By noon, Brother Niu still hadn't caught any fish. Seeing everyone else reeling in their catches, he decided to just ignore it and play on his phone on the boat.
If I concentrate enough, I won't notice if others are catching fish!
After a long wait with no activity, the fishing rod suddenly dipped and began to drag outward rapidly. Noticing the rod being pulled, Brother Niu instinctively grabbed it with both hands, only to see a pair of long legs flying towards the sea...
Fortunately, he managed to hold onto one thing. If he had lost both, he would have been kicking himself!
The fish was quite large and clearly struggling, unlike those groupers. It felt like dragging a dead fish. It was somewhat like a grouper; its struggles were fierce at first, but as it was reeled in, it seemed to resign itself.
This catch is solid! Brother Niu thought happily.
"Haha! Still alive, huh?"
Brother Niu laughed heartily. With this grouper, he would be the most dazzling guy on the sea today!
Haha!
Haha!
As the fish was pulled out of the water, the laughter turned to surprise. A giant grouper was shaking its head and tail on the surface.
General Manager Chen, looking at the large grouper that resembled a small shark, chuckled, "Cowboy caught such a big grouper, you're going to be famous now!"
Boss Zhàn also laughed, "Haha! Still alive, huh?"
Lín Huákāi joined in the laughter.
Listening to their teasing and thinking of the large legs he had baited and the huge difference in size between the grouper and this giant one.
Brother Niu was utterly disgusted with this fish. With a forceful tug of the rod (Brother Niu and Boss Zhàn weren't using the close-inshore raft fishing gear; they were using jigging rods), he directly flicked the fish up. It landed on the deck, and before it could unhook, he tossed it back towards the water, muttering curses. Feeling it hadn't unhooked, he yanked the rod again to flick the fish out. As the fish just emerged from the water, it unhooked and flew towards Lín Huákāi...
Everyone was watching Brother Niu's performance. No one expected the fish to suddenly fly off the hook towards them. Lín Huákāi, who had been happily grinning, froze on the spot.
Seeing the grouper flying towards him, his subconscious protective mechanism kicked in, and he reached out to slap at the large fish, attempting to alter its trajectory.
Fortunately, he managed to bat the fish away. His palm didn't hurt. Being stung by such a large grouper would have been quite unpleasant.
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he felt a slight numbness in his wrist. Pulling up his sleeve, he saw a small, bleeding wound on his arm.
Following this came a wave of intense pain. Lín Huákāi involuntarily clutched the area above the wound with his left hand, trying to stem the spread of the pain.
But it was useless. As the pain deepened, his consciousness began to blur. He could only grit his teeth and resist the agony. His legs could no longer support him, and he collapsed onto the deck, twitching uncontrollably before losing consciousness...
……
Blood test completed. Aquatic Life Exploration and Fishing System bound. This system is dedicated to exploring aquatic life ecosystems and discovering unknown aquatic creatures through fishing!
Complete aquatic food chain……
System binding in progress……
System binding complete!
"If you have any questions, please 'Call System.'"
The mechanical voice concluded.
……
When Lín Huákāi woke up, he was already in a car. Brother Niu and Boss Zhàn were in the back seat, supporting him between them, while General Manager Chen drove at high speed on the road.
He didn't know what had happened. The after-effects of the pain had subsided, and he only vaguely remembered a text interface appearing and a voice calling out to the system.
The pain was still there, but within a tolerable range. His body felt weak, and his mouth was dry.
"Brother Niu… a bottle of water!"
Afraid Brother Niu wouldn't hear him, Lín Huákāi gently tugged his clothes.
"You're finally awake! You scared us to death!"
Lín Huákāi gave Brother Niu a silent look.
Hearing that he was awake, General Manager Chen slowed down the car.
"How are you feeling now? Anything uncomfortable?"
"Water! Sweet water!"
Lín Huákāi gently shook his head, indicating he was fine.
"General Manager Chen, pull over to the side."
Opening a bottle of mineral water, Brother Niu, fearing Lín Huákāi might not be able to drink it, asked General Manager Chen to stop.
After drinking some water, Lín Huákāi felt a little better and had the strength to speak, though he still wanted something sweet.
They didn't know Lín Huákāi's condition and were hesitant to give him anything else. After he finished the water, they continued driving towards the People's Hospital.
