I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 262: Chapter 163: The Big Flower Dragon Gives Gu Nan a Scare

The shop’s renovation and equipment had cost around two hundred thousand, so a transfer fee of two hundred thirty thousand really wasn’t much.

If the owner hadn’t been in a rush for the money and the neighboring shopkeepers hadn’t tried to cause trouble, the transfer fee would have been at least three hundred thousand. Gu Nan had really gotten a fantastic deal.

He signed the contract, gave his thumbprint, and also signed a separate agreement with the landlord to prevent them from hiking the rent or leasing the space to someone else for a higher price when the current term expired.

The landlord probably wouldn’t do something like that, but Gu Nan had to be prepared, just in case.

The catch was that after the current lease—with over eight months remaining—expired, he would have to renew it for at least three years.

Gu Nan wasn’t worried about the business failing. If things really went south, he could just transfer the lease again, so this wasn’t an unfavorable term for him.

The shop still needed a few modifications, so he hired the same contractor who had originally done the renovations for the other shops in the seafood market.

He just needed to get a fish tank and a kitchen installed; everything else would be left as is.

With the shop business sorted out, his next step was to focus on exploring the game and unlocking the second map.

So after leaving the International Seafood Market, Gu Nan went to the docks, cleaned his fishing boat, refilled the diesel and fresh water tanks, and bought some snacks and bread for a late-night meal.

Once the boat was clean, he returned to the shop and stayed until closing time. After dropping Yi Chen off at home, he came back to the docks to head out to sea.

Fishing had become an indispensable part of his life. Even though he had just returned from a deep-sea trip, he didn’t feel the least bit tired.

During his few days out in the deep sea, Gu Nan hadn’t done any high-intensity fishing. For him, it had been pure relaxation, and he felt full of energy.

He made his way to Sanlian Reef. The number of Japanese seabass he’d caught so far was far too low to meet demand; Junhao Hotel alone bought every single one he could provide. He casually found a deep-water spot nearby.

No one else was fishing in the area tonight, and he hadn’t gone out very far.

It only took a moment to find a spot with a water depth of one hundred thirty-two meters.

He had accumulated five days’ worth of daily attempts: one hundred fifty for the Fengqi Coast and fifty for the all-map area, for a nice, round two hundred attempts in total.

Gu Nan mounted the Fengqi Fishing Rod on the gunwale, attached a lure, and began using his guaranteed daily catches to restock his inventory.

Both his aquarium and his chilled seafood storage were nearly empty and desperately needed restocking.

He also needed to catch an Indian Sailfish later, or he’d have some explaining to do to Zhao Jie.

The electric reel started fishing, but Gu Nan didn’t keep a constant eye on it.

He took out his Seven-Star boat rod, put on a lure, and also began using his guaranteed daily catches. With fifteen attempts from Seven-Star Rock, plus the fifty from the all-map pool, he should be able to catch a few Japanese seabass today.

The hook rate for a regular bestiary Boss was far higher than for an Elite Boss. Besides, using the standard fishing mode, he could catch plenty of smaller fish, which were actually easier to sell.

The Fengqi Fishing Rod beside him already had a fish on the line. Gu Nan went over and pressed the retrieve button, then tossed the Seven-Star Rock lure into the water.

The sinker pulled the lure down rapidly. Estimating it had passed a depth of one hundred meters, he flipped the bail arm, adjusted the drag, and activated a guaranteed daily catch.

A dozen or so seconds later, the rod suddenly bent double with a SWOOSH. It was a powerful fish.

A BOSS icon appeared on the water’s surface. Gu Nan raised an eyebrow. ’This Japanese seabass seems eager to show up the moment I get here!’

He glanced at the other rod. ’Good, the fish on that one must be massive. The line is retrieving very slowly, so I have plenty of time.’

Gu Nan quickly jerked the rod up to set the hook. After getting a feel for the fish’s strength, he braced the butt of the rod against his fighting belt and started muscling it in with brute force.

