Chapter 201: Paying the Toll

At the moment he saw the orca pod, Wu An discovered the fishing boat's luck value instantly depleted.

Indeed.

The value of these killer whales makes the depletion of luck value quite reasonable.

He isn't trying to catch killer whales.

Even if you caught it, you couldn't sell it; if reported, you'd surely be arrested and forced to work a sewing machine.

Just because you can't catch killer whales doesn't mean you can't catch anything else.

Wu An noticed the killer whales weren't swimming aimlessly but were pursuing a school of fish, which is normal; orca pods cooperate to surround and intercept prey.

Then they enjoy a big meal.

He said he wanted to pay the toll, meaning he wanted to snatch some prey from those killer whales' mouths.

A Qing scratched his head: "Brother, stay calm."

"These killer whales aren't easy to provoke; if you anger them, we won't have a good outcome."

Mai Hangyu asked curiously: "Brother, how do we pay the toll?"

You dare to demand it.

Can the killer whales give it?

Wu An smiled: "Look carefully."

"These killer whales are moving in a concave formation as they pursue the fish school."

"Once the fish school gathers, they will all attack together."

"By then, we should get as close as possible."

"Throw the cast net to catch fish!"

A Qing and Mai Hangyu looked closely and indeed saw a fish school; the killer whales kept making calls, seemingly communicating with each other.

"What kind of fish?"

"Can't see clearly."

"Brother, I'm a bit nervous; should we really approach?"

Wu An hesitated a little.

Although killer whales are friendly to humans and don't actively attack, he still couldn't trust these sea rascals, in case the killer whales started playing with them.

They couldn't withstand such play.

If something went wrong, stranded at sea with no help, we couldn't risk the comfort of just three people.

Mai Hangyu got a bit excited and shouted: "Brother, we have to get close."

"How interesting."

"This is a rare opportunity; one might not encounter it several times in a lifetime."

"If we don't follow up, whenever we recall this later, we'll surely regret it."

Wu An started the fishing boat.

Before the orca pod arrived, he started the boat and drove off early, needing to get ahead because the pod swims fast; falling behind might make it impossible to catch up.

Wu An was still hesitating.

A Qing exclaimed: "Brother, the orca pod seems to be adjusting its direction, heading our way!"

Mai Hangyu also shouted: "Indeed, they're coming, they're coming."

He wasn't afraid at all, his voice tinged with excitement.

Wu An was at the helm, quickly stood up to look, and saw the sea not far off like boiling water—that was the fish school struggling in its death throes.

The orca pod, enveloping the fish school, surged straight toward them.

Wu An dared not delay, opening the boat's engine to maximum power.

But even with full throttle, their fishing boat was no match for the killer whales, which kept closing in rapidly.

He also felt a bit worried, seeing A Qing's face turn pale, and hurriedly comforted: "A Qing, don't be afraid; the killer whales aren't going to attack us."

"In the killer whales' eyes, we are of the same kind."

"Perhaps seeing us, they're inviting us to join their meal."

Mai Hangyu laughed heartily: "Brother, according to you, the killer whales are quite hospitable."

Wu An remained silent.

He was just speaking offhand; A Qing reveres and even fears the sea, not because he's truly timid, but due to his forebears.

A Qing's father was buried in this sea.

If A Qing hadn't made good money following him, even if he and A Qing were close, Li Juan would absolutely not let A Qing go out to sea fishing.

He had also promised Li Juan to take A Qing out to sea and bring him back safely.

It was only two or three minutes.

The orca pod was already nearly catching up to the fishing boat.

They could even tell that the different killer whales' sharp cries varied.

Just then.

The orca pod suddenly dove into the sea and vanished collectively.

A Qing panicked completely: "Brother!"

Wu An, also unsure, shouted: "It's fine, it's fine; the killer whales might be about to eat."

He was just guessing wildly.

And indeed his guess was correct.

Accompanied by splashing water, the killer whales shot out of the sea, as if many torpedoes had been thrown into the fish school and exploded.

Time to eat!

The orca pod was feasting happily, and they were making calls; I don't know if it's an illusion, but Wu An seemed to hear joy in those calls.

Wu An froze for a moment, then reacted: "Hangyu, A Qing, don't just watch."

"Grab the cast net!"

"We've collected the toll fee!"

Mai Hangyu took the lead and started running.

A Qing's face turned pale; watching the orca pod frenzy feeding around the fishing boat not far away, he gulped and also ran to grab the cast net.

Mai Hangyu was the first to cast a net, shouting excitedly: "Brother, this is way too fun!"

"These killer whales are surprisingly good at playing along."

"They even voluntarily brought over the transfer fee."

Wu Anle chuckled: "They're quite sensible."

Hearing them chat like that, A Qing seemed less nervous.

"Brother, it's a devil fish!"

"These fish are pretty rare; they should be worth a lot."

"Not bad."

"But be careful, these fish have spines."

"Bring gloves."

"Pull them up and toss them aside first."

These devil fish, originally being chased, had been frightened all along; now that the orca pod is feasting, their anxious hearts finally died.

But giving up the struggle is impossible.

As the saying goes, "When a fellow Daoist dies, the poor Daoist lives."

The devil fish flailed wildly; as a result, a few panicked devil fish, not choosing where to go, jumped straight onto the boat.

I thought we were safe.

Little did they know, they had escaped the tiger's jaws only to fall into the wolf's den.

A Qing was overjoyed.

This is all money, after all.

The three of them stood in different positions, continually throwing the cast net.

No need to worry about angle—the devil fish are surrounded by the orca pod in the middle, while the fishing boat is surrounded by the fish school; there are so many devil fish around that just throwing the net in will surely catch some.

Having too many fish isn't necessarily a good thing.

When hauling the cast net up, the three of them ran into difficulty.

Especially when the cast net came out of the water, plus the devil fish thrashing, it was incredibly heavy.

The three exerted all their strength, veins bulging on their foreheads, and it took tremendous effort to haul the cast net up.

Fortunately, the three aren't yet skilled, so the net didn't catch many devil fish; otherwise, this haul would be impossible to pull up.

"This net alone weighs at least thirty-four catties."

"Together, we've caught over a hundred catties of devil fish."

"Stop chatting."

"Use the scoop net to lift the devil fish onto the boat first."

Wu An shouted, grabbed the scoop net and dipped—each dip secured one; he lifted hard, then flung, and the devil fish flew onto the boat.

A Qing and Mai Hangyu did the same.

It's a bit like playing the fish-scooping game at a temple fair when we were kids, except we're the adult version.

The orcas soon finished eating, poked their heads out to look at them.

After a while they might have felt bored, they called to each other, then dove into the sea and reappeared far away.

The fish school also dispersed.

Wu An found the scoop net couldn't catch any fish, threw it down, and collapsed onto the ground.

After a while, his waist was sore from exhaustion.

A Qing was no longer afraid, waving at the departing orcas: "We've collected this toll fee; see you next time."

Then he looked at Wu An: "Brother, are you still satisfied?"

Wu An smiled and nodded, satisfied—more than satisfied.

Mai Hangyu also laughed, this sea trip was incredibly fun.

No matter how much money we make, at least we had a blast.