu took a sip from her hand. It was orange juice, sweet and sour, and just right cold.
Soon after, when Gu Yue and Na'er walked onto the deck, the sun had already risen. Na'er changed into a pair of light pink short-sleeved shorts and was in much better spirits than last night. He was holding a plate of sliced bread from the restaurant in his hand and gnawing on it as he walked.
Gu Yue walked behind, with no unnecessary expression on his face.
Suddenly, the fishing rod in Xiao Mu's hand bent suddenly. The fishing line was stretched like a fully stretched bow string, the wheel base made a rapid clicking sound, and the spool reversed rapidly.
He stood up, holding the pole with both hands, exerting force on his waist and hips, and he was competing with the big underwater thing.
Xu Xiaoyan was lying on the railing of the ship and looking down. There were white waves on the sea surface. A streamlined silver-blue shadow flicked under the water, and the waves were three feet high.
"Not small." Xiao Mu's voice was tense.
"Big--so big!" Na'er stuffed the piece of bread into Gu Yue's hand, rushed to the side of the ship, stuck his head out, and his long hair was swaying in the wind.
Gu Yue was holding the slices of bread and tea that Na'er had stuffed in his hands, standing there looking at the fishing rod that was bent to the limit, and raised his eyebrows.
The fight at sea lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour. Xiao Mu and the sea fish exhausted each other's physical strength. Finally, the fish was dragged to the side of the ship, and several crew members helped to fish it out with a dip net.
The fish fell on the deck and was still flicking its tail violently. The silver-blue fish body was at least five feet long and glowed like a metal in the sun.
Xu Xiaoyan squatted down and poked the fish scales, then retracted his hand and exclaimed, "It's so big."
"It's bluefin tuna." A rough voice sounded from behind.
Mu Ye I don't know when he got on the deck. He walked to the still jumping fish and squatted down. He tapped the fish's scales with his knuckles, as if he was judging the purity of a piece of metal. "It's in good condition."
Xiao Mu was reeling in the line, leaning the fishing rod against the edge of the deck chair. He turned around and was a little surprised to see Mu Ye: "Uncle Mu Ye, you are here too."
"Yeah, let's go to the Star Luo Empire to see what new ingredients are available." Mu Ye stood up and patted the water stains on his knees.
He glanced at the bluefin tuna on the deck that was using up its last strength, and then at Xiao Mu, with a meaningful smile on his lips, "Leave this fish to me at noon, so you can relax."
Mu Ye carried the bluefin tuna to the back kitchen, and the deck became quiet again. Xiao Mu sat back on the deck chair, hung the bait again and swung the rod. The fishing line drew a thin parabola in the sun and fell into the sea in the distance.
Na'er moved a recliner and sat down next to him. He covered his face with Xu Xiaoyan's straw hat to block the sun. After a while, he started breathing evenly.
Xu Xiaoyan was sitting next to Xiao Mu, with a copy of Star Luo Gazetteer borrowed from the ship's library spread out on his knees, but he obviously didn't read much of it. After a while, he turned his head to see if there was any movement from the fishing rod.
Xiao Mu suddenly sat up straight. Something scratched the surface of the sea in the distance.
A dark gray triangular dorsal fin, like an upside-down dagger, was cutting through the waves at a leisurely speed. It was not close, but he could see it clearly with his eyesight. There were two smaller fins behind the dorsal fin, spread out in a U-shaped pattern.
"Demon Soul Great White Shark?"
Xu Xiaoyan put down the book, put up a awning with his hands and looked into the distance. "Is it coming towards the boat?"
"Normally not. Sea Soul Beast does not attack large cruise ships. The hull is too big and the draft is too deep. The low-frequency noise of the engine is a natural enemy-level deterrent signal for them." Xiao Mu leaned back on the chair again and tapped his fingers on the armrest twice. "But this sea area is considered to be far away, so it is not surprising to see sharks."
"They are not ordinary fish, they need to keep swimming."
Xu Xiaoyan glanced at the sea surface again. The dorsal fin undulated a few times between the waves, then slowly sank underwater and disappeared.
The sea surface returned to calm, leaving only the white foam stirred up by the stern of the giant ship billowing in the sun.
The fishing rod bent sharply again. This time it was harder than the bluefin tuna just now. The wheel base made an ear-piercing scream, and the fishing line was pulled straight. Xiao Mu held the rod with both hands, and the soles of his feet slipped half an inch on the deck.
Xu Xiaoyan stood up, and the Star Luo Gazetteer book in his hand fell to the ground with a bang.
The sea exploded.
A big fish with silver scales jumped out of the water, even bigger than the one before, and flicked its tail wildly in mid-air.
The next second, a larger white shadow suddenly rushed up from the deep sea.
The water surface exploded as if it was exploded, and a Demon Soul Great White Shark, which was over ten meters in size, broke out of the waves. Its huge mouth opened, and its sharp white teeth flashed a cold light in the sun. Two rows of teeth bite at the waist, and blood exploded into a red mist in mid-air.
Half of the fish body fell back into the sea, and the splashing water dyed it light red. The other half was still hanging on the fishhook, and was dragged to the side of the boat by the line recovered by Xiao Mu - only the head and a small section of the spine were left, and the cross section was as neat as if it had been cut by a laser.
The smell of blood filled the sea. Xu Xiaoyan took a half step back, his face turned pale, but his eyes stared unblinking at the spreading dark red mass on the sea.
Gu Yue closed the book, stood up and walked to the side of the ship, and looked down side by side with Xiao Mu.
The white dorsal fin of the Demon Soul Great White Shark circled in the blood and slowly sank into the deep sea.
But the blood that escaped attracted more Demon Soul Great White Shark.