365: Team competition

After hearing what Bai Xue and the other said, Yang Qi thought for a moment; in fact, aside from those two large fish weighing over twenty catties, his other catches combined might not even match theirs.

“Hmm, I feel like you both did well. Your results shouldn't be too bad. I only have those two extra big fish compared to you.”

As soon as he said this, a competitive fire ignited in the hearts of Bai Xue and Zhang Jun. If that was the case, if they worked hard in the afternoon or got lucky enough to catch a big fish, they might actually have a chance to compete for the top three.

The halftime break ended, and the competition continued.

For a long time during the midday, there were no bites at all. Yang Qi looked underwater and saw that there were hardly any fish; he had no idea where they had all gone.

Other Anglers would still lift their hooks from time to time to change their bait. Yang Qi simply sat there, completely ignoring his fishing rod.

If there were no fish below, what was the point of changing to the freshest bait? It would be like trying to fish in a water vat at home—you'd only be catching air.

If he hadn't been afraid of people saying he was disrespecting the competition organizers, he would have taken out his phone to browse TikTok short videos and watch pretty girls dancing.

However, as the saying goes, 'as the priest climbs a post, the devil climbs ten.' As long as one's thinking doesn't falter, there are always more solutions than problems.

He put on his headphones, opened the Tomato Fiction app, and started listening to a fishing novel called "Superpowers: Making Me a Professional Angler."

Considering that this struggling author only made a few dozen yuan a day and the writing wasn't great but they were still working hard to type away, he gave them a five-star review, a like, and a nudge for more updates!

After listening to dozens of chapters, a small school of Gold Drum Fish finally arrived, mostly weighing around two or three taels each.

If this were normal fishing, fish this small wouldn't even qualify as bait. If he were using them for chum, he wouldn't even need to chop them up.

But seeing them now, he actually felt a bit excited. Because the fish were so small, he cut a single Shrimp into three pieces to use.

Even with such small Gold Drum Fish, Yang Qi fished with extreme caution, fearing he might scare the school away too early and have them swim over to someone else's spot.

If they swam over to an opponent and got caught, that would be a two-fish swing in the standings.

Therefore, he tried to keep every subsequent movement as light as possible, eventually catching another dozen or so small Gold Drum Fish.

Watching the remaining four or five Gold Drum Fish hurry away into the depths, a victorious smile appeared on Yang Qi's face.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a whistle finally sounded in his ear. Not far behind him, a competition staff member shouted:

“Time is up! All contestants, please reel in your lines and leave your fishing spots immediately.”

Before long, several staff members came over to weigh the contestants' catches. Yang Qi saw his final weight: 68.4 catties.

“Not bad. I wonder how the other Anglers did?”

Yang Qi thought to himself while packing up his gear. Soon, Bai Xue came over, pulling her tackle box and carrying her gear bag.

“Hubby, how was your result?”

“I got 68.4 catties. What about you?”

Yang Qi asked with a smile.

“Hubby, you're so amazing! My result wasn't good, only 51.3 catties.”

Bai Xue said with a pout.

“That's already quite good. If I hadn't run into those big fish this morning, I wouldn't have been able to beat you!”

Yang Qi patted Bai Xue on the head and said.

“Hehehe, what you said seems quite right! Does that mean I'm also an expert?”

Bai Xue asked with a grin.

“Yes, exactly.”

Seeing Yang Qi nod with certainty, Bai Xue's mood instantly brightened, and she squinted her eyes, giggling.

“Yang Qi, how was your result? Any chance for the championship?”

At that moment, Zhang Jun arrived.

“Oh, it's Brother Jun! I got 68.4 catties. I don't know if I have a chance yet. How many catties did you get?”

Yang Qi spoke with a smile.

“68.4 catties... that should be close!”

Zhang Jun was also a bit uncertain; this result wasn't particularly outstanding.

“I only got 46.8 catties. I only managed that thanks to catching a seven or eight catty Green Grouper this afternoon.”

The three of them chatted as they walked out of the competition grounds.

Half an hour later, they saw the final rankings for the individual competition on a large electronic screen.

It clearly displayed: First Place: Yang Qi, Result: 68.4 catties.

Second Place: He Fenghua, Result: 63.6 catties.

Third Place... In other words, Yang Qi only led the second place by 4.8 catties. That was just the difference of one ordinary small Grouper or a small Sea Bass.

A narrow victory! It truly was a narrow victory!

The prize money for the individual champion was 400,000, while the runner-up got 200,000. This meant that those 4.8 catties of fish were incredibly valuable, worth 200,000 yuan.

Bai Xue's result put her in 7th place, and Zhang Jun was 10th.

At the award ceremony, the top ten winners, from the champion down, went on stage together to receive their awards and take photos. They also basked in the admiration of the fellow Anglers.

After all, these were the top ten who had emerged from over a thousand Anglers; for a moment, they were in the limelight!

The individual competition ended!

An hour later, inside the Gathering of All Rivers and Seas Seafood Restaurant.

Yang Qi and the others held a victory banquet. Everyone toasted and congratulated the three who had participated in the finals, especially Yang Qi, the champion.

Yang Qi treated everyone to this meal, and no one argued with him over the bill; after all, the significance was different.

Starting the next day was the five-day team competition. The 'setting sail' and 'wave chaser' had already been registered with the Competition Committee.

Coincidentally, all ten people participating in the competition were present, so they discussed the details of the match very carefully.

The team competition lasted five days, with daily competition hours from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. During this time, they could fish anywhere within the designated sea area. They just had to return to the wharf for weighing before 7:00 PM.

After all, each competing fishing boat had two staff members on board to supervise and record video as evidence.

To ensure fairness, the staff members on the boats rotated every day.

Everyone knew that fish were easier to catch at night, but they couldn't expect the two staff members to stay on the boat overnight without returning to shore.

Of course, the competition area was also set in the East China Sea. This ensured a certain amount of fishing time while still allowing for a daily round trip.

At five o'clock the next morning, Yang Qi and his father each piloted a fishing boat to the City Wharf.

Competition staff immediately boarded to inspect the vessels, ensuring no fish were left on board and that there were no nets or Longline Fishing gear.

After the leaders gave their speeches and reiterated the rules, the contestants began to board.

At exactly six o'clock, the starting gun fired.

Fifteen competing fishing boats sailed out of the wharf in a grand procession, heading toward their pre-planned fishing spots.

Yang Qi had discussed it with his father the night before and divided up the fishing spots. Thus, after leaving the wharf, the two went their separate ways toward their respective locations.

“Brother Tang, it's going to be tough for the next few days, having to go out to sea to fish back-to-back.”

In the cockpit, Yang Qi and Tang Long chatted while smoking cigarettes.