Chapter 341 - 236: A Big Catch
Chapter 341: Chapter 236: A Big Catch
That put everyone at ease.
Lei Xiaohui immediately went to make a call, while Li Xiang dove back down.
Yao Yao went over to the large grass carp that had been tossed onto the ice, keeping it from escaping back into the hole.
’Li Xiang had a system inventory, but fish died the moment they were put inside. Wouldn’t it be much better to bring these freshwater fish back alive? Most saltwater fish can’t survive out of the deep sea, so for them, the inventory’s preservation function is the optimal choice.’
’Besides, they were going to film a video later. Fish flopping around energetically after being pulled from the water would look much more impressive.’
’Oh, if he came up and—SPLOOSH—dumped out a pile of dead fish, his fans would probably flame him. "Did you just buy these fish to fake the video? This is so lame!"’
This reservoir wasn’t deep. Li Xiang had already explored it and found it was only about thirty to forty meters. His swimming speed might not have seemed fast, but that was only in comparison to his Extreme Speed ability or to Luo Feifei. Underwater, he could still hit speeds of over ten meters per second. This wasn’t the ocean; even from the bottom of the reservoir, it would only take him a few seconds to surface.
A dragon in shallow waters.
That was why he was only wearing swimming trunks, having not deployed his Giant Whale Saint Armor or even activated his Wave-Treading Technique.
He reached the bottom again and swam for a short while when, suddenly, a dark shadow that had been lurking in the nearby weeds shot out and pounced at him.
Li Xiang spread his hands and lunged to grab it.
With Li Xiang’s Spiritual Sense, how could he possibly not have noticed a fish that close?
He had deliberately pretended not to see it, slowly closing the distance.
It was a large northern snakehead.
’Whoa, it was over a meter long and at least thirty pounds.’ When Li Xiang made a grab for it—’Damn!’—it was too slippery to hold. He couldn’t get a grip. With a single struggle, the snakehead escaped.
Li Xiang immediately gave chase.
The snakehead might have seemed fierce, daring even to attack a human, but that was just a momentary burst of aggression. Its swimming speed was actually quite slow—only about a meter per second. How could it possibly escape Li Xiang’s pursuit?
’If only Luo Feifei were here, catching this thing would be as easy as reaching into a pocket.’ Li Xiang was a little less skilled in this department, but fortunately, he had the advantage of speed. In the end, he managed to firmly restrain the large snakehead.
He stuck a finger into the snakehead’s mouth. The fish had teeth, but they couldn’t break the skin of a finger infused with his Spiritual Power.
Using his finger like a hook, or maybe a pair of pliers, he hauled the snakehead up onto the ice.
Yao Yao and the others were clever. They had built a small enclosure out of crushed ice to keep the large grass carp from escaping. They occasionally splashed water on it, worried it might die or freeze solid.
Li Xiang tossed the snakehead over to them to handle and once again plunged back into the water.
He had just dived seven or eight meters deep when the system prompted: "Detected Tier Five Mutated Creature: Golden-Scaled Grass Carp."
Li Xiang saw a gigantic fish, well over three meters long, speeding toward him.
The grass carp is a predatory fish, also known as the yellow-cheek carp or Chinese razerbelly. It has another nickname: "Water Tiger." They are fast swimmers, incredibly agile, and primarily inhabit the middle and upper layers of the water.
’Whoa, it has Extraordinary potential? Score! This trip was totally worth it.’ At that thought, Li Xiang immediately summoned the Bronze Spear—the one Yao Yao had complained was too heavy—and thrust it straight at the giant fish!
The giant fish was too fast, and given his "poor swimming skills," he couldn’t turn as freely as a real fish. Chasing it would be a chore. Besides, grass carp isn’t very tasty and can even be toxic. Some people are allergic to a toxin in the fish, and eating it can cause symptoms like itching, swelling, and difficulty breathing.
However, to others, eating grass carp causes no issues; in fact, they find it delicious. The fish also has no small intermuscular bones, making it easy to eat without worrying about swallowing one.
It all came down to personal taste and constitution.
Li Xiang didn’t have to catch everything alive. Killing this huge grass carp would immediately earn him Achievement Points and a Spiritual Medicine reward.
The grass carp was probably used to running rampant in this reservoir. Relying on its three-meter-long body, it paid Li Xiang no mind and lunged forward to bite.
