Recaps

Lu Ao harvested a large haul of resonant whelks while diving with Lin Qiyan, then rested as the others went fishing around the area. With the group still at sea for several days, Lu Ao thought about keeping the snails alive and noticed he still had no way to contact Song Zhou.

• Lu Ao helped Lin Qiyan secure his safety rope, then dived to the seafloor and collected many snails, including a large cluster of resonant whelks.
• Lin Qiyan became worried when Lu Ao stayed underwater, so Lu Ao surfaced and reassured him before they dove again.
• Lu Ao collected more than twenty resonant whelks, hid several smaller ones among the rocks, and eventually returned to the boat with a full mesh bag.
• Lin Manzhang's group saw Lu Ao's haul, and Lin Guixiao and Lin Gongshang hurried to get their diving gear while the others went fishing.
• Lin Qiyan continued diving to film, while Lu Ao rested under the rain canopy and kept watch over the group.
• Lu Ao considered how to keep the snails alive and checked his phone, but he still had no signal or new messages from Song Zhou.

Lu Ao’s soul separated from his body while he slept, allowing him to visit Song Zhou at the Anomalous Personnel Affairs Regulatory Agency. After Song Zhou showed him the historic courtyard and served him tea, he sent Lu Ao back as he grew drowsy.

• Lu Ao dreamed he found Song Zhou working in a courtyard and learned that his soul had separated from his body.
• Song Zhou took Lu Ao on a tour of the agency’s five-hundred-year-old courtyard, including its spirit tree and nested gardens.
• Song Zhou asked what had caused the separation, and Lu Ao said he might have been thinking about sharing Resonant Whelks with him.
• Song Zhou brewed Ru Tree tea for Lu Ao and told him he was glad Lu Ao wanted to share food with him.
• As Lu Ao grew sleepy from the tea, Song Zhou touched his forehead and offered to send him back to his body.

Lu Ao and the others returned to Long Township Wharf after a week at sea, bringing in valuable fish and preparing to sell their catches. As Niu Deyu helped them unload, Shen Mingquan arrived and asked about the group.

• After waking from a pleasant dream, Lu Ao went night diving alone and spent the following days energetically catching fish.
• A week later, the group set out for Long Township Wharf, and Lu Ao admitted he missed Song Zhou.
• They arrived after five in the morning and contacted Niu Deyu, who brought workers and a truck to collect their fish.
• Lu Ao’s catch totaled fifteen baskets and two mesh bags, while Lin Qi Yan had caught only one and a half baskets.
• Niu Deyu praised the group’s valuable fish and began loading them into his truck.
• Shen Mingquan arrived at the wharf, and Lin Man Zhang told him they had just returned from fishing at sea.

Shen Mingquan bought most of Lu Ao's rare seafood haul, but Lu Ao refused to sell the Resonant Whelk. He gave one to each crewmate to take home, leaving them pleased to share the delicacy with their families.

• Shen Mingquan inspected Lu Ao's catch and found Mouse Grouper, large wild abalone, Ornate Spiny Lobster, and seventeen Resonant Whelk.
• Shen Mingquan offered Lu Ao three hundred and twenty yuan per jin for the Resonant Whelk, but Lu Ao refused to sell any of them.
• Shen Mingquan bought the rest of the seafood, and Lu Ao earned more than thirty thousand yuan after costs and taxes.
• Lu Ao told his crewmates to take a Resonant Whelk home each, and they accepted one to share with their families.

After returning from his sea trip, Lu Ao rested at home and spent the evening with Song Zhou, who explained that people could sense the unusual aura of Lu Ao’s Dragon Form. They found the Lionhead Geese thriving by the river and discussed letting them forage freely, leaving Lu Ao to see whether they would return to the pen at night.

• Lu Ao returned home with Resonant Whelks and vegetables, invited Song Zhou to dinner, and slept until late afternoon.
• Song Zhou told Lu Ao that the geese and vegetable patch were doing well and that the geese had stayed outside while Lu Ao was away.
• As they walked to the fields, Song Zhou explained that sensitive people, especially children, could sense something nonhuman about Lu Ao and that his Dragon Form might take a long time to mature.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou found the Lionhead Geese by the river, where Lu Ao noticed they had grown much fatter over the week.
• Song Zhou suggested letting the geese forage during the day and return to the pen at night, and Lu Ao agreed to try it.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou harvested vegetables and delivered them to elderly villagers, who returned the kindness with gifts. Back home, they prepared to cook twelve Resonant Whelks, and Song Zhou lit the charcoal while Lu Ao made the grilling sauce.

