Chapter 605: Discovering the Spy Fish

Wu An had no hesitation; although he didn't know what the dolphin pod wanted him to follow them to do, human curiosity is uncontrollable.

We must follow them.

What if the dolphins are leading him to find treasure?

The third net had been down for almost an hour, and the Luck Value had been mostly used up, so he called for everyone to haul the net first.

Everyone hurried over to haul the net.

Not only Wu An was curious; everyone was the same.

These marine creatures are spiritual; they have helped multiple times at sea, and suddenly appearing to have them follow must have a reason.

"Don't be impatient."

"We still need to pay attention to safety."

"A Qing, you go over there, watch out for getting tangled."

Fu Yongning kept whistling and shouting.

The third net was hauled up.

The net bag was a bit flatter than the second net, but still okay, holding about a ton; Fan Xiao Zhu went to untie it, saw a netful of Pipa Shrimp, and happily brought his hand to his lips to kiss it.

How happy.

The Pipa Shrimp fetch a good price and are easy to sort, making them a high-value catch.

Wu An gave the large-headed dolphin a Luck Boost, maxing it out; he seemed to have a faint connection, though it might be an illusion.

However.

Through the system's light points, he could also lock onto the dolphins' forward direction.

This way, he need not fear losing them.

After a while, he saw that the dolphins' forward direction was exactly the area of Ma Weiqun's fishing boat, and the light point representing Hu Zi had vanished from the system's map because its Luck Value had been depleted.

Lao Fu Tou came to ask about the situation.

Everyone chattered about how the dolphins had been found and had even formed an arrow, prompting Lao Fu Tou to cluck approvingly: "These dolphins are indeed smart."

"They probably saw the arrow mark on the boat and remembered it."

"Where are they trying to take us?"

Wu An replied: "Old Fu, it's not just about where; first follow the dolphins."

Lao Fu Tou acknowledged and increased the boat's speed.

The dolphin pod darted unpredictably along both sides of the fishing boat, making a chittering sound; frankly, aside from the whistle being pleasant, the other noises were rather noisy.

They went on like that for about half an hour.

A Qing couldn't hold back: "Brother, brother, where exactly are the dolphins taking us? Could they be playing us?"

Mei Wu and the others didn't speak, but their brows furrowed.

Having followed them this far out, the dolphin pod showed no intention of stopping.

If they kept aimlessly chasing, and the dolphins suddenly dove and fled, wouldn't they all end up staring helplessly?

There's no one to reason with.

Fu Yongning also said: "Although dolphins aren't as mischievous as killer whales, it's not impossible they're just leading us on."

Everyone also nodded.

Only Lao Fu Tou remained relatively calm, not reducing speed, still maintaining high speed.

Wu An chuckled: "I don't think so."

"Dolphins aren't that idle."

"They've helped deliver messages before; they're still trustworthy."

Actually, he was also nervous in his heart; these dolphins were only his second encounter, they hadn't interacted much, unlike Hu Zi.

A Qing's worries aren't without reason.

Earlier, having let Turtle Brother guide them to find ambergris, Turtle Brother had teased him several times.

But worrying doesn't help.

Curiosity killed the cat; he really wanted to know what the dolphins were up to.

Besides, they've already been following.

If they really are being led on, there's nothing to do but accept it.

Wu An muttered to himself inwardly, kept a calm exterior, and put on a confident front so as not to panic everyone.

He led everyone to the cool shade beneath the pilot house to relax, and had A Qing fetch some chilled beer, which relieves fatigue and thirst.

Drinking the cold beer made him feel much better, and he muttered a few complaints about the damned weather.

Actually, the fishing boat was now going full speed ahead, the sea breeze blowing on him felt pleasant, but in reality the weather remained oppressively hot.

Wu An smiled: "This is fine; let everyone rest a bit, so continuous work doesn't wear them out."

After a few more minutes, Lao Fu Tou's voice came over the walkie-talkie: "The dolphin pod has changed."

Everyone hurried to the boat's side to look.

They saw the dolphin pod gather in front-left of the boat, swimming nose-to-tail, then forming a huge circle.

The large dolphin glanced back at the fishing boat, seemingly reminding Wu An and them to look, then leapt high, jumping over the pod into the water at the circle's center.

A Qing and them clapped and cheered: "Nice move."

"Again."

"Excellent."

Everyone raised a clamor.

The large dolphin entered the water and didn't surface; after a while, a small dolphin was pushed out, belly-up, floating on the surface.

Follow closely.

A large dolphin darted out from underneath, poked its head out and called a few times at the fishing boat.

Wu An quickly had Lao Fu Tou steer the boat closer.

A Qing leaned over the boat's edge to look; his eyesight was good, and he said, "Brother, that little dolphin seems to have a problem, as if it's dead."

"Holy shit, this dolphin pod probably didn't come just to have us save this little dolphin, did it?"

"We wouldn't know."

Finally, he muttered quietly: "As for how to eat it, that's fine."

Wu An took the binoculars and frowned: "That little dolphin seems off..."

"A Qing, go get the scoop net."

A Qing responded and ran to get it.

After the dolphin pod waited for the fishing boat to approach, it opened a gap, and the large dolphin, staring at the drifting little dolphin, also moved closer to the boat.

A Qing lowered the scoop net and caught the little dolphin.

As a result, he couldn't pull it up: "Brother, this little dolphin is really heavy."

"Come help me."

Mei Wu stood nearby and quickly lent a hand.

The two of them working together barely managed to pull the little dolphin up; it landed on the deck with a dull "clang".

Before, while drifting in the sea, nobody could see clearly, but once it was on the deck, everyone immediately realized something was off.

This damn thing is definitely not a dolphin.

"A dolphin toy?"

"It really looks weirdly like a dolphin."

Wu An touched it; the feel was similar to dolphin skin, it's a bionic dolphin.

A Qing flipped it over and shouted, "Brother, there's English on this; see what it means."

Wu An took a close look; it's a string of code with no special meaning.

Fu Yongning's face turned grave as he said, "Could this be something dropped by a research institute?"

Wu An thought: "Probably not."

"If it were dropped by a domestic research institute, there would definitely be clear markings, not this string of meaningless code."

Fu Yongning's tone shifted: "You mean overseas?"

Wu An nodded: "I guess so."

"This is very likely a spy fish."

A Qing asked: "Brother, a spy fish? Can a fish be a spy?"

Wu An said: "Of course."

"This bionic dolphin is almost indistinguishable from a real dolphin, hidden in the ocean, wandering around to detect and record the marine environment, even for military purposes, making it hard to guard against."

A Qing gasped.

Mei Wu looked at the playing dolphins, then suddenly said: "The dolphin pod probably noticed that this fellow of its kind was off, so they specially brought us here to look."

"These dolphins are really smart."

"They're very alert."

A Qing gave a thumbs up and praised: "Pretty patriotic, just like me."

Everyone laughed loudly.