Li Haochen returned to the Starry Sky, first refilled the oxygen tank, took off his diving suit, his hands and feet wrinkled, he drank a mouthful of warm water and went to the bathroom to wash, the hot water washing his body felt so comfortable.
After showering, he went to the kitchen to make instant noodles, adding two sausages.
After eating like this for two consecutive days, Li Haochen looked at the steaming instant noodles in his hand and really couldn't eat them anymore, but there was no other option, as besides this, there were only sausages and preserved chocolate.
There was plenty of seafood, but it was time-consuming and labor-intensive. If he wasn't diving later, he could get some, but for now, it was better to rest more and conserve energy.
Li Haochen wolfed down the instant noodles and sausages, then walked out of the cabin and started searching on the deck.
He walked to the right side of the hull, and the stainless steel round transport plate hanging there caught his eye. He walked over, held his hand out to measure it, and nodded.
He went into the cabin, found a Phillips screwdriver, and removed one side of the transport plate. He grasped the middle and lifted it to test it, saying with satisfaction, "The size is just right. I can use it to block the front. If anything comes out, I can fend it off a few times."
Seeing the time, it was already late. Li Haochen quickly put on his gear, did some warm-up exercises, drank a can of Red Bull, and then took all his equipment and drove the inflatable boat over.
The thudding sound of the thruster added a touch of eeriness to the dark and silent night. It was pitch black all around at this late hour, so Li Haochen dared not go too fast; hitting a reef would be no joke.
The sky was dark and the waves were surging. It was very dangerous to beach the inflatable boat. Li Haochen stopped about seven or eight meters away, lowered the anchor chain, took all his equipment and tools, turned on his headlamp, and backed in.
"Plop~"
About two minutes later, Li Haochen reached the bottom, found the anchor chain of the inflatable boat, dragged it to a nearby coral reef, and tied it up. Otherwise, with such a thin anchor, it would surely be dragged away by the current.
He took off his flippers and hung them behind him, then put on a pair of underwater exploration shoes. They were snug-fitting and non-slip, very practical, but difficult to put on underwater. Li Haochen took some effort to put them on.
He arrived at the deep cave. Li Haochen held the stainless steel transport plate with his left hand to block the front and slowly dived in with the speargun in his right hand. As his light shone, the small abalones in their original positions had moved tens of centimeters further into the cave. Fortunately, they hadn't dispersed.
The small abalones could already feel a colossal creature above them. They were all on high alert, clinging tightly to the inner wall. It was just their bad luck to be born at the wrong time. They were so small, Li Haochen grabbed one, flipped it over, and pried it off.
Although it wasn't too difficult, operating with one hand still took some time. He wanted to use both hands, but if he didn't have that plate blocking the front, he always felt uneasy.
After collecting about ten of them, Li Haochen gently pushed off with his feet and appeared one meter ahead. The wave of small abalones above his head hadn't left, they had just scattered around.
To better capture them, Li Haochen pulled his legs towards his chest and squatted to pry off the abalones.
A few minutes later, looking at the more than 30 small abalones in the net bag, Li Haochen's face was full of smiles. Although they weighed less than two pounds and weren't worth much, they had limitless potential in the future.
In Li Haochen's eyes, these small abalones were more valuable than the large yellow croakers and yellow lip fish he had caught and released into the spatial ocean before.
Although large yellow croakers and yellow lip fish were expensive, with the vastness of the spatial ocean, once they entered, where would he find them again? But abalones were different. They lived in rocky reefs with strong currents and lush seaweed, often crawling into crevices or holes in the rocks. In the spatial ocean, only the reef areas along the coast of Jiuzhou Island were suitable for their reproduction and growth. Capturing them in the future would be much simpler.
Li Haochen moved the steel plate blocking his front to the left a little, tilted his head to shine inside, and found several more small abalones slowly climbing in a recess not far ahead.
He was slightly pleased, straightened his body, gently pushed off with his back foot, and slowly dived deeper. After collecting these few abalones, his meticulousness made him discover more.
Thus, Li Haochen unknowingly dived dozens of meters deep, turning left and right, as if being lured. Every few tens of centimeters, he found scattered small abalones.
"Huh, these ones are significantly larger than the previous ones."
The abalones, the size of eggs, could no longer be easily pried off by hand. Their suction was considerable. Li Haochen used a crowbar to pry them out. Just as he was about to pick up the net bag to put the abalones in, he was startled by their weight.
"So many?" Li Haochen couldn't quite believe it. The weight in his hand felt at least ten to eight catties, meaning at least a hundred to two hundred small abalones.
After putting the abalones away, Li Haochen checked the oxygen level in his tank, with about fifteen minutes of air left. After a brief consideration, he decided to search for a few more minutes before leaving.
Turning the corner, Li Haochen found abalones again, and they were the same size as before, the size of eggs.
He dug them out, held them in his hand, and pondered, "Could it be that the deeper it gets, the larger the abalones are?"
To verify this, Li Haochen continued to move forward for a distance, and the abalones he caught were all the size of eggs. This discovery made him very confident in his idea.
The deep cave, which seemed to have no bottom, also made Li Haochen hesitate. After all, he had dived so far. Although the harvest was rich, the risk had also increased. Fortunately, this deep cave was naturally formed and integrated, otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to enter.
He pried out the few abalones in front of him. Looking at the remaining ten minutes of oxygen, he narrowed his eyes and pondered, "There are definitely larger ones in the depths, and the quantity should not be small. Perhaps enough for Yanran Hotel. But if I go any deeper, the oxygen won't be enough to leave. If only I had the abilities of the Bajau people..."
"Bajau people?" Li Haochen blinked. The words "Bajau people" kept swirling in his mind. Suddenly, he woke up with a jolt, a smile appearing on his face. "Hahaha, I've been so influenced by the oxygen tank on my back that I forgot about the bug that is my spatial ability! As long as I don't use the oxygen tank and hold my breath to capture them, and if I can't hold my breath, I can go into the spatial ability to adjust and then come out, and still retain the oxygen from the oxygen tank when I leave."
He decided to act immediately. Li Haochen took a deep breath of oxygen, took off the oxygen tank on his back, and placed it aside. He wasn't afraid of losing the twenty to thirty kilograms of weight.
As he thought, Li Haochen had already entered the spatial ability. After scattering the small abalones in the net bag at the bottom of the reef, he quickly picked a coconut, drank from it, grabbed the steel plate and speargun, took a deep breath, and returned to his previous position.
He felt a slight discomfort upon emerging, but it quickly subsided. Li Haochen held his breath and continued forward.
As he had thought, the deeper he went, the larger the abalones he found. With this confirmation, Li Haochen was overjoyed and excited.
"Hahaha, I'm really looking forward to it. Will there be abalones weighing a few catties if I go deeper!"