Just as Chu Mingcheng had expected, when his alarm went off, his body ached all over, and heavy drowsiness clung to him, making it impossible to get up.

There was no way Chen Yang and Zhang Wei were getting up either—they were sleeping beside him like logs.

He picked up his phone and turned off the alarm. The bedroom instantly fell silent.

The boat swayed gently with the waves, and he could faintly hear the sound of the sea.

For someone used to life on the water, this environment was more conducive to a good night's sleep than being at home.

In the end, Chu Mingcheng used Life Conversion. And just as he'd thought, one use wasn't enough—he had to use two, leaving him with only one charge remaining.

He was instantly wide awake, the fatigue completely gone, and his physical fitness had improved slightly across the board.

Chu Mingcheng didn't wake his two sleeping friends. He got dressed and went to the bathroom to wash up.

It was worth noting that he put on a thicker waterproof jacket this morning. After all, it was nearly early winter, and it was quite cold out on the sea.

Sure enough, the moment he stepped out of the cockpit, the sea breeze hit him, instantly stripping away a great deal of warmth from his face.

Chu Mingcheng rubbed his hands together, ultimately deciding to go back and heat a cup of milk and eat a small bun that Jiang Luoluo had previously packed as a snack.

With a little energy in his stomach, it wasn't as cold when he went back out.

Zhang Wei had reeled in the fishing rods last night, but since they were going to fish again this morning, he hadn't dismantled the rigs, so they were ready to use.

After scattering some shrimp brick, Chu Mingcheng noticed that figures were beginning to appear on some of the nearby fishing boats. The early bird gets the worm.

He cut up the squid meat, then checked the filefish in the fish box and livewell. After he'd gone to sleep last night, Zhang Wei and Chen Yang had caught quite a few more.

They probably hadn't listened to him and had fished quite late, which was why they were sleeping so soundly now.

But having too many fish was also a problem. The lack of space led to overcrowding, and some of the fish had already turned belly-up.

He might as well use a hand net to scoop out all the less lively fish and put them in a foam box with ice.

He scooped out quite a few—probably about thirty jin worth.

About two-thirds of them were actually still alive, but since Chu Mingcheng was about to start fishing, he took the opportunity to scoop out the smaller ones as well.

Later, if he caught any big ones, he'd keep them in the livewell, and the small ones would go on ice.

Once everything was sorted, he took his fishing rod, baited it with squid meat, and started fishing.

The baited hook had just been cast. Pulled by the sinker, it sank quickly, but just halfway down, a bite transmitted through the rod—a fish was already nibbling at the bait.

Chu Mingcheng was a little surprised. Was the morning bite this good?

He quickly locked the spool. The baited hook instantly paused, and at that moment, the rod plunged downward. A fish was on.

Seeing this, Chu Mingcheng mused that it was no wonder these fish were as numerous as hairtail.

If it weren't for their fast reproduction and large numbers, they probably would have been fished into protected species status by now.

After all, filefish was highly nutritious and had no fishy taste, making it very suitable for the elderly and children.

Chu Mingcheng lifted his rod to pull in the fish, then his eyebrows shot up. The pull was quite strong!

After a full night of fishing for filefish, with barely any weighing a full jin, he had grown accustomed to their feel.

Now, suddenly hooking a big one gave him a small thrill of surprise.

He lifted the rod and reeled in, occasionally tugging at it. The rod was a bit soft, and it took him three or four minutes to pull the fish to the surface.

It was a filefish, alright, but it looked like a small door panel—a very pleasing size!

He quickly netted it, then took out an electronic scale to weigh it. It was a full four jin and three liang.

One this big was a rare sight; the price could probably double.

The main thing was that a larger filefish didn't affect the quality of its meat, but its liver also grew much larger, making it far more delicious than a small fish's.

The filefish the three of them had caught were all mixed. Chu Mingcheng decided to pour all the fish from one of the boxes into the livewell, then fill it with seawater, turn on the oxygen, and keep this big one in there by itself.

For its size alone, it deserved VIP treatment.

He continued fishing. The morning bite exceeded his expectations. The baited hook was almost always taken as soon as it hit the water, far more frenzied than last night. No wonder they said the best time to catch this fish was in the early morning.

Unfortunately, the peak period didn't last long—only about two hours. He pulled in about seventy or eighty jin.

Including the first one, he had a total of thirteen fish weighing over two jin.

These dozen or so could be sold at a higher price. The rest—those under a jin and those over a jin—only had a price difference of about ten yuan.

The livewell was full, and the foam box was also packed. Chu Mingcheng didn't want to throw fish all over the deck, and since the bite had slowed down, he decided to reel in his rod and go make breakfast.

Having used Life Conversion, he didn't need to go back for a nap.

By eight in the morning, Zhang Wei and Chen Yang were still sleeping. Chu Mingcheng had his breakfast and then started the boat back.

He still picked out some filefish for them to take back to Wenshi.

The rest he sold directly to a fishmonger who came to the pier to buy fish.

The seafood restaurant wouldn't take so many filefish, and besides, he was too lazy to take so many fish to sell door-to-door or retail. Who knew how long that would take?

So selling to a fishmonger was the best way to handle it.

Originally, filefish under a jin could sell for thirty-five to forty yuan at the market. Selling to them, he only got twenty.

After weighing, there was a total of one hundred eighty-seven jin and three liang, which sold for 3,746 yuan.

Those between one and two jin totaled seventy-three jin and six liang. At thirty yuan a jin, they sold for 2,208 yuan.

He didn't sell the thirteen fish over two jin to the fishmonger. He planned to take them to the seafood restaurant later to sell at market price, which would earn him more.

The morning's catch sold for a total of 5,950 yuan, with the four yuan rounded off.

