The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 6: The Codex's Limits

Making beer-braised crucian carp is actually quite simple. You make precise cuts into the crucian carp, then fry them until golden brown on both sides. Next, you combine all the seasonings—scallions, ginger, garlic, dried chilies, light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, and broad bean paste—in a large bowl. Finally, add some almost-expired beer, stir well, and pour the mixture over the crucian carp in the pot. Let it simmer for about ten minutes, and it's done. If you like extra ingredients, you can add dried tofu sheets and enoki mushrooms.
But since Chu Mingcheng was eating alone, he didn't need any extras; two fish were more than enough.
"Oh, my cooking skills are still top-notch!" Ten minutes later, he took the dish off the heat, tasted it, and proudly complimented himself. He didn't have many passions in life, but a good meal was certainly one of them.
While eating, he noticed something: the crucian carp he'd caught from the reservoir didn't have a strong muddy taste, just a hint of it. It wasn't that the rich flavors of the dish masked it. He'd made this dish occasionally before using fish from the market. He knew those market-bought fish usually had a distinct muddy taste that no amount of seasoning could truly hide, likely because they were farmed. They were quite cheap, too, typically costing around ten yuan. Thinking about it now, the difference was clear.
This thought prompted Chu Mingcheng to check the price of wild crucian carp on his phone. When he saw that wild crucian carp went for thirty yuan a jin (about 500 grams), he slapped his thigh in anguish! That cat had stolen at least thirty yuan from him! And the bigger the crucian carp, the more valuable it was—a one-jin fish would easily be forty yuan!
Chu Mingcheng channeled his sorrow into his appetite, devouring two large bowls of rice. He'd intentionally cooked extra tonight so he could make fried rice with eggs tomorrow morning, covering both breakfast and lunch.
After dinner, he cleaned up, showered, and instead of going out, returned to his bedroom to continue researching basic fishing knowledge on his laptop. After watching a few videos, he realized that with his current savings, he could actually try low-cost sea fishing.
Chu Mingcheng considered his options. Seeing the price of wild crucian carp today, he thought he might focus on "grinding" for crucian carp to sell and collecting sea snails to increase the species in his codex.
The next day, he naturally woke up again, feeling a bit lax without work. Chu Mingcheng fried up his egg fried rice, made a pot of crucian carp tofu soup, then changed into his waterproof boots, grabbed his beachcombing tongs and two buckets, and set off.
Today was the sixth day of the lunar month, and the low tide was around noon. To go beachcombing, he'd have to wait until after 1 p.m., so he headed to the reservoir first to fish.
It was still mostly empty, and he chose yesterday's spot. He started by scattering a few handfuls of fermented rice grain and corn. According to the guides, this was called "nurturing the fishing spot," but it also needed to be done at a consistent time. He couldn't promise he'd always come here, but for now, he'd stick to this schedule for chumming and fishing.
After preparing the spot, he took out his gear and mixed his bait. With yesterday's experience, everything felt well-organized today. Chu Mingcheng tried making "pull bait" today, but it failed. The bait wouldn't form the desired stringy consistency. He wasn't in a rush, though; he could take his time learning.
Today, he was still using a double hook. The bait settled in the water, and Chu Mingcheng was just about to pull out his phone when, after only about ten seconds of stillness, the float reacted violently.
"Oh, a big one right off the bat today?" Today seemed to be his lucky day. Maybe he could earn a hundred or two hundred yuan from selling crucian carp.
But when he reeled in, the rod felt light, with no weight at all.
"Did it get unhooked?" Chu Mingcheng was annoyed. So much for a good start; it was a bad one instead! But when the hook fully emerged from the water, he saw a tiny fish hooked on it. Taking a closer look, it was a small, brownish, somewhat transparent fish. Chu Mingcheng didn't recognize it at first. It looked a bit like a mudskipper, but those live in saltwater, and this one was in freshwater. What annoyed him even more was that his hook was sized for crucian carp. How did such a tiny fish bite it, let alone cause such violent shaking?
With some confusion, Chu Mingcheng checked the data panel in his mind.
[Odontobutis obscura (Chinese Sleeper Goby), also known as "Padihu" (Lying Tiger) (Level 0)]
[Current Experience: 1/10]
[Size: +0%]
[Deliciousness: +0%]
[Capture Chance: +0%]
"Padihu?" Chu Mingcheng suddenly remembered. Hadn't he played with these fish often when he was a kid? His family used to raise chickens and ducks, and he'd often go catch these fish with his friends. Padihu were slow swimmers and very easy to catch. He'd feed them to the chickens and ducks, who loved them.
