468: Chapter 468 Avoiding the Storm

Yang Qi heard this, nodded, and went to the tool room to get a hacksaw, sawing off the long rostrum with a rhythmic rasping sound.

After dealing with the large Swordfish, the two returned to their fishing spots to continue angling.

Meanwhile, Chen Lin and Bai Xue's side also pulled their fish near the gunwale; one was a 210-jin Bigeye Tuna, and the other was a 180-jin Albacore Tuna.

Others also had their harvests, forty to fifty-jin Red Snapper. Chen Lin even caught a Giant Grouper weighing over ninety jin.

The unluckiest one was Ding Kuan, who caught a GT weighing over ninety jin. It took him nearly an hour.

Such great pulling force could rival a two-hundred-jin Tuna. Before the fish surfaced, he was so thrilled he was practically beaming, imagining it was definitely a huge fish.

After satisfying his urge for a good fight, he pulled it up only to see it was a large GT. Furious, he gave the large GT a few slaps.

"What should we do with this fish?"

Ding Kuan asked Yang Qi.

The GT fish can be said to be one of the fish species with the poorest meat quality; no one wants to buy it. Usually, when Anglers catch it, after enjoying the fight, they throw it back into the sea to release it.

One could say that tasting bad is one of its survival mechanisms.

"Throw it back. This fellow is so greedy; it really wasn't easy for it to grow this big."

Yang Qi also looked at the GT with a face full of disgust as he spoke.

Actually, even if this fish is worthless, it could be chopped up for chumming. However, Yang Qi still had plenty of frozen bait in the Freezer Hold, and there were also Mahi-Mahi and Skipjack Tuna in the cold storage that could be used for chumming.

So he decided to just release it.

Because they had used enough fish chunks for chumming just now, even if this wave of Tuna was startled away, it didn't take long before some more Tuna came to feed.

He didn't know if it was the same school of Tuna as before, but it didn't matter as long as fish came.

Over the course of the night, they caught more than a dozen of the Zhongsha Islands' specialties like Tuna, Sailfish, and Swordfish.

They also caught many other species like Ruby Fish, Wrasse, Grouper, and over twenty kinds of miscellaneous fish.

Everyone was busy until after two in the morning the next day before they finally organized the catch, putting those that belonged in the Live Well into the Live Well and those for the Freezer Hold into the Freezer Hold.

After cleaning up, Chen Gang made a large pot of noodles for everyone to warm their stomachs, after which they could go rest.

At this moment, the originally gentle sea breeze suddenly turned violent. White light flashed in the distant sky, and a series of thunderclaps rolled in.

Everyone who was about to go rest looked at each other; this was the sign of an impending rainstorm.

"Ah! Dammit, the weather forecast didn't say there would be a rainstorm recently!"

Yang Qi was also bewildered. Every time he went to sea, he would carefully study the weather conditions of the target waters; if there was any bad weather within seven days, he wouldn't set sail.

He never expected that even marine meteorology would start acting up these days.

Yang Qi didn't overthink it and immediately began assigning tasks:

"A Xi, you guys go to the deck first to pack the fishing gear and those miscellaneous items into the storage; reinforce whatever needs reinforcing."

"Xiao Xue, Shanshan, you two go lock all the windows in the cabins!"

"Everyone, stay safe and hurry up. I'll steer the boat into the Atoll first."

At Yang Qi's command, everyone immediately dispersed.

Uncle Zheng Tie and the others ran to the deck, first packing up the fishing gear and equipment and sending them to the warehouse, then taking the live fish boxes, fish crates, and the knives and scissors used for bleeding into the warehouse.

Then they packed and secured the Trawling, ropes, and lifeboats.

In just ten minutes, the air pressure dropped significantly. In the pitch-black sky, flashes of lightning would occasionally streak across, as if trying to tear the heavens apart.

The gale, carrying waves with it, smashed violently against the "explorer." The fishing boat rose and fell amidst the surging tides.

"Everyone, pay attention! Once you're done with your tasks, get to your rooms immediately. Don't linger outside!"

Yang Qi fully activated his Supernatural Ability, driving the "explorer" at full speed, quickly entering the shallow water area.

Just then, the Cockpit door was suddenly pushed open, and a howling gale carrying rainwater rushed in.

Yang Qi looked back and saw that it was Bai Xue who had pushed the door open. She was currently struggling to close the door against the gale.

He had no choice but to get up and walk over to help her close it.

"Xiao Xue, why did you come here?"

"Hubby, I wanted to come and be with you!"

Bai Xue smoothed her wet hair and spoke with a slight hint of nervousness.

"Alright! We're about to enter the Atoll."

Yang Qi knew what Bai Xue was worried about and spoke to her with a smile.

To be honest, Yang Qi was also somewhat nervous at this moment, but as the backbone of the ship, he couldn't show any signs of it.

Soon, the "explorer" entered the Atoll, but Yang Qi didn't stop the boat immediately. Worried that the edge wasn't safe enough, he continued toward the deeper parts of the Atoll.

The wind grew stronger, and raindrops as large as soybeans pelted the Cockpit's glass with a pitter-patter.

Endless rain merged the sea and sky into one; the gale howled, arrogantly ravaging the world.

The rainstorm had long lost all direction, and the wild waves rampaged like one water dragon after another, clamoring as they crashed against the hull of the "explorer."

Fortunately, the "explorer's" tonnage was heavy enough and its width was astonishing, nearly double that of other vessels in its class. This demonstrated the absolute advantage of it being a former Research Vessel.

Even under such strong winds, the hull only vibrated slightly and didn't shake violently.

Yang Qi drove the "explorer" with increased horsepower, pushing forward against the wind and the storm.

Fifteen minutes later, the explorer had already gone seven or eight nautical miles deep into the Atoll. Yang Qi found a rocky reef to drop anchor and stop the boat.

This was basically the center of the Atoll, with endless coral reefs and hard rock formations below.

In waters over ten meters deep, the waves generated were limited, and with the anchor securing it, the explorer was as steady as Mount Tai.

This was also thanks to Yang Qi's correct decision to steer the boat into the Atoll at the first moment. If they were still on the vast ocean thousands of meters deep, even a vessel with the explorer's tonnage would have had a rough time.

If it had been the "setting sail" in such weather, it would likely have been like a withered leaf in autumn, bobbing and swaying in the big waves, even facing the danger of capsizing.

"Is this Meteorological Station good for nothing? They didn't even issue a forecast beforehand, and now they send a message—is this a joke?"

Bai Xue said speechlessly as she looked at the message on her phone.

"Don't worry, this kind of extreme weather comes quickly and leaves just as fast!"

"Besides, the explorer is heavy and wide; there's absolutely no problem staying here!"

Yang Qi's words weren't just to comfort Bai Xue.

Many twenty-meter boats are only about five meters wide and still traverse the deep oceans.

The "explorer," being heavy and wide, has a level of resistance to storms that is a step above other vessels in its class.