Chapter 60 - 61: The Groundbait Immortal

Chapter 60: Chapter 61: The Groundbait Immortal

"Boss Chen is something else — overnight, the whole pond looks completely different."

"Walking on this cement feels so much better than mud."

"This side has changed the most. They filled in that old drainage ditch out back — way more space now, and no more weeds. It’s actually comfortable to sit here."

"If you hook the Fish King now, you’ve got plenty of room to play it out~"

The pond’s clean new look sent the comfort level through the roof, and the fishing spots were twice as wide as before — every single angler was singing its praises.

"That leveled-off slope looks nice too. Must be over a hundred square meters. Boss Chen planning to use all of it for a bathroom?"

The upgraded grounds had everyone curious about what was going up on that flattened slope.

"The construction crew hasn’t drawn up the plans yet, but I’m thinking of putting two vending machines over here. That way you guys can just scan and pay for your drinks and smokes yourselves — saves me the hassle~"

Chen Yuan pointed to the section of the slope closest to the road.

"Vending machines? Boss Chen, you’re really going all out, huh?"

"It’s literally a two-step walk and he’s already calling it too far. I don’t think Boss Chen’s trying to save effort — I think he’s trying to launder money. Any excuse to run it through the machine~"

"Haha~"

The regulars ribbed him without missing a beat, and even the first-timers caught on to the vibe quickly, joining right in.

The jokes kept coming.

"Since Boss Chen’s got such a heavy money-laundering operation going, why not throw in some fishing chairs while you’re at it? A fishing spot with nowhere to sit — what kind of fishing spot is that?"

"Hey, now that’s not a bad idea."

"If there were actual chairs, nobody would bother hauling their tackle boxes out."

"Boss Chen, I’m formally requesting massage chairs. Fish with a massage going at the same time — that’d be the life~"

The anglers tossed these requests around without a care, knowing Boss Chen wouldn’t mind. Regular chairs weren’t enough — now they wanted massage chairs.

"Done~"

Chen Yuan waved his hand with a big grin, and the whole crowd burst out laughing. They figured he was just playing along — nobody took it seriously.

Chen Yuan didn’t bother explaining. He reminded everyone to put in their food orders.

Then he squatted down on the flattened slope, lit a cigarette, and quietly pulled up the system, heading into the shop to buy two vending machines.

His points balance wasn’t enough to process the permits anyway — that would have to wait until today’s fishing spot bookings came in. And vending machines weren’t expensive, so he figured he might as well grab them now.

With any luck, Wang Tao could drop them off when he came by.

"What the hell, man — what are you doing?!"

Just as Chen Yuan finished placing his order and the anglers were wrapping up their food orders, a startled shout rang out from the edge of the pond.

Every head turned — including Chen Yuan’s.

The last angler Chen Yuan had checked in was standing there with a knife, slashing open a woven sack and dumping the bait inside into a large basin.

"Pre-baiting, obviously. You can’t fish without pre-baiting."

Apparently the opening wasn’t wide enough for him, so he grabbed both sides and tore it apart. Bait cascaded out in a rushing stream, nearly filling the basin to the brim.

"You call that pre-baiting?"

The anglers around him froze, staring with wide eyes.

"No bait, no bite — that’s just the truth. You want to catch fish, you go heavy. The heavier the chum, the better."

The guy paid no attention to the reactions around him. He only stopped once the basin was completely full, then started pouring in water along with a whole collection of liquid attractants — every color of the rainbow.

"Holy shit, it’s a two-acre pond and you’ve already busted out the additives?"

The anglers around him were even more stunned.

"I’ve been skunked three days straight. I absolutely have to catch something today — I am not breaking my own record for the longest skunk streak."

He churned the mixture furiously, bait particles flying out in all directions, as if the whole basin were a punching bag for three days’ worth of frustration.

"Were you out at a reservoir trying to land a big one?"

One of the anglers asked.

That was the only explanation — sitting at a wild reservoir waiting for a trophy fish was how you ended up blanking for days on end.

"I was at a fishing ground, okay? I’m devastated~"

Just thinking about it made him want to cry.

You wouldn’t understand.

A fully stocked fishing ground — and he blanked three days in a row. Didn’t so much as foul-hook a shrimp. Nobody would believe it if he said it out loud.

"No way~"

The anglers nearby were floored.

Even Chen Yuan, crouching up on the leveled slope, had to fight back a laugh.

Just how bad did you have to be to get completely skunked at a stocked fishing ground for three days straight?

If he were the owner, he’d be too embarrassed to charge the guy.

"Alright, alright, go ahead — chum to your heart’s content~"

Nobody had any objections after that. You don’t mess with a man on a skunk streak — especially one who’d gone three consecutive days without a bite, and done it at a bloody fishing ground of all places.

