There were no large fish near the surface, so Chu Mingcheng decided to dive deeper.

When he reached about seventeen meters, his body was no longer buoyant as it had been at the surface—instead, the negative buoyancy of the seawater caused him to sink automatically.

Arriving at roughly twenty-two meters, he spotted signs of large fish.

He gave a light kick of his fins, achieving neutral buoyancy and holding himself at that depth.

The visibility here wasn't as good as in the upper layers—only about ten meters. The water was slightly murky with a greenish tint.

Just then, several large fish swam over from the south. Chu Mingcheng raised his speargun in preparation.

Perhaps because the water was too clear, the fish, still ten meters away, suddenly turned and swam off.

Chu Mingcheng checked his dive time—only a minute. He immediately gave chase.

But the fish pulled farther away, and he wasn't confident he could make the shot. He had to switch targets.

Another fish was gradually approaching him.

This time, Chu Mingcheng didn't wait for it to get close. He raised his speargun and aimed.

The camera, the speargun, and his own body all tracked the fish's movement.

With a sharp crack, he successfully hit a fish that was still more than ten meters away—a first for him.

In that instant, the fish's tail thrashed at peak frequency, and it shot downward.

Chu Mingcheng locked the reel, preventing the fish from running farther, then gripped the line and swam toward the surface.

When he broke through, he was surprised to find the boat only a few dozen meters away.

Jiang Luoluo spotted him and waved, calling out, "Did you get a fish?"

"Got one—a Spanish mackerel!"

"You're incredible! Getting a fish so quickly, that's amazing!"

Chu Mingcheng's lips twitched. He understood the value of a cheerleader.

He began pulling in the line bit by bit. The fish had stopped moving. When he got a clear look, he realized he'd hit it right in the head.

No wonder there was no resistance when he pulled it up—it was already dead.

If he'd only hit its body, it might have shown him that the battle wasn't necessarily over.

But as he pulled it closer, the fish suddenly thrashed its tail and tried to swim away. Caught off guard, Chu Mingcheng let it break free momentarily before quickly grabbing the line again.

He hadn't expected the fish to still struggle after being shot in the head. No wonder fish could still flop around in a hot pan even after being gutted.

This was a meter-long Spanish mackerel. It wasn't easy to handle, and since the boat was close, Chu Mingcheng swam over and handed the fish to Jiang Luoluo.

"This Spanish mackerel is enormous!"

Jiang Luoluo took the fish, her voice filled with admiration.

Since meeting Chu Mingcheng, she'd discovered that the large fish that used to amaze her were becoming routine.

She removed the spearhead, placed the fish in the icebox, washed her hands, then returned to her fishing rod to wait for a bite, occasionally watching Chu Mingcheng's movements.

Back in the water, Chu Mingcheng dove directly, once again reaching depths over twenty meters.

Below were still more large Spanish mackerel. Against such fast fish, chasing was pointless.

Instead, he needed a calm mind and incredible patience, waiting in the water for the fish to come to him.

And what he needed to do was...

With another sharp crack, the spear pierced the fish's body.

What he needed was to deliver a fatal strike at the most critical moment. This was why slower competitors could defeat agile ones.

This time, it took him only a minute and a half to return to the surface.

The fish had been hit in the spine, so after a few brief struggles, he easily pulled it back and grabbed it by the tail.

"So fast?" Jiang Luoluo looked stunned.

"About right. When there are plenty of fish, you can get one within two minutes."

"Umm... then take it easy, don't catch them all." Jiang Luoluo was speechless.

Chu Mingcheng laughed at her words. "Even if I hunted until I dropped, the number of fish I'd catch probably wouldn't match what someone gets in one net!"

Jiang Luoluo nodded in agreement. "That's true. Go on, catch more fish, make more money!"

Chu Mingcheng chuckled, then slipped back into the water.

This time, he spotted an exceptional Spanish mackerel. It was very large, but it kept swimming about fifteen meters away from him—just a blurry shadow, making him hesitant to act.

It wasn't until three minutes later that it finally moved a little closer. The opportunity couldn't be missed. Chu Mingcheng tracked the fish's movement and decisively pulled the trigger.

The spear instantly pierced its body, exiting from the other side.

His accuracy today was remarkably high. Hitting three in a row surprised even himself.

But just as he prepared to swim to the surface, this Spanish mackerel's resistance was unprecedented.

Chu Mingcheng quickly released the line. The hit wasn't in an ideal spot—it was in the abdomen.

If he fought it with full force, the fish's desperate struggle would tear its belly apart, and the spear would come loose.

Therefore, when it pulled hard, Chu Mingcheng could only gently hold the line and let the reel pay out.

Only when it tired and stopped did he dare pull the line back in.

Two minutes later, he broke the surface, but all forty meters of Dyneema line on his reel had been completely spooled out.

The only good news was that as the injured fish's life force drained away, its struggles grew weaker.

Chu Mingcheng seized the opportunity to start reeling in line. He would pull in several meters, and it would offer only slight resistance before he pulled it close and grabbed it by the tail.

This Spanish mackerel was a full meter and a half long. Its scientific name was Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, the same species as the two he'd caught before.

The Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel could grow to a maximum length of two and a half meters. Meter-long specimens were common in their schools, weighing at least five jin.

It wasn't like the Japanese Spanish mackerel, which were generally smaller—usually around two or three jin.

And the prices of the two mackerel types were worlds apart.

Japanese Spanish mackerel sold for at most twenty-something yuan per jin, but Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel were expensive. A meter-long one could sell for sixty yuan per jin.

