I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 145: Chapter 118: Giant Encyclopedia Collection Reward and Opening the Treasure Chests

Gu Nan’s Gold Coin balance had now reached 11,900.

Gu Nan was taken aback. He hadn’t expected to have so much.

He had originally considered buying the blue seven-star set, but given the current situation... ’Maybe if I save up a bit more, I can buy the purple set directly?’

But he put that thought aside for now. After he obtained five silver keys, the game’s treasure chest function officially unlocked.

Gu Nan checked it all over. The new function didn’t have any instructions; it simply stated that silver keys could open silver chests, and gold keys could open gold chests.

There was also no ”guaranteed prize on a ten-pull” mechanic or anything similar.

Seeing this, Gu Nan decided to just use all five keys.

[Congratulations, Host, you have received: Rare Fish Sticker x2, Big Fish Sticker x1, Gold Coin Bonus Card x2]

Rare Fish Sticker: When using a daily guaranteed catch, apply this sticker to your fishing rod for an additional 10% bonus to catching rare fish. (Disappears after use)

Big Fish Sticker: When using a daily guaranteed catch, apply this sticker to your fishing rod for an additional 15% bonus to catching large fish. (Disappears after use)

Gold Coin Bonus Card: Grants an additional 30% bonus based on the total Gold Coins earned that day. (Disappears after use. Can only be used once per day.)

All three items were one-time consumables. Nothing particularly exciting, but they seemed useful enough.

Thinking about how he had earned over 8,000 Gold Coins today—a pretty significant amount—he decided to use a Gold Coin Bonus Card.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. The Gold Coin Bonus Card has been successfully used. The day’s total Gold Coin earnings will be calculated at the 6:00 a.m. refresh.]

’That’s reasonable. What if I earn more Gold Coins before then?’

After going into the cabin for a couple of swigs of water, Gu Nan decided to do some bottom fishing to relax and take a break. He would try for the Elite BOSS again later.

It was a shame his daily guaranteed catches were already used up; otherwise, he would have definitely tested the effects of the other two stickers.

He didn’t bother changing his lure, just letting the Big Fatty sink slowly to the bottom before gently twitching the rod and retrieving the line.

After a short while, the tip of his rod bent sharply. Fish on.

However, what he pulled up was a three-to-four-pound Sri Lankan mud crab. ’Not bad luck,’ he thought, and continued.

To his surprise, he caught a second one, and then a third. The last two were female, which made Gu Nan’s eyes light up. ’Is there a crab den down there?’

Unfortunately, his fourth cast yielded something different. The chances of finding one male and two female mud crabs in a single den were slim, though not impossible.

But you would never find two males in the same den, as they would fight.

Bottom fishing was a lot of fun. The catch rate for mud crabs and Rose Dragons was noticeably higher tonight, and there were plenty of groupers as well.

Thanks to his fishing rod’s stamina-draining attribute, Gu Nan had a great harvest this past hour but didn’t feel very tired. In fact, he had recovered a good deal of his energy. Under these circumstances, he could try fishing for the Elite BOSS again.

He switched from bottom fishing to casting, anticipating the arrival of the Elite BOSS.

After another twenty or so casts, he caught several Large White Groupers, making a bit of progress on the quota required for his elite mission.

「The next moment...」

”Holy shit!”

Even though he was prepared, the sudden, immense force still made Gu Nan stagger.

The force this time was even stronger than the 4.1-meter Indian marlin from before. That one probably weighed nearly five hundred pounds. ’This one is so ferocious... Could it be over six hundred and fifty pounds?’

’Can the fishing rod even handle it?’

But no matter what, he had to try and land it first.

”WHOOSH~”

Gu Nan yanked the rod with all his might, successfully setting the hook.

”CREAK... CREAK...”

The purple Fengqi Fishing Rod was under unprecedented pressure. It was the first time it had ever made such a strained sound.

The reel also let out a constant ”ZING, ZING, ZING,” and Gu Nan didn’t dare tighten the drag to its maximum.

He resorted to his old trick, hugging the fishing rod tightly and bracing himself against the side of the boat for leverage.

After just a short while, he was drenched in sweat, his breathing growing heavy and ragged. ’Can I really land a fish this big all by myself?’

Gu Nan had his doubts.

But the BOSS icon hovering over the water made it impossible for him to even consider giving up.

This time, the line was spooling out at an incredible speed; the reel handle was spinning so fast it was just a blur.

’I used to think a thousand meters of line was plenty, but now it seems it won’t be nearly enough for this fish’s run.’

In just that short time, the fish had already taken out three hundred meters of line.

’At this speed,’ Gu Nan thought, ’it must be a huge tuna.’

When half of the line on his reel was gone, he knew he couldn’t stick to the old method.

He took two deep breaths, switched his grip from hugging the rod to holding it firmly, and suddenly tried to pump it upward with all his strength.

But this time, he couldn’t lift it at all. The rod just bent even further, the ”CREAK... CREAK...” growing louder.

Startled, Gu Nan was afraid the rod would snap and quickly eased up a little.

In truth, he was also reaching his limit. The fish was just too strong.

But the maneuver wasn’t entirely useless. He had broken the great fish’s rhythm. The sudden pull had turned its head, halting its charge. To dash off again, it would have to regain momentum.

Gu Nan immediately noticed the tension on the line lessen. His eyes lit up, and ignoring his fatigue, he once again yanked the rod up hard while grabbing the reel handle.

The great fish, momentarily unable to charge, could only pull with brute force, shaking its head constantly in a struggle.

Gu Nan gritted his teeth, periodically pumping the rod to keep the hook set deep, all while expending enormous amounts of strength and stamina to keep the fish from making another run.

But even so, the line was still being dragged out inch by inch. The two of them had entered a battle of attrition.

Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, stinging them horribly. But Gu Nan only dared to shut his eyes and endure the burn; he didn’t dare let go with a hand to wipe it away.

At some point, the wind and waves on the sea began to pick up, and then a light rain started to fall.

Gu Nan gave a wry smile. ’Again!’

’The last time I fought such a difficult fish, it was raining too. Does hooking a tough fish guarantee a downpour?’

On the bright side, the rain washed the sweat from his face, and his eyes didn’t sting as much anymore.

Besides, he was better off than last time. He had the boat for leverage, his physical stats were buffed, his recovery speed was accelerated, and he had the rod set’s stamina-draining bonus.

After its initial reckless charge, the great fish began to tire, and the scales of advantage gradually tipped in Gu Nan’s favor.

Sensing the fish’s strength waning, Gu Nan didn’t wait for it to become completely exhausted before he started reeling in the line.

He needed to close some of the distance first. The wind and waves were growing stronger, and even though the typhoon was still two days away, he didn’t want to remain out on the open sea.

Two hours passed. The wind and waves didn’t intensify further, but the rain grew much heavier, drenching him to the bone.

At last, Gu Nan finally saw the fish. It was a behemoth, its body noticeably thicker in girth than the 4.1-meter Indian marlin. Unfortunately, it was also an Indian marlin.

At this point, he started to wonder if he was using the wrong fishing method. ’Maybe this isn’t how you’re supposed to catch an Elite BOSS?’