ryethenovel Chapter 414 Oh dear, how did you know it was 68.8 kilograms? That's really not much.
Chapter 414 Oh dear, how did you know it was 68.8 kilograms? That's really not much.
Chapter 414 Oh dear, how did you know it was 68.8 kilograms? That's really not much.
His pupils contracted sharply behind the telescope, as if he were seeing something that should never exist in this time and space.
Against that backdrop of pure white and deep blue, a bright orange hue, like a flame suddenly ignited in the snow, flickers abruptly.
"The flag—" Ennis muttered unconsciously, his voice dry as if it had been brushed by an icy wind.
"What flag?" Jack asked lazily, reaching for a sugar cube on the table. "Did some unlucky guy's tent get blown over by the wind?"
"Jack!" A completely distorted roar exploded in the referee's tent!
Jack, who was leisurely holding his coffee cup and preparing to enjoy his second sugar cube, was startled by the shout.
His hand trembled, and the scalding coffee instantly spilled from the cup, splashing all over his hands and pants.
"Ah! Damn it! It's hot! Are you crazy, Ennis?! You scared me!" Jack said, shaking his hands in a flustered manner while glaring at his companion.
"A-1!!" Ennis ignored his disheveled state and simply pointed out the window, "A-1 fishing spot—"
"Damn it, they raised the flag!!"
Jack sprang from his chair, not even bothering to wipe the coffee stains off his pants. He dashed to the window and snatched the heavy binoculars from Ennis's hand.
When his gaze pierced through the lens and locked onto that corner sheltered by the iceberg, the expression on his face froze instantly.
The bright orange flag was magnified dozens of times in the lens, fluttering wildly in the biting cold wind like a victory banner.
"My God—" Jack put down his binoculars, his face filled with disbelief even more intense than Ennis's. "6"
How long has it been? Fifty minutes?! Did he just fish a fish out of the ice cave?!
"Stop talking nonsense!" Ennis had recovered from his shock.
He grabbed the snowmobile helmet hanging on the wall, and while putting it on, yelled at Jack, "Quick! Grab the weighing equipment and tripod! Come with me!"
In less than a minute, two snowmobiles shot out of the referee's tent like arrows, their engines roaring loudly, leaving two long snow trails on the smooth ice as they headed straight for the most remote emperor's seat.
The sudden commotion immediately attracted the attention of nearby anglers.
"Look! The referee has arrived!"
"They're going to spot A-1! The one with the Chinese guy?"
"No way? Did he catch a fish?"
The snowmobile made a beautiful drift and came to a stop in front of the tent, kicking up a cloud of snow.
Referee Ennis took off his helmet, took a deep breath of the cold air, and forced his heart, which was pounding wildly from the high-speed driving, to calm down.
His movements were steady, and his expression regained the seriousness befitting a referee. He was mentally prepared; it might be a Greenland halibut weighing thirty or forty kilograms.
However, when he saw the scene before him, a huge black fish-killing bag lay quietly, its opening pulled open to reveal a wide, heart-stoppingly dark brown fish body.
Although he couldn't see the whole thing, just by looking at the size of the exposed part, Ennis's brain instantly made a judgment—this was definitely not an ordinary Greenland halibut!
His gaze didn't linger on the fish, but rather, like radar, quickly scanned the entire "crime scene."
His gaze fell upon the enormous, jagged-edged ice cave, as large as a bathtub, and he noticed the large chunks of ice scattered around it. He also saw the carefully cleaned-up bloodstains.
In just three seconds, the experienced referee Ennis completely reconstructed in his mind everything that had just happened: the fight, the widening of the hole, and the bleeding.
"My God—" Jack blurted out instinctively, his voice not loud, but full of shock.
"Mr. Lin," he said, his tone acknowledging and respectful, "it seems you had a very fulfilling morning."
Lin Yu'an simply smiled calmly: "It's alright, just warmed up. May we weigh in, Mr. Referee?"
"Of course." Ennis nodded and gestured to Jack.
Without further ado, the two tacitly set up the heavy tripod.
