391: Severe overdraft

Yang Qi also lay down beside Bai Xue, resting for a while. The two held hands, saying nothing.

Yang Qi completely let himself go, and a wave of sleepiness instantly hit him. His whole body felt sore, and even his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

He knew it wasn't time to relax yet. Forcing himself through the physical discomfort, he struggled to stand up.

After eight consecutive hours of high-intensity labor, the two were already exhausted. The last few trips were completed purely by sheer willpower.

Yang Qi dragged his heavy steps slowly toward the ship's railing, as if every step required all the strength in his body.

After stopping, he fished a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out with a trembling hand, and skillfully lit it.

As the cigarette tip flickered with a faint red glow, a pungent smoke began to spread.

Yang Qi took a deep drag, letting the strong flavor fill his mouth and nasal cavity.

Then, he slowly exhaled the smoke, watching it dissipate into tiny particles in the air.

Under the influence of the nicotine, his exhausted body, which felt like it was about to fall apart, finally felt a brief and illusory sense of relaxation and comfort, but the feeling was fleeting.

Next, Yang Qi put down the cigarette butt, picked up the binoculars lying nearby, and began to carefully observe the surrounding sea.

He turned the lens, scanning the distance, not missing any corner where other ships or objects might appear.

Time passed minute by minute. Aside from the undulating waves and the endless blue sky, he found nothing unusual.

By now, the sky was gradually clearing up, and the drizzle had stopped at some point.

“Hubby, let's hoist the boxes from the sea while we can!”

Suddenly, Bai Xue's voice came from behind him, sounding utterly exhausted.

“Okay, I'll go stop the boat first.”

Yang Qi also knew they couldn't delay any longer; the sooner they were hoisted up, the safer it would be.

Finally, amidst the 'creak-creak' of the Crane, the last four boxes were hoisted onto the deck.

Yang Qi quickly covered them with a tarpaulin, and the two supported each other as they walked to the Cockpit.

With Yang Qi's help, Bai Xue took off her wetsuit, leaving only her underwear. She lay straight on the small bed, chatting idly with Yang Qi as he piloted the boat.

Yang Qi was also only wearing a pair of shorts; as an old married couple, there was no awkwardness.

“Hubby, I didn't think we would actually pull through. Thanks to our hard work, and thanks to that sudden rainy weather for giving us an extra half hour.”

Bai Xue's tone carried excitement despite her fatigue.

Yang Qi also said with a sigh of relief:

“Yeah! Even the heavens were helping us, otherwise we would have definitely had to give up on the last trip.”

“Xiaoxue, lie down for a bit. We'll be safe after another hour's journey. Then we'll go soak in the sea for a while. I feel like we should recover faster in the water.”

After a while, Yang Qi realized that Bai Xue had actually fallen asleep. After setting the cruise mode, he walked out of the Cockpit and lit another cigarette.

After smoking three cigarettes in a row, Yang Qi felt his head clear up significantly.

He went to the kitchen and heated up last night's leftovers, porridge, and steamed buns.

“Xiaoxue, get up and eat something.”

Yang Qi returned to the Cockpit to wake Bai Xue, draping a sun-protection jacket over her.

“Xiaoxue, you pushed yourself too hard. That last trip was way beyond your physical limit.”

Yang Qi ladled a bowl of Grouper soup for Bai Xue.

When there were still two boxes underwater, he had originally planned to give up on one. But Bai Xue insisted he tie both up, and she gritted her teeth to drag one out by herself.

“A single box is worth tens of millions; how could I give it up? Thinking back to the wages Shanshan and I made working as mascots, the two of us couldn't earn this much in several lifetimes!”

“Yeah, money is hard to earn and life is hard to swallow!”

Yang Qi remembered the words his coworkers often said when he used to work, and he blurted them out involuntarily.

“Hubby, really now, I'm eating, why would you say that?”

Bai Xue scolded him with dissatisfaction.

“Hehehe, my fault, my fault.”

Yang Qi immediately admitted his mistake.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, their bodies regained some strength. Yang Qi checked the time and then the current location of the setting sail on the map.

He found that this was a 'no-man's-land' sea area; it didn't seem to belong to the Xisha Islands and was far from Pratas Island and the Zhongsha Islands.

“Let's stop here! We'll recover our physical state first and organize the boxes tonight.”

Yang said to Bai Xue.

“Okay, let's get in the water and see if we really recover faster.”

So the two took off their sun-protection jackets and got into the water.

The moment Yang Qi immersed his entire body in the seawater, a cool and comfortable sensation instantly spread through him.

He could clearly feel every pore on his body being soaked by the seawater, slowly opening and relaxing.

This wonderful experience made him feel as if every cell in his body was thoroughly enjoying the nourishment and care from the seawater!

That feeling was simply beyond words; it was like the parched earth finally welcoming the nourishment of a sweet rain.

It was also like a battery that had run out of power suddenly being recharged, making him feel invigorated!

He knew this was his ability absorbing energy from the water and feeding it back into his body.

This feeling was truly amazing!

In a daze, he even felt that his ability and physical fitness had strengthened a bit.

At that moment, Bai Xue's delicate moans reached his ears.

Yang Qi turned to look and saw Bai Xue with her eyes closed, her body soaked in the seawater. Her face wore a look of enjoyment and intoxication, and she would occasionally moan involuntarily.

It seemed Bai Xue was also receiving an energy boost.

“Hubby, I feel so good! My whole body, from the inside out, feels wonderful.”

“It's so magical! If our ability were in a cultivation novel, would it be a Water Spirit Root?”

Bai Xue whispered with her eyes narrowed.

“Don't listen to those damn authors talking nonsense, acting like they actually know something.”

“Like a novel I've been reading lately. The damn author made up a protagonist who accidentally gets X-ray vision, but when he goes fishing, he doesn't even have as much luck as other people.”

“For a while at the start, that book was in the top ten of the new book rankings for its genre. Then the writing became a mess, and the stats plummeted. Now there aren't even many people left to comment for updates. What a load of crap!”

“That damn author still insists on updating every day. It's just a waste of time, a fellow who doesn't know his own limits. Ptooey!”

Yang Qi spat at that 'damn author'.