This meter-and-a-half specimen could sell for eighty per jin, no problem, even with a small hole in its belly.

One reason for the high price was that Spanish mackerel were migratory fish. From November to February each year, they swam from north to south.

During this time, the Spanish mackerel were at their plumpest, so prices were naturally higher than in other seasons.

The second reason was that this one was caught by spearfishing. Like line-caught mackerel, it would be exceptionally fresh when it reached market.

Net-caught mackerel, from sea to market, would take at least ten days—the difference in freshness was enormous.

If it were a Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel caught in certain areas of Qiongzhou, the price would probably be even higher.

The higher the seawater salinity, the fishier the mackerel tasted.

Mackerel caught in areas where sea and fresh water mixed were the most delicious.

Therefore, for the same Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, those from Qiongzhou commanded higher prices.

When Chu Mingcheng brought this Spanish mackerel to the ladder, Jiang Luoluo had to drag it up by its tail with both hands.

After a day of meter-long big fish, she found herself already accustomed to it—even numb to it.

Chu Mingcheng hunted in the turbulent current for a full hour before feeling tired and returning to the boat to rest.

He caught only Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel—he didn't encounter any other suitable prey.

The fish box was full. In over an hour, he had caught exactly ten, all meter-long specimens.

Fortunately, there was enough crushed ice. Jiang Luoluo placed the fish directly on the foredeck and covered them with ice.

She wanted to cover them with a raincoat to block the sun, but Chu Mingcheng knew that wouldn't retain temperature effectively.

He had her cover them with a quilt he hadn't used yet, which could lock in temperature as much as possible and slow the ice's melting.

This was over ten thousand yuan worth of fish—it had to be preserved properly. What was a new quilt worth a few hundred yuan in comparison?

It was now 2:16 in the afternoon, the hottest time of day.

Chu Mingcheng felt this was a good time to take Jiang Luoluo diving for a while. If he was just swimming in the water, it was almost effortless—it counted as resting.

The reason he felt tired was mainly from the physical exertion of fighting the fish.

"Luoluo, want to go diving for a while? The timing's perfect."

"Now? Maybe not. You should rest more." Diving could be done anytime, but Jiang Luoluo didn't want Chu Mingcheng to be exhausted.

Mainly, she'd been skunked for over an hour and was hoping to catch a big fish!

"It's fine. Teaching you to dive isn't tiring. Let's go to a place with weaker current."

Chu Mingcheng didn't know what she was thinking and simply made the decision for her.

He drove the boat to a relatively calm stretch of water, only about a thousand meters from their previous spot.

Seeing this, Jiang Luoluo had no choice but to go into the cabin to change.

A short while later, she emerged wearing a wetsuit.

The wetsuit she'd bought was a conservative type, just like Chu Mingcheng's, covering her entire body.

Unlike some women's wetsuits, which resembled school swimsuits.

But even so, Jiang Luoluo's figure was completely revealed. She'd never worn such form-fitting clothes before.

Facing Chu Mingcheng's gaze, she felt as if her secrets were being exposed, and she was deeply uncomfortable.

And indeed, her secrets were exposed.

After watching Jiang Luoluo's dance videos, Chu Mingcheng had always wondered about something.

Why was it that she could bounce and jump, but when she danced, everything seemed so... contained?

Through the wetsuit, his question was answered.

He was certain that when Jiang Luoluo danced, she had constrained her assets.

"Hey, how long are you going to stare?"

Seeing Chu Mingcheng constantly appraising her figure, occasionally lingering on key areas, made Jiang Luoluo somewhat annoyed.

The wetsuit wasn't see-through—what was there to look at!

"How long am I allowed to look?"

Who knew that Chu Mingcheng's soul-searching question would leave her speechless, not knowing how to respond.

"..."

"Haha, I won't tease you anymore. Tie on the safety rope—let's go diving."

Jiang Luoluo rolled her eyes, then obediently tied on the safety rope, held the float, and followed him to the ladder.

Chu Mingcheng entered the water first and waited quietly on the surface.

She put on her snorkel, mask, and fins.

She didn't wear a weight belt because its main purpose was to make sinking easier.

Jiang Luoluo hadn't practiced the Frenzel maneuver, and since she was just diving for fun and wouldn't go deep, there was no need to wear one.

With everything ready, she didn't enter the water giant-stride style like Chu Mingcheng, but walked down step by step and then jumped in upright.

The momentary submersion sent seawater directly over her head.

This made her panic slightly, and she instinctively began to struggle.

But the next moment, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her slender waist and lifted her up.

After breaking the surface, she quickly spat out her snorkel and the seawater in her mouth, coughing several times before her emotions stabilized.

Chu Mingcheng was also torn between laughter and tears. He'd thought Jiang Luoluo would turn around, support herself on the steps with both hands, and slowly descend.

Who knew she would be bold enough to jump in vertically.

But even so, there shouldn't have been a problem—unless she couldn't swim.

If she couldn't swim, then choking on water without being prepared seemed normal.

"Are you okay?" Chu Mingcheng temporarily set aside his question and asked with concern.

Jiang Luoluo steadied herself, patting her chest, still shaken. "That scared me to death."

Seeing she was fine, Chu Mingcheng asked, "By the way, you can't swim?"

Jiang Luoluo hesitated for a moment, then said weakly, "I... I probably can! I've swum in a pool before, just not very well!"

"..." Chu Mingcheng was certain now. This girl really couldn't swim.

It seemed she really did have a reckless streak. She couldn't even swim properly, yet she was already thinking of diving?