"How are you feeling now?"
Boss Zhàn asked again. They had asked several times already.
"I feel fine, just a bit hungry and I want something sweet.
My right hand still hurts a little and feels weak. My teeth hurt too, probably from biting down so hard earlier."
"Let's get a check-up to see."
Hearing Lín Huákāi mention he could feel pain, they were all relieved. It proved he was recovering.
The car drove on the road. The three of them, not wanting to disturb Lín Huákāi's rest, remained silent. Meanwhile, Lín Huákāi was engrossed in examining the system, still in shock.
Just now, when he calmed down and recalled the voice that appeared when he fainted, he tried mentally reciting "Call System," and indeed, an interface appeared before his eyes!
The appearance of the interface startled Lín Huákāi, causing Brother Niu and Boss Zhàn to turn and look at him. However, their expressions were only filled with confusion and concern.
Lín Huákāi looked at the interface in front of him, then at them. Confirming they couldn't see it, he casually responded and immersed himself back into the interface.
He never thought systems actually existed in this world! And it happened to him.
The system interface was very simple. At the top was a large "0," below which were dimensions for height and radius, both displaying "1." Below that was a gray box labeled "Scan 20." Next to it was a figure of a human with the number "32" displayed.
Further down were rows of gray squares with a "?" in the middle. There were countless squares, seemingly endless. Below that were two buttons: "Homepage" and "Points Mall." They were currently on the homepage.
Clicking on the mall on the left revealed many buttons. The topmost was "System," containing only four items: Depth 1, Radius 1, Physique 1, and "Attractant Nutrient Solution 10ML." The corresponding points were 100, 100, 1000, and 100.
Below that on the left were fishing hooks, fishing rods, fishing lines, fishing boxes, and other items, but the corresponding point values mostly started at 100. Opening the detailed categories revealed descriptions, such as Depth 1, which stated it increased scanning depth by 1 meter.
In the entire mall, only the fishing hook within the fishing hook category showed "0" and was clickable. It was the only free item in the system; everything else was grayed out.
Lín Huákāi spent the entire time at the hospital studying the system until he received his results, and he still hadn't finished exploring it all.
The Points Mall had too many items, offering all sorts of fishing gear, many of which he had never heard of, as well as many outdoor goods with numerous subcategories.
After his research, he concluded that one should fish using the free fishing hook to earn points, and then use those points to redeem fishing gear to improve their fishing capabilities.
Why give him a system but not a powerful one? Apart from Physique, which offered a direct personal enhancement, everything else seemed geared towards discovering aquatic life and fishing.
System: What more do you want?
By the time they left the hospital, it was almost 6 PM. Fortunately, the doctor said he was fine and the grouper's toxins had been cleared. Since it was getting late, they decided not to go back for their belongings. Lín Huákāi asked Bīn Gē to help pack them up. Having not eaten since noon, they were all starving and casually went into a restaurant.
"Cowboy has to pay for this meal! You messed things up so badly that we didn't even get our fish, nor did we get any mussels, and you got hurt, Kai!"
Boss Zhàn said.
"I think we should order some abalone, shark's fin, and other delicacies to help recover!" Lín Huákāi added.
General Manager Chen joined in the teasing, "Bring out a few bottles of Maotai to calm our nerves."
With everyone alright, the mood lightened, and they bantered.
Boss Zhàn decided, "Order whatever you want! I'll pay first, and we'll get reimbursement from him tomorrow. If not, we'll block his factory gates."
"You guys are too much! My phone was in the water today, a huge loss!"
"You're going to be famous today, shouldn't you celebrate with something good?"
Lín Huákāi chimed in.
The three of them drank alcohol, while Lín Huákāi drank milk alone, as per the doctor's orders!
They weren't happy with how the day turned out and decided to go out to sea on Sunday. General Manager Chen called Young Master Jūn to join them for dinner, but he was busy and couldn't make it. However, he promised to come out on Sunday. They also invited Old Huáng. They chatted and drank until past nine o'clock, after which Lín Huákāi drove them home, eventually returning General Manager Chen's car.
Lín Huákāi arrived home at eleven o'clock. After showering, he didn't even bother editing videos and continued to study the system, falling asleep without even realizing when.