Chapter 176 So bad yet loves to play?

A few comments drifted sparsely across the screen.

"Streamer, are you actually any good? You've been streaming for two years, and I've never seen you catch a fish."

"Based on my big data analysis of the Streamer's past behavioral patterns, you usually rely on 'bluffing' and 'money power' when outside your area of expertise. But these fish... they don't recognize money."

"Is this what you call a high-level match? Streamer, your grip on that rod is all wrong; you look like you're holding a fire poker to poke a hornet's nest."

Lin Xi scoffed.

"What do you guys know?"

"This is called 'great skill appears clumsy'."

"Don't think I'm like you guys."

Immediately, Lin Xi activated his mass-taunt mode, spouting things like "The Fish Feeder," "Thanks for promoting the development of China's fishing industry," "Hero of fish population growth," and so on.

Heart-stabbing phrases popped out one after another.

Could they take this lying down?!

The comments in the stream instantly cascaded down like a waterfall:

"If you've got the guts, don't go to the seafood market later!"

"I wish you become China's first delivery driver! Specifically for delivering takeout to fish!"

"Greetings, Immortal of Baiting!"

"I'm not logging off! I'm going to calculate whether your bait-to-catch ratio exceeds 100:1!"

While bickering with the netizens in his stream, Lin Xi observed his surroundings.

Five meters away, a local old man was sitting.

He wore a woolen hat and had dark, tanned skin.

The old man's surname was Zhang; Lin Xi had greeted him when he first arrived.

At this moment, the rod in Old Zhang's hand gave a violent jerk.

A dark brown rockfish was instantly whipped into the air.

It traced a wet arc through the air.

And landed accurately into the net beside him.

A consecutive catch.

Lin Xi's eyes narrowed; this was an expert!

He never expected to encounter an expert of this caliber just by picking a random breakwater!

A fisherman's soul, a fisherman's spirit!

You can lose on technique, but you can't lose your spirit!

Even if he's an expert, I have to spar with him!

"Watch closely, I'm about to make my move."

An unprecedented look of seriousness appeared on Lin Xi's face.

He took a deep breath, aligned his waist and stance, used his upper arm to drive his forearm, and flicked his wrist sharply—

"Go!"

Whoosh—

That heavy, dead-weight fiberglass fishing rod traced an ungraceful trajectory through the air.

Immediately after.

There was no soft sound of the float entering the water as expected.

Only a dull "thud."

The fishhook moved with flamboyant flair in the air, perfectly bypassing all obstacles.

And hooked precisely onto a rotten wooden post behind him used for stacking discarded fishing nets on the pier.

Because of the excessive force, the fishing line was pulled taut, emitting an awkward humming sound.

The air suddenly went quiet.

Old Zhang's hand, which was in the middle of baiting his hook, paused.

He slowly turned his head.

He looked deeply at Lin Xi with eyes that had seen it all.

There was no mockery or disdain in that gaze.

Only a kind of gentle, tolerant look one gives when seeing a fool.

Then, Old Zhang silently turned his head back.

He continued staring at the sea, as if nothing had just happened.

This silent critical hit was ten thousand times more painful than someone directly asking, "Do you even know how to fish?"

The stream instantly went wild with laughter.

"Hahahaha! Is this the strategic fishing method? The 'look-back snatch'?"

"That cast displayed the style of an industrial powerhouse! A precision strike on the rear supply line!"

"Streamer, did that wooden post offend you?"

Lin Xi remained calm and composed.

He struggled to untangle the hook from the rotten fishing net.

While untangling it, he explained to the stream with a straight face:

"Brothers, this isn't my fault."

"The resin distribution on this rod is severely uneven, and the center of gravity is off."

"This caused a deviation in the resonance frequency when swinging the rod."

"Plus, there was a sudden lateral wind shear just now."

"At the exact moment I cast, it changed the trajectory of the lead weight."

"This is an equipment issue, not a failure of skill."

"...Streamer, if you used that mouth for fishing, you could talk the fish into a limp."

"If you say it's an equipment issue, then just use rebar!"

"Yes, yes, yes, rebar! Everyone who's used it says it's great! It never breaks!"

After struggling for a full ten minutes.

Lin Xi finally threw the hook into the water.

The waves lapped against the breakwater.

An hour passed.

The bucket beside Old Zhang kept making splashing sounds.

There were rockfish and yellow croaker; it looked like he had two or three jin.

Meanwhile, Lin Xi's float was as steady as Mount Tai.

