Dozens of steel behemoths sailed under the cover of night, their brightly lit forms a stark contrast against the darkness. On the docks, dedicated reporters maintained their positions, ultimately capturing this breathtaking moment in the night.
Inside his cabin, while his phone still had a signal, Li Haochen sent a message to Murong Yanran informing her of his departure for seven days at sea.
"Ding~"
Seeing her instant reply, Li Haochen's expression turned sour. He promptly initiated a video call. As soon as she answered, he chided, "Still not asleep this late?"
"I was reviewing some documents. The Mu family has fallen, and the aquaculture zones they controlled will be re-auctioned in a couple of days. I want to acquire some."
"There should be many people eyeing this prime piece of real estate, right?"
"Yes, the Hong family, the Li family, and other significant hotels will be participating. I've heard even provincial entities might be involved. It's likely to be quite competitive."
"It's okay if you don't get it; I'm here. With the world's number one angler present, don't panic, hahaha!"
"Stop being so full of yourself. Get some rest early. Keep up the good work, my peerless hero!"
After ending the call, he snuggled into bed to sleep.
He awoke to find the sun high in the sky. After washing up, he stepped outside. The weather was pleasant and the temperature mild. On either side, he could faintly see a few large ships sailing in formation.
There was still a considerable distance to the first fishing spot designated by Wang Yan. Therefore, after lunch, everyone played Dou Dizhu in the restaurant. Of course, there was no gambling involved; the losing party would simply treat everyone to a grand meal later.
Li Haochen selected his team and walked out onto the deck. He played terribly, so he opted out of participating, as only one representative was needed per team.
"Brother Haochen, why aren't you playing?"
"We're about the same age. Just call me Haochen. Calling me 'brother' feels a bit strange, hehe!"
"Alright, giggle!"
"By the way, why does a young lady like you enjoy going out to sea?"
"Hmm... how should I put it? It's somewhat influenced by my father. But later, I genuinely fell in love with it myself..."
Once Liu Xiying started talking, she couldn't stop. Li Haochen, being polite, endured her rambling for over an hour.
Fortunately, Liu Xiying's throat grew dry, and she went inside for some water, granting him release.
"Phew~ This is killing me."
To prevent Liu Xiying from bothering him upon her return, Li Haochen quickly slid off the bench and started heading towards the cabin. Just then, he noticed a large number of seabirds diving into the water not far to his left.
"Holy crap, a fish school vortex? We're rich, we're rich!"
Seeing this, Li Haochen was stunned for a moment, then excitedly shouted. He rushed to the cockpit, called for the ship to stop, and then dashed to the restaurant, "Quick... quickly bring out the gear for fishing, hurry!"
With that, Li Haochen shot back to his room like an arrow. Less than ten seconds later, he was sprinting back to the fishing spot.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know. Haochen is this eager for a reason. I'm not playing anymore. I'm going back to my room to get my gear."
He hadn't had time to defrost the mussel meat and instead scooped a large basin of Antarctic shrimp from the bait storage and ran back. Seeing the spot was still twenty to thirty meters away, he grabbed a handful of Antarctic shrimp and rolled them like dough. Once they were formed into a ball the size of a tennis ball, he threw them near the vortex. After several throws, he finally attracted attention.
The school of fish within the vortex moved rapidly towards the ship. Li Haochen quickly rigged his fishing rod, changed to an appropriate line setup, baited with a small shrimp, and cast.
"Swish~"
Less than two seconds after the hook hit the water, it was bitten. Li Haochen yanked the fishing rod hard, and a small blue-bodied, yellow-tailed fish was pulled up.
"Horse mackerel..."
Horse mackerel, scientifically known as Trachurus japonicus, is also called yellowtail, scads, or stickfish. They are schooling fish, and in large schools. Given this swirling pattern, there were at least a hundred thousand fish. They typically form vortices when being pursued and cornered by predators. They are not expensive, fetching around thirty yuan per jin in the market.
Li Haochen didn't bother to gently unhook the fish. He grabbed it by the body, gave a forceful tug, and tossed it into the large fishing box behind him, not caring if its mouth was damaged. His priority was speed.
A few minutes later, Li Zhigang and the others also came out. Upon seeing the dense, swirling currents next to the ship, their eyes bulged.
"Holy crap, hurry up!"
"You guys, hurry! Use the smallest line setup, no electric reels. When you get a fish, just reel it in quickly. For unhooking, just pull it off. Xiying, Brother Hong, go grab a few plates of Antarctic shrimp. When you see the school scattering, throw the shrimp in. We need to make the most of this time. Once the larger fish below react, we'll miss our chance. Hurry and seize the moment!"
Li Haochen's hands didn't stop. While fishing, he shouted instructions.
As Li Haochen and the others were enthusiastically hauling in fish, the passing Korean fishing team spotted them. Their team leader, Gao Chengmin, excitedly rushed down and shouted, "Captain, steer the ship closer to the Chinese team. Everyone, get ready to fish."
In the cockpit, Wang Yan had already noticed the Korean team's ship speeding towards them. He immediately sounded the foghorn, a short, long, short sequence, but the other vessel showed no response.
Wang Yan sounded the foghorn again, but the other ship still showed no intention of slowing down or stopping. He rushed down to find Liu Qinghe, who was excitedly clenching his fist. "Director Liu, the Korean team's vessel is heading towards us at high speed. We've issued warnings, but there's been no response. What should we do?"
"Damn it, these maggots have no morals whatsoever."
"Don't get distracted, focus on catching fish. Those despicable fellows are trying to snatch our resources," Li Haochen said, a sly smile spreading across his lips. "Just you wait, I'll disgust them to death later, hehe!"
About ten minutes later, the Korean team's ship stopped about ten meters opposite the Zhanzheng Hao. This distance was quite dangerous; a large wave could easily cause a collision between the two ships.
"^*$¥#…～Hahaha!"
They let out a torrent of guttural cries. Although their language was incomprehensible, their lewd expressions made it easy to guess their mood.
Liu Qinghe leaned against the ship's railing and cursed at them. They, however, paid no attention and proceeded to steal their fish.
"Hahaha, these fish are ours! Hurry and reel them in with all your might."
"Holy crap, I didn't expect them to bring casting bait hooks. For every one fish we catch, they're landing three."
The casting bait method is used for large schools of fish, typically targeting small tuna, but it can also be used for other schools. One person is responsible for casting bait to attract the fish. The hook has no barbs, and the fish automatically detaches in mid-air upon casting, making its efficiency terrifyingly high.
"Swish~~"
At this moment, Li Haochen abandoned fishing, opened the drag, walked a few meters away, laid his rod horizontally, and forcefully swung it sideways. The fishing line immediately became entangled with the lines of several members of the Korean team.
The Korean team, caught in their triumphant fervor, became furious and started shouting curses at Li Haochen and his crew, pointing their fingers at them.
Li Haochen, feigning an apologetic expression, shouted, "Oh dear, my technique as a novice is still a bit rusty. So sorry, so sorry." He then turned back and yelled to Zhang Yuan and the others, "Brothers, hurry and fish! Don't mind me. I'll just annoy them to death, hehe!"
"Brother, you're awesome, hahaha!" Li Zhigang and the others gave him a thumbs-up before returning their focus to reeling in fish.
Before they could untangle themselves, Li Haochen preemptively cut his line, immediately tied on a small lead sinker and hook, and cast again. "Oh dear, this time it only tangled two lines. Not ideal. Let's try again, hehe!"