Chapter 118 - 119: Trigger Quest: It Is Impolite Not to Reciprocate

Chapter 118: Chapter 119: Trigger Quest: It Is Impolite Not to Reciprocate

Little Fish King reacted fast — the moment he felt the strike, he was already on his feet, hauling back with everything he had.

The magnificent shriek of line cutting through the air rang out across the entire pond, freezing every single person in place.

Was that... the Fish King?

"It bit on its own again?"

Chen Yuan was just as caught off guard.

He hadn’t activated the Fish King at all, yet the screaming line and the deep bend in the rod were unmistakable signs — someone had hooked the Fish King.

Not a big deal, though.

The Fish King didn’t show up on its own very often, and since it hadn’t surfaced all morning, this was the moment~

"Ha! Didn’t think I’d get this lucky — lost the match but hooked the Fish King."

Little Fish King burst out laughing, buzzing with excitement. Even a master like him couldn’t resist the rush that came with the Fish King.

The anglers around the pond snapped out of their daze, equally fired up.

They’d just watched an absolutely electric competitive fishing match, marveling at two top-tier anglers pulling in hundreds of pounds of catch — and now, on top of all that, a Fish King fight.

Even if they hadn’t cast a single line all morning, the trip was worth it.

"Mom, hold off on the lunch boxes for a bit~"

Chen Yuan pulled out his phone and called his mom. It was already past noon, but with the Fish King on the line, this was going to take a while.

Turned out Chen Yuan had miscalculated.

Just a few minutes later, a sharp crack rang out — followed by a collective groan from every angler around the pond.

Little Fish King’s rod had snapped~

"Even Little Fish King’s rod couldn’t take it. Looks like you really do need Boss Chen’s custom super-rod to land the Fish King."

"Chen Yuan Fishing Ground gear — nothing else even comes close~"

The anglers nearby shook their heads and murmured amongst themselves.

The lesson of the day had been crystal clear — rods and bait told the whole story.

Little Fish King’s rod had held on for a few minutes before snapping clean.

His carefully formulated bait additives hadn’t stood a chance against what Boss Chen had provided.

Could you even say Little Fish King’s gear was bad?

It was more that Boss Chen’s custom stuff was on a completely different level — no comparison at all.

"Ha, I walked in here pretty confident in my own rod too, and the Fish King snapped it just the same. If you want to take on the Fish King, Boss Chen’s custom super-rod is the only way."

Wang Heng watched Little Fish King’s dejected expression and knew exactly how the man was feeling.

"Where does Boss Chen get this stuff custom-made?"

Little Fish King’s curiosity was piqued even more.

Running a tackle shop, he considered himself an authority on gear. He’d always been confident that his shop carried the best rods and most effective bait in all of Chong City.

Yet today he’d been thoroughly outclassed at every turn.

"Ha, it’s a private order — trade secret, I’m afraid. Think of it as the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground brand."

"Fair enough, my mistake for asking."

Little Fish King laughed it off. He got it, and didn’t press any further.

Once the Fish King shook the hook loose, he scooped up his broken rod, snapped a photo, tidied everything up, then began packing his gear like he was ready to head out.

"We’ve got spare rods at the ground — you’re welcome to keep fishing, master."

Chen Yuan came over and mentioned it. He genuinely had no intention of chasing anyone off.

Little Fish King had come to challenge him, sure, but he’d done it straight and above board the whole time — no dirty tricks, nothing underhanded.

And Wang Heng had vouched for him, which showed respect even while following through on the task.

All things considered, Little Fish King was a solid guy.

"Ha, I’ve got some things to take care of back home — I’ll come play again next time. Just don’t go banning me from the place, Boss Chen."

Little Fish King stowed his rod bag, slung his tackle box over his shoulder, and tossed Chen Yuan a grin.

"As long as you’re not coming to mess with me, you’re always welcome."

Chen Yuan smiled and lit a cigarette.

He tossed one to Wang Heng and Blond Punk as well.

"Ha! Boss Chen, you’re a character~"

Little Fish King blinked, then broke into a big laugh.

Any other fishing ground owner who heard that kind of challenge would either say something polished and diplomatic, or clasp their hands and beg for mercy — then turn right around and quietly add the guy to the blacklist, banned for life.

Someone as blunt as Boss Chen? That was a first.

"Here, let me take that tackle box — I’ll drive you to your car~"

Chen Yuan grabbed the tackle box. Little Fish King had been a man of his word, never once eyeing the catch — that kind of courtesy deserved full service in return.

Little Fish King didn’t bother protesting.

They tossed the tackle box, rod bag, and the rest of the gear into the cargo bed. Chen Yuan waved Little Fish King onto the electric tricycle, twisted the throttle, and had them at the parking area in no time.

