167: Exploding rod

Gao Xiaofan curled his lips and said nothing, walking to the side to start washing up.

After a while, Qiu Gu also climbed up. He looked at the small bucket next to Li Yuer, his eyes shining.

“Little Yuer, did you catch these this morning?”

Li Yuer nodded. “Mm, the morning bite is a bit better~”

“Oh man, why didn't you call me~”

Qiu Gu slapped his thigh, looking full of regret.

In the past, he had always seen videos talking about morning bites and evening bites, but he had never paid them much mind. Who knew the effect would be this good? Li Yuer had already filled her bucket!

Gao Xiaofan sat on his fishing chair, looking at Qiu Gu out of the corner of his eye.

It's all over; he's completely fallen in love with fishing.

Just as the few of them were messing around for a bit, a car slowly drove up.

“It wasn't supposed to be this late, but I ran into some things on the way, which caused a delay.”

The Regiment Commander said as he got out of the car carrying breakfast.

“Everything okay?~” Gao Xiaofan asked with concern.

“It's fine, what could be wrong? I brought you guys some breakfast~”

Qiu Gu took it, looking surprised.

“You bought so much? How are we going to finish all this.”

“Hehe, we haven't eaten either.”

“Then let's eat together. The big beauty is already stewing fish soup; she's already filled her bucket~”

The group burst into laughter.

After finishing breakfast, they all returned to their respective fishing spots. After Qiu Gu set up his stand and started the livestream room, he stood next to Gao Xiaofan with an expectant look.

“How about you fish, Brother Gu?~”

Gao Xiaofan said with a smile.

Since his left arm was broken, he could only catch small fish, and his interest in fishing had waned a bit. Since Qiu Gu was interested, he might as well let him fish.

“That won't do.” Qiu Gu hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands.

Livestreaming was Gao Xiaofan's livelihood; he couldn't interfere with that.

“Then how about this, you go to the car and grab a set of gear to play with. It's not like there's much going on right now anyway~”

Gao Xiaofan smiled; how could he not understand Qiu Gu's thoughts? The man wanted to fish.

It just so happened there wasn't much to do. Once they finished fishing this morning, he'd check the fans' mood. If it was right, they could draw the next stop.

Qiu Gu gave an 'aye' and happily turned around, running to the car to tinker with the gear.

Gao Xiaofan smiled. When he turned his head, he noticed Li Yuer nearby was also smiling as she looked over.

The two shared a smile.

The sun slowly rose and the temperature climbed. The sunlight felt warm on the skin. Gao Xiaofan casually interacted with the viewers in the livestream room.

He had been casting his rods for almost an hour, but there wasn't a single bite.

“Fake fishing Streamer? ... It's normal for the bite to be bad when it's cold~”

“Stop fishing for small fish? ... Brothers, now even the small fish aren't biting~”

“Check on Brother Gu... No need, I can see him; he's just sitting there like a statue~”

“Hahahahaha~”

Just as Gao Xiaofan couldn't help but laugh out loud, he suddenly noticed the float on the water had vanished. Hm?

Gao Xiaofan's spirit jolted. His right arm snapped the rod up. With a *swish*, the rod rose, and a strange-looking fish flew right out of the water under the force of the strike.

Gao Xiaofan blinked as he looked at the fish flopping on the shore, then his face filled with joy.

“Holy crap, Brothers, there really are Mandarin Fish!”

The fish was about the size of two palms, with large eyes, a pointed head, and a wide mouth. The rear edge of its preopercle had serrated protrusions. Its body was covered in many irregular dark brown or black spots and patches, while its belly was grayish-white.

It was indeed a Mandarin Fish.

Li Yuer jumped off her Fishing Box and leaned in curiously. The Independent Regiment further away and Qiu Gu on the other side also heard the commotion and gathered around.

Gao Xiaofan happily pinched the lower lip of the Mandarin Fish and held it up to the camera.

