The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

The fishing competition attracted not only a large number of fishermen, but also many villagers.

Marco and Savile both ran out to sea with the fishing boats. Nicholas regretfully stayed behind to watch the shop because he had to sort the goods, but before leaving, he asked a question that struck at the heart of the matter—

Who are you going to cheer for?

Even after the ship's engines were shut off and Leo and Bianchi began their final preparations, they still hadn't been able to answer.

Marco looked around, then at Salvi, and sighed, saying:

"If we both cheer for Bianchi, will no one cheer for Leo?"

Andre, who was closest to Leo, did not travel with the ship due to his advanced age. Although Rosalia came, she was not the type to cheer him on.

So, among the ships nearby, only he, Salvi, and Leo had some interaction.

Salvi adjusted his bottle-bottom glasses and offered his advice:

"When everyone is cheering for Bianchi, we should of course join them, but we can't ignore Leo either."

"Do you need to tell me this principle?" Marco asked, frowning.

Salvi looked in one direction:

"We'll cheer for Leo when Bianchi is about to win, so people won't think we're 'betraying our promise,' they'll just think we have sportsmanship."

Marco neither said yes nor no, seemingly undecided. He nudged Salvi's arm.

"Let's see, it's about to begin."

Salvi craned his neck and asked:

"Ready to go into the water?"

Marco turned his body 180 degrees:

"With eyes like yours, what the hell are you doing following along!"

......

The rules of the competition are simple—whoever kills the most target fish within 20 minutes wins.

The fish species covered in the rules are all common nearshore species, and at this time of year they have not completely hidden themselves and are still in their active tail phase.

If they weren't possessed by Natale, it would be difficult for them to waste too much time searching for target fish, so the number of fish they hunted could objectively and fairly represent their fishing skills.

The two athletes have switched to small boats and are 50 meters apart, making their final preparations.

However, their preparation levels were quite 'different'...

The Rio wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and other equipment were all neatly worn.

On the other side, Bianchi was only wearing shorts, flippers, and a mask... traveling light.

Leo patiently conducted a final check on the equipment.

Bianchi then began examining his only prop—a fishing gun.

......

"This is bad," Marco muttered.

Bianchi used a more accurate fishing gun, while Leo used the most primitive harpoon.

Diving equipment increases resistance and buoyancy in the water.

Bianchi is going all out today, abandoning most of his equipment in an all-out effort to win.

Leo has too many buoyancy-enhancing items on him, which means he needs to prepare a heavier counterweight... which will make it take longer to float.

It could be said that the two already had a 'gap' even before they got into the water.

"What do you mean?" Salvi asked.

Marco, too lazy to even comment on his gaze, explained:

"Leo is currently at a significant disadvantage."

"They're already at a disadvantage before even getting in the water?" Salvi looked shocked. "Should we start cheering for Leo?"

The faint sounds of people calling Bianchi's name could be heard around them, but no one called Leo's name.

Marco smacked his lips:

"It hasn't started yet."

"Then explain it more clearly."

"Can't you see for yourself?"

"Go Leo!"

"If I could see it, would I need you to tell me?"

"Go Leo!!"

The two men fell silent at the same time, carefully trying to figure out what the noise was, and then they both looked in unison at a fishing boat to the side.

Marzamemi actually had people cheering for Leo?

"Who is it?" Salvi asked anxiously. "It's not Rosalia's voice."

Marco suddenly laughed, which made Salvi even more anxious, and he kept tugging at Marco's clothes.

"It's Rukia, she actually came along too." Marco looked away.

Nicholas didn't come because he was checking the goods that Lucia and the others had delivered today.

"Oh, oh, her." Salvi turned his head. "So that's what happened. You scared me to death. I thought she was trying to steal my business by asking where Leo lived last time."

......

Today is another day for Lucia to deliver goods to Marzamemi.

Upon arrival, she noticed that the atmosphere in Marzamemi was unusually different today. There were hardly any people in the shops and on the streets. After inquiring, she learned that a fishing competition was about to take place.

Lucia grew up in Lazio and had never seen anything like this before. A restaurant owner was going out to sea to see what was going on, and she came along too.

Unexpectedly, one of the competitors was Leo, whom she knew...

Little Glutton never expected that Leo would actually be such a formidable "underwater warrior".

Cheers gradually rose from the surrounding area.

But Lucia only heard people calling Bianchi's name; no one was cheering for Leo.

She felt a little sad.

Leo is so gentle, so considerate, and so handsome... how come no one supports him?

She waited for a very long time, until Leo stood on the side of the boat so bent over, but still no one came to cheer him on.

If you can no longer tolerate it, then there is no need to tolerate it any longer!

"Go Leo!" Rukia shouted with all her might, trying to make ten people shout out the same spirit!

Leo was startled by Lucia's shout.

He didn't expect anyone to cheer him on.

Upon seeing the petite figure shouting so loudly, Leo felt his blood boil even more.

He channeled his excitement into a powerful shout at Rukia:

"I'll treat you to fish when I get back!"

Rukia waved her arms rapidly in the distance, shouting even more enthusiastically.

Leo withdrew his gaze, leaned out of the ship once more, and waited for the 'call to arms' to sound.

With a shout of "Start!", he slid smoothly into the water.

Although his body was burning hot, his mind quickly calmed down, reminding him of the battle plan he had previously formulated:

"Seize the initiative and create a gap from the very beginning."

......

"Seize the initiative and create a gap from the very beginning!"

Bianchi immediately began searching for its target fish species upon entering the water.

The 20-minute match time is exactly the limit of breath and physical strength.

The consumption of breath and stamina does not decrease at a uniform rate; the efficiency decreases as the race drags on. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate in the first half to widen the gap with Leo.

Bianchi can catch one fish per minute, including the 20 seconds he spends resting and breathing at the surface.

However, this efficiency can only be maintained for two or three potentials, and the efficiency will gradually decrease after that.

Bianchi's strategy was to use the first two or three potential attacks to "blow up" Leo, allowing this all-out offensive to widen the gap between the two.

Emotional fluctuations will be directly reflected in breathing and physical strength. Once he panics, Leo's efficiency curve in the second half will drop rapidly.

Bianchi believed his plan was foolproof.

The only uncertainty is whether the target fish species can be found quickly.

But he was very lucky today!

As soon as I dived, there was a prey right next to me, no more than 3 meters away!