I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Rescuing Someone by Fishing

Gu Nan, of course, wanted to expand his business and sell his catch to seafood restaurants or hotels.

However, everyone else had their own established supply channels, making it extremely difficult to break into the market.

Most local seafood shops primarily served individual customers. In contrast, seafood wholesalers found it easier to secure partnerships with those larger establishments.

The main reason was price. Wholesalers didn’t have physical storefronts, so their lower costs naturally gave them an advantage in pricing.

However, Gu Nan had his own edge. His seafood came from the game’s map, which was basically a zero-cost venture, aside from some taxes at most.

Of course, with his current catch volume, it was hard to build up any surplus. Normally, he didn’t even have enough to sell to his individual customers, so for now, he didn’t need channels like restaurants and hotels.

So, after giving Qiaoya a noncommittal reply, Gu Nan began tying his fishing line and preparing to fish.

Only about ten minutes had passed since he had started chumming the water. It would be at least another half an hour before the bait started to attract fish.

But that was fine. He hadn’t used any of his eleven guaranteed catches for the day yet. He could use them now to pass the time.

Using the white Fengqi Fishing Rod, Gu Nan still couldn’t escape his fate of being pestered by Star Chicken Fish and Bushi Golden Needlefish.

He caught five in a row, all of them one of these two species, which made him sigh in frustration.

The only consolation was that the fish caught using the guaranteed catch ability were generally larger, weighing at least two pounds each. Last night, he had caught quite a few that were only one pound.

’At this rate, catching five two-star fish might be even harder than catching one new three-star species!’

He had already used up almost half of his guaranteed catches, but not a single two-star fish had appeared. It made Gu Nan wonder if the attribute bonus from his white Fengqi Fishing Rod was even working.

But no matter what, he had to keep fishing.

He lifted the rod, letting the Minnow lure swing out with its own momentum. Then he lowered the rod, and the Minnow slipped smoothly into the water.

For his guaranteed catches, Gu Nan preferred using artificial lures. It was more cost-effective.

After waiting a dozen or so seconds, the float was once again pulled completely underwater.

He was very familiar with this by now. He promptly lifted the rod to set the hook. Based on the force transmitted back from the fish, he determined it was about three pounds.

When using a guaranteed catch, the rod and line were indestructible, so Gu Nan could reel it in with full force without worry.

Since the lure was close to the shore, he only had to reel in a few meters of line before the fish from below broke the surface.

’A filefish?’

Gu Nan was stunned when he saw the fish, but he immediately sensed something was off. It looked a lot like the filefish from the East Sea, but its shape was different. It must be a similar species.

He glanced at his daily tasks. When he saw the counter for "five two-star fish" in Mission Two change from 0 to 1, Gu Nan understood.

He first scooped the fish up with his net, then unhooked the Minnow lure and placed the fish in the fish basket.

The tide pool was now occupied by five fish. The space was just right for them, but stuffing another one in might cause them to run out of oxygen.

He opened the game, collected the 100 Gold Coins for the two-star fish, and then went ahead and bought the white Fengqi fishing reel as well.

With a thought, the purchased reel appeared in his hand. Gu Nan removed the old reel from his Fengqi Fishing Rod to replace it.

His own reel had only cost a little over a hundred yuan. It was definitely not as good as the one from the game, not to mention the attribute bonuses.

Now, with the two pieces of equipment combined, the attributes became: Large Fish Bonus +10%, Rare Fish Bonus +6%, and Fengqi Coast Daily Guaranteed Catches +2. This meant he had 6 chances left for the day.

The attribute bonus from a single piece of gear was small, but when doubled, the stats looked pretty decent.

The white Fengqi fishing line and bait both cost three hundred Gold Coins each. The attribute for both of these items was an increase to the fish’s stamina depletion rate by 5%.

The effect seemed mediocre, but it was actually very useful.

If he had had this equipment yesterday when he caught that eight-pound-plus Black-striped Small Stripes Buri, Gu Nan wouldn’t have had to struggle so much or be so cautious.

