CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41 WHAT ON EARTH DID I FISH UP?【SIXTH UPDATE】

[Catch Every Time: The host’s fishing activities will always catch something.]

By now, he was certain that this skill was definitely not just a simple fishing skill. His casting and fishing movements just now had been extremely unpracticed, not at all like those of a fishing master. What the system called "fishing" must have meant something else.

According to the skill description, I’m fishing now, so I should be able to catch something, right? Qin Mu looked at the calm water surface and muttered to himself.

Time ticked by. Zhang Qingyuan and Li Weiguo, seeing him cast the line, gathered around, staring intently at the bobber on the water.

Five minutes later, Zhang Qingyuan pointed at the water and suddenly exclaimed, "It’s coming! It’s coming!" He was even more excited than Qin Mu. Qin Mu’s own expression brightened slightly. He also took a deep breath and focused completely.

Once the bobber had completely sunk beneath the water, he forcefully lifted the rod, attempting to pull the fish out.

However, he found that "the fish" was incredibly strong. Even with his enhanced strength, equivalent to that of a special forces operative, he still couldn’t reel it in!

"Quick, come help! It might be a big one!" Song Tiancheng, seeing this, grew quite excited, immediately dropped his own fishing rod, and ran over. He also called on the other elders to help.

It took five or six people pulling on the fishing rod together to arduously raise its tip.

"Could it be a black carp weighing over a hundred pounds?" Song Tiancheng held the rod, feeling the force from the other end, his eyes practically shining.

But Qin Mu, who was taking the brunt of the force, furrowed his brow. Something felt off. Normally, fish would panic and dart around underwater after being hooked, causing the rod to transmit a series of vibrations. But now, holding the rod, he only felt a dead weight.

Soon, the sight of everyone struggling with the rod gradually attracted many strong young anglers from nearby.

"We’ll help!" Six tall anglers, thinking a big one had been caught, stepped forward to assist.

With their help, Song Tiancheng and the other elders, whose strength was waning, stepped back. Qin Mu and the other six anglers joined forces, pulling with all their might.

After about ten minutes, they finally managed to drag the hooked object close to the bank.

"This doesn’t look right; this doesn’t seem to be a fish."

"What is this dark, murky piece of wood?"

"Damn! We thought we’d hooked a fish over a hundred pounds, but it’s just a rotten log!"

A few of the anglers stared at the black wood that had surfaced, complaining, but they still worked together to pull it ashore.

"Is this it?" Zhang Qingyuan and Li Weiguo hurried up. When they saw it was just a log over a meter long, they too were somewhat disappointed. They had thought Qin Mu had hooked something huge on his first cast.

Seeing that such a great commotion had only resulted in this, Qin Mu couldn’t help but look exasperated.

This "Catch Every Time" skill is definitely not a proper fishing skill, he thought. It can’t even catch a single fish.

Meanwhile, among the six anglers who had helped, the most burly man’s eyes flickered as he looked at Qin Mu. "Brother," he said enthusiastically, offering to help dispose of it, "if you don’t want this piece of rotten wood, I’ll throw it away for you. We went to all the trouble of pulling it up; it wouldn’t be right to just throw it back in the water."

Qin Mu nodded and thanked them. Just as he was about to agree, Song Tiancheng, who had been silent until now, quietly pulled him aside.

"Xiao Qin, don’t agree just yet."

Qin Mu was somewhat surprised.

"If I’m not mistaken," Song Tiancheng lowered his voice, glanced at the burly man, and continued, "this piece of wood is Ancient Wood. Judging by its appearance, it could be eight or nine hundred years old."

Qin Mu’s pupils constricted, and his eyebrows involuntarily furrowed. He looked again at the pitch-black wood at the helpful man’s feet.

Ancient Wood, also known as submerged wood, ebony, or carbonized wood, is formed when precious timber has been buried in rivers, lakes, or seas for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years. These woods, having been soaked and compressed by underwater sediment, undergo a change in their original physical properties. The wood’s natural fats, sugars, and other substances completely dissolve in the water, eliminating any sustenance for woodworms and bacteria. Therefore, it possesses quite remarkable properties, such as being impervious to rot in flowing water and resistant to cracking under pressure. In the domestic timber market, or more accurately, the high-end furniture market, it is a raw material that is effectively priceless due to its rarity. In short, it is extremely precious.

"From what I can tell, this wood is pitch-black and completely carbonized. It’s definitely top-grade, worth at least 800,000 yuan per cubic meter," Song Tiancheng said, taking a deep breath. He continued with his estimate, "This piece of wood is probably over one cubic meter, making it worth at least one million yuan."

Even though Qin Mu knew about Ancient Wood, he was still startled by this figure.

Good heavens! He was just fishing... and he actually fished out something worth a million?

Suddenly, he felt that his "Catch Every Time" skill might actually be useful after all. However, he suspected this might also be related to the 200 luck points he had given himself. His luck was far better than an ordinary person’s.

"Have you two finished discussing? If there’s no problem, I’ll help you clear this away. It’ll save you elders the trouble with your fishing," the man waiting beside the Ancient Wood urged impatiently.

His fellow anglers also chimed in, "That’s right, you’re all elderly. You definitely can’t move this big piece of wood."

"We’ll clear it for you, free up your fishing spot, so you can fish in peace."

"It’s just a small thing, hardly any effort," the men said, and began to bend over, preparing to move the Ancient Wood.

"Wait!" Qin Mu spoke out sharply, stopping them.

Before he knew the wood’s value, he had genuinely thought they had encountered kind-hearted people who helped them pull in the line and were now offering to clear away the ’trash.’ But now... in his eyes, these people clearly coveted the wood and wanted to take it for themselves!

"What? You want to move it yourselves?" The man who had spoken first frowned, pointing at the Ancient Wood at his feet. "You helped pull it in," he said, displeased. "You should know this piece of wood weighs at least three hundred pounds. You’re all old men here; you probably can’t move it."

"That won’t be necessary, thank you for your concern," Qin Mu said calmly. With that said, he intended to ask them to leave. Although this was a public area, their current spot was designated for the nursing home’s fishing activities.

However, the man and the other anglers who had "helped" stood their ground, showing no intention of leaving.