Chapter 23: The Might of the Fishing Rod

Despite having heavy dark circles under his eyes, Du Yu felt not the slightest bit sleepy. He stared at the plain-looking long rod in his hands and tapped to view its details.

Indeed, this was a fishing rod—the very rod Du Yu had been longing for.

"Fishing Rod (Attribute): Increases the chance of catching rare deep-sea fish.
Introduction:
1. Base probability of attracting rare fish per cast: 15%.
2. When paired with bait, the probability increases to 25%.
3. When paired with premium bait, the probability increases to 40%.
4. No manual reeling required; automatic reeling (maximum tension: 100kg).
5. High-strength hook; no need to tire out the fish.
Remark: A big one is about to bite..."

He hadn't expected to be able to combine these features. Du Yu thought, "Heaven is truly helping me!" No, wait—it was the System helping him!

Looking at his meager 50 Luck Points, Du Yu gritted his teeth and purchased 50 portions of bait. As his Luck Points dropped to zero, he felt a strange sense of relief. If he was going to do this, he had to be fully prepared!

The 50 portions of bait performed far better than Du Yu had expected, yielding nine portions of premium bait. It seemed that even a "non-chief" like Du Yu could have a stroke of luck now and then.

After a moment of contemplation, Du Yu decided to take only the nine portions of premium bait and two ordinary buckets on this trip. After all, the buckets in the Luck Shop were still full of other fish, and the shop currently had no shortage of stock. This was the perfect chance to see what kind of sparks could fly when combining this rod with premium bait.

He dragged a bewildered Wang Xiaowei along, and the two of them drove the van back to the seaside. Sitting in the vehicle, Wang Xiaowei rubbed his aching ears and stretched, signaling that he was already used to this. Familiar time, familiar strength.

Upon arriving at the shore, a group of fishermen greeted Du Yu one after another. This young man had become quite famous in the area; every time he went out to sea, he always managed to catch one or two remarkably rare fish. It was said that he had even landed a tuna yesterday! This young man was truly incredible. It never hurt to be on good terms with him.

Du Yu smiled and nodded to each of them in turn.

"Young man, are you taking that boat again today? Everyone is hoping to learn a trick or two from you! Hahaha."

The elderly fisherman from yesterday said this with a cheerful laugh. He was telling the truth. The story about the tuna had been spread by this very man. After all, in recent years, witnessing a tuna with one's own eyes was truly something to boast about! That was why the old fisherman had proactively offered to lend his boat to Du Yu and his companion, so that everyone could see he wasn't lying.

Du Yu was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help but chuckle. He understood what the old man was getting at. However, his goal today wasn't to show off before a crowd of fishermen; he was here to catch rare fish!

On one hand, catching rare fish would increase his Luck Points, and there were many items in the Luck Shop that Du Yu wanted to get his hands on. After all, who doesn't want to get rich? On the other hand, catching rare fish would also earn him Level Points to upgrade his skills—another cheat-like advantage! More importantly, the upgrade mechanism of the leveling system still required exploration, and Du Yu wanted to get to the bottom of it.

With these goals in mind, Du Yu attached the premium bait to his rod, cast his line, and sat down quietly. His Level 3 Fishing Mastery was no joke. Du Yu's technique was extremely professional, leaving the other fishermen stunned. However, they didn't pay it too much mind; since Du Yu always returned with a full haul, such professional movements were to be expected.

Watching Du Yu sit there so calmly, the crowd remained quiet. Wang Xiaowei, however, was a bit curious. Why was Brother Yu doing the fishing himself today? Still, he didn't dwell on it and just stood by quietly, waiting for the moment he would need to help pull the rod when a fish took the bait.

In truth, Du Yu wasn't as calm as he looked. A 40% probability meant there was still a 60% chance he wouldn't attract any rare fish at all, which would make this trip nothing more than a seaside joyride. But Du Yu’s "Level 3 Concentration" was not just for show. While the others were standing until their legs grew numb and Wang Xiaowei had already drifted off into dreams of the local hair salon, Du Yu remained motionless, his eyes fixed intently on the surface of the sea.

"It’s here!"

After more than twenty minutes, Du Yu noticed small bubbles appearing on the calm surface and felt his rod being pulled downward. He whispered excitedly. Wang Xiaowei immediately snapped out of his half-sleep, remembering that Du Yu had mentioned the possibility of catching something special today.

As Wang Xiaowei reached to help Du Yu with the rod, Du Yu stopped him with a gesture. "Just watch me."

Du Yu gave a small grin. "My turn."

Wang Xiaowei inwardly rolled his eyes, wondering what kind of plastic bag Brother Yu was made of to be so full of air. On the surface, Du Yu appeared to be reeling the rod manually, but in reality, he pressed a button on the handle, and the line began to retract slowly.

The onlookers were very confused. If this young man didn't tire the fish out, wasn't he afraid of failing to land it? Besides, anyone with common fishing knowledge knew that you shouldn't reel in a large fish directly—not only might the line snap, but did an average person even have the strength for it?

Then, they watched as Du Yu reeled the line in, bit by bit.

"This young man has such strength! And this line is of such high quality!"

"Someone get me the link for that!"

Du Yu reeled the line in and was overjoyed to see a bright red spotted grouper. He weighed it in his hands—it had to be at least ten or twelve pounds! It was clearly a mature red spotted grouper.

"System: Host has obtained a red spotted grouper for the first time. Luck Points +100, Level Points +1." The system notification rang out.

The surrounding fishermen gasped. It was truly no surprise that this young man's first catch was a red spotted grouper! Du Yu carefully placed the fish into his bucket, instructed Wang Xiaowei to guard it well, and turned back to cast his line again. At this rate, Du Yu felt it wasn't impossible to pay off his debts today.

He was practically more efficient than an ATM.

The crowd's expressions shifted from shock at the first red spotted grouper to speechlessness at the second coral grouper, and finally to numbness by the fifth yellow croaker. The fishermen felt a bit dejected. "How am I supposed to compete with this?"

In truth, Du Yu was still a bit unsatisfied. Nine portions of premium bait had only yielded five rare fish...

But as he looked at the scrolling system notifications, he had to admit: he had made a killing.

The fishing rod seemed to declare: "From this moment on, the ocean belongs to me!"