34: sticking out his butt

Gao Xiaofan felt this way because such pools were terrifying; the more he fished and the more familiar he became with these waters, the deeper his sense of awe grew.

Such pools were dark and deep; you had no idea how deep they really were. Looking around, it was situated right at the foot of a mountain, where protruding rocks completely blocked out the sunlight, making the water extremely cold.

If one fell in unexpectedly, it would be easy to get cramps, and a moment's carelessness could lead to drowning.

Gao Xiaofan frowned because a bath was out of the question, but at this moment, he wasn't focused on that at all.

He was currently swallowing hard, watching the dark shadows that swam through the dark pool from time to time.

Sturgeon! And mountain spring Sturgeon at that!

The last time Gao Xiaofan came to Annan City, he had the good fortune of eating this mountain spring Sturgeon. The taste had amazed him, but that one had only been about half a kilogram—a mere fry among fries. However, the dark shadows before him were at least forty to fifty centimeters long. Although they weren't fully mature yet, they were much larger than the one he had eaten last time.

Gao Xiaofan swallowed hard and started running back toward the village.

As an Angler, it would be unacceptable to see this and not do anything.

After running a few steps, he suddenly remembered something. He pulled out his phone, opened Baidu, and began searching.

A few minutes later, Gao Xiaofan started laughing. As long as it wasn't a Chinese Sturgeon, it was fine.

Although they didn't look like them, it was better to be safe than sorry. If they really were Chinese Sturgeons, he'd be looking at some serious prison time.

It took half an hour to get there, but the way back was very fast. He ran back in just over ten minutes, moving like a bolt of lightning.

Gao Xiaofan dashed into the house, grabbed his car keys, and rushed toward the car, pulling on his clothes as he ran.

There were staff members everywhere in the village. If someone saw him like this, they would probably mistake him for a pervert.

He hurriedly grabbed his lure rod, bait box, and Landing Net, then ran back toward the pool like the wind.

At this moment, Gao Xiaofan was incredibly grateful that he had brought his gear. If he hadn't, he might have jumped into the water in desperation upon seeing the fish swimming there.

That's right, Sturgeon are also a target for Lure Fishing. Although Taiwan Fishing with earthworms could work, Lure Fishing was clearly more convenient for this kind of terrain. The little yellow rod came in handy once again.

He had to upgrade his lure rod once he got back. As his range of activity increased, some uncommon lure fish species were starting to appear frequently.

Gao Xiaofan thought to himself as he ran.

Before long, a panting Gao Xiaofan stood before the deep pool, covered in sweat but with a smile on his face.

First, he lay on the ground and scooped up some mountain spring water to wet himself down and cool off. Then, he sat on the ground to rig his bait.

The pool wasn't large, about one mu in size.

Once the bait was tied, Gao Xiaofan gave the UL-action little yellow rod a gentle swing. The Jig Head, carrying the soft bait, flew out from the tip of the rod.

"Plop~"

The mountains were quiet, and the sound of the lure hitting the water was clearly audible. Gao Xiaofan remained unmoved, simply watching the surface of the water in silence.

Hearing the movement, the Sturgeons in the mountain spring swam toward where the lure had landed.

Gao Xiaofan's mood was soaring right now. He had never fished in such a target-rich environment.

The mountain spring water was crystal clear, which was practically like having a vision hack.

Watching the group of dark shadows gathered near the lure, he flicked his wrist, controlling the soft bait on the bottom of the pool to hop. Immediately, a jolting vibration like an electric shock traveled up the little yellow rod. His face lit up with joy. He jerked his right hand holding the rod to set the hook, and his left hand quickly turned the handle to start retrieving the line.

Seeing the Sturgeon being quickly pulled to the surface, Gao Xiaofan scooped it up with the Landing Net he had prepared.

He put down the rod and looked at the thrashing Sturgeon.

It was about thirty centimeters long and weighed around 1.5 kilograms. Gao Xiaofan looked around and realized he had forgotten to bring a live fish bucket, so he had to leave the Sturgeon in the net and prepare to continue fishing.

But when he looked back at the pool, he was stunned. The school of Sturgeon from before had vanished without a trace. Refusing to give up, he cast another line into the pool.

Small hops, big hops, steady retrieve, fast retrieve—there was no reaction at all.

Gao Xiaofan could only put away his rod in resignation. Clearly, this deep pool was connected to other places; otherwise, this wouldn't have happened.

This also explained why there were Sturgeon here. At the same time, he felt a sense of relief.

He was glad he hadn't jumped into the water recklessly. This mountain pool was bottomless, and if it was connected to other places, there was a high probability of underwater currents. If he had been caught in one, no matter how good a swimmer he was, he wouldn't have been able to get out.

Feeling dejected, he wet himself down again and prepared to head back. However, when he picked up the net, his face lit up with joy again. He was in for a treat tonight.

Many people who fish don't like to eat fish, but Gao Xiaofan was different. He loved both catching and eating them. However, he really didn't know how to cook this Sturgeon, as this was his first time encountering one.

Puffing on a cigarette, he strolled leisurely back toward the village. At this moment, he had no idea that the village was in total chaos.

"Go look for him! What are you standing around for? If there's no word in half an hour, call the police. I said from the start we shouldn't have taken this damn job."

In the center of the village, Qu Lang was fuming with rage.

He had just finally finished today's work and remembered the new guest. When he asked around, someone said they saw him run off with a Landing Net, but no one knew where he went.

This threw him into a panic. There were no wild beasts here, but the terrain was strange and varied, with many mountains and waters. Hearing that the guy was carrying a Landing Net scared the life out of him.

If he accidentally fell into the water, it would be over for everyone. As the chief director of the Program Production Crew, he would certainly be held responsible.

Meanwhile, Chen Cheng was pouting, wandering around like a headless fly, muttering to herself as she ran.

"He's so mean, getting me scolded. Hmph, going out to play without taking me. I won't give you any snacks next time."

As she ran, she ended up near Gao Xiaofan's house.

This was the third time she had run over here. The first two times, the house had been empty.

A normal person might have gone to look elsewhere, but Chen Cheng didn't hesitate to dash inside again.

"Ah~!"

"Holy crap~!"

Gao Xiaofan, who had strolled back, put the fish in a basin. Then, thinking better of it, he stripped off his soaked clothes. After the leisurely walk back and the occasional dousing with mountain spring water, the sweat was gone, so he prepared to change.

Just as he had finished undressing and was sticking out his butt to look for clothes, he heard a high-pitched scream erupt from behind him. It gave him such a fright that he shuddered, and a "holy crap" escaped his lips.

Qu Lang, who had just sat down in the village to catch his breath, was nearly scared to death by that scream. His first thought was that Chen Cheng had found the Young man's body... Fortunately, the subsequent "holy crap" allowed Qu Lang to recognize Gao Xiaofan's voice, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The emotional roller coaster almost made him faint, especially after being out in the sun all day.

Wait, if everyone was fine, why the scream? Thinking of this, Qu Lang bolted toward the direction of the sound.

He really shouldn't have taken this job.