Bai Yulan City is located south of Qionghua City and is one of the first-tier cities in Hua Xia Country, as well as the most populous city. Its level of development ranks among the top in the world.
This was the first time Zhang Xiaoman had visited Bai Yulan City. Compared to the beautiful natural and cultural scenery of Qionghua City, this place gave off more of a modern metropolis vibe, with skyscrapers combined with bustling traffic, adding a sense of compactness to contemporary life.
However, Zhang Xiaoman didn’t have time to tour this international financial hub today; as soon as he exited the train station, he took a bus headed for New Port Pier.
This was a super large comprehensive passenger pier established in Sea City just a year ago. Not only did numerous ferries enter and exit daily, but it also had a section dedicated to private yachts.
Of course, the prices here were astonishingly high.
Everything here was still brand new, and many convenient facilities were very thoughtfully made; the entire port was like a large community.
Zhang Xiaoman casually found a restaurant here to have lunch. Not knowing whether he would get seasick, he dared not eat too much; he just slightly filled his stomach and quietly waited indoors for the appointed time to arrive.
Boredly looking at his phone, Zhang Xiaoman suddenly looked up, his attention drawn by the television hanging in the hall. It was currently showing a newscast from yesterday.
"Yesterday, several small-scale Level 2 tsunamis occurred in the Ring of the Pacific, and although their destructive power was not very high, this was the largest scale humanity has encountered so far. Just in our country, thirteen areas were affected, and globally, the number exceeded a hundred, resulting in huge economic losses... Experts point out that the cause of this extraordinarily large tsunami may have been tectonic movements in the deep waters of the central Pacific Ocean area, urging the general public to avoid going to sea in the near future..."
Zhang Xiaoman finished watching this news report feeling quite depressed. How could it be that just as he was about to embark on a spontaneous sea journey, fate was not cooperating with him?
This made him start to worry about whether his travel plans could still go ahead smoothly.
After waiting for almost another hour, Zhang Xiaoman followed the signs to Pier 19, a place dedicated to private yachts.
Inhaling the sea breeze that greeted him, Zhang Xiaoman thoroughly enjoyed squinting his eyes. This cool feeling with a hint of saltiness was something he had never experienced before.
This was an open-air pier, and due to its special nature, not many ships were docked, but at a glance, they were all small private yachts with exquisite appearances.
Zhang Xiaoman followed the dock southward and finally stopped in front of a platform marked "10," where three or four young men and women dressed in casual shirts and wearing sun hats had already gathered.
When they saw someone walking toward them, they all curiously looked over, and once they confirmed Zhang Xiaoman was heading to their group, one of them stepped out from under the sun shelter.
Seeing the person who approached, Zhang Xiaoman asked, "Excuse me, is this the ’Light Blue Expedition Team?’ I was referred by Xiao Shun; my name is Zhang Xiaoman."
The person took off his sunglasses, revealing a sunny smile, and said,
"Oh, brother, you are the new member of our team, a special guest referred by Xiao Shun! My name is Yang Yangyang, the initiator of this adventure. It’s really unfortunate that Xiao Shun couldn’t make it because of his leg injury! Oh, right, come here, let me introduce you to the others!"
The man appeared very enthusiastic, and after saying so much in one go, he called out the rest of the people and introduced them one by one:
"These are the laziest big shots in our team, these two are Hu Peng and Xun You, nicknamed fox friends, dog friends, who have been inseparable since childhood; this is Ji Xiaoqi, who is our team’s face, and also our only goddess."
Zhang Xiaoman nodded at the group and introduced himself as well, and he also quietly noted the appearances of the others.
The three male students were all tall and handsome types, with heights similar to his own, about 180cm.
The female student, however, had a delicate and pretty look, and she was also not short, standing close to 1.7 meters, which was considered quite tall among women.
While they were introducing themselves, they all took off their sunglasses, a detail from which Zhang Xiaoman could infer that they were likely well-mannered scions of wealthy families, at least not the particularly difficult kind of spoiled youths.
Then, his gaze moved to the last remaining tall Caucasian man. Zhang Xiaoman looked at him curiously while Yang Yangyang took the opportunity to introduce him:
"This handsome gentleman is our group’s hired professional wilderness survival consultant—Bell Ao Stafford, but we all like to call him Lord Bear."
"Hello," said Bell, extending his hand and greeting in slightly accented Mandarin.
Zhang Xiaoman also extended his hand and shook with him.
The touch revealed strong muscles and rough calluses—indicators that this man known as Lord Bear was likely an experienced outdoorsman frequently entering the wilderness.
"Lord Bear used to be a special forces soldier in the Royal Air Force of England. Not only is his knowledge of wilderness survival extensive, but his physical skills are also particularly impressive. He has saved us from danger many times, allowing us to safely get through crises," Yang Yangyang explained.
Zhang Xiaoman nodded, but his mind couldn’t help but wander to Wu Feng.
Wu Feng, although he is currently the head of security for the Su Group, was said to have been the King of Soldiers in a top special forces unit of Hua Xia Country. He wondered if Wu Feng could also possess commendable wilderness survival skills like Lord Bear.
Oh right, Su Fu didn’t refer to him that way, it was more like "Chief Security Consultant."
After getting to know each other a bit, Yang Yangyang led the group to board the ship.
Zhang Xiaoman looked around with some confusion and asked, "Hey? Why aren’t there any other people?"
Yang Yangyang explained, "A few guys had last-minute issues and couldn’t make it, so it’s just us few going out to sea this time. But don’t worry, considering the distance we’re covering, I’ve hired a professional ocean-faring team—a captain and five sailors. Together with us, that’s plenty!"
Listening to him, Zhang Xiaoman looked towards the huge white vessel moored at the pier ahead, and couldn’t help but silently marvel at how the wealthy indeed played differently.
"That’s our ship right there. How about it, isn’t it impressive?"
Yang Yangyang led the group aboard the ship while continuing to introduce it to Zhang Xiaoman.
"This guy was no easy acquisition for us—it’s a retired sail ship that used to be a dedicated training vessel for the Huaxia navy. Getting it took a lot of effort!"