"Why not stay for lunch before you head off, man — it’s already half past twelve."

Chen Yuan squeezed the hand brake and brought the tricycle to a smooth stop, pulling the cigarette from his lips and turning back to Little Fish King with a grin.

"Ha, no need to stand on ceremony, Boss Chen. Spend enough time with me and you’ll see — I’m not one for beating around the bush. I say what I mean."

Little Fish King hopped off the tricycle and popped open the trunk.

"Hey, same here — I like things straight and simple."

Chen Yuan jumped down with a smile and helped load the gear in.

"Ha, come back and fish again sometime~"

Little Fish King shut the trunk, flicked away his cigarette butt, and gave a wave.

But just as he pulled open the driver’s door, he paused.

"There’s a group chat. It’s got the best fishing ground owners from all three districts and eight counties of Chong City in it."

Little Fish King dropped that loaded remark out of nowhere.

Chen Yuan froze for a moment, then waved in thanks.

He watched Little Fish King’s car until it disappeared from sight, and only then did the smile slowly fade from his face.

"Three districts, eight counties~"

Little Fish King’s meaning was clear. Whoever had come after him wasn’t just some lone fishing ground — it was the entire top tier of Chong City’s fishing scene, the big dogs, all in on it together.

"Well, aren’t I something special."

Chen Yuan let out a cold laugh.

Then again, the fact that they’d all mobilized only proved one thing — Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was doing too well. The best fishing grounds in all of Chong City were already feeling the heat.

"Ding — current operational status of Chen Yuan Fishing Ground detected. Real-time mission triggered. Host may earn generous rewards upon completion. Please do your best."

Chen Yuan was still turning over how to play this high-stakes game when an all-too-familiar system chime suddenly rang out in his head.

He was stunned.

A real-time mission?

This damn system was actually handing out missions now? Was the million-point development grind not hard enough already?

What a load of crap~

Chen Yuan grumbled internally, but no matter how much he complained, his hands didn’t dare slow down. It was a real-time mission — who knew how long the window would last.

He pulled up the system interface fast, swiped through two panels, and sure enough, a brand new panel had appeared at the end — the word "Mission" printed right at the top.

Underneath it sat a single real-time mission.

Chen Yuan tapped on it, and a mission briefing instantly popped up.

"Mission One: It’s only polite to return the favor~"

The hell does that mean?

Chen Yuan was even more lost. Was the system seriously quoting classical Chinese at him now?

Fortunately, a question mark followed right after the mission title — same as the Fish King usage rate. Chen Yuan tapped it quickly, and a detailed explanation appeared.

"Mission Summary: As the owner of a fishing ground, when rivals come to challenge you on your own turf, you must pick up a rod and fight back. Time to see who can out-fish who. Host is to grab a rod and take the fight to them."

What the hell.

Chen Yuan’s eyes went wide the instant he read it. His expression was a mess — stunned, blank, and mostly just deeply exasperated.

This damn system actually wanted him to go out and challenge other people with a fishing rod.

What kind of logic was that?

He wasn’t Wang Heng or Little Fish King — those guys were in a completely different league. With his level of fishing skill, would he even be going there to challenge anyone, or would he just end up being their personal Wealth Boy?

"Ugh~"

Chen Yuan desperately wanted to decline the mission. After a long, defeated sigh, he reluctantly scrolled down to keep reading.

"Mission Requirements: Time window — 9 AM to 5 PM. Minimum catch required to land any fish at all. No upper limit — the more you catch, the bigger the reward. Location: three districts, eight counties (rotating challenges). Please prepare and activate the mission as soon as possible."

A countdown followed — twenty-four hours. When it hit zero, the mission would be treated as automatically forfeited.

Chen Yuan felt sick all over again.

It wanted him to go take on every single competitor — and he had to land at least something at each stop.

Seriously, was that even possible?

Staring at that countdown with no way to pause it, Chen Yuan had half a mind to just lie flat and give up entirely.

"Might as well check the rewards."

Chen Yuan shook his head with a long sigh. If the payoff was nothing special, he was absolutely not getting off the couch for this.

"Mission Reward: Low fish stock levels detected in the pond — restocking urgently needed. Accordingly, this mission’s reward will multiply the host’s total catch. Minimum multiplier: 10x. Maximum multiplier: 100x."

"Reward Two: System upgrade progress detected as critically slow. Upon mission completion, the system will proactively boost upgrade progress based on the host’s performance. Please give it everything you’ve got~"

Holy shit~

The moment he finished reading both rewards, Chen Yuan nearly leaped off the ground. Every trace of reluctance and irritation was gone — he was buzzing like he’d just been injected with rocket fuel.

Right now, there was only one thing he wanted to say.

This mission was an absolute goldmine~