Chapter 274 Part 2: Agong's Friend Needs Some Nourishment (Patreon)

Satisfied, Chu Mingcheng pressed down on its neck and pulled the hook from the corner of its mouth.​

Then he grabbed the moray eel and tossed it into the live well, next door to the Spiny Pandalid Shrimp, giving it its own small compartment.​

The moray eel, suddenly in an unfamiliar environment, felt uneasy, slithering around the live well like a snake. It took a while before it finally settled down, lying motionless at the bottom.​

Chu Mingcheng couldn't be bothered with it. He baited his hook with another small squid and continued fishing.​

To speed things up, he brought out another boat rod and equipped it with another electric reel.​

Two rods increased the chances of hooking fish, and he could easily manage both.​

A short while later, he caught an oblique-banded grouper and an Arrow bulleye, respectively.​

These were species unique to the waters around Treasure Island, not found elsewhere in China. They weren't cheap, easily fetching a hundred yuan per jin.​

If brought back alive, at least two hundred per jin.​

Unfortunately, neither fish was very large, only about three or four jin each.​

Over the next period, Chu Mingcheng caught various deep-sea fish from the Treasure Island waters.​

This continued until around nine o'clock, when the pace finally slowed down.​

The last empty live well compartment now had its oxygen pump running, with over a dozen deep-sea fish swimming slowly inside.​

These fish seemed like they might survive after Chu Mingcheng vented their swim bladders, so he put them in the live well for now.​

Those with their stomachs protruding from their mouths could only be preserved by freezing.​

However, none of these fish were particularly large, the biggest being only sixty or seventy centimeters.​

Fortunately, none were too small either, the smallest still being forty centimeters—related to the hook size, of course.​

The twenty-plus fish probably totaled around seventy-plus jin. If they all survived, they might sell for over ten thousand yuan.​

And these fish didn't carry ciguatera toxin, so they were safe to eat.​

But after nine o'clock, the bite rate dropped significantly.​

Perhaps the fish gathered at the bottom had dispersed. The fish-attracting lights had been deployed for several hours now. Chu Mingcheng went to the cockpit to check the fish finder.​

When he saw two thick red lines on the screen at a depth of sixty meters, his face lit up with delight.​

The fish-attracting lights were set at sixty meters. Clearly, two large fish from the bottom had been drawn up by the lights.​

Judging by their phototaxis, these were very likely tuna.​

Chu Mingcheng, who had planned to go rest if there were no fish, immediately ran out of the cockpit, swapped the electric jigging rod for a heavy boat rod, and baited it with a live pomfret before tossing it into the water.​

The weight of the sinker prevented the pomfret from swimming freely, but its struggling tail proved it was still alive.​

Injured fish like this were more likely to attract predators.​

He then moved the squid back to the refrigerated hold and brought out the remaining mackerel from the morning. Ignoring the fact that it was frozen, he grabbed his butcher's cleaver-like knife, chopped it into chunks, and tossed them into the water.​

The fish chunks thawed quickly as they sank. Whether the large fish ate them or not, the falling process itself had already caught the attention of the two large fish below.​

As they approached, their attention immediately shifted from the fish chunks to the injured pomfret.​

A shadow swept over, and a huge mouth, wide open, instantly swallowed the pomfret.​

"Zzzzzzzzz..." The rod on the boat instantly bent low, and the sound immediately stopped Chu Mingcheng from tossing more fish chunks. He quickly grabbed the rod and lifted.​

He was right there at the stern tossing chunks, so his timing for setting the hook was perfect.​

If he'd still been chopping mackerel, the timing would have been off, and whether he could set the hook would depend on luck.​

After setting the hook, Chu Mingcheng took the boat rod out of the fishing hole.​

He held the rod diagonally across his left side, lowered his center of gravity, and braced himself. He needed to gauge the fish's size first before deciding how to fish.​

If it was the same size as the tuna from the morning, he'd just stand and muscle it in quickly.​

