Chapter 761: I’ll Take Care of It
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the fis.h.i.+ng industry, taking what belonged to others was common.
There was an old saying in China that fame portended trouble for men just as fattening did for pigs. The black gold abalone fishermen guarded against each other as if they were guarding against thieves.
Every day, the fishermen paid attention to the other fishermen"s harvest. If one of them had many harvests continuously, they would realize that the other party had found an abalone group, and then they would keep an eye on them and follow them.
As a result, many black gold abalone fishermen used small boats because they were hidden from view and difficult to detect.
As for safety, they were familiar with water, and the waters where they caught the abalone were often very close to sh.o.r.e. Using a small boat could help ensure their safety.
Unlike the industries that Li Du had worked in before, black gold abalone harvesting was tiring and dangerous, but the fishermen in the field were all wealthy.
They didn"t sail yachts and big s.h.i.+ps because they didn"t need to, not because they couldn"t afford them.
For example, when he first bought the SeaStar 60 and arrived at King Island, Cruz noticed it and laughed at him, and said he was a rookie, telling him that no one would go out on a yacht to catch black gold abalone.
Li Du did not understand this in the beginning, because he had just arrived on the island, and not many people had noticed him.
Now they had sold a large amount of black gold abalone at the market and had attracted a lot of fishermen"s attention. This time when they went to sea, someone followed.
It was an emergency, and Li Du was not ready for it. Brother Wolf looked at him tentatively. He shrugged and said, "Let"s just continue. We"ll harvest ours and ignore them."
When he reached the jet-rock area, he released the little bug and sent it to the bottom of the sea. He found the location of the previously remembered black gold abalone group and signaled Brother Wolf to anchor there. He then put on his diving suit and jumped into the water.
Seeing this, the other boats also anch.o.r.ed. The surrounding sea looked as though they were throwing dumplings into the water. The splashes indicated there were people diving into the water.
Li Du found a black gold abalone and took Hans to it. He then went to the next one.
At this time, someone was swimming by Li Du"s side. He noticed the man but didn"t think much about it. His eyes were on the little bug, and he was concerned about whether there were underwater cracks around the black gold abalone.
When he found that the target was safe, he swam across with confidence.
Shortly after that, Li Du swam towards the big black gold abalone, and the person who was with him suddenly accelerated, swam ahead of him, and hugged the big black gold abalone.
Li Du was shocked at first, and when he realized what was going on, he was angry.
He swam to the man with a cold expression and gave him a push. The man pretended to ignore him. At the same time, he quickly took out an abalone card and hung it on the black gold abalone.
According to the rules of the trade, this meant the black gold abalone now belonged someone.
Li Du was very angry. The man"s behavior was too disgusting. This was considered robbery. How would he be able to endure this anger?
He glared at the man in the water, but could not open his mouth. He could only push him.
The other party was tired of it, so both of them swam to the surface.
Taking off his goggles, Li Du said furiously, "Hey, d*mn you, what were you doing?"
The diver who had s.n.a.t.c.hed his black gold abalone was a red-haired white man of his age with a tattoo and a nose-ring, like a buffalo shown on television.
His temper was much worse than Li Du"s. He glared and shouted, "What? Get out of here, and don"t disturb me from harvesting black gold abalone!"
Li Du pointed to him and said, "F**k you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You robbed my harvest!"
The youth displayed the att.i.tude of a rascal, sneered, and said, "Robbed you of the harvest? What have you harvested? You mean I took your black gold abalone? Is there any evidence?"
"You want to play dirty, don"t you?" said Li Du with a sullen face.
The young man with the nose ring impatiently pushed him away and said, "Who is playing dirty? That"s the way the black gold abalone is harvested. It belongs to whoever gets there first, newbie. Don"t you even know the rules?"
It was easy to argue about because working underwater was not as transparent as working on land. The water was opaque, and anyone could do anything in the water without being seen by witnesses.
Hans floated up to breathe, and when he saw them arguing, he swam over and cried, "What"s the matter?"
Brother Wolf was also aware of the conflict. The SeaStar 60 sailed nearby with a s.h.i.+rtless G.o.dzilla and Big Quinn standing in the bow, staring at the young thief menacingly.
The young man bravely pointed to Li Du and said, "Don"t think you can do anything just because you are in a big group. I"m not afraid of you."
He pointed to the goggles on his forehead.
He had a camera on his goggles, and an underwater video camera attached to his diving suit, one of the standard pieces of equipment for black gold abalone fishermen.
This set of tools was specially designed to deal with people"s disputes under water. It would be recording throughout the whole process as evidence to prove the owners.h.i.+p of the black gold abalone.
According to the rules of black gold abalone harvesting, it belonged to whoever reached for it first, not to the person who saw it first.
The youth with the nose-ring had swum over to the black gold abalone before Li Du and immediately reached out for it, as the video would show. If Li Du had a conflict with him, he would be punished if the man reported him to the fis.h.i.+ng and hunting bureau.
So many bureau officers patrolled the sea, not just to monitor harvesting activities, but to keep the peace.
Li Du knew this and waved his hand to stop G.o.dzilla and Brother Wolf, who were about to enter the water. He sneered and said to the young man, "Okay, you are amazing. I"ll see how amazing you can be!"
Seeing that he dared not provoke him, the young man knocked on the goggles in a triumphant tone and said, "It"s the camera which is amazing. You be careful. Don"t let me catch you doing anything fishy."
After saying this, he dove back into the water and raised his middle finger to provoke Li Du before leaving.
Hans was very angry and said, "You can"t put up with this. You must finish him!"
Li Du asked him to go back in the water and said, "I"ll take care of it myself. I"ll make him regret provoking me!"
He swam to the boat and said to Brother Wolf, "Get me the diving thrusters."
This was a part of a yacht, like a small gas tank with a propeller in the rear, which rotated quickly when turned on, propelling the owner forward.
He would be careful not to get too close to the bottom of the sea though, because the propellers spun so quickly that they would stir up the sediment on the seafloor.
That was what Li Du did. He drove the thruster to the spot where the black gold abalone was found and ran it with all his might.
As the propeller spun wildly, the mud, gravel, dead fish, shrimp, seaweed, and sediment on the seafloor was stirred up.
He turned around with his propeller, and the water soon turned cloudy.
As the water became cloudy, visibility became nearly nonexistent.
The young man with the nose ring was gleefully antic.i.p.ating getting the black gold abalone when his vision suddenly became so confused, that he could see nothing clearly, so he rose to see what was going on.