"Wow, this is interesting."
Feeling the weight of the beast below, Li Haochen was quite excited. He quickly stepped on the edge of the boat to steady himself and yanked the fishing rod again, halting the arrogant momentum of the creature.
With the pause, the fishing line grew tighter, creaking ominously. Seeing this, Li Haochen's heart skipped a beat, fearing the line wouldn't hold. He only breathed a sigh of relief a minute or two later when the line remained firm.
It was a tug-of-war between man and fish, a test of endurance and willpower, a struggle for sustenance and life.
The beast's endurance surprised Li Haochen. After more than ten minutes, he still couldn't control its momentum, so he decided to match its strength for a while.
After a solid half hour of wrestling, Li Haochen was soaked and desperately needed to relieve himself.
Holding it in was difficult. For his future happiness, it was better to be free.
"Phew~"
As the floodgates opened, a warm stream flowed down his crotch, bringing warmth wherever it went. Afterwards, he shivered, feeling as though his very essence had been purified.
Perhaps it was due to eating barbecue a couple of days ago, but he felt a bit overheated. Soon, he detected a faint, pungent odor, which was surprisingly potent.
Li Haochen smiled wryly and shook his head, but paid it no mind. It was just a bit of smelly urine, and with no one else on the boat, what was there to fear?
Unconsciously, daylight faded, and as night fell, the temperature dropped considerably. The cool sea breeze blowing on his soaked body made Li Haochen shiver.
In this kind of weather, with alternating heat and cold, his energy would deplete much faster.
The beast below was also struggling. It tried everything to dislodge the hook, but the threat of death filled it with terror. Its uncoordinated struggles, however, exposed more vulnerabilities.
Li Haochen was gradually gaining control of its movements. After its burst of energy subsided, he reeled in the line faster, preventing it from gaining any more ground.
Li Haochen's relentless pressure left it with no room to maneuver or accelerate. Trying to break free of the hook with brute force was a futile dream.
The more it struggled, the deeper the barbs of the hook dug in. The dual torment, both physical and mental, was slowly eroding the beast's will to survive.
Li Haochen could clearly feel that the fish wouldn't last much longer.
Indeed, during the third hour of their struggle, the great fish was clearly exhausted. The force and amplitude of the line's vibrations indicated this, but Li Haochen remained cautious. Who knew if this creature possessed a near-demonic intelligence and might attempt a feint? If it did, his earlier act of relief would have been for naught.
With a tug and a shake, the basketball-sized reel brought in twenty to thirty centimeters with each turn. As long as the great fish didn't resist, the retrieval was quite swift.
With victory in sight, Li Haochen became a bit carried away.
"Holy crap!"
Just then, it found an opening. Its survival instinct surged, and with a powerful lunge and tug, it pulled Li Haochen against the side of the boat. Fortunately, the fish's strength was no longer what it was, otherwise, that move could have seriously injured him.
Even so, Li Haochen was not unscathed, being made of flesh and blood after all.
"Damn it, still trying to cause trouble."
Li Haochen squinted in pain, wanting to rub his knee, but fearing another tug from the fish, he endured the pain.
After this incident, Li Haochen dared not be careless. He glared at the sea surface, gritted his teeth, and vigorously worked the fishing rod, reeling in the line with all his might.
More than ten minutes later, the great fish was completely subdued. A massive shape appeared listlessly below the side of the boat.
Judging by its silhouette, Li Haochen was quite sure it was a tuna. However, it was too dim in the night, and the boat's lights were off, so he couldn't tell if it was a yellowfin, a bluefin, or perhaps even a bigeye.
"Whatever it is, as long as it's a fish, haha!"
Li Haochen plugged the fishing rod back into its holder, locked the reel, grabbed a pair of scissors, and jumped down.
He approached the large fish with a touch of trepidation, fearing a tail slap. Fortunately, there was no unusual reaction, and he reached it smoothly.
Li Haochen groped his way forward. Upon touching the fishing line, he grinned and sent the scissors forward, "Snip~"
Did he release the fish? Of course not. After working hard for hours and wetting his pants, he wasn't about to let it go. The moment he cut the line, Li Haochen was already on top of it. As the line broke, he immediately moved the great fish into his spatial ocean.
"Bluefin Tuna!"
Upon entering, the bright space allowed Li Haochen to clearly see its true form.
Before he could even celebrate, a colossal shadow slammed down towards Li Haochen.
The aura of death washed over him, nearly exploding his brain. His scalp tingled, but at the last second, he teleported out of the space.
"Boom~"
A deafening roar echoed within the spatial ocean. The immense impact caused the sea surface to explode like a bomb, sending water splashing everywhere.
"Hmph, dared to ride your big sister Blue."
The bluefin tuna showed a smug expression, shook its head, and disappeared into the deep sea.
Outside on the sea, Li Haochen, who had just brushed shoulders with death, was already pale, breathing rapidly, and staring at the sea surface with lingering fear.
A gust of cold wind blew, and his mind slowly cleared. After the recent encounter, Li Haochen's nerves were extremely tense. Facing the dark sea, he was afraid a shark might pop out and get him. He shivered and quickly climbed back onto the boat.
"Phew~ Nearly got myself killed."
This bluefin tuna could be sold for at least 150,000 yuan. While it was a bit of a shame, he had no regrets.
As for why such a bluefin tuna would appear in such shallow waters, he had no idea. Who could control where it wanted to go?
Regarding this crisis, Li Haochen believed it was merely due to insufficient preparation. With this experience, he would definitely be fine in the future.
"Ah~ Achoo..."
After sneezing several times, Li Haochen felt something was wrong. He quickly ran into the bathroom, stripped off his wet clothes, and turned the hot water to its maximum setting.
In less than ten seconds, the icy water became scalding hot. Li Haochen let it pour over him. Perhaps due to the cold entering his body, he didn't feel the intense heat, rather, the water temperature still felt insufficient, though his skin had already turned red from the heat.
After a hot shower, he felt refreshed. To prevent catching a cold, Li Haochen brewed a bowl of concentrated ginger soup. It was very spicy, but after drinking it, his entire body warmed up.
After resting for a few minutes, he entered the spatial realm and brought out another insulated container. Upon opening it, the food was still steaming hot.
He was very hungry, but his appetite wasn't great. He wasn't sure if it was due to the ginger soup or the onset of a cold.
Despite his lack of appetite, Li Haochen insisted on finishing the meal. Preserving energy was key to fighting off illness.
It was getting late, and his physical condition wasn't the best, so he decided to forgo retrieving the fish traps. There were over twenty of them, and it would take more than an hour to finish, followed by another shower, which seemed unnecessary.
He burrowed into his covers, rolled himself up tightly, and soon fell into a deep sleep.