The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 100: The Fish Isn't Cooperating!

Following Chu Mingcheng's lead, the fish made a wide circle before finally arriving in front of the dinghy.
"Everyone, hold on tight—I'm starting to lock the drag."
He gave a gentle warning to avoid any unexpected accidents.
Then Chu Mingcheng slowly locked the electric reel's drag.
What happened next left Jiang Yuqi and her assistant staring in disbelief. The slow-moving dinghy began to be pulled by the fish. However, the crewman didn't release the throttle; instead, he slowed down and controlled the boat's direction to prevent Chu Mingcheng's shifting weight from turning the stern toward the bow and dragging them backward.
"Could it be a large tuna? Feels like it's at least two hundred ji, maybe even two hundred and fifty," the crewman said, equally surprised by the speed at which the dinghy was being pulled.
Tuna season generally ran from June to September—encountering one now was unusual.
There was also the possibility of a large swordfish, but he hoped not. Too dangerous. Swordfish were known to attack humans.
"Tuna! Swordfish!" Jiang Yuqi's interest immediately peaked, but then she remembered she'd already bought that large red snapper and felt a pang of regret.
Fish wouldn't stay fresh for long, and her monthly budget was already in the red. She had to abandon the idea.
Chu Mingcheng had no time to wonder what kind of fish was at the end of his line. He gripped the fishing rod, his feet braced against the gunwale for leverage, as he struggled to fight the fish.
Right now, all he could do was wear down the fish's stamina and wait for it to tire.
But the dinghy kept slowly accelerating until it reached a steady speed, showing no signs of stopping.
The speed wasn't particularly fast, but it was still incredible considering there were four people aboard and the dinghy was five or six meters long.
The commotion had long since attracted the attention of other dinghies. The crewmen all steered clear of Chu Mingcheng's boat, giving them space to avoid collisions.
Meanwhile, the anglers on those dinghies were green with envy. What kind of fish could pull a boat like that?
The fish was now swimming away from the Sky High. Looking back, the once-imposing Sky High now appeared no bigger than a regular truck.
Chu Mingcheng worried the fish was too large for him to pull up later. He needed to get closer to the Sky High and use its crane to lift the catch.
So he began trying to pull the fishing rod to the left, positioning himself on the rear left side of the boat.
But as soon as he pulled, the fish shifted slightly left, and the entire dinghy began to turn sharply.
The consequence was that the dinghy's center of gravity shifted completely to the left, lifting the people on the right side several centimeters off their seats.
This scared the crewman so badly that he quickly turned the steering wheel to stabilize the boat and shouted, "Don't pull, don't pull! Just let it run straight. We'll adjust direction when it gets tired."
Chu Mingcheng himself was startled and quickly readjusted his position.
If the boat capsized with just him aboard, it wouldn't be a big deal, but with multiple people on board, he had to consider everyone's safety.
This incident also made Chu Mingcheng realize that if the fish suddenly swam left, there was still a risk of capsizing.
So he loosened the drag slightly. While the line was being pulled out, he slowly stood up, walked to the front, and sat down at the bow.
After settling into this position, he locked the drag again and tried to change the fish's direction.
The result was exactly as he'd expected. With him at the bow, the overall center of gravity and directional force were at the front, which wouldn't cause capsizing.
So Chu Mingcheng began guiding the fish toward the Sky High. If it still had energy, they could just circle in the nearby waters without interfering with the other dinghies' trolling.
At the same time, he began manually turning the handle, trying to reel in line and close the distance with the fish.
When he got tired of cranking, he would press the button and let the electric reel take in some line. He'd turn it on for a few seconds, then off to avoid overheating.
Time flew by. Half an hour passed.
Chu Mingcheng's breathing had grown much heavier. Even though trolling was relatively easy, it depended on the class of fish.
A fish that could pull a dinghy with four people aboard couldn't possibly be small.
But now the fish finally seemed to be tiring. Its speed had slowed considerably. Chu Mingcheng took the opportunity to press the button, reeling in line and continuing to close the distance.
Perhaps sensing the curiosity of everyone on the boat, the big fish that had been charging forward all this time was very obliging—it leaped out of the water, showing off its magnificent form.
"Holy shit!" they both cursed in unison.
Chu Mingcheng and the crewman both swore, while Jiang Yuqi's mouth fell open in shock.
If it had been a large tuna, they wouldn't have been too surprised—excited, yes, but not shocked.
But what emerged was a massive amberjack, estimated to be over two meters long. This was truly surprising, as a giant amberjack of this size was indeed rarer than tuna or swordfish.
But it made sense. If it had been a two-meter-plus tuna or swordfish, it wouldn't have been exhausted in just half an hour.
Those two species of the same size could have pulled their boat for at least two hours—their stamina was incomparable.
But this amberjack still had fight left in it, and they were already quite close to the Sky High. The sight of the fish leaping out of the water had probably been seen by everyone on the mothership facing their direction.
Now, as the distance between the boat and the fish shortened, Chu Mingcheng could more easily control the fish's direction with his rod.
What was the point of fishing without showing off?
He gripped the fishing rod, controlled the fish's direction, and began circling the Sky High.
Under the dumbfounded expressions of the anglers aboard the Sky High, Chu Mingcheng—rod in hand—was triumphantly pulled past them by the big fish.
"Damn, he's showing off!" one angler cursed, but his hands didn't forget to pull out his phone to film.
This scene of a fish pulling a boat was a rare sight, which immediately got the remaining two dinghies on the mothership booked by other anglers.
The boat owner was also standing on deck now, watching Chu Mingcheng cruise past him, grinning from ear to ear.
He wasn't afraid of Chu Mingcheng catching big fish—he was afraid his customers wouldn't catch anything.
If anglers didn't catch fish, the boat's reputation would suffer.
This was the Internet age. If word got out that you couldn't catch fish on his boat, who would be willing to spend that kind of money?
Never mind the distant future—even now, the remaining two dinghies on the Sky High had already been rented out.
There were now six dinghies total on the sea at five hundred yuan per hour. He estimated that this afternoon, dinghy fees alone could earn him ten thousand yuan.
The boat owner suddenly felt that Chu Mingcheng was his lucky star. He'd asked about Nansha before, and now he was considering whether to proactively reduce Chu Mingcheng's boat fee to attract him back next time.
Chu Mingcheng was oblivious to the boat owner's thoughts. He was thoroughly enjoying himself at the moment, but as he continued his victory lap, he noticed the boat's speed getting slower and slower. The fish seemed to be running out of steam.
He'd only completed half a circle, and only twenty minutes had passed!
But as he continued reeling in line, he found that the amberjack had been pulled to the surface and had turned belly-up, apparently surrendering.
The crewman held up the gaff and gestured, realizing the dinghy couldn't accommodate it. "How about I drive us back to the Sky High and use the crane to lift it?"
Chu Mingcheng hadn't had enough of his victory cruise, but unfortunately, the fish was spent. He could only give up his fun.
The crewman restarted the engine and reversed toward the Sky High.