Chapter 7: Give the Fish a Few Slaps

A Qing didn't have time to worry about his own fishing rod; he tossed it aside, hurriedly grabbed the scoop net, and stretched it out with all his strength toward the sea surface, hoping to scoop up the fish as soon as possible.

Lin Hu on the neighboring big reef muttered quietly, "Broken line, unhooked, the fish got away."

"Heavens, please open your eyes."

"If this big fish is hauled up, it's simply intolerable."

Lin Bin gritted his teeth in anger: "That's my fishing rod; later I'll have Wu An compensate!"

Wu An gripped the broken fishing rod with one hand and forcefully turned the reel with the other, leaning his upper body back, exerting all his strength to fight the fish.

He could feel the big fish darting among the reefs in the deep water; if it were chafed against the rocks, the fishing line would surely snap.

Fortunately.

He frantically cranked the reel, rapidly reeling in the line, and it was still quite effective.

They remained in a stalemate for about ten minutes.

He was already drenched in sweat, yet felt no fatigue; instead, his whole body brimmed with energy.

The fish possesses a magical allure.

The bigger the fish, the stronger its allure.

This is why fishing addicts don't come home at night—they've lost their eyes to the fish and can no longer find their way home.

Wu An is exactly that now.

His yearning to land this fish has surpassed his desire for women.

Even if you presented him with a bewitching, self‑throwing "Yifei beauty," Wu An would just snap, "Get lost, I'm fishing."

"Whoosh—"

On the distant sea surface, a huge black shadow suddenly emerged, bursting out of the water and sending up a spray that made everyone widen their eyes.

"Wow, what a huge fish."

"Brother, it looks like a sea bass."

It is indeed a sea bass, thrashing its head wildly on the surface as if it had taken drugs.

Gill‑washing!

Wu An was extremely nervous.

But fortunately, no matter how the sea bass thrashed, the hook remained firmly lodged in its mouth.

The two neighbors cursed and grumbled.

"Damn, it hasn't come unhooked—it's a clean bite, Ah Bin! What kind of fishing line did you buy? It's incredibly tough, lasting this long—nothing like your style."

Lin Bin, furious and flustered, shouted, "Ganlinmu, this is my style!"

Wu An continued reeling in the line.

The sea bass leapt up and down on the surface, coming in and out, but like a grasshopper after autumn, it couldn't keep jumping for long; as the line tightened, it steadily drew nearer the reef.

Seeing the distance was about right, A Qing immediately raised the scoop net.

He scooped it!

The two on the neighboring big reef wore expressions more sorrowful than if they'd lost their parents.

"We've been fishing here for years and never caught a fish this big."

"My dream fish."

"How could he have pulled it up? Heavens, won't you open your eyes?"

"Seeing him hook the fish like this is more agonizing than killing me!"

The two cried out to heaven and earth, envy and jealousy splitting them apart.

A Qing shouted, "Wow, it's so heavy!"

"A fish this big is surely worth a fortune!"

"Brother, you're really amazing!"

Wu An laughed heartily; regardless of how much it could sell for, just landing this fish made him shout with delight, feeling a tremendous sense of achievement.

Only after placing the fish on the reef did he feel the taste of exhaustion.

So tired.

But the fatigue felt wonderful.

Over half a meter long, it must weigh ten to twenty catties.

Fortunately it's only this size; if it were any bigger, the line and reel couldn't take it—you'd hook the fish but couldn't land it, which would be awful.

Too bad there's no phone; otherwise we'd definitely snap a few photos as a keepsake.

He called out to Lin Hu and Lin Bin asking to borrow a phone, but they flatly refused, and Lin Bin shouted, "You broke my fishing rod—you have to compensate!"

A Qing shouted, "Your fishing rod is so weak it almost let the fish escape; we're lucky we didn't demand payment from you."

Lin Bin, seething, insisted on paying with fish—no less than three sea bass.

