Li HaoChen had already placed a large landing net in the sea to prevent any sudden incidents.
As soon as it was pulled out of the water, the large leopard cat thrashed wildly, its sharp fangs tearing relentlessly.
"Bang~"
The leader line suddenly snapped. Losing its weight, the fishing rod swayed up and down like a seesaw, emitting a whistling sound that vibrated the air.
With a splash, the leopard cat landed back in the sea. It was stunned, wondering what had happened that it was released. Shaking its head, it flicked its tail in confusion and darted away quickly. Little did it know, Li HaoChen's large landing net was already waiting for it.
The leopard cat crashed headfirst into the net, rolling angrily and hissing at Li HaoChen with bared teeth.
Seeing that he had successfully caught it, Li HaoChen let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Fortunately, I almost missed catching it."
Hauling up a large leopard cat weighing over ten pounds, which was struggling continuously, took some effort. There was nothing else to place it in, so he had to tie it with the last landing net and throw it into the live bait well.
Glancing at the time, it was getting late. He packed up the fishing rods, turned on the faucet at his fishing spot to clean them, and then returned to the cabin to shower and sleep.
The next morning, the sun had already snuck out. The sea breeze was gentle, and occasionally flocks of seagulls flew by, leaving behind plenty of evidence of their visit, as indicated by the splotchy, mushy marks on the deck of the Star Chen.
Upon waking, Li HaoChen saw this and skipped breakfast. He cleaned the deck with a hose before starting his morning routine. There was no other choice; it was disgusting to look at if not cleaned. Even after rinsing, as he ate breakfast, his mind involuntarily drifted to the scene, and his appetite was greatly diminished. He ate a meager amount and then cleared away the dishes.
Li HaoChen did not start fishing immediately. He first turned on the radio to listen for gossip. He listened every day for amusement and to alleviate his loneliness.
"Extra, extra! The rankings have changed! The number one spot is taken by Mu Family Army 1! Good heavens, they returned with a full hold, catching over a dozen tuna, including two bluefin tuna that met the auction line, selling for over 230,000!"
"Hmph, what's there to brag about? A ship dozens of meters long with dozens of people fishing only caught this much. If it were me, it would already be in the millions."
"Talk is cheap. What about your skills?"
" *#%ox……"
For a time, the entire channel was filled with spitting and foul-mouthed arguments, with a vocabulary so rich it made one marvel at the vastness and profundity of the Chinese language.
Li HaoChen turned off the radio, recalling the news he had just heard, "Mu Family Army 1? That must be a boat from the Mu family. Are they also participating in the competition? Do they have some ulterior motive?"
Unable to figure it out, he didn't dwell on it and took out his bait to start fishing.
After more than an hour, he hadn't caught many fish, so he had to change locations.
Li HaoChen sailed his boat aimlessly, cruising along the boundary between the inner and outer seas, which was easy to identify by the distinct color of the seawater.
Suddenly, he saw a large group of seabirds diving into the sea ahead, catching a fish in their beaks as they emerged. Li HaoChen vaguely recalled this phenomenon, "There must be a large school of fish ahead."
Li HaoChen excitedly accelerated. He stopped and dropped anchor nearby. In the clear water, countless figures were swimming in circles, black and dense, making Li HaoChen's heart race.
He quickly took all the Antarctic shrimp from the ice bin, installed four electric-reel fishing rods side-by-side, set the depth to 5 meters, baited them, and started fishing.
As soon as the bait went down, there was a bite. The pull was not strong, and it was brought up in seconds.
"Rockfish."
About a pound, not very large, and not expensive, around 35 yuan. It was a popular species, but it died soon after being taken out of the water.
"Re-bait and continue."
The bites were frequent, and the fish were brought up quickly. All four rods were continuously active. In five to six minutes, there were already over thirty fish on the deck.
Soon, two more boats arrived, attracted by the news. Without any greetings, they found their own fishing spots and cast their baits with all their might.
A fishing tug-of-war officially began. Of course, Li HaoChen could only be the weakest link, as he was alone and couldn't possibly compete with over a dozen people.
During this time, Li HaoChen found an opportunity, pulled up over a dozen fish, slipped them into his spatial dimension, and released them back into the sea to be kept alive.
This period did not last long, about two hours. Li HaoChen's four fishing rods were non-stop, keeping him incredibly busy. Fortunately, the electric reels were super fast. In just these two hours, he managed to catch at least a thousand catties of fish.
After all the fish were put into the ice bin, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, and he collapsed on the deck, motionless. Indeed, with no rest for two hours, even the strongest stamina would give out.
The other boats, Sea Gull and Flying Fish, were also filled with joy. Encountering such a stroke of luck on this voyage was an unexpected delight, worth more than a week of tuna fishing. They couldn't help but be happy.
"Sea Gull... how's the catch?"
"Heh, not bad. How about you guys?"
"Also not bad, hehe!"
The two fishing boats were tacitly understanding; there was no need to show off when their catches were similar.
"Star Chen... Star Chen?"
Sea Gull called out several times without a response. The captain was starting to lose face and was about to grumble a few words when a crew member handed him a telescope, "Stop calling, captain. Look at this."
"Damn, this guy is really something! He's got the same guts as I did back in the day!"
Through the telescope, they saw Li HaoChen lying on the deck, gasping for breath. The four electric-reel fishing rods on the side of his boat were still attached to their fishing spots. It wasn't difficult to guess what had just happened, and they couldn't help but admire him.
On the other side, Flying Fish had the same reaction. They knew about Li HaoChen – one person on one boat, catching several large yellow croakers, and saving the sea turtle. Coupled with what had just happened, everyone respected this young man.
Suddenly, Sea Gull and Flying Fish sounded their horns in a minute-long blast. Although they were competitors, this fighting spirit was worthy of respect.
Li HaoChen certainly heard the horns, but he was too exhausted to get up and respond.
After lying down for at least half an hour, he managed to get up. Supporting himself, he walked into the cabin. He searched the refrigerator and found only one Snickers bar left. He wolfed it down and drank a few gulps of water before feeling a bit better.
After resting for a while longer, he went into the bathroom for a hot shower, which finally made him feel more comfortable.
However, his stamina was severely depleted, and he couldn't go without replenishing it. He forced himself to go to the kitchen, took out a packet of instant noodles, cut up a tomato, added some cooked beef and two eggs, and cooked it in five to six minutes.
With such a great expenditure of energy, his appetite wasn't very good. Fortunately, he added the tomato, which allowed Li HaoChen to reluctantly finish the bowl of noodles.
After resting for a while, Li HaoChen raised anchor, sounded the ship's horn, and headed home.
There was no point in staying any longer. The bait and food were almost depleted, and his body was seriously depleted. He needed proper rest.
There was still fuel in the tank, and he was eager to get home. He set off at maximum speed towards Binhai Pier.