107: Chapter 107 Fishing for Fragments
The night in the countryside was pitch black and silent, with only the portable light brought by the Cameraman barely illuminating the figure by the pond.
The man was seen gripping his rough, homemade fishing rod tightly with both hands, pulling upward rhythmically.
Before long, a fish was pulled out of the water.
The fisherman looked quite happy, but he soon became troubled.
Because he realized he hadn't brought a bucket.
This forced him to temporarily leave the frame. About ten minutes later, seeing that the fish was almost done flopping around, it was finally tossed into a worn-out plastic bucket of indeterminate color by the person who had rushed back.
"No way, how did he actually manage to catch one?"
"Is that guy who said he'd never fish again still here? Shouldn't he thank the streamer for helping him break his fishing addiction?"
"If he can catch fish with a broken tree branch, what does that make me, carrying tens of thousands worth of gear and still coming up empty-handed?"
"He just tossed the fish into that filthy, broken bucket? If I'm not mistaken, he swiped that from someone's pig trough, didn't he?"
...
Watching Lin Xiao catch a fish so easily, the comments in the Live Stream Channel shifted from initial abuse and mockery to being full of jealousy.
They weren't wrong; the plastic bucket Lin Xiao had just brought over was indeed swiped from outside a dilapidated courtyard not far away.
He wasn't watching the live stream and was unaware of the discussions about him in the comments.
Sitting quietly by the pond, feeling the gentle night breeze, he only felt at ease.
How long had it been since he had experienced such quiet?
Lin Xiao casually cast his fishing rod again, patiently waiting for a bite.
As fish after fish was tossed into the bucket, the originally shocked viewers finally became numb.
Soon it was late into the night, and there weren't many viewers left in the Live Stream Channel.
Even the Cameraman had already fallen asleep against a large tree.
But Lin Xiao was still fishing on his own, enjoying this rare leisure time.
But just then, he felt an unusual sensation from the fishing rod in his hand.
It felt like it was stuck deep in the mud, unable to be pulled out for a long time.
Lin Xiao thought it had snagged on water weeds or a rock underwater, so he didn't dare to use too much force.
This was just a simple fishing rod, and it would break quickly if pulled too hard.
With no other choice, he had to try using finesse, testing different angles.
Finally, the fishing rod loosened a bit, but it was still very heavy.
"What could this have hooked..."
Lin Xiao muttered to himself, carefully dragging it upward. To avoid snapping the fishing line, he ran over to the Cameraman and took a spare tripod out of his bag.
He then extended it into the water to fish the object out.
After a great deal of effort, the object caught by the fishhook slowly emerged from the water.
It was actually an old-fashioned black suitcase!
Seeing what it was, Lin Xiao was stunned, and the viewers in the Live Stream Channel were stunned too.
"Wait, wait a minute! It's actually a suitcase in a wilderness pond!"
"No way, is this real or what?"
"Legend has it that what's in these boxes is either money or a human life!"
"Could it really be opening up a hidden fragment?"
"It must be a setup by the Production Crew! I was wondering why Lin Xiao was out fishing in the middle of the night; it was all for this!"
...
The appearance of the suitcase instantly woke the few remaining viewers from their drowsiness.
However, in a Live Stream Channel for a variety show like this, they didn't pay too much attention to the appearance of the suitcase.
After all, variety shows are meant to grab attention and create entertainment value.
They assumed this was just part of it.
But Lin Xiao himself knew that this thing was likely problematic.
As the person involved, his sense of smell and touch were things those viewers couldn't possess.
He clearly smelled the stench of rot coming from the suitcase, as well as the viscous liquid that spilled from the cracks when the suitcase was dragged ashore.
It is said that the smell of a decaying human body is the foulest odor a human can smell.
This is a trait humans evolved during the evolutionary process to warn companions to avoid danger.
This made Lin Xiao even more certain that there was likely a corpse inside the suitcase, and a highly decomposed one at that.
Considering that he would have to report it to the police later, Lin Xiao decided to open the suitcase first to confirm.
He used the spare tripod to push the suitcase to the side, then carefully hooked the zipper on it.
Perhaps because it had been soaking underwater for too long, the zipper was severely rusted and snapped immediately, tearing an opening in the zipper.
At the same time, a grayish-purple, rotting arm reached out.
"Oh my god! What is that? What is that?!"
"Damn, if this is a prop, it's a bit too realistic!"
"It doesn't look like a prop. I'm a forensic doctor; judging by the color and the degree of decomposition, this should be a real human arm. Streamer, hurry up and call the police."
"Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! Is this the retribution for me staying up late?"
"Help! Why didn't anyone put a 'highly graphic' warning?!"
...
Lin Xiao also gasped.
Although he had anticipated it, he was still somewhat shocked when he actually saw it.
After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand to check the time.
He turned to look at the Cameraman who was sleeping soundly, and whispered to the live-streaming equipment: "Don't get excited, everyone. I will call the police... but the fish are biting well right now, so I'll take the time to fish for a while longer. Besides, the corpse won't mind waiting these two hours."
After saying that, he used the tripod to push the suitcase further to the side and sat back down in the spot where he had been fishing before.
After adjusting, he cast his fishhook back into the pond.
"? ? ? ?"
"No, why does this feel like a joke?"
"Even though what he said seems to make sense, why does it always feel so weird?"
"Of course it's weird! Would a normal person stay and fish next to a corpse just because the fish are biting well?"
"A normal person wouldn't, but a hardcore fisherman would. (Dog head to save my life.)"
"Entertainment value! It must be for the show!"
...
The comments section was about to explode.
Crucially, Lin Xiao didn't push the suitcase too far away; from the edge of the live stream screen, one could just barely see that exposed section of the arm.
The entire scene was extremely eerie.
After the viewers broke down, some felt it was real because hardcore fishermen would indeed do some unimaginable things just to fish.
Others felt it was fake, believing that this was all arranged by the Production Crew.
Amidst the arguments, they didn't rashly choose to call the police for Lin Xiao.
Instead, they all stayed in the Live Stream Channel, waiting for the answer after daybreak.