Night's Nomenclature
Chapter 405: Sea Monster

The temperature in the Barents Sea has dropped to 14 degrees below zero, and the seawater is infinitely close to freezing.

The night is unusually solemn, the flowing seawater is like rolling mercury, heavy and oppressive.

North Pole dropped anchor, the hull swaying on the sea surface, the entire sea surface only has its lights, lonely illuminating a small area of the sea.

It's like a lonely traveler wandering at the end of the world.

Around it are buoys dotted in the night like stars, like duckweed in a river.

Someone jumped into the rolling dark sea.

In this situation, jumping into the icy water naked is tantamount to suicide.

Zhang Jian felt the icy water touch his skin, couldn't help but shiver, he looked at Yang Yang, roared in the howling sea wind: "Jumping into the sea in this weather, how could it be okay?!"

The girl under the ship's lamp took off her hood, letting her long hair sway in the wind, she smiled and replied: "It'll be fine, he's going to help North Pole solve a small problem."

Zhang Jian wondered: "Did Alps, Long Tail, Killer Whale really come? You guys aren't kidding, we didn't see anything, the radar didn't show anything."

Yang Yang smiled without explaining much, she just stared at the sea surface, ready to help at any time.

At this time, Zhang Jian waited for a long time, but never saw Qing Chen surface to breathe.

You know, a normal person in the turbulent deep sea, any movement will consume a lot of oxygen.

However, Qing Chen is like a real sea king, entering the sea and then disappearing without a trace.

Zhang Jian silently looked at Yang Yang, secretly thinking that Qing Chen and this girl came over, wouldn't they want to defraud insurance?

Could it be that these two bought a lot of accident personal insurance before boarding the ship, and then went back to tell the insurance company that Qing Chen died accidentally on board?

In the early years, there were crew members who did this when they were desperate, but later insurance companies were unwilling to provide policies to crab fishermen.

There are even clauses in the insurance that specify that accidental death on a crab fishing boat is an act of God...

On the other hand, on the dark sea, Long Tail, Killer Whale, and Alps had already turned off their lights and radars, and even turned off their engines as they approached North Pole.

"Only the strong can survive on the Barents Sea, the weak can enjoy Emperor Crab on the shore, but they can't come here to share our good fortune," the Killer Whale captain looked solemnly at the night.

On each crab fishing boat, experienced sailors have already put on diving suits, and their companions are checking the oxygen cylinders on their bodies.

The captain of the Killer Whale stood at the bow of the ship and smiled: "The wind speed has slowed down, only 20 knots is just right for diving operations. Get in the water, go cut off thirty buoys from North Pole, and let his crab cages sink to the bottom forever."

After saying that, three sailors jumped into the sea, as agile as seals.

They swayed their long diving fins and quickly swam towards the sea area where North Pole was located, and the bright lights of North Pole were like a lighthouse in the lonely sea, guiding their way.

With them were the sailors from Long Tail and Alps.

The three captains had already discussed it. They had calculated that there were at most 180 crab cages on North Pole, and if they cut off 90, it would just prevent Zhang Jian from going bankrupt, but also ensure that Zhang Jian would not be able to pay for ship repairs, crab cage rentals, and port management fees next year.

The sailors approached North Pole, and some people could already see the buoys illuminated by the ship's lights.

However, one sailor always felt a vague sense of unease, as if there was a strange undercurrent in the water.

But he looked around, but found nothing in the dark water.

Only pitch-black sea.

Maybe it's just his imagination, the sailor pulled out the dagger tied to his sleeve and swam towards the buoy.

However, the next moment he saw something dark swimming quickly past him underwater.

In an instant, the sailor's scalp went numb!

He used his hands and feet to try to float to the surface, but as soon as the sailor paddled, he felt his ankle being entangled by something.

Dragging him into the deep seabed.

The sailor's leg muscles burst out, trying to kick off the strange thing on his ankle.

But the thing wrapped tighter and tighter, like the tentacles of a giant squid at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

Suddenly, the downward pulling force also burst out, and in an instant, the sailor swung his dagger aimlessly, but his hand went numb, and when he reacted, he didn't know where his dagger had gone.

Just as he was wondering where his dagger had gone, he felt his chest being pushed open by a huge force, as if he had been kicked hard...

No!

The sailor had already reacted. Under the illumination of the ship's lights, he found that someone had just kicked him!

And now, the person who kicked him had already used that kick to get away, like people kicking off the wall at the edge of the swimming pool.

The sailor recalled what had just happened, clearly someone had first pulled his ankle from underwater, then snatched the knife, and kicked him in one go!

The sailor was dumbfounded. Who was the person under the dark sea? The other party didn't have fins, didn't wear a diving suit, and didn't have an oxygen cylinder.

But the other party was as agile as a killer whale underwater, and his strength was enormous.

Wait, was the other party from North Pole? But since the other party found that he was going to cut the buoys, why did he only snatch the knife but not kill him?

It's too easy to kill someone underwater at this time, just cut the oxygen tube, and the sailor will die without a doubt.

