Chapter 30: Chapter 30 The Deep Sea Hides No Treasure
Translator: 549690339
“Boss, you’ve been the captain of this Cangyuan ship for almost ten years. How can you simply give up your position!”
“You, boss, saved my life. I, Liu San am the first one to object to you leaving!”
“Exactly! ”
“Why don’t we throw him into the sea to feed the fish after we set sail? After all, it’s not unusual for someone to die at sea!”
The ship was in an uproar, and for a moment, Li Fan had become public enemy number one.
The burly man tried to calm the crew members: “Calm down, everyone, calm down! I know you all respect me, Zhang Haobo, very much, but the Cangyuan ship is ultimately Manager Zhao’s property. We are here to serve him. Now that Manager Zhao wants to replace me, what can I do?”
Instead of calming them, Zhang Haobo’s words inflamed the crew members’ anger.
Many of them, their eyes red with rage, glared at Li Fan with murderous intent.
Li Fan chuckled inwardly.
Zhang Haobo’s schemes hadn’t escaped his notice in the slightest.
Pretending to praise Li Fan openly, he was indeed stirring up the crew members’ mistrust towards Li Fan.
Speaking up for Li Fan on the surface, he was actually inciting dissatisfaction among the crew members.
Pretending to show his helplessness, he actually hoped the crew members would unite against Li Fan.
Secret hostility dressed as open adulation, using the guise of loyalty to betray the cause. Just cheap tricks that Li Fan was too familiar with.
His face showing no fear, Li Fan walked up to the crew members and said loudly: “If you don’t trust me, don’t you trust Manager Zhao’s judgement? Besides, with our impending departure, just watch me. I promise I won’t let you down.”
Li Fan’s voice was loud and resonant, drowning out the clamor of the crowd.
Seeing Li Fan’s imposing demeanor, the crew members were momentarily subdued and no one stepped forward to refute him.
Without giving the crowd another chance, Li Fan bid them farewell and, alone, entered the cabin.
Behind him, he left confused crew members and a gloomy Zhang Haobo.
The crew members whispered among themselves.
“Could it be that the kid is really skilled?”
“It should… maybe be true. Manager Zhao’s judgement is really something, he seldom makes a wrong choice.”
“He doesn’t seem like an ordinary guy.”
“Finding treasure every time we sail out to sea, I simply don’t believe it!”
“He definitely used connections to try to seize the position of captain of our ship! Does he think I don’t know?”
“He made a big promise, now I want to see how he follows through!”
Zhang Haobo was enraged. Seeing his men swayed by a few words from Li Fan, he was all the more infuriated. “Set sail! Out to sea!”
He shouted angrily.
The Cangyuan ship departed the port and sailed toward the sea without the aid of the wind.
Over a hundred ships from Liuli Island scattered, each heading toward their respective territories.
The Cangyuan ship did not rely on wind or man power, but was driven by a miniature array powered by a Spirit Stone.
The ship was equipped with a Soul Guide., which would provide guidance when Liuli Fish traces were found in the nearby waters.
But the ocean was vast and the Soul Guide’s range was limited.
Therefore, it needed very experienced crew members to first find the approximate range where the fish schools appeared.
If it were a regular year, the movement of Liuli Fish schools would be predictable and thus easier to catch.
However, in years of storm disasters, fish migrations would occur, rendering all past experiences useless.
It would be like finding a needle in a haystack, completely reliant on luck.
And it seemed like the Cangyuan ship’s luck was quite poor.
Half a month had passed, and aside from catching some regular fish and finding some common sea minerals, they hadn’t made any significant hauls.
Not only were the crew members wearied, even Zhang Haobo was becoming extremely anxious.
After all, there were penalties for coming in last place this time.
Compared to other jobs on the island, the work risk of a mariner was small, but the rewards were high.
No one wanted to lose out for nothing.
“The rule on the island is to return home within a month. So far, we’ve only managed to get this much. Maybe we have the least haul. We can only hope the next few days will bring a change. May the Immortal Teacher bless us.” Zhang Haobo looked at the calm and deep sea, feeling helpless.
Just then, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.
Turning his head, Zhang Haobo saw Li Fan walking towards him.
“So, you finally decided to leave your cabin? If it wasn’t for the fact that you still pick up your food every day, I would think you died inside.”
Ever since setting sail, Li Fan had stayed in his own room and did not interact with others.
Zhang Haobo was in a bad mood, and he found it hard to muster a friendly face for Li Fan.
Li Fan, unaffected by Zhang’s rude comments, gazed at the distant sea, his face solemn.
He simply stood there, not saying a word.
Zhang Haobo noticed Li Fan’s odd behavior, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. He followed Li Fan’s gaze but saw nothing unusual, just the normal sea surface.
Despite this, Li Fan’s expression grew even more serious.
But he remained silent all the while.
After a long time, Zhang Haobo could not take it anymore and asked: “What are you looking at?”
Li Fan jolted with surprise and turned to glare at Zhang Haobo, his face filled with annoyance.
“What’s with the whole ghost act?!” Zhang Haobo retorted nervously but forcefully.
“I need a small boat!” Instead of answering him, Li Fan turned away and said in a deep voice, “I see treasure!”
“What…” Zhang Haobo was slightly confused at first.
“What!” But he quickly recovered from his surprise and exclaimed, “You’re not joking, are you?”
“Hurry, prepare a small boat for me. The jewelry in the deep sea is shining brightly, waiting for me to retrieve it.” Li Fan commanded in a solemn tone.
Zhang Haobo was hesitating when he heard Li Fan continue.
“Opportunities are fleeting. The glow of the treasure is dimming. I’m about to lose its position.”
Zhang Haobo suddenly sprung into action.
“Quickly! Ready the boat!”
There were several small boats stored on the ship, typically used for exploring narrow channels or testing dangerous, unknown sea areas.
It was only when the small boat was deployed and Li Fan had sailed off alone that Zhang Haobo suddenly came to his senses.
He was not sure why he had impulsively believed Li Fan’s words just a moment ago.
Seeing treasure buried deep in the ocean?
How could that possibly be?
He was about to say something when Li Fan’s yell echoed from the distance.
“Don’t follow me, wait for my signal!”
“Why?” Zhang Haobo couldn’t help but shout back.
“You’re too noisy! You could disrupt my vision!” Li Fan responded.
Zhang Haobo grimaced, but the memory of Li Fan’s furious gaze suggested that maybe he didn’t lie.
Time passed. Two hours had gone by since Li Fan had departed alone on a boat.
“Could he be running away by himself?” One of the crew anxiously watched in the direction Li Fan had gone, unable to keep himself from asking.
“Nonsense, where could he go alone in the vast sea without dry food!” Zhang Haobo chided his subordinate, but before he could say more, a red signal beacon lit up in the distant sky.
“Quick! Head towards the signal!” Zhang Haobo immediately ordered.
The shin. at full power. quickly arrived at the signal’s location.
Li Fan was seen standing on the small boat, looking exhausted.
“The treasure is here!” He announced to everyone.
Zhang Haobo and his crew looked at each other, unsure whether to believe him.
A moment later, Zhang Haobo gritted his teeth and declared, “Dive! Deploy the net!”
With everyone half-believing, one box, then another…
A total of sixteen boxes full of gold, silver, and jewels were slowly hauled up..