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墨書 Inktalez
The three people waiting for food eagerly looked up, finally seeing the catch brought back from the sea.
A few large, dark-colored sea shells and several unknown fish with big heads and bodies.
Only Tang Jingshu and Xu Nuan exchanged a glance, remaining silent in front of the creatures that would soon become their meal.
"Thank you for your hard work. We'll take it from here," Tang Jingshu said with a smile to Gu Ze and the others, who were slumped on the boat still wearing their diving suits. She reached out to take the pile of strange seafood and pulled Xu Nuan to the other side of the boat.
"I've only handled fish before; I don't know how to deal with sea shells," Tang Jingshu said, looking at the food with a troubled expression.
Xu Nuan mimicked her gaze at the food, feeling even more distressed. "I haven't handled any either."
In Xu Nuan's memory, Gu Ze and Xu Hang were the best at preparing ingredients among them. However, when she turned to look back, she saw the three of them in a state of disarray, completely disregarding their appearance. She quickly shook her head; it was time for her to contribute to the team.
After a few seconds of silence, Tang Jingshu picked up one of the fish. "Then you can start the fire."
Tang Jingshu paused for a moment before realizing something. "Wait, how can we light a fire on the boat? We don't even have firewood."
"Don't worry about that," Xu Nuan said, finally finding something she could do. She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a stove and some charcoal.
"I considered that we might stay on the Sea Surface for a while, so I specifically brought this."
Xu Nuan casually lit the stove, placed charcoal inside, and set an iron grate on top. All that was left was to wait for Tang Jingshu to prepare the ingredients.
However, when Xu Nuan looked up at Tang Jingshu, she found her staring at the few fish on the cutting board with a face full of dread. Her hand trembled as she held the knife, unable to bring herself to make the first cut. She turned her head and asked, "Do I need to knock them out first?"
Xu Nuan blinked, uncertain. "I suppose so."
With that uncertain answer, Tang Jingshu steeled herself and awkwardly knocked out the fish.
Xu Nuan couldn't bear to watch. Turning her attention back to the large Sea Shells, she picked one up with her left hand and took out a short knife with her right. Sitting on one side of the boat, she pondered how to proceed.
To extract the meat from the shellfish, she would need to pry it open. Xu Nuan felt unsure but, pressed for time, decided to give it a try. She applied slight pressure along the seam in the middle of the Sea Shells with the blade of her knife and pushed it in a little, but it didn't work.
"Place the blade here and use some finesse to pry it open," a hand reached out from beside her, guiding her own hand holding the knife to the right spot. With a bit of force, the shell of the Sea Shells cracked open, revealing large chunks of white meat inside that smelled fresh.
"Cut the meat into pieces with the knife and roast it along with the shell; it tastes great even without any seasoning," Gu Ze said as he released his grip on Xu Nuan's hand and made a gesture indicating she could proceed as she wished.
Xu Nuan blinked and scanned the area, realizing that this was not the time for panic. Silently, she cleaned the meat of the Sea Shells and placed them on the iron grill to roast. She had also figured out how to clean the other few shells.
By the time she finished cleaning, Tang Jingshu had finally managed to handle a few fish, trembling as she wrapped them in foil and buried them in the charcoal.
When it came time to enjoy what could be considered either lunch or dinner, Xu Nuan learned that most of these ingredients had been caught by Gu Ze.
"Gu Ze, you're amazing! Your aim is just spot on!"
Deng Yinyin held a fish, taking occasional bites while gazing at Gu Ze with starry eyes.
"I didn't catch a single one. Can you teach me later? I want to find more ingredients too."
Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks flushed, and her words were earnest.
Gu Ze agreed, and Deng Yinyin immediately bounced with joy, pulling along the still-shivering Tang Jingshu as she excitedly recounted her underwater experiences.
Xu Hang sighed helplessly while Xie Huai looked at Gu Ze with envy.
He could dive, catch fish, and even roast them. Xu Nuan thought to herself, what else could Gu Ze possibly not do?
Though she felt this way, Xu Nuan found it somewhat difficult to swallow a piece of shellfish meat. She didn't like things with a strong fishy taste, but if she didn't eat, she wouldn't have the energy.
Feeling a bit frustrated, Xu Nuan turned her gaze back to the Sea Surface. Once again, she noticed unusual ripples on the water not far away, as if something large was moving beneath the surface.
To avoid a 'wolf is coming' type of disaster, Xu Nuan leaned forward slightly, squinting her eyes to carefully observe that section of water. She vaguely saw a patch that appeared black yet also seemed blue.
Isn't the sea supposed to be blue?
Xu Nuan still felt a bit uncertain.
"What did you discover that has you so serious?"
Gu Ze, who was closest to her, turned around and mimicked her gaze at the water's surface, but saw nothing unusual.
"I just have this feeling that something is following us," Xu Nuan said, reaching up to scratch her head, only to realize she still held a piece of clam meat. She frowned but popped it into her mouth anyway.
"This is the third time you've done that."
Tang Jingshu clearly remembered Xu Nuan's odd behavior. "You have quite a bit of experience; why don't we move the boat a little further away? We've almost finished eating anyway."
