I am a local in North America

Chapter 74 Little guy, you're safe now (4600 words, please subscribe!)
After weighing.

Su Jierui smiled and greeted each of the other contestants who offered their congratulations, shaking hands politely.

He rattled off a string of polite phrases, as if he had already entered the champion's acceptance speech segment.

With such impressive results and such a large gap between them and the second place, they are almost guaranteed to win the championship. There is no need to be too modest; they can just accept it gracefully.

Immediately afterwards, he seized an opportunity to approach the tournament director, Mike Kelman, and asked about a question that was currently of utmost concern to him:
"Hello, Mr. Kelman. I know the prize for the largest single fish is $2000, right? So my fish should break the record for the Bass Bass Fishing Championship, right? Is there a prize of $5?"

Tournament Director Mike Kelman's enthusiastic smile faded slightly, revealing a hint of embarrassment. After a moment's hesitation, he replied:
“There was indeed this extra bonus before, but now there have been many changes in the management of the professional fishing league, and this aspect was not taken into account when the new rules were formulated. I will consult my superiors as soon as possible.”

"Don't worry, you and this fish will be featured in countless news stories around the world, which is a good thing for our Bass Bass Fishing Competition. I will definitely try my best to help you win it."

"Even if we don't get the full prize money, there should be some other rewards, like a custom trophy, or... uh, a fishing tackle shop coupon? Otherwise, everyone will complain; such a huge bass is really rare..."

Su Jierui maintained his understanding smile and continued to ask:
"So... what if I break the record for the heaviest catch? I mean the total weight of bass caught in 4 days."

This time, Mike Kelman decisively shook his head and explained with a hint of apology:

"You're close to breaking the record this time, but unfortunately you can only get the record-breaking bonus if you break the record during the finals."

"You know, we're not the NBA or Major League Baseball. If we had plenty of money, we wouldn't have been acquired."

"In fact, the prize money for bass fishing competitions might even be reduced in the future..."

"..."

Su Jierui felt a little regretful, but then thought it wasn't convenient to say anything more.

He only had the opportunity to cut in line for the competition because Mike Kelman helped him, so how could he possibly complain to his face?
In the end, I could only pretend to be relaxed and say:
"I understand, then let's try again in the finals..."

Tournament director Mike Kelman was taken aback upon hearing this, then chuckled and patted Su Jerry's arm with an encouraging look:
"Keep it up, young man. You're so young, you feel even younger than my son. You'll definitely have opportunities in the future. Thank you for your wonderful performance. The media has been very enthusiastic today and has already published a lot of news about this leg of the competition. I've even thought of a headline for the official website. What do you think of 'Eastern anglers cast mysterious spells, and giant perch in the St. John River are all bewitched!' I need to go and deal with that right away."

"...Okay, Mr. Kelman, you can go ahead and get back to work."

Su Jierui stayed at the scene until the list of 47 to 10 was announced before he prepared to drive back to the hotel to rest.

Many wealthy anglers treat bass fishing tournaments as a way to socialize and relax, meet up with old friends who share the same hobby, and take the opportunity to discuss business. Even if they are eliminated, they don't feel anything special, just a little regretful.

The main point is that it's okay if the fish gets away, as long as the business doesn't go away.

There are also professional anglers who make a living from fishing competitions, traveling around all year round, and become furious when they cannot win prize money.

For them, this was not a vacation, but a life-or-death battle over whether they could pay the rent at the end of the month.

Two of them had a dispute during the day over fishing spots, and after another verbal altercation, they suddenly started fighting in front of everyone. One of the guys, a skinny white guy, was quickly beaten so badly that his nose bled.

I lost both the fish-fighting game on the shore and the wrestling game at the dock. It was a double loss on land and water. What a miserable day.

With so many people gathered for the competition, and with patrolling detectives already on duty to maintain order, they took both of them away without a word.

Su Jierui didn't join in the fun. After watching for a while, he started the car and went back to the hotel to rest...

the next day.

A large group of contestants were gathered at the front desk, having been eliminated early and no longer needed to stay.

As Su Jierui walked past the crowd carrying a large bag, some strangers offered their congratulations and praised his abilities.

Although he was in a hurry to participate in the competition, he still stopped and smiled as he responded with a few words.

Today is the third day of his participation in the finals.

Following the previous rules, the departure order was determined by drawing lots again. The only difference was that Su Jierui finally had a cameraman filming him.

He was still piloting fishing boat B-17, slowly entering the St. John River system, his mood different from the previous two days.

His huge lead allowed him to be more relaxed and even have time to slowly appreciate the pristine and vibrant wetland scenery.

In the dim light of dawn, a thin layer of water vapor shrouded the river surface, like a light veil.

