The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

The moment the fish was pulled out of the water, a collective gasp filled the air.

It was a large, black catfish, nearly a meter long, covered in dark green spots, with two long whiskers swaying weakly in the air.

"This old man must be cheating, he caught a fish so quickly."

"My God! It's so big!"

"This...this must weigh at least thirty pounds!"

With a strong pull, Lao Yan lifted the large catfish out of the water and casually tossed it onto the grass behind him.

[Recycling successful, obtained 8 Source Crystals!]

The system notification sounded in his mind, and Lao Yan was overjoyed.

I've already recouped some of my investment on the very first cast.

Although it's not much, it's still income.

He glanced at Fatty Wang, who was staring in disbelief, but said nothing. He simply rebaited the rod and cast it into the water again.

It was as if we had stirred up a hornet's nest.

The float had barely settled for two minutes when it plunged violently downwards again!

"here we go again!"

Old Yan lifted his rod again and easily caught another big fish weighing over ten pounds.

[Recycling successful, obtained 3 Source Crystals!]

The third cast caught a stronger mutated red carp, which took several laps to haul ashore.

[Recycling successful, obtained 5 Source Crystals!]

In just half an hour, he caught three large fish weighing over ten pounds each, earning nearly twenty source crystals just from recycling them.

The surrounding fishermen were completely dumbfounded.

They waited there for half a day without seeing a single fish, but this old man was like a fisherman catching fish from the water, casting his line one after another without stopping.

Fatty Wang's face almost turned green.

He watched helplessly as Lao Yan frantically picked up the goods, while his own float didn't even budge, let alone move.

Jealousy, envy, and a vague sense of frustration churned within him.

At this rate, he should break even in less than three days.

After collecting the third fish, Lao Yan was in a great mood. He glanced at Fatty Wang, who looked sullen, and spoke with a smile.

"I can tell you're a complete novice at fishing. Want me to teach you?"

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang blushed, stiffened his neck, and arrogantly turned his head away.

"Need not."

We use the same fishing gear and bait, so why can he keep catching fish while I can't?

I refuse to believe this! The best is always last, and mine is definitely the biggest!

Wang Pangzi thought to himself, staring intently at his float.

Just then, his float, which had been as steady as a rock for half an hour, suddenly sank downwards!

Immediately afterwards, an irresistible force came from the tip of the rod!

"Bang!"

The "resilient bamboo" in front of him was instantly stretched into a full moon!

Fatty Wang grabbed the fishing rod with lightning speed.

He was pulled by a tremendous force and staggered, almost being dragged directly into the lake!

That immense force was more like that of a raging bull than a fish!

Fatty Wang cursed angrily, "This thing has incredible strength!"

At this moment, Fatty Wang's arms were bulging with veins as he gripped the fishing rod tightly, his teeth almost grinding to powder.

He was dragged so far that he was bent over, and his feet plowed two deep tracks in the wet, muddy ground.

"Hold on! Hold on, Fatty!"

"Don't pull it too hard, it'll break the string!"

The young people around them shouted all at once, but most of them were excitedly watching the excitement.

Old Yan's gaze shifted from Fatty Wang's flushed face to the taut rod tip, and then to the rapidly moving, massive undercurrent beneath the surface of the water.

This commotion... it must weigh over a hundred pounds.

Is this the legendary newbie protection period? To catch such a big one on the very first cast, I'm really lucky.

Unfortunately, he couldn't grasp it.

Old Yan shook his head inwardly.

Judging from Wang Pangzi's posture, he was simply using brute force to tough it out.

His legs felt weak and unsteady, and he couldn't exert any force from his waist; he was only able to support himself by his arms.

If this continues, either the line will break, the pole will snap, or... people will be dragged into the water.

"Lay out the line! Lay out some line quickly!"

Seeing the end, Lao Yan couldn't help but speak up and offer a reminder.

Fatty Wang roared, "Stop arguing! I know what I'm doing!"

At that moment, his mind was blank, his adrenaline was surging, and he couldn't listen to any advice.

He had only one thought in mind: to pull the fish up quickly.

Fatty Wang gritted his teeth and, instead of letting out the line, tried to pull the fishing rod back!

His arms were bulging with veins, and he roared, "Damn it, I don't believe I can't handle a fish! Get it!"

"Buzz—!"

The fishing line was stretched to its limit, emitting a heart-wrenching scream.

The underwater behemoth seemed to be enraged by this provocation, and suddenly turned around, unleashing even more terrifying power in the opposite direction!

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Wang Pangzi felt his hand loosen, and the immense force that had been resisting him vanished without a trace.

He stumbled backward and fell hard onto the grass because he used too much force.

The fishing rod fell to the side with a "thud," and the reel was still spinning futilely.

The water returned to calm, leaving only ripples spreading outwards, as if the thrilling battle that had just taken place had never happened.

They've decoupled.

The surrounding noise came to an abrupt halt.

After a brief silence, a burst of unrestrained laughter erupted.

"Hahaha, I told you so! He wouldn't listen when I told him to let the line through!"

"What a disappointment! Such a big fish, just got away like that. If it were me, I'd punch myself a couple of times in my sleep!"

"Dude, I told you to go fishing, not to have a tug-of-war!"

Fatty Wang sat on the ground, looking at the calm lake surface, his face turning red and white in turns, and his hands were still trembling slightly.

"Grass!"

Fatty Wang glared around angrily: "I almost pulled it up!"

Fatty Wang slowly got up, patted the bits of grass off his buttocks, and, listening to the jeers of those around him, stiffened his neck and glanced at everyone with an air of nonchalance.

"It's just a fish that's been caught, no big deal."

"If I can catch it once, I can catch it a second time."

He spoke casually, but the knuckles of his hand gripping the fishhook were blue from the force he exerted.

The regret and resentment in my heart almost overflowed from my chest.

Old Yan found it somewhat amusing to see him suffering for the sake of saving face, but he understood more than anything else.

Which angler hasn't escaped a huge, earth-shattering fish?

Running away from the fish is also part of fishing.

He walked over, not looking at Fatty Wang, but staring at the straightened fishhook in Fatty Wang's hand.

"The hook is too small. It can't pierce the upper jawbone of this size. Pulling it will only straighten the hook."

"Also, your feet weren't steady, and your center of gravity was too high. Playing with a fish isn't like tug-of-war; it relies on your waist and legs, using your whole body to neutralize its force, not on your arms to wrestle with it."

Old Yan's voice was unhurried, as if he were stating a very simple fact.

"The fishing line and rod are top-notch, very resilient. If you had just loosened your grip slightly and let it swim a dozen meters or so back and forth a few times, it would have run out of energy on its own."