Chapter 113 - 114: An Angler with a Dream

Chapter 113: Chapter 114: An Angler with a Dream

The anglers nearby watched the two of them with expressions that said everything — what was there even to say?

Anyone who didn’t know better would’ve thought they were elite anglers, too good to even glance at a decent crucian or bream, radiating the kind of confidence that only comes from targeting big fish exclusively.

In reality, they were regulars at getting skunked.

"Seriously, you two — don’t you think you’re getting a little full of yourselves?"

Even Three Sticks of Incense couldn’t watch anymore.

"Holy shit, I’ve got a black float dive too!"

But the moment the words left his mouth, Three Sticks of Incense let out a shout and leapt to his feet, snatching up his rod and yanking the strike. The tip bent hard, and the beautiful sing of the line cutting through the air rang out — music to any angler’s ears.

"This one feels like a good one~"

Three Sticks of Incense laughed with excitement, but the instant the bream broke the surface, his grin froze solid. He looked exactly like Da Bian and Heavy Chummer before him — face scrunching up into a disgusted "what the hell."

It was barely any bigger than the one Heavy Chummer had pulled up. Nothing to get worked up about.

"Alright, all three of you — enough!"

The angler beside them had seen all he could take.

Three guys who’d been getting skunked all session finally hook up one after another, and instead of being happy about it, they’re all pulling faces like they just fished out a dirty sock. These guys had their heads so far in the clouds they couldn’t find their way back down.

"I’m picking up a sour smell."

"Smells like jealousy to me."

"Yeah, I smell it too — where’s that coming from?"

The three scoundrels of the Air Force Alliance exchanged glances, then turned toward the nearby angler and made an exaggerated show of sniffing the air before bursting into laughter. Absolutely shameless.

"What are you, part dog?"

The angler beside them didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The three stooges just laughed even harder.

It was all friendly banter between fishing buddies — nobody was taking any of it seriously.

"Well, small fry are still fish. Getting on the board is always a good thing. Keep casting — we’re going for the Fish King~"

After the laughs died down, the three of them grabbed their landing nets, scooped up their catches, dropped them in the keepnets, and started re-baiting their hooks. They tossed out a bold declaration about landing the Fish King, playing the part of seasoned pros to the hilt.

*Sigh~*

Heavy Chummer let out a breath as he worked the bait onto his hook.

"Bro, what are you sighing about?"

Three Sticks of Incense asked, pinching his bait.

"Little bro, if the price of a hot streak is having people jealous of me, then I’ll just have to accept it~"

Heavy Chummer had the face of a man absolutely asking to get smacked.

"Bro, are you seriously thinking about a hot streak? If the Air Force Alliance can just manage to break our skunk today, that’d be an achievement. Set the bar any higher and you’re just daydreaming. Come back to earth — just get your line in the water and hope for the best."

Da Bian shook his head.

He finished pressing his bait and cast back into the water.

"If you fish without a dream, what makes you any different from the rest of the skunked guys out there? What makes you any different from the anglers over there who are jealous of us?"

Heavy Chummer baited his hook and cast out.

"Haha, fair point — we’re anglers with dreams~"

Three Sticks of Incense laughed and sent his own cast flying into the water.

All three of them broke out laughing.

The anglers around them were shaking their heads in exasperation, but honestly, these three clowns had a way of livening up the whole pond. They added a kind of energy to the session that was hard to hate.

"Even the skunked guys are having a good time together."

Chen Yuan looked out over the pond. With those three idiots keeping things lively, the vibe was actually pretty solid.

Fishing was supposed to be relaxing, after all. If everyone sat around in dead silence, half the fun would be gone. The skunk crew had their uses.

And with limited catches, it was all profit anyway~

"The mood’s just right — might as well give things another nudge~"

Chen Yuan tucked a cigarette between his lips, closed out the Air Force Alliance trio’s spot settings, and switched it over to a Fish King spawn — no other options, just pure luck of the draw.

*Whirrrr~*

In an instant, the gorgeous wail of line tearing through the air rang out across the pond — urgent, deep, and heavy, nothing like the sound of pulling in a small fry. Every head at the water turned.

"Fish King — it’s the Fish King — now THAT’S what the Fish King feels like!"

The ecstatic shout came from right beside Da Bian — his neighboring angler, of all people. The three stooges blinked in confusion for a moment before their faces twitched.

They’d just been talking big about having dreams, running their mouths about hot streaks and mocking people for being jealous — and now the guy sitting right next to them had hooked the Fish King. If that wasn’t a slap to the face, nothing was.

"You really do need dreams when you fish. Otherwise, what separates you from the guys watching on a screen and going home empty-handed?" (Cough cough — please don’t come for me, godfather, I beg~)

*Whirrrr~*

The rod bent into a deep, full arc, the line singing that glorious, pulse-quickening song — the kind that gets your blood pumping.

The anglers nearby quickly reeled in their own lines to clear the way, crowding around with wide eyes to watch the fight unfold. Plenty of them had their phones out snapping photos without Chen Yuan having to lift a finger.

