HDRDTH -Chapter 18 First Time at Sea — We Have to Hit the Jackpot!

“Got one!!”

Yu Xian’s shout nearly scared A Long—who was busy seasick and vomiting beside him—straight into the ocean.

“Master! That fast?!” A Long stared in disbelief at the “Poseidon’s Trident,” the fishing rod already bent into a massive arc.

“Of course! This is the power of technology!” Yu Xian planted both feet firmly on the deck. The tractor seat welded onto the boat proved crucial, giving solid support to his lower back. “This feeling… heavy! Crazy heavy! Definitely a monster weighing over a hundred jin!”

The thing underwater clearly had no intention of surrendering.

Unlike ordinary fish that darted around wildly, this thing sank downward like a massive stone, occasionally bursting with brute force as it charged sideways.

“Trying to run?” Yu Xian sneered while turning the pure titanium reel. “Once you’re hooked by me, even the Dragon King of the East Sea would have to leave behind a couple whiskers!”

“A Long! Get the net ready!”

A Long hurriedly grabbed the custom-made oversized landing net with a diameter of one and a half meters and nervously stared at the water.

“Master, this strength… something’s wrong! Why does it feel like it’s drilling beneath the boat?”

“That means it’s panicking!” Yu Xian gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. “It’s trying to use the undercurrent beneath the hull to cut the line! This fish has become a spirit! It’s using tactics against me?!”

The standoff lasted a full twenty minutes.

Yu Xian felt like his arms were about to snap, yet the excitement in his eyes only grew stronger.

This thrill—battling a deep-sea beast—was every fisherman’s lifelong dream!

“Come… UP!!”

With a furious roar, Yu Xian violently jerked the rod upward.

SPLASH—!

The surface of the sea exploded open.

A black, elongated object emerged from the water amid white spray, forcibly dragged into the air.

A Long’s eyes widened, his raised net frozen midair.

“Th-This is a fish?”

The thing was around two meters long, entirely black, streamlined in shape, with a propeller at the rear spinning frantically. Strange red lights flashed on its surface.

It had no fins.

No scales.

It looked… like a miniature submarine.

Yu Xian stared at the dripping object, his smile slowly freezing.

The sea breeze blew through his messy hair.

He blinked once.

Then again.

“What the hell… is this?” Yu Xian’s voice cracked.

At that moment, the black object seemed to sense danger. Its rear propeller suddenly accelerated with a loud buzz, trying to break free from the hook and dive back underwater!

“Trying to escape?!”

Yu Xian instinctively reeled it in harder. He didn’t care what it was anymore—if it got hooked, it couldn’t be allowed to run away!

That was a matter of principle for fishermen!

CLANG!

The black object slammed heavily onto the deck, still twitching while emitting mechanical humming noises.

Yu Xian walked over and kicked it lightly.

Hard.

Metal.

A line of English was clearly printed on it:

【U.S. NAVY PROPERTY — DO NOT TOUCH】

Yu Xian: “…”

A Long: “…”

The two stared at each other.

A Long’s face instantly turned pale as paper.

“M-Master… isn’t this… that thing from the news… a spy drone submarine?”

Yu Xian took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.

Blue sea.

Blue sky.

Not a cloud in sight.

What wonderful weather.

What a perfect fishing spot.

What an expensive sonar system.

Why?

Why was it that every strange thing he caught… ended up being something that had to be handed over to the country?!

“I came here to fish…” Yu Xian squatted beside the multi-million-dollar high-tech espionage device, sounding as resentful as a neglected housewife. “I just wanted a bowl of fish soup… Is that so wrong? Why must fate force me to become a patriotic hero?”

Right then, sharp alarm sirens suddenly rang out across the distant sea.

WOOO—WOOO—!

Three Chinese Coast Guard patrol ships, painted with official insignia, sped toward them in a triangular formation.

It turned out Director Zhang’s “escort team” had been nearby the entire time!

A loudspeaker echoed across the sea:

“Attention vessel ‘Salted Fish No. 2’ ahead! This is the Chinese Coast Guard! Stop your ship immediately for inspection! Repeat, stop immediately!”

Looking at the heavily armed coast guard ships, Yu Xian sighed helplessly and lit a cigarette.

“A Long, hang up a red flag.”

“Master… we don’t have one…”

“Then hang up my red underwear! We’ve got to show we’re law-abiding citizens somehow!”

Ten minutes later.

Several fully armed coast guard officers boarded the “Salted Fish No. 2.”

Leading them was Director Zhang himself.

He looked at the newest U.S. military wave glider still humming on the deck, then at Yu Xian squatting beside it with a dead-inside expression.

The corners of his mouth twitched wildly.

“Mr. Yu… don’t you think your business scope is getting a little too broad?” Director Zhang said, barely suppressing laughter. “Last time it was a Japanese naval mine. This time it’s an American spy device. What’s next? An alien spaceship?”

Yu Xian flicked his cigarette butt into the sea, his eyes hollow.

“If I said I originally came here to catch hairtail fish, would you believe me?”

Director Zhang patted him on the shoulder with a righteous expression.

“I believe you! Of course I do! The country needs talented people exactly like you who ‘just want to catch hairtail fish!’ This device is a major achievement in our coastal counter-espionage operations! It may contain extremely sensitive hydrological data! You’ve rendered a tremendous service!”

“Another tremendous service…” Yu Xian covered his face in pain. “I just want to know… how many jin of hairtail fish can this thing be exchanged for?”

Director Zhang froze briefly, then burst into loud laughter.

“As much hairtail fish as you want! I’ll personally buy you a whole truckload! And the reward money this time starts at five hundred thousand yuan! Also, from now on, the ‘Salted Fish No. 2’ gets unrestricted passage throughout the East China Sea!”

Yu Xian’s eyes brightened slightly.

Unrestricted passage?

Didn’t that mean he could freely fish in restricted zones from now on?

“Fine then.” Yu Xian stood up and kicked the still-flashing spy glider. “Take it away, take it away. Looking at it annoys me. Oh right—can you tell the media to stop calling me some ‘Hardcore Godfather’? Call me a ‘Patriotic Fisherman’ instead, okay?”

“No problem!” Director Zhang waved grandly. “Consider it done!”