As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Upgrade, Purchase Diving Equipment

Just as he arrived at the rocky area, a wriggling essence slowly crawled toward a crevice—it was an octopus.

This was a great find. After an hour of chasing the sea at night, he finally found something delicious.

Whether it was clams or razor clams, not the gigantic types, catching one or two wasn’t really exciting.

But octopuses were different. This one was not small at all; it weighed about 250 to 300 grams and could make a whole dish.

Chu Mingcheng continued his search in the rocky crevices. There were many unknown varieties of shellfish and snails in the area. He picked up any that he did not recognize to examine them.

He had picked up several marine species that the guidebook did not respond to until he reached into a small pit and pulled out some small shellfish. Finally, the marine guidebook’s experience increased by +1—he had found sea mussels.

49 marine species accounted for, just one short of the last.

Chu Mingcheng continued to feel around in the rock crevices and water pits. As he was searching, he suddenly felt something soft.

He pulled it out, and lo and behold, it was a sea cucumber.

The size wasn’t even up to five centimeters. Chu Mingcheng squeezed it and found it soft and bouncy.

With fifty marine species finally collected, before Chu Mingcheng could even check the data panel, a familiar warmth surged through his body. He had experienced this sensation once before.

After the warm flow subsided, Chu Mingcheng clenched his fist, faintly feeling that this enhancement seemed somewhat greater than the last.

He quickly checked the data panel, only to find that it still only showed a 10% improvement in overall physical quality.

[Marine Guidebook (Level 1)]

[Current Experience:(0/60)]

[Unlocked Capture Tools: Hand, Fishing Gear, Fishing Spear]

[Maximum Marine Level: 50]

[Unlocked Marine Species: 1 Mud shrimp, 2 Crucian Carp, 3 Whitebait, 4 Carp, 5 Ground Tiger, 6 Spicy Snail, 7 Bian Fish, 8 Sea Earthworm, 9 Sandworm, 10 Sea Eel, 11 Tidal Crab, 12 Sea Bass, 13 Crab Tiger Fish, 14 Qiao Zui, 15 Green Fish, 16 Lianyong, 17 Chinese Turtle, 18 Black Fish, 19 Muddy Catfish, 20 Wen City Light-lipped Fish, 21 Australian Mackerel, 22 Grouper, 23 Black Sea Bream, 24 Mullet, 25 Mussel, 26 Song Bream, 27 Striped Stone Bream, 28 River Shrimp, 29 Clams, 30 Oysters, 31 Conch, 32 Aromatic Snail, 33 Stone Crab, 34 Eel, 35 Strap Fish, 36 Loach, 37 Paddy Field Crab, 38 Prawn, 39 Woolen Shrimp, 40 Balloon Fish, 41 Tidal Crab, 42 Crab, 43 Razor Clam, 44 Starfish, 45 Woolen Clam, 46 Jellyfish, 47 Sea Anemone, 48 Octopus, 49 Sea Mussel, 50 Sea Cucumber]

[Special Ability: Free Swimming (Host’s comprehensive quality improved by 10%, the host can move through water as freely as a fish when submerged and can breathe freely underwater.)]

Chu Mingcheng was surprised that the experience needed for the next level had only increased by 10 points, and it was not doubled as he had imagined. He only needed to catch 60 new marine species to reach Level 2.

This was good news for him, as the upgrade of the marine guidebook had significantly enhanced his abilities.

Moreover, he had already experienced the ability of Free Swimming; indeed, he could swim freely in the water like a fish, without feeling much resistance.

However, to chase fish in the water with this ability definitely wouldn’t work. His speed still couldn’t match the fish’s, and they were more agile than him.

But it wasn’t to say that he couldn’t catch them bare-handed; he would have a chance only when the fish slept at night.

Chu Mingcheng felt that the biggest advantage was that he could hold his breath underwater for a long time, almost as if he were wearing an oxygen bottle.

