Chapter 415 - The Miracle Kid Of The Sea (2 in 1)
Chapter 415: The Miracle Kid Of The Sea (2 in 1)
There were two marine hunting grounds in Darkness Port.
The first one was the sea area within 55 kilometers by the coastline. It was known as the inner hunting ground.
The other one was the sea area beyond 55 kilometers but was within the 185-kilometer mark and was known as the outer hunting ground.
As was popular knowledge, the haul from the inner hunting ground was less than that from the outer hunting ground while the latter was not as rich as that from the free voyage.
There was also another fact that one must know: only people with access to the island area had the qualification to sail to the outer hunting ground or set on a free voyage.
The same rules applied to the ships. The ships must be registered under the island area to gain the qualification to sail to the outer hunting ground and beyond.
It was Tang Ling’s third month in Darkness Port and he did not have access to the island area, at least, not yet.
Tang Ling believed it was actually a fair rule as he viewed it as a mercy from Darkness Port.
Why so?
Risk coexisted with gains. Without the corresponding strength, sailing dangerous waters would be suicidal.
Man’s greed and the heart to gamble should never be underestimated. If there were no enforcement measures implemented, opportunists would flood the sea and the mortality rate would remain high. Darkness Port might not be able to retain its prosperity if it was surrounded by death.
After all, talented and gifted people set the base for the city’s prosperity.
“Hey, kid, what’s going through your mind?”
The morning sea breeze was comfortable. The sun had just risen from the horizon and had yet to spread its heat to the world. Without the heat from the sun, the refreshing wind was enjoyable.
Tang Ling was standing on the deck by the side of the ship with a cigarette at his mouth as he gazed into the sea like a veteran sailor.
“Nothing in particular. I’m just thinking that the people in this era are a lot braver.” Tang Ling smiled and generously tossed a cigarette to the sailor who greeted him.
No sailor on the ship ought to be underestimated. Even if they did not possess the strength of a Rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior, they were still experts with many skill sets, thus they were permitted to be on board the ship.
Similar to Tang Ling, after he registered as a mercenary in the black market, he took Boss Huang’s advice and searched for missions to accept at the Floating Ice’s territory.
He soon realized that all the money-earning missions were related to sailing.
Since he was doing all this for money, it was natural that he wanted to accept all of them. However, he ran into some trouble because he was not a Purple Moon Warrior, so the old-fashioned elderly registrar did not allow him to accept any mission.
Fortunately, his reputation preceded him. With all the commotion he had caused in Darkness Port, his name had garnered some attention. The registrar recognized Tang Ling soon enough. Therefore, he was given the necessary qualification to accept missions.
Some say getting on board a ship has steep requirements but does it really?
As a cloud of smoke gushed out from his nose, Tang Ling chuckled when the thought flashed across his mind. His reputation was more useful than he thought.
If he could do well on the ship, earning 50 Black Sea coins a day was no longer a dream.
“Of course, the people of the Purple Moon era are brave. No matter how desperate the situation is, human beings can always unleash their potential.” The white-haired veteran sailor lit the cigarette that Tang Ling gave him. He did not seem to care as he frivolously answered though he did not sound like he was joking.
“Is it as desperate now?” Tang Ling simply asked.
“Of course not! What is there to be desperate about now?! But the day of desperation might come soon! It’s been a desperate life after the apocalypse. I heard that the troops of the old civilization fell apart when the death toll reached a certain number.” Two fumes of smoke gushed out from the veteran sailor’s nose and he cackled loudly.
“But it’s not a hundred percent guaranteed. It’s just that peace has been around for too long and people have started to feel scared. Just like our old ancestors, why would they care about the mortality rate when they are busy finding food to feed themselves?
