The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 211 (2): The Southern Bluefin Tuna

The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 211 (2): The Southern Bluefin Tuna

After drinking water, Chu Mingcheng recovered some energy. He cranked the handle with everything he had, resisting the pull of the deep-sea beast.
The sturdy boat rod remained bent in a deep arch, groaning and creaking nonstop.
The braided line was pulled taut, cutting back and forth across a small area on the sea surface, sending ripples through the water.
Chu Mingcheng gritted his teeth and held on.
The fish's first run still wasn't over. He couldn't let up. If he did, he'd lose it completely.
Fortunately, whenever he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, he'd briefly turn on the electric reel for a little assistance.
Another ten minutes passed. Chu Mingcheng's face was flushed red, and veins bulged in his neck. From the prolonged exertion, the muscles in his arms were clearly defined.
Up to now, he hadn't gained a single meter of line. The good news was the fish hadn't stripped much line either. They were locked in equilibrium—a matter of who would give out first.
Just then, the tension on the line changed noticeably. The taut line, with the rod tip bent in an arch, swayed from side to side, causing Chu Mingcheng's body to sway slightly as well.
From his big-fish experience, Chu Mingcheng knew this was the fish shaking its head at the bottom, trying to throw the hook.
He'd experienced this with the swordfish. The swordfish would leap out of the water, shaking its head to throw the hook, which could jerk the angler around.
But the swordfish had been closer then, so the sensation was more pronounced.
This monster was over two hundred meters away, so the effect wasn't as strong.
"Hah!"
Chu Mingcheng gathered his strength and gave a hard pull. The hook, which had been slightly loose, dug deeper into the fish's mouth flesh, deeper than before, instantly foiling the monster's escape plan.
A fish shaking its head doesn't always succeed in spitting the hook. Experienced offshore anglers generally know this.
Many fish escape by wearing through the line. In that process, the hook remains in the fish's mouth until it naturally decomposes in seawater.
But an angler wouldn't bet on that possibility. No one could be sure if the fish would spit the hook, and losing a fish felt terrible—especially a deep-sea giant like this.
Some people get skunked daily, or only catch small fish.
They long to catch something big and might say things like, "Let me hook a monster, even if it gets away, it's fine. I just want to experience the thrill."
But if they really hooked a monster and it got away, they'd probably be angry enough to snap their rod in half. Yes, snap it in half.
Another ten minutes or so passed. The monster at the bottom showed no signs of tiring, but Chu Mingcheng was starting to feel the strain.
With his current stamina, he could carry Jiang Luoluo and climb a mountain for ten minutes without issue, yet he couldn't overpower a fish.
Fortunately, he had plenty of Life Conversion charges. He immediately used one.
The instant recovery gave him a jolt of energy. The soreness in his arms and back immediately eased.
He was feeling better, but some nearby anglers couldn't help glancing at his... constitution from time to time.
"This guy's a beast. Look at how that rod's bent. The fish must be huge. And it's been almost half an hour, but he's still holding on."
"I'm so envious of his stamina. If I had endurance like that, I wouldn't need to come to the Nansha Islands to recuperate for a month. I'd have that woman at home sorted out in minutes."
"No wonder his wife looks so radiant. With stamina like that, how could she not be well-nourished?"
"You're wrong. From my years of experience, that beauty is still untouched. I think the reason he can last so long is because he's at max level—all his essence is still saved up."
"Damn! Leaving such a beautiful girl untouched... is this the highest realm of an angler?"
"I get it. Who wants my wife at home? I'm going to save my strength for three years, then come challenge a deep-sea giant!"
"The hell? Who are you looking down on? You think I need to save up to fight a big one? What do anglers need women for?"
The lively discussion nearby didn't affect Chu Mingcheng. Having used a Life Conversion charge, he wasn't feeling much relief.
His stamina was restored, but that didn't mean the monster's stamina had weakened. It was still as fierce as ever.
At this point, Chen Yang and the others, who hadn't caught any monsters, also came over to watch the excitement.
Zhang Wei rubbed his hands together and came to Chu Mingcheng's side. "Ah Cheng, tired? Want me to take over?"
Chu Mingcheng glanced at him. "You sure?"
