Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Zhang Zian was serious. He really did only get one life jacket according to his own size. Jiang Feifei would not fit into it. Going out on the sea was serious business. Even if they were only staying near the beach, they had to be prepared for everything. Navy police and Fishery Administration staff wore life jackets all the time, as long as they were on the boat. Their boat was much nicer than his inflatable one.

  A lifebuoy could fit all sizes, but not a life jacket.

  One had to be vigilant no matter how good of a swimmer they were. After all, all drowning victims were good swimmers.

  “…Well then.” Jiang Feifei felt much regret, but Zhang Zian left her with some hope. Maybe she would get a chance to go next time. Regardless, she wanted to buy a life jacket online as soon as she returned to her dorm that night.

  Wang Qian and Li Kun said, “Master, let us go with you! We don’t have life jackets, but we both grew up by the ocean. We are very good swimmers. Our nicknames are Wave Captain One and Wave Captain Two!”


  “Then I’d be Wave General!” Zhang Zian vented. “Stay in the shop. Who will take care of the business if everybody runs to the beach?”


  Lu Yiyun couldn’t swim, and she was not interested in the beach.

  Zhang Zian was not totally sure. He told them that if he had not returned within two hours, then his boat might have been capsized and they should call the police without hesitation. If they were able to get him out of water in time, he might be able to get a refund from the online vendor.

  After finishing his half-joking instructions, he got into his Wuling Hong Guang and drove to the beach.

  Soon, he parked his car at his old spot close to the beach. He then unloaded the big box containing the inflatable boat with great strength.

  The weather that day was not good, and it was a working day. There were very few kite flyers on the road and the beach was empty. Huang and Xiao Zhi were not there.

  Dark clouds were hanging low above the water. Waves washed up on the beach over and over again, carrying white foam.

  The wind was not strong. Even the sea birds were not there. It was very quiet nearby. Everything seemed to be waiting for the first spring shower of the year.

  Zhang Zian could not take too much stuff by himself. He transported the things to the beach in a few batches. There was nobody around, so he was not worried about losing anything.

  At the shop entrance, he could inflate the boat using a 220V power extension, but he couldn’t do that at the beach. He could only inflate manually using a foot pedal.

  Zhang Zian’s feet were sore after pedaling. Finally, the boat was fully inflated.

  He kept his eyes busy while inflating the boat. He had been glancing over the sea from time to time, searching for a trace of the whale.

  He learned his lesson in the past and brought a pair of binoculars. The view was much better while he looked through the binoculars; the fuzzy scenery became very clear. Yet, there was only ocean beyond the ocean, and sky beyond the sky. After gazing for a long time, he could not see anything. The sea was silent and peaceful.

  He felt slightly disappointed, although he knew it was very unlikely to spot a whale at the beach.

  He had been visiting the beach every day lately, and he had only seen whales twice. The first time, it was the minke whale. The second time, it was a giant whale.

  Whales were animals and not trees. They were marine animals with a massive area of activity. Besides, most whales lived in groups. They needed food and social interactions, and they could not stay in the same area waiting for him to come over. They didn’t make an appointment, after all.

  After inflating the boat, he installed the accessories at the right places in the boat, such as the electric motor and rows. He attached the battery with the motor, and verified that the battery was full. The indicator was green.

  Everything was ready. As soon as he pushed the boat into the water, he was good to go.

  He didn’t find the whale, but he still needed to test the boat in the water. One purpose was to verify that the boat even worked. The other purpose was to familiarize himself with the operation.

  The battery that came with the inflatable boat was full. According to the manual, it could power the boat at full speed for three hours, but that was clearly an overestimation under ideal conditions. Anyone who believed in that might end up stranded out to sea. It might only last two and a half hours at the most in reality.

  As it was a trial run, he didn’t plan to get too far away from the shore, but to stay within the visible range through the binoculars at the beach. In that case, he could still try to swim back in case something happened.

  He didn’t rush into the water. Instead, he sat in the boat and thought for a few minutes calmly, just in case he had forgotten anything. He then texted Wang Qian and the others, informing them about his approximate location. He emphasized that if they heard no news within one hour or two, they should call the police right away. After sending the text, he slipped his phone into a waterproof bag.

  He figured that Wang Qian and the others were probably confused as well. Why was he so nervous about a boat ride near the beach? Yet they had no idea about his dangerous plan to approach a giant whale on a boat.

  “Okay… Let’s go!” He said to himself, trying to instill some courage. He pushed the boat into the water, then jumped into the boat himself. As his movements were so clumsy, he fell on his back in the boat. Luckily, nobody saw him.

  The waves were strong at the shore. The light, inflatable boat went up and down along the waves, as if he was sitting on a swing. If he was prone to motion sickness, he might have barfed on the spot.

  Zhang Zian didn’t have any motion sickness, yet the waves made him very uncomfortable.

  The boat was too light, and the center of gravity changed at the slightest movement. He felt powerless while sitting in the boat, as if his destiny was in the hands of someone else.

  He grew more doubtful in his mind. Could he really drive the boat out to sea? Or was it a mobile coffin?

  The inflatable boat was not the smallest type for one single person. It was about 3 meters long, and it could fit four to six people inside of it; there was a lot of space. He also had a shading tent above his head, except that there was no sun that day.

  He crawled up from the bottom, sat in the middle seat at the back, then tried to figure out what direction he was going. He pushed against the sand with his paddle so he could push the boat deep into the water. He could not start the motor if the water was too shallow. Otherwise, the blades might hit the bottom and break.

  It was hard to keep the balance. While traveling against the strong waves, he shifted from left to right, then circled around in the same spot. He moved forward three steps, then backwards two steps. His head was dripping sweat and his arms grew tired. In fact, it was not because he was a weak bird, but it was because he wasn’t a master of the techniques it took to row the boat.

  He did think about giving up, but he didn’t. His biggest motivation was that the shipping cost would be too high if he decided to refund the boat right in that moment.

  Despite the difficulty, the boat drifted slowly towards deeper water.

  He tried to feel the bottom with the paddle. It was about one and a half meters deep. He fixed the paddles on both sides of the boat and tried to start the motor.

  As the motor started with a loud noise, the vibration traveled from his arm to the rest of his body.

  The momentary acceleration caught him off guard; he almost fell out of his seat. The boat tilted and nearly turned back to the shallow water. Fortunately, it was stabilized in the end.

  The boat rode on the waves into the vast sea.