Chapter 15: Journey to the Water Curtain Cavern

Jiang Fan and his companions were not the only anglers in that spot; across the way, several others were fishing as well. Some sat atop large rocks protruding from the river’s center, others nestled within naturally formed small caves, while a few stood in the shallow water casting their lures.

The saying “anglers are everywhere” proved true without exception.

Judging by the frequency of their casts, the fishing conditions seemed promising. They exchanged glances from afar, shared a smile, and continued fishing—a unique kind of romance known only to those who fish.

After Zhou Hong, Blonde Hair, and Ma Dongdong obtained their bait and scanned to pay twenty yuan, they immediately returned to their spots and cast their lines vigorously.

“Ding! Zhou Hong caught a five-tenths pound freshwater grouper. Congratulations! You have earned 0.5 × 2 × 20 = 20 RMB!”

“Ding! Blonde Hair caught a three-tenths pound tilapia. Congratulations! You have earned 0.3 × 2 × 8 = 4.8 RMB!”

“Ding! Ma Dongdong caught a five-tenths pound tilapia. Congratulations! You have earned 0.5 × 2 × 8 = 8 RMB!”

The three quickly caught fish one after another, though none exceeded a pound, so the multiplier did not surge; their earnings were calculated at twice the market price.

Jiang Fan also baited his hook and cast his line; within seconds, a fish bit. However, he could clearly tell these were small fish. When he reeled in, it was a two-tenths pound freshwater grouper.

He placed the fish into the keep-net and cast again. In the next moment, another small fish took the bait. After a dozen casts, each bite came within seconds, the bobber teasingly tugging back and forth, which was quite satisfying, yet every catch was a small fish.

After numerous attempts, Jiang Fan perceived the problem: there were simply too many small fish here. Although this spot had fewer anglers and relatively abundant resources, even without the Wild Blue Crucian Wrymouth Dragon King War God Edition bait, the fish would bite fiercely.

But the sheer number of small fish meant the bait was consumed before any larger fish could arrive. Clearly, using Wild Blue Crucian bait here wasn’t ideal.

If he used the Wild Blue Crucian Wrymouth Dragon King War God Edition bait to create a feeding spot, then switched to bait like earthworms—which wouldn’t be gobbled up instantly—perhaps he could catch the big ones.

Jiang Fan opened the system panel and browsed the system store for new bait.

“Dragon King Earthworms (Value: 0.1 jin requires 50 Emotion Points).”

“An earthworm costing 50 emotion points per tenth of a pound? That’s way more expensive than the Wild Blue Crucian bait!”

The Wild Blue Crucian Wrymouth Dragon King War God Edition bait cost only 20 emotion points per pack; the Dragon King Earthworms demanded 50!

“Well, I’ll buy a tenth of a jin and test it out,” he decided. After all, the higher price must have its reason, right?

“Ding! Congratulations, you have received 0.1 jin of ‘Dragon King Earthworms’ bait. Emotion Points –50!”

With the earthworms in hand, Jiang Fan baited his hook and cast. Similar to the Wild Blue Crucian bait, fish bit almost immediately, but the tugging lasted noticeably longer.

Soon, he reeled in a one-tenth pound freshwater grouper.

“…What the heck! Even smaller than the ones caught with Wild Blue Crucian bait? And this cost 50 emotion points?”

Jiang Fan felt a chill crawl up his scalp.

Perhaps it was just a fluke.

He cast again and again—twice, thrice, four times—until suddenly a big fish took the bait!

“Ding! Ding! Ding! Congratulations! You caught a three-jin tilapia. System cash bonus: 10× multiplier!”

“Wild Tilapia: 3 jin, Market Price: 8 RMB per jin.”

“Ding! Congratulations! You have earned 3 × 8 × 10 = 240 RMB!”

“Ding! Congratulations! You have earned 30 emotion points!”

Since landing that three-jin wild tilapia, the bigger fish came gradually.

As always, the higher price was justified.

Yet fish weighing less than ten jin paled in comparison to the profits from landing a giant.

The system stipulated that catching giant fish would increase the multiplier, and the bigger the giant, the higher the multiplier—clearly encouraging him to target monsters.

With this in mind, Jiang Fan considered venturing deeper into the mountains.

When he approached Zhou Hong and the others to suggest heading toward the Water Curtain Cave in search of giants…

Zhou Hong immediately stopped him. “Fan, Water Curtain Cave lies deep within the mountains, and the terrain is perilous. Several expeditions have attempted to enter but all retreated after reaching the cave’s perimeter. Going there is pointless; better to fish here with us.”

Jiang Fan paused, then said, “I’ll go take a look. If I can’t get in, I’ll come back.”

“Fan, don’t be reckless,” Zhou Hong urged again, then explained, “Do you know why those expeditions turned back at the perimeter?”

“It’s because the terrain around Water Curtain Cave is like a labyrinth. There’s no signal, the magnetic field is chaotic—compasses spin wildly inside.”

“Last year, a team had two members who insisted on going in. Guess what? They went completely missing.”

“It wasn’t until the rescue team used drones and high-tech gear for three days that they found the bodies about three hundred meters from the perimeter.”

“Even though it’s unknown how long it took them to get those three hundred meters, the fact that trained explorers died after such a short distance means it’s even more dangerous if you go unprepared.”

After hearing Zhou Hong’s explanation, Jiang Fan didn’t waver; his interest only deepened.

The more uncharted the place, the likelier it was to harbor giants.

Catching a two- or three-hundred-jin monster fish would be a fortune.

Of course, Jiang Fan wasn’t about to risk his life recklessly.

He opened the system store to look for a compass and satellite phone.

Sure enough, the system store had everything.

“Invincible Compass (Note: Unaffected by any magnetic fields) (Value: 200 Emotion Points!)”

“HuaGuo Satellite Phone (Note: 100% reliable) (Value: 200 Emotion Points!)”

The descriptions of the compass and phone were impressive.

But 200 emotion points each was no small cost.

Since he’d need them sooner or later, he decided to buy both.

“Ding! Congratulations, you have received one ‘Invincible Compass’. Emotion Points –200!”

“Ding! Congratulations, you have received one ‘HuaGuo Satellite Phone’. Emotion Points –200!”

“I’m giving you all the leftover Blue Crucian and earthworm bait,” Jiang Fan said, handing them over to Zhou Hong before turning away.

“Fan, you’re not seriously going to storm Water Curtain Cave, are you? It’s really dangerous; I’m not lying!” Zhou Hong tried to stop him again.

Jiang Fan waved his hand. “I’m just going to have a look. I’m not afraid to die.”

Hearing this, Zhou Hong didn’t press further.

Anyway, Jiang Fan would surely return once he’d seen the terrain.

Looking at the Blue Crucian and earthworm bait Jiang Fan left behind, Zhou Hong was overjoyed.

He had said fishing here was good, but the bait was running out—now he could fish all day!