Chapter 513 - 347: There’s a Trick to Catching Abalone

Chapter 513: Chapter 347: There’s a Trick to Catching Abalone

"Oppa, I... I think I’m getting... the hang of it. You can let... huh?"

She spoke intermittently, snatching moments to talk while turning her head from side to side to breathe.

Before she could finish, a glance from the corner of her eye revealed that she was already all alone.

’Have I been swimming by myself this whole time??’

The thought of swimming alone on the vast expanse of the sea gave rise to a sudden, inexplicable fear.

What if a strong wind suddenly kicks up?

What if I suddenly get a cramp?

What if I suddenly run into a shark?

What if a water ghost pops out from the seabed to grab my feet and pull me down?

I heard a lot of coral is poisonous. What if I get tired and want to rest, and accidentally step on some?

Or what if a shell, crab, or Lobster on the seabed clamps onto my toe?

In a brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and her movements subconsciously became slow and stiff.

As her movements slowed, her balance was immediately thrown off, and she began to wobble from side to side.

This change only amplified her anxiety. The more anxious she became, the more she panicked; the more she panicked, the less she could calm down. The rhythm and force of her arm and leg movements fell into disarray, and she began to sink.

"?!"

Lin Chen, who had been standing still and watching her swim across the sea’s surface while also illuminating the water for her, immediately sprang into action. He cut through the water at high speed, swimming toward her.

’She was swimming just fine a moment ago. What happened all of a sudden?’

’She’s not faking it, is she?’

The dozen-meter distance vanished in an instant. The moment he grabbed the arm of the girl floundering on the surface, she clung to him as if he were a lifeline, her entire body instantly wrapping around him.

Her long, slender legs wrapped tightly around his waist, and her fair arms clung desperately to his neck. She rested her small head on his broad shoulder, gasping for air and coughing every now and then.

"COUGH COUGH... COUGH..."

Lin Chen, who was already prepared for this, floated vertically in the water, gently kicking his feet to use the waves’ push to move bit by bit toward the shallows. His hands also paddled lightly on the water’s surface.

The camera on his Hat Lamp panned around, deliberately capturing the surroundings and his own hands.

’Useful or not, it’s always right to leave some evidence proving I didn’t do anything inappropriate.’

’Everyone knows a woman isn’t always reasonable when she gets jealous. I have to avoid this situation as much as possible.’

"How are you? Feeling better? Don’t be nervous, take a deep breath."

He didn’t say anything easily misinterpreted like "I’m here for you," simply offering a few words of comfort and guiding her to calm down.

Under his guidance, Jin Meiyan’s tense body slowly relaxed, and her breathing gradually stabilized.

’This embrace feels so incredibly safe. If the situation allowed, I’d want to stay wrapped up in it forever.’

But that was impossible. She could only pull back a little, trying not to press against him so tightly.

Once she had calmed down, she realized just how embarrassing her actions had been. Two crimson blushes crept up her fair cheeks, and she hurriedly unwrapped her legs from Lin Chen’s waist.

"Mianae Oppa, I... I didn’t do it on purpose..."

She looked at him apologetically, lowered her head in embarrassment, and explained in a soft, sweet voice, "When I realized you weren’t next to me, I just panicked. I suddenly thought of all these horror movies I’ve seen, and I don’t know why, but my body just wouldn’t listen to me."

’Horror movies?’

A look of understanding dawned in Lin Chen’s eyes, and he cursed himself internally.

’It’s only natural for someone swimming in the open sea for the first time to be scared. It’s perfectly normal. Wasn’t I scared to death my first time in the ocean, too? And she’s a girl, so she naturally needs a sense of security. I should have told her before I let go.’

’Letting go so quietly like that would definitely make someone panic. This is the open sea, after all, not some designated safe zone.’

’In the end, the problem was me.’

"It’s okay, that’s completely normal. It’s your first time, so you’re inexperienced. It’s inevitable you’d be scared. Why don’t you rest for a bit, then I’ll go with you for another try? You dare?"

He gently patted her back in comfort. A look of emotion flashed in Jin Meiyan’s eyes. She bit her lower lip and nodded.

"I’m not scared!"

"But, Oppa, can you tell me before you let go next time? Just so I’m mentally prepared."

"Sure, no problem. That was my fault just now. You don’t need to blame yourself."

"No, no! It’s because I can’t swim that I’m causing you trouble, Oppa. I... I’ll practice hard!"

Lin Chen had been a little worried that this incident would make her afraid of swimming, but it seemed she was quite resilient. ’As expected of a dancer with years of training,’ he thought. ’Her mental fortitude should be much stronger than an ordinary person’s.’

Under his patient guidance, Jin Meiyan’s swim went very smoothly this time. After he let go, she even swam two or three hundred meters in a circle around him all by herself.

