Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 352, page 99: First Fishing

Ludu felt a little uneasy, unsure if he could click on each option one by one as before.

To be on the safe side, she chose to ask about the special fish swarm incident, which seemed to contain the most information and was the most crucial.

"Kustas, I'd like to learn more about the special fish population."

Because it was written in the first person, Ludu couldn't see Matthias's expression, but he could sense that when he said those words, he didn't reveal the curiosity and eagerness that a true seeker of knowledge should have.

In this regard, Ludu is inexplicably confident based on his past (though not much) experience!

Upon hearing Mattis's words, old Kustas, who was standing at the door, widened his eyes noticeably, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to freeze.

He stood there frozen for several seconds, his eyes flashing with surprise and complexity, which eventually turned into a feeling of relief.

"Good, good, it's been ten years, you finally..." The old man nodded and smiled, but then stopped halfway through his sentence, perhaps because he didn't want to talk about it.

"Ah! Grandpa, please continue!" Lu Du shouted in his heart.

Kustas adjusted his demeanor, steer the conversation back to the special school of fish, put down his fishing net, and began to explain in detail:
"We usually call that special kind of fish 'golden fish.' It's a very special kind of fish that has only appeared in this area in recent years. We've never seen it before in our entire lives."

"Because adults in those cities really like it, it can be sold for a very high price. The money earned from catching one of these golden fish is almost equivalent to a month's income from a regular day at sea."

“Look at that guy, Indrek.”

Kostas nodded twice toward a relatively large fishing boat at the village dock, his tone somewhat complicated.

"Why is he able to own the only big boat in the village? It's because he had a stroke of good luck. He caught several golden fish in a row a few years ago, and that's how he gradually became rich."

“However, these golden fish are not a single, fixed species, which is why I say they are peculiar.” Kustas frowned slightly, seemingly also somewhat puzzled. “They come in all sorts of strange shapes and sizes, some as large as dolphins, others as small as cod, but their overall size is definitely large. What they all have in common is their fierce nature, and in the sunlight, their scales reflect a faint, shimmering light, as if they are coated with gold dust.”

"However, finding golden fish requires a lot of luck. They mainly inhabit areas far to the north, where the water temperature is low and ordinary fish are scarce. If you make a special trip and don't catch any golden fish, it's easy to go back empty-handed and waste your time."

“A wasted trip is secondary,” Kustas’s voice lowered, carrying a warning, “What’s more serious is that the weather in the northern seas is unpredictable, prone to strong winds and waves, and... there’s also that kind of dense fog that can swallow ships. Over the years, there have been many cases of ships being destroyed and people dying while chasing golden fish.”

He sighed, his gaze returning to Mattis: "The allure of the golden fish is just too great, so most people in the village will choose a few sunny and safe days each month to head north together and try their luck. Mattis, you must have heard about this from their casual conversations, right?"

“I understand you’ve always wanted to find what fell into the sea, to reclaim your past identity. But if you don’t first save up money to buy a better, sturdier boat that can go further, how far can you go?”

Kustas spoke at length, his words sincere, and it was clear that he cared deeply about Mattis.

As he spoke, the old-fashioned notebook in Ludu's mind resurfaced automatically, with new words quickly added to it:
[Clue 2: Perhaps we could try catching golden fish? We could save up enough money to buy a bigger boat.]

[Information: Lost item 10 years ago]

Ludu roughly understood that the old man in front of him was like a tutorial guide in a game, indirectly conveying a lot of information to the player through conversation.

The game features the Golden Fish quest and provides crucial information about something Mattis dropped at sea, which corresponds to some of the scenes shown at the beginning.

By piecing together these fragmented pieces of information, Ludu's not-so-complex little brain gradually began to sketch out a clear outline of the plot:

Madis, the character she embodies, likely suffered a shipwreck or other major tragedy ten years ago, resulting in amnesia. She was rescued by a kind old fisherman named Kustas and has lived in this remote fishing village ever since.