They threaded the massive stainless steel hook through the flounder's tough jaws, and the giant fish was lifted whole from the bag, hanging in mid-air.
Its length of over 1.5 meters and width of a door panel still gave the two experienced referees a strong visual impact.
The numbers on the LCD screen on the crane scale jumped wildly for a while, and finally, after a crisp "beep", they settled steadily on a number that made them squint at the same time.
68.5KG!
"Sixty-eight and a half kilograms—" Jack looked at the scoreboard and repeated it in a low voice, his tone filled with disbelief, "Less than an hour into the match—"
Ennis had regained his composure, but he was far more agitated inside than he appeared. He knew what that number meant.
This is not the heaviest catch ever recorded in the competition, but it is unprecedented to have a catch of this weight in the first hour of the competition!
This completely disrupted the traditional rhythm of all deep-sea giant fish fishing!
He grabbed the walkie-talkie hanging around his neck, took a deep breath, and pressed the call button for full-band broadcast in his booming voice, characteristic of a referee.
"Attention! Attention, all players!"
"At fishing spot A-1, a competitor from China successfully caught the first valid fish of the competition in the 58th minute!"
He paused deliberately, making everyone prick up their ears.
Fish species: Atlantic halibut! Weight: 68.5 kg!
"Repeated: 68.5 kg!! A-1 spot, currently leading the pack!!"
The sound was like a depth charge dropped on a calm lake, echoing across the vast ice field and instantly shattering the tranquility of all the fishing spots.
The curtains of countless colorful tents were suddenly pulled open, and heads popped out, their faces filled with shock and astonishment.
Fishing spot number 7, where last year's champion, the well-equipped German, was just leisurely adjusting the parameters of his top-of-the-line Shimano electric reel, when he heard the announcement, his hand froze, and his brows furrowed tightly.
"Less than an hour into the competition? 68 kilograms?" He took out his binoculars in disbelief and looked at the corner sheltered by the iceberg.
The more distant, ordinary fishing areas were instantly in an uproar.
"Did you hear that? Someone caught a fish! Almost 70 kilograms!"
"It's that Chinese guy who got A-1! The one who paid the 'tycoon tax' this morning!"
"My God, he really wasn't here to have fun?"
"It's over, it's over, how can we compete now? They've already got the championship trophy in their hands."
Countless voices of discussion, exclamations of surprise, and even curses rose and fell across the icy plains.
At this moment, Lin Yu'an's name became the sole focus of the entire arena.
Meanwhile, at fishing spot number 11, a few hundred meters away from Lin Yu'an, it felt like another world.
There were no warm and comfortable tents, no high-tech sonar, and not even a chair.
Nanook, the legendary local hunter, sat cross-legged on the cold reindeer hide mat. He wore a traditional, heavy coat made of seal and polar bear skin, making him appear as if he were one with the ice and snow.
He had no fishing rod in his hand, only a smooth wooden hand crank, from which a thick nylon line extended into the unremarkable ice hole beneath his feet.
With his eyes closed, he focused intently on using the touch of his fingers to sense the subtle, almost imperceptible movements hundreds of meters deep.
When the deafening broadcast came on, he didn't even lift his eyelids.
A young angler, also from the local area, couldn't help but rush out of his tent and run to Nanook's side in shock: "My God, Nanook! Did you hear that? Less than an hour into the competition, he's already caught a fish weighing almost 70 kilograms!"
Is that Chinese guy a monster? He broke the opening record!
Nanuk slowly and rhythmically pulled the fishing line in his hand, feeling the familiar vibration from the underwater current.
After a long while, he calmly said in his hoarse, raspy voice, "A nice appetizer."
The young angler was stunned: "An appetizer? That's almost 150 pounds of halibut!"
Nanuk looked up, revealing a pair of weathered, sharp eyes, like those of an eagle.
He didn't look at the young man, but instead looked up at the giant iceberg in the distance, which resembled a crystal mountain range, his eyes so deep that they seemed to see through everything beneath the ice.
"In the fjords, any fish weighing over a hundred pounds is worthy of respect."
"However," he paused, then changed the subject, his tone carrying an undeniable air of authority.
