I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 95: Chapter 91: The Shocking Discovery of a Sri Lankan Giant Mud Crab

Gu Nan kept track of his guaranteed catch chances. After using ten of them, he reeled in his rod, changed his line rig, and prepared to try for an Indian Spearfish again.

If he could land one over 130 pounds this time, his weekly quest would be complete.

If he only caught a small one, he’d have to catch another.

It was now 9:30 PM. After resting for over an hour, Gu Nan had mostly recovered and was ready to challenge the next boss.

He cast out his line, sending the bait flying a dozen or so meters away, and activated a guaranteed catch chance.

After a short wait, he felt a tug that wasn’t particularly strong. Gu Nan was instantly disappointed. Not only was it not a boss, but it was also a small fish.

He quickly reeled in the line. The flamboyant, familiar-looking fish was another Queen Angelfish.

’Well... that just brightened my mood!’

It was slightly larger than the last one. He glanced at his index; sure enough, the data had been updated. This one was just over twenty centimeters and could sell for 1,500.

However, Gu Nan remembered that there were several other species also called ”angelfish.” He just didn’t know why the index didn’t differentiate them the way it did with the Stab-tailed Fish, only letting him catch this specific type.

’Otherwise, a whole school of these flamboyant fish would be a beautiful sight!’

He had eight daily chances left. He cast his line again.

After a little while, he felt a fairly strong pull. Gu Nan’s heart leaped. A big one was on the line, though it was a shame it wasn’t a boss.

The fish was probably under 25 pounds. Its stamina drained quickly, and within five or six minutes, a Large White Grouper was pulled ashore.

The next five consecutive catches were all other types of fish. The hooking rate for Indian Spearfish seemed to be quite random.

By the time he’d used up all his daily chances, Gu Nan hadn’t hooked another spearfish, nor had he caught any new species, which was to be expected.

’At least I caught one Indian Spearfish using the guaranteed catch chances this time. The past three days, I got nothing.’

But by now, the spot where he had scattered the Antarctica shrimp was turning into a feeding ground. In the beam of his headlamp, he could see small fish scattering from the sudden bright light.

Clearly, even without the guaranteed catch chances, the rate of bites shouldn’t be slow from here on out.

This time, Gu Nan cast his bait right into the feeding ground and quickly hooked a large black sea bream, one that looked to be about three pounds.

A catch of this size was extremely rare along the coast, and it was the first time he’d ever caught a black sea bream this big.

’I’ll take a picture. Might be useful later.’

The artificial lure was large enough to deter countless small fish.

It even prevented the smaller fish from the Fengqi Coast map from being able to bite the hook.

As he pulled in one fish after another, the stocks in his aquarium and refrigerated display filled up quickly. Most of the store’s inventory would definitely sell out over the next two days, and if he didn’t catch enough now, he wouldn’t be able to restock. So, for the moment, he wasn’t focused on catching another Indian Spearfish.

He was fishing along when, suddenly, his rod tip stopped moving.

’This feel is a little off. Why is it so similar to the Red Friend Fish that was digging in this morning?’

But there was a difference. He didn’t feel the frantic struggling of a fish; instead, it was as if something was playing tug-of-war with him. It would move.

’What on earth did I hook?’

Gu Nan applied a bit of force and found he could actually pull it, but the more he pulled, the tighter the resistance became.

He tried slacking the line for a moment and then pulling again, and it moved once more.

’I can’t believe this is working.’ He began a rhythm of slackening and pulling, slowly reeling in the line.

The thing on his line seemed to have a breaking point. Gu Nan hadn’t paid attention to how much line he’d reeled in, but suddenly the weight in his hands vanished, and the force that had been fighting him was gone.

The rod tip bent downwards and twitched. Clearly, whatever he’d caught was now struggling.

However, the struggle wasn’t very powerful, it just felt heavy. Seeing this, Gu Nan began cranking the handle quickly to reel in the line.

A short while later, two massive, brandished claws broke the surface, followed by a body that left him stunned.

’A mud crab?’

’No, do mud crabs get this big?’

Its carapace alone was as big as the plastic container for the pickled vegetable fish he’d had for dinner tonight.

The pair of huge claws was even more intimidating. If they clamped down on a finger, they could probably snap the bone.

Gu Nan suspected it was a creature from the elite Fengqi Coast map. Right now, the hook seemed to be stuck in a crevice of the crab’s shell.

Fearing it wasn’t lodged securely and might fall off, he immediately grabbed his landing net and scooped the giant mud crab up.

The mud crab became entangled in the net, almost unable to move, its two large claws viciously clamping down on the mesh.

Gu Nan lifted the net and brought it onto the shore. Watching the crab struggle to escape after being landed, he felt a headache coming on.

’This thing is not going to be easy to handle!’

He first checked his index and found that he had indeed unlocked a new entry. It was five stars, and he’d been awarded two thousand Gold Coins, bringing his total to 6,800.

’Good thing this came from the game map. That makes it easier.’

Gu Nan grabbed a hook remover, then reached out and pressed down hard on the big mud crab’s back. Its shell was extremely hard, so he wasn’t worried about crushing it.

Besides, the crab was very strong. If he didn’t use enough force, he wouldn’t be able to hold it down. It could even break free and injure him. Even though it was tangled in the net, he couldn’t be careless.

With the crab pinned down, its large claws were immobilized. Only then did Gu Nan insert the hook remover through the mesh of the net and try to dislodge the stuck hook.

It was a stroke of luck that the hook had pierced a crevice in the crab’s body. If it had merely been clamping the bait with its claw, the crab could have let go and escaped the moment it sensed danger.

After successfully removing the hook, an idea struck Gu Nan. While still holding the crab down, he sent it to his aquarium.