A Japanese seabass couldn’t compare to an Indian Sailfish in either maximum size or strength, but its pull was still immense.

After just a few hard tugs, Gu Nan was already struggling to hold on. He had to lean against the gunwale for leverage and let the fish run a little.

Fortunately, his own strength was considerable from the fish’s perspective. Whenever the fish tried to run toward the other line with the electric reel, he would forcibly drag it back, making it run in the direction he dictated.

ZZZT~ ZZZT~ ZZZT~

The Seven-Star rod creaked faintly as it bent even lower. Just then, Gu Nan felt the fish’s strength wane, so he locked the drag completely. The tension on the line intensified, and the rod strained under the greater force.

Gu Nan’s breathing grew ragged. He could feel the fish slowing and its pull weakening, so he quickly freed one hand to wipe the sweat from his face.

He glanced at the display on the electric reel. ’That’s a big fish over there. After all this time, it still has over fifty meters of line out.’

The electric reel’s drag really couldn’t compare to fighting a fish manually; a single Meter Level fish would take forever to reel in.

Knowing he was short on time, Gu Nan took a breath, replanted the rod against his stomach, and using his core strength, heaved the rod upward. The motion stopped the fish dead in the water, and he managed to reel in several feet of line.

But it was a Boss, after all, and with its significant stat bonuses, it wasn’t going to be an easy catch.

About ten minutes later, the electric reel was the first to land its catch: a huge Tiger Stripes, estimated at around fifty-odd jin.

Gu Nan didn’t have a free hand to deal with it, so he had to keep fighting his own fish.

Fortunately, the golden line and lure drained more stamina, so the Tiger Stripes just lay quietly on the surface. It wasn’t struggling at all, its gills just slowly opening and closing as it breathed.

Seeing this, Gu Nan breathed an inward sigh of relief. ’Looks like it wasn’t a particularly big one. A fish on the golden rod can’t escape; it won’t have the energy to thrash and throw the hook.’

Another ten minutes passed before a Japanese seabass, roughly 1.3 meters long, finally appeared on the surface. Though it was also exhausted, it was clearly in much better shape than the Tiger Stripes.

Gu Nan picked up the gaff with one hand. It took him two tries to successfully hook the fish. He waited until it had more or less stopped struggling before hauling it aboard and placing it in the chilled storage.

Then he hauled in the Tiger Stripes. It looked like a small torpedo and was worth at least ten thousand. ’As expected, fishing in the game maps is way more profitable.’

He continued fishing. No more Bosses appeared over the next dozen or so casts, but he did unlock two new types in the elite bestiary, which was pretty lucky.

The bonus from the electric reel was so high that using a daily attempt always hooked a massive fish. This meant the process of landing each one was slow, and he would probably have to stay up very late tonight.

But Gu Nan wasn’t in a rush. He still hadn’t used his weekly beachcombing attempt. When the time came, he could pop in and work for a bit, and a short three-to-four-hour nap afterward would completely restore his stamina.

Just as he was thinking this, the rod in his hand twitched again. From the feel of it, he knew it was a small fish, probably only about five jin.

A five-jin fish was a piece of cake for him. Gu Nan rapidly cranked the reel handle and simply swung the fish right out of the water and onto the deck.

A mostly black, ordinary-looking fish landed on the deck. His eyes lit up. His luck was great tonight; he had already unlocked his third elite bestiary entry in such a short time.

After putting the fish into the chilled storage, he opened the game’s bestiary and found it was a four-star fish called the New Zealand Bastard Trumpeter.

’That name sounds a little familiar...’

’Huh? Isn’t ”New Zealand Bastard Trumpeter” the scientific name for Blue Cod?’

It was actually the famous Blue Cod! This fish was only sold in New Zealand and Australia.