After all, it was already past nine at night, a bit late.​

If it was particularly large, he'd sit in the chair and take his time. No matter how late, it would be worth it.​

Who knew the fish would suddenly burst with power, sending him staggering, nearly slamming into the gunwale.​

Fortunately, Chu Mingcheng was strong now. Reacting quickly, he steadied himself.​

The boat rod bent even lower, and for a moment, he couldn't even push the handle down. But his eyes were bright with excitement.​

This feel, this strength—it felt no weaker than the Southern Bluefin Tuna he'd caught in the South China Sea!​

Even if it was just a cheaper Yellowfin, with this kind of power, it had to be at least three hundred jin or more, worth at least fifteen thousand yuan.​

Of course, a fish this strong definitely wouldn't be an Albacore tuna—those maxed out at a hundred and fifty jin.​

After a brief stalemate, the large fish below felt the stabbing pain in its mouth and the immense force pulling from above.​

It instinctively began shaking its head, trying to spit out the foreign object.​

But Chu Mingcheng forcefully lifted the rod, pulling on the handle. When he felt the line was about to snap, he would slightly ease off the handle.​

Although this let the fish run farther, it definitely wouldn't be easy for it.​

The line slowly spooled out, rotation by rotation. A fish this big couldn't be stopped.​

After all, the fishing line had its limits. Even if Chu Mingcheng truly had the strength to resist, facing such a large fish, he couldn't just yank it back forcefully.​

The line vibrated at high frequency, making a constant "woo woo woo" sound.​

Ten minutes passed. The large fish below had pulled out over a hundred meters of line. Chu Mingcheng didn't know the fish's exact location, only its general direction based on the line.​

A short while later, the rod trembled again, and a force pulled it, causing it to sway slightly left and right.​

Chu Mingcheng knew the fish was shaking its head again, trying to use muscle contractions to gradually push the hook out bit by bit.​

He wasn't about to let it succeed. He immediately yanked upward forcefully. The rod, under the force, instantly bent into an inverted U-shape.​

The hook in the fish's mouth not only wasn't pushed out but dug deeper, causing pain that sent the fish fleeing frantically into the distance again.​

This burst of power was no weaker than the initial one.​

Chu Mingcheng knew the fish's burst period wasn't over yet. He moved to sit in the chair, braced the rod, put his feet on the footrest for leverage, and instantly felt much more stable.​

He didn't know how much time passed. The rod, which had been bent in a deep arc, slowly straightened slightly, and the pulling force weakened considerably.​

Chu Mingcheng knew the fish's first burst was finally over. He stood up, braced the rod butt against his stomach, and began to exert force. Now it was his turn.​

Lift rod, reel in line—the movements were smooth and fluid.​

Each time he reeled the handle until it wouldn't turn, he'd use his core strength to steadily lift the rod overhead.​

While retrieving line, the rod angle slowly lowered until it was parallel with the sea surface.​

Repeating this process, the large fish that had run out over three hundred meters couldn't resist at all and was pulled closer bit by bit.​

Perhaps because he hadn't returned to the cabin yet, Jiang Luoluo, having finished practicing for the day, came out onto the deck.​

When she saw his movements, she quickly came to his side. "Tuna?"​

"Mm-hmm, and a big one!" Chu Mingcheng took a deep breath, maintained his strength, and replied, "Luoluo, sweat's getting in my eyes. Can you wipe it for me?"​

"Oh, oh..." Jiang Luoluo was still wearing her dance practice clothes and had no tissues or handkerchief. She immediately used her sleeve to wipe his face. "Better?"​

"Much better!" Chu Mingcheng blinked. Although his eyes still stung a bit, it was much better than being unable to open them earlier!​

"Wait here!" Seeing him sweating so much and looking quite tired, Jiang Luoluo quickly ran into the kitchen.​

She brought back a bottle of water, jerky, chocolate, and other snacks, along with wet wipes.​

