Chapter Thirty-Eight: Discovering "Porcelain Salvaged from the Sea"

Lu Chen immediately had an idea and decided to follow the fishing boat for a while. If they happened to catch a big fish, he could quietly dive into the sea and snatch it first. He believed the energy points provided by the flesh and blood of deep-sea fish would certainly not be inferior to those from land animals.

Having made up his mind, Lu Chen began to slowly follow the fishing boat. Yet, he ended up following for nothing; he had overestimated the skills of the anglers on board. Mostly, they caught small fish like mackerel, shad, and sea bass, which Lu Chen had no interest in eating.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard the sound of a propeller. A large fishing vessel, more than ten meters long, sped over and blocked the fishing boat’s path. Soon after, a voice filled with menace came from the other side: “Who’s the captain? Get your boat out of here; we’ve got a two-hundred-meter drift gill net in the water ahead.”

Drift gill nets, commonly known as sticky nets, are woven from fine threads into long grid-like structures, further equipped with ropes, floats, and sinkers. Depending on the type of fish targeted, they are divided into single-panel, multi-panel, or mixed gill nets. The mesh is so fine that any fish colliding with it gets entangled by its dorsal fin, pectoral fin, or gills, and the more it struggles, the tighter it becomes, making escape nearly impossible.

However, this fishing method is somewhat outdated and passive, only effective in waters where schools of fish are present. If there are no fish nearby, setting the net for any length of time would be useless. Moreover, drift gill nets have another drawback: they are easily tangled by the propellers of passing boats. Once entangled, the net is ruined and the boat must shut off its engine.

The fishing boat owner understood the concern and responded quickly, “Just tell us where it is, I’ll steer clear and pass by at a distance. We won’t hit your net.” The other party had mentioned the net was just over two hundred meters long, so it would be easy to go around.

“Get lost! Don’t you understand plain language? You’re not allowed to go forward. Take a wide detour, and if you dare argue, believe me, I’ll board your boat and beat you all up!” A young man continued to threaten, then raised a spearfishing gun and took aim.

The spearfishing gun resembled a crossbow, with a shaft made entirely of metal and fitted with spiral grooves. It’s mainly used for underwater fishing, with a thin line attached to the tail for retrieval after hitting a fish. The all-metal shaft counteracts buoyancy underwater, and the spiral grooves help correct the angle and induce rotation, similar in principle to the rifling of a firearm.

There are two main types of power for spearfishing guns: high-pressure gas and rubber bands. Rubber bands offer a shorter range, generally under ten meters, with an effective distance of about five meters. Gas-powered guns are much stronger, reaching up to thirty meters, though the effective range underwater is at most ten meters. Beyond that, accuracy drops significantly.

But aimed at people from a boat, it’s still quite intimidating.

For a moment, all the anglers on board were terrified into silence.

Something was off!

Lu Chen observed the altercation between the two boats clearly and keenly sensed that the group on the other vessel were not genuine fishermen. They didn’t behave like crew members at all.

In his previous life, he had followed fishing boats and was familiar with drift gill nets. On rivers and lakes, a two-hundred-meter net would be considered large, but on the ocean, that distance was far too short. Some dedicated fishing vessels, to ensure a bigger catch, connect nets that span several kilometers, with depths reaching twenty meters—almost covering the most active regions of marine life.

This group was using a large boat over ten meters long, but only deploying a two-hundred-meter net—how could that not seem like a joke?

Moreover, their timing was wrong. Drift gill nets are a passive method; the longer they’re set, the more fish are caught. In winter, they can be left for days. But now it was summer, with high sea temperatures. Fish caught in the net die quickly and spoil, even rot, if left too long. So normally, nets are set in the afternoon and retrieved the next morning.

Lastly, setting a drift gill net doesn’t require so many crew. Three people are enough: one to steer, two to handle the net. The other boat had six or seven people, just for a two-hundred-meter net—it was highly suspicious.

There was definitely something strange going on.

“Fine, I’ll take the long way,” said the fishing boat captain, apparently oblivious to the oddities. Realizing he couldn’t afford trouble, he immediately turned the rudder.

Lu Chen quietly remained behind.

Curiosity killed the cat, and he was eager to know what this group was up to.

“Third Brother, how’s it looking?” As the fishing boat gradually moved away, another voice sounded from the large vessel.

“Big Brother, those guys are pretty sensible. They’ve really left,” replied a young man holding binoculars.

Hearing that the fishing boat had departed, the bald man no longer paid attention, but only instructed, “Keep your eyes peeled. If any other boat comes close, drive them off immediately. Have Fifth Brother and the others get in the water…”

“Yes,” came the reply.

With the order given, three people soon jumped off from the side of the boat.

Wait… divers?

Seeing three humans in diving suits, Lu Chen’s curiosity deepened.

On the surface, the drift gill net was just a cover; secretly, they sent divers underwater. Were they planning to illegally harvest coral? He immediately thought of the possibility.

Coral is a gemstone from the sea and one of the seven treasures in Buddhism.

Earlier, when researching, Lu Chen had learned that—both in his previous life and this world—coral was highly sought after by nobles and officials. Especially red coral, with its vivid hue, was regarded as a symbol of luck and prestige, a treasure comparable to pearls and agates. The finest red coral can fetch tens of thousands per gram. Even ordinary red coral costs hundreds per gram, far more than gold.

Harvesting coral greatly damages the seabed ecosystem, so it has long been prohibited.

These fellows were daring indeed.

But judging by the items carried by the divers, it didn’t seem they were after coral.

To avoid being discovered, Lu Chen didn’t approach too closely, but quickly sank to the seabed, quietly hiding in a crevice among the rocks.

A saltwater crocodile, with its gray-black body, resembled rotten driftwood. Even at the surface it was hard to spot; now, hidden on the seabed, he was even more inconspicuous, especially since he was more than twenty meters away.

Thus, the three divers noticed nothing unusual around them.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Lu Chen moved his limbs and silently approached from behind.

What—ceramics, a sunken ship!?

When he saw the objects buried in the seabed mud, Lu Chen’s eyes widened.

This group had discovered a sunken ship, which explained why they wouldn’t let other fishing boats near.

The murky seabed was scattered with numerous ceramics, many of them inhabited by sea creatures…

Wait, something was wrong!

Where was the shipwreck?

Logically, ceramics should be accompanied by fragments of the wreck itself. Why were there only ceramics, but no trace of the ship?

In the next moment, Lu Chen finally understood.

The divers weren’t salvaging ceramics at all; instead, they were deliberately scattering something over them.

Thanks to his highly developed and sensitive respiratory system, he could smell a strong fishy odor emanating from the seabed—some kind of bait.

What was this operation? Ignoring the ceramics, but spreading bait across the seabed.

After more than ten minutes, the three divers seemed to finish their work and floated back to the surface.

Confirming the humans had left, Lu Chen swished his crocodile tail and silently swam closer to investigate.

There were hundreds of ceramics strewn across the seabed: blue-and-white porcelain, large round jars, jade spring bottles, plum vases, elephant-ear bottles… all sorts, as if an underwater ceramics exhibition had opened.

Many pieces were covered with sea snails, oysters, and even gray-white crystals.

It looked very much like the legendary sea-salvaged porcelain.