Although he has amnesia, he still remembers the item that fell off the ship and has a strong desire to find it. That may be the key to unraveling the mystery of his identity.

What she needs to do now is to play the role of Madis well, accumulate wealth by fishing hard, upgrade her boat and equipment step by step, and eventually be able to explore more distant and dangerous seas, collect clues, and finally complete the goal of finding lost items and memories.

Ludu has played very few games, practically none, but the fact that she was selected as a player shows that she naturally possesses a player's mindset.

“Thank you, I understand.” With no other options available, Mattis nodded gently.

“By the way,” Kustas pointed to a house on the edge of the village that looked more orderly than ordinary houses, with some wooden boxes and miscellaneous items piled up in front of it, “you should know who to deal with after you catch the golden fish, right? It’s that kid Yuri. His house is easy to find. You can go to him; he’ll give you a fair price. If you need any equipment in the future, like better fishing nets or harpoons, you can also go to him. That kid has connections and can get a lot of good stuff.”

“Okay.” Mattis’s response remained brief.

This indifferent response made Ludu, speaking in the first person, feel somewhat embarrassed.

To be so sparing with words in front of such a kind and caring elder seemed rather impolite to her.

"Thank you, grandpa!"

She could only sincerely thank him in her heart, trying to make up for the coldness that Mattis had shown.

Kustas seemed to be used to Maddis's cold attitude and showed no sign of being bothered.

He simply waved his hand casually and turned to go back inside. Just then, the pot of wheat porridge his wife was cooking, emitting the aroma of grains, was ready.

Smelling the porridge, which was by no means fragrant, Lu Du felt a pang of hunger even though he had just eaten breakfast.

"He seems to get hungry easily?"

Ludu felt he had discovered an incredible clue.

Even though she was young, only eleven or twelve years old, she was still very familiar with the seven deadly sins.

The previous game revealed greed and envy. So this game reveals gluttony?
But the excitement quickly faded, and Ludu immediately realized that something was wrong.

The difference in game difficulty and scale is quite significant.

However, this possibility cannot be completely ruled out.

The option appears again:

Go find Indrek.

Go find Yuri.

【Fishing at Sea】

Ludu chose to go to Yuri, since Kustas had just pointed out this way to obtain resources and information.

Mattis walked toward the more conspicuous house on the edge of the village.

However, when he arrived at Yuri's house, he found that the door was blocked from the outside by an old wooden box.

Does this mean I'm not home?

Mattis didn't try to knock or call out; he simply glanced at the door silently, then turned and walked briskly towards his hut. The game camera slowly zoomed out, and Ludu could see the top of Mattis's head, the nearby houses, and gradually, the entire small fishing village nestled in the bay unfolded before his eyes like a miniature sand table.

Before dawn, you can see many fishing boats leaving the dock one after another along the coast.

Leading the pack was the luxurious fishing boat belonging to Indrek, which was a size larger than the other vessels.

At the same time, the game interface also changed, with two icons appearing.

The icon features a man who looks to be in his thirties, which should be Mattis.

One icon is at the dock, and the other is at home.

Focusing your mind on the beach icon will bring up the option to "Go fishing at sea," while focusing on the home icon will allow you to "Rest for a day."

It seems there are no other options available.

She naturally wouldn't choose to rest! With a thought, she chose to go fishing at sea.

After confirming that they were going out to sea to fish, the camera quickly zoomed in, focusing on the simple wooden dock in the village.

The camera focuses on Madison's small, shabby fishing boat, which has no sails and is propelled only by oars. The boat rotates slowly, somewhat like the inspection of a sports car in a racing game.

A more detailed character status and equipment bar is displayed on one side of the interface:
Freshwater reserves: 3 days

Tools: Small fishing net, fishing line, harpoon, dagger

【Money: 500】

Ship durability: 100/100

Hunger level: 10/∞

[Sanity Value: 100/100]

Why is the hunger value so strange? It looks like an infinity symbol! Is there no upper limit?

