Three people looked up at the sky.
Although the three of them combined should be able to deal with a Tendaros Hound,
who knows how many Liu Zheng would summon, or even if he would directly summon a Tendaros Lord?
"Does my proposal take effect?"
The three people reluctantly nodded their heads.
"If you had done this earlier, we could have avoided this whole scene. You don’t find it annoying, but I do,"
he said, pulling Nightingale with one hand and Oyster Girl with the other, squeezing next to Fisherman.
Oyster Girl leaned her body as much as possible to avoid any physical contact with her father.
Liu Zheng noticed her small movements but didn’t try to stop her.
Fisherman gave him a sidelong glance and shook off his hand.
A huge shadow loomed over them from above, and after a splashing sound, the four of them were swallowed by the stingray into its belly.
The stench of rotting aquatic life invaded Liu Zheng’s nostrils.
He tried to feel around but did not touch anything resembling flesh; what he could reach seemed to be liquid.
However, the air he breathed in was normal.
It was like being inside a biological submarine.
Liu Zheng listened attentively and could still hear the sound of the stingray slicing through the waves.
With nothing else to do, he began to count silently in his mind.
When he reached one hundred and ninety-eight, the stingray came to a stop.
Liu Zheng felt a sucking force pulling him in one direction, followed by an even larger force pushing him in the opposite direction.
The four were spat out onto the bank simultaneously, regaining light.
The stingray shook its tail and submerged into the water.
"This stretch of river is the richest body of water apart from my fishing pond and those restricted areas; I’ve marked it as a safe zone. How much you can catch is up to your own skill,"
Fisherman said with a painful expression.
Creating a safe zone in the sewer, even temporarily, came at a great cost.
But for the sake of his daughter, he went all out.
Liu Zheng was somewhat surprised; he had thought Fisherman would take them to his own fishing pond.
But after thinking about it, that made sense. Even if Fisherman didn’t help him cheat, Oyster Girl wouldn’t agree.
He looked at Oyster Girl, who indeed had a satisfied expression on her face.
"How will we determine the winner?"
"Time it for three hours, the total value of the fish caught will decide,"
Nightingale nodded her head.
She was an expert at fishing, and Oyster Girl had inherited Fisherman’s abilities, enough to accurately determine the value of the catch.
She could accept this standard.
And for Liu Zheng, it was even more advantageous, as his plan was to win by quality.
With the buff from "Never Empty Army" and his Luck Value maxed out, he could fish out Bluefin Tuna even from a latrine.
"Here, this is your fishing gear."
The fishing gear Nightingale prepared was simple: a fishing rod, a box of bait, and a bucket of groundbait.
"The bait and groundbait are universal-use, fair enough?"
She asked with a smile.
"Uncle, can I get a stool and a fishing bucket?"
He emphasized the word "uncle."
Fisherman glared at him but still turned and left.
A few minutes later, he came back carrying three folding stools and two plastic buckets.
He dropped the items on the ground and walked away, but as he rose, he gave Liu Zheng a meaningful look.
Liu Zheng caught his gaze, and a string in his heart tightened.
Looking down at the folding stools on the ground, he seemed to understand Fisherman’s intention.
Out of the three folding stools, one looked particularly old, with a crooked face drawn on it with crayons.
He kept one for himself, handed one to Nightingale, and gave the old stool to Oyster Girl.
Oyster Girl pursed her lips, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Then let’s start, I’ll stay right here."
His Luck Value was still very low, so it was best to stay close to Fisherman.
Lest later on, he hadn’t caught any fish and ended up getting eaten by one instead.
Nightingale cheerfully took her equipment and moved to a spot about ten meters away from Liu Zheng.
Oyster Girl followed suit.
After getting ready, the two of them looked at Fisherman.
"Three, two, one, start!"
The Fisherman issued the command.
Liu Zheng and Nightingale cast their rods together.
Although the river wasn’t very wide, and neither of them used much strength, there still had to be a sense of ritual.
Less than ten minutes after the bait was cast, there was movement on Nightingale’s end.
The red and green buoy trembled violently.
Nightingale remained calm and observed the float closely.
After the float trembled, it did not sink but rather swayed from side to side.
This meant that the fish hadn’t taken the bait; it was merely probing.
So, she didn’t lift the rod and continued to wait.
After bobbing a dozen times or so, at last, the bait plunged downward and disappeared in an instant.
This time it had truly bitten!
Nightingale lifted her rod, and a large fish as long as a person was pulled out of the water.
The fish resembled a carp but was covered with a lobster-like shell.
When it realized it had been hooked, it glared viciously and suddenly darted towards Nightingale with a swing of its tail.
The fierce momentum was like that of a torpedo.
In an instant, the shell-covered carp surged towards Nightingale and then leaped up with great force, hurtling towards her face.
Nightingale smiled lightly and then extended her hand.
With one slap, she smacked the shell-covered carp to the ground.
The force was so strong that the fish’s head was embedded into the dirt.
The fish’s body stuck up straight into the air, like a flag, or perhaps a javelin.
Nightingale chuckled at the sight and decided to leave the fish impaled like that, then turned to look at Liu Zheng.
He was staring solemnly at his float.
But upon closer inspection, one could see his gaze wasn’t focused at all.
In fact, his head was beginning to nod off bit by bit.
Nightingale shouted loudly.
Liu Zheng woke with a start, hurriedly lifted his rod, and ended up hauling up a streak of river water.
"Why are you yelling so loudly? You scared my fish away."
He complained testily.
"If I hadn’t woken you up, you wouldn’t even know you had a bite, right?"
Nightingale said, feigning innocence.
"Who says? I was always waiting for the opportunity to strike."
Liu Zheng’s stubbornness was almost on par with Niu Ma.
"Alright, alright, go fish on your own. Don’t affect my good run."
He said disdainfully.
Nightingale snorted and turned her head back.
"He talks to you like that, and you’re not angry?"
The Sea maiden whispered into her ear. Fresh chapters posted on novel✦fire.net
She was curious because Nightingale wasn’t known for having a good temper.
Those who had played board games at the Bloody Restaurant in the past and had been insolent often paid a painful price.
Nightingale licked her earlobe.
"Once he loses, I’ll take my time dealing with him."
Nightingale’s breath made the Sea maiden weak in the knees.
That was the sound of the Fisherman grinding his teeth.
Liu Zheng heard it, of course, but he maintained his composure.
He had licked the feet of the big boss of the Bloody Restaurant; what was there to fear from a mere tabletop game parlor owner?
In this odd atmosphere, time ticked away.
Around Nightingale, a circle of fish was stuck in the ground, as if some bizarre ritual was taking place.
As for Liu Zheng, both his surroundings and his bucket were utterly empty.
His only accomplishment was catching a black rat, which was still partially alive and nearly bit him.
"There’s half an hour left, why don’t you just give up and save us both some time?"
Nightingale couldn’t help but suggest.
Liu Zheng watched as the timer on the system panel slowly counted down.
"’Black Koi’ effect reversed."
"Player’s current Luck Value is MAX."
The system prompt sounded.
"My time has only just begun."
He laughed maniacally as he cast his fishing rod out again.