The yacht motored toward a small reef island. From the side of the boat, they could see the clear coral reef below.

The water beneath the boat was about twenty meters deep. Both the distant reef and the area directly under the boat looked perfect for spearfishing.

During his freediving training, Chu Mingcheng hadn't removed his gear. Now he re-clipped his safety rope, and he and Lu Zheqiang entered the water from the aft deck ladder.

Once in the water, Chu Mingcheng swam to the boat's side and took the speargun from Tong Shuman, who remained on board. He then swam toward the distant coral reef.

Lu Zheqiang followed behind, holding an underwater camera.

He had filmed all of Chu Mingcheng's training today. With a little editing, this footage would make excellent promotional material.

They reached the edge of the coral reef, where the water was about seven or eight meters deep.

Chu Mingcheng floated horizontally on the surface, his gaze directed downward. The snorkel's exhaust port remained above his head, allowing him to breathe whenever needed.

This was the optimal way to search for prey in coral reef areas.

Soon, Chu Mingcheng spotted several valuable fish swimming about two meters above the coral—spotted knifejaw, also known as black gold drum.

He pretended to take a breath, then dove headfirst into the water.

Lu Zheqiang, filming from behind, did the same and followed him down.

Chu Mingcheng slowed his approach when he was about six or seven meters from the spotted knifejaw.

It was his first time using a speargun, and he knew his aim would be terrible, so he wanted to get closer.

He moved slowly, first bracing the speargun against his stomach to load the two rubber bands, then holding it in front of him with his right hand as he gradually approached.

A speargun is quite heavy on land, but underwater, with the help of buoyancy, it becomes very light and easy to hold steady.

As he drew closer—to about three meters away—the spotted knifejaw grew uneasy. They flicked their tails and began swimming away from him, maintaining their distance.

Their swimming speed clearly increased, no longer as leisurely as before.

Chu Mingcheng stopped, not daring to get any closer. When the fish paused, he glanced at his dive watch. It had been over thirty seconds since he'd dove; he needed to hurry.

With someone behind him, he couldn't patiently wait at the bottom for the fish to lower their guard before striking.

Lifting the speargun to aim, Chu Mingcheng chose the largest one. When it turned its side toward him, he decisively pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The rubber bands snapped instantly, and the spear shot out. It moved so fast that Chu Mingcheng's own eyes couldn't track it; he could only see the trail it left behind.

The spotted knifejaw in front scattered. He had missed, hitting to the left of the target fish. He estimated he was only off by about twenty centimeters.

Missing the first shot was normal. Chu Mingcheng swam back to the surface and retrieved the spear.

Lu Zheqiang swam to his side, removed his snorkel, and said, "Ah Cheng, it's okay to miss the first shot. Your aim was actually quite good. The difference between shooting in the sea and a pool is that the seawater is moving, and the fish are moving too."

"First, you have to pay attention to the direction of the current. Then you predict the fish's next move. That way, your accuracy will improve quickly."

"Practice slowly, don't rush."

"Got it!"

Lu Zheqiang was right. He hadn't considered the push of the current, nor had he accurately calculated the fish's swimming speed.

But this was something that required extensive practice to master.

Floating horizontally again, searching for suitable prey, he spotted a bright green fish. It was probably a parrotfish, and a decent size.

He took a breath and dove into the water again, swimming toward the parrotfish.

He loaded the rubber bands and began his approach.

He noticed the fish wasn't staying in one place but was slowly swimming toward one o'clock. So he sped up and positioned himself in front of it.

He turned over, stopped, and held the speargun, waiting for it to approach.

Five meters, four meters, three meters...

Watching the fish swim closer and closer, until it curiously stopped in front of the speargun's tip, Chu Mingcheng was speechless.

He had never seen such a dumb fish in his life. Now he had.

He pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The spear shot straight through the fish's body.

Only then did the parrotfish realize its mistake, and it thrashed its tail desperately.

But the spear had a barb on it, specifically designed to prevent prey from escaping.

Chu Mingcheng was about to take out his diving knife to bleed the parrotfish when the Aquatic Codex in his mind suddenly changed.

He was only slightly stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses and bleeding the fish first. Seeing that he had been underwater for almost two minutes, he could only grab the rope and swim to the surface.

He couldn't stay underwater for too long with someone nearby.

"Good luck!" Lu Zheqiang said, looking at the fish with a half-smile.

Chu Mingcheng smiled awkwardly. Dumb fish were rare, but spearfishermen did encounter them occasionally.

He clipped the fish to his live fish stringer and continued searching for prey. As for the new change in the Aquatic Codex, he could examine it later when he had time.

Since it was almost noon, Chu Mingcheng handed the speargun to Lu Zheqiang, then took the fish spear from his back and swam toward deeper water.

He needed to catch another fish to have enough for lunch for everyone.

In water about twenty meters deep, you couldn't see the bottom while floating horizontally on the surface.

He needed to swim to the mid-layer to find suitable prey, but the trouble with being in the mid-layer was that he had to surface for air from time to time.

After going up to pretend to breathe four times, he finally found his ideal prey: a barred knifejaw hiding in a coral crevice.

As he got closer, Chu Mingcheng realized this knifejaw was quite large, at least five or six jin. 【TN: Roughly 1.1 pounds.】

The knifejaw was hiding in the coral crevice, thinking it was safe, but it didn't realize that this made it easier for him to use the fish spear.

Chu Mingcheng slowly positioned himself above it, held the fish spear, aimed at its gills, and thrust—swoosh!

The spear pierced the fish's body, and the knifejaw struggled frantically.

But it was useless. Chu Mingcheng moved forward and held it down, then released the fish spear and took out his diving knife to bleed it.

Fish blood drifted in the water, and soon it lost the strength to struggle.

Chu Mingcheng carried the fish directly to the surface, removed his snorkel, and said to Lu Zheqiang, who had also surfaced, "Let's call it a morning. After lunch, I'll go back to the pool to continue practicing."

Lu Zheqiang had no objections. If Chu Mingcheng went to the pool to practice, he could train the two new female members of his team.

Back on the boat, Chu Mingcheng placed the knifejaw in ice water and then poured a little white wine over it to sterilize it.

He had eaten Jiang Luoluo's raw oyster before, but that was just to tease her, and once in a while was fine.

But if you eat sashimi often, it's best to sterilize it or age it properly.

White liquor would have been best, but there was only foreign liquor on the boat, so Chu Mingcheng had to make do with white wine.

He filleted the parrotfish, cut it into pieces, and pan-fried them. It tasted excellent.

The main reason was that such fresh fish wouldn't have any fishy smell, so the taste would be particularly good.

After lunch, Lu Zheqiang drove the boat back.

The original plan was to be out for a full day, but he hadn't expected Chu Mingcheng's progress to be so rapid.