These fish were quite tasty when prepared well; some people even specifically bought them to eat. However, not many people recognized them, so they weren't easy to sell. But that was over ten years ago; he wasn't sure about the situation now. Chu Mingcheng checked his phone. When he saw that the price was even higher than wild crucian carp, his eyes gleamed.
But the next moment, he lost interest in the fish. Padihu were hard to sell in this area; you simply didn't see them in local markets. Plus, they were too small. While the price could currently reach over sixty yuan, the time it took to catch one jin (500 grams) of them meant he could probably catch a whole bucket of crucian carp. It clearly wasn't worth it. For now, his fishing was primarily for making money, with entertainment secondary. Catching Padihu was too inefficient.
Still, he didn't release it. He tossed the Padihu into his bucket. There was a fish thief cat at home now. He wondered if it would show up today. If it did, this Padihu could be its snack. If not, he'd give it to the neighbor's ducks.
He continued fishing. The second catch wasn't a Padihu this time but a crucian carp just over half a jin. With that catch, Chu Mingcheng felt energized. This week, he aimed to get his crucian carp level to ten. Based on his experience with the mantis shrimp, he guessed that one to two percent attribute bonuses wouldn't make much difference, but once it hit ten percent, he'd really notice the effect of his Codex.
Since it was morning, Chu Mingcheng only fished for two hours before packing up his rod. In those two hours, he only caught four crucian carp, three dace, and five Padihu. The bites were mediocre, and his efficiency wasn't as high as yesterday. He suspected catching so many Padihu today was related to him having dumped leftover bait into this spot last night. Fortunately, there weren't too many Padihu here; otherwise, attracting a whole bunch of them would be a nightmare.
He took out his thermos, ate his meal, and then drove off to find a suitable spot for beachcombing. Even a beginner knows that "it's hard to catch fish at noon," so there was no need to waste time here. He could always come back after the tide rose in the afternoon.
The southeastern part of Yanmen Island was trying to develop tourism due to the cross-sea bridge and beaches. Those beaches and rocky areas didn't have much to catch, so Chu Mingcheng drove to the northwest side. This side had no beaches but was full of jagged rocks. Because of its distance, even during national holidays like October 1st, hardly anyone came here.
When Chu Mingcheng arrived, the vast rocky area was deserted. Perhaps everyone was out traveling for the holiday. Carrying his other bucket, he began searching for any living creatures in the crevices. He quickly found a tide pool with several red-clawed crabs hiding inside. These crabs were small, and nobody ate them; they were practically everywhere on the coast. Chu Mingcheng quickly pressed down and managed to catch two, while the other two scattered instantly, startled. He grabbed these two red-clawed crabs, casually tossed them into the bucket, and then checked his aquatic codex.
"???"
The aquatic codex showed no reaction at all, even though "hand" was listed as an unlocked capture tool. This made no sense! There was no explanation, leaving Chu Mingcheng a bit puzzled. Just then, he noticed some horn snails by the tide pool. He picked up a few and tossed them into the bucket to see what would happen.
This time, the aquatic codex finally reacted.
[Aquatic Species Codex (Level 0)]
[Current Experience: (6/50)]
[Unlocked Capture Tools: Hand, Fishing Gear]
[Max Aquatic Species Level: 50]
[Unlocked Species: Mantis Shrimp, Crucian Carp, Dace, Common Carp, Odontobutis obscura, Horn Snail]
[Special Abilities: None]
[Warty Periwinkle (Horn Snail), also known as Spicy Snail, Bitter Snail (Level 0)]
[Current Experience: 3/10]
[Size: +0%]
[Deliciousness: +0%]
[Capture Chance: +0%]
"Huh, this horn snail worked, but why?" Chu Mingcheng was confused about his codex now. The red-clawed crabs didn't work, but the horn snails did. Comparing the two, one was unwanted, while the other could sell for over thirty yuan per jin in the market.
"I get it now!" Chu Mingcheng suddenly understood.
It was an Aquatic Species Codex, not an Aquatic Organism Codex. This meant that any aquatic creature he caught had to have economic value. If it didn't, the codex wouldn't unlock and record it. This undoubtedly made leveling up the Aquatic Species Codex significantly harder.