At the same time, accelerating a fish’s stamina depletion would also better protect the rod, preventing it from snapping during a long, drawn-out fight. Therefore, these two pieces of equipment were must-buys.

While changing the reel, Gu Nan also checked the Index to see what this filefish-like creature was actually called.

Ball-nosed Fish, also known as "peeled boy," was a species of Stab-tailed Fish. It was related to the five-colored tang and had no relation at all to the filefish of the Monacanthidae family.

Distribution: Indo-Pacific, from the waters of East Africa to the Samoan Islands.

Maximum length: sixty centimeters. Flavor rating: four stars. Suitable for braising, steaming, and stewing in soup.

Suggested price: fifty yuan per pound. Juveniles can be kept as ornamental fish.

The fish’s distinctive features were a small bump on its forehead, a brown back covered in many fine black spots, and a white belly. Its plump body looked extremely appetizing.

As everyone knows, a fat fish generally won’t taste bad, and the four-star flavor rating already proved the point.

The price was only fifty yuan per pound. The Index also mentioned that this fish usually traveled in small schools, so its population was likely decent.

A fish’s price is related to both its taste and its abundance. The better the taste and the rarer the fish, the higher the price.

Gu Nan’s catch was thirty-six centimeters long and should weigh a little over three pounds. Another one hundred and fifty yuan in the bank. He was quite delighted.

He sat on the reef and continued changing his equipment. At that moment, about twenty meters away from him on the surface of the sea, a young girl was bobbing up and down with the waves.

She had lost her footing and fallen into the water a full twenty minutes ago. She knew how to swim, so she hadn’t sunk, but the waves had carried her further and further away. Despair filled her, and her mind began to unwillingly replay her unfortunate life.

She also worried about what her grandmother at home would do if she were gone.

But as fate would have it, the waves carried her right toward Gu Nan. When she saw someone fishing there, an astonishing will to survive erupted within her.

"Help! Help!"

"Hm?" Gu Nan, who had just finished changing his gear, frowned slightly. ’Did I just hear something?’

He listened carefully and actually managed to pick out a cry for help mixed in with the sound of the waves.

Gu Nan’s heart jumped. He stood up and quickly aimed his flashlight at the sea.

Twenty-something meters wasn’t too far. He immediately spotted a person floating on the surface. They were even able to raise a hand and wave, so they were clearly still alive.

"I’m going to cast my line over to you! Try to grab the float and the line!" Gu Nan shouted immediately.

He wasn’t bothered by the lack of a response. He was using a luminous Abo float, which glowed at night. As long as he cast it over, the person would definitely see it.

From a distance of twenty-something meters, he could easily cast the hook and lure over using the weight of the sinker. As long as the person could grab the line, he could "fish" them back to shore.

The sea was rough. Even though it was a period of calm tide, the waves near the reef could still pull a person away from the coast.

Gu Nan’s swimming skills were average at best; he wasn’t willing to risk his own life to save someone else.

He raised his fishing rod, aimed for the person’s location, and with a flick of his wrist, the lure flew out with a WHOOSH. It landed successfully near the person, with the luminous Abo float right in front of them.

He had been fishing for so long and also did a lot of lure fishing, so his control over placement was quite precise.

Not to mention, the reel he had just equipped was countless times better than his old one, allowing him to cast even more accurately.

Seeing the float in front of her, the girl in the water immediately swam over and grabbed it, as if clutching a lifeline.

She was also smart enough to wrap the fishing line around her arm a few times to prevent it from slipping out of her grasp.

When Gu Nan felt the sudden weight, he knew the person had grabbed the line.

He didn’t immediately turn the reel. Instead, he pulled the rod back, reached out to grab the line in front of the rod tip, and then slowly began to pull the person in.

The white Fengqi Fishing Rod couldn’t possibly bear a person’s weight; pulling the line by hand was clearly the better choice.