As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up

Chapter 149: Chapter 140: The Alligator Gars Fought to Take the Bait

Just as Chu Mingcheng had anticipated, when the alarm went off, he felt not only sore all over but also so drowsy that he really didn’t feel like getting up.

There was no hope for Chen Yang and Zhang Wei to wake up either, they were sleeping like logs next to him.

He picked up his phone to turn off the alarm, and the bedroom instantly quieted down.

The boat rocked gently with the waves, and the sound of the sea could still be faintly heard.

People accustomed to life at sea probably slept better here than at home.

Ultimately, Chu Mingcheng did use Life Transformation, and just as he had thought, once wasn’t enough; it took twice, leaving only the last one.

He instantly felt awake, and the fatigue in his body was completely gone while his physical fitness enhanced slightly.

Chu Mingcheng didn’t wake the two sleeping men; instead, he got dressed and went to the bathroom to wash up.

It’s worth mentioning that he put on an extra thick waterproof coat in the morning, considering it was almost early winter and quite cold over the sea.

Indeed, as soon as he stepped out of the cabin, a blast of cold sea wind instantly swept away a great deal of warmth from his face.

Chu Mingcheng rubbed his hands together but eventually went back to heat a cup of milk and ate a small piece of bread Luoluo had used to stave off hunger.

With some energy in his stomach, it wasn’t so cold when he went out again.

Last night’s fishing rod had been stored by Zhang Wei, but since they were going to fish in the morning, he hadn’t dismantled the reel, so it was ready to use.

After sprinkling some shrimp brick, Chu Mingcheng noticed that on some fishing boats not far away, people had gradually started to appear, clearly demonstrating that the early bird catches the worm.

Having cut up some squid meat, he checked the pilchards in the fish box and the live fish compartment and saw that Zhang Wei and Chen Yang had caught quite a lot after he had gone to sleep.

He guessed they hadn’t listened to him and had fished late, which is why they were sleeping so soundly now.

But having more fish was also troublesome as the limited space caused overcrowding, and some of the fish had already turned belly up.

He simply used a scoop net to fish out these less lively ones and put them in an ice-packed foam box.

He scooped out quite a lot, probably about thirty kilograms.

Two-thirds of them were actually still alive, but since Chu Mingcheng was about to start fishing, he conveniently scooped out the smaller ones.

The large ones he planned to keep, the small ones would be put on ice.

After everything was set up, he finally picked up his fishing rod, baited it with squid meat, and started fishing.

No sooner had the bait been thrown into the water and started to sink rapidly under the weight of the sinker, than the fishing rod signaled a bite—there was already a fish nibbling at the bait.

Chu Mingcheng was slightly surprised, the fish bite was so good this morning?

He quickly locked the reel, the bait paused instantly, and just then, the fishing rod jerked downward sharply—it was clear a fish had taken the bait.

Seeing this, Chu Mingcheng remarked that it was no wonder there were as many fish as hairtail.

If it weren’t for their rapid reproduction and abundance, they might have been decimated into a protected species by now!

After all, pilchards are highly nutritious and don’t have the slightest fishy odor, making them very suitable for the elderly and children.

Chu Mingcheng lifted the rod to pull in the fish, then raised his eyebrows—a strong pull indeed!

Having fished for pilchards all night, most of which weren’t even a kilogram, he had gotten accustomed to the feel of the pilchards.

This sudden catch of a large one actually gave him a slightly pleasant surprise.

He continued lifting the rod and reeling in, occasionally tugging, the rod was a bit soft, and it took three to four minutes to finally bring the fish to the surface.

It was indeed a pilchard, but it looked like a small door, a very pleasing size!

He quickly scooped it up with a net and then took out an electronic scale to weigh it—it was actually four point three kilograms.

Such a large one was rare, and its price could probably double.

Mainly, the larger pilchard doesn’t just maintain the quality of its meat, but its liver grows significantly larger too, which makes it taste much better than that of smaller fish.

