Chapter 104

I originally came to feel superior, but in an instant I got slapped in the face.

"Zhiming also caught a fish, impressive for a Fishing Association member." Zhao You Tian gave a thumbs‑up and praised him.

Zhao Zhiming tilted his head; it sounded less like praise and more like sarcasm.

He removed the black sea bream with a resentful face, opened his fish box, and before he could toss it in, he heard an exclamation,

"Another fish!"

Zhao Zhiming looked up and said, "Holy crap, no way, it's Ye Cheng again?"

Didn't he just catch a red-spotted grouper a moment ago?

Full of doubt and confusion, Zhao Zhiming looked over, and thankfully he breathed a sigh of relief—it was Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu also caught a fish, holding his rod, excited beyond words.

At the same time, Ye Cheng's line moved again; both stood up simultaneously, grappling with the fish on their rods.

"Damn! How freaky is this?" Zhao Zhiming couldn't help but rip off his sunglasses and blurt out a curse.

Zhao You Tian and Chen Jinshui happily grabbed a net and helped Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu haul the fish up.

Two Stone Nine Elders, not bad in size.

"Awesome!"

"So awesome!"

"You two are a deadly pair."

Ye Cheng's face darkened; he said to Chen Jinshui, "Uncle, we're both guys—what's with that idiom?"

Chen Jinshui laughed heartily without a care, "Anyway, it's the same—being strong is what matters."

"Zhiming, take a look at them—are they still okay?" Chen Jinshui turned his head to Zhao Zhiming.

He had also seen Zhao Zhiming's earlier attitude, and he felt a bit annoyed.

Zhao Zhiming's mouth twitched violently as he forced out an unwilling smile,

"Not bad; for an amateur level it's still decent."

Watching Zhao Zhiming's embarrassed expression, Ye Cheng felt much better inside.

After the two had just placed their fish, Zhao Zhiming sauntered over with deliberate steps, pretending to glance and nod.

Then he pointed at Ye Cheng's special bait and asked, "Is this your own mix?"

He's clearly a novice, yet he's so good at fishing; the only reasonable explanation is that the bait is excellent.

It can't really be MSG, can it?

"It's from the System, and Ye Cheng didn't care, saying offhand, 'Brother Zhao, just take a look—I threw it together casually.'"

"Fine, I'll have a look." Zhao Zhiming gave a perfunctory polite remark, quickly crouched down, picked up Ye Cheng's bait, examined it, and then sniffed it.

No MSG taste, nor any strange fragrance.

Usually bait mixes grains, worms, fish, etc., but he couldn't tell what ingredients were in Ye Cheng's bait.

He looked up at Ye Cheng and asked, "What is this made of?"

Ye Cheng shrugged, "I can't tell you."

"Brother Zhao, if you want to use it, feel free to take some and try."

Those words hit Zhao Zhiming's sweet spot; he quickly scooped up a clump, gave an embarrassed laugh, and said, "Then I won't be polite."

After saying that, he went back, lifted his empty fishing rod, and swapped in Ye Cheng's bait.

Actually, Ye Cheng also wanted to test whether using his special bait on others' rods would make a difference.

Zhao Zhiming's rod had been in the water for twenty minutes; no matter how he fiddled, the float showed not a twitch.

On the contrary, Ye Cheng's side pulled up another mouse grouper; though ugly, it's truly delicious and expensive.

Zhao Zhiming watched, envious beyond words; he'd fished for years and only ever caught one, and it wasn't as big as Ye Cheng's.

Besides the mouse grouper, Ye Cheng also caught two horsehead fish and a half‑side fish—four fish total for them, while his side hadn't even twitched, making Zhao Zhiming anxious.

He jerked his rod up and exclaimed, "Something's wrong!"

His shout drew the attention of Ye Cheng and the others over.

"What's wrong, Zhiming?" Zhao You Tian asked, looking puzzled.

Zhao Zhiming pointed at the bait on his hook, eyes wide, "Look, this bait's been there twenty‑plus minutes and hasn't moved at all."

He said that, and everyone looked—sure enough, the bait was still pristine, which was rather odd.

Normally at least some fish would nibble, even if they don't hook; the bait should move, so seeing it completely still is rare.

"Maybe there just aren't any fish right now," Ye Cheng muttered casually.

Damn, this is harsh—this bait is useless without the System Fishing Rod.

"Right, right, just no fish at the moment, Zhiming—try moving to another spot."

"Sometimes it's just like this—no bites, totally normal."

The two uncles began comforting Zhao Zhiming.

Zhao Zhiming looked doubtful, but eventually switched back to his own bait and cast at a different spot.

While he fished, he watched Ye Cheng; Ye Cheng's side hardly ever missed a bite—now a black sea bream, then a horsehead fish or half‑side fish, and even a big squid.

It felt as if the ocean were his family's contracted territory.

His own fishing was dull; after catching a sea bass, nothing else came up.

Finally Zhao Zhiming couldn't take it; he set his rod aside, drifted over to Ye Cheng's side—he couldn't catch anything, but watching others land fish was still a thrill.

"It moved! It moved!" Seeing the float twitch, Zhao Zhiming, standing behind, couldn't help but shout.

Ye Cheng glanced back at him; this guy was even more excited than he was.

To be honest, he was getting a bit tired.

"Brother Zhao, why don't you take over pulling this line? I'm getting a little tired." Ye Cheng said, looking at Zhao Zhiming.

"Huh? Me? Sure." Zhao Zhiming had no reason to refuse; he had the money, and all he wanted was the thrill of hooking a fish.

He grabbed the fishing rod from Ye Cheng's hand, wasn't accustomed to it, lurched forward, staggered several steps before finding his footing.

"Damn, that's quite strong."

Ye Cheng stood to the side, leisurely lighting a cigarette. Obviously, if it were a small fish he'd have pulled it up already; he only gave it to Zhao Zhiming because he sensed it was a big fish.

Using someone else's effort to make money for myself—how great is that?

Moreover, they still have to thank me, so fishing as a job is really a peculiar profession.

Zhao Zhiming struggled with the fish for a full five minutes before hauling it up, and it turned out to be an ugly, huge anglerfish.

The anglerfish is also called the sea toad; its most distinctive feature is the antenna on its head with a bulb at the tip—I thought it was cute when I watched cartoons as a kid.

But the real anglerfish is indeed a bit ugly, with a big mouth, a broad, flattened head and body; ugly as it may be, it's still decent to eat.

This anglerfish is quite large—about 50 centimeters long and weighing over ten kilograms—but even lifting it takes some effort.

"Ye Cheng, come on, take a picture of me—I've never caught such a big anglerfish before." Zhao Zhiming held the fish with both hands, then pulled out his phone and had Ye Cheng take his photo.