Chapter 283 - 183: Mental Breakdown

Chapter 283: Chapter 183: Mental Breakdown

"Hey, a striped beakfish! This one’s gotta be at least two pounds!" Gu Nan had just finished preparing the ingredients and putting them on the coffee table when Lin Zhijian excitedly grabbed a striped beakfish and waved it in his face, grinning so wide his gums showed.

The fish wasn’t particularly large, but a striped beakfish was a great catch!

"Nice, nice. Take this one home and get it Steamed. It’ll make a good side dish for drinks." Gu Nan was happy for him. ’I brought people out to sea; it wouldn’t do for me to be the only one with a good haul. It’s best when everyone makes a good catch.’

"Haha, aren’t you going to fish? I feel like the bite is picking up now," Lin Zhijian said cheerfully as he put the fish into the livewell.

"I’m on my way! Can you start chumming for me?"

"You got it!"

At the moment, the only shade on the fishing boat was a small patch at the stern on the east side. Lin Zhijian knew Gu Nan would be fishing in the spot next to him, so he used a ladle to scoop up some Antarctic krill and tossed it into the water as chum.

He tossed in several more scoops. Most of the Antarctic krill sank toward the bottom, while a small portion dispersed with the waves, attracting nearby fish.

Gu Nan, having washed and dried his hands, picked up his fishing rod, switched to a float, and swapped out the lure for a soft plastic bait.

Even though they had just started chumming, they could already clearly see fish swimming from the boat toward the chummed spot.

Seeing this, Lin Zhijian quickly cast his baited hook over. The next moment, he had a fish on the line.

"Sea fishing really is the best. The hook barely hits the water and you get a bite."

’I’ve never had it this good before,’ he thought. It made him wonder if he should just get into sea fishing himself.

But he felt it wouldn’t be easy. Not because of money, but because his family most likely wouldn’t allow it. He’d have to go back and have a good long talk with them.

Hearing this, Gu Nan also quickly cast his baited hook. The bait hadn’t been in the water for ten seconds before the float was dragged under.

He immediately jerked the rod to set the hook. With the float already being pulled away, the chance of a successful hookset was extremely high.

Sure enough, the next moment the fishing rod bent slightly, and he felt a pull and the commotion of a struggling fish.

Unfortunately, the ones coming to the surface so far were all small fish. This pull wasn’t very strong.

Gu Nan lifted his rod and reeled in quickly. A black seabream of about a pound flew right out of the water, flinging droplets everywhere in mid-air.

At the same time, Lin Zhijian also pulled up a fish—a black seabream about the same size as Gu Nan’s. It seemed a school of black seabream had come to feed below.

The two of them fished like this for a while. About twenty minutes passed, and all they caught were black seabream.

Fortunately, they were all in the one-pound range, which was pretty decent.

It was still early, but the bite was great. Gu Nan continued casting and fishing, not even thinking about exploiting the "grandpa’s bug."

’Because the next moment, another fish was on the hook. With bites this fast, how could I even exploit the bug?’

Huh!

After setting the hook, Gu Nan suddenly noticed the feel was a little different. The pull was in a completely different league from the previous few black seabream.

While it still wasn’t huge, it was no longer a small fish he could just yank straight up.

Gu Nan raised his rod and played the fish for a short while. Pulling left and then right, he quickly exhausted its stamina.

Then, a dark-colored seabream appeared on the surface, several sizes larger than the one-pound black seabreams from before.

The angle was bad from Gu Nan’s position, and the glare of the sun made it hard for him to see the surface clearly. He vaguely thought it was another black seabream, just a much larger one.

Beside him, however, Lin Zhijian asked in confusion, "Why is this fish so dark? It looks a bit like a black seabream, but different."

"Is it?" A little puzzled, Gu Nan pulled the fish in closer. Once it entered the shaded area, he started, then burst out laughing. "Haha, it’s a Girella!"

"Girella?" Lin Zhijian’s knowledge of sea fish was limited to what he usually bought at the market.

He knew a fair number, but it was normal for him not to recognize some of the less common fish. After all, he wasn’t a dedicated sea-angling enthusiast.

"Yeah. Girella is an unassuming-looking but very rare, high-end fish. A one- or two-pounder costs five hundred a pound. This one’s probably four or five pounds, so the price might be even higher."

Slightly excited, Gu Nan grabbed the landing net and scooped the fish up, taking the opportunity to educate the old man a little.

Hearing "five hundred a pound," Lin Zhijian’s eyebrows shot up. "So expensive? Then it must taste great, right?"

"That... I actually don’t know. I’ve never eaten one!" Gu Nan said with a shrug after tossing the fish into the livewell.

Lin Zhijian nodded, feeling envious. ’We’re only a meter or so apart, so why did the fish go to his spot?’

’These fish have no respect for their elders; they aren’t looking out for an old man like me.’

He looked at the water, then ladled out two more scoops of Antarctic krill to chum. One reason was to keep the fish around; the other was in hopes that a prize catch would swim over to his side.

’I can’t be the only one envying others. I’m going to catch a bigger, more valuable fish and make others envy me for a change.’

Gu Nan chuckled and cast his baited hook out again. ’A Girella is worth 2,500 at a minimum. This trip out to sea is already worth it.’

’But I won’t chum again,’ he thought. ’It hasn’t been long since the last batch was thrown in. Can’t let the fish get full, or else what hook would they bite?’

This time, however, Lin Zhijian got a bite faster. Seeing his rod twitch and the float go dark, he quickly lifted the rod to set the hook.