Now, all the pilchards he and the others had caught were mixed together, so Chu Mingcheng simply poured all the fish from one of the fish boxes into the live well, filled it with sea water, added oxygen, and isolated this large pilchard.

Given its size, it deserved VIP treatment.

He continued fishing, the fish bite in the morning was beyond his expectations, with bites almost immediately as he lowered the bait—far more exaggerated than last night, no wonder it’s said that fishing for this type of fish is best at dawn.

Unfortunately, the peak period didn’t last long, just a short two hours, and he caught about seventy to eighty kilograms.

Of those, thirteen fish, including the first one, weighed over two kilograms.

These thirteen could be sold at a higher price, while the rest, which were less than one kilogram or just over, differed by about ten yuan or so.

The live well was already full, and the foam boxes too were filled up. Chu Mingcheng didn’t want fish scattered all over the deck, and the fish bite wasn’t that good anymore, so he simply packed up his fishing rod and went back to make breakfast.

Having used Life Transformation, he didn’t need to go back to sleep.

By eight in the morning, Zhang Wei and Chen Yang were still asleep, so Chu Mingcheng had his breakfast and then drove the boat straight back.

He selectively kept some pilchards aside, intending for them to take back to Wen City.

The rest were sold directly to the fishmongers who came to the dock after they arrived.

The Seafood Restaurant couldn’t possibly take that many pilchards, and he himself couldn’t be bothered to carry so much catch door-to-door to peddle or sell individually, who knew till when that would take.

Therefore, selling to the fishmongers was the best way to handle it.

Normally, pilchards less than one kilogram could sell for about thirty-five to forty yuan in the market, but he only got twenty yuan from them.

After weighing, a total of one hundred eighty-seven kilograms three taels sold for 3746 yuan.

The seventy-three kilograms six taels that were between one and two kilograms were priced at thirty yuan per kilogram, and sold for 2208 yuan.

He didn’t sell the thirteen fish weighing over two kilograms to the fishmongers, planning instead to take them to the Seafood Restaurant later, to sell at market price for a higher profit.

The morning’s catch sold for a total of 5950 yuan, rounded down by four yuan.

Last night seemed promising with a substantial number of fish, but in reality, the value wasn’t as high as a few Red snapper.

The only consolation was that the pilchard on the marine species guide was upgraded to level eight.

[Greenfin Pufferfish (Level 8)]

[Current Experience: 11/90]

[Size +8%]

[Deliciousness +8%]

[Capture Probability +8%]

Chu Mingcheng looked at the attribute panel and stroked his chin, finding it as easy to catch as pilchard.

Should he level it up earlier to ensure safety for future sea voyages?

At least with these assurances, even if he didn’t encounter any premium fish at sea, he could at least ensure the fuel costs weren’t a loss.

After selling all the fish, Chu Mingcheng went into the bedroom to wake the two of them up.

They groggily woke up and walked out of the cockpit only to discover they were already at the dock and the fish caught last night had also vanished.

Zhang Wei was bewildered, “When did we come back?”

“Must have been this morning, the fish are all sold out,” Chen Yang said, yawning.

They usually got up around ten or even noon, so today was really tough on him.

Chu Mingcheng transferred two thousand to each of them, “This is the money from the fish sold this morning, a total of six thousand. Since we mixed our fish together last night, we might as well split it evenly.”

Chen Yang waved his hand and returned the money, “You already helped us make a few thousand yesterday, and you also treated us to two big meals. We fish for fun, you should take this money for the diesel!”

Zhang Wei did the same, returning the money, “In the future, when we come here, just take us with you more often.”

“Alright then!” Chu Mingcheng said, no longer insisting.

With friends, sometimes you need to measure, and sometimes you can’t be too clear-cut. You have to handle it well to make it convenient for reciprocation.

Then, the three of them moved the fish they planned to take back to Wen City into Chen Yang’s car. Since they returned the money, Chu Mingcheng simply gave them the Ban Qin shrimp from yesterday and told them to bring a couple to his parents to try.