“For example, a country in the old civilization collapsed after a few hundred men in its army died, but there was also another big country who went through poverty and many other disasters, yet they were able to retaliate against the strong country with their flesh and blood. They were able to draw an uncrossable bottom line in the end. In the end, a single company from their army bombarded their enemy’s vanguard over and over again. They swept their enemy clean while setting up an impenetrable defense in a valley. What’s the mortality rate in that kind of situation?” The veteran sailor narrowed his eyes.
Tang Ling looked asquint at the sailor’s face. The desperate situation that the sailor was talking about should be referring to the war of the old civilization, yet he did not say a single word was about the war in the current era.
Was this era really that peaceful? No, there were wars among the major factions, all kinds of monster hordes and insect plagues, sieging the fortress of mankind. There was also an endless war against the Underground race that broke out almost every day.
Even though Safety Sector No. 17 was just a small rural safety sector, behind the Cliff of Hope was still a bloody battlefield.
Tang Ling believed the veteran sailor was a person with a story.
“So, it’s not about being brave or not. It’s just people adapting to the situation. Never underestimate mankind’s ability to adapt. A doctor can grow numb from dealing with dead bodies every day just as a soldier can forget his nervousness if he can survive on the battlefield for three years. All that’s left is experience. In the Purple Moon era, mankind is constantly at war. There’s no time to be sentimental, so all we can do is be brave, or at least, that’s what you want to call it.” The veteran sailor took a drag from the cigarette. He seemed to have a great vital capacity. In just two puffs, half of the cigarette was gone.
“Odeon, did you fight in a war before?” Tang Ling asked.
The veteran sailor’s name was Odeon, and he was Tang Ling’s old partner.
Odeon smiled at Tang Ling. It was not the first time the kid was asking that question, but Odeon brushed him off every time. This time was no exception, but the instant Odeon wanted to say something, the captain’s voice boomed from the ship’s loudspeaker.
“Sailors! The fishes are here! What should we do?! Don’t doubt, don’t hesitate. Get hold of your tools and hunt! That son of a b*tch, The Roddy, snatched our most valuable school of fish yesterday and that b*stard, The Sasha Clown, netted most of our fishes. If you b*stards don’t do your job properly today, I swear I’ll cut your pay!”
“Sons of b*tches!!!”
The captain was a crude person who would feel uncomfortable if he did not curse or threaten his crew.
Tang Ling had gotten used to the cursing during his ‘morning meeting with the fishes’.
“Time to work.’ Odeon extinguished the cigarette and kept the butt in his pocket. It was habitual for sailors and fishermen to keep their trash with them and not throw them into the sea.
Tang Ling followed and kept his extinguished butt in his pocket.
He should repay a favor with gratitude, should he not? After all, man should really learn how to appreciate and be grateful for what they had.
Odeon reached his work station in a forward position and equipped himself with a big harpoon. At his feet were around five more harpoons.
Compared to the harpoon of the old civilization, the one in Odeon’s hand was huge! It was 10 meters long and a meter wide. The hook was sharp and inverted and its power was self-explanatory.
The harpoon body was made with Grade B alloy, its integrity was enough to handle the fishes at the inner hunting ground. Although it was not entirely solid, it was already 500 kg in weight. The weight was unimaginable if it was in the old civilization.
In the old civilization, the highest record of heavyweight lifting was only around 200 kg. Lifting it up was difficult enough, let alone flinging it out.
Equipped with the harpoon, Odeon’s muscles bulged like rocks, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk as he stared at the sea.
Tang Ling smiled and he picked up a harpoon as well. The waters remained calm for the time being, but when the school of fishes appeared, the chance would only last for a moment.
A 500 kg harpoon was ridiculously heavy, but for Tang Ling who had been smithing with hammers that weighed more than a ton, it was no big deal. Moreover, he was not as weak as when he had first arrived in Darkness Port since he had now completely fused the strength of nine bulls and two tigers together.
Even if he was not as strong as a Rank 1 Purple Moon Warrior in terms of raw strength, the difference was minimal.
“Here they come!” yelled a sailor further away from Tang Ling.
