I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Fished Up a Rusty Iron Helmet, and There’s a Random Reward?

”Huh?”

Staring at the rusty helmet floating on the water’s surface, Gu Nan looked surprised. ’The Fengqi Coast produces this kind of marine trash too?’

’Did I just waste one of my daily guaranteed catches?’

He was a little ticked off, but since he’d already reeled it in, Gu Nan could only accept it. He’d find a trash can and throw it away once he got back to shore.

’Scrap iron isn’t worth much anyway. I’ll just let a sanitation worker pick it up and sell it.’

’Given its weird weight, it might sell for a few bucks.’

But as Gu Nan scooped the helmet up and was about to set it aside, the game, which was usually hidden, suddenly gave him a prompt.

[Congratulations, Host, for catching a discarded item (only available on maps with an unlocked Elite Illustration)! The Scrap Recycle Station has been opened. Recycle the item to receive a random game-produced item.]

Gu Nan’s eyes lit up. He thought it was useless, but it turned out to be a treasure!

He immediately picked up the helmet and moved to the spot between the bridge pier and his livewell, a position that blocked all lines of sight. Then, with a thought, the discarded helmet was sent to the Recycle Station.

[Recycled discarded helmet. Obtained: Big Fish Bonus Sticker x1, 500 Gold Coins.]

There were Gold Coins, too. That was a pleasant surprise. His balance was now 1,900. As for the sticker... Gu Nan first checked its usage instructions.

[Big Fish Bonus Sticker: Can be applied to a fishing rod to increase the next big fish bonus by 10%. Single-use item (disappears automatically after use).]

With a thought, the small sticker appeared in his hand. It was tiny, only about the size of a fifty-cent coin, and red.

The item itself wasn’t conspicuous, but since it disappeared automatically after use, if anyone was nearby, he’d have to discreetly apply it to an inconspicuous spot on his rod.

The bonus it provided made Gu Nan realize he had to use it on the Steel-Edge. In other words, he’d better wait until he got the purple-tier set before using it. For now, he’d just collect them.

So he put the sticker back into his game inventory. This inventory could store items from the game, including his fishing rods.

However, Gu Nan felt it was better to keep his rods in the real world, so he had never stored them inside.

Returning to the water’s edge, Gu Nan continued using his remaining guaranteed catches.

However, aside from the one he’d saved, the other nine catches were all fish from the normal map. He didn’t get a single fish from the Elite Illustration, which left him quite frustrated.

’The Elite Illustration fish are so hard to catch. When will I ever fully unlock it?!’

Fortunately, fishing now also granted experience points, so it didn’t hinder him from leveling up to unlock new maps.

He saved his last daily guaranteed catch. Although Gu Nan was frustrated, he still had to keep fishing.

This time, he took the bell off his line, let the bait sink all the way to the bottom, and started bottom-jigging.

He hadn’t jigged twice before his phone buzzed in his pocket with a WeChat notification. Gu Nan thought someone needed him for something, but it was just a gloating photo from He Qiang.

In the picture, He Qiang was holding up a Sea Bass of about two or three pounds, grinning at the camera like a child. Gu Nan couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw it.

As everyone knows, a fisherman’s tan level represents their fishing skill level.

Generally, the darker the tan, the higher the skill. Given He Qiang’s skin—about as dark as it gets for an East Asian guy—he shouldn’t be this happy about catching a two- or three-pound Sea Bass, right?

He glanced at his own empty livewell. ’Fine, you can be smug for now. I’ll put you in your place later.’

Gu Nan didn’t reply. He put his phone back in his pocket and continued jigging the bottom.

The first cast took longer, as he needed to attract the nearby fish. He jigged for about two minutes before he felt a bite.

The rod suddenly bent sharply, and the force transmitted through the line was immense.

A look of delight crossed Gu Nan’s face. ’A big one on the first bottom-jigging cast?’

He forcefully lifted the rod to set the hook, simultaneously trying to pull the fish up a bit.

The underwater environment was complex. Having fished from this same pier before, he already knew the bottom wasn’t all silt; in his spot, there were quite a few rocks.

Previously, Gu Nan had thought they were reef rocks, but based on the state of the tidal flats along the shore, he later suspected they were man-made.

Regardless, he couldn’t let the fish dive into a rock crevice. Without using a guaranteed catch, the line could easily snap.

Gu Nan forcefully lifted his rod and strenuously turned the handle, reeling in a few turns of the line. His breathing grew a little heavier.

The fish had plenty of Power, but it was still a lot weaker than the seventeen-pound Star Chicken Fish he’d caught before. This one should be just over ten pounds.

They were locked in a stalemate for three or four minutes before the fish lost its steam, allowing Gu Nan to seize the opportunity to reel in a good amount of line.

After he’d pulled the fish to a depth of about twenty meters, it had another burst of energy and started to flee.

However, seeing that the fish was running away from him, Gu Nan didn’t try to force it. He eased up a bit and started to walk the fish.

’It’s still just the afternoon. He had to conserve some energy; there might be even bigger monsters later!’

After walking it for a little while and tiring it out, Gu Nan smoothly reeled the fish in and pulled it up close.

”Whoa, its big, sparkling eyes are really pretty.”

It was another fish he’d never seen before, but the first thing that caught his attention was its eyes.

The fish was probably only about fifty centimeters long, but it looked fat and thick. No wonder it pulled so hard.

He glanced at the illustration book and saw he had indeed unlocked a new entry, earning 200 Gold Coins. It was a two-star fish.

Gu Nan wasn’t in a hurry to read the details. He first put the fish away, cast his bait out, and resumed jigging the bottom. Only then did he look at the illustration’s description.

Monotaxis Grandoculis, also known as the Humpnose Big-eye Bream. The alias was more fitting; the fish’s eyes were indeed quite large, which, combined with its short face, made it look a bit dopey and cute. Too bad its overall appearance was a bit lacking.

As expected, this fish was also from places like East Africa. However, unlike previous catches, the Humpnose Big-eye Bream could also be found in domestic waters.

You had a chance of catching them near Taiwan, or in the Xisha and Nansha archipelagos. That’s why they were locally known as ”Big-Eyed Chickens.”

”Big-Eyed Chicken” isn’t just one type of fish; many fish with big, sparkling eyes are called that.

Unfortunately, Gu Nan’s catch was still considered an import, so he’d have to pay the corresponding taxes.

The good thing was, even though this fish existed in domestic waters, it was almost never seen on the market. This clearly meant its population wasn’t large, and it didn’t have widespread economic value.

Therefore, the recommended selling price for this fish was as high as one hundred yuan, not much cheaper than the deep-sea Big-eyed Sea Bream found domestically.

The difference was that the deep-sea Big-eyed Sea Bream was always sold chilled on ice, while this one could be kept alive.

Flavor rating: four and a half stars. The meat quality was only acceptable, quite a bit worse than the deep-sea Big-eyed Sea Bream.

There were many ways to prepare it: Steamed, sweet and sour, charcoal-grilled, or boiled in soup.

However, the Humpnose Big-eye Bream produced by Gu Nan’s system had a huge advantage compared to those caught by regular fishermen.

The Humpnose Big-eye Bream is prone to carrying ciguatoxins, but the ones produced by the game were free of these toxins and were safe to eat.

Fish known to carry ciguatoxins are tested for them after clearing customs, and they must pass to be sold.

Therefore, knowledgeable customers would feel more at ease buying and eating imported fish from the southern seas.