"There you go, excellent. Now I believe you weren’t bluffing when you said you could swim. Maybe you were just a little rusty from not swimming for a long time. You just needed to get used to it again."

"Whoa! That’s so mean!"

Jin Meiyan, who had just swum back, puffed out her cheeks indignantly and put her hands on her hips. "I never bluff!"

"Hahaha, who’s to blame when all those actors and idols on South Korean variety shows love to brag? I just assumed all Koreans like to talk big. My apologies. Oh, right, I forgot you’re from the United States."

"Hmph!"

The girl rolled her eyes flirtatiously. Her face, flushed from the vigorous exercise, looked exceptionally radiant and captivating under the faint moonlight.

Her smooth, fair skin, slick with seawater, glistened as if coated in a layer of oil, making it hard to look away.

Especially when the waves washed over them, making their bodies bob up and down, the deep line of her cleavage would appear and disappear, adding a hint of mystery, like a magnet endlessly pulling at his attention.

He silently averted his gaze, looking toward the deepest part of the water nearby.

"How’s your stamina? Do you want to rest before we continue? Diving requires bursts of explosive power, and the resistance underwater is greater than on the surface, so it consumes more energy."

"It’s fine, don’t worry, I can do it!"

As if sensing his deliberate avoidance of her gaze, the corners of Jin Meiyan’s lips curved up slightly. She lifted her chin confidently and said, "Don’t underestimate a dancer’s stamina and endurance! My record is dancing for four hours straight without a break. I’ve even danced for a cumulative twenty hours in a single day!"

"Besides, if something unexpected happens, I’ve got you here, Oppa. I’m sure you’ll save me, right~?"

"...Yeah, right."

Now fully warmed up, Jin Meiyan tried a few times and quickly mastered the secret to the core’s explosive power needed for diving. For a dancer, this technique was no trouble at all; it was just a few consecutive body waves.

She even felt that diving was much simpler than swimming. The only difficult part was overcoming the mental block of opening her eyes underwater.

When she slowly opened her trembling eyelids, she only felt a cool current of water flow past her eyes, completely unlike the uncomfortable sensation she had imagined.

After giving Lin Chen an "OK" sign, Lin Chen nodded, took a flashlight out of his pocket, turned it on, and switched off his Hat Lamp.

SWOOSH—

The pitch-black seabed was instantly illuminated by a beam of white light.

Colorful fish meandered through the coral reefs. The seabed was covered in dense kelp, like an underwater forest blanketing a large area. The deepest spots, however, were clear of it, home only to large corals of various shapes swaying with the current.

Diving for the first time in her life, Jin Meiyan’s eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the beautiful underwater scenery.

’This is a hundred times more beautiful than what I’ve seen on TV!!’

While she was still in a daze, a school of finger-sized fish swam past her. It was a massive, dark school, their bodies reflecting silver light as they passed through the flashlight beam.

The school moved in perfect unison, sometimes rising toward the surface, sometimes diving to the bottom, gradually disappearing into the distance like a dark cloud.

Just then, Lin Chen tapped her and pointed his thumb upward.

She nodded and followed him back to the surface.

"This is the deepest area around here, only about four or five meters. Since we’re free diving, you need to manage your breath. Don’t push yourself. Come up anytime you feel uncomfortable."

"Our goal is simple: find Lobster under the rock crevices. It’s nighttime, so they might be out and about. The Lobster here don’t have claws, so don’t worry about getting pinched. Just grab them boldly with your hands."

"Also, did you see that patch of kelp? The seabed underneath it is very likely home to a lot of abalone. Here’s a small knife. I’ll show you how to pry them off in a bit."

After all that fuss, it was finally time to hunt. Jin Meiyan’s face was alight with excitement and anticipation. She took the small knife, clutched it tightly in her palm, and followed Lin Chen back underwater.

They pushed aside the dense kelp, revealing the pitted rocks of the seabed below.

At first, she was looking all over for abalone, but when Lin Chen pointed his knife at the pitted surfaces themselves, she suddenly realized they *were* the abalone shells!

These abalones were all palm-sized, with the largest being even bigger than her fist. They were scattered across the surface of every rock. Some even had seaweed growing on their shells, making them nearly impossible to spot without looking closely.

She watched as Lin Chen tapped an abalone shell with the tip of his knife, then slid the tip under the shell, keeping it flat against the rock.

A strange thing happened.

No matter how hard he pushed, the abalone didn’t budge. In fact, it looked like the rock underneath was about to be pried up instead.

’Abalone are that strong???’

While she was puzzling over this, Lin Chen pulled his knife out and moved to another abalone nearby.

This time, he didn’t tap the shell. He just slid the knife straight in, flush against the rock. With a gentle flick, the huge abalone was easily pried from the stone.