Chapter 126: Chapter 114: Fishing Competition

Life at sea was inevitably a bit dull. Flora Bloom’s days consisted of either eating, drinking, and sleeping, or staring at the scenery. But with nothing but the ocean in every direction, she grew tired of the view after just three days. She suddenly remembered she had collected some fishing gear back in the village, so she pulled the equipment out of her space and ran to the dining room with it.

At that moment, Caleb Bloom was playing Chinese chess with Sherman Lynch. Sherman Lynch had found the chess set in a storage locker. It seemed he had decided to follow Flora Bloom way back when he was helping her pick out a boat. The man had clearly been planning this for a long time.

Jade and Ethan Monroe were in the kitchen preparing breakfast, while Cynthia Grant and Irvin Holden were in the cockpit, cracking melon seeds and chatting.

Ever since that day Big White flew away, Caleb had been moping. Aside from mealtimes, he spent all his time in his room, absorbing Crystal Cores to raise his Superpower Level. In just three days, he had used up the entire team’s reserves of Crystal Cores and reached Level 3, becoming the youngest person on the team, yet the one with the highest Superpower Level.

Flora Bloom set the fishing gear down at the entrance to the dining room, then walked over to watch the match between her father and Sherman Lynch.

She saw Sherman Lynch looking calm and confident, on the verge of total victory. He had already decimated Caleb Bloom’s forces. Flora Bloom reached out, grabbed her dad’s knight that was hiding behind enemy lines, and made a surprise move. "Take the cannon!"

"Hey, hey, hey! A true gentleman watches a game in silence. You can’t just do that, little lady!"

After Flora Bloom helped Caleb Bloom take one of Sherman Lynch’s cannons, his completely blocked-off offense suddenly opened up. Even though he was about to lose that forward knight on the next move, the board was now wide open for him.

"Tch. That was a father-daughter mind-meld. Besides, I’m no ’gentleman.’ I’m a woman—a petty, grudge-holding woman at that."

In the past three days, Sherman Lynch had been eating the fruits, vegetables, and grains that Flora Bloom provided from her space and drinking the spiritual water. Even without Crystal Cores to level up, his body had mostly recovered. And even though Flora Bloom gave him a hard time every day, both openly and subtly, he just grinned and pretended not to notice.

As for Flora Bloom, she had gone from passively accepting Sherman Lynch’s presence to realizing it was a good thing. ’In my past life, Sherman Lynch was a great general who defended a city. Now he’s awakened a Gold Ability so early on. As long as he stays alive, having another powerful person on my team is a huge plus. What’s not to like?’

Flora Bloom had meddled in their game, but in the end, Sherman Lynch still managed to eke out a win against her father.

"Alright, alright, you two have been playing chess all day. Aren’t your old bones getting stiff? We’ll eat in a bit. I’ve found some fun for you guys, and we’ll see who’s really better."

Flora Bloom’s words immediately piqued the interest of the two older men.

She dragged Caleb, who was still training to level up, out of his room, and called over Cynthia Grant and Irvin Holden. Then she went to the kitchen to help out, and soon, the food was served.

For the past three days, Flora Bloom had intentionally asked Ethan Monroe to cook extra food. Whether it was rice, stir-fries, soups, or various flatbreads, she stored it all in her space as soon as it was ready. Ethan Monroe absolutely loved to cook. Over those three days, he had prepared fried, steamed, and roasted dishes; sweet and sour, spicy, and savory soups; braised meals and hot and sour specialties. He even made a good number of pastries for her to store. To build up Flora Bloom’s food reserves, Ethan Monroe had been busy from morning to night, not stopping for a moment.

Morhaven was an incredibly mysterious place in her memories. Being a little more prepared helped put her at ease.

After breakfast, Flora Bloom picked up the fishing gear and led the way to the deck. Caleb Bloom skillfully assembled the various pieces of equipment, then handed one of the fishing rods to Sherman Lynch.

Irvin Holden steered the yacht to a calm patch of sea. The radar showed that the waters here were peaceful, with only a reef about two hundred meters to the side, which posed no risk to the boat.

"Sherman, I can’t beat you at chess, but when it comes to fishing, I’m an expert. I can definitely beat you at this."

"Hmph. Back in your village, you were just fishing in a little river. That’s child’s play. This is sea fishing. Don’t get ahead of yourself!"

Caleb Bloom, in his fifties, and Sherman Lynch, ten years his senior, immediately started bickering as soon as they had their fishing rods in hand. It seemed the source of men’s happiness could be as simple as winning a game of chess or catching one more fish.

Caleb Bloom and Sherman Lynch mixed some flour to make their own bait. Lacking proper ingredients, they tossed in some leftover scraps of minced meat from the kitchen.

Flora Bloom took some flour from her space, mixed in a bit of diluted spiritual water until it was smooth, and then found a spot on a slightly raised section of the deck. She sat down, put the flour dough on her hook, and started fishing.

Sherman Lynch and Caleb Bloom finished preparing their bait and saw that Flora Bloom had already cast her line far out. They glanced at the bait in her bucket and chuckled.

"Little girl, you can’t catch fish with just flour," Sherman Lynch said earnestly. "See, most sea fish are attracted to a bloody scent; they won’t go for flour. You’ll never catch anything like that. Here, take some of my bait. Maybe you’ll be able to reel one in."

Flora Bloom glanced at Sherman Lynch but simply smiled without a word. She knew her spiritual water had an irresistible attraction for living creatures. Even without adding anything else, she could catch fish.

"Flora, Sherman’s right. Why don’t you try some different bait?"

"No thanks, Dad. My bait is just fine. I might even catch a fish before either of you."

Caleb Bloom shook his head and gave a helpless smile. "Alright, alright. If it doesn’t work out, you can come get some bait from your dad."

"What good is your bait? Mine is obviously better. Flora, if you need some later, just help yourself."

Watching the two of them bicker over even this, Flora Bloom was suddenly struck by a playful idea.

"How about we make it a competition?"

The moment they heard the word "competition," the two former soldiers were instantly intrigued.

"Yes! A competition sounds great! Tell us, what are the rules? And what’s the prize?" Sherman Lynch was the first to agree, the triumphant look on his face already declaring him the winner.

"A competition it is! Daughter, go on, what are the rules?"

"The rules are simple. We’ll compete to see who catches the most fish. If it’s a tie, the winner is whoever catches the biggest one."

Hearing there was a competition, Ethan Monroe, Neal Wallace, Cynthia Grant, Irvin Holden, and even young Caleb watched the three of them with keen interest. Caleb even started clapping and stood by Flora Bloom’s side, chanting, "Sister Flora will win! Sister Flora is sure to win!"

"You little rascal, your Sister Flora is using flour to fish. How could she possibly win? Now, tell us, what are the rewards for the winner and the punishment for the loser?"

Flora Bloom gave a mysterious smile. "The loser has to grill all the fish for lunch and dinner. How does that sound?"

"Deal! No problem. But what about the winner? There has to be a prize, right?" Sherman Lynch asked, his eyes wide.

Caleb Bloom was also looking at his daughter with hopeful eyes. He knew she had plenty of good things in her space. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

As everyone watched with anticipation, a bottle of red wine appeared in Flora Bloom’s hand. "The winner gets this bottle of wine." Flora Bloom handed the bottle to Cynthia Grant. "And don’t come crying to me for bait when you start losing."

"Tch. As if that dough ball of yours even counts as bait," Sherman Lynch scoffed before baiting his hook and casting it into the sea.

Caleb Bloom found a shady spot, cast his line, and settled down on the deck to wait quietly.