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"Ah—Lu Ao!" Ge Ranzhou let out a howl from the other end, then burst into tears. Something beside him fell with a clatter that went on for quite a while. He shouted through tears, "It really is you! I told you that you brat was still alive!!!"

Lu Ao's voice softened. "Yeah."

Ge Ranzhou was incoherent. "Fuck! You—this is so damn great! I've been worried sick these past few days. I thought you'd kicked the bucket."

Ge Ranzhou was so emotional that Tian Mingzhi and the others standing nearby could clearly hear their conversation.

They quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Honestly, up until just now, they had still doubted whether this young man before them was even human.

His looks and bearing were far too extraordinary, and he had suddenly appeared on this deserted island. It was hard not to be suspicious.

Now that they had heard him talking to someone on the phone, they could basically confirm that he was human.

Tian Mingzhi and the others lowered their guard and became even more welcoming.

After Lu Ao hung up, Tian Mingzhi asked, "Lu Ao, you've been on this deserted island for two or three days, right?"

"Yes." Lu Ao asked, "Were those thugs chasing me arrested?"

"They were. You should've seen it—the armed police were even dispatched. Every last one of those punks was cuffed and taken away. They howled like ghosts and wolves that day, making noise until the middle of the night. Moments were going crazy with it."

The moment gossip came up, they all became animated.

After hearing that, Lu Ao finally felt somewhat better.

Once Tian Mingzhi and the others were done gossiping, they continued working.

They made their living by coming to islands to fish and shoot videos. Their work was not yet finished, so they did not dare rest.

Tian Mingzhi asked, "Lu Ao, do you want to be on camera? Making videos is pretty fun."

Lu Ao shook his head. "No. I can help you bail out water instead."

Tian Mingzhi looked at Lu Ao's face, swallowed, and felt an overwhelming sense of regret. If this guy went on camera, how many followers would they gain?

The water pit on the island was not large. Tian Mingzhi and the others spent more than two hours pumping it dry, then filmed some footage of catching fish. Only then did they pack up their equipment and prepare to take Lu Ao back with them.

Their boat was just a small fishing vessel with a tiny cabin. Most of their belongings had to be piled on the deck.

"Come on, come on, have something to fill your stomach first." Tian Mingzhi finished packing and took out instant noodles and other food.

Chen Shengrong was steering the boat. Seeing this, he said, "Cook an extra pack. I'm a little hungry."

"I'm a little hungry too." Hu Xingjin leaned over. "Cook all the noodles. Throw in that Eight-Claw we just caught too. It's not worth much anyway."

Lu Ao stared darkly at the six-pack of instant noodles, eggs, ham, and other food they took out, and his stomach instantly burned with hunger.

Judging from how much he had eaten over the past two days, this amount would not even be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

His Adam's apple bobbed. He turned and asked Tian Mingzhi, who was cleaning the octopus for the noodles, "Do you have a fishing rod? I'll see if I can catch some fish."

"We do, but there's not much bait left."

"That's fine. We can use the octopus guts."

They had not yet thrown away the octopus innards. Seeing that he wanted to fish, Tian Mingzhi readily went to find the two fishing rods on the boat and gave them to him. Then he asked shamelessly, "Can I film you fishing?"

Lu Ao thought about it, then agreed. "As long as you don't film my face."

Tian Mingzhi immediately set up his phone, ready to record.

Hu Xingjin leaned over. "Are you going to drift-fish?"

"No. We'll find a place to stop the boat first." Lu Ao looked at the water not far away. "There aren't many fish here."

Hu Xingjin was unconvinced. "Hey, how do you know there aren't any fish here?"

Lu Ao glanced up at him, not knowing how to answer, so he simply did not answer.

Tian Mingzhi was still recording. Seeing how mysterious he was being, he was happy not to interrupt.

The boat chugged onward.

After another twenty-odd minutes, Lu Ao looked at the water and suddenly said, "This is fine. We can fish around here."

Hu Xingjin raised his head and shouted toward the cabin, "Old Chen, stop the boat. We're going fishing."

Chen Shengrong shut off the engine and let the boat drift on the sea. He came out and asked, "Can we really catch fish?"

Lu Ao hung the octopus innards from the hook, looked around, picked a direction, and cast the line. "We'll know if we try."

He set out two rods in total, then stood beside them to keep watch.

Hu Xingjin lit the stove to cook instant noodles. He added the seasoning packets first, then tossed in the octopus to cook, and finally added the noodle cakes.

As soon as the water boiled, the rich aroma of instant noodles drifted out. Right on cue, Lu Ao's stomach let out a loud growl.

The sound was so loud that all three of them immediately looked at his stomach.

Lu Ao remained expressionless, pretending it had not been his stomach growling.

Tian Mingzhi laughed so hard that the hand holding his phone shook, while Chen Shengrong and Hu Xingjin stifled their laughter.

Lu Ao ignored them. Just then, one of the fishing rods trembled slightly.

Hu Xingjin had sharp eyes and immediately shouted, "Fish on!"

Lu Ao lifted the rod and gently played the line to one side. "Get the net."

Chen Shengrong hurriedly went to get the landing net.

Lu Ao drew the fish closer to himself. Soon, a dark fish back broke the surface.

Chen Shengrong stood watching nearby. The moment he saw the fish's back, his spirits lifted. "It's a black seabream! It's so fat—at least two pounds!"

Tian Mingzhi quickly aimed the camera at Lu Ao.

Afraid that the line would snap, Lu Ao deliberately played the fish for a while longer.

Once he had drawn it to the side of the boat, Chen Shengrong swiftly scooped it up in the landing net.

The black seabream thrashed desperately after leaving the water, slapping the deck with sharp smacks.

Chen Shengrong wiped his face hard. "Good lord, this black seabream is really lively."

Lu Ao said, "Keep going."

Chen Shengrong quickly removed the hook and put the black seabream into the livewell.

Lu Ao baited the hook again and cast the line back into the sea.

By then, the instant noodles were ready. Hu Xingjin called out, "Come on, come eat. We'll talk after we're full."