This mysterious existence under the sea seemed to have only confiscated his dagger and didn't intend to kill him.

The sailor thought for two seconds and turned to swim towards Killer Whale. The knife had been taken away, and he couldn't cut the buoys.

Moreover, since the other party had the ability to confiscate his dagger, he must have the ability to kill him.

Since the other party had spared his life, he shouldn't be ungrateful...

At this moment, the same thing was still happening under the sea.

Zhang Jian wrapped his clothes tightly, stood nervously on the deck of North Pole, five minutes had passed, but Qing Chen still hadn't appeared on the sea surface.

That Qing Chen must have died, right? No one can hold their breath for so long?!

These two are really here to defraud insurance!

Unexpectedly, two students at such a young age would actually do this!

...

...

Compared to Zhang Jian, who was thinking wildly on the deck, the sailors under the sea didn't have the heart to think so much.

They only felt that they were targeted by the legendary sea monster under the Barents Sea, and they couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

A sailor had just reached out his left hand to grab the rope under the balloon buoy, and his right hand was holding a dagger ready to cut it.

But a dark shadow swam past him, and when the sailor's right hand reached the rope, the dagger in his hand was gone.

They struggled to swim towards their own ship's anchoring point, looking back as they swam, afraid that the dark shadow would still follow them.

These sailors weren't as lucky as the first one.

The first sailor saw that it was a human who snatched his dagger, so he wasn't so panicked.

But the remaining sailors were far from the North Pole's ship's lights, and they couldn't see Qing Chen clearly in the dark sea, so the fear in their hearts filled their entire hearts.

There are many legends about the Barents Sea.

The world's most famous mid-air collision accident happened here. On September 13, 1987, a reconnaissance plane of the Norwegian Air Force was patrolling when a new Soviet fighter plane suddenly appeared and darted past the reconnaissance plane from below.

The Su-27 used its vertical tail to cut a huge hole in the lower part of the Norwegian reconnaissance plane's engine, like a scalpel.

This is the famous Barents Sea Air Scalpel incident.

However, this sea area has an even more famous legend: the giant squid.

In historical records, the Barents Sea is one of the earliest areas where giant squid were discovered, and there are records proving that merchant ships in this sea area have indeed been attacked by giant squid.

For a time, the sailors who had never seen a sea monster in this sea area, while struggling to swim, recalled those legends, and the more they thought about it, the more afraid they became.

But they couldn't understand why the sea monster wanted their daggers...

Fortunately, after the "sea monster' took their daggers, it didn't continue to pursue them, letting them escape back to their own ship.

Fenner, the captain of Killer Whale, stood at the bow of the ship, and when he saw the sailors returning so quickly, he immediately felt something was wrong: "What happened? It didn't take that long to cut off thirty buoys!"

A sailor wearing a diving suit was pulled onto the deck, and he said tremblingly: "There's a sea monster!"

Fenner was stunned: "Sea monster?!"

He looked at another sailor: "Did you also encounter a sea monster?"

The sailor nodded, saying in terror: "It was pitch-black underwater, and I couldn't see its traces, I only felt that the sea monster swam very fast and had great strength!"

Fenner frowned. If only one sailor said so, it might be a sudden onset of deep-sea phobia, causing the sailor to have hallucinations.

But if all the sailors said so, then there's a problem.

But Fenner felt something was strange, but he didn't know where the strangeness was...

He looked at the sailor: "Since you encountered a sea monster, how did you come back?"

Fenner finally figured out what was strange. All the sailors encountered a sea monster, but they all came back alive, isn't that the strangest thing?

Fenner glanced at the panicked crew members on the ship and immediately said: "What are you panicking about? If it's really a sea monster, would it let three sailors who went into the sea come back? If there were really giant squid in the Barents Sea, you guys would have died long ago. By the way, what exactly happened after you encountered the sea monster?"

The sailor replied: "The sea monster took my dagger."

Another sailor was stunned: "My dagger was also taken away."

Fenner sneered: "This must be someone playing tricks, not a sea monster. Have you seen any sea monster wandering around and taking your daggers? What's wrong, the Barents Sea doesn't allow knives?"

He looked at North Pole, which was still swaying on the sea surface: "Turn on the ship's lights, this must be North Pole's doing, let's go and see. By the way, use the radio to tell Alps and Long Tail what happened here, and ask them if they encountered the same thing."

As he spoke, all the lights on the deck of Killer Whale lit up, along with Alps and Long Tail.

The three ships were like a right-angled triangle, surrounding North Pole in the sea.

Zhang Jian, Old John, and Neidapu on North Pole were all stunned when they saw this scene. As Qing Chen and Yang Yang said, these three crab fishing boats had been right beside them!

Zhang Jian couldn't help but look at Yang Yang's back, but saw her throw a rope into the sea and pull up Qing Chen, who was unharmed.

Zhang Jian and the others were all shocked. Qing Chen was really not dead, and he seemed to be in good condition, not seeming to fear the icy water.

What kind of person is this? What is he doing in the Barents Sea?

Before this, Zhang Jian was very sure that he had never seen Qing Chen surface to breathe!

