The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 159: Never Been So Rich

The date was December 1st. In about forty days, around the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month, Chu Mingcheng would be heading home for the New Year, and Jiang Luoluo would be leaving around the same time.
Since she'd suggested they buy a boat together, Chu Mingcheng felt he needed to plan something special—a confession that would give her genuine security.
What Jiang Luoluo wanted in terms of security remained somewhat mysterious to him, hard to define.
After all, for many women, money equaled "security," which was an easy target. But the downsides of that approach were... infidelity, using your money to support her family, and before long, separate bedrooms, followed by a convenient divorce.
Of course, some conditions triggered those outcomes.
For instance, if you had plenty and only gave a little, but she thought it was generous, she'd behave perfectly.
But if you didn't have much and gave her nearly everything, those negative outcomes became more likely.
However, a quality woman like Jiang Luoluo, with her strong career ambition and independent nature, couldn't be judged by those standards.
Naturally, Chu Mingcheng thought, a good woman would be harder to win over.
After a sleepless night spent agonizing over the right way to confess, Chu Mingcheng woke up with dark circles under his eyes, which he promptly erased with Life Conversion.
As for his current Life Conversion count, he'd checked the night before.
[Pleco (Invasive Species)]
[Ecological Damage Index: 5 Stars]
[Plecos Eliminated: 571]
[Tracking: 1/day]
[Unlock Special Equipment: Net]
[Fish Gathering: 1/day]
[Life Conversion: 11 uses (21/50)]
He hadn't expected to eliminate over five hundred plecos. The infestation was truly alarming.
But he'd gained eleven Life Conversion uses. Added to his remaining one, he now had twelve available.
He'd never been so rich!
Twelve Life Conversion uses... A superhuman plan suddenly sparked in Chu Mingcheng's mind.
With his recent income, the pressure of repaying his parents had vanished. But when Jiang Luoluo, the little heiress, suddenly offered several million to support him, he was touched yet felt new pressure—even greater than before.
Clinging to her leg was just a joke, naturally. If he actually did that, it was questionable whether she'd remain so "unconditionally" supportive.
Jiang Luoluo might seem love-struck, spending millions on a man she wasn't even officially with. But in reality, Chu Mingcheng understood perfectly that she was willing because she recognized his future potential and work ethic.
If he were still the same person from his old office job, they might have become friends after a chance encounter, but once she got to know him, it was unlikely Jiang Luoluo would have fallen for him.
With her own resources, she naturally had certain expectations for her future partner.
"Sigh, life is so challenging!" Chu Mingcheng sighed with absolutely no sincerity after finishing his morning routine.
He didn't go to Jiang Luoluo's for breakfast first today. Instead, he went to the market for groceries before heading to her place.
Jiang Luoluo was surprised to see the groceries in his hands, but didn't comment. She served today's breakfast: pumpkin congee and egg pancakes with sausage inside.
After eating, Chu Mingcheng took the groceries and started cooking.
He was making lunch, of course. He was heading to sea and didn't plan on returning at noon. He was preparing the meal in advance, worried she'd just order takeout again.
"Ah Cheng, what's all this?"
Jiang Luoluo couldn't quite guess his intention and looked at him with confusion.
"I won't be back for lunch. I'm making it now so you don't order takeout again."
Chu Mingcheng blanched the chopped pork ribs and began peeling potatoes.
He'd make pork rib soup and leave it in the pressure cooker; it should be perfect temperature by lunchtime.
"Really? Well, thank you!" Hearing it was specially for her, Jiang Luoluo's eyes curved into crescents.
"Just a 'thank you'? Shouldn't there be some reward? Like a little something right here?" Chu Mingcheng teased, pointing to his cheek, his gaze drifting to her soft, pink lips.
She seemed to be wearing lip balm today, making them look glossy and incredibly tempting.
But Jiang Luoluo simply crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and said coyly, "Prerequisites not met. Reward unavailable!"