Following the yell, rough splashes burst out from the calm waters and a dozen-meter-long fish jumped out. It was the sign that that morning’s hunt had begun!
Tang Ling saw this scene on his first day in Darkness Port. Now, even though he had been working on the ship for more than half a month, the scene still excited him.
On top of that, a dozen more ships came forth and a hundred chained harpoons were fired from the ships.
In the Purple Moon era, there were always several kings in a school of fish and in order to secure the whole school, the best way would be to catch the kings first. Even if it was not possible, catching the stronger ones first was a must.
If the king fish was hooked, the entire school would follow. If a stronger fish was hooked, a smaller school would still follow.
Controlling the king fish with the harpoon required luck, and according to rather unreliable advice from experience, the first fish that jumped out from the water would be the king. No one wanted to miss the first golden chance.
Based on a confirmed rule in the inner hunting group, the first school that appeared was usually the weakest white-horned fish. There was plenty of white-horned fish in Darkness Port, hence the inner hunting group.
Why was that? The food chain!
The white-horned fish that was food to many other fishes in the sea appeared in schools. Their appearance would certainly attract other ferocious predators, followed by predators that hunted those predators.
Therefore, controlling the school of white-horned fish would equal to controlling the entire food chain, so it was probably the best fishing experience.
The king of white-horned fish became the most sought after fish among the ships.
Unfortunately, since the white-horned fish was at the bottom of the food chain and always appeared in a school of plentiful fishes, it was rare to locate the king in the school.
The white-horned fish was a cunning species, and the chances of encountering a king white-horned fish were around 2 to 3 percent. Therefore, the sailors and fishermen could only assume that the first fish that came out from the water was the king based on their experience.
According to what he heard and saw, Tang Ling was strangely not nervous when the school of white-horned fish appeared. Instead, he placed his attention on the south-east direction.
“Aren’t you getting this?” Compared to Tang Ling’s calmness, Odeon was rather high-strung.
What if the first fish was the king? Their ship had not even hurled a single harpoon. Would their regret kill them later?
“Rather than relying on luck, why don’t we go after something bigger but has a little insurance?” Tang Ling grinned.
Odeon’s heart raced when he heard Tang Ling’s words. Why would a veteran sailor like him get close to a young kid like Tang Ling and even become his partner?
It was because the kid was miraculous in many aspects and he kept on surprising Odeon with unimaginable techniques. Odeon had witnessed the miracle first-hand.
Whenever Tang Ling said he wanted to go after something big, he was right half of the time. How could Odeon not be excited? After all, the success rate was considered high.
“Kid, don’t keep all the good stuff to your own. What’s your plan?” Odeon glanced around and whispered.
“Pay attention to the south-east. I finally got the answer after two days of observation. The Requiem Whales have been exceptionally lively recently and there’s a 90% chance that they will appear around the hunting ground. Besides, they usually appear in the south-east because they love hunting white-horned fish, and since the white-horned fish love jumping out of the water, they’ll follow suit,” Tang Ling whispered his answer back, not wanting the others to know his plan.
“You don’t need to remind me. I know that! The idiotic white-horned fish always like to torture themselves by jumping out.” Odeon was getting riled up while his eyes were fixed in the south-east direction.
It was almost impossible for an inexperienced sailor to notice the direction of the fishes and whales. Since Tang Ling was sharp enough to notice it, this would be their chance! Besides, his call for action was always timely as he was always able to notice the slightest details.
In this season, Requiem Whales could be worth a lot of money. There was even something called the whale gamble.
After a Requiem Whale was hauled up to shore, it would not be cut and split immediately. Instead, buyers would start to bid on the whale.
If a buyer could find the Requiem Ambergris in its stomach, it was equivalent to winning the gamble.
If there was no Requiem Ambergris, it would be considered a loss although it was not pure loss of profit. After all, the whale was colossal and many parts could be used.
