The Great Thief

In these circumstances, Lu Li had to pay attention to his casts. He had to land the hook in the small circle that represented a fish, otherwise, he wouldn’t catch it.

The ability to land it in the circle was the difference between successful and unsuccessful fishermen. Fishing within these small circles was more likely to yield exquisite fish species, mounts, pets, equipment and materials.

The floater bobbed along the clear waters of the lake. Just like in real life, you had to wait patiently.

After a while, it would suddenly jerk, which was quite realistic. In real life, this didn’t always mean there was a fish on the line, but in the game, your odds were high.

Lu Li’s current fishing level wasn’t that high, but he had landed perfectly in the circle. He pulled the rod without hesitation and a five-inch-long Bristle Whisker Catfish jumped out of the water.

The System them prompted that he had received a fresh Bristle Whisker Catfish and gained 2 Fishing EXP.

The reason why it was 2 points instead of 1 was because the Bristle Whisker Catfish was usually caught at Intermediate (85). Although Lu Li was Intermediate (168), his level was only (68) after removing the fishing tackle bonus.

Of course, a higher-class fish would grant more EXP.

The fishing competition was held on the shorelines of Stranglethorn Vale and required a fishing skill of 150. Lu Li had already reached this threshold, but he didn’t mind increasing his skill a little further.

Each area had a minimum Fishing Skill requirement. If you didn’t meet that requirement, you wouldn’t get any bites at all. Moreover, if your skill level was less than the requirement by 50, you would find that the fish would escape.

As such, the higher the level, the greater the success rate of landing a fish.

Lu Li didn’t stay in Southshore to for his sister to come online. There was fewer fish there and they were capped at level 80, which didn’t satisfy him.

Instead, he decided to wait for Lu Xin at Booty Bay, where the fish were much higher-levelled.

When Lu Xin came online, Lu Li’s fishing level had risen to 125, which meant he was at a total of 225 with his equipment bonus. However, he had not been using lures. Even the lowest-level bait could add at 5 levels, which would put him at 230.

“Big bro, I want to join too!” Lu Xin begged as she pulled at Lu Li’s arm.

“You can’t. It’s too exciting and the doctor said you can’t get too excited,” Lu Li refused.

“But the doctor said it was okay to play the game…” Lu Xin whined. She felt hurt as she looked around at other players joyfully holding the fish that they had caught while she was being talked down to.

“Sorry. This is non-negotiable,” Lu Li said sternly. In his eyes, he was protecting his sister from any risk of harm.

“Hey, Lu Li, Xin Xin!”

Someone was calling out to them. Lu Li turned his head and saw that it was Water Fairy. Even through her veil, he immediately recognized her. In fact, he also had his mask on.

“Water Sister!” Lu Xin exclaimed as she ran over and grabbed Water Fairy’s hand.

“Xin Xin, how are you?” Water Fairy asked. She was also happy to see Lu Xin, and her facial features softened.

“The doctor said that I was recovering well,” Lu Xin said, then pouted and added, “Water Sister, you lied. You said you would visit me, but you haven’t in so long. Every day, I just sit in the house reading. I felt like I’m going to suffocate.”

“Sorry, I’ve just been very busy lately. I promise to see you in two days,” Water Fairy said apologetically.

“Stop bothering her; you know Water Fairy is busy,” Lu Li scolded, holding his sister back in embarrassment.

“Oh yeah, my brother is also bullying me. He won’t let me go fishing,” Lu Xin complained.

“Don’t bully your sister,” Water Fairy chided, before turning back to Lu Xin and saying, “How about you come fishing with me? I have a complete fishing set that gives me more than 100 fishing levels. Xin Xin, what level is your fishing…”

The two girls then began to chat away, completely ignoring Lu Li’s existence.

“Hey, the competition is about to begin. Are you going to try and get first place?” Lu Li asked. He felt embarrassed about interrupting Water Fairy, who seemed occupied with his sister, but he couldn’t help it.

“Please, you’re kidding,” Water Fairy said as she shook her head disdainfully and continued, “How do we stand a chance in getting first place? There are people who do this all day, every day. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were Fishing Masters by now.”

Lu Li was stunned and had to admit that she was right.

He was a combat player and no matter what equipment he had, those players had spent all their time perfecting their Trade Skill.

If the other players who practiced this every day could be caught up to by Lu Li, then this game would be completely imbalanced.

Moreover, fishing was the easiest of all the Trade Skills to upgrade. It didn’t have a high cost, as rods and tackle were fairly inexpensive, and it didn’t require any formulas. Most importantly, it was always exciting, as you never knew when your next bite would come.

Lu Li’s had matched his Engineering level in three days, but those old men had been fishing the whole time.

Even a fishing level of 230 wouldn’t be enough to compete against them.

“Quick, it’s starting,” Lu Xin said as she pulled her brother’s hand with one hand and Water Fairy’s hand with the other.

When they reached the water’s edge, a small Booty Bay goblin could be heard shouting, “The Fishing Competition has begun!”

In that moment, a special Scrumptious Fish spawned along the coast of Stranglethorn Vale. This was a designated species for the match, and whoever caught the most Scrumptious Fish would win. The waters didn’t have this fish prior to this.

Lu Li kept protecting his sister and quickly caught fish.

“Look at where I’m casting my rod and follow me,” Lu Li said to Water Fairy. “I have a skill that lets me…”

After hearing Lu Li’s explanation, Water Fairy was flabbergasted, but she thought that this skill was a waste on Lu Li’s. If he was a fishing professional, the effect would be ten thousand times more efficient.

“Big bro, its moving! Quickly, pull it out!” Lu Xin shouted. She seemed like the most excited person there.

Lu Li looked her deeply in the eye and said, “Xin Xin, if you carry on like this, I won’t let you continue playing the game.”

He was the one who was most scared for this girl. The doctor said that it was fine, but how could he feel relieved after the desperation he had felt in his previous life?

“Okay,” Lu Xin agreed, sticking out her tongue.