105: Half a tuna

Yang Qi told Bai Xue to start the setting sail and chase after the Sardine school.

He looked into the livewell himself; there were still two Smoke Fish.

He picked out a large one, hooked it, and forcefully cast it towards the Sardine school.

It landed perfectly on the path of the Tuna school, which was circling and weaving through the Sardine school.

The injured Smoke Fish on the hook, landing among the Sardine school, looked so out of place.

Its half-dead swimming style, compared to the other Smoke Fish nearby that were rapidly preying on Sardines, made it even more conspicuous.

It was a complete attention-seeker!

Soon, several Tuna noticed it, and one, weighing around two hundred catties, was particularly aggressive.

It couldn't stand even the slightest provocation.

With a burst of speed, it opened its large mouth and bit fiercely at the wriggling Smoke Fish.

Yang Qi immediately raised his rod and set the hook, shouting, "I got one!"

A huge pulling force instantly came from his hand; a two-hundred-catty Tuna's initial pull is incredibly strong.

Yang Qi had no choice but to loosen the drag a bit, letting the fish run for a while to relieve some of the tension.

While he was fighting the fish, he suddenly noticed a group of sharks circling around.

Yang Qi knew he couldn't wait any longer; he had to speed up.

He gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands, shaking it wildly, disrupting the Tuna's rhythm.

His hand reeling the fishing wheel became a blur.

The Tuna was dazed, pulled around by Yang Qi, completely unable to exert any force.

"Oh no, this isn't good!"

Yang Qi saw several sharks clearly closing in on the Tuna on the hook.

Yang Qi had no options now; he could only speed up reeling.

If it were on land or the surface of the sea, he could use something to scare them away.

But nearly a hundred meters deep in the sea, there was absolutely nothing he could do.

When he had pulled the Tuna to within forty to fifty meters of the surface, this Yellowfin Tuna, either having recovered some strength or being scared by the increasingly close sharks, suddenly began to fight and try to escape.

Now, the tug-of-war started again.

Yang Qi clearly felt his reeling speed was significantly slowed.

Perhaps the smell of fresh blood from the Tuna's mouth, pierced by the hook, had stimulated the sharks.

In his ability's view, the largest shark began to accelerate towards the Tuna, preparing to attack.

"Holy cow, great effort creates miracles!"

Yang Qi shouted, pushing the reeling speed to its maximum.

His hand speed, honed by over twenty years of single life, was no joke.

The large shark opened its mouth wide for a "vicious dog pounce."

Just as Yang Qi exerted force, the Tuna was pulled up several meters, and the large shark pounced on nothing.

This thoroughly angered the large shark; after all, it had several younger brothers following behind, and it had lost face.

"Don't I have any dignity?!"

Circling back, the large shark began its second round of attack, a tail flick propelling it forward at an even faster speed.

Yang Qi used this time to frantically reel in the fishing line.

Although the Tuna was struggling, it was visibly being pulled up.

Now only about twenty meters from the surface, he could vaguely see the Tuna's dark body.

Yang Qi's body swayed back and forth like a roly-poly toy, and his left hand was a blur from reeling.

But to no avail!

Suddenly, his hand felt lighter.

"This is bad!"

Yang Qi's heart tightened, but his hand movements didn't slow down at all.

The weight on the fishing rod was significantly reduced; it felt like dragging a dead dog, with no struggle whatsoever.

In his ability's view, Yang Qi saw a terrifying scene.

At least a third of the two-hundred-catty Yellowfin Tuna, starting from its tail, had been bitten off by the large shark.

The scene was incredibly bloody; the large shark was shaking its head and tail, tearing and swallowing the Tuna's tail.

The bits of flesh that fell from its mouth were snatched up by the brothers following behind it.

The remaining half of the Yellowfin Tuna's body was left with only one breath.

Bloody and mangled, it was dragged by the fishing line, whistling towards the surface.

A fish without a tail is completely powerless and was dragged to the surface in no time.

After finishing the tail, the large shark again set its sights on the half-Tuna, shaking its head and tail as it rushed towards the surface.

"Xiaoxue, help! A shark is chasing it!"

Yang Qi quickly picked up the gaff hook beside him, firmly hooked the fish's mouth, and called Bai Xue for help.

After all, without the buoyancy of seawater, the Tuna's weight was substantial.

It was quite strenuous for one person to quickly pull up over a hundred catties.

Just as the two of them were pulling the Tuna out of the water, nearing the fishing boat's deck, the large shark also arrived.

With a burst of power, its body leaped high, opening its gaping maw to bite fiercely at the Tuna.

The tip of the large shark's nose barely touched the Tuna's body, giving it a nudge that perfectly pushed the Tuna onto the deck.

Both Yang Qi and Bai Xue could clearly see the dense rows of teeth in the large shark's open, bloody mouth.

Both of them immediately felt goosebumps all over.

If either of them had hesitated for even a second or two, the easiest outcome would have been the Tuna being pulled back into the sea.

A more serious outcome was too terrible to consider.

Looking at the half-Tuna still faintly twitching on the deck, both broke out in a cold sweat.

"Hahaha! That was so exciting!"

Yang Qi suddenly felt his limbs go weak and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Xiaoxue, you go and move the boat away from here."

He walked over to the half-Yellowfin Tuna, covered its eyes with a towel, picked up a knife, and plunged it fiercely into the Tuna's head, ending its life.

Yang Qi used the knife to completely bleed the Tuna, then cut off the parts that had been bitten by the shark.

About one hundred and fifty catties were left, which was good, very good.

He could take it home and eat it himself.

When the fishing boat reached the other side of the Sardine school, Yang Qi had a sudden idea and asked Bai Xue to slow down, then cast another net into the school.

After using the crane to lift the full net of Sardines onto the deck, he gestured to Bai Xue in the cockpit to leave.

"Sigh, I definitely need to buy a walkie-talkie when I get back.

Simple meanings can be conveyed with gestures, but anything more complex is hard to express.

We're not professionals, after all."

The setting sail slowly departed from this Sardine school.

Yang Qi also understood the principle of 'too much is as bad as too little.'

The catch from this school was already more than enough for him; he should be satisfied.

Now there was no rush; Yang Qi slowly began to clean up the Sardines on the deck.

About ten catties of Sardines were kept, while the rest, along with the half-Yellowfin Tuna, were sent into the freezer.

The two drove for about half an hour, then found a random spot to stop the boat and drop anchor.

That's right, Yang Qi wanted to eat fried Sardines.

The two squatted on the deck, huffing and puffing as they gutted the fish.

Then they marinated them with green onions, ginger, salt, and cooking wine for half an hour to remove the fishy smell and let the flavors soak in.

They coated the fish directly in flour mixed with black pepper, and once the oil was hot, they deep-fried them for five minutes to set their shape.

After all of them had been fried once, they reheated the oil and refried them for one to two minutes.

Then, they sprinkled on salt and pepper and cumin powder.

A plate of crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside, fragrant fried Sardines was complete.

The two eagerly grabbed a piece and stuffed it into their mouths; as expected, the flavor lingered, truly living up to its reputation!