Chapter 151 - 150: News of a Hundred-Pound Giant

Chapter 151: Chapter 150: News of a Hundred-Pound Giant

Time passed slowly. With the terrifyingly effective enhanced bait and the blessing of good luck, Chen Yuan maintained his usual, extremely high catch rate.

He got a bite almost every two minutes after casting. By noon, he had already caught five Daqing, but none of them surpassed the record set by the first one.

Two were around fifteen or sixteen jin, one was twenty-six, and another, just weighed, was only thirty-two.

"Boss Chen’s skill is truly incredible. In three hours, he’s landed five of my fish, two of them over thirty jin. Not even the Little Fish King would dare claim he could pull off a feat like this."

Du Luming released the fish back into the pond, a somewhat bitter smile on his face.

The Little Fish King was the most skilled angler he had ever seen. He had fished here many times, even in the Daqing giant fish pond, but he couldn’t do what Boss Chen was doing.

’Hooking giants back-to-back, and several in a row at that. Who else can do that?’

"I’m just really lucky today."

Chen Yuan took a towel from his tackle box to wipe away his sweat. Fighting a Daqing over thirty jin was exhausting, especially under the midday sun. He was drenched in sweat.

"Boss Chen, want to take a break for lunch?"

Du Luming squatted by the pond to wash his hands, then stood up and asked with a smile.

"No need for a break. The thrill of catching these big ones is too exciting. I want to seize the opportunity and experience it a few more times."

Chen Yuan said with a smile, tossing the towel back into his tackle box.

’Even though five Daqing have already secured the ten-times return, meaning the hundred-fold amplification is in the bag, the more fish I catch, the greater the reward. How can I waste an opportunity like this?’

’I have to max out my efficiency and farm these rewards to the limit.’

"Alright then. Take your time, Boss Chen."

Du Luming didn’t seem to mind. He called out a farewell and left on his electric scooter.

’Whether it’s luck or skill, the catch-and-release reward for five Daqing is only three hundred yuan. Even if he keeps catching fish back-to-back for eight hours straight, how much can he really take from me?’

’He’s battling giant fish under the scorching sun, working his tail off for, at most, a thousand or eight hundred yuan. There’s nothing unfair about that. He can fish however he wants.’

GULP, GULP...

Chen Yuan grabbed a bottle of water and chugged a few mouthfuls, then took out a piece of bread. He sat back down on his tackle box, baited his hook, cast his line, and placed the rod on its holder. He used the brief respite to tear open the bread and stuff it into his mouth.

He had been "stocking up" like crazy these past few days, so lunch was just something to get by. If fishing wasn’t such a physical activity, Chen Yuan would have skipped the meal entirely.

WHOOSH~

Less than two minutes after casting, before Chen Yuan had even finished his bread, the float on the water’s surface slowly rose, then shot underwater in an instant.

WHIRRR~

With the bread still in his mouth, Chen Yuan quickly set the hook. The rod instantly bent into a deep arc, and the beautiful sound of the line singing through the air drifted over the wide pond.

’This feeling... it’s definitely bigger than the first one.’

Feeling the force transmitted through the rod, Chen Yuan grew excited. ’It has to be at least a forty-plus-jin fish. I wonder if it’ll break fifty.’

"He fucking hooked another one, back-to-back."

At the reception office, Du Luming had just returned with a lunch box. Before he could even sit down, he saw Chen Yuan hook a fish on the security monitor and was momentarily speechless.

’This back-to-back catch rate... it’s like he’s possessed by the Fish King himself.’

’There are over thirty people fishing the whole pond, and they’ve only caught a little over ten fish combined. You, by yourself, are already on your sixth. You’re the star of the whole damn show.’

’But what are you even trying to achieve?’

’You can’t take the fish home, and the catch-and-release reward is so low... is it really necessary to fish like a madman under the blazing sun?’

"Fish on, then. Fish on."

Du Luming wasn’t in a hurry to go out. He sat down, opened his lunch box, aimed a fan at himself, and ate at a leisurely pace. After his meal, he even lit a cigarette and leaned back in his recliner.

Estimating the time, he glanced at the monitor. Seeing that the Daqing was already out of the water, Du Luming finally ambled out, got on his electric scooter, and headed toward Chen Yuan.

Weighed with the fish gripper, this one was a surprising forty-six jin. Du Luming couldn’t help but feel a little impressed with Chen Yuan.

’This guy is a real beast.’

’Just gotta hang in there. Only four hours left.’

Chen Yuan sat in his fishing spot, shaking out his arm. Though it was so sore it didn’t feel like his own, he was mostly numb from the battle by now. Besides, the mission rewards were so generous; he had to see this through to the end.

The midday sun was at its most intense. The temperature outside was definitely over forty degrees Celsius, and the sunlight reflecting off the water’s surface made his skin sting, as if he were being roasted.

Chen Yuan gritted his teeth and persevered.

As five o’clock approached, after landing one last Daqing of over fifty jin, Chen Yuan collapsed onto his tackle box, completely exhausted.