Of course, only the Requiem Whales from this season could be a wager. It was similar to the sperm whale from the old civilization although the Requiem Whale was not a mutated species of the sperm whales. The Requiem Ambergris was something entirely different from the ambergris from the sperm whales.
Of course, the ambergris remained a precious substance, and after the sperm whale mutated, the ambergris changed in a strange way.
Tang Ling fixed his attention in the south-east direction. He was thinking if the hunt that day was a success and how he should proceed to the next one.
Of course, he also started to reminisce about the past.
During his first dream entry, Kun had lit the ambergris in front of him and the man even hinted that because of the Purple Moon, somethings were not as rare as they were in the old civilization.
Unfortunately, Tang Ling had still been dumb back then.
It was then that a water bubble appeared on the surface of the sea. It was not very big and with the school of white-horned fishes seizing attention, many ships neglected the bubble.
Nevertheless, Tang Ling shouted loudly, “Odeon! Now! South-east direction XXX coordinates, 270 meters!”
Odeon’s senses were tingling. He roared like a beast and tightened his muscles as he hurled the heavy harpoon towards the coordinates that Tang Ling gave. Due to the weight and speed of the throw, when the harpoon left his hand, a heavy whistle pierced the air.
Several other sailors on the same ship laughed at him. “Odeon, are you training your muscles by hitting the air?”
Odeon did not care. Right after the sneers subsided, a giant water pillar burst out from the water.
As usual, the king of the white-horned fish was not the first fish that jumped out from the water. Every other sailor on the other ships was busy trying to hook the stronger fishes in different schools in anticipation of striking the king.
Therefore, the waters became choppy with all the commotion and even the big ship started to rock strongly. It felt like it would overturn at any moment.
Conversely, Tang Ling’s feet remained steady as if he glued himself to the deck. He had gotten used to the rocking ship on his first day and did not feel any discomfort from it.
Even so, only a handful of other sailors noticed the water pillar.
Tang Ling made his move.
Compared to Odeon’s super strength, Tang Ling’s throw was a lot softer, but there was also a heavy whistle in the air when he hurled the harpoon out.
The harpoon that Odeon flung out was still rising in the air and its momentum stayed strong.
Tang Ling’s harpoon was rather weak, but no one doubted his capability. He then picked up another harpoon quickly. His bare top showed off the beauty of his strength despite his physique not being as buff as Odeon’s.
Under the sun, the sweat glistened on his body. With a shout of exertion, he cast the second harpoon.
The second harpoon hit the first harpoon accurately at the bull’s eye, recharging the first harpoon’s momentum.
With another yell, Tang Ling pulled the second harpoon back with the chain before his other hand threw out the third.
As he repeated the pull-and-cast process, Tang Ling thrust out the fourth harpoon. Other than the first, all three harpoons were hurled out to recharge the first harpoon’s momentum. His strength, his angle, and timing were flawlessly astonishing.
Tang Ling was indeed the miracle kid of the sea!
Odeon was impressed. It was Tang Ling’s technique that moved him. The kid showed him that even without the necessary strength, he still could achieve an amazing feat through unimaginable means.
Slightly stunned, his harpoon landed and he suddenly felt a powerful drag. He quickly regained his senses and saw that his harpoon had precisely embedded itself on the Requiem Whale’s body.
“It’s a strike! It’s a f*cking bullseye! I got it!” Odeon quickly pulled the chain and tried to control the whale.
The other sailors quickly gave him a hand at pulling. The harpoon had accurately struck a Requiem Whale, and if it was the king…It was the f*cking king whale!
When that particular whale was dragged in, five other whales were following it. There would not be many whales in a pod, but the value of each whale, especially in this season, was unusual.
“F*cking hell! Look at what we’ve got!” The captain’s excited voice roared through the loudspeaker.
However, at that moment, Odeon suddenly looked terrified. He was known as the heavyweight lifter of the ship and he was being assisted by the other sailors, yet he somehow felt that the harpoon was slipping off the whale. The Requiem Whale was extremely powerful!
