He checked the time—the two fish had taken him half an hour.

Considering the price of the fish, the time had been well spent.

The sea breeze was getting a bit cold, so Chu Mingcheng quickly got back in the water.

This time, he discovered a grouper that looked like a green grouper from its appearance.

From its size, it might be five jin, and if caught, it could sell for around four hundred yuan—quite good.

Chu Mingcheng used the same method as before, lowering the bait vertically from above it.

Who knew that this grouper was particularly timid, scared away by the sudden appearance of the baited hook.

Chu Mingcheng was stunned. This wasn't the first time he'd used this fishing method, but it was the first time he'd seen a fish get scared away.

So, just as he was about to reel the hook back in, a particularly surprising figure appeared under the light.

This time, Chu Mingcheng's heart raced faster than when he'd found that small humphead wrasse, and he couldn't help but hold his breath.

Because underneath, a humphead wrasse even larger than the suspected green grouper had appeared.

The grouper from before certainly hadn't been scared away by this humphead wrasse. There was a size difference between the two, but the humphead wrasse couldn't eat it. It must have been scared by the movement of the baited hook.

But Chu Mingcheng hadn't expected to discover an even greater prize.

A humphead wrasse this big—its value might even reach ten thousand yuan.

Because humphead wrasse grow extremely slowly and their wild population is small, their price has been driven very high.

Currently, only the wild large yellow croaker could surpass it.

This humphead wrasse didn't disappoint Chu Mingcheng. Perhaps groupers were inherently aggressive.

Don't be fooled by its small head—its mouth could open incredibly wide, and it swallowed the squid bait in one gulp.

The moment the hook pierced its mouth, Chu Mingcheng gave a sharp pull, and the hook sank deeper.

Now, unless the line broke, it couldn't escape.

But Chu Mingcheng wouldn't give it a chance to run. He pulled the line and swam toward the surface.

For a top-tier grouper like this, he certainly wouldn't carry it around with him.

The humphead wrasse, estimated to weigh around ten jin, thrashed its body, but its depth kept decreasing.

In the end, it was easily pulled to the surface by Chu Mingcheng, without even a chance to fight.

This was why he chose the Dyneema line. When he encountered a premium fish, he wouldn't give it any chance to escape. It just meant he had to use a bit more strength to pull it in.

If he played the fish, he would have a much easier time.

But with Life Conversion, Chu Mingcheng didn't care about the stamina consumption today.

Grabbing the humphead wrasse by its mouth and tail, he swam back toward the boat.

It was a bit troublesome, but this fish was worth it.

With this humphead wrasse, tonight's harvest was already very impressive.

Chu Mingcheng was thinking of breaking his income record from yesterday afternoon. After all, there were so many groupers today!

He was busy until ten at night before he returned to the boat, panting.

Currently, he had caught a total of thirteen various groupers, five parrotfish, and one true green wrasse.

Fishing was not as efficient as spearfishing, but the fish were all alive.

Now a little tired, Chu Mingcheng hesitated. Should he go back to sleep, or use a charge of Life Conversion and continue?

At ten o'clock, the fish had all hidden away to sleep. There weren't many fish still out and about.

He had waited by a rock crevice with bait for a long time, but no fish came out, so he had simply swum down and tried to grab it with his hands. Unfortunately, the crevice was large, and it escaped.

It seemed that using bait was no longer effective for hook-ups—he could only use a fish spear.

After considering for three seconds, thinking he had five uses of Life Conversion and there was no need to save them, he used one.

Instantly, his physical fitness increased a tiny bit, but his stamina and energy recovered by more than half.

Chu Mingcheng picked up his fish spear, ready to continue catching fish.

This time, his main target was fish whose value didn't differ much between being iced and being live. As for fish like the humphead wrasse with a large price difference, even if he encountered one, he had to leave it for sustainable development.

