Chapter 148 - 149: Daqing Giant Creature Pond

Chapter 148: Chapter 149: Daqing Giant Creature Pond

「Early morning.」

Chen Yuan woke up early. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had gone to bed early last night or because he was looking forward to the final day of his mission, but either way, Chen Yuan was full of energy.

’Maybe it’s also because my sister is coming back.’

After eating breakfast, greeting his customers, and stocking the fishpond, Chen Yuan drove straight to the Fishing King Arena—the final location for his mission, and supposedly the best fishing ground in Chong City.

A little after 8:40 AM, Chen Yuan parked his car, grabbed his gear, and walked into the Fishing King Arena. From a distance, he could see two wide ponds and couldn’t help but feel impressed.

"Worthy of its title as the best fishing ground in Chong City."

The Fishing King Arena was quite large, spanning two districts in Chong City with several locations under its name.

The one Chen Yuan chose was considered the best of the Fishing King Arena locations. It had two ponds. The smaller one was slightly larger than the small pond at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground.

It was about the same size as Pond #2 at Fisherman, and it was also a mixed-species pond. However, its fish density was even better than Fisherman’s, truly embodying the black pit’s advantage of winning through sheer quantity.

The fees, however, were a bit higher than at Fisherman.

The other pond was a large body of water, estimated to be at least six or seven *mu*. This was the Fishing King Arena’s signature pond: the Daqing giant fish pond.

Fisherman’s Pond #3 for giant fish couldn’t even compare.

The Daqing giant fish pond contained only Daqing, with a minimum weight of ten jin. The proportion of fish weighing 20+, 30+, and 40+ jin was no less than fifteen percent for each category, and there were even a few 50+ jin behemoths holding down the fort.

The pond held several hundred Daqing, with a total weight of over ten thousand jin. It was, without a doubt, the best giant fish pond in all of Chong City.

Even Chen Yuan’s own fishing ground, setting aside its hundred-jin Daqing, was still no match for the Fishing King Arena’s Daqing giant fish pond.

Because of this, even with the impact of the Angler’s Carnival at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, and despite taking a significant hit to its business, the Fishing King Arena still had quite a few people coming to fish.

A quick glance revealed at least thirty-some people around the two ponds. It was the busiest fishing ground Chen Yuan had seen in days.

"Boss, I’d like a spot."

Chen Yuan walked up to the payment counter.

Sitting there was a somewhat stout, middle-aged man in his forties. It was Du Luming, the owner of the Fishing King Arena, whom Old Wang and the others called their "big brother."

It wasn’t just because of his status in the fishing realm; in terms of age, he really was an elder brother to them.

"Boss Chen?"

Du Luming sensed someone approach. He was reaching for the cigarettes on his desk and looked up with a chuckle, but his movements froze when he saw Chen Yuan, a flicker of surprise on his face.

It was only for a moment, however, before he returned to normal.

’Everyone else in the group has been challenged already,’ he thought. ’Only my place is left. It’s not surprising that Boss Chen showed up.’

"So, you know who I am," Chen Yuan said with a smile, not at all surprised.

Although the two had never met, it was only natural for word to get around after he had challenged so many other grounds.

"Boss Chen is the man of the hour in the Chong City Fishing Realm right now. I can hear your great name from my own home. It’d be hard *not* to know you."

Du Luming’s smile never faded. He offered the cigarette he had pulled out to Chen Yuan, making it seem like a casual chat between old friends, completely lacking the tense atmosphere one would expect between competitors.

"Just trying to make a living."

Chen Yuan chuckled, accepted the cigarette, and lit it right away.

"If even Boss Chen is just ’trying to make a living,’ then I guess the rest of us can only hope for a sip of the broth."

Du Luming stuck a cigarette in his own mouth, shook his head, lit it, and took a deep drag. Then he asked casually, "So, is Boss Chen here to challenge me today?"

"Just came to have some fun. Is that alright?"

Chen Yuan maintained his own casual smile.

But inwardly, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. The system’s mission required him to challenge ten different fishing grounds. If the Fishing King Arena refused to let him fish, he might not be able to complete the mission.

Although his reward space was already full of fish and his gains had been substantial, he would miss out on the most anticipated reward: progress toward his next upgrade.

"Which pond did you have in mind, Boss Chen?"

Fortunately, Du Luming didn’t refuse him outright.

"I want to try my luck at the Daqing giant fish pond."

Chen Yuan had come today specifically for the Daqing giant fish pond.

He had designated his own Old Pond as a giant fish pond. With its grand opening just around the corner, he needed to get his hands on some giants. He planned to take advantage of the system’s generous mission rewards to stock up properly.

Besides, he’d been getting tenfold catches these past few days. His reward space was overflowing with fish—enough to hold another carnival. Small fry were pointless now.

The only thing he was missing were giants like these.

"Are you sure, Boss Chen?"

Du Luming was a bit surprised.

’If his goal is to clean me out,’ he thought, ’the mixed-species pond would actually be the better choice. It’s packed with fish, most of them in the five-to-seven-jin range.’

’I know Boss Chen is skilled—he’s made all our peers weep. In my mixed-species pond, he could definitely clean me out of about four hundred jin of fish.’

’But the Daqing giant fish pond is different.’

’All the fish in there have to be sold back to the house. You can’t take your catch with you. The buy-back price is a world apart from the actual market value, which makes it very hard to profit off me.’

’Most importantly, it’s full of huge fish. If he hooks a thirty or forty-plus-jin monster, landing just one will take him half an hour. How many could he possibly catch?’

"I really am just here to have some fun today. I want to see what it feels like to battle a giant."

Chen Yuan maintained his casual smile throughout.

"Doesn’t your pond have a hundred-jin Daqing, Boss Chen? Now *that’s* a real giant."

Du Luming let out a laugh, a hint of envy in his voice.

He had spent this whole time searching through countless channels, exhausting nearly all his connections, but he hadn’t been able to get his hands on a hundred-jin Daqing—not even a single hundred-jin fish of any kind.

A few people had promised to try and help, but the chances seemed slim.

"I’d love to, but I never get a chance to cast a line."

The corner of Du Luming’s mouth twitched. Chen Yuan had really gotten him with that flex. His place was so packed every day that he didn’t even have a spot to fish himself; he had to go elsewhere for fun.

"Well, since you want to have some fun, Boss Chen, this big brother will certainly open up a spot for you."

Du Luming stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray and handed Chen Yuan the rule board for the giant fish pond. "Take a look, Boss Chen. Which price tier would you like?"

The Daqing giant fish pond had three price tiers.

The first tier was 100 yuan for four hours. The mandatory buy-back rewards were layered: 30 yuan per fish between 10 and 20 jin, 60 yuan per fish between 20 and 30 jin, and 90 yuan per fish between 30 and 40 jin. For 40+ jin fish, the buy-back reward was 120 yuan, and for 50+ jin fish, the reward was even higher, a straight 200 yuan.