Li Haochen had lost count of how many red abalone he had pried off. The sheer number was beyond counting. Just last night, he had made over a hundred million. Was this what they called making a small fortune? Money came so fast.
"I really wish I could stay here for half a year."
Facing boundless wealth within his grasp, it was impossible not to be tempted. However, love was worth more, and it was best to return home on time.
After eating, Li Haochen began to rest. This was his last day in the United States, and he needed to be full of energy for his final night. He planned to work for more than ten hours.
He woke up feeling very refreshed. Checking the time, he realized only eight hours had passed, and it was just past noon outside. There was still a long time to kill.
After some thought, he decided to tend to his coconut seedlings. He had been away for over ten days, and it was time to arrange for these seedlings, lest the village cadres back home who hadn't planted coconut trees yet continue to wait.
Li Haochen didn't dare to overwork himself; prying abalone was the priority, and he needed to conserve his strength. He worked for over three hours before stopping. This amount of exercise was just right.
He washed his face and then went to cook, also preparing his late-night snack.
After eating, calculating the time, it should be past four in the afternoon outside. He waited a bit longer, and when he felt it was about time, he began to put on his gear.
Stepping out of his personal space, the drastic temperature difference made Li Haochen shiver. It took him over ten seconds to adapt.
Looking at his watch, it was already six in the evening. He estimated it was safe to proceed at this time. The water was gradually growing dark. He turned on his lights and continued to dive further away. He had already surveyed this area quite thoroughly yesterday.
After a few minutes, the number of red abalone significantly increased. He turned off his propulsion device and dove to the bottom to start prying them off.
The quality of the red abalone in this sea area was noticeably superior to the one from last night. Each one was at least three to four pounds. His earnings here would more than double yesterday's.
However, despite prying so many, he hadn't encountered a single, beast-level, super giant abalone, which was a shame.
Li Haochen continued prying, and before he knew it, he had dived into a deeper area. Besides countless abalone, this place was covered with kelp and various seaweeds. From time to time, he saw all sorts of fish darting between the seaweed, looking like an underwater ballet.
He had no interest in admiring the beauty of the seabed at night; the massive red abalone with their brick-red shells were far more alluring.
"I am a diligent little bee, lit... huh?"
While humming a tune inwardly, Li Haochen, feeling pleased, suddenly spotted a super-sized red abalone in a crevice below. Although not yet pried out, judging by its exterior, he could already confirm it was at least 30 centimeters long. This discovery delighted Li Haochen immensely. This single abalone could be worth several net bags of those he had pried earlier, and it might even break the Guinness World Record of 31.3 centimeters.
With that thought, he grew excited and eagerly reached his hand down, preparing to pry it when...
"What was that sound?"
During the moment of Li Haochen's hesitation, a huge wooden crate fell from the sky, landing just a few dozen centimeters in front of him. He flinched, and even his pry bar slipped into the crevice.
"Holy crap, what the hell?"
Before he could get a clear look at the objects, several more large crates fell. Li Haochen was so startled that he didn't even have time to curse as he quickly dodged away.
After a while, with no further movement, Li Haochen cautiously peeked out. He looked around, confirmed there was no danger, and then swam over.
Upon getting a clear view of the crates, Li Haochen cursed inwardly, "Who the hell is so inconsiderate to be throwing wooden crates around."
Despite his curses, he was still quite curious. He circled the wooden crates. They were tightly wrapped. He tried pushing them with force, but they didn't budge. "Could there be something inside?"
Li Haochen began to ponder. In this free country, he could only think of two possibilities: firearms or drugs.
The more he looked, the more they resembled it. Looking at these five wooden crates, each taller than him, he grew fearful. If he got involved and left any trace, he would be finished no matter where he went.
He turned to leave but felt a bit unwilling to give up. After thinking it over, he decided to investigate thoroughly. If it was indeed firearms or drugs, he would have to destroy them and not let them enter the market.
He returned to the crates, took a look, and then entered his personal space to search for tools. He would need tools to open them.
Li Haochen retrieved the tactical dagger he had bought earlier and took it out. The spine of the knife had serrations, making it ideal for sawing through these wooden crates.
He found a crate that was easiest to start with, placed the knife against a corner of the wooden crate with the back facing him, and gently pulled. A lot of wood shavings came off. This knife was not only sharp but also excellent for sawing wood, making the purchase very worthwhile.
Despite its sharpness, sawing wood at a depth of over ten meters was still quite strenuous. It took Li Haochen four to five minutes to saw through one side.
Repeating the process, it took nearly half an hour to finally dismantle the wooden crates.
The wooden crates were opened, but...
"Holy crap~"
Looking at the iron box inside, Li Haochen's face darkened, and he mentally cursed the entire family of the damn bastard. Even more infuriating was that this iron box also had a lock. The fist-sized combination lock looked difficult to open.
Give up? Having come this far, he was unwilling to abandon it. Not seeing what was inside would always leave him with a nagging feeling.
Li Haochen entered his personal space again, found some steel bars used for installing aquaculture cages and cross locks, and took them out. The steel bars couldn't be inserted into the lock, but the lock clasp could be hooked onto it.
He hooked one side onto the lock and inserted the steel bar on the other side, forming a lever.
"Hope this works."
Li Haochen swam up, grabbed the ends of the steel bars with both hands, braced his feet against the bottom of the surrounding rocks, and then pulled hard.
"Chh chh~"
With a few muffled sounds of metal friction, Li Haochen knew the lock hadn't broken.
He knew it wouldn't open in one go, so he continued to pull down with all his might, repeatedly.
"Clang..."
Suddenly, a dull thud made Li Haochen ecstatic. He swam over and saw that the lock had loosened and come off, though it hadn't broken.
Li Haochen twisted the lock with his hand. It was indeed very loose, and with a few more attempts, it would surely open. With renewed hope, Li Haochen exerted all his strength, his hands like Popeye's after eating spinach.
"Pfft pfft..."
Each pull was with his utmost effort. On the fifth attempt...
"Crack..."
A sound of metal breaking echoed. The stubborn combination lock was finally conquered by Li Haochen.
Li Haochen smiled and walked over, unscrewed the lock that was still hanging in the keyhole and threw it away. He took a deep breath, holding both sides. He secretly hoped it was firearms, as men, who didn't like playing with guns and cannons.
"Creak~"