"I think you should give it a try. A change of pace might be really good for you."

Chu Mingcheng's answer was exactly the encouragement Chen Yang needed.

Adults don't take reckless gambles, but having a friend who was a master of both fishing and spearfishing meant most of the initial obstacles would be cleared away.

Plus, with his family's financial backing and the shop's steady income, he didn't need to worry about losing money on his sea ventures. He had a solid safety net.

"Alright. I'll get everything sorted when I go back this time. I'll make the move next year."

"I'll be waiting for the good news, then. With you guys here, at least I won't be bored out of my mind all the time." Chu Mingcheng wasn't someone who enjoyed solitude—he much preferred having familiar faces around for company.

After walking a bit longer to let their stomachs settle, the three of them drove back to the pier.

Chu Mingcheng had run out of ice, so he stopped to buy more on the way.

Considering he wouldn't have the energy for spearfishing even if they found fish that night, he also picked up a few frozen shrimp bricks to use as chum.

Back on the boat, just as Chu Mingcheng started the engine, Zhang Wei, who had been looking around, suddenly pointed at several fishing boats leaving the pier one after another. "Ah Cheng, why don't we follow those boats? Look, they're all heading northeast together."

"Huh, you're right. Think there's a fish run tonight?"

Chu Mingcheng noticed it too. He had never explored the waters to the northeast before.

He'd assumed the southern waters would have a greater variety of fish and be better for spearfishing, so he'd consistently headed south.

Seeing several boats heading north now, he didn't hesitate. He backed the boat out of the slip and followed them.

It only took half an hour to reach their destination—the fishing spot was surprisingly close.

On the down-current side of an island reef, at least twenty small fishing boats were already anchored.

By the light of their lamps, he could see what some of the other anglers were pulling up.

They were almost all filefish. The distance and lighting made it hard to see clearly, but he could make out their distinctive, ugly shape and the faint glimmer of the single spine on their heads.

After observing for a moment, Chu Mingcheng said, "There must be a school of filefish holding here. Good thing I bought those shrimp bricks for chum. We can cut up the squid for bait."

Filefish, also known by the scientific name Thamnaconus modestus, were extremely numerous.

"How do you fish for these?" Zhang Wei asked.

He mostly fished from shore and had very little experience with boat fishing. His knowledge of fish couldn't compare to Chu Mingcheng's anymore.

Chen Yang was even more of a novice—he hadn't even been an enthusiast before this.

"Your 2.7-meter lure rods will work fine. Filefish aren't big, usually around half a jin to eight liang. It's rare to find one over a jin."

"They have very small mouths, so we need to cut the bait into tiny pieces and use smaller hooks. We can tie on two hooks to increase our hook-up rate."

Since filefish weren't large, they didn't need a heavy line setup. A No. 3 PE main line with a No. 4 or 5 leader line and a size 7 J-hook would do. Tying two or three hooks to the rig was perfectly fine.

Chu Mingcheng first scattered some of the partially thawed shrimp brick to chum the water. A filefish's mouth might be small, but these Antarctic shrimp were small enough for them to eat whole.

He then took out the squid, cut it into small pieces, tied his rig, baited the hooks, and simply dropped his line over the side of the boat. Fishing for filefish was incredibly straightforward.

Filefish weren't very active at night—they were usually more energetic in the early morning.

But when you found a school, you couldn't just follow them around and wait until morning to start fishing, could you?

The sheer number of fishing boats, with more still arriving, was a clear sign that the school here was massive.

Chu Mingcheng's chumming worked. Soon, a school of greedy filefish gathered under his boat, fighting over the food.

As the weather grew colder, fish needed to store large amounts of food to survive the winter, which was why autumn was such an excellent season for fishing.

Before long, Chu Mingcheng felt a bite transmit through his rod—a filefish was taking the bait.

The rod tip dipped. He calmly lifted the rod and began reeling in.

He was exhausted from the afternoon's activities. Fishing for small fish like this was the most relaxing way to spend the evening.

In no time, a filefish of about seven liang was pulled onto the boat.

Zhang Wei had just dropped his line in the water. Seeing that Chu Mingcheng already had a fish, he came over for a look.

"I've cleaned these before. Peeling the skin off is satisfying. The meat's pretty good too, especially the liver. I'd say it's almost as good as monkfish liver."

Chu Mingcheng unhooked the fish and tossed it into the livewell. "Then you'd better catch a bunch," he laughed. "You can peel them to your heart's content when we get back."

"Get lost. Peeling one is satisfying; peeling a whole school is a nightmare," Zhang Wei retorted before returning to his spot.

Chen Yang, meanwhile, was still fumbling with his rig. He was new to this, so his slowness was understandable.

Anyone who lived in a coastal area had probably eaten filefish. It was the second most common commercial fish in the East China Sea after hairtail, which spoke to just how abundant they were.

And so it proved. Just as Zhang Wei landed his first fish of the night and Chen Yang finally got his line in the water, Chu Mingcheng had another one on.

Even at night, when they were less active, the hook-up rate was still quite high. No wonder the other anglers had come out now instead of waiting until four in the morning.

After a full night of fishing, the haul would probably be substantial.

The price for filefish was decent. Freshly caught like this, they could easily sell for forty or fifty yuan a jin at the market.

If you caught a particularly large one, the price would naturally be higher.

On his second cast, Chu Mingcheng pulled up two fish, though they were still only about six or seven liang each.

After placing them in the livewell, he had an idea. He went back to the cockpit, put on his head-mounted camera, and started recording the fishing session.

