Chapter 2336: Chapter 2400: Strange Object Underwater

Avoiding the electric eel, Li Yifei swam in another direction, only to discover something strange. The coral reef was slightly shallower, about twenty meters from the surface, which was unusual in a place generally forty meters deep. So, Li Yifei approached for a closer look and suddenly saw a metal object protruding from beneath the coral reef.

"Metal?" Li Yifei blinked his eyes, not in a hurry to explore but quickly surfaced to catch his breath before diving back down. In his current physical state, he could hold his breath for ten minutes at most, but that would be risky and affect his stamina. Therefore, Li Yifei would take a breather every five to six minutes.

Following the place where he discovered the metal, Li Yifei dove down again and soon found the spot where a piece of metal was exposed.

This was a khaki-colored metal. At first, Li Yifei thought this might be an old sunken ship, either ancient or modern, with wood and such rotting away, attracting coral polyps, and forming a small coral reef. But he discovered this wasn’t the case. The exposed metal was solid; Li Yifei tapped it and could tell from the sound that it was a piece of metal similar to copper but not copper.

Reaching out to brush away some of the sand on top, Li Yifei saw that the object seemed to be inserted into the coral reef.

"How long is it?" Li Yifei wondered, gripping tightly with his hands and pushing with his feet to try and pull it out a bit, but to no avail. Although his current strength had waned, it was still considerable.

Could it be that this is just a protruding piece, with more inside? Li Yifei thought, realizing he had nothing at hand. So he let go of the copper pillar and continued downward, soon discovering a second piece, followed by a third. The three copper pillars were arranged in a vertical line.

Hm? Li Yifei slowly circled the coral reef and found another similar copper pillar in a crevice of another coral reef, but it was more than ten meters away.

In half an hour, Li Yifei discovered seven copper pillars. A few were on the same horizontal line, and although the others were not on the same plane, they were arranged in a pattern.

Could there be something inside this coral reef, with copper pillars inserted around it in a pattern?

Having held his breath underwater for so long, Li Yifei was quite exhausted, so he needed to return to the shore. Otherwise, staying here any longer could be dangerous for him.

Remember the location and come back after the True Qi has recovered, Li Yifei thought. Just as he was about to surface, he saw a large claw protruding from the crevice in the coral reef. Li Yifei was immediately delighted; indeed, it’s true, "worn out iron shoes in fruitless searching, it’s found effortlessly when least expected." A lobster was hidden in the shadows. Li Yifei quietly approached, reached out to grab the claw, and with a forceful pull, he discovered the lobster was over half a meter long—definitely a big one. Li Yifei was thrilled, carefully grasping it and placing it in the bag when he suddenly felt a sense of danger. Suddenly, his body went numb, and he was instantly paralyzed.

Oh, crap, the electric eel had returned and attacked Li Yifei. The instant shock nearly knocked him out. He finally understood the sensation those using generators or batteries to electrocute fish might experience; it’s indeed unpleasant. Li Yifei’s body involuntarily sank, gulping down several mouthfuls of water before regaining his senses. Hastily, he swam to the surface, gasping for air, but his stomach, throat, and mouth were very uncomfortable from the seawater.

It took a lot of effort to swim back to shore, and Li Yifei collapsed on the beach. Chen Junxiao ran over to inquire, and Li Yifei waved his hand, saying, "I’m fine, just exhausted!"

"Let’s not catch so much tomorrow, Uncle!"

"It’s fine. Look what I caught!" Li Yifei pointed to the bag tied to himself. Chen Junxiao quickly went over to check and saw a lobster inside, even longer than the one from yesterday. The little girl immediately cheered, proclaiming her uncle was amazing.

While lying down, Li Yifei was pondering what the thing he encountered underwater was. With so many copper pillars, what was in the middle? Li Yifei wasn’t sure, which made him curious. Instinct told him there was something inside, but he couldn’t figure out what.

Supporting himself up to sit, Chen Junxiao exclaimed in shock. It turned out Li Yifei’s lower back was bleeding and somewhat charred. Li Yifei recalled that this injury seemed to be from the electric eel’s shock just now; he didn’t expect it to be so aggressive, causing a piece of skin to be directly damaged and bleeding.

"Don’t worry, I’ll just bandage it up when we get home!" Li Yifei said. It hurt, but he didn’t care much. He slung the bag over his back, let the little girl carry the bucket, and headed home.

The other beachcombers saw the two of them in this state and hadn’t expected any fish. Once home, Li Yifei tended to his wound, washed off in the river, and disinfected with soapy water. He wrapped it with tissues—it was from a package bought yesterday. Otherwise, the little girl here wouldn’t even have paper... There was paper, but it was of very poor quality and yellowed.

