Chapter 3: Seven and a Half Jin, Unleashing a 20-Fold Multiplier

The fishing companion panicked and hurriedly took out his phone to dial 110. But just as he was about to make the call, a ripple appeared on the water’s surface. Jiang Fan emerged like a giant fish breaking through the water, clearly displaying extraordinary swimming skills.

As Jiang Fan swam ashore, he held in both hands a massive carp weighing about seven or eight pounds.

“Bro, that fish is huge!” the companion exclaimed, clutching his phone tightly, his expression shifting from nervousness to envy and admiration.

“Hahaha, yeah, it’s heavier than expected—should be around seven pounds!” Jiang Fan was overjoyed. The first thing he did upon reaching the shore wasn’t to store the fish, but to pull out his phone and have his envious companion take a photo of him with the hefty carp.

After fishing for over a decade, this was the first time Jiang Fan had caught such a large carp.

The companion, still filled with envy, snapped several photos and then asked Jiang Fan to take some pictures of him with the big fish as well.

Today, although he hadn’t caught anything, he couldn’t afford to lose face as a seasoned angler.

If those other fishing buddies didn’t come along today, he could easily use these photos to make them green with envy.

Too bad it wasn’t him who caught the fish; otherwise, he might have proudly paraded around Yuanshan Town, refusing to go home until nightfall.

After they finished taking photos, Jiang Fan took out a live fish cage, secured the big carp inside, and placed it back into the water.

The fish was too large to fit into the fish box he had brought.

[Beep! Congratulations, host, you have caught a seven-and-a-half-pound carp! System has triggered a 20x cash multiplier!]

[Wild Carp: Seven and a half pounds, market price: 15 yuan per pound.]

[Beep! Congratulations, host, you have earned 7.5 x 15 x 20 = 2250 yuan RMB!]

[Beep! Congratulations, host, you have gained 75 emotional points!]

A 20x multiplier? An instant income of 2250 yuan?!

Seeing the system’s notification of 2250 yuan, Jiang Fan was ecstatic.

Just one seven-and-a-half-pound carp brought in 2250 yuan—this money was incredibly easy to earn.

If he caught an even bigger fish and triggered a hundredfold or thousandfold multiplier, wouldn’t he be making a fortune?

Though big fish were rare, a dream was always worth having.

No matter what, this was far more than what he earned working a regular job.

This single seven-and-a-half-pound carp earned him nearly a month’s salary for many people at the bottom rung of society.

Achieving financial freedom through the angler system was no longer just a dream.

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and he resumed casting his line.

Completely drenched, he had to first change clothes, pulling a fresh set from his backpack.

There was no one else around, just his gloomy fishing companion, so Jiang Fan changed right there on the spot.

The companion was still busy photographing the big carp, repeatedly exclaiming, "Big, such a big fish!" When he glanced back and caught sight of Jiang Fan changing clothes, his eyes widened instantly.

“Holy... crap! That’s huge!!!”

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes. “What’s the big deal? Are you done taking pictures? Don’t scare off my big fish!”

“Done, done,” the companion said with a grin as he stood up, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offering one to Jiang Fan.

“Hey, man, I gotta ask—what bait did you use?”

Jiang Fan pointed to the packaging on the ground, lighting the cigarette. “Just ordinary stuff, the usual Wild Battle Blue Crucian.”

“Ah, that explains it. I’ve been fishing all day with frozen bait and caught nothing! And the worst part is, frozen bait costs more than Wild Battle Blue Crucian!” The companion looked thoroughly frustrated.

Jiang Fan said nothing and returned to his spot to continue fishing.

The guy didn’t leave either; he stood nearby watching Jiang Fan fish.

“Hey man, what’s up? Not fishing anymore?”

Jiang Fan glanced back, curious.

“Of course I am,” the companion chuckled, then hesitated before adding, “Actually, there’s something I want to discuss with you. Not sure if I should.”

Jiang Fan wondered what he was scheming. Surely, he wasn’t after his bait?

He only had that one pack, gifted by the system, and it wasn’t for sale—he wouldn’t part with it for any price.

“Go ahead.”

The companion continued with a grin, “So, can I buy that seven or eight-pound carp from you?”

“Sell it? This is the first time I’ve caught such a big one; I’m not too keen on selling it,” Jiang Fan frowned, deliberately trying to drive up the price.

Anyway, he’d be taking it to market later to sell; it made no difference who bought it.

“How about two hundred... no, three hundred yuan?”

“Three hundred yuan?” Jiang Fan raised his brow.

A wild carp of seven and a half pounds averaged fifteen yuan per pound, which came to about 112.5 yuan. This guy was offering three hundred?

Jiang Fan frowned. “Bro, I’m not trying to rip you off. For a wild carp that size, fifteen yuan per pound is fair. Seven and a half pounds is just over a hundred yuan. Three hundred is way too much.”

“Brother, just sell it to me. I don’t care about the money.” The companion patted his chest emphatically.

Many anglers were wealthy, either second-generation rich or from families receiving relocation compensation.

Of course, this guy wasn’t buying the fish to eat, but for the prestige.

Bringing home a seven-pound carp and posting it on social media would instantly make every angler in his circle his “son.”

Even Whitebeard from One Piece wouldn’t have as many sons.

“Come on, just sell it to me, please!”

“Well...”

“I’ll throw in this pack of cigarettes too, okay?”

The companion pulled out the pack, with seven or eight cigarettes left, and handed it over.

Seeing his sincerity, Jiang Fan didn’t argue further.

Though he wanted to parade the fish around town after finishing, he was broke as a dog now—making money was more important.

“Alright then. WeChat or Alipay? Transfer the money, and you can take the fish.”

Soon, the sound of a three hundred yuan payment notification from Alipay rang out.

The companion happily took the fish back to his fishing spot.

No more fishing for him—just packing up and heading home.

The mind of an angler was always unpredictable.

Jiang Fan didn’t focus much on the companion after that; his first day’s haul with the system was quite good.

He quickly slipped back into fishing mode.

To catch more and earn more, he brought out his own rod.

The system didn’t require him to use only the rewarded rods to cash in; he could use his own as well.

Still, Jiang Fan was juggling two rods.

After baiting one, he left it by the side and used his own rod, ready to reel in any catch.

However, after catching that giant fish, the bites seemed to slow down. The frenzy was gone; it took several minutes to catch each fish.

For over two hours, Jiang Fan continued fishing, nearly running out of bait, having caught over twenty fish.

Five or six weighed over a pound, but only slightly more, some triggering 3x multipliers.

The rest were mostly small crucians and tilapia.

There were also invasive freshwater grouper and even some algae eaters.

No one ate those, so Jiang Fan discarded them.

Some were quite large, over two pounds, but they didn’t trigger any multipliers and only earned one yuan and a bit of emotional points.

Seems like not only anglers dislike algae eaters, but the system knows they’re a nuisance too.

By the end, the total earnings from the fish added up to 2750 yuan, plus the three hundred yuan from the companion’s purchase, totaling 3050 yuan.

He also gained 225 emotional points.

With bait nearly gone, Jiang Fan started packing up.

Suddenly, the float on one of the rods twitched.

He instinctively dropped what he was holding and grabbed the rod.

That casual move almost dragged him into the water, but luckily his strength and quick reflexes saved him.

“Holy crap! Big fish! Such a big one!”