73: I'm so worried

Under the scorching sun, Gao Xiaofan held his fishing rod, sitting on his backpack, his eyes fixed intently on the float in front of him.

With a "shua" sound, he flicked his wrist and lifted the rod again.

Rubbing his aching arm, he had been casting for Silver Carp and Bighead Carp for nearly an hour.

Up until now, there hadn't been a single movement from the float; he had already used up one bag of bait and was currently on his second.

However, Gao Xiaofan had expected this. With such a large body of water, if you wanted to catch the target fish without a long period of luring, there really wasn't much hope.

But the fact that the float hadn't moved at all until now truly left him a bit puzzled.

It was too exhausting; an 8.1-meter rod was inherently long and certainly top-heavy to hold, and since it was a "Rebar" big-object rod, it was even more tiring.

Usually, when fishing for Silver Carp and Bighead Carp, one would use a 6.3-meter all-around rod, which is more manageable once you get used to it.

But whenever Gao Xiaofan thought about that 660,000-yuan gift, he felt he had to persevere; no matter how hard one worked moving bricks, they could never earn that much money.

Shaking his head, he scooped up a ball of bait, hooked it on the top hook, squeezed it tight, and swung it out with both hands like a whip.

He could no longer manage a one-handed cast.

The bait landed accurately in the nesting spot, creating bursts of white mist. Beside him, Qiu Gu moved the camera to the float, where it was clearly visible that the color of the water in that area was different from elsewhere, tinged with white.

Qiu Gu was regretting it now. Dammit, if we can't catch anything in an hour, let's just go~

Going from full of anticipation to numbness, the hunger pangs in his stomach were making him feel a bit miserable.

While supporting the camera, he stared at the bait basin.

He thought they would stop after finishing one bag, but to his despair, Gao Xiaofan poured another bag into the bait basin right before his eyes.

Ruthless~ Truly ruthless~ Too ruthless~

Gao Xiaofan ignored Qiu Gu beside him and kept his eyes fixed on the float.

Even if every lift of the rod ends in disappointment, when you cast again, please be full of hope.

The joy of fishing lies in the fact that you never know what this cast will bring you.

A sudden black float left Gao Xiaofan completely stunned, but an Angler's muscle memory made him jerk the rod upward instinctively.

The sudden disappearance of the float caused the scrolling comments in the livestream room to slow down.

There was no tentative nibbling; it was a direct black float.

The moment the "Rebar" rod was lifted, a massive force surged from the fishing rod in his hands.

The whistling sound of the line cutting through the air ignited the entire livestream room.

"Without a single bit of warning, you appeared just like that~"

"The last time we waited this long was the night Brother Fan fished up a corpse~"

"What lesson does this teach us? Perseverance always pays off!"

"No, it tells us that Brother Wo Zi has a Kirin Arm~"

Gao Xiaofan's heart was racing, and he was even a little afraid.

For no other reason than the force coming through was simply too great!

Looking at how the "Rebar" rod was bent like a bow, he felt completely numb. This is a "Rebar" rod, not a specific fishing rod model; are you kidding me right now?

At least 50+.

Seeing the tip of the rod still being pulled down, Gao Xiaofan suddenly thrust the rod into the mud and braced it firmly with his foot.

Either the rod breaks, or it comes ashore.

Beside him, Qiu Gu stared at the commotion, dumbfounded. Even if he didn't understand, he knew a fish was on, a big one, yet the camera was still stupidly pointed at where the float used to be.

"Are you stupid? The camera! The camera!"

The backstage staff, seeing the exploding comments all calling for a camera switch, hurried to contact Qiu Gu.

Hearing the voice from his earpiece, Qiu Gu finally snapped out of it and began switching the camera between the water's surface and Gao Xiaofan.

In the livestream room, the comments were flying by.

"Holy crap, the 'Rebar' rod is bent like that? That's got to be 50+ pounds, right?"

"So jealous, so jealous. What should I do? I've never caught a fish over 4 pounds~"

"Brother Wo Zi isn't giving an inch? Not going to give a little and play the fish?"

"To the person above, with the 'Rebar' rod bent to this extent, giving an inch or not doesn't make much difference anymore~ If he gives even a little, he'll likely be dragged into the water, or the rod will be."

"So that's how it is. But what if the rod snaps?"

"A snapped rod is unavoidable. In Taiwan Fishing, when you encounter such a big object, you can only rely on the strength of the rod itself to fight it; don't even think about using human strength. So those who snap their rods on big fish aren't bad at fishing; they just have no other choice. It's either the rod breaks, or the fish comes ashore."

Gao Xiaofan's refusal to give an inch caused the body of the "Rebar" rod to tremble, letting out faint creaking sounds.

Fortunately, after a moment, the tip of the rod began to rise slowly. Gao Xiaofan suddenly grabbed the rod and stood the "Rebar" upright, then braced it again with his right foot while clutching it tightly to his chest with his left arm, refusing to let go.

The high-strength body of the "Rebar" rod finally began to show its worth, not yielding an inch against the big object in the water.

Gao Xiaofan took a moment to wipe the sweat from his face. He looked disheveled and covered in dust, but it couldn't hide the hint of excitement on his face.

Satisfied~ Fulfilled~ This "Rebar" rod of his, which had been gathering dust for over a year, was finally being put to good use.

Looking at the ripples on the water's surface, Gao Xiaofan smiled. It's about to surface~

Hearing the sound of water, Qiu Gu began adjusting the focus, aiming the camera at the churning surface to show the livestream audience.

Feeling the tension in the rod ease slightly, Gao Xiaofan yanked the "Rebar" out of the mud and carried it backward, using the rod's backbone to pull upward, leading the fish toward the surface.

"Splash~" Half of the fish's body surfaced before it dove back into the water.

The viewers in the livestream room grew excited upon seeing this.

"It's a Bighead Carp! It's a Bighead Carp! My god, *slurp*, I'm drooling..."

"A Bighead Carp this big—that fish head must be delicious. Waaaah, I want to eat it..."

Bighead Carp is also known as Fat Head; Chopped Chili Fish Head is made with this kind of fish.

The comments began to fill with laughter and joy, the previous tension completely gone.

Because as long as you withstand the first few surges, the fish basically won't be able to escape.

As long as the netting is done well, it's basically a sure thing.

Intentional Punch: "I don't think I see a Landing Net. Cameraman, go assemble the net!"

Strong Hand Cracks Skull: "Is it possible Brother Wo Zi didn't bring one? I don't think I saw one the whole way..."

"..."

The speed of the comments plummeted. Without a Landing Net, it would be very difficult to get such a big object onto the shore; one random surge of power and it could break free.

The commenters thought of it, and Gao Xiaofan, holding the rod, thought of it too. He felt completely paralyzed.

It seemed he hadn't brought the Landing Net... Dammit, how could he have forgotten the Landing Net?

Gao Xiaofan looked helplessly at the Bighead Carp gulping water on the surface. It was a full meter long and definitely weighed over 50 pounds; even if he had brought his net, it probably would have been a tight fit.

As time passed, the Bighead Carp was completely exhausted from gulping water, allowing itself to be pulled toward the shore by the fishing line.

Gao Xiaofan looked worried; there was no more time to hesitate.