Chapter 392 - 323: Sprites of the Sea

You live off the land when you’re on land, and you live off the sea when you’re at sea. The ship’s chef specialized in Cantonese cuisine and was an expert at preparing seafood. He managed to whip up eighteen different dishes from a single grouper weighing over eighty pounds.

When the other anglers saw the captain’s generosity in bringing out the hard-won grouper, they all contributed some of their own catches, resulting in an incredibly lavish feast.

Everyone on the ship pitched in to prepare the meal. Even when asked to do things outside their usual duties, not a single person complained.

The atmosphere felt just like a New Year’s celebration!

"Certain countries are like cockroaches in a sewer, always doing shady things in the dark. We won’t put up with it!"

"Yeah! A few years back, an enemy ship even painted a slogan on its hull saying, ’Sonar contains no copper, salvaging is useless.’ Talk about an insult to our intelligence! My dad can’t even read, but he still knows to call 12339 if something unusual washes ashore, hahaha!"

"The Second Navy! We’re all the Second Navy! Come on, there’s no alcohol on board, so let’s toast with juice!"

"Hahaha! This is great!"

...

In this ancient nation, people might often be at odds with one another, but when it came to matters of national importance, everyone could set aside their differences and present a united front.

As a citizen of this country, Ni Bingyan felt this sentiment quite deeply.

After the grand lunch, everyone had made some like-minded friends and returned to their cabins, content, to catch up on sleep.

Space was limited on the ship. The narrow cabin held a bunk bed; Ni Bingyan slept on the bottom, and Duanmu Li slept on top.

As evening fell, Ni Bingyan woke up. Seeing that Duanmu Li was still asleep, she quietly tied up her hair and slipped out the door.

The weather at sea was ever-changing. Yesterday had been clear skies, but today, dark clouds gathered, casting a gray gloom over everything.

The climate on sea and land were different, so Ni Bingyan couldn’t be sure if it was about to rain.

Fortunately, the wind wasn’t strong, and the temperature was pleasant.

Seeing that people were already fishing at the designated spots, Ni Bingyan zipped up her jacket, walked a lap along the ship’s rail, and checked everyone’s catches before stopping next to Xiao He.

Xiao He was incredibly hardworking. Since he earned his living from his catch, he didn’t like to rest as long as he was awake.

Ni Bingyan found him to be a kindred spirit and often chatted with him.

"How long have you been fishing? How’s the catch?"

"Not too long, hehe. Sister Bing, is your seasickness better?"

Years of making a living at sea meant that although Xiao He was a few years younger than Ni Bingyan, he looked much older. Fortunately, he wasn’t anxious about his appearance and was always cheerful.

"I feel okay. I’d say I’m adjusting pretty quickly. There’s a young assistant on the production team who hasn’t left her cabin since we boarded. She’s so seasick she can’t even get out of bed, sigh!"

A good mood can last a long time. Ni Bingyan felt much better and even had the extra energy to worry about her colleagues.

"Seasickness is one of those things. If you’ve never been out on the ocean, you have no idea if you’ll get it or not!"

As Xiao He chatted with her, he opened the cooler beside him for her to see.

Ni Bingyan looked inside, asking about the fish she didn’t recognize.

"What kind of fish do you mainly catch at this spot?"

As the two were discussing their fishing plans for the evening, they heard the cameraman exclaim from the stern.

Ni Bingyan turned her head and immediately knew why.

Not far away, several dolphins were leaping from the surface of the sea.

Two of the dolphins were very special—they were pink.

Ni Bingyan hurried over.

"Aren’t those Chinese White Dolphins, a Class I nationally protected animal?"

Ni Bingyan had a rich store of knowledge, as everyone had learned when they were stargazing at the Great Wall. No one was surprised that she knew about the dolphins. However, a makeup artist on her first trip with the team was a bit astonished.

"Huh? You know what they are? Pink dolphins, they’re so cute! This is the first time I’ve ever seen pink dolphins!"

The makeup artist was holding her phone, furiously snapping pictures of the leaping dolphins.

On the deep blue sea, the pink dolphins led the smaller gray ones, leaping and playing back and forth. If not for the fear of startling them, many people would have clasped their hands to their hearts and squealed with delight.

"I saw a documentary once. It said they’re gray when they’re young and get whiter as they grow up. They look pink right now because they’re exercising vigorously, which dilates the blood vessels under their skin. They’re actually supposed to be white."

Ni Bingyan explained casually, then couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. "These are the giant pandas of the sea! It’s so rare to encounter a whole pod like this in the wild! I saw a shooting star a while back and forgot to make a wish. I have to make up for it this time."

With that, she actually began making a wish in earnest.

"Now these are the true spirits of the sea! I never thought I’d be so lucky on this trip, getting to see everything!"

The captain came out when he heard the commotion and couldn’t help but remark on the sight.

He had been going to sea for decades, but this was the first time he had encountered a whale shark, fished up a spy device, and seen Chinese White Dolphins all in just two short days.

"Haha, if you spend enough time with our Bingbing, you’ll find that all sorts of strange and wonderful things happen whenever you’re with her."

Pei Jin said this from the bottom of his heart.

How long had they even been filming this show?

He had encountered more bizarre things than in the past twenty-plus years of his life combined.

At first, he would be caught off guard by all the unexpected events, but after getting used to it, he started seeing them as pleasant surprises.

The captain, however, remained noncommittal and didn’t respond.

’Celebrities... public personas... anyone in the know gets it.’

Although the captain was only a few years from retirement, he often interacted with young people and was quite progressive in his thinking.

"Hey? You don’t believe me? Do you know what she caught last time we were filming in London? We were fishing then, too."

"What?"

The captain spent his years at sea and naturally didn’t have time to watch variety shows. He really hadn’t seen that episode and asked out of pure reflex.

Pei Jin recounted the previous incident.

The captain was partially convinced but didn’t give it much thought.

He had hosted many internet-famous anglers on his boat. He wouldn’t go so far as to have someone dive and hook a fish for them, but he had more than once seen them take a fish they’d already caught, re-hook it, drop it back in the water, pretend to reel it in again, and then post a slightly edited video.

’It’s just a necklace, just a dea—’

’Wait!’

’This sort of thing seems impossible to fake!’

Seeing the captain’s eyes finally widen, Pei Jin grew smug.

"Why would I lie to you? I’m serious. Stick with her, and you’ll run into everything imaginable."

The pod of Chinese White Dolphins played for a little while longer before diving deep into the water with a final splash, not to be seen again.

Ni Bingyan watched, not yet having had her fill. Seeing them leave left her feeling a bit wistful.

"The world is so big... I really want to go see it!"

Many of the people present nodded in agreement.

But poetry and distant lands belong to dreams; life is what lies within your line of sight.

As everyone sighed in unison, they heard the captain calling them for dinner.

After the big feast for lunch, dinner was relatively light: seafood noodles.

Ni Bingyan was carefully sucking the meat from a crab leg, just about to finish the rest of her noodle soup, when she heard the sound of heavy rain outside the window.

She drew back the curtain and saw dark, menacing clouds that looked as if they were about to press down on them.

’I wonder how Sun Wukong felt before he was pinned down by that mountain?’

In any case, Ni Bingyan could now somewhat relate.

WHOOSH—

The rain came, and so did the wind.

"Everyone, please return to your cabins in an orderly fashion and rest. Close your doors and windows tightly. If anything happens, don’t panic, just call for me! This is just a small squall; it won’t last long!"

To people from the inland, the scene was no less intimidating than dark clouds pressing down on a city, but in the captain’s eyes, it was just a little drizzle.