Li Haochen roared at the sea, gritting his teeth and gripping the fishing rod. The fierceness of the large fish only stoked his passion, his eyes widening with an unyielding confidence.
The fish’s resistance was immense, compounded by its own weight. Li Haochen felt as though he were playing tug-of-war with a small car.
To lessen the strain, Li Haochen had to lower his center of gravity, leaning back and utilizing his own weight of over 160 pounds.
After several rounds of struggle, they finally reached a stalemate. Neither could gain an advantage, their wills pitted against each other.
His entire body was taut, and under the scorching sun, Li Haochen was drenched in sweat. His lips grew dry, and he could only lick them with his tongue.
Over ten minutes passed, but the large fish showed no signs of fatigue. For every meter Li Haochen reeled in, the fish pulled back a meter. It was a back-and-forth battle.
Sweat beaded on Li Haochen’s forehead. Due to gravity, drop after drop trickled down. Many fell into his eyes from his eyebrows, the salt stinging and causing intense discomfort.
He strained so hard that his muscles felt rigid, on the verge of cramping. Li Haochen locked the drag completely, abandoning the idea of reeling in the line for now, determined to subdue the fish first.
Adopting a stance similar to professional tug-of-war competitors, Li Haochen held the rod with both hands, one in front of the other, and leaned his entire body backward, pressing down with all his might to counter the fish’s resistance.
Li Haochen maintained this tug-of-war posture, daring not to relax for a moment. This also prevented the sweat from his forehead from reaching his eyes, a win-win situation.
Another ten minutes later, Li Haochen’s limbs began to tremble, his lips turning white from dryness. A burning smell emanated from the drag, indicating the braking system was overloaded. He had no choice but to loosen it slightly.
Perhaps due to the prolonged stalemate, the fish also seemed to tire. Although the drag was loosened, the line wasn’t pulled out much.
For reasons unknown, the fish suddenly changed direction. Without the counteracting force, Li Haochen was flung backward. Fortunately, his back landed against the boat’s railing, resulting in a minor impact and no injury.
Li Haochen reacted instantly, grabbing the handle and starting to reel. However, his hands felt stiff, lacking their usual dexterity.
After reeling for about twenty turns, the large fish made another sharp turn, causing Li Haochen to stumble. His entire abdomen slammed against the railing. This was no longer a minor injury. His abdomen felt as though it had been hit by a heavy punch in boxing. He coughed up bile, yet Li Haochen still held on tight.
His body instinctively leaned back and lowered, again using his weight to absorb the fish's impact.
“Cough, cough, cough! Spit! Damn it, I’ll fight you to the death.”
The collision left his chest feeling constricted and his breathing labored. Li Haochen coughed several times, spitting out some sour fluid before feeling slightly better.
Li Haochen gritted his teeth, gripping the rod handle tightly. After such a prolonged battle, he had gradually begun to understand the large fish’s rhythm. However, this precise moment was very brief, requiring extreme focus and sensitivity in his hands.
After about ten attempts, he finally pinpointed the exact moment. After the fish exerted its strength, there was a one-second pause. During this time, he had to be quick and accurate. Each time the fish thrashed, Li Haochen would violently pull back the rod and reel in the line.
At this point, Li Haochen was utterly exhausted, sustained only by sheer grit. Fortunately, the fish was also gradually tiring; otherwise, it would have already capsized Li Haochen.
Humans, after all, possessed intelligence that animals could not match. As Li Haochen gritted his teeth and persevered, the fish was actually slowly losing steam. As one waned, the other gained, its resistance reduced by at least one-third.
Another half hour passed, and the fishing line was only half reeled in. Li Haochen could no longer sustain the effort; his legs were cramping. However, the fish was no longer making any significant movements, merely a few slow, gentle flutters. Even so, this was still beyond Li Haochen’s current capabilities.
But Li Haochen still had a trump card: the electric reel had not yet been used. Given the fish’s current state, the electric reel should be able to handle it with ease.
Li Haochen took several deep breaths, enduring the pain of his cramping thighs, and slowly moved closer to the boat’s edge. Although the rod holder’s clip was within reach, his arms were shaking badly. Accurately securing it in one go would have to wait until the fish paused its thrashing. If it failed to clip, the rod might even be dragged away.
After another two minutes of wrestling with the large fish, when the pause arrived, Li Haochen mustered all his strength and pressed the rod handle into the rod holder. With a click, the rod was securely locked.
“Hoo… Finally… Finally, I can catch my breath.”
Enduring the cramping pain, Li Haochen pressed the button. Seeing the electric reel operating normally, he sighed with relief again.
The cramped muscles were his quadriceps, so Li Haochen knelt on the deck, leaning back. The stretching action gradually relieved the cramps. After repeating this several times, he was finally okay.
The electric reel continued to whir, and Li Haochen, utterly exhausted, lay on the deck. The rapid rise and fall of his chest clearly indicated his extreme fatigue.
A few minutes later, Li Haochen felt slightly better. He pushed himself up, leaned on the railing, and staggered towards the cabin. Perhaps due to dehydration, his head felt a bit dizzy.
Li Haochen didn’t dare to rehydrate excessively, just taking a sip of warm water. After a minute or two, he drank a bottle of Red Bull and ate a few Kinder chocolates, paying no mind to the fish outside. His life was more important.
After resting for seven to eight minutes, Li Haochen’s complexion improved slightly, and he regained some strength. He ate a few more Snickers bars before emerging from the cabin.
When he saw the large, pink fish weakly floundering on the sea surface, Li Haochen was greatly startled.
“This… Such a big Red Grouper.”
Li Haochen swallowed hard, looking at the Red Grouper, which was over a meter long, and hesitated. It was too big, easily weighing a hundred pounds. Coupled with his current weakened state, lifting such a heavy fish would be extremely difficult.
To prevent the fish from escaping, Li Haochen found a nylon rope as thick as his little finger and tied a large slip knot. He slowly pushed it towards the Red Grouper’s tail.
Li Haochen tried three times before successfully looping it. He tightened the noose and tied the rope to the rod holder’s base. He dared not tie it to the boat’s railing, as it seemed flimsy; if the fish suddenly thrashed, it might even overturn the railing.
“It’s so big, how should I get it on board?”
Li Haochen paced back and forth, stroking his chin, his eyes darting around, searching for suitable tools. When his gaze fell upon the two nets, a spark of inspiration flashed, and he then laughed with certainty, “Right, this method will definitely work, hahahaha!”