• Lu Ao checked the village geese and vegetable garden, then decided to share the abundant harvest with elderly villagers.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou picked vegetables and loaded seven baskets onto a tricycle.
• Lu Ao delivered vegetables to villagers, who gave him various gifts, including ham from Wang Huaiying.
• Lu Ao decided to use the ham to make Charcoal-Grilled Whelk and planned to grill seven Resonant Whelks, stir-fry three, and blanch two.
• Lu Ao prepared a sauce with chicken stock, diced meat, ham, and yellow wine while Song Zhou lit the charcoal and called to ask what to do next.

After Lu Ao and Song Zhou enjoyed a meal of Resonant Whelks, Lu Ao relaxed in Dragon Form and invited Song Zhou to dinner the next day. The following morning, Lu Ao agreed to go razor-clam digging with Lin Gongshang after his Certificate of Competency exam.

• Lu Ao prepared several Resonant Whelk dishes while Song Zhou tended and sliced the Charcoal-Roasted Whelks.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou ate together, and Lu Ao was delighted by the poached and charcoal-roasted whelks.
• Lu Ao transformed into Dragon Form to rest, then changed back and went to bed after Song Zhou left.
• Lu Ao woke early and saw Lin Gongshang's invitation to dig for razor clams, but first noted that he had a certification exam that day.
• Lin Gongshang suggested digging after four near his girlfriend's home in Luowu Village, and Lu Ao agreed.

Lu Ao traveled to Luowu Village after passing his Certificate of Competency exam and met Lin Gongshang's girlfriend, Luo Xiaohui. Lin Gongshang taught him how to dig razor clams, but Lu Ao quickly caught five and proved more skilled than his teacher.

• Lu Ao passed the written and simulated practical assessments for his Certificate of Competency with high marks.
• Lu Ao traveled by bus to Yuqing Town and then Luowu Village, where Lin Gongshang came to meet him after working in the razor clam fields.
• Lin Gongshang introduced Lu Ao to his girlfriend, Luo Xiaohui, and showed him how to use salt to make razor clams emerge from the sand.
• Lu Ao used his ability to spot living creatures beneath the sand and caught five razor clams in less than a minute.
• Lin Gongshang praised Lu Ao's skill and suggested that he, Luo Xiaohui, and Lu Ao split into two groups to compete over who caught more.

Lu Ao caught razor clams with Lin Gongshang and Luo Xiaohui, then dug for seafood with Song Zhou and arranged to go out to sea with Lin Manzhang and Lin Qiyan. After fishing, the three men loaded their gear onto Lin Manzhang’s boat and headed out to practice net fishing.

• Lu Ao quickly caught more than half a bucket of razor clams while Lin Gongshang and Luo Xiaohui spent their time talking.
• Lu Ao cooked lamb with Song Zhou, then took him to dig up razor clams and Sand Clams at their village beach.
• Lu Ao asked Lin Manzhang to borrow a boat, and Lin Manzhang invited him to go out to sea with Lin Qiyan the next day.
• Lu Ao joined Lin Manzhang and Lin Qiyan for morning fishing, while Lin Gongshang went to help his future mother-in-law dig razor clams.
• After Lin Guixiao volunteered to sell their fish, Lu Ao, Lin Manzhang, and Lin Qiyan gathered their gear and set out to sea on Lin Manzhang’s boat.

Lin Qi Yan and Lu Ao went fishing with Lin Man Zhang, who taught them how to choose fishing grounds, set nets, and handle their catch. They began hauling in fish near Oxhead Island, and Lin Man Zhang explained which catches could be kept and which had to be released.