“Hahaha, unlocked the Mandarin Fish, and I caught it using Taiwan Fishing~ So sweet~”

The comments in the livestream room started flooding in one after another.

“Peach blossoms on flowing water, the Mandarin Fish are fat~”

“It's clearly raw, but I'm already salivating~”

“Unscientific. Catching Mandarin Fish with a hand rod and bait... Brother Wo Zi must have stepped in dog poop luck~”

Gao Xiaofan happily tossed the Mandarin Fish into the keepnet, feeling satisfied. It was about a pound.

He had never caught a Mandarin Fish before~

“Brother Wo Zi, give me some bait, let me use some~” The Company Commander leaned in with a thick-skinned grin.

Li Yuer, standing nearby, burst out laughing upon hearing this.

Gao Xiaofan didn't mind at all. “Take some~ It's just the 'Old Three' mix. I probably just got lucky with that catch~”

The Company Commander chuckled, scooped a clump from the bait tray, and happily trotted back to his fishing spot.

“Anglers are all like this. If someone else is catching fish and they aren't, or if someone else gets a big one while they get a small one, they start overthinking everything.”

Gao Xiaofan looked at the comments on the screen and said with a smile.

“Some people think their 'butt' isn't in the right place and they picked the wrong spot. Some think the bait is different. Some even think they wore the wrong color of underwear~”

Hearing Gao Xiaofan's words, the comment section filled with question marks.

After making the joke, Gao Xiaofan grinned and set his rod on the rod rest. Then he placed the hooks on the magnetic area of the bait basin, pressed the bait onto the hooks, and gently pulled the leader, resulting in two balls of bait.

He picked up the rod and gave it a gentle swing. The bait balls and the float slowly entered the water.

Another period of tedious waiting followed. Just as Gao Xiaofan was preparing to draw the sixth stop in the livestream room, a cry of surprise came from the Independent Regiment's side.

“Holy crap!!!”

The three members of the Chu Qiao Squad looked up. They saw the members of the Independent Regiment standing up and huddling together.

Gao Xiaofan's heart skipped a beat. They didn't fall into the water, did they!

The sharp-eyed Li Yuer watched for a moment, then her voice rose.

“It looks like they've hooked a big one!”

Gao Xiaofan breathed a sigh of relief. He then grabbed the nearby camera stand and trotted over. Li Yuer and Qiu Gu followed close behind.

As they approached, they saw the Company Commander clutching his rod and squatting by the shore, his face flushed with excitement.

The entire rod had bent into a deep arc, seemingly bearing a weight it wasn't meant to handle.

Gao Xiaofan gave an envious look before setting up the stand and adjusting the camera.

“Steady, steady. Slow down, slow down~” the Regiment Commander whispered excitedly while holding a Landing Net. Next to him, the Second Battalion Commander and Pillar were filming with their phones.

“Damn it, make sure you're filming me! Make me look cool!~” the Company Commander shouted without looking back.

“We're filming, we're filming. Let me play the fish for a bit later~”

“20+!!! At least 20 pounds~” the Regiment Commander said excitedly~

“Bullshit, I feel like it's 30~” the Company Commander curled his lips.

Just as those words left his mouth, a loud crack rang out.

“Bang~” Only half of the rod remained in the Company Commander's hand. The front half had shattered inch by inch. The tip fell into the water and quickly vanished. The man stumbled, his body jerking backward from the sudden release of tension.

“Damn! The rod exploded~” the Regiment Commander said, speechless.

The Company Commander beside him stared blankly at the half-rod in his hand.

Gao Xiaofan felt a pang of pity. He didn't know what kind of rod the Company Commander had, but the length was probably 5.4 meters. He guessed the man had used a heavy line, which prevented the line from snapping but caused the rod to explode instead.

Otherwise, logically, the line should have snapped and the fish gotten away.

Gao Xiaofan thought for a moment and asked Qiu Gu to go to the car and bring over a 6.3-meter Han Ding Zhan.