He was actually feeling a bit hungry. He'd been about to ask Jiang Luoluo to feed him some chocolate or something to replenish his energy.
The body's energy couldn't be supplied by Life Conversion—he had to replenish it himself.
Since Zhang Wei wanted to take over, he was actually quite willing.
"Of course, leave it to me. I'll help you land this fish." Zhang Wei patted his chest, full of confidence.
"Alright then, help me for a bit. I'll eat something." Chu Mingcheng told him to come over and grab the rod first.
He didn't dare let go all at once, afraid that Zhang Wei, caught off guard, wouldn't be able to hold the rod steady and would be pulled into the water.
He slowly made way, gradually handing the rod over.
Zhang Wei grabbed the rod and felt the immense pulling force, his face full of excitement. "Holy crap, this is so awesome!"
"Steady now, the fish is very strong. I'm going to let go slowly."
"Don't worry, just let go."
"Don't be careless. This fish is huge, and the pull is tremendous."
Seeing his attitude, Chu Mingcheng was honestly worried and didn't completely release his grip.
Zhang Wei got used to the immense pulling force from the rod, felt he could handle it, and said confidently again, "Let go, I can do it."
"Alright, be careful now, I'm letting go." Chu Mingcheng confirmed he was ready, then released the rod all at once and stepped aside.
"Thump!"
"Ouch!"
Zhang Wei never expected the fish's pulling force to be so great after Chu Mingcheng completely let go. Caught off guard, he was pulled forward and slammed hard against the boat's side.
"You okay?"
Chu Mingcheng was startled and quickly grabbed his clothes.
Fortunately, he was now braced against the side and had steadied himself.
"I can do it." Zhang Wei clenched his teeth, trying hard to hold the rod and keep the handle still.
But the handle, which had been under Chu Mingcheng's control, was now turning little by little at an extremely slow speed.
It wasn't that he was successfully reeling in line, but that he couldn't control the handle, and the line was being pulled out by the fish, bit by bit.
"Holding up okay there, weakling?" Chen Yang also noticed this and immediately taunted him.
"Damn it, you do it if you're so good!" Zhang Wei couldn't stop the line from being stripped, but he could still manage to talk.
"You hold on for ten minutes. I'll take over later and show you weaklings what a real man looks like." Chen Yang chuckled, playing a little trick.
Chu Mingcheng had been fighting the fish for nearly half an hour. If Zhang Wei continued for another ten minutes, he figured the fish's first run should be about over.
When he took over then, he wouldn't say he could easily handle the monster, but it wouldn't be so difficult.
Zhang Wei was in no mood to deal with him now. In less than two minutes, his face was already flushed red, and his breathing was becoming heavy.
Even with adrenaline pumping, he found he couldn't last much longer.
Chu Mingcheng naturally knew his situation. He took the chocolate Jiang Luoluo handed him and quickly ate it, replenishing some energy.
But after just five minutes, Zhang Wei immediately called for help. "Damn, I can't hold on anymore. Someone come take over, quick."
"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Chen Yang also wanted to experience the thrill of wrestling a deep-sea giant, so he was about to take the rod from Zhang Wei.
Seeing this, Chu Mingcheng quickly went over to help, preventing the fish from taking the opportunity to escape during the handoff.
Zhang Wei had been able to take the rod from him because he'd been careful and shouldered most of the pressure.
In the end, with his help, Chen Yang also successfully took the rod.
The moment he took it, he understood exactly what pressure Zhang Wei had been under.
He'd originally wanted to laugh at him for only lasting five minutes, but hadn't expected to miscalculate. He doubted he could even last five minutes himself.
Compared to Zhang Wei, his physical condition was worse. His body was always in a sub-healthy state.
It had improved a little since he started spearfishing, but improving fitness required long-term training, and he wasn't there yet.
At the same time, after taking the rod, he realized just how strong Chu Mingcheng's physical condition was.
To have fought for nearly half an hour and still have energy left... it made him wonder how he trained, how his fitness had improved so quickly.
"Holding up okay there, weakling!" Just as he was wondering, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Zhang Wei.
His face darkened. Chen Yang decided that even if he collapsed from exhaustion, he'd have to hold on for six minutes.
