Feng Ye exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap! So it's hanging on Earth."

"What the heck? What's hanging on Earth?"

Ah-Can looked completely bewildered.

"It's stuck at the bottom."

"If it's a bottoming out, it's a bottoming out, why make it sound so mysterious, like it's hanging over Earth?" Ah-Can pouted. "So what do we do now?"

"Let's stop the boat first."

Upon hearing this, Ah-Can immediately did as instructed, turning off the diesel engine and then quickly running to the stern: "How about we try using the net-lifting machine to pull it up?"

Feng Ye rolled her eyes at him: "If you can't even move the boat, do you expect the net-lifting machine to move it? I'd better dive down and check the situation first."

Fortunately, the diving equipment remained on the boat and was not taken home just because it was not needed at the moment.

However, to be fair, their diving equipment was rather rudimentary.

While it can provide the oxygen needed to maintain breathing, it cannot alleviate the enormous pressure generated by seawater.

Therefore, if the water depth exceeds a certain level, it will be of no use.

However, in any case, we should at least go down and see the specific situation first, right?

"Brother Ye, you must be careful. If the water is too deep, don't try to force it. Safety first."

Ah-chan gave him his heartfelt instructions.

"You don't need to tell me. I'd rather lose a trawl net than risk my life."

Feng Ye quickly put on his diving equipment, carefully checked it, and after confirming that everything was in order, he jumped into the sea without hesitation.

The icy seawater instantly engulfed him, and he felt a refreshing coolness from head to toe.

He slowly descended to the seabed along the taut tow cable.

As the diving depth increased, the surrounding light became dimmer and dimmer, but it was still barely possible to see clearly.

Fortunately, this is an inland sea, and there are some small islands nearby, so the water is not particularly deep, probably only about 20 meters deep.

For Feng Ye, diving into such deep water was no problem at all.

The underwater scene gradually unfolded before his eyes: colorful corals, leisurely fish, shrimp, and crabs, and lush, abundant seaweed...

It resembles a lifelike underwater painting.

However, at this moment, Feng Ye had no mind to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

His gaze remained firmly fixed on the end of the towing cable.

Because there lies the culprit that caused the Rising Sun's predicament—a protruding underwater reef.

Unfortunately, this reef happened to be positioned right at the opening of the net.

Feng Ye swam to the vicinity of the reef, immediately causing a commotion among the surrounding fish, shrimp, and crabs.

They scattered in panic, as if sensing impending danger.

Not only that, the fish and shrimp that were originally trapped in the net bag were also frightened and scurried around inside.

Feng Ye looked closely and his heart sank; an ominous premonition welled up inside him.

The shape of the reef and the location where the trawl net got stuck made it very difficult to operate; if it were to be forcibly dragged, the entire trawl net would probably be ruined.

He circled the reef and found himself helpless, unable to free the trawl net from the seabed.

Left with no other choice, he had to surface first and then think of other solutions.

Just as he was about to ascend, he suddenly noticed that something seemed amiss with the net bag.

He thought he saw an arm inside?

"Could it be another corpse?"

Feng Ye couldn't help but shiver, feeling a chill run down his spine.

In the deep, dark ocean, he didn't have the courage to go closer and see for himself.

Let's wait until we pull the net back to the surface before making any further plans.

At least in broad daylight, that inexplicable sense of fear is somewhat lessened.

People always feel fear and apprehension in the dark, while they feel much safer in the light.

What's more, there's also Ah Chan on the boat!

Feng Ye took a deep breath and quickly floated to the surface without looking back.

As he rose, the light gradually brightened, and the view of the sea became clearer.

Because the trawl net's towing cable was very long, when he surfaced, he was already dozens of meters away from the Rising Sun.

Once Feng Ye swam closer, A-Can couldn't wait to ask, "Brother Ye, did you get stuck at the bottom?"

"Yes, it is indeed caught. There is a reef below, blocking the opening of the trawl net."

As Feng Ye spoke, he hurriedly climbed onto the boat.

"Is it untied?" Ah-chan asked immediately afterward.

"No, the trawl net is too heavy; it's impossible to untangle it," Feng Ye replied, shaking his head.

"What should we do?" A-Can looked at Feng Ye with a worried expression.

Feng Ye frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "You drive the boat backwards, all the way back to the spot where I just surfaced."

"Meanwhile, I started the net-lifting machine to reel in the cable, to see if that would bring the trawl net up. If that didn't work, I'd think of other ways."

"That's the only way we can try it." Ah-chan nodded and said, "Then I'll go set sail."

"Wait a moment."

"Brother Ye, what's wrong now?"

"There's something else I need to tell you in advance, so you can be mentally prepared."

Feng Ye's expression turned serious. "When I was underwater just now, I saw something strange in the net bag. It looked like there was an arm inside."

Upon hearing this, Ah-Can's face instantly froze, his eyes widening: "What? An arm? You mean... there's someone online?"

“I didn’t dare to look closely, but it does look somewhat like it. However, in that kind of underwater environment, I can’t be sure. Let’s try to pull the net up first, and then we’ll see.”

"Okay, I understand. I'll go set sail right away."

Ah-Can's face was slightly pale, but he nodded in agreement.

With the roar of the diesel engine, the Rising Sun began to slowly reverse backward.

Feng Ye quickly ran to the stern, started the net-lifting machine, and simultaneously began to retrieve the towing cable.

Before long, the Rising Sun retreated to the position where Feng Ye had surfaced earlier.

Under Feng Ye's operation, the net-lifting machine also retrieved most of the towing cables.

However, about 20 meters of cable remained in the sea, which was roughly equal to the depth between the surface and the seabed.

Ah-Can stopped the boat and quickly ran to the stern: "Did it work? Can you pull up the trawl net?"

"Yes, but it's very slow."

Feng Ye looked at the slowly working network-raising machine, frowned slightly, and was a little confused.

Generally speaking, the net-lifting speed of a net-lifting machine is closely related to the number and weight of fish caught in the net.

If the catch is small, the net hauling speed will naturally be faster; conversely, if the catch is large, the net hauling speed will be slower.

Under normal circumstances, it takes about ten to twenty minutes to complete one net-raising operation.

However, based on the current net-raising speed, it will probably take nearly 10 minutes just to lay the last 20 meters of cable.

This speed is far too slow.

This was also what puzzled Feng Ye.