The leftover Pilchard from the morning he moved into his own car, then drove to the Seafood Restaurant to sell them first.

Thirteen fish, just a bit over thirty kilograms, sold for eighty-five yuan per kilogram, yielding two thousand five hundred and fifty yuan.

If he had sold to the fish dealers, it would probably only be around fifteen hundred, the difference was that big.

They made a meal with the remaining ingredients on the boat at noon, rested a little after eating, and then Chen Yang and Zhang Wei decided to leave.

Chu Mingcheng was taken aback, then quickly added, “Aren’t you staying another night? We could have a good time wandering around Xia City in the afternoon.”

Chen Yang shook his head, “Not this time, I plan to come over next year, I’ll have plenty of time then. Now with so much fish, I better take them back before they lose freshness.”

Zhang Wei felt the same, having satisfied his fishing cravings this trip.

He had also taken lots of videos and photos, which could be boasted about to his fishing buddies back home. At least he had now made it out of the beginner’s level.

Seeing their determination, Chu Mingcheng didn’t try to persuade them further.

And Chen Yang was right, since he planned to move over next year, there was no need to squeeze in some idle wandering now.

Chu Mingcheng watched them leave, cleaned the fishing boat once more, and after washing it, he drove home.

After a day and a night at sea, his savings had reached one hundred and sixty thousand, and he didn’t plan to go back to sea today.

Considering there was only one more chance for life transformation, he decided to spend the afternoon wandering, looking for Alligator Gar and other invasive species.

He took along a rigid rod, along with a hand rod, then drove to buy some pig liver, heading to various river spots.

The data panel of the Alligator Gar had a three-time scanning feature; he scanned any water body he saw.

The first two scans came up empty, but when he arrived at a park to scan the artificial lake, without even getting out of the car, he noticed a crowd gathered around the small artificial lake.

After parking the car, he saw that a Fishing Man was catching a giant Alligator Gar, which looked to weigh at least forty or fifty kilograms and was over a meter long.

With such a big Alligator Gar, could it have eaten all the fish in this artificial lake?

Just then, a sigh of regret erupted from the crowd; the fisherman’s line had snapped, letting the Alligator Gar escape.

With the fish gone, catching it again would undoubtedly be more difficult.

Chu Mingcheng inquired and found out that the park’s pond wasn’t specially managed by anyone; even after the Alligator Gar was spotted, no one had called for help to catch it.

The man fishing for the Alligator Gar had come of his own accord.

For an Alligator Gar weighing forty or fifty kilograms, a rigid rod was needed. Using the Dali Ma Line for the mainline and a steel wire leader, he hooked on some pig liver, and Chu Mingcheng walked over with his rod.

The crowd around, seeing his equipment, knew he had also come to fish for Alligator Gar.

The fisherman with the snapped line approached, “Bro, nice gear you have there. It seems like catching that Alligator Gar will be a piece of cake. It’s a pity it bit through the line and escaped just now; don’t know if it will bite again.”

Chu Mingcheng smiled slightly, “It should bite again; after all, Alligator Gars are pretty greedy.”

Was he joking about a 100% bite rate?

Catch as many as he can, why not!

Chu Mingcheng had just cast his bait into the water when the previously spooked Alligator Gar that swam away suddenly slammed on the brakes, decisively turned around, and swam quickly toward the bait.

Not only that, there were not just one but three more Alligator Gars in this small lake that were affected. The ones that had been resting also immediately swam towards Chu Mingcheng.

The first one, due to its proximity, was the first to take the bait.

The fishing rod bent instantly, and the crowd was amazed.

“Caught another one already, so fast!”

“That was super quick, less than half a minute!”

But soon after, shouts erupted from the crowd again.

Because three more similar-sized Alligator Gars arrived and, unbelievably, they started fighting, crowding around the first one that took the bait.

But because the Alligator Gar’s skin was so tough, even with their sharp teeth, they could only leave white marks.