• Lin Man Zhang explained how tides, wind, water conditions, and fish habitats affected where and how they set their nets near Oxhead Island.
• Lin Man Zhang spread floating nets across the sea, then showed Lu Ao how to knock on the boat and startle fish toward them.
• Lin Man Zhang hauled in the first net and taught Lu Ao to free the fish safely, releasing a juvenile Yellowfin Seabream back into the sea.
• Lin Qi Yan filmed as Lu Ao and Lin Man Zhang pulled several Black Seabream and White Sea Shrimp from the net.
• Lu Ao found a pufferfish, and Lin Man Zhang showed how it puffed up and explained its poisonous nature and restrictions on trading it.

Qi Yan, Lu Ao, and Song Zhou traveled with Man Zhang to visit a breeder of non-toxic pufferfish, hoping to try the fish and film a cuisine episode. During the long journey, Song Zhou quietly comforted hungry Lu Ao by sharing chocolate with him.

• Qi Yan learned from Man Zhang that someone in the county raised non-toxic pufferfish, and arranged to visit and film a meal.
• Lu Ao invited Song Zhou to join the trip, and they arrived at Man Zhang's house the next morning.
• After Man Zhang returned from the fields, he led the group on a lengthy trip to the county outskirts.
• Song Zhou noticed Lu Ao was hungry and gave him chocolate, which Lu Ao enjoyed as Song Zhou offered him more.

Lin Qi Yan filmed Lu Ao and Song Zhou sharing a subtly affectionate moment before the group visited Old Tian's pufferfish farming base. Old Tian explained the farm's nontoxic and toxic pufferfish, their markets, and the experimental effort to produce tetrodotoxin, leaving the group at the fish rafts.

• Lin Qi Yan filmed Lu Ao offering to help Song Zhou out of the car and noticed the intimate atmosphere between them.
• Lin Man Zhang reunited with Old Tian, who welcomed the group to his seaside pufferfish farming base.
• Old Tian explained that Redfin Tiger Puffer were raised in seawater for overseas markets, while Dark-patterned Tiger Puffer were raised in freshwater for China.
• Old Tian showed the group his 78 fish rafts and said they held nontoxic Redfin Tiger Puffer, kept separate from toxic fish.
• Old Tian explained that tetrodotoxin had medical uses and cost over a million per gram, while his toxic-pufferfish project remained experimental.

Lu Ao, Song Zhou, and their companions enjoyed a pufferfish feast at Old Tian’s courtyard, then Lu Ao confirmed he would lease the mountains in Tanwu Village. After preparing a contract template with Song Zhou, Lu Ao agreed to meet the village committee the next day to discuss the lease.

• Old Tian cooked clear-soup and braised pufferfish for Lu Ao, Song Zhou, Qi Yan, and Lin Man Zhang.
• Lu Ao enjoyed the meal and bought twenty pufferfish to take home, while Qi Yan gathered material for his next update.
• Lin Dawu confirmed the mountain lease terms with Lu Ao, who said he would discuss the lease the next day.
• The village committee head called Lu Ao to arrange a meeting, and Lu Ao agreed to attend.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou reviewed mountain-lease laws and prepared a contract template before Lu Ao walked Song Zhou out.

Lu Ao secured a five-year lease on Haining Mountain and prepared for a typhoon that would temporarily halt fishing. His boat was being refurbished at Qinyin Shipyard, and Yu Hongshen said it would be finished later in the month.

• Lu Ao met with Lin Yu and the village representatives to discuss leasing Haining Mountain, including its boundaries, rent, and permitted uses.
• Lin Yu accompanied Lu Ao to the county, where Lu Ao signed the lease and paid 449,730 yuan for five years of rent.
• Lu Ao went sea fishing with Lin Man Zhang, who warned that Typhoon Fairy Deer was expected to arrive in two days.
• Lu Ao called Yu Hongshen at Qinyin Shipyard to check on his boat and warn him about the typhoon.
• Yu Hongshen told Lu Ao that the boat was protected and nearly repaired, with its engine replacement planned after the typhoon.

During the typhoon, Lu Ao stayed off the water and tended his fields before agreeing to dig Blood Eels with Lin Gongshang and Lin Qi Yan. Lin Qi Yan also invited Lu Ao on a sponsored offshore fishing trip, and the chapter ended with the three men and Luo Xiaohui heading toward a distant mudflat.

