After Reincarnating as the Dragon King, I Made a Fortune with Seafood – CH31

Chapter 31: Found

In truth, going to the bathroom during deep-water diving was not a rare thing.

It was comparatively rare for divers to do number two in such a situation, but almost everyone peed underwater, even if many people refused to admit it.

Old Wen and the others did not cause any serious aftermath by going to the bathroom either.

There were relatively few fish in the waters they were searching, so when they relieved themselves, they did not encounter the sight of fish swarming over.

In fact, when they were doing their business, they were just squatting there in the dark, and the visual effect was practically nonexistent.

The ocean was too vast, and humans were too small.

The sea had an entire ecosystem of its own. This little bit of self-purification ability was completely within its capacity.

The ocean was not as clean as people imagined. It also contained all kinds of bacteria, all kinds of trash, and all kinds of marine creature carcasses.

Going to the bathroom in the sea would not pollute things any more than going to the bathroom on land.

Faced with this situation, the biggest problem was actually the psychological feeling of the people involved.

After such an incident, when Lu Ao surfaced more than ten minutes later, far away from Old Wen and the others, his face was green.

Seeing him surface dozens of meters away from the fishing boat, Xiao Du quickly asked, “What happened?”

Old Wen and the others surfaced after him. He let go of the regulator in his mouth and sighed. “Nothing. We just relieved ourselves underwater.”

The other team members also emerged from beneath the surface one after another and apologized to Lu Ao.

“Sorry, Lu Ao.”

“Sorry about that. Didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

Lu Ao shook his head. “It’s fine.”

The diving team members were embarrassed.

One of them was so embarrassed that he wished his toes could curl into the ground. It was because he had suggested they go eat the local specialty breakfast that this awkward situation had happened.

Everyone sat on the boat, silent together.

Xiao Du and the others soon found out what had happened and had a hard time holding back their laughter.

After resting for more than an hour, everyone had to start working again.

No matter what, Lu Ao refused to search that area of water again. With no other choice, they assigned him another team member, Xiao Shan, and let them search a different area first.

Xiao Du prepared to steer the boat and asked, “Lu Ao, which way do you want to go?”

Lu Ao carefully thought over the nautical chart and finally said, “Head southwest.”

“Southwest?” Xiao Du froze for a moment. “That’s downstream of the ocean current. We’ve already searched there.”

The area they were searching had already been marked out. It roughly formed circular search zones around the accident ship, expanding outward ring by ring, with a large fan-shaped extension in the direction of the current.

Their first idea back then had been to search along the current, so the relevant area had already been searched at once.

Lu Ao said, “I want to go to the outermost edge of the previous search range and take a look.”

If that laptop really was still in the sea, his instinct told him it was over there.

Because such an awkward incident had just happened, no one could really refute him.

Old Gao, who was in charge of the search, saw his firm expression and nodded. “That works. Let’s go take a look.”

With permission granted, Xiao Du started the engine and drove the fishing boat chugging toward the direction Lu Ao had indicated.

The other fishing boats stayed where they were to support Old Wen and the others.

Their fishing boat moved forward for more than ten minutes before Xiao Du stopped.

By now, they were already very far from their original location. Someone with poor eyesight could barely see the boats over there with the naked eye.

Lu Ao relaxed a little and put on his equipment again, preparing to enter the sea.

His partner, Xiao Shan, followed behind him.

After diving to the seabed, Lu Ao took the metal detector and continued searching carefully.

Xiao Shan, on the other hand, was not very enthusiastic.

They had discussed this place before. The possibility of the laptop drifting here was not high.

This place was too far from the accident site.

They worked for another hour and found nothing. The two surfaced and returned to the boat to rest, changing their tanks again.

Xiao Shan looked at the sea, then at Lu Ao, and suggested, “Why don’t we go back to the original spot or search another area? This place doesn’t seem to have much hope.”

Lu Ao shook his head. “I feel like it should be around here.”

Xiao Shan was displeased and frowned. “We searched around here a few days ago. We didn’t even see fragments from the accident ship, let alone a laptop.”

Lu Ao insisted, “A laptop is relatively heavy. It’s possible it drifted here.”

“If you put it that way, then it could have drifted to any corner of the Qianming Sea. Isn’t this supposed to be based on probability? Searching randomly like this is no different from looking for a needle in the ocean.”

Lu Ao said, “I think it should be nearby.”

Xiao Shan was not too happy and muttered, “You’re just unwilling to go back to that stretch of sea because of what happened earlier, aren’t you? We salvage team members have seen everything. We often have to retrieve bloated corpses in giant-death-stiffened states. What’s the big deal about relieving yourself in the sea?”

“I really don’t want to go back to that stretch of sea,” Lu Ao said. “And I really do feel it should be around here.”

Xiao Du quickly tried to smooth things over. “Why don’t we try again? At most, we can search for another two hours this morning. If we still can’t find it, we’ll discuss it again in the afternoon.”

Xiao Shan snorted. “Another two hours, and the tanks will be almost gone.”

He came from a professional salvage team and already did not think much of an amateur like Lu Ao. Seeing that Lu Ao was also so troublesome made him somewhat impatient.