"Huh? What prerequisites?" Chu Mingcheng was taken aback.
Jiang Luoluo didn't explain, instead saying pointedly, "Someone's quite the master angler—truly expert at getting fish on the line!"
"..." It took Chu Mingcheng a moment to understand, and then he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was she complaining that he had her hooked but hadn't confessed yet?
But regarding the confession, he was already planning it.
He wasn't considering anything too elaborate, just that it needed the right moment.
"Looks like I'll have to prepare carefully to reel this little fish in!"
Jiang Luoluo's eyes lit up, joy flickering across her face.
When she saw Chu Mingcheng turn back to look at her, her expression immediately shifted, and she said disdainfully, "Be careful the hook doesn't slip or the line doesn't break. You wouldn't want the fish to escape!"
"Someone who spent millions for love wouldn't bear to swim away!"
"Stop saying 'for love'!!!"
Finding herself losing the verbal sparring, she grew flustered and resorted to her signature move: kitten punches.
The exchange only ended when Chu Mingcheng begged for mercy, mainly because he was short on time and had to get to sea.
Otherwise, he was clearly enjoying himself far too much to want it to stop.
Don't misunderstand; he wasn't masochistic. It was just that their playful tussle inevitably involved some physical contact—just like in basketball, a little contact was perfectly normal!
He prepared the pork rib soup for Jiang Luoluo's lunch, then washed rice and put it in the rice cooker, setting it to start cooking at eleven.
Then he said goodbye, left the complex, and drove to buy shrimp and crab traps.
He was going fishing, but he couldn't let the crabs and shrimp escape either.
Especially wild prawns, tiger prawns, and black tiger shrimp. If he could catch some of those, he'd make a fortune—wild shrimp commanded extremely high prices.
He also bought ten foam floats and some cheap, live mackerel for bait.
With chum, bait, and crushed ice all purchased, Chu Mingcheng arrived at the pier.
He loaded everything onto the boat, started the engine, and set off.
Even though Chu Mingcheng had bought groceries and made lunch, he'd woken very early. It wasn't even eight o'clock as he headed to sea.
He steered directly toward the isolated island where he'd hunted the dragon grouper before. The resources there were abundant.
Last time, he'd spent over three hours getting there because he was searching for fishing spots.
But with coordinates set and a direct route, it should be much shorter—probably only two and a half hours.
During the journey, Chu Mingcheng wasn't idle.
He sat in the driver's seat, took a strong fishing line, tied it to a foam float, then attached a hook.
Later, he'd hook a live mackerel, which would naturally attract predators from the depths. All he had to do was retrieve the line based on the float's movement.
He'd considered using longlines, but operating those alone on a fishing boat would be troublesome—he'd need assistance.
It was much more convenient to find a suitable spot and fish directly.
Arriving at his destination, Chu Mingcheng drove to the spot where he'd spearfished before, where there were many large, deep-water rocks.
He pierced a live mackerel through its back with a hook, then tossed it into the water along with the foam float. Soon, all ten floats were deployed.
Then he ignored them and continued to a more distant spot to set his shrimp and crab traps.
These traps were also equipped with small floats, making them easy to locate.
Just as he finished setting the traps, Chu Mingcheng noticed a flock of seabirds passing overhead.
They didn't fly far, instead settling on the sea surface in the distance.
Chu Mingcheng's eyes lit up. A fishing hotspot!
He'd originally planned to fish near the isolated island, but that was no longer necessary.
He quickly returned to the cockpit, started the boat, and headed over, grabbing his binoculars to observe from the bow.
He saw the water's surface occasionally erupting, but due to distance, he couldn't identify the fish species.
But it didn't matter. As long as there were fish.
And from the commotion, he could roughly gauge the fish's aggressiveness, so today he went straight for his #80 boat rod to target large fish.
After rigging up and placing the rod in the holder, Chu Mingcheng took frozen mackerel bait from his refrigerator.
