Chapter 58: The Middle-Aged Man, the Frenzied Angler! A Colossal Catch Emerges!

"Damn it!"

At once, Jiang Qi flew into a rage, feeling a sudden urge to hit someone.

The middle-aged man looked over in puzzlement. "Hey, kid, who do you think you are?"

"How come youngsters these days have no manners and start cursing the moment they open their mouths?"

"I'm Jiang Qi! Jiang Qi! You don't recognize me?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "Never heard of you."

With that, he turned his attention back to Jiang Fan, wearing a broad, beaming smile.

"Master Handsome Xia, I'm your loyal fan! I saw you catch that five-hundred-pound behemoth today!"

"The more I thought about it, the more excited I got, so I sneaked out for some night fishing tonight!"

Jiang Fan blinked. "Uh... doesn't your wife mind?"

The middle-aged man scoffed, "Ha?! If she dares to mind, I dare to divorce her!"

"..."

True anglers live for the soul of fishing! If the wife forbids fishing, divorce is the only option! If the family forbids fishing, cut off all ties! If the children forbid fishing, give them away in a heartbeat!

"Master Handsome Xia, I know a spot with a super behemoth—at least twice the size of the one you caught today. Are you interested in coming with me?"

Jiang Fan was startled. "Twice the size of the one I caught today?! That would be over a thousand pounds!"

The middle-aged man nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! It took a bite of my hook last time, dragged me into the water, and almost ate me alive. Good thing I reacted quickly, let go of the rod, and swam back to the shore in a panic!"

"I still get chills thinking about it. It is seriously one massive fish!"

Jiang Qi stepped aside and remarked, "Abandoning your rod as an angler? Sounds like you're not a qualified fisherman."

The middle-aged man glanced at him sideways. "Who are you again?"

Jiang Qi pressed, "Do you really not recognize me?"

The middle-aged man retorted, "Recognize your foot!"

"This is my cousin," Jiang Fan hurriedly explained.

"Hahaha, so you're Master Handsome Xia's cousin! That makes you Master Cousin! Pardon my ignorance!"

Upon learning he was Jiang Fan's cousin, the middle-aged man immediately broke into a smile.

"..." What the hell, am I really that much of a nobody? I have to rely on my younger cousin just to get recognized?!

Jiang Fan asked, "Mister, are you sure it's really a thousand-pound behemoth?"

The middle-aged man swore on his life, "I'm certain! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Here, the middle-aged man paused, lowered his voice, and continued, "Master, I also heard that behemoth has eaten quite a few anglers. I only found out about this rumor from a friend. Lots of people have their eyes on it. If you don't fish for it, someone else is going to hook it first."

"A man-eating behemoth?" Jiang Fan furrowed his brow.

When he returned from the water-curtain grotto earlier today, Liu Zhoucheng—who acquired that five-hundred-fifty-eight-pound Mekong giant catfish—had also mentioned that the creature had consumed several people.

Now another man-eating, thousand-pound behemoth... Why did it feel like Yuanshan Town was infested with man-eating giant fish?

The middle-aged man nodded. "Everyone says the one you caught today is the one I saw earlier, but they've never laid eyes on the one I found. The one I saw is way bigger than what you reeled in!"

The middle-aged man's words sounded a bit convoluted.

However, both Jiang Fan and Jiang Qi could tell he wasn't lying.

"Cousin, are we still going to keep drinking?"

"Drink my foot! Let's go take a look!"

Hearing about a behemoth, not just Jiang Fan, but Jiang Qi grew excited as well.

A thousand-pound giant! Which angler wouldn't be thrilled at the sound of that?

If they managed to reel this behemoth in, they could take it on a national tour!

"Boss, let me leave my luggage here with you. I'll pick it up later!"

With that, Jiang Fan and Jiang Qi followed the middle-aged man away.

The barbecue stall owner stood there in a daze, watching them leave and muttering to himself, "These fishermen are truly something else!"

The fishing spot the middle-aged man mentioned was not far from the barbecue stall.

However, they had to descend beneath a bridge at the edge of the street, walk across a shallow shoal, and after five or six minutes, they reached a small patch of woods. Pushing through the brush instantly revealed a massive natural lake.

Under the moonlight, the surface of the lake shimmered sparklingly.

It didn't look particularly large, but the water level was clearly extremely deep.

Lakes like this usually had underground subterranean rivers, making it entirely possible for fish weighing hundreds of pounds to lurk within.

Still, the existence of a thousand-pound fish seemed a bit far-fetched.

Jiang Fan pulled out his sunglasses detector and scanned the lake bed.

"It's this deep?!"

Having now attained the title of Fishing Emperor, the detection range of Jiang Fan's sunglasses had expanded to 25%, yet even at 25%, he still couldn't see the bottom.

"It seems the existence of a behemoth isn't entirely out of the question."

"Sigh, mister, you're out here fishing, so why are you watching a porn video?"

The middle-aged man lit a cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and cast a gloomy gaze sideways.

"This damn thing isn't a porn video, it's my home security camera!!!"

Jiang Fan, "..."

Jiang Qi, "..."

"That bitch! The moment I finish fishing and go back, I'm divorcing her!"

Jiang Fan patted the middle-aged man's shoulder. "There are three guys in the video, and the situation looks a bit serious. Maybe we should head back and check it out now? Who knows, maybe they haven't finished yet?"

The middle-aged man turned off his phone and cursed under his breath.

"I'm not going back! I want to fish! I love fishing!"

"Women only slow down my fishing speed!"

"It's just... thinking about it hurts a bit! Wuwuwu!"

Jiang Fan offered consoling words, "Uh... since you've chosen fishing, you don't have to be upset. Come to think of it, it might not even be a bad thing."

"You call this not a bad thing?" The middle-aged man was deeply depressed.

"Of course. Just think about it—every time you go out fishing, she finds another man. You have fun, and she has fun. That's what you call double happiness in a marriage!"

"Think about it further: the technical积累 of dozens of guys, the all-nighters pulled across hundreds of nights, and hundreds of billions in R&D investments, all just to give you the best experience possible. This is the ultimate peak of joy! Isn't that much better than spending 800 bucks?"

The middle-aged man blinked. "So you're saying I should thank her?"

Jiang Fan cleared his throat. "Ahem, thanks aren't necessary. Just make sure you keep a woman like that from getting back out onto the market."

"..."

Damn it! He spent all that time talking just to make me keep playing the fool!

"Zhi-la!!"

Suddenly, the middle-aged man's rod jerked. The gloom that had weighed him down just a second ago vanished into a beaming smile.

"Hahaha, fish on, fish on! And it's a big one!"

Before long, the middle-aged man reeled in a carp weighing over three pounds.

"Haha, hooking a three-pounder right off the bat! What a smooth start to the day!"

With that, the middle-aged man baited his hook again, cast his line, and looked utterly triumphant.

"Uncle, did you forget something?"

"Huh? Forget what?"

"Never mind."

What a crazy fisherman—the moment he hooks a fish, he forgets his wife is cheating on him!

Fine, fine. I won't disturb your fishing anymore.

"Hey! Jiang Fan, look over there! There's a huge fish!"

Suddenly, Jiang Qi called out, pointing toward the surface of the lake on the opposite bank.

Hearing this, Jiang Fan put on his sunglasses detector and looked over...

"What the holy hell!!!"

[Mekong Giant Catfish; One Thousand and Eighty Pounds!!!]