"Alright, staying here isn't getting us anywhere."
Xie Huai, who was in charge of steering the boat, stood up and walked to the front. After starting the engine with a roar, the boat moved away from its previous spot.
Throughout it all, Xu Nuan kept her eyes on the water's surface. Aside from the splashes created by the boat, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.
"Is it just my imagination?"
Xu Nuan hesitantly withdrew her gaze. Before she could settle back down, Gu Ze suddenly pulled her down onto the deck. Her arm bumped against the side of the boat, causing her to wince in pain.
"Watch out!"
Xu Nuan looked up and saw Gu Ze's pupils suddenly constrict. She also heard a huge splash behind her. Before she could turn around, Deng Yinyin and Tang Jingshu had already started screaming.
"Ah! It's a shark!"
As Gu Ze picked up a short knife, Xu Nuan quickly drew her own blade from her waist and turned around.
The shark that had just leaped out of the water had a ferocious appearance, its eyes filled with a fierce brutality. This shark wasn't particularly large, about as wide as two adults, but its sharp teeth were exposed in a menacing grin, paired with those terrifying eyes that sent chills down one's spine.
Xu Nuan couldn't tell what species the shark was or why it had come to the surface instead of staying in the ocean. All she knew was that immense danger accompanied this creature.
The shark had just jumped out once and was now plunging back into the water.
At that moment, Xu Hang shouted at Xie Huai, who was trembling while holding onto the boat.
"Accelerate, hurry up and accelerate!"
Realizing what was happening, Xie Huai quickly increased the speed, and the boat shot forward with a whoosh.
However, racing against a shark in the water was unwise.
The distance they had just created vanished as the shark submerged and then burst back to the surface again.
Except for Xie Huai at the helm, the others huddled together in the center of the boat. With it rocking violently, there was no safer place than here.
But Xie Huai at the front was in danger. The shark first bit randomly at the boat's hull, tearing off a few chunks before abandoning that and lunging toward the bow. Terrified, Xie Huai let go of the steering wheel and sat down on the floor, his legs weak as he forgot to escape.
As the shark plunged back into the water, Xie Huai looked around in confusion when suddenly, from another angle, it lunged out with its massive jaws wide open, charging straight at him. The strong smell of blood made Xie Huai faint.
Xu Nuan gripped the short knife in her hand and had barely crawled a few steps towards Xie Huai when another figure shot out at an incredible speed. Before Xu Nuan could see what Gu Ze was holding, she watched as the shark suddenly flipped backward and fell into the water, blood spreading across the surface.
Xu Nuan was astonished; in this urgent moment, she didn’t ask any questions. She hurriedly crawled to Xie Huai's side, and together with Gu Ze, they dragged him to what they hoped was a safe spot. Xu Hang immediately grabbed a bottle of water and splashed it on Xie Huai.
“Cough, cough.”
Xie Huai woke up abruptly, but there was no time for pleasantries. Xu Hang glanced at the seemingly calm water and said decisively, “Xie Huai, take the helm and accelerate as much as you can. Everyone else put on your life jackets, grab your bags, and hold onto something that can be used as a weapon. We need to stick together.”
Xu Hang remained calm, and everyone followed his instructions as the boat moved further away.
Xu Nuan watched the red streaks in the distance grow fainter, her anxiety only increasing. She tightened her grip on the short knife and kept a close watch on the surrounding waters.
The shark's speed was faster than anyone had imagined. Without warning, it burst out of the water again, its massive jaws clamping down on the boat's stern. The force caused the vessel to rock violently, throwing everyone off balance as they collided with one another.
Amidst the chaos, Xu Hang shouted above the noise, “Hold on tight! We must stabilize ourselves; we can't get thrown off!”
Anyone who fell overboard would become a meal for the shark.
As Xu Nuan struggled to steady herself, she seized the opportunity to observe the shark more closely. To her shock, she noticed a short knife embedded deep into its left eye—so deep that even with all its thrashing about, it couldn't shake it off. Blood flowed from the shark's eye socket, not only making it more aggressive but seemingly agitating other creatures lurking beneath the waves as well.
Xu Nuan squinted at the movements on the Sea Surface in the distance, feeling a bit anxious as she occasionally glanced at Xie Huai.
Meanwhile, Xu Hang and Gu Ze were keeping everyone steady while wielding their axes to strike at the shark, quickly retracting their hands to avoid being bitten.
The damage dealt to the shark by the axes was not significant, but this repetitive action managed to slow the shark down a bit.
As long as the shark's movements slowed and they remained on the boat, they just needed to increase the boat's speed to have a good chance of escaping the shark's clutches.
To prevent the shark from viciously biting into the hull or ramming into the boat, Xu Nuan joined the group trying to fend off the shark.
Xu Hang wanted to stop her but was held back by Gu Ze.
"She's quite capable."
Gu Ze's tone was calm, yet he inadvertently kept an eye on Xu Nuan's situation.
Xu Nuan had always valued her life and avoided taking risks. With three people now able to inflict damage on the shark, its speed noticeably decreased. Xu Nuan felt a surge of joy, but before she could fully express it, she heard Xie Huai's panicked voice.
"We're out of fuel!"
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