Chapter 146: Fishing Finals (Six)

At the same time, Ye Cheng also checked the ground; besides this protruding rock, there was another spot with more stones.

He slowly pulled the rod over, found a good rock, and steadied his footing.

Soon, the big fish launched a second strike; this time, with the cloth adding friction and having chosen a spot in advance, Ye Cheng stood firm and wasn't dragged.

The force on the fishing line fluctuated between strong and weak, a good sign indicating the opponent was starting to tire.

Ye Cheng began to reel in line according to the fish's force, rhythmically pulling tight—loosening—pulling tight again, like dancing a dangerous tango.

His waist also started to ache, both arms began to go numb, and Ye Cheng himself didn't know how much longer he could hold on.

"Damn, this guy can hold on—how long has it been?"

"One and a half hours, almost two hours maybe."

"He's drunk two bottles of cola, awesome."

The onlooking crowd behind watched with great interest; for fishing enthusiasts, catching a fish is the most fun.

The big fish seemed to sense Ye Cheng reeling in, and its innate sense of danger made it adjust strategy, beginning to move sideways.

It tried to left-right tug to shake off the hook.

Without that three-day training camp, Ye Cheng thought he'd lose the hook this time, but now he's not stupid.

You can't just thrash left and right easily; Ye Cheng began adjusting the rod angle, constantly pulling the rod to prick the fish, forcing it to change direction and keeping it within a large area in front of him.

Sweat flowed down his cheeks into his eyes, stinging painfully; Xiao Hu was thoughtful, fetching a towel to keep wiping Ye Cheng, then bringing several bottles of mineral water to replenish his fluids—no choice, the cola was all gone.

Ye Cheng focused entirely on feeling every vibration transmitted from the other end of the line, then adjusted his posture and slowly reeled in, bringing the big fish ever closer to shore.

The onlooking crowd couldn't sit still any longer, ran out under the sun, and began watching from the seaside.

"Holy shit, it's huge—really close to two meters."

"This one probably weighs about 200 catties."

"If we land this, we'll win the championship outright."

"I just went to check—Cui Shuran's side caught about 150-plus catties, likely topping out at 200 catties at most; this one fish outweighs all the rest."

"What incredible luck—if only I could encounter such a big fish."

"Give it a break—look at him, his legs are shaking; could you hold up?"

"When you were twenty you could hold up; now unless you take those little blue pills."

"Hahaha, still, brother, you've got talent—fishing and taking these."

Ye Cheng's legs were indeed trembling; it had been too long.

He also heard what they just said—if his fish comes up, he basically wins the championship.

At 2 p. m., the battle entered white-hot intensity.

Whether Ye Cheng or the big fish, both were utterly exhausted; at this point it wasn't about stamina anymore, but willpower.

For every meter Ye Cheng reeled in, the big fish would launch a small-scale resistance, but its force clearly weakened.

Gradually, this huge black shadow in the seawater became faintly visible, occasionally being pulled above the surface—a silvery-gray body with black spots, slender in shape.

What kind of fish is this?

Looks like a horse pomfret.

Whoa, a horse pomfret this big is really rare.

Awesome.

Quick, quick come look—what a huge fish.

The gossip-mongering crowd erupted, drawing even more people over; Zhao Zhiming came running out too.

Some had nothing to see, but with so many people making such a loud noise, the big horse pomfret got startled.

It had already been five meters from the shore, but suddenly it exerted its last strength and surged toward the deep sea.

The fishing line instantly tightened to its limit, emitting a grating sound.

Ye Cheng was caught off guard, jerked upright and lunged forward.

At the critical moment, Ye Cheng exploded with all his strength, planted his feet to stop the surge, then with all his might braced the rod's base against his abdomen, simultaneously falling backward, using his body weight to counter the fish's pull; his body slammed hard into the reef, blacking out his vision from the pain.

"Damn! Either you come up, or I'll go down!" Ye Cheng spat through clenched teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

After a three-minute stalemate, the exhausted big fish finally gave up, gradually revealing itself above the water.

Ye Chen seized the opportunity, enduring full-body pain as he slowly sat up, adjusted his posture, and began reeling in.

This time the reeling was much faster; the big fish would occasionally struggle, but it was already beyond saving.

This giant horse pomfret finally broke the surface, its blood‑red, slobbery mouth making it look especially ferocious.

Ye Cheng's whole body ached terribly, but the moment he saw the fish surface, his spirits surged back.

Carefully watching the line, with prior experience of the fish running, Ye Cheng didn't dare to yank hard this time; he kept the fish at the surface, making it struggle to breathe and drain its strength.

After another ten minutes of this, Ye Cheng figured it was nearly done, turned and called, "Xiao Hu."

"Coming!"

Xiao Hu leapt out excitedly, net in hand, and ran down the mountain path.

A fish this big made it hard for Ye Cheng to pull it straight up; he could only go down below.

Once Xiao Hu went down, the nearby onlookers also followed a few of them; with such a huge fish, even Xiao Hu alone would find it a bit difficult, but at this point the fishing enthusiasts don't mind expending some effort.

Four people went down in succession; seeing Xiao Hu in position, Ye Cheng shouted at once, "Lift!"

He gave the rod in his hand a hard yank, bringing the big fish to the shore.

By then the big fish had hardly any strength left; Xiao Hu aimed the net at the fish's head and slipped it on.

Since the fish was truly too long, only half its body went into the net, the tail half still sticking out; the four below, scrambling, unhooked the fish, then lifted it up just like Xiao Zuanfeng lifting Tang Seng.

Big fish, truly huge.

I've never caught a fish this big before.

I've never seen a horse pomfret this long before.

It must be just under 200 catties.

Definitely, then this championship is his.

That's necessary, and he truly deserves it.

Finally, someone in the association can surpass Cui Shuran, breaking his years-long first place.

Ye Cheng no longer had the mood to look at the fish; lying on the ground, even breathing felt exhausting, his limbs sore and unbearable, his abdomen beginning to feel painful, even a rub hurt.

So tired, damn it, catching this fish almost cost me my life.

He turned his head to look at the crowd of onlookers over there, feeling like a woman who just came out of the delivery room, everyone watching the baby, no one caring about him.

There's still half an hour until the competition ends, but Ye Cheng has no interest in fishing anymore; just leave it as is.