However, this wasn't something he could do just by wanting to. After three minutes, Chu Mingcheng noticed he was starting to tremble and immediately went forward to take the rod from him.
"Go rest up. I'll take it from here!"
With the rod taken from him, the breath Chen Yang had been holding was finally released.
He didn't try to act tough anymore, but panted heavily as he went to the side to rest.
Han Baola was holding two bottles of water. She'd already given one to Zhang Wei. Seeing Chen Yang's condition now, she handed a bottle to him as well. "Have some water and rest!"
"Thanks!" Chen Yang took the water and thanked her. He tried to open the cap but found his hands were trembling and he couldn't exert strength.
Seeing this, Han Baola found it a bit amusing. She took the water back and helped him open it.
She also noticed Chen Yang's physical condition was worse. At least Zhang Wei had lasted longer and could still open his own bottle cap.
Chu Mingcheng continued focusing on fishing. After taking over this time, another ten minutes passed before the monster's first run was completely over.
After the first run, it wouldn't be as strenuous, but would enter a long stalemate.
Jiang Luoluo shooed Zhang Wei and the other two back to their fishing, while she stayed by Chu Mingcheng's side, doing what she could to help—wiping his sweat and giving him water.
It wasn't until nearly twelve o'clock that a chunky tuna was pulled to the surface and appeared before everyone.
An angler who recognized the fish immediately said with envy, "A Southern Bluefin Tuna, and such a big one! This guy's luck is too good!"
Another angler next to him immediately chimed in, "That's skill. If it were you, you might not be able to pull it up. The chance of the fish getting away would be much higher."
That was true. The angler who'd expressed envy was honest and nodded in agreement. "If I had to hold the rod like that, the fish would probably get away. This one looks to be at least three hundred and fifty jin. Normally, it would take at least three people taking turns to land it."
While they were discussing, Chu Mingcheng had already handed the rod to Jiang Luoluo, letting her hold the fish.
He brought over the harpoon specifically for tuna, aimed at the fish, and with a powerful thrust, plunged it into the tuna.
The harpoon, like a javelin, pierced the fish's body with a "squish."
Blood immediately stained the water surface. The fatally wounded Southern Bluefin Tuna's tail began beating at an extremely high rate.
But Jiang Luoluo held it with the fishing rod, and Chu Mingcheng also held the harpoon rope, so it could only swim back and forth on the surface, waiting for its life to end completely.
After a full ten minutes, the Southern Bluefin Tuna finally stopped moving.
A crew member had been standing by for ages. After the fish stopped moving, he tied a rope around its tail, pulled it over to the crane, and used the crane to lift it up.
A Southern Bluefin Tuna of over three hundred jin, possibly even four hundred jin, on the very first day in the Nansha Islands, immediately got the captain's attention.
His impression of Chu Mingcheng was nothing short of profound.
On the previous trip to the Xisha Islands, the two largest fish on the boat were caught by him.
He'd even used those photos to attract quite a few customers.
Now, on the first day in the Nansha Islands, Chu Mingcheng had caught another massive Southern Bluefin Tuna, making him sigh that the fishing world also has its chosen ones.
Southern Bluefin Tuna is a type of bluefin, so the price is definitely not cheap, and the bigger it is, the more expensive it gets.
Tuna needs to be bled and gutted, so this one was immediately processed by Chu Mingcheng, with all internal organs removed.
After everything was processed, a crew member came forward to help measure the length and weigh it.
The fish's length was 2.32 meters. This was definitely a veteran among Southern Bluefin Tuna.
Although they can grow to nearly 2.5 meters, reaching that length is extremely rare—a catch one can only hope for.
After being bled and gutted, the fish still weighed 373 jin.
This meant the fish's original weight was definitely over four hundred jin, almost reaching the maximum for its species.
But this fish looked very fat, so reaching this weight wasn't surprising.
"It's a pity. The price of Southern Bluefin Tuna has dropped quite a bit now. Although yours has reached auction grade, compared to the market a few years ago, the price is at least a third lower," the captain sighed after seeing the fish's weight.
"Then how much can this fish sell for?" Chu Mingcheng wasn't clear on the Southern Bluefin Tuna market. Seeing that the captain seemed knowledgeable, he asked.

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Chapter 211 (2): The Southern Bluefin Tuna