This was leftover from when Sea King and the others had used it last time. They'd barely touched it, nearly getting skunked that afternoon.
But as Chu Mingcheng brought it out, he saw the situation on the sea and was stunned. He then returned the frozen mackerel to the refrigerator.
Because covering the surface was a massive school of sardines, and the fish causing the water to explode were none other than "bomb fish"—skipjack tuna.
Skipjack tuna were arguably the easiest fish to catch while boat fishing, perhaps without exception.
They had a habit of approaching the boat's side to feed aggressively. Catching them was hardly more difficult than pulling fish from a tank.
In some videos, a certain island nation had boats specifically for catching skipjack.
A row of anglers would stand at the boat's side with long rods, and every cast brought in a fish. A strong and fast angler could catch one almost every two seconds.
Unfortunately, Chu Mingcheng didn't have that type of rod, nor did he know the specific technique.
He took out his dip net and scooped it into the water, instantly netting a cluster of sardines. The school was that dense.
Some seabirds were now perched on the boat's side, and Chu Mingcheng didn't disturb them.
He threw the sardines into the fish box with the remaining ten live mackerel, then scooped two more nets full before stopping.
He took a sardine, hooked it, and cast the baited hook into the water. With the sinker's weight, the hook immediately sank.
Seeing that enough line had paid out, he engaged the reel, keeping the baited hook in the mid-to-upper water column.
The skipjack school was massive. The smaller ones swam in the upper layers, while the larger ones stayed deeper.
Chu Mingcheng wanted to catch the big ones, so naturally, he had to sink his bait deeper.
Suddenly, the fishing line went taut, and the rod tip plunged downward.
A bite already?
Chu Mingcheng barely had time to be surprised before he grabbed the rod with both hands and lifted to set the hook.
He watched the fish's movement. It was running straight, so for now, he didn't need to remove the rod from the holder. With the boat taking the strain, he could fish more easily.
Skipjacks are fast and powerful.
Chu Mingcheng gripped the rod and lifted, but found it surprisingly difficult to move.
The one he'd hooked seemed quite large!
The locked drag was of little use; the line was still being pulled out at a steady pace.
But he was using heavy-duty line. To speed things up, Chu Mingcheng fought hard, trying to reel it in as quickly as possible.
Because of the constant pulling—or rather, being forcefully dragged back—the skipjack began darting erratically from side to side.
Splash!
A huge wave erupted as the fish below was pulled to the surface by Chu Mingcheng's forceful reeling.
The skipjack was dragged to the surface, thrashing its body, before diving back down.
But a deep dive was no longer possible. It could only dart around on the surface, sending sardines scattering in panic—a sight Chu Mingcheng could clearly see from the boat.
But soon, it was pulled to the boat's side. Its stamina wasn't completely depleted; it was still slapping its tail against the hull.
Chu Mingcheng saw his chance, released the rod, and quickly grabbed the gaff.
The fish was about seventy to eighty centimeters long and probably weighed over forty jin. A landing net wouldn't work—a gaff was the best choice.
However, when he reached for the gaff, without his hand on the reel, the line was pulled out slightly, letting the fish get farther away.
Seeing this, Chu Mingcheng had to put down the gaff and reel it back in again.
This time, he timed it perfectly. When the fish was pulled close, he immediately released the reel, grabbed the gaff, and accurately hooked it in the back.
The gaff's tip pierced its flesh, and the skipjack, in pain, began struggling violently again.
But with the gaff hooked in, it had no chance of escape.
Once it quieted down, Chu Mingcheng exerted his strength, lifted the fish from the water, and threw it onto the deck.
Skipjack, like tuna, needs constant swimming to get oxygen.
Once caught, they can't be kept alive and need immediate bleeding.
Chu Mingcheng ignored the skipjack for now. He went back to the cockpit and retrieved his electric reel and another large, stiff boat rod.
With action this good, it would be a crime not to use an electric reel.