Just as he arrived at the rocky area, something wriggling was slowly crawling into a rock crevice—an octopus.

This was a good find. After over an hour of beachcombing tonight, he'd finally found something tasty.

Clams and razor clams were fine, but unless they were giant, catching one or two was pointless.

But an octopus was different. This one wasn't small, weighing about five or six liang, enough for a whole dish.

Chu Mingcheng continued searching in the rock crevices. The rocky area was full of unknown types of shellfish and snails. He collected any he didn't recognize to see if they would register.

He collected several types, but the Aquatic Codex didn't react. It wasn't until he reached into a small pool and pulled out some small shellfish that his experience finally ticked up by one. It turned out he'd found some common orient clams.

49 species. Just one more to go.

Chu Mingcheng continued to feel around in the rock pools. As he was searching, he suddenly touched something soft.

He pulled it out. Well, well—it was a small sea cucumber.

It was less than five centimeters long. He squeezed it; it was soft and springy.

Fifty species were finally collected. Before Chu Mingcheng could even check his data panel, familiar warmth spread through his body. He'd experienced this feeling once before.

When the warm current subsided, Chu Mingcheng clenched his fists. He felt that this enhancement was stronger than the last.

He quickly checked his data panel and saw that his overall physical fitness had increased by another 10%.

[Aquatic Species Codex (Level 1)]

[Current Experience: (0/60)]

[Unlocked Capture Tools: Hand, Fishing Gear, Speargun]

[Max Aquatic Species Level: 50]

[Unlocked Species: 1. Mantis Shrimp, 2. Crucian Carp, 3. Dace, 4. Common Carp, 5. Padihu, 6. Horn Snail, 7. Bream, 8. Sea Worm, 9. Sand Worm, 10. Moray Eel, 11. Mud Crab, 12. Sea Bass, 13. Tiger Goby, 14. Topmouth Culter, 15. Black Carp, 16. Silver and Bighead Carp, 17. Chinese Soft-shelled Turtle, 18. Northern Snakehead, 19. Amur Catfish, 20. Spotted Creek Chub, 21. Australian Mackerel, 22. Dotted Grouper, 23. Blackhead Seabream, 24. Mullet, 25. Mussel, 26. Tripletail, 27. Rock (Scorpion) Fish, 28. River Shrimp, 29. Clam, 30. Oyster, 31. Channeled Whelk, 32. Whelk, 33. Stone Crab, 34. Swamp Eel, 35. Hairtail, 36. Loach, 37. Rice Paddy Crab, 38. Prawn, 39. Greasyback Shrimp, 40. Mudskipper, 41. Fiddler Crab, 42. Mitten Crab, 43. Razor Clam, 44. Starfish, 45. Ark Clam, 46. Jellyfish, 47. Sea Anemone, 48. Octopus, 49. Common Orient Clam, 50. Sea Cucumber]

[Special Ability: Effortless Swim (Host's overall physical fitness is increased by 10%. When the Host enters the water, they can swim as freely as a fish and can also breathe freely underwater.)]

Chu Mingcheng was surprised that the experience required for the next level only increased by 10, not doubling as he'd expected. He only needed to catch 60 new species to reach Level 2.

This was good news for him. Leveling up the Aquatic Codex brought huge improvements.

He'd already experienced the "Effortless Swim" ability. In the water, he could indeed move as freely as a fish, feeling very little resistance.

However, he probably couldn't chase down fish with this ability; they were still faster and more agile.

But it wasn't impossible to catch them by hand. He would just have to wait until night when the fish were sleeping.

Chu Mingcheng felt the biggest benefit was his ability to hold his breath for a long time, as if he had an oxygen tank.

And he hadn't felt the cold when he'd entered the water before. He would need to test that further.

If he didn't feel the cold even in winter, then there would be very few restrictions on his spearfishing in the future. The only thing limiting him would be the fishing moratorium.

Thinking of this, Chu Mingcheng couldn't help but stroke his chin. It seemed he would have to occasionally look into legal ways of fishing abroad.

As for his physical fitness, having only increased by 10%, he felt stronger than before. This was probably related to the two uses of Life Conversion he'd used while night fishing for hairtail.

This made Chu Mingcheng feel he'd made a mistake. He should have used up all his Life Conversion charges before leveling up.

Fortunately, his current physical fitness was already at the level of a normal adult man who'd exercised for many years. At least this level of fitness would be enough to handle big fish.

With the Aquatic Species Codex leveled up, he lost interest in continuing his beachcombing.

He threw away everything he'd just collected in his bucket, keeping only the octopus, razor clams, and clams, and headed home.

Tonight, he would get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, he would buy some gear and then go diving to see if he could catch anything good.

—-

The next day, Chu Mingcheng still got up for his run, but this time he ran from his house to the bridge and back.

He even bought breakfast on the way, running all the way home with it.

Through this morning's run, he could feel the change in his body. This was the kind of physical fitness an angler should have!

While showering, he alternated between cold and warm water, but didn't feel the same warmth he'd felt in the Ou River. It seemed he would have to get in the water to know for sure.

So he drove to Wenshi and bought a wetsuit, a mask, a snorkel, and a diving pole. The pole was to ward off sharks.

Then he bought a pair of fins and a snare pole.

This snare pole was similar to the kind used to catch cats. Once the loop was around the target, a press of a button would either tighten or release it.

He could use this to catch fish while night diving. It would be easier than using his hands and would prevent him from getting stabbed by a fish's dorsal fin.

The gloves he bought were for anti-slip purposes and for pulling the bands of a speargun, but they couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be pricked by a fish's fin.

Normally, Chu Mingcheng didn't need fins or a waterproof mask for diving.

But if he were diving with others in the future, he would need them as a disguise.

Finally, he bought two live fish stringers and a small mesh bag. These were for carrying his catch with him.

Freediving and spearfishing require a lot of stamina. When the catch was good, you had to swim with dozens of jin of fish.

It was impossible to go back every time you speared a fish; that would be even more time-consuming and exhausting.

After buying the snare, Chu Mingcheng felt like he'd forgotten something, but he couldn't remember what.

Finally, he saw a safety rope and bought a coil. With his current abilities in the water, he didn't need it, but it was better to have it.

After buying everything, he immediately drove back to Yanmen Island. He passed his own house without stopping and went straight to the spot where he'd been rock fishing last time.

He found a suitable place to park and first went down to find an easy spot to get back on shore.

Getting into the water was easy; he was worried about having a hard time getting out.

Finally, he found a perfect landing spot between two large reefs.

There was a slope of about thirty degrees, allowing him to walk up easily without climbing.

Having confirmed the location, Chu Mingcheng changed into his wetsuit in the car, put on the live fish stringers and mesh bag, took his snare, and walked toward the landing spot in his slippers.

It was almost October, and the weather in Wenshi was gradually cooling down.

But when Chu Mingcheng was fully in the water, he didn't feel the coldness of the sea. Instead, it was like the last time in the Ou River; he felt as if he were enveloped by the current, feeling only warmth and comfort.

The only downside was that the seawater here wasn't as clear as it looked from the surface. The visibility in the water was only four or five meters.

Swimming slowly in the water, he could see many small fish swimming around under the sand and rocks. Occasionally, a slightly larger fish would dart past him.