On the water's surface, the enormous leaves of the giant water lily lay flat, and occasionally a frog would leap across them, making a "croaking" sound.

A flock of egrets strolled in the shallow water, their long beaks swiftly plunging into the water every now and then to snatch up unfortunate little fish.

On the treetops further away, an osprey was watching intently before suddenly plunging into the water, splashing a small clump of water. Moments later, it took flight with its trophy, the large white fish in its talons still struggling and wagging its tail.

Su Jierui didn't choose a destination today. When he encountered some charming scenery along the way, he would deliberately slow down and let the fishing boat drift quietly, enjoying the moment of tranquility.

On the shore, he also saw a rather large beaver carrying a twig, clumsily making its way to a nest made of twigs and mud.

"This is the real Florida..."

He sighed and took out his action camera to record some scenes.

However, danger lurked beneath this tranquil and peaceful scene. As he slowly made his way along a narrow tributary, a colossal object caught Su Jerry's attention at the edge of his field of vision.

That's not the familiar fish icon, it's—the American alligator!
Su Jerry was startled and immediately became alert. Looking from the bass fishing boat, he saw that the alligator was extremely large, with an estimated length of nearly 4 meters, and its surface was covered with rough, dark scales.

It floated motionless, with only its eyes and nostrils above the water, like a drifting piece of dead wood, perfectly blending into its surroundings. It probably weighed six or seven hundred pounds.

In this wetland, alligators are undoubtedly the top predators. Even though it is very rare for them to actively attack boats, encountering an adult giant crocodile at such close range still sent chills down his spine.

Carefully maneuver the fishing boat, trying not to make any loud noise, and slowly navigate around the other side of the tributary.

The giant crocodile seemed uninterested in the slowly moving "tin boat," merely turning its eyes indifferently while remaining camouflaged and still, its gaze filled with disdain for the tin can and the two-legged creature.

Su Jerry didn't feel relieved until he had driven a sufficient distance.

Time ticked by, and as the temperature rose near noon, the cameraman, whose neck and arms were sunburned, finally couldn't help but ask:
"What's going on? Aren't you going fishing? Like yesterday and the day before, go find some big fish. I need some exciting footage. The producer even told me to pay special attention to you. We're not here to film a 'Florida Nature Documentary' today."

Su Jierui glanced at his watch and said in a relaxed tone:

"It's not even 11 o'clock yet, and I'm already ahead, aren't I? I only need to take 5 bass back, no need to be so nervous. This is my first time in Florida, and I want to see more of the place. The scenery here is beautiful, and the winter climate is very pleasant."

The cameraman was speechless, but still replied dejectedly:

“I grew up in Miami, but I don’t like Florida. There are a lot of immigrants, and the safety is a bit chaotic. Here, a day isn’t complete unless the news reports some bizarre stories about ‘Florida men.’ You’re from Seattle, right? That’s a better place. Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon headquarters—it seems like they’re all over there.” Su Jerry shrugged and said:
"Perhaps everyone dislikes the place they are familiar with, but after truly leaving their hometown, they will find that living in other cities will still bring many unsatisfactory things... For example, the rain in Seattle can make you question the meaning of life."

He happened to spot a lot of largemouth bass on the shore, and after casting his line a few times, he caught two bass in just six or seven minutes, both weighing over 7.5 pounds.

Having already made a splash in the past two days, he only wanted to hide his special abilities today and didn't pay much attention to underwater activity while fishing.

After replenishing his energy with an energy bar, Su Jierui drove the fishing boat back, passing the large crocodile again, and returned to the main river channel.

We then chose a spot with a lot of largemouth bass and quickly achieved our goal for the day. The largest of the five fish weighed just over 9.2 pounds.

Based on his performance in the previous two days, this is already sufficient.

Just as Su Jierui was about to turn the boat around and return to the dock to weigh the items, his gaze inadvertently swept over a floating object on the river, and he stopped instantly.

He adjusted his sunglasses and looked ahead. He saw a small, old wooden plank, which looked like it had fallen off a dock or an abandoned ship, and was drifting downstream with the river.

The wooden plank isn't the main point; the main point is the two golden figures, one large and one small, that stand out against the shimmering water.

He maneuvered the fishing boat closer and closer, and this time he could see it clearly.

On the wooden board, curled up was an adult mother cat and a kitten that was clearly still a cub. Their fur was an extremely beautiful golden shaded color, gleaming warmly in the sunlight.

However, the adult female cat was in very poor condition.

It was soaking wet, its fur matted and plastered to its body, with several shocking scratches on its back and sides, deep enough to expose the bone, and the surrounding fur was stained dark red with large patches of blood.