"Giving up, Boss Chen?"

Du Luming watched Chen Yuan’s exhausted state, secretly amused.

"No more, no more. There are only ten-something minutes left. Even if I hooked one now, I wouldn’t be able to land it."

Chen Yuan slumped, his head hanging as he shook it.

’In the last ten or so minutes, even if I got a bite right after casting—even if it was just the smallest ten-jin Daqing—I definitely wouldn’t be able to reel it in. No point in trying.’

"The time doesn’t matter. As long as you hook the fish within the fishing period, it counts."

Du Luming said with a smile.

Chen Yuan still shook his head. ’You might count it, but the system won’t. It cuts off automatically when the time is up. I can’t be bothered to try; I’d rather rest a bit.’

"Alright then. Since you’re finishing early, Boss Chen, let me calculate your catch-and-release reward."

Du Luming was just joking around. Seeing that Chen Yuan had no intention of fishing anymore, he pulled out his phone and started calculating.

"One 50-plus-jin fish gets a 200 yuan reward, one 40-plus-jin gets 120, two 30-plus-jin get 180, four 20-plus-jin get 240, and five 10-plus-jin get 150. That’s a total of 890 yuan. Does that look right, Boss Chen?"

Du Luming was quite impressed. Thirteen fish in two sessions, including one over fifty jin and another over forty. It was a new record for the giant fish pond.

’This guy is a real iron man. Hooking fish back-to-back, getting by on just a few bites of bread for lunch... there’s no one else like him.’

"Looks right."

Chen Yuan nodded.

He had caught six fish in the first four hours and seven in the last four. But in the latter half, aside from the biggest one at over fifty jin, the rest were in the ten-to-twenty-jin range, which took less time to fight. That’s why he’d managed to land seven.

"Okay, I’ll send it to you on WeChat."

Du Luming promptly transferred 890 yuan to Chen Yuan.

Although he’d been taken for 690 yuan, compared to his peers, he’d gotten off easy. Besides, seeing Chen Yuan looking half-dead, it was clear that taking him for that much came at a great cost.

He didn’t feel the slightest bit of imbalance.

"Thanks, Boss Du."

Chen Yuan chugged half a bottle of mineral water, feeling somewhat recovered. He looked up at Du Luming and thanked him with a smile.

The words had a double meaning.

He wasn’t just thanking him for the catch-and-release reward, but also for the value of the fish themselves.

"You’re too kind, Boss Chen. Come back and fish anytime."

Du Luming took out a cigarette and offered it to Chen Yuan, his words probing.

"I don’t think I could. Any more of this and my arm will be useless. I might just swear off fishing for good after today."

Chen Yuan took the cigarette, forcefully rubbing his sore arm.

"Haha, plenty of old fishing hands would kill for the chance to feel like that."

Du Luming was in a good mood. It seemed Chen Yuan wouldn’t be coming back. ’Of course,’ he thought, ’even if he did, I wouldn’t have him. I’d have to ban him from the giant fish pond.’

"It’s not a great feeling, let me tell you."

With the cigarette dangling from his lips, Chen Yuan began to pack up his gear. Although he really didn’t want to move, he still had a bunch of things to do. Besides, his sister would be arriving soon, and he had to go pick her up.

"Take care, Boss Chen. Come back when you have time."

After Chen Yuan finished packing and was about to leave, Du Luming waved with a chuckle. Once Chen Yuan’s figure had disappeared from the fishing ground, the smile on Du Luming’s face slowly faded.

’I probably got off the lightest of all of them.’

Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Du Luming got on his electric scooter to head back to the reception office, but just then, the phone in his pocket rang.

"Hello, Boss Zhu!"

When Du Luming saw the caller ID, his eyes flickered, and a strong sense of hope welled up within him.

"What? You have news about a hundred-jin monster? Yes, I’m free, I’m free right now! Okay, I’ll head out immediately. I’ll drive over tonight to discuss it in person!"

Du Luming was ecstatic. His voice trembled as he spoke. After hanging up, he was so excited he threw several punches into the air.

He had looked into the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground. Honestly, their supporting services and amenities were truly extravagant. But his Fishing King Arena wasn’t that bad either; before the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground appeared, it was definitely the best in all of Chong City.

Besides, those kinds of amenities weren’t the deciding factor. The real gap was in the giant fish.

The hundred-jin Daqing at the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground completely overshadowed his own pride and joy, the Daqing giant fish pond. To turn the tables, he had to at least match them when it came to giant fish.

He wasn’t expecting to completely crush the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, but at the very least, he could win back a lot of customers and put up a decent fight.

That’s why he had been leveraging all his connections lately, trying every possible way to acquire a giant fish over a hundred jin. He hadn’t even had time to chat in his group chats, but his efforts had yielded little result.

Even though a friend had promised to help, he hadn’t held out much hope. He never expected to actually get news now. How could he not be excited?ℴℴ𝘮