He had almost explored the entire nearby coral reef. This time, Chu Mingcheng first drove the boat to the other side of the coral reef, which he hadn't searched yet.

When he got into the water, he found that the water depth here was even deeper than the previous side.

At night, fish liked deep water, so Chu Mingcheng dove directly to the bottom.

Only when he reached the bottom did he discover that it was a sandy bed, with a depth of at least fifty meters, forming a small drop-off with the adjacent coral reef.

A depth of fifty meters was not a big deal for Chu Mingcheng, but what could be on a sandy bed? He was about to swim up to the coral reef.

Just as he turned to go up, the water flow he created hit the sandy bed below, and a flat fish suddenly shot up, swimming away in an up-and-down motion with extreme speed. The sudden burst of speed startled him.

But when he saw it, Chu Mingcheng's eyes lit up. Was it a flounder?

But from the fish's size, it was much larger than a normal flounder. He wasn't sure of the specific species.

This fish seemed to be very good at hiding. He had been right next to it, but it hadn't moved until the water flow hit it, and then it suddenly bolted.

Its instantaneous burst of speed was extremely fast, and its swimming speed was impressive too. It wouldn't be easy to catch by chasing.

But since there were flounders here, perhaps there were more on this sandy bed.

So Chu Mingcheng held his fish spear, and his left hand held a diving flashlight to illuminate the bottom as he began to search. The headlamp he had been wearing was out of power and was being charged back on the boat.

After swimming for just over ten meters, he found another one.

The flounder's back color was almost identical to the sandy bed. Lying flat on it, you couldn't tell without looking closely.

But if you looked carefully, you would find a clear outline and an eye that was constantly rolling.

However, its other eye was positioned lower and not so obvious.

This flounder's outline was seventy or eighty centimeters long—quite large.

Chu Mingcheng aimed his fish spear at its head. The fish didn't run, thinking it was safe.

A sharp arrow suddenly pierced its head—a fatal blow.

This flounder only struggled for a short while before it stopped moving.

Chu Mingcheng swam up a little, away from the stirred-up sand, and retrieved the fish.

The fish was large, but he could use a live fish stringer to secure it, so it wouldn't be much trouble to carry.

He continued searching for the next target. This time, after swimming for twenty meters, he found the second flounder.

It was also motionless—a sitting duck.

And this fish didn't seem to live alone. If a freediving spearfisher encountered this kind of fish, it would be a huge harvest.

He speared eight flounders. Chu Mingcheng now felt it was obviously strenuous to swim.

Although the fish's body was flat, its weight was substantial.

Since he could still swim, Chu Mingcheng simply returned to the boat first.

But when he was at the surface and wanted to lift the fish, it was very strenuous.

So he had to climb up himself first, then pull the fish up.

Out of curiosity, Chu Mingcheng took out his encyclopedia, as well as an electronic scale and a ruler.

He measured the largest one. It was eighty-three centimeters long, but its weight was actually twenty-five jin and seven liang. No wonder it was so heavy.

The smallest one here was fifty centimeters long, and its weight was over ten jin. The eight of them added up to a hundred jin. No wonder he felt the strain.

It seemed that this fish's meat yield would be quite high.

He picked up the encyclopedia and first looked at the fish's mouth and eyes, which were on the left side.

That meant it was a left-eyed flounder, which made identification easier.

Finally, he learned that this fish was called a bastard halibut, also known as an emperor fish, with a maximum length of over a meter.

This fish was a very good sashimi fish in Japanese restaurants, with tender and sweet meat.

He didn't know the price for now—he would have to check when he had a signal.

He took out a separate foam box, put the fish in, and iced them. Then, Chu Mingcheng went down to continue hunting.

He spent an hour and came up twice more. Including the first trip, he had speared twenty-five fish, about three hundred jin.

There were still many left that he hadn't touched, but they were all smaller than fifty centimeters.

