26: First time out to sea

Yang Qi first sent Bai Xue home, asking her to pack her things and then take her to school in the afternoon.

Normally, she would take a bus to town by herself, but now that they had just started their relationship, they both wished they could stay together all the time.

The journey back to school was only a little over an hour, so Yang Qi decided to ride a tricycle to take Bai Xue to school.

After returning home and putting away his fishing gear, Yang Qi went back to Bai Xue's house.

"Uncle Bai, Auntie! I'm planning to go fishing in the Nan You Fishing Grounds tomorrow morning, for four days and three nights."

"Fishing at sea is still somewhat dangerous; you must be careful and ensure your safety!"

"I wish you a bountiful return! Take care of yourself, and rest when you need to."

The two couldn't help but give him a series of instructions and blessings!

While they were talking, Bai Xue came over with her bag. They then gave Bai Xue another round of instructions.

Yang Qi drove the tricycle, carrying Bai Xue, all the way to Qingshan Town's electronics store. He bought a large freezer, and after some thought, also bought a refrigerator, as not everything can be frozen.

After writing down the address and phone number, they arranged for delivery by 5 PM. The two then set off for the city.

Along the way, Yang Qi drove, feeling Bai Xue's soft body nestled beside him, listening to her murmuring. He felt the sea breeze was sweet, and everything was wonderful.

The inseparable couple still bid each other farewell at the school gate.

By the time Yang Qi returned home, the freezer delivery arrived shortly after.

Yang Qi began to organize the items he needed to take for his sea trip. All his fishing rods and accessories were packed, as there were only three rods, neatly placed in a fishing gear bag, along with a live fish tank.

Three sets of clothes for changing, a sun protection shirt, a windbreaker, and a bag of snacks were all packed into a backpack.

After organizing his things, as dusk approached, Yang Qi had a simple meal and suddenly thought of something. He immediately rode his bike to the village's small supermarket.

"Boss, give me a pack of Ziyun."

"Ziyun is sold out. Please look at the others!" the boss said.

"Then give me a pack of Furongwang!"

"Okay, wait a moment."

Yang Qi seemed to have an inexplicable obsession with Ziyun. After all, Ziyun had been with him for several years.

After returning home, he called Zhang Jun to ask about some matters concerning sea fishing. He also sent Zhang Jun the 500 yuan deposit he had paid on his behalf.

Then he went to bed early to prepare for his sea trip tomorrow.

Yang Qi also learned that there were a total of 12 fishing spots for this sea fishing trip. Before boarding, they would draw lots to determine their respective fishing and resting berths. They could swap positions themselves, and as long as it didn't cause conflict, the boat owner generally wouldn't interfere.

Furthermore, the boat would provide three meals a day for free, and they could also cook their own extra meals. Alcoholic beverages and other drinks would be available for a fee.

The boat offered various fishing rods for rent, as well as various fishing gear accessories, and both dead and live bait for sale. Of course, the prices would definitely be higher than on shore.

At four o'clock the next day, Yang Qi was woken by his alarm clock. After quickly cooking and wolfing down a bowl of noodles, he rode his tricycle with his equipment to the Qingshan Town pier.

By the time he reached the pier, the sky was already faintly bright, and the pier was bustling with activity, with some heading out to sea and others returning to shore to unload their cargo.

Along the pier road, the lively sounds of transactions rose and fell.

Yang Qi checked the time; it was 4:30. He took out his phone to call Zhang Jun, but unexpectedly, Zhang Jun called him first.

"Hello ~ Brother Jun, where are you? Can you be at the pier in 5 minutes? I'm already here. Okay, I'll wait for you all!"

About five or six minutes later, Zhang Jun and his group arrived in three cars.

"Hey ~ Yang Qi, we're here! You arrived early!"

"I live close by, so I wasn't much earlier."

After speaking, he helped them unload their equipment from the cars and placed it with his own.

As expected, several were familiar faces, including Hu Bu Shi Lang – Wang Hu, Nan Hai Gui Wang – Chen Dakui, Often Breaks Rods – Changqiang, and a few others.

As they chatted, two more cars arrived successively. Finally, all the participants for this sea fishing trip were present.

Including Yang Qi, there were 12 people in total. Before boarding, the boat owner had everyone draw lots. Yang Qi drew number 5, which was a spot on the side of the boat.

Everyone boarded the boat in succession, found their berths, and put away their equipment.

Zhang Jun traded his number 10 for number 6, which was right next to Yang Qi.

He jokingly said, "I need to take good care of my younger brother who is going on a long-distance sea fishing trip for the first time."

After putting away their equipment, everyone came out onto the deck to chat and joke around.

The boat slowly sailed into the vast sea, with sunlight sparkling on the water's surface.

About an hour later, these seasoned fishermen, who had long grown tired of the sea scenery, began to organize card games and singing sessions.

Yang Qi declined Zhang Jun's invitation to play cards in the lounge. It was a place that combined a dining room and living room.

There were chatting areas with sofas and coffee tables, as well as dining and card-playing areas with several tables. There was even a partitioned area for singing.

Yang Qi stood alone at the bow of the boat, admiring the beautiful scenery. As it was his first time at sea, everything was new and exciting to him.

After staring for a long time, he also felt bored. After some thought, he returned to the lounge, took out his newly purchased heavy-duty boat fishing rod, and installed it securely on the rod holder at his number 5 spot. Then he attached the electric reel.

Pure-hearted fishing enthusiasts, if they saw this, would surely scorn him for using an electric reel right away.

Unlike these big shots who go sea fishing purely for entertainment, Yang Qi believed he was there to make money at sea, not to generate power with love.

If he could land fish quickly and effortlessly, why make things difficult for himself?

Yang Qi thought about how his ability had always been used on the shore, only ever showing a roughly semi-circular view.

He had never used it in the middle of the sea before. He was a little curious!

Yang Qi activated his Telekinesis (mind power) and began to use his ability. Sure enough, a circular image with a radius of 50 meters immediately appeared in his mind. It was quite magical!

The image showed many types of fish, indeed much richer than in coastal waters.

A 50-meter radius in the vast, boundless ocean was indeed somewhat disappointing.

It always left Yang Qi feeling wanting.

"This distance is a bit insufficient on the open sea."

Yang Qi suddenly had an idea: could he change the shape of his ability?

He acted on the thought immediately!

Yang Qi controlled the shape of the ability's image, slowly compressing it.

"It actually worked!"

The image transformed into an oval, with the front and back viewing range becoming longer, while the left and right distances became shorter.

Yang Qi was instantly thrilled; this way, he could see much further.

"Again!"

This time, it turned into a rectangular view, which seemed even further, but the image was a bit strange, like a beam of light in the dark night.

After several attempts, Yang Qi finally understood that the total area of the visible range remained constant.

Finally, Yang Qi settled on the optimal shape – a fan shape. Starting from himself, it covered a normal 130-degree field of vision when looking straight ahead.

That is, the area seen when looking straight ahead, which felt the most natural.

The maximum distance reached 120 meters.

Yang Qi was very happy, and he blamed himself for not having researched it sooner.