The mother cat, having exhausted almost all her strength, lay weakly on the wooden board, tightly protecting the trembling kitten beneath her.

Hearing the noise, it raised its eyes, its dark green eyes filled with exhaustion and pain, yet it still maintained a guarding posture.

In Su Jerry's special perspective, the mother cat's health status was already shown as "near death," and the kitten's condition wasn't much better.

Just as he was wondering why they were in the middle of the river and why they were injured, a sharp and threatening cry came from the sky.

Looking up, one could see an adult bald eagle circling low in the distance, its sharp eyes fixed on the direction of the wooden plank, seemingly unwilling to give up its prey that was about to be caught.

In an instant, Su Jierui understood: the national bird had personally stepped into the scene to play the villain.

It is very likely that the mother cat and her kitten accidentally fell into the water or were abandoned in the river, and this plank became their only lifeline.

As they floated in the water with little cover, they were spotted by the bald eagle and became its prey.

It seems that the mother cat fought a desperate battle with a top predator from the air to protect her kittens. Although she managed to drive away the predator, she paid a heavy price.

Seeing the mother cat shielding her kittens from all danger with her body even as she was on the verge of death, Su Jierui's heart was deeply touched!
He immediately steered the bass fishing boat slowly closer, trying not to provoke an excessive reaction from the mother cat.

The mother cat seemed to sense his intention. Unlike ordinary wild cats that bar their teeth in threat, she simply used her last strength to lift her head and give Su Jerry a deep look. Her eyes had lost their wildness and wariness, and seemed to carry a hint of pleading. She then gently opened her mouth and meowed.

Then its head drooped limply again, and it gently rubbed its nose against the kitten beneath it, emitting a barely audible hoarse whimper, as if saying its final goodbye.

Before Su Jierui could even offer any assistance, he noticed that the mother cat's icon had completely dimmed and then disappeared from his sight.

It's dead.

The mother cat seemed to finally give up her last stand once she realized her kittens might be saved.

The little golden tabby seemed to sense something, and suddenly squeezed out from under its mother cat, rubbing its little head against her body and making weak, pitiful cries.

Docked beside the floating plank, Su Jierui remained silent for a moment, feeling a tightness in his chest.

Just then, the dark shadow in the air approached again!

Seeing the bald eagle circle once and then dare to swoop down to hunt, he swung his arm with all his might and shouted, "Get out of the way!!!"

A loud voice echoed across the river.

The fierce bald eagle was frightened, flapped its wings and rose higher, circling not far away, but no longer approaching easily.

With the crisis temporarily averted, Su Jierui didn't hesitate to take off his sun-protective jacket, carefully lean over, gently wrap the still-wailing kitten in his arms, and pick it up.

The kitten struggled at first, its little paws hooking onto its mother's wet fur, but perhaps because it was too weak, it quickly lost its strength and curled up in the coat that still held its mother's warmth, trembling slightly.

He placed the kitten temporarily in the dry cabin at his feet. Su Jerry looked around, but finding nothing suitable, he decided to take off his short-sleeved shirt again and wrap the battered mother cat in it, preparing to find another place to bury her.

There was no point in trying to save her anymore. He took one last look and saw that the mother cat's back wound was so deep that you could even see the bone. She was indeed gone.

After temporarily putting the mother cat away, Su Jerry picked up the kitten and carefully placed it in a dry, soft backpack next to the driver's seat, with only its little head sticking out.

Seeing the kitten's weak appearance, he remembered that he had brought supplies.

I then checked the ingredient list of the energy bar and found that there were no irritating ingredients. I then broke some into pieces, put them in my palm, and held them to the kitten's mouth.

"Hey, little guy, you're safe now."

He said softly, gently stroking the kitten's wet head with his fingers, still feeling uneasy.

The cameraman captured the entire scene. His previous complaining expression had vanished, replaced by a look of emotion and silence.

That cruel yet tender side of life is truly unforgettable.

After the kitten ate a little something and calmed down, we continued our journey back.

Su Jerry found a scenic riverbank, dug a shallow pit with the tools on the boat, buried the mother cat in the grass under a tall oak tree, and piled up a small mound of earth.

He had just been passing by, but this little incident was perhaps more memorable to him than any of the giant fish he had caught in the past two days.

They then boarded the boat, started the engine, and the fishing boat B-17 headed towards the dock, its stern cutting through the waves.

Today's competition is over, and his score is enough to win the championship, surpassing the historical record of the Bass Bass Fishing Championship Finals.

Unfortunately, the organizers weren't wealthy, and there was no prize money for breaking records in the regional competitions. Otherwise, he could have gradually manipulated the scores to climb the leaderboard and earn more money that way...

(End of this chapter)