King of the Wilderness

Chapter 741: Chapter 343: Unleashing a Terrifying Talent

”Use the force of the second winch to transfer the tension from the footrope, letting the first jammed winch instantly release. That way, I can safely untangle the overlapping ropes.”

After he finished speaking, the entire dock fell into an eerie silence.

In the live stream chat, after a brief pause, chaos ensued.

[What did I just hear? A mystical book? I recognize every word, but strung together I completely can’t understand!]

[Prussian knot? Gripping knot? Transferred tension? What is he babbling about?]

[I feel like I finally understand why Mr. Qian said: Can even the dumbest student not learn calculus?]

On the dock, the expression on Riven’s face could no longer be described as shock. For the first time, the face that always wore a confident smile showed a stunned look.

The question she raised was an elective topic in the ASA 106 (Advanced Coastal Cruising) course, something she herself learned only during a real crisis.

Yet Lin Yu’an, through mere theory and observation, deduced a textbook-standard solution within seconds!

Captain Mike’s scrutinizing gaze was fixed on Lin Yu’an, filled with examination and turmoil, but also with a hint of admiration as if seeing an unparalleled jade.

For the first time, his mind harbored deep doubts about this student.

From the rapid absorption of complex principles in theory class to the error-free identification of ropes on the dock, and then that incredible one-handed bowline.

Importantly, now this crisis-solving solution that would take even seasoned sailors a while to think through... all of it stacked together, exceeding what talent alone could explain.

This is not the learning curve of a novice at all! It’s more like an experienced sailor with at least thousands of nautical miles pretending to have amnesia!

Mike quickly calculated in his mind, was Scooter Braun a shrewd businessman who would cast an actor to create a prodigy training story for a project?

Entirely possible! For the sake of traffic, for the sake of headlines, such things are not uncommon in this circle.

His gaze involuntarily shifted to his daughter on the dock—Riven, his pride and joy.

Another more alarming guess surfaced in Mike’s mind.

He had seen too many young men like Lin Yu’an—handsome, wealthy, seemingly polite.

Then use learning to sail as the most elegant excuse, spend lavishly, specifically request the best coach, when their actual target was the sun-kissed girl in the helmsman’s seat.

Could this guy be here for Riven?!

Today’s events, including the impressive one-handed knot and theoretical deduction, were all just a peacock display of self-exceptional capability in front of Riven? He had seen such tactics many times!

In an instant, Captain Mike’s eyes turned cold and vigilant.

If that were true, he would not hesitate to terminate the course and let this self-smart rich kid know that Fort Lauderdale’s sea is not his backyard swimming pool!

But... Mike overturned this idea in his mind.

He recalled every detail of the morning, Lin Yu’an’s gaze, possessing an extraordinary level of focus from start to end.

While answering Riven’s question, there wasn’t the slightest distraction, no flattery, no vaunting, not even any unnecessary social interaction.

Such pure focus can’t be faked.

Then, only one possibility remained, equally incredible—that everything he said was true. It truly was his first time encountering sailing!

If that were true...

Mike’s heartbeat surged! That wasn’t doubt but a wave of suppressed excitement and thrill!

If this were true, today, he personally witnessed the birth of a once-in-a-century, no, a legendary nautical genius!

This is an unrefined top-notch jade enough to shock the whole sailing world!

An illustrious name surfaced in his mind, as if by itself—Peter Beling.

The quiet assassin from New Zealand, who snagged gold and silver in the Olympic arena, and at age 26 led the New Zealand Chiefs Team as helmsman to reclaim the America’s Cup from the Americans and successfully defended it four years later, becoming a living legend.

Mike had watched all of Peter Beling’s match recordings, and that young man’s face never showed any superfluous expressions, remaining as cool as ice.

But his interpretation of the rapidly changing winds, water currents, and opponent dynamics on the racecourse, and his exquisite control of that monster-like hydrofoil catamaran, reached a superhuman realm.

Many say Beling’s brain is a supercomputer born for sailing competitions.

And today, this young man named Lin Yu’an, in ”learning ability” and ”theoretical deduction,” resembled the legendary Peter Beling!

Even in some pure computational ability, perhaps surpassed him! Beling’s talent was honed through countless competitions.

While Lin Yu’an seemed like a newly activated program, directly bypassing all experience accumulation processes to reach the core of the problem!

Mike could almost foresee that if given a year or two, allowing him to accumulate enough sailing experience... no, perhaps not even that long!

With his learning speed, maybe just a few months! He could stand on the stage of world-class sailing competitions!

America’s Cup...

This term, representative of sailing’s highest glory, flashed through Mike’s mind like lightning.

He seemed to already see, Lin Yu’an steering a hydrofoil monohull at over 50 knots above the water, competing head-to-head with Peter Beling’s New Zealand Chiefs Team and the United Kingdom’s Ineos Team, among those world-class fleets!

Such a scene made the blood of this old captain start to boil!

He decided to trust his professional judgment, and also to trust this young man’s gaze. He wanted to sculpt him like a true piece of precious jade!

Under Mike’s strict guidance, Lin Yu’an spent over an hour completing the remaining dock exercise items one by one.

When he, sweating, tied the final rope with a perfect cleat knot on the dock, it was nearing noon.

”Alright, the morning’s static practice is done.” Mike glanced at his watch, his tone holding undisguised recognition.

”Your learning ability and physical aptitude exceeded my expectations. But all this was just learning road rules in a parking lot. This afternoon, we truly hit the road.”

Just then, Riven emerged from the dock, carrying a picnic basket, gracefully hopping aboard the boat.

She had changed out of her smart coaching attire, now wearing a simple bikini that highlighted her youthful vitality even more.

”Lunch time, gentlemen.” She opened the basket, revealing sandwiches, fresh fruit salad, and several bottles of iced energy drinks.

She handed the food to the two of them and chose a sheltered hull to sit down on, her two honey-colored long legs casually dangling outside the boat, with glistening blue water in the background.

The live camera timely captured a close-up, the scene looking like a cover of a holiday magazine, so beautiful.

The live chat exploded instantly.

[Whoa! Teacher Riven looks stunning in casual wear!]

[Those legs! That waist! That honey-colored skin! AWSL!]

[Ahhh, this scene! Sunshine, beauty, sailboat, sea! All I ever dreamed of!]

[Screenshot screenshot! A new phone wallpaper is here!]

[Having money is awesome! Damn it, why can’t I have a life like this?!]

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(The company has been a bit busy lately, so the update schedule isn’t fixed, please understand!)