The sound struck Haolong's body as if he had been hit by lightning, leaving him completely stunned. The familiar voice, the clear and sweet singing, was it not the very sound he had been thinking about day and night, the one he had heard by the seaside? How could it be coming from next door to his mother's small shop?
Donghai University, a prestigious institution nationwide, had its own traditions. Every year, the school would hold a singing competition shortly after the new students enrolled. The competition was scheduled for the next weekend, and Hu Jing was quite anxious because she had signed up for it. Due to her poor health and the fatigue from military training, she had been bedridden for several days. However, the competition was approaching, and she had hardly practiced the songs. This was a source of great worry for her. Hu Jing had a beautiful voice and was an excellent dancer. She was very pretty, not too tall or too short, with a slender figure that made her look delicate and charming. Her eyes were expressive, and the term "seductive eyes" perfectly described her. Hu Jing had never lacked admirers since childhood, but she had given them all up for her studies. She had only dated once in high school, but it didn't last. She hoped to showcase herself fully in college and make her life more colorful, so she saw the singing competition as her first platform to do so.
When Hu Jing and her family moved to the development zone, the area around Donghai University was still desolate. Including her mother's small shop, there were only about 20 storefronts, mostly supermarkets and internet cafes. There was no KTV, not even a billiard hall or a roller rink. So, Hu Jing searched for a long time around the school but couldn't find a place to practice singing. In the end, she went to the music store next to Haolong's house. At least there were microphones and sound systems there. If she paid a bit more, she could practice, she thought.
She had indeed found the right place. The owner of the music store agreed to her request and gave her a microphone to practice freely. This is how Haolong heard Hu Jing's singing.
However, it wasn't like a KTV with a private room. Many people were coming and going in the music store, and Hu Jing felt a bit restrained. Her voice tightened as she sang, but fortunately, she didn't go off-key. She was secretly relieved. Listening to Hu Jing's clear and sweet voice, Haolong's anger gradually subsided, and his beast-like state began to fade. At this moment, Haolong's soul was slowly regaining control of his body and mind. Although his soul was still in a state of rage, with the help of the singing, Haolong had regained control of his body. He relaxed his clenched fists and eased his fierce expression. Haolong returned home, where his mother had finished cooking dinner and was waiting for him. Seeing her gentle eyes, the raging soul of the Dragon King could no longer influence Haolong's consciousness. In an instant, Haolong was freed from his beast-like state and said with a smile, "Mom, I'm back."
Seeing Haolong return, his mother was very happy and quickly called him to eat. Haolong said to his mother, "Mom, why is someone singing next door? Isn't that a music store? Did they turn it into a KTV?"
Mother put the bowls and chopsticks on the table and said with a smile, "Who knows? I don't know what's going on either."
Haolong helped his mother serve the dishes and said, "Mom, I'll go check it out. The singing is really good." Seeing Haolong go to the next room, his mother couldn't help but laugh.
The music store was just next door, but the few meters felt like a long distance to Haolong. As he walked out of his house, he kept thinking about the girl's appearance. For nearly a month, every time Haolong transformed into a beast, it was this singing that brought him back. The singing was more than just beautiful to Haolong; it was a spiritual support. Haolong sincerely hoped that the girl singing was a beautiful one, as only a beautiful girl could match such a heavenly voice. With a nervous heart, Haolong arrived at the music store next door. He sat on a stool and watched the girl's back, listening to her sing the familiar "Stepping on the Waves." Haolong felt he was right; the girl singing for half a month by the seaside was indeed this person. The voice was exactly the same. The girl he had been thinking about day and night was right in front of him. She wasn't very tall, about 1.6 meters, with long black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a snow-white coat, and with a perfect figure. This appearance seemed so familiar to Haolong, as if he had seen her somewhere before. Just as Haolong was curious, the girl turned around to adjust the sound system and saw Haolong. They both said at the same time, "It's you?"
The girl on the other side was indeed the one who had been crying at the table opposite him at noon. How could it be her? Haolong couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, "Heaven! So beautiful, such a beautiful voice, and such a perfect figure. How could heaven create such a perfect masterpiece?" Haolong couldn't help but marvel at the creator's ingenuity, having made Hu Jing so perfect.
Hu Jing asked, "Why are you here?"
Haolong smiled and said, "I was going to ask you the same thing. My house is right next door."
Hu Jing said, "Oh, your house is here? What a coincidence."
Haolong thought to himself, "Indeed, I never thought the girl who sang by the seaside for half a month would be you. I've been looking for you every day, and now I meet you here. The world is so small, and life is so full of coincidences."
Haolong asked, "Are you practicing singing?"
Hu Jing explained why she was practicing, and Haolong finally understood. After practicing a few more songs, Hu Jing returned to her dormitory without letting Haolong treat her to dinner or escort her. She just left.