Why is rationality required for fishing? Does it represent a level of sobriety? Like not being able to drive while fatigued?
Why is there only water? Where is the food?

There were many strange things, but Ludu had no other choice but to either go back to the previous step or go out to sea directly.

Choosing to set sail, Mattis skillfully untied the ropes, picked up the rough wooden oar, and rowed the pitifully small wooden boat, slowly leaving the dock and merging into the vast and unknown dark sea ahead.

Just as the ship was fully in sailing mode, a game description appeared before Ludu's eyes, like a nautical log:

Fishing Mode Description:
Matthias wasn't keen on fishing, but after ten years of fruitless efforts, he decided to follow Kustas's advice and save up to buy a better boat so he could venture deeper in search of the lost items.

Madis can use his sanity to "observe" where schools of fish are located and to track the golden fish.

Eating fish can reduce hunger.

Best fishing time: 04:00-15:00
Warning 1: Please note that the game is lost when your sanity reaches zero.

Warning 2: The lower your sanity, the faster your hunger level rises. The higher your hunger level, the faster your sanity is depleted.

Warning 3: Sanity cannot be replenished at sea unless you eat a golden fish.

Eating golden fish can reduce hunger and replenish sanity, but the minimum hunger level will permanently increase.

Warning 4: Certain events at sea may cause your sanity to decrease; please be careful.

A series of warnings left Ludu speechless.

Keep repeating to yourself: Simple mode, this is simple mode.
The fishing mode has started, and Ludu is now in third-person view, able to control the direction of the fishing boat, and sees a glowing icon representing the "Observe" skill.

Lu Du had absolutely no fishing experience, not even a fishing expert. The closest she ever came to fishing was when a classmate put small loaches in her cabinet.

Then she kept the loach in a kettle, and after a long time without drinking water, she secretly released it into the nearby river on her way home from school.

She used her observational ability without much hesitation.

A beam of light, visible only to her, rapidly spread outwards in a semi-circle from the fishing boat, and soon, two beams of light appeared.

[Fishway: European anchovies (small), fixed net recommended]

Fish species: Herring (small), netting or hand-fishing recommended.

Looking at the equipment, Madis realized he didn't have a fixed net, so he had to choose herring.

Rationality -10.

She memorized the direction of the gradually blurring beam of light and steered the boat away.

As he drew nearer, time flew by, the pre-dawn darkness was painted with the blue of the morning light, and the sun slowly rose from the horizon in the direction of the village he had left, dispelling the slight chill of the sea.

Fortunately, Lu Du didn't have to do the actual fishing. All she needed to do was direct and coordinate, observe the water flow, judge the depth of the fish, choose the right time to cast the net, cast the net with all her might, haul it in, and sort the catch. She did a pretty good job with all these complex and skill-intensive actions.

In this way, the difficulty was indeed not as great as Ludu had initially thought.

She was frightened by the series of warnings at the beginning.
No! She immediately straightened her (non-existent) back. A chosen one like herself wouldn't be intimidated!
After observing it three times, she gradually got the hang of it and felt a great sense of accomplishment as she caught each fish.

They're just a little pitiful.
However, she wasn't someone who couldn't distinguish between the game and reality. She shook her head, banished the thought, and decided to just treat the fish as small amounts of money.

She glanced at the hunger level; it had already reached sixty by the end of the morning. She quickly told Mattis to eat two fish to replenish his hunger.

Madis silently stopped what he was doing, grabbed two still-wriggling herrings from the boat, skillfully scaled and gutted them with the dagger whose handle was engraved with "To Madis," and then ate them raw.

He remained expressionless throughout the entire process, just like someone refueling a car at a gas station.

The sun gradually sets in the west.

Looking at her remaining thirty-odd days of rationality, she decided to play it safe on the first day. She maneuvered the small fishing boat, turned it around, and began her return journey in the direction of the village she remembered from the beginning.

(End of this chapter)