Old Gao could see it too and said sternly, “You’re all on the same team. Once you go underwater, you’re entrusting your safety to the person behind you. Don’t start conflicts.”

Xiao Shan snorted. “I won’t joke around with professional ethics.”

Lu Ao said, “I’m not joking either. Didn’t you invite me here because you thought I could retrieve it?”

Old Gao and the others really did value his luck.

Hearing him say this, Old Gao still felt it was unreliable to search so far out, but he also held on to a trace of hope.

For a moment, all three pairs of eyes turned toward Old Gao, the most experienced among them, waiting for him to make a decision.

Old Gao considered it for a while, then said, “We’ll search around here this morning. If we can’t find it, we’ll consider changing locations in the afternoon. Xiao Shan, you have more experience, so thank you for cooperating.”

Xiao Shan could not say anything more and reluctantly agreed.

Lu Ao ate a little, rested, changed tanks, and continued going into the sea to search.

After one tank was used up, he still had not found anything.

Old Gao felt a little disappointed, but still did not say anything.

Soon, the third tank was also used up, and Lu Ao still had not found anything.

Worry had already appeared in Old Gao’s eyes.

Lu Ao’s expression remained calm.

In the afternoon, Lu Ao insisted on continuing the search nearby.

The diving team was not very willing to cooperate anymore. In the end, it was their team leader, Old Zhang, who personally stepped in before the diving team reluctantly agreed.

At a little past three in the afternoon, Lu Ao strapped on a tank for what would be the second-to-last dive of the day.

After this tank, they would use one more tank, and then they would have to head back.

Lu Ao put on his equipment, took several deep breaths to adjust himself, flipped his feet, and continued descending into the sea.

Xiao Shan followed six or seven meters away from him.

Lu Ao searched with the metal detector.

The thing basically lit up every few minutes. Lu Ao picked up whatever it detected, but most of it was metal trash.

He had become numb from all the searching. Reaching his hand forward, he repeated the motion he had done thousands, tens of thousands of times. The metal detector’s faint blue light lit up again.

He instinctively reached down and felt around. Suddenly, he pulled a hard rectangular object out of the sand and silt.

When he looked again, the object in his hand was clearly a laptop. It was from a certain Chinese brand, and much heavier than an ordinary laptop.

Lu Ao’s heart gave a jump. His instinct told him this was the computer the police were looking for.

He held back the joy in his heart, stuffed the laptop into his fish bag, then turned and swam toward Xiao Shan.

The tide had risen in the afternoon, stirring up a large amount of sand and plankton. Visibility underwater was not very good.

Lu Ao had been searching and picking things up along the way, so Xiao Shan did not know what he had picked up.

Seeing him suddenly turn around, Xiao Shan thought something had happened and quickly gestured to ask.

Lu Ao told him everything was fine, but that he wanted to surface first.

Xiao Shan agreed.

The two slowly ascended, allowing their bodies to adapt to the change in water pressure.

This process was mainly for Xiao Shan’s sake. There was basically no difference between being above or below water for Lu Ao, especially when he was in dragon form. Even in human form, he did not feel much within a hundred meters.

With a splash, they broke the surface.

Xiao Du, who had been waiting on the fishing boat in utter boredom, was being roasted by the late-June sun until he was practically sweating steam. When he saw them, he was startled and instinctively checked the time.

Lu Ao and the others had only been underwater for a little over twenty minutes.

“What happened?” Xiao Du nervously pulled Lu Ao up. “Did something go wrong?”

“Nothing. Check if this is the computer you’re looking for.” After boarding the boat, Lu Ao took a laptop out of his fish bag and handed it over, his face pale.

Xiao Du’s eyes instantly went round. He was completely stunned.

Old Gao was the first to come back to his senses. He snatched the laptop from Lu Ao’s hand, examined it carefully, then shouted, “It looks like it?! No, it is this one! Lu Ao, you’re amazing! How did you find it?!”

Xiao Shan was dumbfounded. He had been underwater with Lu Ao for so long, yet he had no idea Lu Ao had already found the computer.

Old Gao held the laptop carefully and turned it over and over, inspecting it for quite a while before suddenly slapping his own forehead. “Look at me, I almost forgot. Xiao Du, hurry and call the captain. Tell him we may have found the laptop!”

“Got it, I’ll go right now!”

Xiao Du no longer cared whether satellite calls were expensive or not. He quickly took out the phone and called Old Zhang.

The moment Old Zhang picked up, before he could even finish saying “Hello,” Xiao Du could not wait to say, “Captain! I think we found the laptop! Lu Ao found it!”

Old Zhang lost his voice. “What?! You really found it?”

“Should be it. We’ve looked at the information so many times, there’s almost no chance we’re mistaken!”

“Hahahaha, good! As long as it’s found!” Old Zhang’s voice grew more than a degree louder. “Don’t stay out at sea. Bring the laptop back quickly.”

“Yes!”

“Hey, wait there. I’ll bring people to the dock to meet you!”

“Okay, we’re heading back now!”

After they finished speaking, neither side was willing to hang up.

