Chapter 37: Activating a New Skill, Seeking Fortune in Danger

They were about to reach the shore when, at that moment, a wave surged again; Xiao Hu's body jerked and began to sway violently.

Grab this!

Zhang Guafu on the shore somehow found a coil of rope and hurled it into the sea.

Xiao Hu quickly grabbed the rope with his left hand, wrapped it once around his hand, and with his other hand he pulled Ye Cheng tightly.

Seeing Xiao Hu had grabbed the rope, Zhang Guafu quickly wound it around her body and then pulled back.

With the rope's help, and as Ye Cheng gradually regained a little strength, the two managed to crawl ashore.

Xiao Hu collapsed exhausted on the beach; Ye Cheng fared no better, kneeling on the ground and spitting out several mouthfuls of water.

Zhang Guafu hurriedly patted Ye Cheng's back to make him feel better.

It was too dangerous; Ye Cheng knew the sea was perilous, but he never imagined that even the seaside could be this dangerous.

If it weren't for Xiao Hu's desperate effort and Zhang Guafu finding the rope, I might have died; the tide really is fickle.

He glanced at Xiao Hu, patted him, and said, "Thanks, brother."

Xiao Hu smiled and said, "Brother, why say such things among brothers?"

"Lao Er, Xiao Hu, you're both hurt; hurry back and disinfect your wounds," Zhang Guafu said anxiously.

Only then did Ye Cheng feel the pain; several places on his body were cut and bleeding, and he didn't know what had caused it.

Xiao Hu fared no better; a gash was torn in his leg, staining his pants red.

"Let's go up first, wait a moment," Ye Cheng said, pushing himself up and walking toward the shore to leave the dangerous area.

Xiao Hu's strength also returned, and he sat down alongside him.

"Any cigarettes left?" Ye Cheng asked.

"Yes, they're on the shore; I didn't bring them over," Xiao Hu said, pointing to the shore.

"Aunt, could you please fetch the cigarettes?"

"Smoking at a time like this?" Zhang Guafu complained, but she went to get them anyway.

Ye Cheng took a cigarette from the pack, placed it in his mouth, and his hand shook as he lit it, still shaken.

After a puff, his mood finally calmed.

This wave also receded; no one knows why it suddenly surged like that—the sea's temper is unfathomable.

Just then, the system suddenly flashed and a prompt box appeared.

【Host detected danger, activating Danger Sense skill.】

Danger Sense system?

Ye Cheng's eyes lit up; he opened the system and took a look:

【Danger Sense】: Passive skill; when a major oceanic danger occurs, it gives an advance warning.

Damn!

If you had this skill, why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had, I'd have risked my life to unlock you.

Good thing I didn't die this time; if I had, what use would you be showing up now?

"Brother, maybe we should head back," Xiao Hu said while smoking; he was also scared—he had jumped in during the emergency, and now thinking back, he's still afraid.

"Yeah, Lao Er, I've almost tied up the crabs over there; a few escaped when you fell into the sea just now—we should go back, life is more important," Zhang Guafu also urged from the side.

Ye Cheng looked back; those three conchs from earlier had also been swept into the sea—what a loss.

"No, we seek fortune in danger; there must still be more under that reef just now—this opportunity is rare, we can't let it slip," Ye Cheng said solemnly.

"You're going back again? Aren't you afraid of being swept away again? I've got no strength left," Xiao Hu looked at Ye Cheng in disbelief.

Ye Cheng wasn't afraid; now that he had the Danger Sense skill, it would alert him—since there's no alert now, there must be no danger.

"Alright, you hold the rope above me; I'll go down and feel around—there's definitely something."

Since Ye Cheng insisted, the sea surface had calmed, and with the rope securing him, safety was high, so Xiao Hu stopped arguing.

After securing the rope, Ye Cheng descended again to that reef.

The water was now shallower, reaching only halfway up Ye Cheng's calf; for convenience, he squatted down and began feeling around on the seabed with both hands.

Xiao Hu and Zhang Guafu held the other end of the rope, watching the sea surface nervously, fearing another wave.

After a few feels, Ye Cheng's face lit up—sure enough, there was something.

He lifted his hand from the water, holding a large conch; this time he had learned, and he tossed it straight onto the beach.

Zhang Guafu happily picked it up, exclaiming, "A big conch!"

"Yeah, there's more; wait."

His hand wasn't long enough, so Ye Cheng used a shovel; anyway, Burst Skill was still active, and he began digging deep beneath the reef.

Whenever he hit something hard, Ye Cheng would put his strength into pulling it out—and sure enough, he dug out four more large conchs.

After checking and finding nothing else, Ye Cheng finally went ashore; his Burst Skill was nearly exhausted.

Although Xiao Hu had wanted to head back, Ye Cheng felt his Luck Value hadn't been used up yet, so the two resumed searching the beach.

Sure enough, they could still find some; after an hour, Ye Cheng could find nothing more, and looking at the time, it was already 2 a. m.

"Let's head back, it's too late," Ye Cheng called out.

Zhang Guafu and Xiao Hu followed up, yawning; they didn't know how much seafood they'd gathered, but they tied it all up.

Back home, they first put everything at Ye Cheng's place, then each went to sleep.

That night, Ye Cheng dreamed he was swept away by waves; the seabed teemed with countless fish, plus lobsters and large shells.

Ye Cheng didn't sleep long; he rose after seven o'clock, and with all that seafood still at home, he felt uneasy.

After getting up, Ye Cheng checked the system:

Luck Value: 30.

Points: 146.

At a glance at this luck value, Ye Cheng lost all interest in gathering seafood; last time when it was 20, there were only a few small blue mussels—what could 30 possibly yield? Probably just some flower clams.

He roughly estimated that once the system reaches 60, there will definitely be good things; below 60, it's hard to say.

So for today, he needs to first calmly handle this batch of things.

He still plans to go to Boss Qian; Boss Qian's restaurant isn't high-end, but the quantity demanded is quite large, and he currently has no connections, so going to Boss Qian is the most suitable.

After washing up, Ye Cheng went to Li Quezi's for breakfast, which was fried clams, and bought a pack of cigarettes; yesterday his cigarettes got soaked by seawater.

Li Quezi had just opened the door when he saw Ye Cheng and exclaimed, 'Lao Er, why is your forehead swollen?'

Ye Cheng then realized that this was from last night when the waves slapped him against a rock; it was fine when he touched it last night, but this morning he estimates it has swollen.

'Oh, I accidentally bumped it yesterday,' Ye Cheng said offhandedly.

Li Quezi looked at Ye Cheng with a mysterious expression and asked in a low voice, 'Could it be that you got into a fight with Duan Yong and the others yesterday?'

Ye Cheng gave a slight smile and didn't speak; in fact, that's also why he came over so early to buy cigarettes—there are still cigarettes at home, he just wanted to come to Li Quezi's to hear some news.