Returning to Chu Mingcheng's side, she first used a wet wipe to clean his eyes again, then gave him some water and fed him the snacks to replenish his energy.​

It was almost midnight now. Fishing for this large fish had consumed a lot of his energy, and his stomach was indeed feeling hungry.​

The snacks Jiang Luoluo fed him were timely, easing his hunger and restoring some strength.​

Another half hour passed, and Chu Mingcheng finally brought the fish close to the surface.​

It was now near the boat. Under the lights, its massive figure could occasionally be seen breaking the surface.​

The snacks Jiang Luoluo held were finished. Seeing this, she asked, "You should be almost there, right? Should I go prepare a late-night snack for you?"​

"No rush. Go check the fish finder first. I saw two tuna earlier. See if the other one has left?"​

"Okay, I'll go look now."​

Jiang Luoluo ran to check the fish finder. Chu Mingcheng pulled the fish alongside the boat.​

Seeing the fish clearly—nearly 2.5 meters long—he knew a gaff probably wouldn't cut it.​

With the drag on the conventional reel locked, he held the rod with his left hand, bracing the butt against his stomach to keep the fish steady.​

With his right hand, he picked up the speargun that had been placed nearby long ago, moved slightly forward, raised the speargun, and aimed.​

Only someone with his strength could do this. If it were anyone else, finishing off a tuna would definitely require help.​

Aiming at the tuna, the speargun fired with a swoosh, the spear plunging straight into the tuna's back.​

Although the back was an edible part, this small wound from the spear wouldn't matter. When butchering, this bit of meat would be trimmed off anyway, not affecting its value.​

However, the back wasn't a vital spot, so the tuna wouldn't die quickly.​

Chu Mingcheng had two options: either wait for it to bleed out and float to the surface before trying to haul it up.​

Or, while it was injured and its resistance weakened, use a gaff to hook it and pull it directly up through the small gate, just like that morning.​

Just then, Jiang Luoluo came out of the cockpit. "Ah-Cheng, the fish underwater is still there!"​

Since she was here, Chu Mingcheng didn't need to struggle so much.​

"Luoluo, good timing. Get the crane rope ready. I'll pull the fish to the side."​

"You got it!"​

Jiang Luoluo understood what he meant. She immediately went to the crane. Chu Mingcheng used the rod to pull the tuna to the side of the boat.​

Seeing the fish pulled over, she looped the crane's lasso around the tuna's tail, tightened it, then started the crane and lifted the tuna directly out of the water.​

"It's a pity—a Bigeye Tuna. If it were a Bluefin Tuna, we'd have struck gold tonight!" Chu Mingcheng looked at the caught fish with some regret.​

"You should be content with such a big tuna! Besides, there's still another Bigeye Tuna of similar size underwater. Together, they're no worse than an ordinary Bluefin." Jiang Luoluo patted the tuna's plump belly, her eyes curving into crescents.​

Pacific Bluefin Tuna, commonly known as Eastern Bluefin Tuna.​

Like the Bigeye Tuna, it's currently listed as vulnerable, so its numbers aren't as low as imagined. The chances of encountering one are similar to encountering a Bigeye Tuna.​

The truly endangered one is the Atlantic Bluefin, commonly known as Northern Bluefin Tuna. Those numbers are indeed very low.​

But whether the Atlantic fish are scarce or not has nothing to do with him in the Pacific.​

Isn't that the fault of the Japanese and the Americans?​

Many good things in the Atlantic have been fished to near extinction, basically all thanks to the Americans.​

Now that Chu Mingcheng had his cheat system, in the future, the fish in American waters would become scarcer and scarcer, while domestic waters would have more and more. Let them be envious.​

Become a Pledge member on my Patreon to unlock early chapters for all my translated novels. Read ahead now!

If you are enjoying the novel, please leave a 5-star rating on Novel Updates!

[Chapters List]

[Next Chapter]