Watching Hu Jing's back, Haolong felt a myriad of emotions. When he first saw Hu Jing, he was captivated by her beauty and was completely stunned. This time, when he realized the girl singing was Hu Jing, he was even more stunned. The sweet voice he had heard by the seaside had already made him unable to resist, and now, finding that the beautiful face and the sweet voice belonged to the same person, Haolong was completely dazed. In front of Hu Jing, Haolong even felt a sense of inferiority, afraid to look at her face, fearing that he would be embarrassed if he stared at her beautiful face. Moreover, Hu Jing had expressive eyes that seemed to see through his thoughts, making Haolong even more hesitant to look at her. Unfortunately, Hu Jing, being a smart girl, noticed Haolong's awkwardness and left early, leaving Haolong feeling very regretful and disappointed in himself.
After dinner, Haolong lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. His mind was filled with images of Hu Jing, crying, smiling, blushing, and being happy. Each image was so captivating. He thought he would fall asleep soon, but it was already past two in the morning, and he still couldn't sleep.
Growing up in a military family, Haolong's household was always strict with the father and gentle with the mother. When he made mistakes, his father would scold him, and his mother would comfort him. However, there was one thing his parents were particularly consistent about: no dating before adulthood. Every boy has a crush, and in junior high, Haolong had liked a girl. He once asked his mother if he could date the girl he liked. His mother countered, "Can you guarantee that you can be responsible for the girl you like? Will you both be in the same school and class after junior high? Can you ensure that you will both get into the same university after high school? Can you guarantee that you will both work in the same city and company after graduation? If not, how can you be responsible for the girl you like?"
Faced with his mother's questions, Haolong was speechless. After carefully considering her words, he realized that although he liked the girl very much, he couldn't guarantee being responsible for her. If they broke up in the future, it would cause great harm to both the girl and himself. Knowing the outcome, it was better not to start.
From then on, Haolong never developed feelings for any girl. Some people advised him to date more girls to understand what kind of girl he wanted as a lifelong partner, but Haolong stubbornly believed that if he liked a girl, he should be responsible for her. He couldn't date just for the experience.
Therefore, by the time Haolong went to college, he had no dating experience. He hardly spoke to girls or looked at their faces, afraid of losing control. This led to a strange incident in high school where his male classmates saw him as a freak, and his female classmates saw him as a treasure. During a mountain climbing activity organized by the teacher, everyone was drinking water, and a girl saw that Haolong didn't have any water. She offered him her half-drunk bottle of mineral water. Normally, Haolong would have thanked her and drunk the water, but he only thanked her and didn't drink it. The girl was confused, thinking he was rejecting her because he found her dirty. She turned away, and a friend asked why. Haolong replied, "How can I drink water that a girl has already drunk? I'm a guy."
This response made the girls in the class feel like they had discovered a new world. They surrounded Haolong and asked him 360-degree questions about his past. Seeing the girls interrogate him, Haolong was so scared that he answered everything truthfully, even breaking into a cold sweat.
After the questioning, the girls concluded that Haolong was a very pure and kind boy who had hardly interacted with girls. Seeing his sunny and handsome appearance, the girls immediately declared him the class treasure, showing how rare a boy like Haolong was.
However, in high school, Haolong focused on his studies and didn't think about dating. The girls in his class often hinted at him, but knowing he couldn't be responsible for them, Haolong had to harden his heart and ignore them. The more he acted coldly, the more the girls liked him, and sometimes he had to avoid them.
But now, things were different. Haolong was in college, and his mother wasn't as strict with him. Most importantly, Haolong had the financial means to live the life he wanted, meaning he could be responsible for the girl he liked. So, Haolong's heart was more open.
However, Haolong had a problem. For so many years, he had hardly spoken to girls or looked at their faces. Therefore, when a girl as beautiful as Hu Jing appeared in front of him, Haolong naturally became dazed. If he had been a playboy, he would have known that Hu Jing was just a bit more beautiful than other girls. But Haolong, who had ignored women's appearances for years, couldn't resist Hu Jing's beauty. Moreover, he didn't know how to talk to girls, so he usually maintained a cold demeanor. But in front of Hu Jing, he liked her, and not knowing how to talk, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. His face, however, showed a cold expression. When she spoke to him, he only replied occasionally, making her think he was disrespectful. Gradually, she stopped talking to him, which is why Hu Jing left. This made Haolong very disappointed, and he resolved to not be so awkward the next time he met Hu Jing.
