"Hmm?"
While Ye Yuan was observing the seabed from his room, he suddenly spotted something huge.
He quickly went to the cockpit and activated the underwater radar, only to find nothing displayed on the screen. That was strange. The thing was clearly right beneath him, yet the ship's radar showed nothing at all.
Ye Yuan instructed Ding Yi to circle around this patch of sea without shutting off the engine or stopping the boat. Just as he stepped out of the cockpit, he suddenly thought of something and went back inside.
"How capable are you and Ding Er in a fight? I mean, if the other side has weapons?"
Ding Yi thought for a moment before answering, "We're domestic service robots. We can handle ordinary humans, but not too many at once. The two of us can deal with six or seven people without a problem."
After hearing Ding Yi's answer, Ye Yuan went straight outside.
He entered the water and dove down at top speed. After descending roughly five hundred meters, he found his target. He hid in a spot thick with seaweed.
A submarine lay quietly on the sandy seabed. Most submarines had markings on their hulls. Military submarines had identification numbers and their country's flag, while private submarines had names painted on them. Yet this submarine had no markings whatsoever. More bizarrely, it was equipped with radar-evading technology.
Civilian submarines could not possibly be fitted with anti-radar equipment. Through his perception, Ye Yuan could tell that the people inside were all Westerners. However, his perception only showed images and could not pick up sound, so he had no idea what they were saying.
After waiting for a while, he saw no sign that the submarine intended to leave, so he returned to the boat first. They were already very close to international waters. Under normal circumstances, he should have reported something like this, but who was he supposed to report it to?
He suddenly remembered the old man he had met at Zhao Chuan's home. Zhao Chuan had introduced him as a former naval officer. There should not be a problem if he informed him, right?
With that thought, Ye Yuan immediately used the satellite phone to call Eldest Brother.
"Hello? Who is this?"
Zhao Chuan's voice came through the phone.
"It's me, Ye Yuan."
Without wasting words, Ye Yuan explained his situation to Zhao Chuan. Zhao Chuan could not make a decision either, so he told Ye Yuan that he would contact that man immediately and asked him to wait for a call.
Ten minutes later, Ye Yuan's satellite phone rang.
The caller briefly introduced himself as a political instructor from a certain fleet and said he needed to understand Ye Yuan's situation.
Ye Yuan described how he had discovered the submarine. Of course, he did not say he had found it with his ability. Instead, he said he had spotted it while diving and reported it only after returning to his boat and realizing it had radar-evading equipment.
The other party thanked Ye Yuan and told him to leave the area immediately, saying it was for his own safety.
Ye Yuan had thought he might get to watch a good show, but now he could only leave. After this incident, he no longer had any plans to head into international waters and told Ding Yi to return. On the way back, Ye Yuan suddenly remembered that this trip had been a last-minute decision, so he had made no preparations for selling his catch. There were already twenty tons of seafood aboard his boat, and he believed they would catch more on the return journey. The few seafood buyers in his county could not possibly handle so much seafood. While there was nothing particularly high-end among it, the quantity was considerable.
As he thought about it, Eldest Brother called.
"Fourth Brother, you're really something. You're getting more and more capable. Are you even taking side jobs to preserve world peace now?" Eldest Brother teased Ye Yuan with a chuckle.
Ye Yuan replied irritably, "Is that all you called about? Satellite calls are expensive."
"Not exactly. Grandpa Xu just asked me to pass on his thanks. He said the country needs young men like you. He also told me to let you know that someone from the military will come looking for you in a few days, so you should be prepared." Zhao Chuan finally explained why he had called.
"Mm, got it. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up." Ye Yuan was busy worrying about his catch.
The moment Zhao Chuan heard that Ye Yuan was about to hang up, he hurriedly said, "Don't, brother. There's one more small matter."
"What is it? Go ahead."
"I have a friend who runs a seafood trading company on Blue Island. His main market is inland, and his family also owns a hotel chain, so sales are not a problem. But he doesn't have many supply channels. He was complaining about it while drinking with me yesterday, so I told him about you. He wants to find time in the next few days to talk with you and see whether there's a chance to cooperate. What do you think, Fourth Brother?"
The moment Ye Yuan heard this, it was like someone delivering him a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.
"Of course there's no problem. I already have more than twenty tons of seafood on board, and I expect to catch more before reaching shore. Give me your friend's number. I'll call him once I get back."
Zhao Chuan was also surprised that Ye Yuan had brought in such a good catch on his first trip out to sea, then asked how many days it would take him to return. Ye Yuan estimated it and said, "Three days."
"Alright. I'll make arrangements on my end. In three days, Second Brother and I will come to your place and bring my friend along. Everyone can get acquainted. When you discuss business, don't do it for my sake. I'm only introducing you."
"Alright." Ye Yuan readily agreed.
With a sales channel through Zhao Chuan, Ye Yuan went all out fishing. During the return trip, they caught over twenty tons of various seafood. Looking at the time, they had just over half a day left before reaching shore.
Ye Yuan suddenly remembered the reef where he had caught the Double-Head Abalone last time. There had been quite a lot of abalone there. He had not harvested them before because they were too small, but since he was preparing to open an aquaculture farm, he could put those small abalone into it.
After giving Ding Yi the coordinates, the Water Controller soon arrived at the reef. Since there were many submerged rocks there, the fishing boat stopped some distance away. Ye Yuan had Ding Yi and Ding Er dive with him while Ye Zhuang remained aboard.
Once the three entered the water, they began harvesting. In just half a day, they collected several hundred pounds of abalone, most of them rather small.
Ye Zhuang looked at the abalone. "I never thought there would be a place producing abalone this close to our village."
"Captain, are there more down there?" Ye Zhuang asked curiously.
Ye Yuan gave a mysterious smile. "What do you think?"
Seeing that Ye Yuan had no intention of answering, Ye Zhuang did not press further.
After everything was sorted out, Ding Yi set sail, and the fishing boat headed for Pinghai County.
The fishing boat docked at the Pinghai County pier. The round trip had taken more than eight days, so it could be considered a deep-sea fishing expedition.
Ye Yuan told Ye Zhuang to go home first. Ye Zhuang no longer lived on Fishing Bay Island, having obtained an apartment in the county seat.
Ye Yuan told Ye Zhuang that once they sold this trip's catch, he would give him a bonus. He asked him to leave his bank account number so the money could be transferred directly to him.
After Ye Zhuang left, Ye Yuan waited aboard the boat for Eldest Brother and the others to arrive. They had just spoken on the phone, and they were still half an hour away.
Ye Yuan went straight to the freezer compartment. Looking at the hold packed with sea fish, he needed to exchange some of them for points. Without hesitation, he sent some of the larger but cheaper fish into the space, exchanging them for a total of 12,000 points.
PS: Thanks to brother 08a for the reward. Please keep sending monthly tickets. Thank you, everyone.
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