Chapter 183 - 131: Opening the One-Time Beachcombing Map (Part 2)

Chapter 183: Chapter 131: Opening the One-Time Beachcombing Map (Part 2)

’But it made sense. Since Mom had set up the blind date, she was probably a local.’

’Her figure is just as I’d imagined, though. Tall—probably around five-foot-seven—but it seems like all her growth went into her legs. Her chest wasn’t exactly flat, but it was just a handful.’

"Mhm, I was supposed to come here with my best friend, but she ditched me for some guy," Lin Mengqi said, venting a little as she discreetly sized up the man before her.

’Based on looks alone, he was her type. He looked much better in person than he did in his photo.’

’His skin was a little tan, but she didn’t mind. It was a healthy, sun-kissed bronze, not overly dark.’

Gu Nan chuckled. "What a coincidence. I came with a buddy of mine, and he ditched me too. He’s up front, splashing around with all the pretty girls."

"Is that so? Then we’ll have to cheers to that!" Lin Mengqi said with a light laugh, covering her mouth as she raised her drink.

Gu Nan picked up his orange juice, tapped it against her glass, and took a sip.

"How come you’re not with your friend?" After taking a sip of her drink, Lin Mengqi tucked away a strand of hair that the sea breeze had blown loose, her question seemingly casual.

"It’s not really my scene. I’m a bit shy." Gu Nan lay back down, turning his head slightly to admire her profile.

’This girl was genuinely beautiful. Of all the women he had met in real life, she was the only one who could rival Yi Chen in terms of natural, makeup-free beauty, though they had completely different styles.’

’Yi Chen had a pure, innocent look—the kind of girl who easily brought out a man’s protective instincts.’

’She, on the other hand, was a fair-skinned beauty with an elegant air about her. He had a feeling she would look even better in a hanfu or qipao.’

"Is that so?" Lin Mengqi smiled. She didn’t believe that for a second, of course. ’If he were really shy, how could he be so at ease around me? Back in school, I met plenty of guys who couldn’t even string a sentence together in my presence and would only steal glances from a distance.’

’Not like this guy, who was staring so brazenly it was making her feel a little self-conscious.’

The two of them didn’t continue chatting after that. They barely knew each other, after all, and didn’t have much to talk about.

Gu Nan drew his gaze back and looked out at the inky black surface of the sea. The ocean breeze blew past, occasionally carrying a wisp of a pleasant fragrance, and a feeling of contentment washed over him.

’Just lying here quietly really was an excellent way to relax.’

’Gu Nan thought he could bring Yi Chen here next time. It wasn’t like everyone at the beach wore a swimsuit. You could wear regular clothes if you weren’t planning on swimming.’

Around nine o’clock, Gu Nan received a message from An Jun asking him to pick him up the next morning. He stood up and said goodbye to Lin Mengqi.

This was a good chance to do his daily quests and check out the marine foraging map.

Because he was setting up a new tank, the shop was a bit cramped, so he hadn’t arranged for the Spotted Prawn Shrimp shipment yet.

He still hadn’t used this week’s foraging attempts. He’d check the marine foraging map again, then schedule everything to be shipped out at once.

Since An Jun wanted to be picked up tomorrow, Gu Nan decided to spend the night out on the water. That way, he could just take the boat directly to the dock to get him.

He went home, took a shower, and prepared to head out to sea. By the time he reached Sanlian Reef, it was already 10:30 PM.

But he planned to pull an all-nighter, so he had plenty of time.

He checked his balance of just over thirty thousand Gold Coins. He decided to save up his attempts for the Fengqi Coast for a few days and focus on unlocking items in the Seven-Star Rock collection tonight.

He sold his green gear set for 3,840 Gold Coins and immediately bought a complete purple Seven-Star gear set.

Gu Nan could have actually afforded the purple set yesterday, but it had gotten a bit late, so he decided to wait and buy it today before starting his quests.

However, relaxing on the beach earlier had alleviated much of his mental fatigue, so he was determined to make a solid effort tonight.

The purple set provided a huge stat boost. His daily attempts at Seven-Star Rock increased to fifteen, and he even received a 2,000 Gold Coin bonus. His current balance was 4,070 Gold Coins.

The number of daily quests was six, the same as with the blue gear set.

Gu Nan did a quick calculation and realized that completing all six quests would only net him 3,000 Gold Coins and 300 experience points.

’That’s not right!’

The bonus to daily quests from the purple fishing rod was surprisingly small. He had expected the Gold Coin reward to be at least four thousand, especially since completing all five quests with the green set had yielded around 2,200.

He just didn’t have a good point of reference. Back at the Fengqi Coast, he had caught a normal boss before he’d even finished collecting the blue fishing rod set, which had ended up suspending his daily quests entirely.

That made it difficult for him to earn Gold Coins, and he had been nowhere near as well-off as he was now.

He wasn’t sure if three thousand was the cap for daily quest rewards. However, the highest-level quest for the day was still to unlock a four-star collection item, which he was certain he could complete with the purple fishing rod.

He tied on a lead sinker, a shrimp pot, and a small, fish-shaped soft lure. After setting some frozen Antarctic krill aside to thaw, Gu Nan cast his baited hook into the water to start using his daily guaranteed-catch attempts.

The spot he’d chosen for the day was fifty meters deep, and there were plenty of fish on the bottom.

Gu Nan waited for his baited hook to hit the bottom before activating his first guaranteed-catch attempt.

He had fifteen attempts from the Seven-Star Rock set, plus the ten daily ones, for a total of twenty-five.

The reason Gu Nan now waited for the lure to hit bottom before using an attempt was because he felt the bite rate varied at different depths. So, he always waited for the lure to be in position first.

This way, if a certain depth stopped yielding new marine life for his collection, he could just switch to another one, allowing him to unlock everything much faster.

After a dozen or so seconds, the tip of his rod plunged downward, and the line began screaming off the reel.

Gu Nan quickly lifted the rod to set the hook. After getting a feel for the fish’s strength, he decisively locked the drag.