Chapter 61 Practice Deep Diving

Felix watched the assault boat go away and asked curiously, "Captain, what on earth is he doing here?"

Xiao Peng laughed and said, "Do you know 'Jiang Gan stole the book'? He is Jiang Gan!"

Felix and Boco looked at each other in confusion. Who is Jiang Gan?

Xiao Peng also knew that what he said was wrong, so he explained: "He is here to gather military information. You know what a spy is? He came here to see if we have deep-diving equipment. He will go back only after confirming that we don't have it. Otherwise, he will be worried about us."

Boko suddenly understood. "Oh, I see. He's afraid we're also looking for shipwrecks, right? Even if we were, they wouldn't be able to do anything to us! Didn't you say this was legal?"

Xiao Peng shook his head. "It depends on who we're dealing with. We're observers representing the Cousteau Diving Association. If I were to dive into the sea to search for shipwrecks, it would draw criticism. That's why he got nervous when he heard I was going diving. He said we were here for a tour, but he was actually checking out the deepest diving equipment on board. This is the deepest area of the Scandola Reserve, about 200 meters deep. It's impossible to go down without deep diving equipment! He was relieved only after he confirmed we didn't have the ability to dive deep!"

"How do you know the water is deep here?" Felix asked puzzledly.

Xiao Peng pointed at the navigation instrument and said, "This shows the seabed topography! But it can only go down to 300 meters at most."

Felix asked in confusion, "What do we do next?"

Xiao Peng laughed and said, "I really am here for vacation! I really am here to practice free diving!"

Felix and Boco looked at each other.

Xiao Peng got busy, lowering a weighted spare rope from the side of his boat to the seabed. He also attached a pre-prepared plastic tag to the rope at regular intervals. The rope was used to measure depth and help divers determine their direction on the seabed.

Of course he didn't need the rope, but free diving required the rope, and he was no exception in order to conceal his presence.

After preparing all this, he changed into his swimming trunks and did warm-up exercises on the deck. He did this because he saw Alan still there observing him with a telescope!

This old guy is so cautious!

"Captain, can you dive deep with your bare hands?" Felix asked.

Xiao Peng answered truthfully, "I've never tried it before. But it's just holding your breath and diving down! What's there to be afraid of?"

Felix asked curiously, "Captain, how long can you hold your breath underwater?"

How long can I hold my breath? I can breathe underwater!

Of course, he couldn't say that, so he said directly: "It won't take long. The key is to see the condition. If the condition is good, seventeen minutes is no problem. If the condition is bad, twelve or thirteen minutes."

Felix was shocked when he heard this. "How much? Seventeen minutes?"

Xiao Peng smiled and said, "Don't be surprised. For a seasoned diver, holding a breath underwater for more than ten minutes isn't a difficult feat. However, that's while standing still. The world's longest breath-holder can hold it underwater for 23 minutes. But you need to exercise when you dive, so you definitely can't hold it that long. Those deep-diving records were all set in about four minutes."

Boko took a deep breath. "No wonder you're so strong! Your lung capacity is terrifying!"

Xiao Peng shook his head. "My experience is nothing. In fact, the most powerful free divers in the world are the Ama and the Bajau."

"Ama?" Boko blinked. "Women who live in the sea? How do they sleep at night?"

"...Bo Ke, you should become a screenwriter or go to the hospital to have your brain checked out! Can a person sleep in the sea? I'll throw you in for a few days and see! I'll soak you to death!" Xiao Peng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "The so-called 'ama' is an ancient profession found in many countries throughout East Asia, including Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. They don't use any auxiliary breathing devices, but they make a living by diving into the seabed and catching seafood with one breath. It's normal for them to spend a few minutes on the seabed. However, with the development of society, this profession has become a local tourist performance. You can go and see it when you have time."

Felix pressed on, “What about the Bajau people?”

Xiao Peng explained, "They're an ethnic group living in Southeast Asia. Their exact origins are still unclear, but based on their language, their roots are likely connected to the Philippines. They're probably the last remaining nomadic people on the planet, hence the name 'Sea Gypsies.' For over a thousand years, they've lived on the seas between several Southeast Asian countries, using houseboats and bamboo huts built on the sea as their homes. They can easily dive to depths of 30 to 40 meters with their bare hands. In fact, their diving abilities are even better than those of the Ama."

"Why do you say that?" Felix asked puzzled.

Xiao Peng explained, "Those East Asian countries with 'ama' (sea women) prefer ama to men for diving, not because of a preference for boys over girls, but because men are more prone to accidents due to their tendency to show off their strength. The Bajau, however, have mutated after thousands of years of living in the ocean. Their spleens are 50% larger than those of a normal person! This larger spleen allows them to provide more oxygen during diving, allowing them to stay submerged longer. Furthermore, they undergo minor surgeries to enhance their diving abilities. Many Bajau people puncture their eardrums at a young age to reduce the pain of water pressure during diving, allowing them to dive deeper and longer."

After Xiao Peng finished speaking, he adjusted the outer ring of the diving watch. When the outer ring scale of the diving watch was set to '8', he said: "Okay, warm-up is done, I will go down and try it. Don't worry about me, I set the timer for myself to be eight minutes!"

Bo Ke said, "Xiao, with all due respect, your diving watch is terrible!"

Xiao Peng laughed: "I want Omega's 'SPOUD-P' instead. Can you give it to me?"

Boko just shut up and said nothing.

The watch Xiao Peng mentioned is a special edition of Omega's "Seamaster" series of diving watches. Its full name should be "Seamaster Professional Ultra-Deep Diving Watch", and it deserves the word "ultra-deep".

Omega once tied three special edition diving watches to the robotic arm of a submersible and dived into the Mariana Trench at a depth of 10,925 meters. When they came up, the watches were intact!

The entire watch's bezel, case, back, and crown are all made of the same titanium metal used to make submersibles. They are all made of the best grade 5 compression-resistant titanium alloy! It is considered one of the best diving watches in the world!

Not only is it of the best quality, but the price is also very 'good', costing over 700,000 Euros per piece and it needs to be custom made!

After all, Boco follows Jacques and is also a person in the entertainment industry. He is knowledgeable about luxury goods. He really can't afford this thing!

Xiao Peng put on a water goggles, gave him a middle finger, and then jumped directly from the boat into the sea.

It's time to test your ability to withstand pressure!