• Lu Ao told the captains about the typhoon, and they decided to keep their boats ashore for repairs.
• Lu Ao worked in his fields while Lin Gongshang suggested they dig Blood Eels near Luo Xiaohui's village the next day.
• Lin Qi Yan joined the outing and invited Lu Ao to accompany him on an offshore fishing trip near the Eastern Ocean from August 24th to September 1st.
• Lu Ao drove Lin Gongshang and Lin Qi Yan to Luowu Village, where Luo Xiaohui met them.
• Lin Gongshang and Luo Xiaohui led the group on foot toward a distant mudflat to dig Blood Eels.

Lu Ao and Qi Yan went to the mudflats with Lin Gongshang and Luo Xiaohui to dig for Blood Eels. Lu Ao proved exceptionally skilled, while Qi Yan struggled when he took a turn with the hoe and began searching for another hole.

• Lin Gongshang showed Lu Ao and Qi Yan how to spot and dig up Blood Eels, while Luo Xiaohui caught the first one.
• Lin Gongshang and Luo Xiaohui paired off to dig together, and Qi Yan filmed them from a distance.
• Lu Ao quickly dug up more than a dozen Blood Eels while Qi Yan collected them.
• Qi Yan took the hoe and asked Lu Ao to record him, but he dug slowly and missed a Blood Eel that escaped during his fifteenth swing.
• Qi Yan found another likely Blood Eel hole and asked Lu Ao if it was the right one.

Qi Yan struggled to dig for Blood Eels while Lu Ao harvested enough for them to eat. At a village shop, Lu Ao traded some of the catch for a bottle of yellow wine, and Qi Yan filmed the exchange.

• Qi Yan dug for Blood Eels, caught his first one, and asked Lu Ao to film the moment.
• After Qi Yan gave up from exhaustion, Lu Ao continued digging until their basket was full, then stopped harvesting.
• Lu Ao and Qi Yan headed to Luowu Village for clam noodle soup while Lin Gongshang stayed behind to dig longer.
• The shop owner asked to buy Blood Eels for his elderly mother, but Lu Ao declined to sell them.
• The owner offered a bottle of aged yellow wine in exchange, and Lu Ao traded him more than a jin of Blood Eels.

Lu Ao returned from digging up Blood Eels, shared some with Lin Qiyan for his grandmother, and cooked two dishes from the rest with Song Zhou. As they ate, Lu Ao offered Song Zhou yellow rice wine, while Song Zhou teased him about switching to Coke.

• Lu Ao ate six bowls of clam rice noodles, and Lin Gongshang returned after spending the morning with Luo Xiaohui, amazed that Lu Ao had dug up more than ten jin of Blood Eels.
• Lu Ao gave Lin Qiyan more than three jin of Blood Eels to take home for his grandmother.
• Lu Ao returned home, told Song Zhou they would eat Blood Eels, and the two cleaned and cooked them in a casserole and by frying them with chilies.
• Lu Ao brought out yellow rice wine he had traded for and admitted he had thought of Song Zhou when he got it.
• Lu Ao tried the spicy fried Blood Eels and gulped down the bitter yellow rice wine, prompting Song Zhou to offer him Coke.

Lu Ao prepared for a deep-sea fishing trip with Lin Qi Yan, and Song Zhou gave him a satellite phone so they could stay in touch. On August twenty-fourth, Lu Ao and Lin Qi Yan boarded a rented ship in New Luzhou and began their trip.

• Lu Ao switched his dinner drink to Coke, then told Song Zhou he planned to join Lin Qi Yan on a deep-sea fishing trip from August twenty-fourth to September first.
• Lu Ao confirmed the trip details, packed his own fishing rods and plenty of jerky, and prepared to leave.
• Song Zhou gave Lu Ao a topped-up satellite phone as a three-month acquaintance gift and asked him to call every day at sea.
• Lu Ao and Lin Qi Yan drove to New Luzhou and boarded their rented ship at two in the afternoon.
• Lin Qi Yan admired the ship, asked to film its details, and discussed the demanding lives of maritime workers with Lu Ao.

Lu Ao and Qi Yan settled in aboard Boss Chen’s ship, where a huge school of Herring brought the crew an unexpectedly profitable catch. Qi Yan got permission to film life aboard the vessel, and the group prepared to begin fishing for tuna the next morning.

