I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: First Fishing Attempt

[Daily Quest 1: Catch a fish 40cm long. Reward: 2 EXP, 100 Gold Coins.]

[Daily Quest 2: Catch any five fish. Reward: 3 EXP, 200 Gold Coins.]

[Daily Quest 3: Catch a three-star fish. Reward: 5 EXP, 200 Gold Coins.]

’Completing these three quests will give me just enough to buy the most common white Fengqi Fishing Rod, which will increase my daily guaranteed catches to eleven.’

’If I can only get five hundred Gold Coins a day, who knows how long it’ll take to get a full set of purple gear.’

’No wonder the game shop also has white, green, and blue sets. They’re obviously for transitioning.’

If Gu Nan hadn’t also seen a recycling feature, he would have agonized over whether he should hold out for a while and save up to buy the purple fishing rod all in one go.

With his basic equipment, he was now guaranteed ten catches a day. Since he was already at the seashore, he couldn’t be bothered by the harsh sun. He tied his line and hook and started fishing.

There’s a saying: "Even gods have a hard time catching fish at noon." Normally, the fish would be hiding at the bottom to cool off and rest, not coming out to feed.

But once Gu Nan activated his ten guaranteed catches for the day, the results were a little different.

He lifted his rod and gave it a light flick. The minnow lure sailed in a beautiful arc, landing on the water’s surface about ten meters in front of him before sinking.

The line spooled out with surprising smoothness. Gu Nan was a bit surprised. ’I didn’t expect the basic gear to feel this good. It’s comparable to a set that would cost around two thousand yuan on the market.’

Normally, after the minnow hit the water, he would have to twitch the rod tip and slowly turn the reel to make the lure mimic the swimming motion of a small fish, thereby attracting the attention of larger predators.

But Gu Nan wanted to see how the "ten guaranteed catches" worked, so he didn’t move it, just letting the lure sink in the water.

But since the game said it was a guaranteed catch, it wasn’t about to lie to him.

After waiting a short while, a sudden pull came through the rod. Gu Nan was familiar with this feeling. Before his brain could even process it, his hands had already instinctively lifted the rod to set the hook.

In that instant, the rod bent into an arch like a bridge, and the reel started screaming, "ZZZZT!"

"Amazing! It really works!"

Gu Nan exclaimed in amazement after snapping out of his daze. Normally, fishing like this would never get a bite unless a fish got confused, but the chances of that were extremely low.

The fish was strong. For a moment, he couldn’t even pull it up. This was completely different from the half-jin little black sea bream he occasionally caught. The feeling was incredible.

After a brief struggle, the fish’s initial burst of energy passed, and its strength began to wane. The reel, which had been screaming moments before, fell silent.

Gu Nan seized the opportunity, quickly lifting his rod and reeling in the line, his left hand cranking the handle continuously.

Soon, a fish shimmering silver under the sun appeared on the surface, quickly approaching the shore.

He’d come in a hurry today and hadn’t brought a landing net, and the game didn’t provide one either. Fortunately, the fish wasn’t too big, and the reef he was standing on was only a meter above the water. A slightly larger wave would wash right up to him.

So Gu Nan grabbed the line and lifted the silver fish straight up, placing it in his livewell.

The livewell gifted by the system had no special properties, so he tied its rope to a small rock and submerged the box in a tide pool.

If he hadn’t forgotten his net, he wouldn’t have even needed the livewell; he could have just tossed the fish directly into the small tide pool.

As for the fish he had just caught, Gu Nan didn’t recognize it at first. It looked a bit like a sea bream, but also a bit like a sea bass.

Luckily, the game had an encyclopedia that needed to be unlocked. He immediately entered the game with his consciousness and opened it.

An encyclopedia that was previously pitch-black now had one fish lit up in the second slot of the first row.

’A Star Chicken Fish?’ Gu Nan tapped the introduction and was met with an unexpected reward.

[Congratulations, Host, for unlocking the one-star fish, Star Chicken Fish. Reward: 50 Gold Coins.]

’So unlocking the encyclopedia gives Gold Coins too. That makes sense. Line, lures, and bait are all consumables. Five hundred Gold Coins a day really is a bit low.’

Gu Nan was quite satisfied with this method of obtaining Gold Coins, though he felt the amount was a little small.

The fish encyclopedia for the Fengqi Coast map only had thirty-two fish, divided into "Normal" and "Elite" types, with sixteen in each category.

Currently, the Elite encyclopedia couldn’t be opened, and he didn’t know what conditions were required to unlock it.

Gu Nan tapped the Star Chicken Fish entry in the encyclopedia again, and this time, a detailed description appeared before him.

Star Chicken Fish, scientific name *Pomadasys kaakan*. The one he caught was thirty-one centimeters long, marked with a "Medium" tag, but there was no weight display.

Gu Nan could only estimate that this Star Chicken Fish probably weighed around two jin.

It is mainly distributed in the Indo-Pacific, including places like East Africa, South Africa, and the Red Sea.

Maximum length can reach 80 cm. Flavor rating: three stars. It is a common edible fish, suitable for braising or making soup. Suggested price: 25 yuan.

Gu Nan was surprised. ’I can’t believe the encyclopedia entry is so thoughtful. It not only tells me the main ways to cook it but also gives a reference price.’

This way, when he caught various fish from other countries, he wouldn’t have to search all over the internet for their prices.

He could also suggest the main cooking methods to his customers. This would prevent unsuitable preparation from ruining the fish’s quality and stop customers from feeling like he was ripping them off.

At that moment, Gu Nan was filled with motivation.

The seafood market would get busy around 5:00 PM. It was only 1:30 PM now, so he had to hurry up and catch the remaining nine fish.

If he could sell all of them when he got back, it might not be a huge profit, but it would at least cover the shop’s daily expenses.

Braving the sun, Gu Nan returned to the reef and once again flicked his wrist, casting the lure out.

’The distance was shorter this time. It’s a guaranteed catch anyway, no need to make things harder for myself.’

After about ten seconds, the line suddenly tightened and the rod bent down at the same time. Another bite!

Gu Nan quickly lifted the rod to set the hook. The instantaneous pull was a pleasant surprise. ’This fish seems bigger, maybe over three jin.’

’If these are both Star Chicken Fish like the last one, the two of them together could sell for over a hundred yuan. And I’d only have to deduct some customs duties and value-added tax; there are no other costs.’

’If my monthly sales don’t exceed one hundred thousand, I can even get an exemption on the value-added tax.’

By now, Gu Nan’s whole body was hot from the sun, and he was drenched in sweat. But the intense weather couldn’t stop him from his pursuit of making money.

The reel went CREAK CREAK CREAK. This fish struggled a little longer, but he still successfully brought it in.

It was another Star Chicken Fish. ’Looks like there are a lot of these fish around.’

At the same time, the length displayed in the encyclopedia updated to 35.78 centimeters, still marked as "Medium."

Gu Nan didn’t quite understand what "Medium" meant or what its purpose was yet.

But when the third Star Chicken Fish was brought in, the length changed to 41.21 centimeters, and the "Medium" tag changed to "Large."

Gu Nan studied the encyclopedia again and found no new rewards, so he decided not to worry about it.

Now he had to focus on fishing. Because he had left in a hurry, he hadn’t put on a sun shirt. After catching each fish, he had to go rest behind a large rock for a while to let his skin cool down and avoid getting sunburned.

Time slowly passed, and Gu Nan successfully caught his sixth fish.

He was just a little frustrated that every fish he caught was a Star Chicken Fish; a second species had yet to appear.