The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 251: Knocked Out with a Single Slap
As the last of the fishing line was reeled in, the deck was crawling with Giant Tasmanian King Crabs.
Chu Mingcheng used a pair of scissors to cut them free one by one, then tossed each into the live well.
The Giant Tasmanian King Crabs were massive; just over five hundred jin of them were enough to stuff the live well completely.
When he pulled up the crab cages later, the crabs would probably have to be stacked on top of each other.
Fortunately, their shells were hard enough, and the crabs in the cages were on the smaller side, so he wasn't worried about the ones on the bottom getting crushed.
By the time all the crab cages were hauled up and the crabs were transferred to the live well, the morning had already passed.
Working alone was certainly slow. This was why most boats went to sea with a crew—dividing the labor naturally led to higher efficiency.
Chu Mingcheng didn't rush to make lunch. Instead, he steered the boat over to a coral reef and retrieved the shrimp pots as well.
The Australian Rock Lobster catch was rather average. After tossing the undersized ones back into the sea, he was left with only sixteen, weighing a total of seventy-three jin.
Their average weight was only around three or four jin each, but three exceptionally large ones tipped the scales at just over ten jin apiece.
This was a very large size for an Australian Rock Lobster, and it might fetch a slightly higher price.
The Spanner Crab catch, however, was absurd. When he lifted the shrimp pots, they were nearly full to the brim.
Chu Mingcheng was surprised to find so many Spanner Crabs here; he hadn't noticed that many when he was diving the night before.
After selecting the smaller ones to release, he was still left with an astonishing one hundred and fifty-six jin.
It was a good thing his shrimp pots were on the larger side. If they had been any smaller, he wouldn't have been able to fit them all.
Unfortunately, Spanner Crabs don't get very big. The largest one he caught was only two jin.
Since he hadn't eaten lunch yet, Chu Mingcheng took the two-jin crab and headed for the kitchen.
But after he cracked open the shell, he was in for a surprise.
He'd thought it was a crab with very little meat, but it turned out all the meat was hidden inside its massive head.
Seeing there was so much meat, Chu Mingcheng decided to simply steam it.
After his lunch, he finally understood why Spanner Crabs could sell for one hundred and thirty yuan per jin back in China. The taste was excellent—very fresh and sweet.
In the afternoon, Chu Mingcheng planned to catch more lobsters and Spanner Crabs.
Although the live well was already packed with Giant Tasmanian King Crabs, he still had plenty of unused foam boxes, so he could catch more.
Just as he was about to set the crab cages, the satellite phone rang. Chu Mingcheng set aside his work, hurried over to answer it, and heard Noah's voice on the other end.
"Cheng, how's the catch so far?"
"My luck's been good. I've caught a lot of Giant Tasmanian King Crabs. What's up?"
"That's fantastic! I've sold out of all my Giant Tasmanian King Crabs, and I have a few more buyers who've placed pre-orders. Do you think you could come back for a bit?"
"OK, I'll head back now. Meet me at the pier this evening."
Hearing that Noah was out of stock, Chu Mingcheng didn't hesitate and agreed immediately.
He hadn't expected Noah to sell out just because he'd been delayed by two days for Jiang Luoluo. It seemed he'd given up quite a bit of his profit margin.
But on second thought, it made sense. If his prices were the same as everywhere else, there was no reason for people to buy from him.
Chu Mingcheng tidied up the deck, packed up the crab cages and secured them, then went to the bathroom for a shower.
He changed out of the wetsuit he'd been wearing, washed it clean, and then started the fishing boat for the return journey.
He hadn't had time to catch more lobsters, so he would have to wait for the next trip.
However, Chu Mingcheng made sure to mark the coordinates of the waters where the sperm whale carcass was.
With such a massive food source there, he was confident it would attract all the Giant Tasmanian King Crabs in the vicinity.
This would make it easy for him to get a large haul in the days to come, without having to travel to more distant waters.
By the time he returned to the pier, the sun was about to set.
Noah was already waiting. When he saw an even larger haul of Giant Tasmanian King Crabs than last time, it would be a lie to say he wasn't shocked.
"Cheng, I'm really curious. How did you manage to catch so many Giant Tasmanian King Crabs in such a short time?"
"Alright, I'll tell you the secret, but you can't go spreading it around," Chu Mingcheng said, putting on a mysterious expression and whispering.
"I promise I won't tell."
Noah was no fool. His own interests were at stake—why would he tell anyone?
"Actually, on my first trip out, I was diving and happened to come across a sperm whale. A dead one, its body torn to shreds."
"I was curious at the time and wanted to get a closer look, but then the whale's carcass began to sink. I was lucky enough to witness a whale fall."
When he heard that Chu Mingcheng had witnessed a whale fall, Noah exclaimed "Oh my God" over and over, expressing his disbelief.
"Cheng, your luck is incredible! To see such a magical sight. But what does that have to do with your secret to catching Giant Tasmanian King Crabs so quickly?"
Chu Mingcheng shrugged. "Isn't a sperm whale carcass a god-sent meal for Giant Tasmanian King Crabs? I decided to try setting some crab cages in the waters where the whale fall happened. It turned out just as I thought—the carcass really did attract a lot of crabs, allowing me to get a huge haul."
Noah's eyes widened in realization, then he shook his head again, marveling at his friend's luck.
Something like that was a complete coincidence; it couldn't be replicated. But based on the current situation, Chu Mingcheng would be able to get a large number of Giant Tasmanian King Crabs in a short amount of time. This made him start to consider whether he should expand his business a bit, lest his sales couldn't keep up with the catch.
Finally, the two of them settled the accounts for this shipment.