He thought a disappearing float meant a big fish, so he yanked the rod too hard. A stone scorpionfish shot out of the water with a WHOOSH, flew through the air, and then smacked onto the deck with a SPLAT.

"..."

Staring at the tiny fish he’d caught, Lin Zhijian muttered a curse under his breath. Still, he went over and carefully unhooked it, tossing it into the icebox.

The fall had nearly killed the fish; it probably wouldn’t survive.

Gu Nan, on the other hand, was surprised that stone scorpionfish were starting to join the party. ’If there are too many of them, we’ll have to change spots after dinner.’

’The fish are too small. Even if the price is decent, I don’t really want to catch them.’

His float bobbed up and down with the waves. This time, a long while passed with no bites for him. In contrast, Lin Zhijian next to him had already pulled up several more stone scorpionfish in a row.

Just then, the float suddenly vanished with a ZING.

Gu Nan didn’t even have time to jerk the rod and set the hook before an immense Power surged through the rod.

"Whoa, now that’s some power!"

Gu Nan quickly set the hook and found that this fish’s pull was even stronger than the thirty-three-pound mangrove jack from that afternoon. ’There are fish this big here too?’

’It seems I haven’t even triggered the grandpa’s mechanic yet!’

Having caught several stone scorpionfish in a row, Lin Zhijian was dumbfounded. He almost threw his rod on the deck. His composure was completely shattered!

’Why is it that I catch several stone scorpionfish in a row, while Gu Nan, not even a meter away, hooks another monster fish?’

Lin Zhijian was discovering that fishing with him was a real mind-breaker. They’d only fished together three times. The first two times, he’d caught almost nothing while Gu Nan landed big fish.

Today, he’d finally had some good catches, but Gu Nan was landing *lots* of big fish!

Gu Nan had no time to worry about the old man’s feelings. This fish was big. It was a struggle right from the hookset. It kept trying to dive for the bottom, forcing him to haul the rod up and stop its run.

It was a good thing he was float fishing. If he’d been bottom fishing, the fish would have probably already snagged the line on the seabed.

But under the fish’s powerful pull, the line on the reel kept spooling out.

Gu Nan gave a few tugs, which only barely stopped the fish from diving. He knew he couldn’t just muscle this one in yet, so he completely locked the drag and decided to play the fish first.

If the fish tried to run for the bottom, he’d pull it back. If it ran anywhere else, he let it go.

The fish wasn’t swimming very fast, which made him suspect it was some kind of giant coral fish or even a large grouper.

Gu Nan hoped for the latter. As for the former, he couldn’t think of any coral fish that grew this big, unless it was a Dragon King Wrasse—also known as a Su Mei.

Lin Zhijian watched nervously from the side, not making a sound to disturb him.

’I’m an angler myself,’ he thought, ’so I know very well that you can’t be distracted when fighting a big fish, lest you affect the person and cause them to lose it.’

Gu Nan let the fish run for about ten minutes. When he felt the pull suddenly lessen, he knew the fish was tired and resting.

He braced the butt of the rod against his abdomen, gripped it with both hands, and lifted with all his might. The immense force yanked the resting fish a good distance back, and he took the opportunity to reel in several turns of line.

The fishing rod set from the ’game’ was a huge help. This was the main reason why, even though his Power and stamina were only slightly better than someone who exercised regularly and nowhere near a professional athlete’s, he could still land all sorts of big fish quickly.

He’d tried using Guo Xiao’s rod once before, which had made him realize just how good his own rods were.

He wasn’t wearing a fighting belt, and the rod butt digging into his abdomen was starting to really hurt.

’But there’s nothing to be done about it. I can’t just stick it in my crotch, can I?’

’Although that’s a good method and would save even more effort, I have no intention of wronging Little Nan.’

’My relationship with Yi Chen has progressed significantly. I might not have to wait until after marriage to get a taste, so Little Nan has to be well-protected and ready for action at any time.’

As he pulled, the hook dug in deeper, causing unbearable pain in the fish’s mouth and making it start to struggle restlessly again.

For a moment, it was a back-and-forth struggle, a stalemate.

Fortunately, the advantage was on Gu Nan’s side. His stamina recovered quickly, while the fish’s was rapidly draining. After holding on for just a short while, the fish was exhausted and went limp again.

It didn’t want to go limp, but it had no strength left and couldn’t control its own body.

Seeing that Gu Nan was having a much easier time, Lin Zhijian knew this fish most likely wasn’t going to escape his grasp.

The most tense and critical moment had passed, so he was no longer afraid of disturbing the fight. He asked with a laugh, "Ah Nan, you really are lucky when it comes to fishing. This one’s so big, what do you think it is?"

"Probably a grouper. It’s not swimming fast, and we’re near the reef. If it’s a Su Mei, then I’ll just have to accept my loss." Gu Nan did indeed feel much more relaxed now, chatting as he reeled in the line.

"A grouper would be great! One this big could be a Giant Grouper!"

"..." Gu Nan’s heart skipped a beat. ’How could I forget about the Giant Grouper?’

’Old man, please don’t jinx me. If it’s a Giant Grouper, I’ll have to release it.’

"Please don’t let it be. A Giant Grouper would have to be released, too. I’d rather it be an Ugly Country; they may be cheap, but at least I can keep it."

The old man’s words were like a curse. Gu Nan immediately got nervous.

As the fish’s shadow slowly appeared before them, they saw the dark shape and immediately confirmed it was indeed a giant grouper. But as for whether it was a Giant Grouper...