I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: The First Four-Star Fish

Business was actually always pretty good on the weekends. It’s just that before, the costs were high and the profits low, so he’d make two or three hundred at most in a day.

Making two or three hundred a day would be great if it were a regular job. Unfortunately, this was only on weekends, and the daily overhead for the shop was substantial, which was why he was constantly losing money.

Foot traffic was about the same now, but more people were actually buying. Coupled with the huge profit margin on the fish, he could clearly feel that he was finally making money.

Gu Nan called to order some fried rice noodles, saying he’d pick them up himself.

He then locked up the shop, grabbed his fishing gear, and set out.

First, he picked up his fried rice noodles and a soda, then bought some Antarctic krill before heading to the reef area.

Now that he had the lures he bought from the game, he couldn’t be bothered to use bloodworms and the like anymore.

Yesterday’s fishing trip had already taught him that the game’s lures were incredibly effective.

His electric scooter hummed along the coastal road. Even though the sun had set on this scorching summer day, the oppressive heat of the afternoon still lingered.

Aside from the occasional car or scooter, there were few pedestrians on the road.

Gu Nan soon reached his destination. However, just as he parked, he turned his head and saw that someone had taken his usual fishing spot.

In the past, he would have just fished somewhere nearby, but the catches from the Fengqi Coast couldn’t be seen by others, so he had no choice but to find a different location.

After a moment’s thought, Gu Nan drove back about twenty meters to the spot where he had found Yi Chen’s bag.

He’d noticed back when he found the bag that this area, while a bit steeper, was also suitable for fishing.

Parking his scooter to the side, Gu Nan didn’t bring his gear down yet. Instead, he put on his headlamp and went to scout for a suitable spot first.

He surveyed the reef area. To his left was a large, high platform, probably five meters above the sea. It was a good place to fish from, but it would be a hassle to haul his equipment up there. More importantly, it would be difficult to keep the fish alive.

The right side was also viable for fishing, but the rocks were a bit sloped and not as comfortable as his usual spot.

But there was no helping it. Finding another good spot would take too much time, so he’d have to make do for tonight.

As he was carrying his gear over, his foot suddenly slipped. Gu Nan stumbled, nearly falling.

Fortunately, his balance was good and his shoes were specifically designed to be non-slip, so he managed to stay on his feet.

If he had fallen, he might have rolled right off the rocks.

However, as he steadied himself, Gu Nan noticed another scrape mark on the rock beneath his feet. ’Looks like I’m not the only one who’s slipped here. I’d better be careful.’

He carefully moved all his things over, set up the keepnet, and opened the foam box. He took out the Antarctic krill that was resting on crushed ice to let it thaw, then started on his dinner.

Sipping his soda and feeling the sea breeze, Gu Nan thought this kind of life was actually quite pleasant.

After finishing his meal, he put all the trash into a bag to take with him when he was done fishing.

He glanced at the Antarctic krill. It had thawed quite a bit, so he used a spoon to scoop some out and toss it into the water as chum.

With the chum set, the time spent waiting for it to attract fish was perfect for using his daily "guaranteed catch" chances. He now had thirteen of them.

He opened his lure box. Not wanting to bother with changing lures later, he tied on the Antarctic krill lure directly.

He flicked his rod, sending the lure flying. It landed in the water and slowly sank, pulled down by the small lead sinker, leaving only the glowing bobber to rise and fall with the waves.

SWOOSH—

The line suddenly went taut, and the rod bent. A fish was on!

Gu Nan quickly raised his rod to set the hook, the tip whipping upwards with another SWOOSH.

But it felt light. ’The fish must be pretty small.’

’This feeling... I’ve caught another ornamental fish!’

’I hope it’s a Five-colored Tang and not a clownfish.’

Just then, a one-minute countdown suddenly appeared in his mind, jolting him back to his senses.

’That’s right, the daily quest! A fish this small is perfect for it. The priority is to reel it in quickly and complete Daily Quest 4.’

So, Gu Nan raised his rod and reeled in the line, rapidly turning the handle to hoist the fish out of the water.