Anyone who tried to stop him was asking for a fight~

"Look, I’m just doing a light chum. Keeping it simple."

The guy seemed a little self-conscious, flashing a modest smile.

But the moment he sat down on his tackle box and grabbed a fistful of bait, rolling it into a ball bigger than his fist, the corners of every angler’s mouth started twitching.

"Luck’s been garbage lately, not a single bite. Today we’re just gonna do a light chum, real simple — let’s see you stay quiet, let’s see you keep skunking me~"

He launched ball after ball into the pond. He started out calm enough, but by the end he was hurling them with full force, sending water splashing high into the air~

"Not going overboard — just keeping it simple, just a few more balls~"

"Simple and easy, that’s all this is — let’s see if you open up now, I dare you to keep your mouth shut~"

Holy shit!

The anglers nearby couldn’t take it anymore. Rods hit the ground as they leapt to their feet.

"Bro, nobody chums like this. It’s a two-acre pond, man — you’re going to kill everyone’s swim doing that."

"Not a chance — if I go light I catch nothing. Three days of blanking taught me that. You go heavy or you go home. The heavier the better."

Heavy Chummer ignored them completely, still rolling bait balls, each one bigger than the last.

"What the hell, you absolute Immortal."

"Oh, screw right off~"

The anglers had completely lost it.

It’s a two-acre pond, you lunatic. Forget killing your own swim — you’re going to nuke every single swim in the whole place.

Sure, we get it, blanking for three days hurts. But don’t drag us down with you. You’ll have the fish so stuffed they won’t look at a hook, and then what the hell are we supposed to catch?

Several anglers moved in to physically stop him.

"Hey, hey, hey — back off! This is my spot. I’ll chum however I want. You fish your way, I’ll fish mine. What is wrong with you people?"

Heavy Chummer dropped into a Tai Chi opening stance to fend them off.

The surrounding anglers were absolutely fuming.

They were this close to beating him senseless and dumping him in the pond.

You want to chum so bad? Fine — you can be the chum.

"No fighting at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, guys."

Chen Yuan saw the sleeves starting to roll up, and stood, barely suppressing his laughter, and called out.

The anglers respected Chen Yuan enough to hold back — but the glares they shot at Heavy Chummer could’ve bored holes through him.

"Oh, you want to go, Heavy Chummer? Fine — like chumming is some kind of special skill~"

One angler slammed his bait basin down on the ground, tore open every single bag he’d brought, dumped the whole lot in without even adding water, and started lobbing it straight into the pond.

"Like you’re the only one who knows how to go heavy. If the swims are dying, they die together. I’ve never blanked before, but hell — might as well see what it feels like~"

"In that case, nobody fish at all — let’s make it a four-day skunk for you~"

An eye for an eye. Fight fire with fire.

You want to go heavy? Fine — let’s go heavier.

"We’ve got an Immortal on our hands~"

The anglers on the far bank and further down were the real victims here. They’d fought to get a spot just to have a crack at the Fish King, hadn’t bothered anyone — and now, with this round of nuclear chumming, nobody was going to catch a damn thing.

"What the hell — knock it off, this is my pond~"

Chen Yuan startled and scrambled down the slope at a sprint.

Just last night he’d seen that the aerator’s fish-feeding function needed points, and he’d thought — great, bring in some dead-weights to handle the feeding. Well, one had showed up: a guy who’d managed to blank at a fishing ground for three days straight, a true gold-medal deadweight.

But I need just enough to feed the fish, not enough to kill them.

"Bro, don’t go stuffing Boss Chen’s fish to death."

"Heavy chumming isn’t the answer. If you actually want to catch something, I can show you a thing or two."

"That’s right — there’s a top-level angler at this pond, a guy who fishes competitions professionally. Go ask him for tips. Won’t guarantee you a net-buster, but you’ll definitely get bites."

The anglers on the far side chimed in, helping Chen Yuan talk him down.

"There’s an expert here?"

Heavy Chummer stopped mid-chum, eyes lighting up with a sharp gleam.

"Yeah, for real~"

The anglers felt a glimmer of hope.

"Absolutely — I’ll introduce you when the time comes, let you pick up a few tricks. You’ll be landing fish in no time."

Chen Yuan jogged over and thumped his chest in guarantee.

"How good are we talking? Because I’ve asked other anglers for advice before and they all said they were great — but I still couldn’t catch a thing."

Heavy Chummer remained skeptical.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t sought help before. For whatever reason, fish just refused to cooperate with him. The number of times he’d actually landed one was fewer than the number of times he’d blanked.

Every angler at the pond was at a complete loss for words.

This wasn’t just bad technique. This guy was flat-out immune to fish.

How did he even end up in the fishing hobby? All he was good for was dumping bait and ruining everyone else’s day.

There was something that needed to be said, though nobody was sure they should say it.

Mate — maybe it’s time to find a different hobby?