First Ride, New Horizons

Seeing the bow and arrow, Eddie was reminded of guns. Like the United States, Canada also allows civilians the freedom to bear arms—of course, this requires a gun license issued by the firearms control bureau.

"I have to get the gun license first," Eddie thought to himself while stroking the pulley bow.

After walking around, nothing else caught his interest. Finally, his eyes settled on the jet skis.

In Eddie's plan, his fishery definitely needed yachts. He already had enough money to buy one, but the construction of the fishery was the priority, so he resisted the temptation and decided to wait until he found some antique relics underwater before buying yachts.

But when he walked up to the jet skis, he couldn't resist the temptation anymore. The four little machines were red, yellow, black, and white—each with a different design but all with beautiful curves. Their alloy steel panels gleamed in the light, truly a feast for the eyes.

Rayek pointed at a red jet ski and introduced it: "This is the Yamaha FZS Comfort Edition jet ski. It sells very well, with strong horsepower and an affordable price. If you want to enjoy the thrill of riding the sea, this is a great choice."

Eddie's rebellious spirit flared up again, and he shook his head. "No Japanese stuff, Bigfoot. Show me something better."

"That would be this guy, the 'Night Thunder.'" Rayek pointed at the black jet ski. "It's the flagship model from Italy's RIVA, with excellent cost-performance ratio. Most importantly, it has the best performance among similar jet skis. You can check the brochure."

The black jet ski was noticeably larger than the others—about four meters long, one and a half meters wide, and one point two meters high. It was made of fiberglass combined with alloy casting, imposing and majestic.

Eddie took the brochure. It read:

Model: RIVA – Night Thunder IVEngine type: Mercury 4-cylinder, 4-stroke outboard engine, turbocharged, high coolingDisplacement: 2400ccHorsepower: 280 hpFuel: DieselTop speed: 280 km/hElectric start, water-cooled, key ignition, carburetor/injection fuel spray, 4-blade impeller, stainless steel material...

To sum up the features of this jet ski: domineering, willful, luxurious, extravagant, and absolutely badass!

Of course, such power came with a high price. The Yamaha was only sixteen thousand Canadian dollars, but the Night Thunder almost doubled that, costing twenty-eight thousand.

But without a doubt, Eddie chose the Night Thunder. This guy was too cool. If he toured places like Hawaii or Miami Beach, he could probably catch a dozen beauties.

After making his choice, Eddie and Shack left first. Rayek said he would deliver the items soon.

Back at the fishery, Shack opened the warehouse. Less than an hour later, Rayek's small truck arrived. Eddie hung the pulley bow in his bedroom, and the jet skis were unloaded directly at the dock—he didn't buy just one, but two.

Money talks, and Eddie was indulgent.

It was noon, and as time passed, the weather grew warmer. The fishery's midday temperature reached about ten degrees Celsius.

Though this temperature was still relatively low, Eddie didn't care. Since merging with the Heart of the Ocean, he discovered he no longer lost heat in seawater, as if something insulated him from the water.

He changed into the shark suit he had just bought, jumped on the Night Thunder, and twisted the key.

"Vroom vroom..." A deep, powerful engine roar started, and Eddie felt the jet ski tremble slightly. With the waves rocking it, it was like a spirited horse ready to gallop.

Shack and Rayek watched from the dock. The latter smoked and said, "Your boss is a real man. Getting soaked in this weather isn't comfortable."

Shack, loyal as ever, changed clothes and rode the other Night Thunder, worried Eddie might have an accident on his first time riding a jet ski.

The two high-end jet skis sped through the waves, attracting many onlookers.

Since they needed to tidy up the fishery, Eddie had temporarily hired about ten people from the town to help. Also, with the fishery cleaned up, local kids had a better place to play and would come every day, now acting as the audience.

Eddie gradually accelerated. The jet ski was somewhat like a motorcycle, with the throttle on the right handlebar—very convenient.

But this thing was much safer than a motorcycle. As long as the speed didn't exceed 200 km/h, even if the jet ski flipped and someone fell in the water, they wouldn't get hurt.

Of course, if the speed was as high as four or five hundred km/h, flipping would be no gentler than crashing on the road.

High price meant high quality. Though the sea was constantly wavy, the jet ski handled it well, accelerating steadily to over forty km/h with good stability.

The ocean was vast and wide—more thrilling than a prairie. Eddie had never ridden a horse, but he believed riding a horse on a prairie couldn't compare to riding a jet ski on the ocean!

The Night Thunder sped up and approached the 100 km/h mark. Eddie never dared to drive this fast on the road.

But on the ocean—especially now with calm waters—he felt invincible!

The jet ski dashed ahead, creating a white wave behind it, with a wake stretching more than twenty meters.

Water sprayed, wind howled. Eddie felt like the god of the ocean, the king of the seven seas!

A group of kids admired the two jet skis slicing through the water, eyes wide without blinking. The beauty of power and speed completely captivated them.

Seeing Eddie riding so well, Shack turned back. He was a bit annoyed—he had a better build than Eddie but couldn't stand riding in this temperature. Yet Eddie was faster and seemed to be enjoying it more.

When little Shack saw his father return, he ran barefoot to ride, but Shack scolded him grimly, "Do you want to catch a cold? You little brat, go back! When July or August comes, I'll ask the boss to lend you one to play with."

Eddie was confident and spirited. Though it was his first time riding a jet ski, he had ridden motorcycles many times before. With the Heart of the Ocean's "bug" helping him, he was unstoppable on the sea.

There were two key points to controlling the jet ski: balance and power. Balance kept the small craft stable, while power controlled the handlebar to steer.

After rushing about 50 to 60 kilometers out into the sea, with the fishery no longer visible, Eddie slowed down and turned the craft to drift gently with the current.

At that moment, the water suddenly surged from behind. Eddie immediately accelerated. The jet ski, like a war horse charging forward, let out a roar and sped ahead, the splashing waves missing him completely.

Eddie thought he might have encountered a sea monster and cautiously sped around.

Then the waves settled, revealing a creature with a body pure white and smooth as jade—it was a white whale!

Judging by its head, the white whale was about one and a half meters long—undoubtedly a calf.

Its head was round like a white bowl, with a short snout and no dorsal fin. Its two eyes were black and expressive, curiously watching Eddie. Its tail splashed the water occasionally, showing a naive and joyful demeanor.