Last year's champion fish weighed 142 kilograms.
"The record for the competition was set five years ago by a Norwegian, at 178 kilograms."
He withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes again, and gently twisted his fingers on the fishing line, as if playing a deep-sea melody that only he could understand.
"He has a long way to go before he can take the 50,000 crowns."
After saying this, Nanook fell silent, his entire being transforming back into an ice sculpture, blending into the surrounding environment.
The young angler looked at his calm profile, opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to disturb him any further and wisely retreated to his tent.
Time flows slowly across the ice field.
The huge commotion on Lin Yu'an's side was like a boulder thrown into a lake, and the ripples it caused did not subside for a long time.
The atmosphere on the field became somewhat tense, and many players began to frequently change their fishing spots and baits, trying to replicate the miracle of fishing spot A-1.
Only fishing spot number 11 remained as silent as ever. Nanook sat there cross-legged, motionless, as if he were asleep.
Only his index finger, wrapped in thick nylon thread and gloved with sealskin, was trembling slightly at an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible frequency.
He was listening, listening to every tiny signal in that dark world five hundred meters below.
The changes in ocean currents, subtle changes in water temperature, the vibrations caused by schools of small fish skimming past the fishing line, and even—the pulsations created by the water pressure stirred up by those giant creatures swimming in the distance.
This is a skill passed down for thousands of years by Inuit hunters, an intuition ingrained in their blood that no expensive sonar can replace.
Nearly another hour passed.
Just as the young angler was impatiently reeling in his line and changing bait for the fourth time, Nanook, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly twitched slightly in the chiseled lines of his face.
His index finger stopped trembling. A faint yet unusually heavy "sticky" sensation traveled along the taut nylon thread from the end of the abyss.
It wasn't the light, nimble movement of a small fish pecking at food, nor the dead weight of a sinker caught in an undercurrent.
The feeling is like your bait being gently held in the mouth of a giant, water-soaked sponge.
It wasn't aggressive, yet it carried an undeniable weight. Here it comes! Nanook didn't suddenly jerk the rod to set the hook like other anglers.
He slowly pushed the wooden hand crank in his hand forward half a meter.
The taut fishing line instantly slackened. This was an extremely unconventional move, one that any modern fishing textbook would dismiss as "stupid."
But for a cunning flounder king who had lived for decades, this was the most deadly temptation.
It sensed that the "food" in its mouth had lost all resistance, a signal that the prey had completely given up the struggle.
The last shred of vigilance crumbled in the face of greed.
The behemoth opened its enormous mouth, big enough to swallow a basketball, and swallowed the bait, which smelled of seal fat, along with the huge fishhook, into its belly in one gulp!
In that instant! Nanuk's hawk-like eyes snapped open! What burst forth from them was a chilling killing intent that was completely opposite to his calm and collected appearance!
He didn't use any fishing rod based on the lever principle; instead, the muscles in his arms instantly bulged and bulged, as if a real polar bear had awakened under his heavy bearskin coat!
"Ha!"
Accompanied by a low growl that sounded like a battle cry from deep within his throat.
With the brute force of his arms, he pulled the nylon line connecting to the abyss backward a full meter! This was the most primitive, violent, and effective way to hook a fish!
Five hundred meters below, the incredibly sharp fishhook instantly pierced the thick upper jaw of the flounder king!
"!!!"
A violent force, seemingly emanating from the depths of hell, instantly surged from the ice cave!
Nanuk was pulled forward by the immense force, but he did not panic at all.
His feet were firmly planted on the ice like tree roots, his upper body leaned back, and he used the weight of his entire body to engage in a primal tug-of-war with the sea monster!
The nylon thread, thicker than a little finger, was stretched like a steel wire, emitting a mournful buzzing sound, as if it might break at any moment.
There is no force relief device, and no bending rod cushioning.
This is a contest of pure strength and will between humans and beasts!
The surrounding contestants were all stunned by the commotion, staring dumbfounded at the figure that resembled a hero from mythology.
"Look! It's Nanook! He's caught a fish too!"
"My God—he—he's pulling it with his hands?!"
The commotion here also reached fishing spot A-1.