• Lu Ao woke and watched the crew haul a huge school of Herring aboard the ship.
• Boss Chen inspected the catch, sent most of it to cold storage, and invited Lu Ao to eat freshly caught fish.
• Lu Ao introduced Qi Yan to Boss Chen, and Qi Yan asked permission to film life and equipment aboard the ship.
• Boss Chen agreed to Qi Yan’s filming plans, with restrictions on what he could record and publish.
• Zhong Honghai told Lu Ao that the group would reach its destination the next morning and planned to fish for Bluefin Tuna or Yellowfin Tuna.

Lu Ao ate a huge fish feast aboard the boat, then called Song Zhou and learned more about Monster crime and law enforcement. After discovering the call had cost 824 yuan, he headed to the deck the next morning to fish.

• Lu Ao ate more than twenty Green Stripe fish while Boss Chen told old seafaring stories to an eager Qi Yan.
• Lu Ao called Song Zhou as promised, and they chatted about their day and a plant-type Monster caught for making drugs from its bodily fluids.
• Song Zhou explained that Monsters committed crimes at rates comparable to humans and that most had integrated into society.
• Lu Ao learned that their 103-minute call had cost 824 yuan and that Song Zhou had topped up his phone credit by 10,000 yuan.
• Lu Ao went to the deck the next morning, greeted the other fishers, and asked what they had caught.

Lu Ao caught a large, live Hairtail, which Zhong Honghai took to prepare as sashimi and fried fish. Lu Ao tried the sashimi and listened as Zhong Honghai and Boss Chen reminisced about bringing Hairtail and other preserved seafood to school.

• Lu Ao caught a meter-long Hairtail, and the people on the boat gathered to admire it.
• Zhong Honghai filmed the fish and offered to take it to the kitchen to prepare sashimi and fried Hairtail.
• Lu Ao tried the fresh Hairtail sashimi and was surprised by its tender texture and distinctive flavor.
• Zhong Honghai and Boss Chen recalled eating salted Hairtail and other seafood with rice at school.
• Lu Ao reflected that he had never lacked fish growing up in a fishing village.

After a slow morning of fishing, Zhong Honghai changed the boat’s route to visit a nearby Giant Kelp Sea. The group reached the vivid, kelp-covered waters and watched colorful fish move through the floating algae.

• Lu Ao and the others caught few fish during the morning, so Zhong Honghai decided they should move to another fishing ground.
• Zhong Honghai chose to divert north toward a nearby Giant Kelp Sea, and the fishing team cheered at the chance to see it.
• Qi Yan explained the rare algae to Lu Ao as the boat sailed through clear blue water toward the Giant Kelp Sea.
• The group spotted hundreds of square meters of yellow-green Giant Kelp floating on the surface and colorful fish swimming among its strands.

Lu Ao fished at the Giant Kelp Sea with Lin Qiyan’s group and hooked a powerful fish that the anglers identified as a Moonfish. Zhong Honghai helped Lu Ao put on a Belly Harness as he continued fighting the fish.

• Lu Ao and the other anglers baited the water and began catching fish among the Giant Kelp.
• Lu Ao caught several fish, then hooked something strong enough to strain his rod.
• The anglers gathered as Lu Ao battled the fish, and it surfaced after seven minutes.
• Zhong Honghai identified the fish as a Moonfish weighing around two hundred jin and called for a Belly Harness.
• Zhong Honghai fastened the Belly Harness on Lu Ao, who said he could handle the fish himself.

Lu Ao battled a Moonfish for nearly an hour before Boss Chen and the deckhands helped haul it aboard. Exhausted, Lu Ao recovered with a drink as Boss Chen estimated the fish weighed at least two hundred jin.

• Zhong Honghai fitted Lu Ao with a Belly Harness, and Lu Ao braced his fishing rod to fight the Moonfish.
• Lin Qiyan and the people aboard gathered to film as Lu Ao struggled to keep the stubborn fish near the boat.
• After nearly an hour, the Moonfish weakened, and Zhong Honghai urged Lu Ao to keep pulling it toward the boat.
• Boss Chen hooked the surfaced Moonfish, and several men hauled it onto the deck.
• Lu Ao drank a sports drink to recover, and Boss Chen estimated the Moonfish weighed at least two hundred jin.