Watching it scuttle across the bottom of the aquarium with its claws brandished, he got up, brought his gear back to the livewell, and cast his line again while looking at the index.

Sri Lanka Giant Mud Crab, scientific name *Scylla serrata*.

*Scylla serrata* is actually the largest mud crab species in the world. Its common name just varies depending on its place of origin.

At the same time, the coloration of *Scylla serrata* also changes depending on its geographical location.

For example, the Sri Lanka Giant Mud Crab actually originates from other Southeast Asian countries, because this crab is on the protected species list in Sri Lanka itself.

Most Southeast Asian *Scylla serrata* have a purplish or greenish hue, with distinct patterns on their two large chelae, which is why they’re also called purple-clawed mud crabs or olive-green mud crabs.

This type of crab can typically grow to three or four pounds, with the largest specimens exceeding six and a half pounds.

The one Gu Nan caught was estimated to be around four and a half pounds, which was quite large.

Like the Emperor Crab, this thing was incredibly satisfying to eat due to its size, and its meat was indeed fresh and sweet.

They are found along the coasts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, with a very wide distribution.

However, the game-produced Sri Lanka Giant Mud Crab came from Southeast Asia.

Flavor Rating: a high six and a half stars. Suggested price: 260. Over five and a half pounds: 350. The bigger, the more expensive.

Gu Nan suddenly felt a pang of regret. ’Why didn’t I bring a pot and a portable stove?’ If he had those two things, he would have cooked and eaten this big mud crab on the spot.

He was only moderately fond of fish, but lobster and crab were his absolute favorites.

Still, the fact that the game map also produced mud crabs made Gu Nan feel that he had many delicious meals to look forward to.

...

The night passed, and the sun rose in the east.

After admiring the beautiful sunrise, Gu Nan couldn’t help but yawn. He had fished all night with a bountiful harvest, even hooking another Indian Spearfish in the latter half of the night.

Unfortunately, it was a bit smaller than the one from after dinner. It was clear he still needed one more to complete the quest.

He still had time, though. Today was June 25th, a Sunday.

The deadline was every Wednesday, so he just had to get it done before then.

His haul of other fish for the night was also good. Although the bites became much scarcer after 11 PM, he unexpectedly hooked another giant mud crab, this one slightly smaller than the first.

This one, however, had stubbornly held onto his bait with its claw and refused to let go. He wondered if eating it would affect his intelligence.

Originally, Gu Nan had planned to take it home to eat with his family, but now that he had a pair, he could ship them to the store and put them up for sale first.

Seafood from the game map was easy to catch, so there was no rush.

The livewell next to him couldn’t hold any more fish. Gu Nan had released all the small ones, but even so, two Sea Bass had already turned belly-up, their vitality fading.

Gu Nan didn’t plan to continue fishing this morning, so he sent a message to the boat captain, asking him to come pick him up soon.

The weather was good today, and some fishermen had rented a boat from him to go offshore, so he would be coming to pick Gu Nan up around 7 AM.

It was now a little past 6 AM. Gu Nan went back to his tent and ate the bread he had bought yesterday.

He cleaned up his trash and moved his things, one by one, to the boarding spot on the southwest side to wait for the boat captain.

’To be honest, I don’t want to stay here anymore,’ Gu Nan thought. ’There are too many bugs, and even the mosquito coils aren’t very effective.’

’Sigh, I really need a boat!’

After a short wait, a fishing boat approached.

One of the fishermen looked very familiar to Gu Nan. Wasn’t he the same guy who kept trying to convince him to go offshore fishing yesterday?

The man seemed quite enthusiastic, even coming over to help him with his gear.

”Hey buddy, how was the catch yesterday? How many fish did you get?”

”It was alright. How about you, man?”

Gu Nan handed him the other items first, saving the heaviest thing, the livewell, for last.

”I got pretty lucky, caught a three-pound grouper and a bunch of other fish.” The man saw Gu Nan struggling to lift the livewell and quickly directed him, ”Buddy, pour some of the water out. It’s too full to lift easily.”

”Can’t. Too many fish to pour the water out.”

Too many fish?

Hearing this, the other curious fishermen who had been watching immediately came over to lend a hand.

Many hands make light work. With their help, the livewell was easily lifted onto the boat.

By the time Gu Nan boarded the boat, the other fishermen were already letting loose a string of colorful curses.

”Holy shit, a grouper that big? We probably couldn’t even catch one of those offshore!”

”No kidding. I was over the moon when I caught that three-pounder yesterday. Sigh, comparisons are odious. Let’s not talk about it, it’s just depressing.”

”Tsk tsk, a whole tank of fish. This guy made a killing! If I hadn’t already paid, I’d want to fish on this reef island too.”

Hearing their comments, Gu Nan sighed inwardly. It was obvious he wouldn’t be able to fish here again for a while. The place was about to be overrun.

One of the fishermen saw him coming over and quickly asked, ”Hey man, is that grouper for sale?”

Gu Nan was taken aback. ”Uh, aren’t you guys heading out to fish?”

”This is just preparing in advance!” The fisherman wasn’t the least bit embarrassed, openly admitting to his ”cheating.”

The others were also tempted when they heard this, but then they thought about the silver in their pockets and the fact that they were just about to go fishing themselves.

They figured that even if they couldn’t catch one that big, they should still have a good haul, so they just watched.

”It’s for sale, but I can only sell it at market price. I run my own seafood shop, and I’m taking these back to sell, so I can’t give you the wholesale price.”

As soon as Gu Nan said this, the fisherman who had asked to buy the fish froze.

The wholesale price for the grouper would be fifty a pound on the high end, but the market price was at least eighty a pound. The total price would be almost as much as the fee for today’s boat trip.

”Right... just pretend I never mentioned it.”