Through the satellite phone, they could hear Old Zhang roaring for someone to arrange a vehicle. He sounded absolutely overjoyed.

Old Gao was the first to react. “Hang up. Let the other teams know too. They can return.”

“Okay!” Xiao Du hurriedly grabbed the walkie-talkie and told his colleagues that the computer had already been found, and that they could return.

A colleague said, “Old Wen and the others are still underwater. We’ll have to wait a while.”

Old Gao took the walkie-talkie. “Fine. We’ll head back first.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll send a boat over to escort you. Be careful.”

Xiao Shan sat to the side, listening to Xiao Du and the others shouting in excitement, unable to describe how he felt.

Lu Ao also sat nearby. He had expended too much energy today and had barely eaten at noon. His face was completely pale now, and anyone could see his exhaustion at a glance.

Soon, another boat from the Maritime Navigation Public Security Bureau came over and escorted Lu Ao’s boat back.

Before they even reached the dock, Old Zhang called to say they had already arrived there.

Hearing that, Old Gao sped up the boat.

The two groups met up. Besides police officers, Old Zhang had also brought experts with him.

Old Gao stepped onto the dock with the laptop. Before he could even stand properly, Old Zhang was already impatient. “Where’s the computer?”

“Here.”

Old Zhang carefully took the laptop and examined it before handing it to the expert.

The expert was excited. “Yes, this is our computer. It still has our comrade’s number on it.”

Old Zhang said, “Please check it. Is the damage serious? Does it need to be sent for restoration?”

“Let me see. It probably won’t be necessary. Our laptops are waterproof and impact-resistant,” the expert said. “Report to the higher-ups as soon as possible and have them send someone to receive it.”

Old Zhang said, “I’ve already reported it. If it’s confirmed to be ours, they can send people down tonight.”

“It is ours!” the expert said with certainty. “Have them send someone over as soon as possible!”

With the computer recovered, there was another wave of chaos and rushing around. After quite a while, everyone got into the vehicles and headed back to the Public Security Bureau. Only then did Old Zhang finally find a moment to firmly shake Lu Ao’s hand. “You worked hard!”

“It’s nothing.” Lu Ao felt extremely tired. “I’ll rest for a bit. Call me when we arrive.”

Old Gao said from the side, “Lu Ao went into the sea six times today. Why don’t we send him to rest first and do the report tomorrow?”

Old Zhang asked with concern, “Lu Ao, can you manage? Shall we do it tomorrow?”

Lu Ao pinched the space between his brows. “What needs to go into the report?”

Old Zhang quickly said, “Nothing much. Just where the laptop was found, why you thought of searching there, how many people touched it after it was found, and so on. If you’re tired, you can dictate it, and we’ll fill it in. You can just sign afterward.”

Lu Ao did not want to drag it out. “Let’s finish it tonight.”

“Alright. Sorry to trouble you. Let’s finish this first, then you can have a proper rest.”

Lu Ao agreed.

When the group arrived at the Public Security Bureau, it was already past five in the afternoon. Everyone ate boxed meals quickly, then began preparing the paperwork.

Lu Ao did not slack off. He wrote the whole report himself.

By the time it was almost finished, around seven, the experts from the capital had already arrived by helicopter. Lu Ao was invited over for another round of questioning.

The experts were quite kind and did not make things difficult for him.

Even so, after being asked question after question, Lu Ao was still exhausted.

It was not until ten at night that the temporary fuss finally came to an end. Old Zhang quickly asked Xiao Du to send Lu Ao back to the guesthouse to rest.

After Lu Ao returned, he took a quick shower. When he lay down on the bed, he was so tired it felt like his bones were about to fall apart.

He opened his phone and briefly checked the messages he had received that day.

WeChat was quiet. No one had looked for him.

The fishing group, however, was lively with Lin Gongshang and the others chatting away. Lu Ao glanced through it briefly and was about to close WeChat.

Just then, a new message popped up at the top.

It was from Song Zhou, sent just now.

—Want to go out for late-night food tonight?

Lu Ao let out a light breath and moved his fingers.

—No. I’m exhausted tonight. I feel like I could fall asleep standing.

—That tired?

Lu Ao: Mm. Physically and mentally exhausted.

—What happened?

—I suffered a mental blow.

Lu Ao told Song Zhou about what had happened that morning. At the end, he complained to Song Zhou:

—I probably won’t want to fish for a long time.

—Then what will you do?

Lu Ao: We’ll see. I’m so tired.

—How about going home to sleep tonight?

Lu Ao’s mind was groggy, and he had not yet figured out how “going home to sleep tonight” would work.

Suddenly, there was an extra shadow in his room. He looked up and saw that it was Song Zhou.

Song Zhou’s gentle eyes looked at him with concern. “Should I take you home first?”

Lu Ao sat up from the bed. “Why are you here?”

“I heard you say all that and got a little worried.” Song Zhou said, “Let’s go home first?”

Lu Ao’s voice was a little hoarse. “If I go back, and they can’t find me tomorrow morning, they’ll get suspicious.”

Song Zhou said, “It’s fine. I’ll bring you back tomorrow morning.”

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