Chapter 395
Almost all the sharks that swam up had some sort of human-made waste on their bodies. Some had been scratched by fish hooks. Some were tangled in ropes they couldn’t free themselves from. And some had their fins trapped in plastic bags, unable to move.
This was the first time Milly had gotten so close to realising how highly developed human civilisation might not be a good thing for these ocean creatures.
They spent about an hour cleaning all the trash off the sharks in front of them.
The sharks, freed from the constraints of marine debris, appeared much happier. They circled on the water’s surface, constantly in motion, until the mother shark’s loud voice rang out and calmed them down.
“Buzz … Buzz…”
The mother shark swam over to Milly and flicked her tail, like she was trying to say something. She didn’t quite get it, so she just took it as a thank-you gesture.
She grinned, squatting down in front of the shark, and said, ‘No problem! Just be careful with all that messy garbage. If you ever need help again, you know where to find me on this island. It’s mine, and I’ll probably be back here now and then. If we’re supposed to meet again, we will!”
“Buzz… Buzz…”
From a corner, a small white shark popped out, wagging its tail and gazing at her.
Milly hesitated to touch the mother shark but felt brave enough to pet this little one. She gently reached out and rubbed its head, smiling and teasing. “Hey there, no more diving into fishing nets, okay? If you bump into a bad person, you might end up as someone’s fancy meal!”
“Buzz… Buzz…”
It seemed to sense Milly was about to leave, stretching out its little gums as if trying to bite her sleeve to keep her there. Its teeth had just started growing and weren’t sharp at all, feeling more like a gentle tickle against her skin.
Milly grinned, gently tapping the little shark on the head with her finger, and played with it for a bit before getting up to leave.
Just then, a full-grown adult great white shark swam over from a distance, probably one of the ones Milly had
recently rescued.
It came to the shore, suddenly opened its mouth, and then started spitting out a variety of things: yellowfin tuna, abalone, lobsters, wild yellowtail, king salmon, king crab…
Is this … a thank-you gift?
These seafood items obviously had just been freshly caught by the shark and were still lively and wriggling after being spat out.
Before she could even think of asking anything, the group of great white sharks had already swam away slowly, with the mother shark at the front, holding a small white shark in its mouth that was clearly unwilling to leave and flapping its tail while crying out.
Gradually, they went further and further away until they couldn’t be seen anymore.
Milly gazed at the slowly disappearing group of white sharks, feeling inexplicably sad. Was this their last encounter?
Charlie seemed to notice her sadness and didn’t rush her. Instead, he quietly packed up all the seafood and stood silently beside her, waiting.
Once she was sure they were out of sight, Milly stood up. She glanced towards the distant red light. “Will the live broadcast catch this scene? If so, could it pose a threat to the great white shark group?”
After all, they seemed so understanding. She had told them earlier that if there were any problems, they could always return to this island.
Charlie’s eyes remained dark, carrying the same indifference as usual. ‘No, they won’t. It won’t happen as long as you don’t want them to.”
His tone was firm, carrying an undeniable sense of authority and presence, which contrasted oddly with his calm demeanour.
Milly blinked but didn’t question him. She seemed to trust his words completely. “Okay.”
Meanwhile…
In the dead of the night, Danny glanced at the sudden message on his phone and promptly called Cameron, who was abroad.
“Hello, Director Cameron, I’m sorry to bother you. Please don’t give Charlie too much screen time. If possible, please redirect the cameras right away!”
Cameron, amused by the rising viewer numbers and heated discussions, burst into laughter upon receiving the call. But then he was completely taken aback upon hearing Danny’s words. “Huh? What? Don’t focus on him?”
On the other line, Danny’s voice carried a hint of amusement, but his face looked distressed. “Yes, I’m sorry for the inconvenience. How about this? To compensate for your loss, Tate Group is willing to invest 4.5 million dollars as extra funding for the show. Does that work for you?”
Cameron would never go against money, especially not the Tates. He immediately responded with a smile. ‘Mr. Jarvis, you’re too kind. There’s really no trouble at all. We’ll switch the cameras right away. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to cut down on Charlie’s screen time in the future!”
Danny, “Thanks, Director Cameron.”
After ending the call, Cameron turned to the operators in the control room and said, “Shift the live broadcast camera over to the Bamboo House area.”
The operator was taken aback. “What? Shift it? But the audience clearly prefers this side.”
Cameron glanced at the chaotic flood of comments and sighed. “Just do it. Charlie seems to have offended Tate Group somehow. The higher-ups there called personally and requested to reduce his screen time. They even added an extra investment for this. It’s obvious they want to sideline him. Ah, such a shame for this talented guy.”
“Ah? But…”
“All right, all right, just do it. We can’t compete with Tate Group. It’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble over something small. It’s not worth offending them.”
With the live broadcast feed having a delay and the international and domestic networks not quite synchronised, viewers in the chat were currently guessing what fish they had caught in their nets. Judging by their efforts, it seemed to be a big fish.
As a result, just at the moment when the net was being pulled up, the camera suddenly switched to the Bamboo House area.
The audience was puzzled.
What’s happening? I was just getting close to the screen, ready to see what fish they caught, and now you switch the camera?’
Oh heavens, I really don’t want to watch these women scheming against each other. I want to see Milly fishing!’
Yeah, I agree! Charlie might seem average at first glance, but the more you look, the more stylish he appears, and his physique is really impressive! Those abs, chest muscles, and biceps are something else!’
Exactly! I’m also into Charlie now, but he’s an amateur. There’s hardly any information about him online, which is such a shame!’