Chen Dequan quietly stepped back into the crowd, returned the big landing net to its spot, then crouched in a corner or positioned himself on the far bank to film Battle Fish King footage on his phone.

"Worthy of the Fish King — this is just incredible~"

The angler hauled back on his rod with everything he had, leaning his whole body back as hard as he could. Within moments his face had gone beet red, but the excitement written across it only burned brighter.

He’d drop into a crouch, the butt of the rod braced against the ground, then sprint along the bank as the fish made a run, trading ground with the Fish King blow for blow while the whole pond cheered him on.

Chen Yuan had long since lost that first-time thrill over the Fish King. The whole scene held zero interest for him — he sat in the office, cigarette dangling from his lip, scrolling on his phone.

Only when the roaring and hollering outside began to die down did he leisurely stroll out.

"Worthy of the Fish King — what a sight~"

"The moment just before it breaks the surface is the most insane part — especially in this kind of night lighting. It looks like something out of a movie, like a deep-sea monster that could actually launch itself out of the water and attack you."

"The way it charges is like a torpedo firing — genuinely jaw-dropping~"

The anglers were still buzzing after it was all over, trading impressions even as the Fish King was released back into the pond.

"Man, I actually had the Fish King once, but my rod snapped that day. If it hadn’t, I’d have smoked everyone here~"

Heavy Chummer slapped his knee and sighed.

First time at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground and he’d connected with the Fish King — the only tragedy was that his rod couldn’t hold up, and the whole thing ended with a snap. If it hadn’t, a catch like that would’ve had every angler here hanging their heads.

A certified skunk regular — a man who repels fish on a spiritual level — had still managed to tangle with the Fish King.

Were the rest of them really going to let themselves get shown up by that?

"Ugh, that Fish King had to have swum through my swim first. If my line hadn’t thrown the hook just now, that Fish King would’ve been mine, no question~"

Da Bian was even more gutted.

That hit earlier — the one that threw the hook — had way too much force behind it to have been a Little Kalami. Now that the guy right next to him had successfully landed the Fish King, he was more convinced than ever that what he’d lost was the Fish King itself.

So damn close.

*Sigh~*

"The Fish King isn’t going anywhere. As long as it’s in this pond, it’ll get landed eventually~"

Chen Yuan walked over with a grin and handed out the consolation rewards.

"Haha, Boss Chen’s right — the bite in this pond is great, and the Fish King shows up all the time. You guys broke your skunk today, so tomorrow you’ll definitely hook the Fish King~"

The angler who’d landed the Fish King didn’t stick around to keep rubbing it in — he was already waving his cash in the air and making a beeline for the main building. The tradition at Chen Yuan Fishing Ground was going to keep going strong~

"Considering the smokes and drinks you’re giving me, I’ll let it slide that you stole my Fish King."

Da Bian accepted the cigarettes and drinks with an exaggerated air of magnanimity.

The anglers around them burst out laughing.

"Boss Chen, you’re right that neither the pond nor the Fish King is going anywhere — but the spots are another story. Some weeks you can’t even snag one, no matter how hard you try. It’s rough~"

Heavy Chummer took his cigarettes and drinks with a nod of thanks, then turned to look at Chen Yuan.

Memberships!

Same old topic. He’d been wanting a membership for a while now — not just any membership, either, but the top-tier, fully-loaded kind. He wanted a permanent spot privilege, ideally one that guaranteed him a reserved fishing space.

"Boss Chen, it really is time to roll out a membership system."

The other anglers nearby perked up at that.

They were all regulars at this point, and they’d come to love Chen Yuan Fishing Ground. They wanted to be here all the time — especially with the Fish King as the draw. Who wouldn’t want a shot at landing it?

But the group chat was pushing thirteen hundred members now, and with that kind of crowd, two sessions a day only meant a hundred and twenty spots. Without some luck, you weren’t getting in.

And between the service, the facilities, and most importantly the fishing — which was second to none — there were only going to be more people showing up.

So how were you supposed to compete for a spot?

"The spot shortage will be sorted out soon~"

Chen Yuan said with a smile.

He could feel how badly these anglers wanted a spot — or more accurately, how badly they wanted a shot at the Fish King. Everyone was chasing a chance to land it.

But the membership system still needed more time to come together properly.

Adding another pond, though — that would take a lot of the pressure off right away.

Old Pond or the big pond, it didn’t matter. One of them had to be secured.

"That’s all we needed to hear, Boss Chen."

The anglers smiled with satisfaction. Most of them were regulars and they knew Boss Chen was a straight shooter — he didn’t deal in empty promises. If he said it would happen, it would happen.

"Alright, back to fishing. Get your lines in the water."

The anglers tucked their cigarettes in their mouths, grabbed their drinks, and headed back to their spots with contented grins.

The Fish King had come up early tonight, but time always seemed to fly when you were fishing — before long, the session was already wrapping up.