Its mouth was V-shaped, with a protruding "locking mechanism" on its lower jaw. Once prey was caught by this protrusion, escape was virtually impossible.
Unfortunately for it, this time it had run into Li Xiang. What greeted it was an Extraordinary Spirit Spear!
Li Xiang thrust his spear. The weapon shot out like a dragon, sharp and swift even in the water. Aided by the huge inertia of the fish swimming straight into it, the entire spear shaft plunged deep into its body.
System: "Congratulations, Host. You have killed the Tier Five Mutated Creature, the Golden-Scaled Grass Carp. Reward: 100 Achievement Points. Reward: Three stalks of the Tier Four Mutated Spirit Grass, Golden Bitter Algae."
Li Xiang hauled this fish up onto the ice as well.
Holy cow! A fish that big—over three meters long—hunted right here in a freshwater reservoir! Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui were all astounded, scrambling to pull out their phones and take pictures.
The drone also maneuvered to record from several different angles. The footage would have to be edited later.
Li Xiang said, "It’s too big. Sorry, I couldn’t catch it alive."
Zhao Xueqing said, "Catching a fish that big alive would probably be pretty difficult."
Yao Yao cheered, her eyes filled with adoration as she shouted, "Brother Xiang, you’re incredible! I admire you so much!"
Zhao Xueqing: "..."
Lei Xiaohui: "..."
The two of them rolled their eyes in unison. ’Why does Yao Yao have to be such a sycophant all the time?’
A short while later, Lei Jiaming arrived on skis, leading several security guards. They were also on skis and were pulling a large sled loaded with several large plastic crates and a number of fishing nets, ready to haul in a big catch.
But when they saw the scene, they were stunned. ’Holy crap, look at that fish! It’s over three meters long! And Brother Xiang speared it all by himself!’
They immediately began shedding their outer layers and jumping into the hole in the ice.
In this frozen landscape, there was nothing more fun than catching fish.
Lei Jiaming was also an Extraordinary Being, so he wasn’t afraid of the cold. The young men he brought with him, however, were all ordinary people. And yet, they didn’t seem to fear the cold either, jumping in one after another and sending water splashing everywhere.
Of course, they weren’t nearly as comfortable as Li Xiang, whose skin maintained a healthy, rosy glow. They were shivering violently and howling, their faces a blotchy, purplish-red from the cold—a far cry from Li Xiang’s natural, warm complexion, which was as delicate as a peach blossom.
But these young men were truly fearless and competitive, each one striving to prove himself.
With these helpers, Li Xiang caught fish even faster. More importantly, he no longer had to use his bare hands. Wielding a net, he could rely on his overwhelming speed to chase down most freshwater fish and scoop them up with ease.
Everyone knew Li Xiang was incredible, but they had never seen him in the water before. Now, watching him hold his breath for more than twenty minutes at a time, they were all dumbfounded, looking at him as if he were a god.
In truth, Li Xiang’s swimming ability was nothing to brag about. In the deep sea, he’d have to rely on Luo Feifei’s protection; there were plenty of fish in the ocean he couldn’t even hope to catch. He could only act this dominant in a thirty-to-forty-meter-deep reservoir.
The harvest was enormous. They had caught not only grass carp, snakeheads, and predatory carp, but also topmouth culter, bighead carp, silver carp, common carp, black carp, and catfish... Li Xiang didn’t even bother with the ones weighing only a few pounds, focusing only on those over ten pounds. Some of the large grass carp, common carp, and bighead carp weighed twenty to thirty or even forty to fifty pounds—all of them were huge.
And they were all wild, not farm-raised.
He even found soft-shelled turtles and regular turtles. Some of the larger ones had been hibernating, but Li Xiang’s system detected them, and he dug them out.
Everyone was having a blast. After about half an hour, Li Xiang looked at the pile of fish on the ice—at least a thousand pounds’ worth—and called for everyone to wrap it up. If they didn’t pack up soon, someone might come to investigate.
After all, fishing was prohibited in this reservoir.
It was a source of drinking water, and anglers often used bait and chum filled with chemicals and artificial flavorings that would pollute the supply.
Although Li Xiang hadn’t used any bait and had caught everything alive with a net, the fact remained that fishing was prohibited, wasn’t it?
’Fortunately, with the terrible weather and their remote location, no one was around to bother them. Better to quit while they’re ahead. Besides, if they stayed any longer, he was afraid the young men might get frostbite.’