Last night, it had seemed like he was pulling in fish nonstop, and the quantity was indeed substantial, but the actual value wasn't as much as a few amberjacks.

The only thing that pleased him was that his filefish skill in the Aquatic Species Codex had reached level eight.

[Greenfin Filefish (Level 8)]

[Current Experience: 11/90]

[Size +8%]

[Deliciousness +8%]

[Capture Chance +8%]

Chu Mingcheng looked at the attribute panel and stroked his chin. This thing was as easy to catch as hairtail.

Maybe he should level it up quickly to give himself a safety net for future sea trips?

At the very least, with these two as a backup, even if he didn't encounter any premium fish, he could at least ensure he didn't lose money on fuel.

With the fish sold, Chu Mingcheng finally went into the bedroom to wake the other two.

They woke up groggily, walked out of the cockpit, and found they were already at the pier with all the fish they'd caught last night gone.

Zhang Wei was very confused. "When did we get back?"

"Probably this morning. The fish are all sold," Chen Yang said with a yawn.

He usually slept until ten or even noon. Today was a real challenge for him.

Chu Mingcheng transferred two thousand to each of them. "This is the money from selling the fish this morning—a total of six thousand. We mixed all our fish together last night, so let's just split it evenly."

Chen Yang waved his hand and sent the money back. "You took us out and we already made several thousand yesterday, plus you treated us to two big meals. We were just fishing for fun. You should use this money for fuel."

Zhang Wei did the same, sending the money back. "When we come here in the future, just take us out with you more often."

"Alright then!" Seeing this, Chu Mingcheng didn't insist.

With friends, sometimes you had to be clear about things, and sometimes you couldn't be too clear. You had to find the right balance so you could reciprocate in the future.

Afterward, the three of them moved the fish they were taking back to Wenshi to Chen Yang's car. Because they had returned the money, Chu Mingcheng also gave them the harlequin mantis shrimp he'd caught yesterday and told them to give two to his parents to try.

He moved the filefish he hadn't sold to his own car, then drove to the seafood restaurant to sell them.

The thirteen fish weighed just over thirty jin. At eighty-five yuan a jin, they sold for two thousand five hundred and fifty.

If he'd sold them to the fishmonger, he probably would have only gotten around fifteen hundred. The difference was significant.

At noon, he used the remaining ingredients on the boat to make a meal. After eating and resting for a bit, Chen Yang and Zhang Wei had to leave.

Chu Mingcheng was a little surprised, then quickly said, "You're not staying another night? You could spend the afternoon exploring Xiamen."

Chen Yang shook his head. "Let's skip it this time. I'm planning to come over next year anyway, so there'll be plenty of time. We have so many fish now—I should take them back before they're not fresh anymore."

Zhang Wei felt the same. This trip out to sea had satisfied his fishing addiction.

He'd also taken a lot of videos and photos. He could go back and brag to his fishing buddies. At the very least, he had now graduated from the ranks of the constantly skunked anglers.

Seeing their insistence, Chu Mingcheng didn't try to persuade them further.

And Chen Yang was right—they were planning to move over next year anyway, so there was no need to squeeze in some sightseeing now.

After seeing them off, Chu Mingcheng cleaned the fishing boat, rinsing it down before driving home.

After a day and a night at sea, his savings had reached one hundred sixty thousand. He didn't plan on going out again today.

Considering he only had one use of Life Conversion left, he decided to spend the afternoon looking for alligator gar and other invasive species.

He took his heavy boat rod and a hand pole, bought some pig liver, and then started driving around to some rivers and other waterways.

The alligator gar data panel had three scan functions. He would scan any body of water he saw.

The first two scans came up empty, but when he arrived at a park and was about to scan the small artificial lake, before he even got out of the car, he saw a crowd gathered by the lake.

He parked his car and went over to see an angler battling a huge alligator gar. From the looks of it, it was at least forty or fifty jin and over a meter long.

With an alligator gar this big, wouldn't all the fish in this small artificial lake be eaten?

But just then, a collective sigh of regret came from the crowd. The angler's line had snapped, and the alligator gar had escaped.

Now that the fish had gotten away, catching it again would undoubtedly be much harder.

Chu Mingcheng learned that this park pond wasn't managed, and no one had been hired to help catch the alligator gar after it was discovered.

The angler who had just been fishing for it had come on his initiative.

A forty or fifty-jin alligator gar required a heavy boat rod—main line with Dyneema, a steel wire leader, and a large hook baited with pig liver. Chu Mingcheng took his rod and walked over.

Seeing his setup, the people around knew he was also here to fish for alligator gar.

The angler whose line had just snapped came over. "Brother, your gear looks good. You could probably land that alligator gar easily. It's a shame it just bit through my line and got away. I don't know if it'll bite again now."

Chu Mingcheng smiled slightly. "It should. Alligator gar are pretty greedy."

Was he kidding? A 100% hook-up rate was no joke.

He'd catch as many as there were!

Chu Mingcheng had just cast his baited hook into the water when the alligator gar, which had been spooked and had swum away, suddenly slammed on the brakes, turned decisively, and swam quickly toward the baited hook.

Not only that, but this small lake had more than one alligator gar that had been released. Three others were also affected and immediately started swimming toward Chu Mingcheng's spot.

The first one, being closer, was the first to bite the hook.

The fishing rod instantly bent, and the crowd was amazed.

"It's on again, it's on again! I can't believe it was so fast!"

"That was way too fast—not even thirty seconds."

But then, another gasp went through the crowd.

Because three more alligator gar of similar size had arrived. Not only that, but they started fighting, all ganging up on the one that had been hooked first.

But an alligator gar's skin was too tough. Even with their sharp teeth, they only left a series of white marks.