Moreover, he had not felt the water being cold when diving before; this was something he still needed to test further.

If he could dive even in winter without feeling cold, then his fishing and hunting would hardly be restricted in the future; the only restriction would be the fishing ban period.

At this thought, Chu Mingcheng unconsciously stroked his chin. It seemed that when he had some free time, he still needed to figure out how to legally fish overseas.

As for the physical quality still only improving by 10%, he felt that his strength had increased from before, probably related to the two times he used life conversion while fishing at night.

This made Chu Mingcheng feel he had miscalculated; had he known earlier, he would have used up life conversion before upgrading.

Luckily, his physical quality now met the standards of a normal adult man who had been training for many years, at least robust enough to handle large fish.

The seafood guide had been upgraded, and he no longer had an interest in continuing to gather seafood by the shore.

He threw away everything he had just picked up in the bucket, leaving only the octopus, razor clams, and clams before Chu Mingcheng first went back home.

He planned to get a good night’s sleep tonight, and then go buy equipment tomorrow before diving to see if he could catch something good. @@novelbin@@

…

The next day, Chu Mingcheng still got up to run laps, but this time he ran directly from his home to the big bridge and then back.

He also bought breakfast along the way and ran home.

Through this morning’s run, he could clearly feel the changes in his body, which was the physical fitness that a fisherman should have!

While showering, alternating between cold and warm water did not give him that warm feeling he initially had in Ou River, It seemed he would have to dive into the water to find out.

So, he drove to Wen City and bought a diving suit, face mask, breathing tube, and a diving stick, which was used to fend off sharks.

He also bought flippers and a lasso stick.

This lasso stick was similar to the ones used for lassoing cats, after lassoing the target, pressing the switch would automatically retract or release it.

He could use this lasso at night to catch fish, which would be easier than using his hands and would not result in injuries from the fish’s dorsal spines.

The gloves he bought were slip-resistant and could pull on the fish gun’s elastic bands, but they could not guarantee protection from the fish’s dorsal spines.

Normally, Chu Mingcheng didn’t need flippers or waterproof goggles for diving.

However, if he were to dive with others in the future, he would need to use these to conceal his identity.

The final purchases were two live fish clasps and a small net bag, which would be handy to carry fish after catching them.

Thus, free-diving fish hunting requires a lot of endurance from a person, especially when there’s a heavy load of several dozen pounds of fish to swim with in the sea.

It wasn’t feasible to return after catching just one fish each time, as that would be more tiring and time-consuming.

After buying the lasso, Chu Mingcheng always felt he had forgotten something, but couldn’t remember what after thinking for a long time.

Finally, upon seeing a safety rope, he spontaneously bought a bundle, although it was unnecessary for him given his current abilities in the water, but it was something that still needed to be purchased.

After the shopping, he immediately drove back to Yanmen Island, bypassing his home and heading straight to the spot where he had surf fished last time.

He found a suitable place to park and first came down to find an easy spot to disembark.

Entering the water was easy, but finding the right spot was critical as it could be difficult to come back up.

Eventually, he found a perfect entry point between two large rocks.

There was an approximately thirty-degree slope that allowed one to easily walk up without needing to climb.

Once he had identified the spot, Chu Mingcheng changed into his diving suit in the car, put on the live fish clasp and small net bag, took the lasso, and wearing slippers, he walked toward the disembarkation point.

According to the lunar calendar, it was nearly October now, and the weather in Wen City was gradually getting cooler.

But when Chu Mingcheng was fully submerged, he did not feel the icy cold of the sea water; instead, it felt like the last time in Ou River, as though he was wrapped in the water flow, feeling only warmth and comfort.

The only downside was that the seawater here was not as clear as it appeared on the surface, with visibility only about four or five meters.

As he slowly swam in the water, he could see many small fish swimming under the sand and rocks, and occasionally, a slightly larger fish darted past him.