"Uncle, does it hurt a lot?" Chen Junxiao’s little face was full of concern.

Li Yifei shook his head, saying, "No, it doesn’t hurt. Alright, change your clothes, and let’s go sell some fish!"

"I don’t need to change!"

"Oh right, I can’t change either, as carrying the fish will make it smelly!" Li Yifei patted his head, stood up, and evenly distributed the fish into two bags. He tied them up and found a stick, to which he attached a bag at each end. It looked like a carrying pole, making it convenient to carry.

Li Yifei kept the crabs in the small bucket for dinner. The lobsters were taken along, as they were to be sold for money.

Li Yifei hoisted the pole and realized that today’s catch might be twice as heavy as yesterday’s. So, how much could he sell it for today?

As the two walked through the village, people who saw them were puzzled. Li Yifei still had his shirt off, with a few pieces of paper stuck to his back and waist. Chen Junxiao, on the other hand, was walking with his head down, carrying a bucket. They arrived at the elder’s house from yesterday. With the gifts from before, the elder agreed quickly to let them in, and even her son was at home and came out to chat with Li Yifei for a bit.

He was a thin and dark-skinned man, with the typical physique and appearance of a southern man, and his Mandarin wasn’t very good. Seeing Li Yifei had caught so many fish, he couldn’t help but ask, "Did you catch all these yourself?"

"Yes, caught them!"

"Amazing! I’d never thought a person could catch so many fish with just their hands!"

"Just lucky, maybe the fish weren’t afraid of me, so it was easier to catch them!" Li Yifei replied.

"That’s really possible, very possible. Alright, go sell the fish first, we’ll chat after you return!" the man said.

The motorcycle puttered into town. Li Yifei took a left turn, heading towards the woman’s luxurious mansion. The timing today was a bit later than yesterday; it was already eleven o’clock. He stopped the bike in front of the gate. The same two guards from yesterday were there. They stopped Li Yifei immediately and warned, "Get off now, leave the bike outside. You’re not allowed to ride it inside!"

"What about the fish?"

"You can carry the fish in!"

"Okay, can do!" Li Yifei didn’t bother arguing with them and parked the bike to the side.

Once inside, Li Yifei didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings. On Chen Junxiao’s small face was a look of anticipation since they were about to get paid soon. Even though it was her uncle’s money, she was still thrilled to have it in her pocket. She admitted to being fond of money—all denominations. Even the few hundred not spent yesterday, she almost wanted to sleep with it under her pillow last night.

For her, having a bowl of porridge for a meal was fine; eating a big piece of beef was naturally better. How much money she had didn’t really matter, but she just liked money. Every day she made a few bucks from fishing, and it would make her happy for a long time.

Soon, the two were stopped. A security guard-looking individual led Li Yifei and his companion towards the slightly shorter villa on the right. This seemed to be the kitchen area of the entire estate. After placing the fish down, someone came to weigh it. It was a chubby chef, who weighed while chuckling, "You’re really lucky. The lady rarely eats seafood, and yet she bought so much yesterday and wants so much again today!"

"She rarely eats? Then why buy so much, do you eat it?" Li Yifei casually replied.

"Us? We eat, too, but the fish you brought yesterday wasn’t fresh later. It was piled up and discovered at night, and by then, it was already stinking!"

"So it wasn’t eaten and just thrown away!"

"Who would eat anything that stinks!" The chubby chef stated the weight, and seeing no mistake, Li Yifei nodded and said, "There’s also a lobster, even bigger than yesterday’s, probably six or seven kilograms. Weigh it, it’s what she specifically requested!"

"Got it! Wait a moment, I’ll have someone deal with the fish. Buying so much fish at once is really troublesome!" The chubby chef said as he left.

Li Yifei acknowledged and sat with Chen Junxiao, but after waiting for a while, the chef had not returned. Li Yifei couldn’t help but frown. Without True Qi, his perception was much diminished. There were no people in the nearby rooms, so where did the chef go?

"Wait here, I’ll go find someone. We’ve handed over the goods, yet they haven’t paid!" Li Yifei stood up, frowning as he spoke.

Chen Junxiao nodded, and as Li Yifei was leaving, she said, "Uncle, don’t get too angry!"

"I won’t, don’t worry!" Li Yifei turned back, smiled slightly, and Chen Junxiao nodded, watching him walk out.

Li Yifei walked in the direction the chef went, but couldn’t find him in the villa. Others saw him but ignored him. Li Yifei went to the four-story villa nearby, just about to ask someone where the woman was when he heard a voice from above. It was the woman’s voice, saying, "I don’t care whose family he’s from, I do my business openly and honestly. If he dares to go too far, then it’s all or nothing! Just like that, you tell him for me, don’t think just because I’m a woman, he can bully me!"