Chapter 151: Sea Bottom Foraging

The seaweed down there, jellyfish, devil fish and such are all too dangerous.

Xiao Hu is telling the truth; diving is photogenic, the deep blue sea bottom, sunlight shining through the water, you stand on the sea bottom, that's nice.

But that is indeed dangerous; without professional equipment and a professional coach, accidents happen easily.

Alright, I've got it figured out, let me tell you, I can probably dive for a few minutes, so don't rush when the time comes. Ye Cheng said while taking off his clothes, stripping down to just his underwear.

Chen Jinshui was there; he didn't dare say he could dive for several tens of minutes, that's beyond common sense.

No, you're really going?

Seeing Ye Cheng stripped down like that, the two finally believed he really intended to dive.

Nonsense, do I look like I'm faking it? Ye Cheng rolled his eyes at them.

Then he took out a pair of diving goggles from his bag and found a tube to bite on.

Seeing Ye Cheng's getup, Xiao Hu was speechless,

No, bro, those tubes are hard; what's the use of biting a soft water tube? It goes limp in the water, how can you breathe?

Ye Cheng's face turned red; he didn't want to either, the problem is maybe he just got this skill this morning, he wasn't prepared, and these diving goggles are just cheap swimming goggles.

Wait for a chance to buy some proper gear.

Just don't worry about it, you two will just fish in peace later. Ye Cheng gave a perfunctory reply, then pretended to bite the soft tube as he walked toward the shore.

Chen Jinshui stared blankly at Xiao Hu, "He's really going?"

Xiao Hu shrugged, "My brother's just like that, don't mind him, I'll keep you company fishing."

Saying that, Xiao Hu found a spot and began setting up seats; others he didn't know about, but Ye Cheng knew there was definitely a secret on him.

Originally just a village loafer like me, he suddenly became formidable; there must be a reason.

But Ye Cheng has always treated me well, so I didn't ask.

Speaking of which, Ye Cheng stepped on the beach down to the reef below; the undeveloped beach had no broken glass, but there were still some broken shells and such, which could prick the feet.

He tested the water temperature with his foot; it was okay, just that it was early, the temperature hadn't risen yet, a bit chilly, but it'll be fine once in the water.

He glanced at the two on the reef above, who were chatting; Ye Cheng seized the moment, kicked off his shoes, took a couple quick steps and dove into the seawater.

As soon as he went under, Ye Cheng felt the water envelop him; he closed his mouth and nose, sensing the power of underwater breathing.

Before, when going in the water, there'd be a feeling of chest tightness and shortness of breath—that's lack of oxygen.

But this time he felt nothing, as if he were in air, his limbs completely at ease.

To avoid raising suspicion, Ye Cheng also seized the moment and began searching.

Today's seawater was somewhat turbid, and with the constant influx of water stirring it up, wearing the diving goggles made it even murkier; he could only see a vague shadow.

On the contrary, once he reached the sea bottom, with the slower water flow, it became a bit clearer.

This isn't the open sea; there's no deep blue, crystal‑clear water like a swimming pool, just ordinary seawater mixed with lots of suspended particles.

On his first dive, Ye Cheng didn't rush toward the open sea but instead slowly descended along the reef.

Below the reef was a relatively flat stretch of sea bottom, a thick layer of seabed sand swaying gently with the water, occasionally little creatures popping out.

Ye Cheng looked closely; as he arrived, the sand shifted slightly and two tiny dots blinked—those were crabs.

Ye Cheng extended his tweezers, slipped them into its hiding spot and lifted gently; a crab was picked up, its two claws still unwilling, wanting to put up a fight.

Ye Cheng shook it gently to wash off the sand; it was a blue crab, and a fatty one at that—not bad.

Ye Cheng put it in the net bag he carried; the downside of diving is you can't lug a big water tank, so you have to make do with a net.

The sea bottom grew quiet again; Ye Cheng looked ahead and saw another crab, which likes to hide in the sand.

But this was just a blue‑spotted crab, and Ye Cheng also tucked it away.

He steadied himself on the seabed with his hand, moved forward a bit, and a black sea cucumber was rolling on the sand; Ye Cheng snatched it up without hesitation.

Speaking of which, the seabed offers far more than the beach; besides these pick‑up‑worthy things, there are also plenty of sea stars.

But Ye Cheng never liked eating those, and they aren't cheap either, so he left them alone.

Also some pretty little fish swam by, but Ye Cheng only had a pair of tweezers; trying to catch fish with tweezers is about as useful as using chopsticks to catch flies—pure nonsense.

The sea bottom also had many small caves; usually there's something inside, and Ye Cheng saw two whiskers poking out of a cave ahead.

He inserted the tweezers; something was dodging inside, but the space was too cramped to escape, so Ye Cheng pulled it out—a decent‑sized small blue dragon.

Ye Cheng had just put the small blue dragon away when he felt movement in the water above; he looked up and it seemed Xiao Hu and the others were calling.

Underwater there's no watch, so he couldn't tell the time; Ye Cheng figured he'd overstayed, and they were getting anxious.

He kicked off the seabed and shot straight up; with a splash, his head broke the surface.

Sure enough, Chen Jinshui and Xiao Hu were already shouting anxiously at the shore.

"Lao Er, you scared us half to death; we called for ages with no reply, thought you'd kicked the bucket." Chen Jinshui looked worried.

Xiao Hu was fine; he pointed at his watch, "Bro, you've been down for ten minutes."

Ye Cheng quickly explained, "No way, I just came up a moment ago; you two were chatting and didn't notice."

"Oh, you came up once, huh? That scared me; I thought you were still down there."

"Uncle, how could that be? I'm not a god." Ye Cheng said while swimming toward the shore, then handed the net bag to Xiao Hu, "Clean out the contents, you two keep fishing, I'll keep diving."

Xiao Hu casually took it, glanced inside, and said, "Bro, you hauled in all this in just a short while?"

"Two crabs and a small blue dragon—not bad, Lao Er, you're digging for treasure down there." Chen Jinshui teased.

"Yeah, there's plenty down there; Xiao Hu, put a water tank here for me, and I'll stash my haul straight into it."

"Okay."

Xiao Hu said that and headed uphill, fetched the water tank, set it on a few stones to secure it, making it easy for Ye Cheng to stash his catch.

"Uncle Chen, do you guys have a bite to eat?"

"I don't have any food; Xiao Hu caught a sea bass."