Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 399: Chapter 249: Playing with Your Life

Erica nodded and, without a second thought, leaped into the sea with a splash.

Lin Chen wasn’t idle, either. While the water here was shallow, that didn’t mean there was no catch.

Creatures like octopuses, squid, rays, and stingrays—which are active on the seafloor or near the surface—loved to frequent areas inhabited by shellfish.

And shellfish, in turn, preferred soft, sandy seabeds, meaning they were less common in deeper areas.

Erica’s swimming proficiency far exceeded his imagination. She glided across the water’s surface like a mermaid, effortlessly switching between several elegant strokes.

Especially her shoulder-length, flaxen-brown hair. Soaked, it hung in strands across her forehead, and when she casually brushed it back, she looked even more bold and spirited.

’Overly delicate women might inspire pity, but a strong woman like her, one with a distinct personality who truly shone in her element, was actually far more captivating.’

Lin Chen never imagined that the little temptress, who was always trying to seduce men, would seem like a completely different person in the water. She exuded a unique aura, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but stare, captivated.

Noticing his gaze, Erica’s lips curled into a barely perceptible smile. From an angle he couldn’t see, she secretly pulled the zipper on her wetsuit’s collar down a bit, revealing a hint of fair, delicate skin.

Lin Chen was completely oblivious to her little maneuver. By the time she turned to face him, everything below her neck was already submerged in the sea, so he didn’t notice a thing.

"Before I teach you the tricks to diving, you need to get used to opening your eyes underwater. We have goggles, but this is something you have to master. Once you can freely open your eyes underwater, you can go back to using the goggles. This ensures that if there’s an accident, it won’t affect your movement or your vision."

"No need. I already know how."

Erica waved a hand, her face filled with obvious pride.

With that, she took a deep breath, pinched her nose, and submerged herself.

To verify her claim, Lin Chen submerged his head as well. Sure enough, he saw her open her eyes underwater and even give him a little wink.

’Right. I only hesitated because I couldn’t swim and had to start from scratch. She already knew how, and she spends her life in the outdoors. It’s nothing special.’

"In that case, let’s start practicing diving."

"The technique for diving isn’t much different from swimming. The only trick is to face your head down, engage your abs, and swing your arms upward to generate a downward thrust. Once you get the feel for it, you can dive."

Erica nodded thoughtfully. She tried for a while but couldn’t quite get the feel for it.

But after watching Lin Chen demonstrate up close a few times, she successfully unlocked the diving skill in just ten minutes.

「Half an hour later.」

She could already roam freely along the seafloor and was even able to reach the seabed ten meters down on a single breath.

’Look at her, and then look at me!’

Lin Chen sighed with envy.

’We’re both twenty-five. She has money, looks, a great figure, and talent. I’m a good-for-nothing pauper who only knows how to cook.’

’If I hadn’t acquired the System, I’d probably still be an obscure nobody just struggling to get by.’

Once she learned how to dive, Lin Chen led her to deeper waters to see the magnificent coral reefs and the remains of a shipwreck on the seabed.

「2:00 AM.」

When he surfaced again, a wriggling beltfish was speared on his harpoon.

"My luck’s not bad today. I actually ran into a school of beltfish. Just as I thought, this girl’s luck stat for acquiring seafood is abnormally high."

The bamboo basket was already piled with seven or eight beltfish. He struggled onto the bamboo raft, pulled the beltfish off his harpoon, and stuffed it inside.

"Hooo~"

A cold wind blew past, making the hairs on his arms stand on end.

’The wind’s picking up?’

’This isn’t a good sign.’

He looked up. The once-bright moon was now obscured by a thin layer of gray clouds.

’Something similar seemed to happen a few days ago. It got cloudy, but it didn’t rain. I hope it’s the same tonight. In any case, we’re about done for the day. It’s time to head back.’

His gaze fell back to the surface of the sea. He scanned the area but saw no sign of Erica.

’Strange. I just gave her the signal to surface. Where’d she go?’

This was freediving, after all, with no oxygen from a scuba tank. After diving for so long, if she ran out of air deep underwater, her muscles could easily cramp, preventing her from reaching the surface.

Being cautious, he got back into the water and aimed the beam of his Hat Lamp toward where he had last seen her.

The light revealed her, sure enough. Five or six meters below the surface, Erica was clutching her neck and flailing her legs, looking like she was about to drown.

His heart leaped in alarm. He rushed over, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and swam for the surface.

"SPLUTTER!!"

The moment they surfaced, Erica began taking huge, ragged breaths, her arms wrapped tightly around Lin Chen’s shoulders. She pressed down with all her might, as if trying to keep herself above the water at all costs.

To Lin Chen, her reaction was perfectly normal. Both his Swimming Proficiency and Diving Proficiency skills contained clear instructions on how to rescue a drowning person.

Victims entered this state because they were in shock and couldn’t think rationally. Their bodies would subconsciously react, trying to get away from the water and climb as high as possible to ensure they could breathe.

But in doing so, she was forcing him under the water.

This was an extremely dangerous situation; it was easy for the rescuer to end up drowning instead.

He had just removed his snorkel’s mouthpiece to shout at her when she pushed him under, forcing him to swallow a large gulp of salty seawater.