There were also more distant areas he hadn't explored. The main thing was that these three trips had left him quite tired. The diving depth had accelerated his stamina consumption.

And the boat couldn't hold any more, so he came back to wash up and sleep.

The next morning, Chu Mingcheng had breakfast. While the fish were biting well, he went to the coral reef to fish for some groupers. This time, he didn't encounter any particularly precious groupers, only ordinary green groupers and the like.

He also caught some harlequin mantis shrimp, spending the morning's time.

Currently, he had thirty-six harlequin mantis shrimp over twenty centimeters. The smaller ones were all kept in another fish box by Chu Mingcheng.

These would be for Jiang Luoluo to cook when she came back. He had sent a picture of the feast last time, and the message she sent back was full of complaints. If he didn't save some for his girlfriend, he'd be in trouble.

He took a shower and set sail to return.

When he reached a sea area with a signal, Chu Mingcheng stopped the boat and took pictures of the fish he was going to sell.

But when it came to the humphead wrasse, he hesitated.

After thinking for a moment, he still took a picture and sent it to Wei Jianguo.

The humphead wrasse was just that impressive. Wei Jianguo replied almost instantly: "How many jin?"

Chu Mingcheng took out the electronic scale, placed a basin on it, cleared the weight, and then put the humphead wrasse on it. It was eleven jin and two liang.

He took a picture of the weight and sent it over.

Ten seconds later, Wei Jianguo sent a transfer message. It was twelve thousand yuan.

Chu Mingcheng's mouth curved up slightly, and he replied: "Thanks, Uncle Wei. My boat will be at the pier in half an hour."

Wei Jianguo didn't reply—probably already on his way.

Afterward, Chu Mingcheng sent pictures of his other catch to the group chat, including the harlequin mantis shrimp.

The catch on the boat was very rare, so it was also easy to sell.

Two-thirds of the groupers were snatched up. The rest Chu Mingcheng kept to sell to the seafood restaurant.

The bastard halibut was also a good fish. The customers in the group didn't care about the size this time—they almost all took one.

He had a total of twenty-five. In the end, he forcibly kept the five largest ones.

The bastard halibut sold for two hundred yuan per jin. He had also checked the price, which was eighty yuan per jin wholesale, selling for sixteen thousand two hundred.

The groupers and coral fish, all mixed together, sold for a total of eighteen thousand five hundred.

The thirty-six harlequin mantis shrimp were all sold. The twenty-two without roe were priced at two hundred and eighty yuan each, weighing fifteen jin and four liang, selling for four thousand three hundred.

The ones with roe were three hundred and eighty yuan each, weighing nine jin and three liang, selling for three thousand five hundred.

Sure enough, although these were expensive, they didn't sell for as much as a single humphead wrasse.

It seemed that when there were no premium fish, he could come and catch some of these.

He started the boat back and also contacted the transport truck. He was now a regular customer of the transport company. As soon as he called, they came immediately.

But this time, Chu Mingcheng was shipping live seafood, so he asked the other party to bring an oxygen pump.

Back at the pier, Wei Jianguo had already arrived.

He boarded the boat as soon as it docked. When he found that there were many bastard halibut on the boat and examined their wounds, he was a little surprised.

Then he looked at the catch in the livewell and the fish box—various top-tier groupers and coral fish, and even harlequin mantis shrimp—which left him speechless.

His lips trembled, and his hand shook slightly as he pointed at the catch: "You got all this by yourself?"

Chu Mingcheng shrugged: "If there was another person on the boat, I'd have to find a way to hide from Uncle Ying."

【TN: Lam Ching-ying, a famous Hong Kong actor known for playing Taoist priests who fight ghosts and vampires in 1980s horror-comedy films】

Wei Jianguo was extremely envious. What a rich fishing spot this was!

He had gone to the open sea for two days, and his harvest wasn't as impressive as this!

Then he came to the humphead wrasse, reached out and gently stroked it, as if stroking his son's head.