The Net Hauler hauled the net in fits and starts, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes rattling, sometimes creaking. Father and son watched in utter bewilderment.
At first, they had thought they had caught something big, making the Net Hauler groan under the excessive load. But now it kept speeding up and slowing down, making noise one moment and falling silent the next. This clearly did not seem like a big catch.
"It's not the catch down below. The Net Hauler must be broken, right? If we'd caught something big, it couldn't be acting like this, could it? It should feel heavy the whole time, like it did at the start."
"How could it just break? We've barely used it. How long have we even had it?" Ye Yaodong was puzzled too. He checked the machine as it ran. "Isn't it running just fine? That shouldn't be happening..."
"We'll give it a thorough check when we get back."
"I'll go down and have a look. I don't think there's anything wrong with the machine. Something must have happened to the net on the seabed, right?"
Father Ye frowned as the machine began rattling again, then nodded. "Be careful, then. Take it slowly going down, and come back up soon whether you find anything or not."
"I know. It's not my first time in the water. Don't worry." As he spoke, Ye Yaodong put on his gear.
These waters were unfamiliar to him, after all, so Ye Yaodong descended very carefully. As soon as he entered the water, he paid close attention to what lay below.
He had only descended five or six meters when he spotted a behemoth on the seabed ahead. The sight instantly startled him.
He hesitated but did not immediately surface. Although there was an enormous, unknown creature