It was a new species of ornamental fish, nearly identical in shape to a Five-colored Tang, but with a blue body, a yellow upper fin, and a white lower fin.

Could it be...

Gu Nan thought of the various question marks he had seen in the Five-colored Tang’s Fishdex entry.

He didn’t rush to check. Instead, he unhooked the fish and put it in his keepnet.

He flicked his rod, casting the lure back into the water, and only then did he open the Fishdex.

As expected, it didn’t unlock a new entry. This fish was also a type of Stab-tailed Fish, categorized together with the Five-colored Tang.

Its name was Pink and Blue Tang. Not only were its colors vibrant, but its price was also much higher.

The one he caught was about ten centimeters and could sell for 240. If it was over twelve centimeters, it could go for 280.

Even a five or six-centimeter one could sell for 180, which was the maximum price for a Five-colored Tang. The only downside was that the Fishdex didn’t give a new Gold Coin reward.

But he had completed Daily Quest 4!

This quest really wasn’t that hard. It was difficult to land a regular fish in under a minute, but it was easy with these ornamental ones.

The gear set’s 6% bonus to catching rare fish was definitely working; his very first catch was a three-star fish.

By the time Gu Nan finished reading the Fishdex entry, he felt another tug on his rod. Fishing with the "guaranteed catch" chances was just that efficient.

This time, however, it was a Star Chicken Fish of about two pounds. Not bad at all—a good addition to his stock.

A two- or three-pound Star Chicken Fish held little appeal for regular workers or older folks.

But some well-off, middle-aged people in their forties and fifties actually preferred the larger ones.

This was especially true for the seasoned anglers who came by today; they’d turn their noses up at anything too small!

He’d had the game for two days now. Just this afternoon, a regular customer told him that the Star Chicken Fish tasted almost the same as the semi-farmed Seven-star Sea Bass he bought from the crab farms. That was why Gu Nan had described it that way to Wang Junhe earlier.

Plus, the Star Chicken Fish was five yuan cheaper and imported, which made it a higher priority purchase for that regular customer.

Gu Nan now had a concrete understanding of how delicious the Star Chicken Fish and Bushi Golden Needlefish were. It also meant that the Bao Gong and Seven-star Sea Bass he sourced from the fish farms couldn’t compare to the Star Chicken Fish.

According to the flavor rating given by the game, the purely farm-raised Bao Gong and Seven-star Sea Bass would probably only be rated two and a half stars.

Over the past few days, Gu Nan could clearly feel that he had started to build a small, loyal customer base.

These customers didn’t care if his shop looked empty; as long as he had the fish they wanted, that was all that mattered.

So tomorrow, he could organize the freezers and turn one off to save some electricity. ’For now, I don’t need to keep sourcing from the fish farms. I should just focus on selling the fish I catch myself!’

He flicked his rod and continued fishing.

Sometimes, his luck was so "bad" that all he caught were Star Chicken Fish and Bushi Golden Needlefish. Other times, when he actually wanted to catch them, they just wouldn’t bite.

And speak of the devil—a powerful force tugged on his line, making him think he’d hooked a real monster, something that could rival a Black-striped Small Stripes Buri.

But what he finally reeled in was a fish that looked very similar to a Bao Gong, only much larger—it looked to be a good forty centimeters long.

Its back was thick and solid; you could tell it was heavy just by looking at it.

Gu Nan lifted it in his hand to gauge the weight. It felt like it was around four or five pounds.

He placed the fish in his keepnet and opened the game’s Fishdex to check.

When he saw that this fish was rated four stars, Gu Nan’s eyes lit up. ’My luck’s not bad, I actually caught a four-star fish!’

There was a blank space in between, leaving him to wonder what star rating the still-unknown fish with the question mark had.

He clicked to collect the Gold Coins and received a surprising 500.

Daily Quest 3 was also complete, granting him 300. Adding that to the reward from Daily Quest 4, he had already earned 1,100 Gold Coins in just a short time this evening.

He had spent all his Gold Coins on equipment before, but activating the set bonus had given him 100. So, his current total was 1,200 Gold Coins. He wasn’t far from being able to buy a new fishing rod.