Sighing helplessly, Haolong suddenly remembered that the Dragon King was still injured. He quickly sent his soul to the Dragon King's body and found that the Dragon King was in a state of hibernation, gradually recovering. Haolong was relieved, but he didn't know when the Dragon King would wake up. However, he had already lured the crab to the designated area. Despite being ambushed by a jellyfish, he had completed his goal. This made Haolong very happy. The next day, he would have Liu Yong'an and his brother catch the crabs, which would bring in a substantial income. It was September, and as the saying goes, "August for male crabs, September for female crabs." In late August, the demand for crabs in the wealthy areas had decreased, but recently, the number of people urging him to catch crabs had made Haolong consider dropping out of school to focus on crab fishing. The demand was so high, and the price of crabs had risen significantly. There weren't many crabs in the East Sea, and most had been overfished to extinction. Most crabs were now caught in North Korean waters, but recently, the new general in North Korea had abolished the previous rules and strictly prohibited Chinese fishing boats from entering to catch crabs. Therefore, the price of crabs was exceptionally high. Ordinary crabs cost over 80 yuan per pound, and the East Sea crabs cost 120 yuan per pound. The crabs from the Devil Sea, which the wealthy areas were willing to pay 200 yuan per pound for, could make anyone rich overnight.
For the restaurants that had pre-ordered crabs from him, the purchase price was 180 yuan per pound, but they sold them for 260 yuan per pound, a sky-high price. The crabs were genuine Devil Sea crabs, wild and rare. If they fished every day, Liu Yong'an and his brother could catch over 200 crabs, each weighing at least 2 pounds, with some reaching 4 pounds. They were clearly wild crabs, with particularly large claws and hind legs. They could earn at least 80,000 yuan per day, and over 2.4 million yuan per month. For others, after accounting for labor, boat maintenance, and taxes, they might only make half of that, but Haolong only had to pay one person and didn't need to pay taxes. His boat was small, and the only cost was fuel, so almost all of it was profit. Selling crabs was like robbing money, and even then, the demand was still high. The 200 crabs couldn't even meet the daily demand of the wealthy areas, let alone the hotels in Donghai City. Haolong felt that Guan Dahu was not far from coming to him. Thinking of Guan Dahu, Haolong couldn't help but sneer. In the past, Guan Dahu had used his power to extort and defraud, skirting the law and colluding with authorities to humiliate the villagers of the small fishing village. Haolong would never forgive Guan Dahu. In the end, you have to pay for your actions. Guan Dahu had harmed so many people, and now their children had grown up. Haolong wanted to see who would forgive him. Since Haolong had the Dragon King, he had planned his revenge. When he first controlled the Dragon King and had to fight a one-meter-long grouper, Haolong realized that in this world, if you are weak, you deserve to be bullied. If you don't want to die, you have to eliminate those who want to harm you. For someone like Guan Dahu, who had humiliated Haolong so much, the only way to wash away the shame was with blood. Haolong would use Guan Dahu's life to cleanse his own shame.
From then on, Haolong began to lay his plans. Every household in the small fishing village had been bullied or robbed by Guan Dahu. Why did Haolong pay Liu Yong'an and his brother such high wages, about 10,000 yuan a month? They only went out to sea once a week for half an hour, and it was like playing. After half a day, they could earn 1,000 yuan. Why did they deserve such high pay? Haolong wanted to show them that they could earn a lot of money by following him, enough to change their lives.
Living in poverty for so long, they would be at a loss with the sudden wealth. According to Haolong's prediction, they would first pay off their debts, about 5,000 yuan. Then, they would treat their friends, who were also poor, to meals. Seeing them earn so much, their friends would ask how they did it. In a state of great material and spiritual satisfaction, and after drinking, they would tell everyone that they earned the money by fishing with Haolong. When others learned the truth, they would ask for help to join Haolong's team. Haolong would use these people.
For so many years, seeing his parents and father being bullied and his mother's purse being stolen, living in poverty, how could he not harbor resentment? How could he not think of killing Guan Dahu to vent his anger? But no one had organized them, and they didn't know how to unite against Guan Dahu. Haolong's goal was to unite them under his command and use them to kill Guan Dahu.
Taking these people to catch crabs, paying 1,000 yuan per person per trip, twice a week, and 10,000 yuan a month, they would go from being penniless to earning a high salary. How could they not value this job?
When Haolong started catching crabs, Guan Dahu wouldn't care. It was normal for crabs to swim out of the Devil Sea, and finding a few dozen or a hundred wasn't news. Guan Dahu wouldn't bring his men to trouble Haolong over such a small matter. But when Haolong brought dozens of men to catch crabs in large numbers near the Devil Sea, Guan Dahu would notice. He would come to extort protection money. Haolong would use this opportunity to withdraw, and the men, who would be unwilling to lose their 10,000 yuan salary, would hate Guan Dahu even more. Killing him would be a natural outcome.
Haolong thought, "Guan Dahu, I will make you lose your life in the East Sea this month."