It was steadier than the legendary Pillar of the Sea.

That red and white float tail looked as if it were welded to the surface of the sea, completely motionless.

Lin Xi was starting to get restless.

If he were negotiating a multi-million dollar deal, he could grind for a day and a night.

But this damn float not moving was more agonizing than killing him.

"This isn't scientific."

Lin Xi stared at the sea, his brow furrowed.

He started spouting all sorts of technical jargon:

"According to fluid mechanics and ocean current directions, my bait's diffusion path should be a perfect fan-shaped coverage."

"And I just calculated the tidal force; it's currently the feeding period."

"Have these 1982 fish never received nine years of compulsory education?"

"Can't they understand my bait tactical layout?"

The stream's comments were already laughing like crazy.

The screen was completely covered in "Hahahaha."

"President Lin, stop talking about fluid mechanics. That's called a dead bait spot."

"Watching you adjust the float is giving me high blood pressure! It's too dull! That lead sheet is rolled as heavy as a bullet casing, and it's been lying on the bottom for eight hundred years! The fish would have to swallow the hook into its stomach and do a backflip for your float to move even once!"

"I can't watch this anymore, I really can't. Streamer, take our advice, beg us, and we'll teach you."

Lin Xi watched as Old Zhang nonchalantly reeled up another small yellow croaker.

That "plop" sound of the fish being thrown into the bucket hit Lin Xi's heart every single time.

He finally set aside his dignity as an industrial tycoon.

Lin Xi coughed and said softly in his mind:

"Ahem, um..."

"Since everyone is so enthusiastic."

"Which expert is online? Can you give me a few pointers?"

"Technical exchange only, okay."

"It's not that I don't know how; I mainly just wanted to test you all."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the style of the stream changed drastically.

From a roast session, it instantly turned into a national-level technical seminar.

Countless comments flooded the screen with specific operational instructions.

"King of Wild Fishing: Cut the lead sheet! Whether you use your teeth or nail clippers, cut off one-third of the lead! Let the float tail show four marks!"

"Postdoctoral Fellow in Biology: Change the hook! Your hook is too big; are you fishing for sharks? Since you don't have a spare hook, cut the bloodworm short! Only hook a tiny bit on the tip! Make it easy for the fish to swallow!"

"Number One Sea Angler: Pull the line back a bit! Find a ledge! The fish are all by the crevices in the rocks; it's no wonder you can't catch anything when you throw it on the flat sandy bottom!"

Lin Xi instantly transformed into a ruthless execution machine.

He didn't say any nonsense and followed the instructions from the comments completely.

Cut the lead sheet.

Cut the bloodworm.

Carefully dragged the line assembly back half a meter.

After feeling the lead weight bump against a rock in his hand, he stopped immediately.

"Good," Lin Xi thought to himself.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Suddenly.

That float, which had seemed dead just a moment ago, dipped ever so slightly.

The movement was so small that the Lin Xi from moments ago would have definitely ignored it.

But at this moment, countless eyes in the stream were watching for him.

"Pull!!!"

"Strike!!!"

"Right now!!!"

Almost at the same instant the comments flooded the screen.

Lin Xi's muscle memory and trust in the future allowed him to react.

He flicked his wrist sharply.

Hook set!

The rod tip instantly bent into a not-so-large arc.

But the distinct feeling of struggle came through his hand.

Got one!

"Get up here!"

Lin Xi let out a low shout.

Not giving the guy underwater any chance to dive into a hole, he jerked it straight up.

A palm-sized small yellow croaker, shimmering with a golden luster all over its body.

It was frantically wagging its tail in the air as Lin Xi dragged it out of the water.

Although it wasn't big, maybe two taels at most.

But at this moment.

The smile on Lin Xi's face was even brighter than when he earned forty-eight million US dollars.

"Got a hit!"

"See that! I told you I was an expert!"

Lin Xi grabbed the slippery little fish, so excited he almost couldn't hold onto it.

Old Zhang, hearing the commotion, turned his head again.

He looked at the prey in Lin Xi's hand, which was smaller than the fish he had used for bait earlier.

Then he looked at Lin Xi's excitement.

Old Zhang was silent for a moment.

The corners of his mouth twitched in a very rare motion.

"Not bad, young man."

Old Zhang's voice was rough.

"In this area, at this time, being able to catch a yellow croaker means you've got some skill."

This affirmation from the local "Sweeping Monk" instantly satisfied Lin Xi's vanity to the greatest extent.

"Luck, just luck."