The Giant Tasmanian King Crabs totaled one thousand and seventy-three jin. Based on the unit price for their various sizes, they sold for a total of sixty-one thousand Australian dollars.
The Leopard Coral Groupers totaled two hundred and twelve jin. At twenty dollars per unit, they sold for four thousand two hundred and forty Australian dollars.
The Australian Rock Lobsters and Spanner Crabs combined only sold for three thousand seven hundred and fifty Australian dollars.
After deducting costs like fuel, Chu Mingcheng had successfully earned a hundred thousand Australian dollars.
It was obvious that the Giant Tasmanian King Crabs were the main source of income, with their high unit price and large catch volume.
The other catches were just small change, barely enough to offset the costs, with not much profit.
He still had about eight thousand five hundred jin left on his Giant Tasmanian King Crab quota. Based on the current situation, he could probably earn another four hundred and sixty thousand Australian dollars.
Chu Mingcheng helped move the cargo from his boat to Noah's truck. This scene happened to be witnessed by a crabber who had been watching the pier.
An Asian man, and Giant Tasmanian King Crabs being unloaded from his boat—he immediately confirmed his target and pulled out his phone to make a call.
Just as Chu Mingcheng was nearly finished helping with the cargo, he noticed a group of burly men walking toward him.
Seeing them staring at him, he knew they were here for him, because one of them, a big, bearded brute, had already started cursing.
"Yellow-skinned monkey, go back to your own country! Giant Tasmanian King Crabs belong to Tas Province—you have no right to touch them !"
Noah hadn't expected trouble. They were in Melbourne, not the crabbers' main territory in Tas Province. But he still stepped in front of Chu Mingcheng immediately.
"Fuck, shut your damn mouth, you racist."
"Maybe you should go back into your mother's womb and get remade, so a scumbag like you doesn't come out and pollute the air."
"Shit, you goddamn thief, teaming up with a yellow-skinned monkey to steal our crabs."
The brute wasn't being polite just because Noah was a local. Relying on his burly physique, he immediately reached out to grab Noah by the collar.
Chu Mingcheng reacted quickly, pulling Noah back and dodging the man's hand.
To be honest, this situation gave him a bit of a headache. Not because he was scared, but because he had only caught less than a ton of Giant Tasmanian King Crabs so far; he hadn't made enough money yet.
If this blew up, he didn't know if his cheat Codex could handle it. If it couldn't, he'd probably have to return the rest of his quota and go back to China in disgrace.
At most, the embassy would issue a few statements condemning their barbaric and domineering behavior. The treatment of Asians in most countries really wasn't great, unless they were exceptionally wealthy.
But since these guys had come looking for trouble directly, instead of bringing people from the Fisheries Authority, he felt his cheat Codex was probably reliable for now.
"Noah, use your phone to film what happens next. If they start a fight, this could be evidence of our self-defense. And don't call the police just yet."
Noah didn't try to act tough. He immediately backed away and secretly took out his phone to film.
He wasn't sure about Chu Mingcheng's fighting ability, but he knew he was very strong, so he probably wouldn't be at a disadvantage in a fight.
"I applied for the Giant Tasmanian King Crab quota at the Fisheries Authority. If you're not satisfied, you can go ask them."
Being called a "yellow-skinned monkey" had definitely angered Chu Mingcheng, but he knew he couldn't take it out on them right now, so he temporarily swallowed his anger, deciding to get his revenge on the open sea later.
These crabbers had to go out to sea to crab, right? At worst, he'd spend some time staking out Tasmania.
So for now, he could only try to reason with them. If a fight was going to happen, they had to be the ones to start it. And he felt that these crabbers weren't that united. The brute in front had clearly been pushed forward as a pawn; the guys behind him were just watching without saying a word.
"Fuck you, when I tell you to get lost, you get lost. Don't talk to me about any damn Fisheries Authority."
Chu Mingcheng sneered. Since the other party was clearly not going to be reasonable, there was no need for him to be polite anymore. He immediately shot back.
"Was your mom poisoned with syphilis when she had you? Your mouth is so foul."
If this escalated, the worst that could happen was being deported back to China. If his cheat Codex were upgraded in the future and could target them, he'd see if he wouldn't just wipe out all the Giant Tasmanian King Crabs in Australia.
"Shit, you're dead !"
The brute flew into a rage.
But he probably wasn't very educated; his curses were limited to just a few phrases.
He hadn't expected the other guy to talk back, and with words even nastier than his. His anger flared, and he threw a punch.
With Chu Mingcheng's reaction speed, he could have easily dodged the punch, but he didn't.
He raised his left arm to block, and his right hand whipped out and slapped the man across the face.
With a loud "smack," the big brute's body went rigid. Then, to everyone's astonishment, he fell to the ground with a thud, stiff as a board.
"Oh shit, Ellis, call the police, quick !"
The guys on the other side panicked. Noah was terrified too. He immediately rushed to Chu Mingcheng's side.
"Cheng, you didn't kill him, did you ?"
"How could I? He just passed out. Maybe a slight concussion?"
Chu Mingcheng had held back. He hadn't aimed for the man's temple, and although he was down, his chest was still rising and falling. It was clear the slap had just temporarily knocked him unconscious.
Noah immediately let out a sigh of relief. He walked forward with his phone.
"I suggest you take him to the hospital instead of calling the police. I've recorded everything that just happened. We acted in self-defense."
In Melbourne, this kind of action wouldn't be considered excessive force.
Unless Chu Mingcheng had continued to attack the unconscious man, that would be a different story.
Because he wasn't worried about the man being knocked out, he had the evidence on his side.
Chapter 251: Knocked Out with a Single Slap
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