His gaze towards Qing Chen and Yang Yang changed. Now, even if someone told him this girl could fly, he wouldn't be surprised at all!

Qing Chen chuckled: "It's done."

As he said, he threw several daggers he was holding in his hand onto the deck, Yang Yang asked softly: "Didn't kill anyone, right?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment: "These people don't have any deep hatred with me, there's no need to kill them here."

"En," Yang Yang smiled and nodded. She had already prepared a dry towel and handed it to Qing Chen: "Do you want me to wipe you?"

"Cough, no need," Qing Chen didn't get choked in the water, but almost got choked by Yang Yang after boarding the ship.

Seeing the three crab fishing boats approaching from the outside, Qing Chen thought for a moment and went back to the cabin: "I'll change my clothes first. By the way, if they ask anything, just say you don't know."

Zhang Jian and Old John thought to themselves, this guy must have done something to those three crab fishing boats!

But the sea surface was so dark, even they didn't know what was going on.

And where did those daggers come from?!

Killer Whale arrived first, and the three crab fishing boats were only ten meters away from North Pole. Fenner took out binoculars and saw the daggers scattered on the deck at a glance.

"I didn't expect you to hide so deep this time," Fenner looked at Zhang Jian and sneered from afar: "Where's the "sea monster'? Let him come out and say hello to everyone."

Zhang Jian was stunned, seeming a little nervous as he looked around: "Sea monster? The sea monster of the Barents Sea?!"

Fenner sneered: "What are you pretending for? I said, how dare you stay here? It turns out there's a master on board. I thought you really didn't have any sailors left. By the way, who did you invite? Your father's old subordinates? Did you use up all the favors your father had accumulated this time?"

Zhang Jian suddenly realized that the sea monster Fenner had mentioned earlier, and the father's old subordinate, were actually Qing Chen!

It must be that Qing Chen did something under the sea that made Fenner come over and be sarcastic.

Zhang Jian thought for a moment, looked down and counted the daggers, nine.

He looked at Fenner curiously and asked: "Nine of your sailors couldn't beat him alone?"

Zhang Jian was indeed curious when he asked this question, he wanted to know what kind of person Qing Chen was, but this sentence sounded very sarcastic to Fenner.

The damage is not great, but the insult is extremely strong.

Zhang Jian continued to ask: "Why target North Pole? Even if you didn't get North Pole's quota, you could still earn millions of euros every year."

At this time, Craig, the captain of Alps, also said coldly: "Why stick to your ship? Isn't it better to merge the four crab fishing boats into one company and list them on the stock market? Isn't making money in the stock market faster? The sailors can also get stock options and dividends. Everyone works hard at sea, isn't it just to have a worry-free life?"

Zhang Jian thought for a moment and said: "If you want to go public, three crab fishing boats are enough. Why do you need my North Pole?"

Craig said: "Because all eight crab fishing boats in Amsterdam port are willing to merge, only you don't agree. And because your father is a legend on the Barents Sea, the Nordic people have heard of him, just like the Time Thief in the Bering Sea."

Zhang Jian shook his head: "I won't do this kind of business. I just like the crab fishing industry and want to continue doing it. Once capital intervenes, North Pole may not belong to me slowly."

"North Pole may not belong to you, but you will have a lot of money," Craig said: "Isn't it good to be a ship owner honestly? Corporate operation, everyone can get better ships, better equipment, and better fishing systems."

"Then what about the free spirit and adventurous spirit of crab fishermen?" Zhang Jian asked seriously: "Every year at this time, we come to this worst place in the world, not just for money. Wives will try to stop their husbands from going to sea again, but real sailors will still pack their bags, they'll cheer if they see whales, and they'll pray devoutly if they see mountains of ice. There will be new sailors who have heard their parents' stories, and come to this mysterious Barents Sea, and there will be more people who will hear the stories of this place in the future. But if the sailors and captains are no longer free, then these stories will also fade."

Craig was stunned, but he didn't say anything more.

He sneered: "Good luck, I hope you really can catch enough Emperor Crab and get through this year. If you can't get through, your crab fishing license will be re-auctioned, and we'll buy it back from the judicial auction then."

At this time, Old John on the deck glanced at the time and suddenly said: "It's time to hoist the crab cages."

Zhang Jian looked at Old John, he knew that the other party wanted to pull up those full crab cages and instantly anger Craig and the others...

"Then hoist it up, let's see how our harvest is!" Zhang Jian said loudly.

The next moment, Qing Chen, who had changed back into his work clothes, walked out of the cabin and hooked the rope under the buoy with a claw hook in one go.

Qing Chen smiled and said to Old John: "Hoist!"

Craig and Fenner, who had originally intended to leave, stopped and stood on the deck waiting silently.

The crane of North Pole made a rumbling sound, and when the crab cage appeared on the surface of the water, everyone held their breath, but they saw that the crab cage of North Pole was densely packed with Emperor Crabs larger than a washbasin!

Fenner and the others were veteran captains who had been sailing the Barents Sea for a long time. They only needed to take one look to know that the legendary golden crab field had been found by North Pole!

...