Thump!
A moment later, Tang Ling’s harpoon also landed on that whale’s body.
The harpoon hit the whale in a peculiar spot, causing the king whale a lot of pain. If it broke free from Odeon’s harpoon, Tang Ling’s harpoon would stick because it did not have the strength to break free from both weapons.
“Marvelous! My beloved Tang!”
“You b*stards! Why are you people still standing there!? If we can get this pod of whales, we’ll be the king of the day! Go f*cking help! Hear me?! Help!” The captain was so excited that he screamed his lungs out.
The other sailors who were in charge of the harpoons split up into two groups and lent a hand to Odeon and Tang Ling.
It was the king of the Requiem Whales! Tang Ling realized that Lady Luck was on his side today! He had scored a great catch!
However, from the other end of the chain, Tang Ling was being pulled by a tremendous and irresistible force. The chain almost slipped from his hand, and when he got a tighter grip, he almost got pulled into the sea.
Soon enough, many more helping hands came and pulled the chain backward. The sailors chanted as they tried to control the king whale and the entire pod to swim towards the direction of their sturdiest net.
The beauty of raw strength was on full display on the deck with bulging muscles, popping veins, hot-blooded chanting, and sweat that glistened under the sun. Even the female sailors were buff and strong.
Tang Ling loved the hot-blooded feeling.
“Pull!”
“Steady!”
Unified roars sound throughout the deck like endless waves. The captain even came on deck together with the first officer who was the second strongest after the captain.
“Son of a b*tch! There are two more ships trying to rob our fruits of victory!”
“Sailors! Are you okay with that?!” the captain shouted.
“No!” the crew answered.
“I guess so! There’s no way we will give this victory to them! The king whale is in our hands! The odds of them stealing our prize is as slim as a cat’s fart! But for insurance sake, the first officer and I will net the pod ourselves!” the captain roared again.
He was already holding the net that was made out of precious material. It was considered the prized possession of the entire fishing ship since not all fishing nets could be used to net the fish of this era.
Explosive cheers sounded throughout the deck. The captain and the first officer grabbed the net and jumped off the deck. They landed in the rough waters, and stepping on the water itself, they sprinted towards the pod of whales.
“Mates, give it your best! Work with the captain! Whether we have beer or water tonight, it all boils down to now!” The second mate took command on the ship. He had to pay attention to the situation on deck as well.
Only Tang Ling was enjoying the moment casually. He found the ‘cat’s fart’ analogy from the captain funny.
The morning hunt was the fiercest because a morning hunt did not always happen in the inner hunting ground.
If the captain reeled the net himself, it meant that it was the most important moment for the ship. The crew must work together to control the king fish, or in this case, the king whale.
Thankfully, there were no unexpected incidents in the process. The ship that Tang Ling worked for was rather powerful. After they got hold of the king whale, how could they let it slip from their hands?
In the end, with everyone’s help, the entire ship caught a total of five Requirem Whales from this pod. They also released a male, a female, and three calves.
There were rules when it came to catching fish. A fisherman or a sailor should never catch all the fish at once and they should always release the younger ones.
In the past few millennia, mankind had had more than enough bloody lessons. With the arrival of the end of the world, many people believed it was karma punishing mankind. People in this era tended to believe ancient rules more than the people of the old civilization in a more civilized way.
Right after the captain came back, he raised his index finger and posed in a rather funny posture as he said, “What a great catch!” The result was announced and the crew cheered thunderously.
Odeon tapped Tang Ling’s shoulder strongly.
Still, Tang Ling was calm.
“First of all, give it to our heavyweight lifter, Odeon, and our miracle kid, Tang!” the captain gave the duo the credit for the catch.
The crew got even more excited as they carried them up and tossed them up and down in the air.
The captain then announced loudly, “All labor is hereby waived! We set sail back to the docks! We have five big fellas on our tail, so we’d better get pulling!”