Lin Qiu had accumulated a lot of Emotion Points during this period, originally planning to save them until he had 10,000 to exchange for a Pocket Anchor.
However, after some thought, Lin Qiu decided to deal with Vacher's matter first, so he used a thousand Emotion Points to enhance his physical strength.
Now, Lin Qiu could single-handedly wipe out a Hilichurl tribe, provided there wasn't a Hilichurl King in that tribe.
"Lin, are you really okay going by yourself?" Navia looked at Lin Qiu with some concern outside Fontaine.
At this moment, she was no longer wearing her lady's dress, but a swimsuit primarily brown with yellow accents.
This swimsuit wasn't too revealing; it perfectly blended elegance and sexiness, specially designed by Chiori at Navia's request.
Lin Qiu was also present at the time, so this swimsuit also incorporated some modern elements, and the sexiness came from there.
This also led Chiori to become even more convinced that Lin Qiu was a brilliant fashion designer, frequently inviting him to her Chiori House.
Navia was here because she already knew what Lin Qiu was going to do.
During this time, she would occasionally visit Lin Qiu, and besides listening to his stories, she naturally learned about other things, such as Vacher's factory being hidden in the sea.
She wasn't worried about Vacher knowing her itinerary and social connections, because Vacher already knew all of this, so there was no need to hide it.
Vacher knew that Lin Qiu was Navia's friend, but he didn't know that Lin Qiu was writing novels.
Because Lin Qiu's exclusive interview news, at his request, would only be published after the Vacher case concluded.
So, currently, besides a few close people, no one knew that Lin Qiu was the author himself.
Navia even specifically told Vacher about coming to the beach outside the city this time, calling it a trip for swimming and fishing by the sea.
Vacher didn't suspect anything and even reimbursed the expenses for this trip.
He still thought Navia regarded him as a close uncle, which was why she would casually tell him about her private itineraries.
"Don't worry, at least I won't get into trouble," Lin Qiu affirmed.
He didn't change into a swimsuit; although he was going into the water, he had no intention of getting wet.
After preparing for so long, he might not find Vacher's factory immediately, but at least he wouldn't be taken out by the monsters and machines at the bottom of the sea.
It's worth mentioning that because Navia and Clorinde had reconciled, Clorinde also knew that Vacher was the culprit.
Upon learning this news, Clorinde truly wanted to end Vacher with a single sword stroke.
She greatly respected Callas, but Vacher's machinations not only damaged Callas's reputation but also forced her to personally end the life of someone she respected.
However, Clorinde was not an impulsive person; even if she wanted to kill Vacher, she would not act privately.
She merely focused some attention on Vacher to prevent any more victims from appearing.
"Alright, be careful," Navia urged.
Lin Qiu nodded, and with a flick of his finger, a bubble of Water element enveloped him.
He wouldn't use any diving equipment, nor did he have the blessing of the Hydro Archon; he relied solely on his long-practiced Water element power.
Lin Qiu plunged into the sea; the Water element bubble isolated the surrounding seawater, and Lin Qiu couldn't swim, relying on manipulating the bubble to move underwater.
The underwater world of Fontaine was beautiful but also dangerous; soon after he entered the water, a hydro monster swam over, seemingly intending to attack Lin Qiu.
Sure enough, after closing a certain distance, the opponent launched a water bullet at Lin Qiu.
Lin Qiu didn't mind; with a thought, the surrounding seawater surged, and a water snake condensed.
It swallowed the water bullet in one gulp, and without losing momentum, bit towards the hydro monster.
The hydro monster tried to dodge, but unfortunately, it wasn't as fast as the water snake and was bitten.
The monster didn't even let out a whimper before it dissolved into foam and vanished into the seawater.
"It's a good thing my skills are superior," Lin Qiu was pleased that his practice hadn't been in vain.
The subsequent exploration was not easy either, as he frequently encountered attacks from monsters or machines.
However, there were no very powerful beings, so Lin Qiu, without exception, sent them all to meet Egeria.
Those who offend my bubble, Qiu shall strike and destroy them.
Regrettably, even though Lin Qiu had strengthened his body once, several battles caused his stamina to drop sharply.
Just then, the sky gradually darkened; the visibility at the bottom of the sea at night was too low, so Lin Qiu had to give up his exploration of the ocean.
By the time Lin Qiu poked his head out of the water, the moon was already hanging high in the sky.
"Sigh, as expected, it's not that quick to find."
Lin Qiu was a little disappointed; although he knew it was unlikely to find it on the first day, who wouldn't have a bit of luck and think, what if I'm lucky?
Even knowing that a single pull won't work, one still wants to gamble.
"Lin, I'm over here."
Navia stood on the boat, waving, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Lin Qiu was fine.
Lin Qiu would periodically release his element fluctuations in the sea, which allowed Navia to roughly assess Lin Qiu's position and keep the boat nearby.
This was something they had agreed upon beforehand; Lin Qiu didn't want to explore the bottom of the sea only to surface and find himself isolated in the middle of the ocean.
This was also why Lin Qiu didn't go exploring by himself but called Navia; after all, this little rich woman had money and leisure.
Well, Navia wasn't exactly idle, but the Vacher case was serious business for her, so she could make time regardless of how busy she was.
Navia extended her slender hand, intending to pull Lin Qiu up; because of the height difference, Navia bent down.
This scene was quite impactful from Lin Qiu's perspective.
Noticing Lin Qiu's gaze, Navia realized her impropriety, but she didn't say anything, just blushed slightly and covered herself with her other hand.
After being pulled onto the boat by Navia, Lin Qiu noticed several large fish on board, which Navia must have caught during this time.
No, she really caught fish? Wasn't she a fishing novice? Why!?
Lin Qiu couldn't help but recall that he would occasionally fish when he used to interact with Blubberbeasts, but most of the time, he came back empty-handed.
Even if he did catch something, it was pitifully small, not even weighing as much as the Bait used for chumming.
Navia also noticed Lin Qiu's gaze, but she didn't know what Lin Qiu was thinking, and she thought he might feel she wasn't doing her job, so she quickly explained.
"I wasn't just busy fishing for fun; I just thought the act should be more realistic, so I just fished a few times casually."
"..." Don't explain!
"It's fine, I don't think anything of it," Lin Qiu said stubbornly.
Navia breathed a sigh of relief; she didn't want Lin Qiu to think she wasn't putting in effort and was just playing around.
Of course, Lin Qiu wouldn't think Navia wasn't putting in effort; although Navia didn't go into the water, she had to keep driving the boat on the surface, following Lin Qiu, and also stay vigilant of the surroundings.
It's important to know that Melus and Silver weren't with them this time.
They both had to stay in Poisson to help Navia handle government affairs, so whether it was driving the boat, covering their actions, or being vigilant of the surroundings, Navia was doing it all by herself.
"So, any discoveries underwater?" Navia asked the question she cared about.
----------
Character Voice · Lin Qiu: About Fishing
"Ahem, what fishing? I don't usually fish."