The morning sun broke over the Eastern Endless Ocean in a wash of pale gold.
Inside the glass-walled dining saloon on Deck Eight of the [Rank 6 Gu Family Hot-Spring Cruise Ship], the rich aroma of freshly fried dough crullers, warm sweet soy milk. Steamed soup dumplings filled the air. A lazy sea breeze drifted through the half-open portholes, carrying the gentle scent of ocean salt and toasted white sesame.
Down in the sparkling blue water alongside the hull, Chief Lifeguard Ba Hai floated happily in his bright yellow safety vest. The thousand-foot Kraken King used two colossal tentacles to toss a giant inflatable beach ball back and forth with a pod of giggling mermaid children. While his other six tentacles held up floating umbrellas for the elderly sea-turtles resting on the coral deck.
Every time a little mermaid scored a point, Ba Hai blew a cheerful tweet on his silver lifeguard whistle and handed out a freshly peeled coconut.
Up inside the saloon, Gu Changsheng sat at the head of the long redwood dining table.
In front of him rested a porcelain cup of fragrant green tea, a bamboo steamer of pork-and-crab-roe soup dumplings. A thick leather-bound notebook that had suddenly begun to tremble on the white linen tablecloth like a startled crab.