Gu Nan didn’t know about other nearby countries, but back home, this fish was impossible to find, even in some International Seafood Markets. Typically, a shop owner would only order it through special channels upon a customer’s specific request, and the price was exorbitant.

According to the game bestiary, the Blue Cod had a flavor rating of six stars and was suitable for sashimi, pan-frying, or being Steamed or used in a fish soup.

It was an incredibly delicious fish, with a suggested price of three hundred fifty.

However, Blue Cod generally didn’t grow very big. This five-jin specimen had already reached the ”Large” size category. He estimated a King-tier one would only be around ten-odd jin, and a Legendary-tier one probably wouldn’t exceed fifteen jin.

’Excellent. This will be a very popular fish with hotels. The yield is low for now, but once I unlock a golden fishing rod and use the simplified mode, I can increase production significantly.’

Time slowly ticked past midnight. He still had ten daily attempts for the Fengqi map left to use.

Gu Nan planned to go after the Indian Sailfish as soon as he landed whatever was on his current line.

Now that his guaranteed catches for Seven-Star Rock were used up, he could only jig the rod slowly, making the lure dance to entice a fish to bite.

He retrieved the lure twice with no luck, but on the third cast, he finally got a bite.

He set the hook, and sensing the fish wasn’t large, he began reeling in the line quickly.

But a moment later, he felt a distinctive jerking sensation through the rod. The regular bestiary for Seven-Star Rock included the Australian Lobster, and having caught dozens of them, Gu Nan was all too familiar with that feeling.

This one felt quite heavy, though, which made him happy. ’A big Australian Lobster to cap off the night.’

But as he reeled it in and the lobster broke the surface, Gu Nan’s eyes widened in shock. It was a large Flower Dragon, also known as a Brocade Lobster.

He was taken aback. This was a Class II protected species.

”What rotten luck!”

It wasn’t that Gu Nan was short on premium seafood; he had no interest in keeping the big Flower Dragon. He just felt it was bad luck to have caught it.

Brocade Lobsters have very distinct features. Not only are their heads colorfully patterned, but their legs are also striped black and white, unlike other lobsters, making them instantly recognizable.

He scooped the lobster up with a landing net and then removed the hook.

This Flower Dragon was quite large, probably weighing seven or eight jin.

Fortunately, since Gu Nan already had access to Australian Lobsters and Rose Dragons, he wasn’t particularly tempted by this one.

He picked up the lobster and was just about to release it back into the water when his expression suddenly froze.

[Ding! Game map seafood. Host is advised not to release it to avoid introducing an invasive species.]

Gu Nan smacked his forehead. ’How could I forget? Flower Dragons aren’t just found locally; they exist in other countries too.’

In fact, most of the Flower Dragons available domestically were imported from Australia, and they were ridiculously expensive—even pricier than Australian Lobsters.

Gu Nan placed the Flower Dragon in his hand into the aquarium, then opened the game bestiary.

’Well now.’ As expected, it was a five-star seafood item with a six-and-a-half-star flavor rating and a suggested price of four hundred twenty.

But specimens over five jin were listed at five hundred yuan or more—the bigger, the more expensive.

Gu Nan hadn’t expected Flower Dragons to be so much more expensive than Australian Lobsters. But it made sense. They were a protected species locally, and aquaculture yields weren’t that high, so imports were naturally going to be pricey.

Leopard Coral Grouper, another Class II species, could be had for as low as eighty yuan a jin at a fish farm (don’t argue with me on the price, I’ve bought it myself).

The huge price difference was mainly because the aquaculture yield for Leopard Coral Grouper was much higher, as were import volumes. The supply of Flower Dragons, by contrast, was indeed much smaller.

The world’s marine resources were truly dwindling by the day. Who knew when simply eating seafood would become a luxury.

In the past, people could gorge on seafood and waste it without a second thought. Now, even wasting a tiny bit felt painful.

Still, in Gu Nan’s lifetime, the state of the oceans probably wouldn’t deteriorate to a truly dire level.