HDRDTH -Chapter 28 I’m Just a Fisherman, Not the Avengers

The Maldives sunset had not yet fully disappeared, and the smell of gunpowder over the sea had only just begun to fade.

Captain Smith still hadn’t recovered from the excitement of the twenty-million-dollar bounty.

Like an overenthusiastic insurance salesman, he waved a freshly faxed encrypted document from the satellite phone while blocking Yu Xian’s path, eyes shining brightly.

“Mr. Yu! Wait! Please stay a moment!”

Smith’s face was flushed red, saliva practically flying from his mouth as he spoke excitedly.

“Headquarters just sent a highest-priority request! Since you demonstrated such astonishing… uh… ‘fishing’ abilities in the Pacific, we believe you are the only person capable of handling the next mission!”

Yu Xian was sprawled across the tractor seat, trying to soothe his pounding headache with medicated cooling balm.

The moment he heard the word “mission,” he jolted upright as if electrocuted, nearly tossing the balm into the sea.

“Stop right there! You must be dreaming!”

Yu Xian raised one hand toward Smith, his face filled with rejection.

“Don’t mention missions to me. I’m allergic to that word now.”

“No, no, no, hear me out! This one is absolutely thrilling!”

Smith couldn’t stop himself. Mysteriously, he unfolded the file and pointed at a blurry photograph inside.

“The Bermuda Triangle! Ever heard of it?”

“There’ve been frequent mysterious magnetic disturbances there recently, and several cargo ships have vanished without a trace! We suspect some sort of supernatural force or even alien technology…”

“Headquarters wants you to take your ‘Salted Fish No. 2’ there and cast a few lines!”

“Think about it—what if you reel up the magnetic core or even an alien spaceship—”

The more Smith talked, the more excited he became, as if he could already see the Nobel Peace Prize waving at him.

After listening, Yu Xian’s expression shifted from rejection to the kind of concern one reserves for the mentally disabled.

“Forget the Bermuda Triangle. I wouldn’t even go to a Bermuda Hexagon!”

Yu Xian curled his lip and turned toward Along, who was cleaning the deck nearby.

“Along, put away my ‘Poseidon’s Trident.’”

“And call Wang Dafu and tell him to burn that damned World Fishing Spots Encyclopedia.”

“Huh?” Along froze. “Master, aren’t we going to the Amazon to fish for piranhas anymore?”

“Fish my ass!”

“I’m going back to get my fortune read. There’s no way my bad luck fishing is scientifically possible!”

Yu Xian pointed at Smith and unleashed a roar from the depths of his soul.

“I’m a fisherman! A fisherman! Not the freaking Avengers!”

“All I want is to catch a fish! Even a tiny loach would be fine!”

“But what happens instead? You people make me salvage naval mines! Fish up corpses! Smash submarines! And now you want me to go fish for aliens in the Bermuda Triangle?!”

“Do you think my life came from a nine-yuan-nine free-shipping bargain website?!”

Smith shrank back from the yelling but still refused to give up.

“But Mr. Yu, your special constitution—”

“Shut up! Don’t mention my constitution!”

Yu Xian covered his face in agony.

“Every time I close my eyes now, I see all kinds of weird crap dangling from my hooks. At this rate I’m convinced the next cast will snag Godzilla.”

“I’m tired.”

“Really tired.”

Master Yu waved weakly, a deep exhaustion radiating from his bones.

His body was tired.

His heart was even more tired.

It was the despair of a simple fisherman—one who had transcended low-level interests—being repeatedly toyed with by fate itself.

“I’m going back to China.”

“I’m going home.”

“I want to eat fresh fried dough sticks and tofu pudding from the alley entrance. I want to sleep on my own hard wooden bed that doesn’t rock around. I want to sit in the park bragging with those old men who spend an entire afternoon catching only two tiny fish!”

“That’s life!”

“This bullshit is a heavenly tribulation!”

As he spoke, Yu Xian actually started sniffling.

Ignoring the dumbfounded Smith, he turned and walked directly into the cabin.

“Wife, Qianqian, pack up.”

“We’re going home.”

Su Wanyi was wiping dirt from Su Qian’s face. Hearing those words, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

Honestly, she was close to breaking down too.

The past few days had contained more heart-stopping moments than the previous twenty years of her life combined.

If this kept going, she feared she’d become a martyr’s widow before she ever became a superstar’s mother.

“Okay! We’re going home!”

Su Qian also raised both hands in celebration.

“We’re going home to eat roast duck! Sell this submarine and buy Daddy a new fishing rod!”

Yu Xian staggered slightly upon hearing that, nearly tripping.

A new fishing rod?

No thanks.

He didn’t want to touch another fishing rod for the rest of his life.

At least… within this month, if anyone dared mention the word “fishing” around him again, he’d lose his temper on the spot.

…

Aboard the private jet home.

Wang Dafu was still staring foolishly at the twenty million dollars that had just been deposited into his account, drool nearly dripping out.

“Dad, you really won’t go to Bermuda? That’s the kind of opportunity that gets written into history books!”

Yu Xian wore an eye mask and reclined his seat flat, his voice lazy and relaxed.

“Dafu.”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“If you dare mention one more word related to the ocean, I’ll throw you out of this plane from thirty thousand feet and let you personally experience free fall over Bermuda.”

Wang Dafu instantly covered his mouth and shook his head desperately.

Yu Xian adjusted into a more comfortable position and finally revealed the first genuine smile he’d had in days.

It was finally over.

No more bullets.

No more pirates or drug traffickers.

No more damned “Star of Justice.”

Only peaceful living waiting ahead of him.

He was already fantasizing about returning to Jiangcheng, carrying a little folding stool to the ornamental lake in his residential complex and quietly watching a fishing float in peace.

No submarines there.

No naval mines.

Only those dumb koi fish.

No—that still wasn’t enough!

He’d stock even more fish into the lake himself.

If there were enough fish, eventually one of them would bite the hook, right?!

That—

that was his paradise.

As he imagined it all, Yu Xian drifted off to sleep with a silly smile on his face.

…

Meanwhile, Jiangcheng International Airport had already become completely packed.

Tens of thousands of fans, over a hundred media reporters, and even official government representatives holding banners were waiting eagerly.

The slogans on the banners became more exaggerated one after another:

“Warmly Welcome the ‘Star of Justice’ Master Yu Back Home in Glory!”

“Salute the National Hero Who Solo-Cleared the Pirate Raid Dungeon!”

“Yu Xian: The Man Who Redefined ‘Getting Skunked’!”

At the very front of the crowd—

Qin Yue stood there in white clothing as always, her temperament cold and elegant.

Only now, besides reverence, her eyes also contained a barely concealed fanaticism.

In her hands was a freshly drafted contract.

It was an official offer from the Qin Family, prepared to mobilize the power of their entire clan to hire Yu Xian as the Chief Security Consultant of the Qin Group.

Annual salary: Fill in any amount you want.

Job duties: Occasionally visit branch offices around the world…

…and go fishing.

If Yu Xian knew this scene was waiting for him—

he would probably order the plane to turn around immediately.

Straight toward the Amazon.

Even feeding piranhas sounded better than facing this hellish situation.