Wu An secretly sneered and shouted, "A Qing, we've already decided to turn over a new leaf—we can't act like scoundrels."

"What Lin Bin said is also right."

"Whoever broke the fishing rod should bear the responsibility."

Lin Bin smiled: "That's about right."

"Wu Erzai, I didn't expect you to truly change."

"Being a good person isn't easy; you need to keep striving."

"Pick out three big ones for me, so I can see your sincerity in turning over a new leaf."

"Huh?"

"Are you trying to morally blackmail me?"

Wu An said, "Wait a moment."

Lin Bin grew impatient, "You changed your mind?"

Wu An said, "I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush. The fishing rod broke, right? I'll give you an explanation right now."

He finished speaking.

He lifted the big Sea Bass, gave it two slaps while hitting and scolding, "You broke someone's fishing rod, and you don't even let out a fart?"

"I'll damn beat you to death."

"Apologize to me."

Not only everyone, even the fish was stunned, its mouth opening and closing; it didn't need to understand, it was definitely cursing Wu An.

A Qing scratched his head, a bit worried, "Has An smashed his brain?"

Lin Bin recovered and cursed, "Wu Erzi, you damn stop pretending to be crazy and playing dumb."

Wu An said seriously, "Let's be reasonable—wasn't it this big Sea Bass that broke the fishing rod?"

"After all, I caught it. As its owner, I can beat it up for you, that's reasonable, right?"

"Or you come yourself and give a few slaps?"

"If you still can't let go of the grudge, here's the deal: you spend a thousand yuan to buy it, then crack it yourself."

"As the saying goes, a life for a life; the fish's life is enough to compensate for your fishing rod."

Lin Bin trembled with anger, "You damn…"

Wu An sighed, "I'm being very sincere."

"If you don't accept, there's nothing I can do."

"If you won't even spend a thousand yuan, that shows the fishing rod broke and you're not that angry."

A pot like that slammed down.

Lin Bin felt a bit dizzy.

His fishing rod broke, and he still has to spend money to buy fish?

Even more absurd, he uses a fish to vent his anger?

Does he have some serious illness?

He shouted angrily, "I want you to compensate!"

Wu An shrugged, "You're crazy."

"Every grievance has a source, every debt has an owner."

"Whatever compensation you demand from me, actually I'm just like you—we're both victims."

Lin Bin muttered curses.

Wu An thought he was farting.

The facts prove that being a bad person is always more comfortable than being a good person.

If he wants a prodigal's return, it still depends on the situation; facing Lin Bin and Lin Hu, only by acting worse than them can he avoid being taken advantage of.

At that moment.

A Qing caught a fish, quickly pulling up a Stone Nine Public.

The fishing rod's Luck Value reset at the right moment.

Wu An immediately called A Qing to clean up; A Qing didn't want to leave, fishing gets too addictive, he said, "Brother, now it's the Linked Rod Technique."

"Let's fish a bit longer."

"Maybe later I can also pull up a big fish."

Wu An shook his head, "We haven't pumped oxygen into the fishing box; so many fish in the box will suffocate. The longer we delay, the more fish may die."

"Dead fish are much cheaper than live ones."

"Do you understand what 'a loss that doesn't make up for the gain' is?"

A Qing said he didn't understand, but it's fine; he obeyed, immediately nodded and said, "I'll follow you, brother."

Lin Hu blocked them, saying, "Since you aren't fishing anymore, the rod must be returned to us."

Wu An handed it back casually.

Aside from the fishing box, everything else is a burden to him.

Even this fishing box is a hassle to carry, weighing dozens of kilograms.

Lin Hu took it as if it were a treasure; after the two walked away, he hurried to the spot where Wu An had just stood, hung a rotten shrimp, and cast a line into the sea.

This is a Linked Rod Technique fishing spot.

Moreover, this sea rod infused with the Newbie Halo gave Lin Hu full confidence; he thought, if this Linked Rod Technique doesn't catch a fish, it's simply unreasonable.