Lin Yu'an and Nuoya were enjoying hot coffee together, waiting for the giant creature they had attracted to make its decision.
Suddenly, a suppressed gasp broke the silence of the arena.
"Greenlandic language, it sounds like someone caught a big fish." Noah put down her coffee cup and looked curiously in the direction from which the sound came.
Lin Yu'an picked up the binoculars, and when he focused on fishing spot number 11, his pupils suddenly contracted.
In the footage, the Greenland hunter known as a "local legend" is engaged in a direct tug-of-war with a behemoth from the abyss in an almost primal manner!
"Let's go take a look." A strong interest flashed in Lin Yu'an's eyes.
"Where are our fish?" Noah glanced at the sonic screen with some concern.
"Let it wait a little longer." Lin Yu'an smiled. "A real opponent has appeared; we should pay our respects."
He picked up the live-streaming phone propped up to the side: "Brothers, the real Aquaman has appeared. I'm going to show you something truly hardcore, what a human winch looks like."
Noticing him get up, Mars, who was dozing on the mat, immediately raised its head alertly, its blue eyes filled with anticipation, and its tail began to wag, thinking that it was going out to play again.
Lin Yu'an couldn't help but laugh. He walked over, squatted down, and ruffled Mars's fluffy head: "No way, Mars baby. This time you have to be a security guard."
He pointed to the expensive equipment inside the tent, and the bag of 68.5 kilograms of halibut in the corner as his spoils.
His tone was as serious as if he were assigning an important task: "This is our camp. You have to stay here and guard the house, understand?"
Mars seemed to understand, letting out a whimper and nuzzling its big head against Lin Yu'an's chest, looking somewhat aggrieved, but still obediently lying back down.
"Good boy, I'll bring you even tastier grilled sausages when I come back."
Mars wagged its tail contentedly and began to look forward to its "snacks," no longer worrying about going out.
After settling their security captain in, Lin Yu'an and Nuoya walked out of the tent together.
The two walked side by side toward fishing spot number 11, where the legend was unfolding.
When Lin Yu-an arrived, Nanuk's struggle with the sea monster had entered its most crucial stage.
There were already twenty or thirty competitors around, but they all tacitly maintained a distance of at least twenty meters, for fear of disturbing the old hunter.
The expressions on their faces were a mixture of shock, awe, and a hint of heartfelt admiration.
-
Lin Yu'an pointed her phone camera at the rock-like figure, while she stood quietly at the edge of the crowd.
Viewers in the live stream experienced firsthand the sheer shock of "hand-to-hand combat with a giant object" through this oppressive perspective.
In the footage, Nanook completely ignores the noise around him. He simply holds firm against the first and most frenzied charge of the behemoth.
The taut nylon thread stretched deep into the ice cave, as if connecting to the earth's core. You could clearly see beads of sweat seeping from his forehead, quickly freezing into frost in the low temperature.
One minute — Two minutes —
When the underwater force finally showed signs of exhaustion, Nanook launched a counterattack.
Unlike Lin Yu'an, he didn't have electric wheels for constant-speed recycling. His recycling method was old-fashioned but highly efficient.
I started to back away step by step, each step making a crunching sound on the snow.
With each step he took back, he would reel in a meter-long fishing line from the ice cave. Once he was ten meters away, he would quickly turn around and run back to the cave entrance.
At the same time, his hands moved swiftly and neatly, coiling the retrieved fishing line around his feet on the ice, his movements as precise as a machine, without a single tangle.
Then, turn around again, back away, and reel in the line.
This process repeats itself continuously, like a powerful and rhythmic dance of war!
His figure appeared incredibly small on the vast ice field, yet he seemed like a towering giant, as if he were pulling not a fish, but the entire ocean.
After the initial shock, the live stream chat exploded with excitement.
[Holy crap!!! Is this... a real person?! This power is terrifying!]
[I take back what I said about the streamer's amazing gear. Compared to this guy, all gear pales in comparison! This is a true king!]
[His physical condition—I wasn't even half as fit as him at twenty!]
This reminds me of Santiago in "The Old Man and the Sea"!