470: Chapter 47 Following the Flock of Birds to Find the Fish

Yang Qi and Bai Xue could be said to have seen many coral reefs, from the waters of Diaoyu Islands to Pratas Island, and then to the Xisha Islands.

But they had truly never seen such beautiful coral scenery as here at the Zhongsha Great Atoll.

The coral reefs here covered a massive area and featured a wide variety of species, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Moreover, the depth was just right; in many places, the water was not even ten meters deep, allowing sunlight to easily penetrate the clear seawater and illuminate the coral, rendering the multicolored seabed into a kaleidoscopic display.

This was a natural play of light and shadow that no master artist in the world could ever replicate.

Not far away, Yang Qi saw Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan holding waterproof cameras, constantly taking photos of the coral.

It seemed Yao Shanshan had also bought a professional camera so she could take photos herself.

Due to the water depth within the atoll, there weren't many large fish, but there were many precious species.

Yang Qi wasn't shy; he reached out and caught a large Pufferfish near a reef, stuffing it into his mesh bag.

Then he crouched down and pulled a large Lobster out of a crevice in the reef.

He was like an agile dolphin, weaving between the rocks and coral, hunting various seafood without restraint.

However, he didn't just grab everything indiscriminately; he specifically targeted Pufferfish, Lobster, Sea Cucumber, Crab, and so on.

He soon filled two mesh bags, then surfaced and handed the ropes to Chen Sheng, who was preparing to enter the water, asking him to help organize the seafood.

At that moment, Wang Jinxi and Uncle Zheng Tie had just returned after setting the Crab pots and Longline Fishing.

Seeing Yang Qi's bountiful harvest from diving, they all ran to the storage to grab diving masks, preparing to go underwater hunting.

Because there were women present, to avoid embarrassment, everyone wore beach shorts into the water.

Yang Qi had equipped the explorer with four additional sets of diving equipment and over a dozen diving masks, more than enough for everyone to have one.

So, everyone took turns going into the water to enjoy themselves.

While waiting, those who hadn't gotten a turn yet went diving and foraging in areas three to four meters deep.

Those with decent swimming skills could handle that depth with a diving mask.

Although the harvest couldn't compare to the ten-meter-deep waters, it was still quite impressive.

Fat Crabs and Lobsters were stuffed into their mesh bags. They didn't hold back on any Sea Cucumber, Conchs, or Scallops they saw either.

Once their mesh bags were full, they would dump the catch into the lifeboat and continue foraging.

Compared to the diving environment Yang Qi and the others had experienced at the Xisha Islands, this large Reef Flat was only missing a white sand beach.

In terms of the catch and the underwater beauty alone, it was actually even better.

Yang Qi intentionally avoided the group and dove toward slightly deeper waters.

Sure enough, in the slightly deeper areas, the quality of the seafood was significantly higher.

Lobsters and Crabs weighing around a pound were everywhere, and there were many Pufferfish and Wrasse weighing four or five pounds.

In this way, the group spent three consecutive hours diving and foraging. It was a bountiful harvest that truly satisfied everyone's craving.

Though both were atolls, the Zhongsha Atoll was dozens of times larger than the Pratas Atoll.

In comparison, because it was open sea, the biological density in the Zhongsha Atoll wasn't as high as the Pratas Atoll, but the variety of species far exceeded it.

When Wang Jinxi and the others drove the lifeboat to retrieve the Gillnet and Longline Fishing, they found the Gillnet covered in fish: Wrasse, Red Grouper, Sweetlips, Blackfish, and three-knife fish.

There were also countless Spanish Mackerel, Sea Bream, Mackerel, Skipjack Tuna, Mahi-Mahi, and more.

Seeing that the harvest from just one Gillnet was more than the lifeboat could carry, they quickly called the explorer over to help.

Without a doubt, the Longline Fishing also yielded a massive harvest.

At Wang Jinxi's suggestion, Yang Qi decided to stay here for two more days.

He then moved the explorer to the middle of the depression and reset the Longline Fishing and Gillnet.

This time, he used the Longline Fishing Machine, which could automatically bait and set the lines, making things much more convenient.

Since there were too many coral reefs inside the large Reef Flat to risk using a Trawling...

Yang Qi steered the explorer out of the Reef Flat and into the open ocean, planning to find a school of fish for the Trawling or to track Tuna and Sailfish.

The explorer circled near the Reef Flat for over an hour without finding any decent schools of fish.

He did find four or five scattered Tuna, but they weren't very big, so Yang Qi chose to ignore them.

"Hubby, a large flock of birds has been spotted five nautical miles ahead to the left!"

At that moment, Bai Xue put down her binoculars and shouted excitedly into the walkie-talkie.

"Copy that, heading out now," Yang Qi replied immediately.

He thought to himself that he hadn't planned well enough; he had forgotten to add more binoculars.

He would buy more when he got back; if everyone had one, the chances of finding fish schools would increase.

Yang Qi increased the power and sped in that direction. Before long, he saw a dense flock of birds hovering low over the sea.

Having learned from his previous experience of being attacked by bird droppings, Yang Qi didn't rush in immediately. Instead, he used his Supernatural Ability to observe from a distance.

It turned out to be a small school of Sardines being chased by a group of predators. Besides some Skipjack Tuna and Barracuda, there were also six or seven Tuna trailing behind and feeding.

Yang Qi immediately turned the helm and steered toward the Sardines' escape route.

"Prepare to drop the Trawling!"

Upon his command, Wang Jinxi and the others, who were already prepared, began lowering the Trawling into the sea.

As the explorer sped forward, the Trawling quickly unfurled and swept over the school of fish.

The birds in the air would occasionally dive into the sea at the right moment to peck at the Sardines.

Now that the explorer had suddenly disrupted them, they were furious and began "scolding" the giant hunk of iron.

Many short-tempered seabirds launched "poison bomb" attacks directly at the explorer.

In an instant, countless bird droppings rained down. Wang Jinxi and the others must have known this would happen.

After setting the Trawling, they ran into the first floor of the deckhouse to avoid the poison bombs.

Over half an hour later, Yang Qi ordered the net to be hauled in.

When the bulging net was slowly hoisted onto the deck, it elicited a cheer from everyone.

Without a doubt, the net had burst with fish again!

As Uncle Zheng Tie pulled the rope, countless fish slid onto the deck, forming a massive mountain of fish.

"Hahaha, brothers, we're rich!"

Chen Sheng and the others' eyes gleamed; they had forgotten when they last had such a huge harvest in a single net.

The most prominent were the four Bigeye Tuna weighing about 150 to 160 pounds each.

The entire deck was a sea of silver-white, with a few Mahi-Mahi over a meter long and weighing over ten pounds occasionally mixed in with their yellow-green colors.