For the next while, the three of them were constantly busy. A fish was on the hook almost every two or three minutes, and often it was two or three at a time.

Zhang Wei had a smile plastered on his face all night. When had a frequently skunked angler like him ever had it this good?

He kept his fish in an aerated fish box. After half an hour, he already had seven.

Chen Yang, despite his slow start, had five in his own box.

Time slipped by, and soon it was past eleven. Chu Mingcheng felt that fishing for filefish was a lot like fishing for hairtail—there were just so many of them.

His livewell was getting crowded, but thankfully, it was large enough to hold them all.

Zhang Wei and Chen Yang's fish boxes were getting too full to add more; even with the aerator, the fish wouldn't survive the overcrowding.

So they started throwing their catch directly into his livewell, saying it was to cover the fuel cost.

All the live fish storage on the boat was nearly full. Any more fish would have to go in a foam box with ice.

Just then, Chu Mingcheng's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw it was a video call from Jiang Luoluo.

He slapped his forehead. He'd been so absorbed in fishing that he'd forgotten about his future wife—a capital offense. He quickly answered the call.

Thankfully, Jiang Luoluo didn't seem to mind. In the video, her smile was radiant.

It looked like she had just showered and was lying in bed.

"Ah Cheng, what are you up to?"

The faint sound of a woman's voice from the phone made Zhang Wei and Chen Yang exchange a look, knowing, mischievous smiles spreading across both their faces.

"Fishing! We followed some other boats to a great spot tonight. There are tons of filefish," Chu Mingcheng said, panning the camera over his catch.

"So that's a filefish? It looks so unique."

"Haha, it is pretty unique. Mostly because of its skin. You have to peel it off when you clean it, which is how it got its name."

"By the way, how are things over there? Are you settling in okay?"

"It's alright!" Jiang Luoluo pouted slightly, then suddenly whined, "I'm starting to miss your cooking…"

Her slightly aggrieved expression made Chu Mingcheng's heart melt.

Since that intimate night, their relationship had taken a huge leap forward. At the very least, Jiang Luoluo was showing more of her softer, more feminine side to him—a sign that a woman was beginning to see him as someone she could rely on.

A doting look appeared on Chu Mingcheng's face. "How about I head to Shenzhen tomorrow?"

Jiang Luoluo's eyes widened. "What would you come to Shenzhen for? To cook for me?"

"What else?" Chu Mingcheng replied with a gentle smile.

"Ooooh~~!" Zhang Wei and Chen Yang, who had crept up beside him at some point, both did a tactical lean-back, furiously rubbing their arms as if the couple's sweet talk had given them goosebumps.

"What was that sound?" Jiang Luoluo heard them and asked, puzzled.

"Nothing, just two single folks. Pay them no mind." Chu Mingcheng's skin wasn't thin—he wasn't about to get embarrassed by his friends' teasing.

If they dared to watch, he'd feed them enough PDA to make them sick.

But Jiang Luoluo seemed to have figured something out. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, and her expression turned shy. "Are Zhang Wei and the others there too?"

"Yeah, they're out fishing with me," Chu Mingcheng said, turning the camera to include them in the shot.

Jiang Luoluo hadn't expected him to move the camera so suddenly. She froze for a second, then gave a wave and a generous greeting. "Hi, you two!"

"Hi, hi! You and Ah Cheng keep chatting. We'll go fish over there and won't disturb you," Zhang Wei waved back, then quickly retreated.

Chen Yang offered a reserved smile and followed him.

Jiang Luoluo couldn't help but laugh. "Zhang Wei is as funny as ever. Is the person next to him your other friend?"

Chu Mingcheng nodded. "Yeah, that's Chen Yang. It's been a while since he's dated, and his family's getting anxious. By the way, if you have any suitable friends, you should introduce them!"

"Mm, I'll see what I can find out!" Jiang Luoluo didn't agree immediately, but from her tone, it was clear she had taken it to heart.

"Alright, you should get back to fishing. I won't bother you anymore."

"Are you going to sleep?"

"Not yet, I still have to do my face mask."

"Then you go do your mask, and I'll go wash up. We can talk again later. It's almost midnight, and I promised you I wouldn't fish all night."

"Heehee, I can't believe you remembered!" A wave of sweetness washed over Jiang Luoluo's heart.

"Of course, I remembered. You go do your mask."

"Mmm~!"

After temporarily ending the call, Chu Mingcheng went over to Zhang Wei. "Ah Wei, I'm turning in. You can use my rod if you want. If not, just reel it in."

"You two should probably not stay up all night either. We need to be up around four in the morning to keep fishing. The bite will be excellent then."

After a full day of fishing, Zhang Wei was also getting tired. He yawned and said, "Alright, you go get some rest. Ah Yang and I will fish for a little while longer, then we'll turn in too."

Chu Mingcheng then went to the bathroom to wash up before heading to his room and lying down on the bed.

Instantly, he felt half his fatigue melt away.

He still had three uses of his Life Conversion ability left. He'd been saving them for a critical moment.

But the spearfishing this afternoon had shown him just how important stamina was.

When the sea conditions were bad and he couldn't go out, he would have to find some invasive species to hunt to accumulate more uses of Life Conversion and speed up his physical enhancement.

A little while later, he started a video call with Jiang Luoluo. They chatted for over half an hour before saying goodnight and going to sleep.

Chu Mingcheng set his alarm for five in the morning. But, feeling how tired his body was, he knew he'd probably have to use his Life Conversion ability twice.