Bigeye Tuna

Ye Yuan sensed the three large fish from earlier and found they were already gathered around the fishing boat, likely drawn in by the Spatial Bait. At the same time, the fishing rod in his hand was suddenly yanked into a crescent shape by a tremendous force.

Before Ye Yuan could give a warning, Second Brother's rod was also seized by a fish, the reel spinning rapidly. Both of them had big fish on the hook at the same time.

Ye Yuan quickly told two crew members to help Second Brother, keeping only Ding Er by his side. The fishing lines Ye Yuan had brought on this trip were all heavy-duty lines designed for catching big fish.

An immense pulling force came from the rod.

"I really don't believe I can't handle you," Ye Yuan muttered, pulling hard on the rod.

He kept turning the reel, and more than ten minutes passed quickly. A three-meter-long Bigeye Tuna, worn out from being played by Ye Yuan, had the rod bent to ninety degrees.

Ye Yuan instructed Ding Er to take out the Spear Gun. Ding Er stood on the deck and fired at the fish's back.

The harpoon shot from the Spear Gun had barbed hooks; once it struck the fish's body, escape was nearly impossible.

A rope was attached to the tail of the harpoon, tied directly to the crane. Using the crane, they easily hoisted the Bigeye Tuna onto the boat.

The three-meter-long Bigeye Tuna was completely lifted out of the seawater, suspended a meter above the deck by the crane. The fish was still thrashing wildly, trying to break free and return to the sea.

The Bigeye Tuna resembles the world-famous Bluefin Tuna in shape, with larger eyes and a thick, hammer-like body. Its midsection is cylindrical, nearly round in cross-section, with a very short tail and long pectoral fins. Fish under one meter in length are considered juveniles.

Its back is blue, belly grayish-white, and the area above the pectoral fins is bluish-black. The flesh is mostly pink, slightly soft in texture, and suitable for sashimi. It is a common species used for making tuna sashimi.

Besides being eaten raw, it can be made into canned goods, frozen products, or dried items. Its liver can be processed into cod liver oil.

Ye Yuan had Ding Er fetch a dagger and cut a wound on the Bigeye Tuna's tail. This was done to drain the blood from the fish's body.

Because this type of tuna lives in the deep sea, it has adapted to the high-pressure environment there. Its internal blood pressure and the air pressure in its blood become very high. Once caught and brought onto the boat, the high internal pressure becomes unbalanced with the outside air pressure, severely affecting the taste later on.

Therefore, bleeding deep-sea fish immediately after they are caught releases the high internal pressure and keeps the meat fresh.

Over on Second Brother's side, a two-meter-long Bigeye Tuna was soon caught as well. Second Brother directly abandoned his own fish and had the two crew members help him take a few photos with the three-meter-long Bigeye Tuna.

After the photos, Second Brother seemed to lose interest in the fish and went straight into the cabin, doing who knows what.

Ye Yuan had the men immediately send the two big fish to the freezer to keep the meat fresh.

The value of a Bigeye Tuna isn't as high as its close relative, the Bluefin Tuna, but it can still sell for 150 yuan per jin. A Bigeye Tuna weighs at least 400 jin, so one fish could fetch as much as 60,000 yuan. For fishermen, that's an astronomical price.

In a high-end club in Western Province, two young men were drinking red wine and watching a beautiful woman dance on stage. One of them was idly fiddling with his custom-made phone.

When he scrolled to a post in his Moments, the young man held the phone out and shook it in front of the other. They exchanged a glance and both gave bitter smiles.

After posting in his Moments, Second Brother returned to the deck and saw Ye Yuan feeding the Golden Eagle some raw meat.

"Fourth Brother, I'm in a good mood today. This trip's expenses are on me," he said, stretching lazily and glancing at his phone.

Ye Yuan looked back at him with disdain, fed a piece of raw beef to the Golden Eagle, and said, "I'm not planning to go back yet. At the very least, I want to drag a couple of nets in international waters this time. The fuel and supplies for the round trip—you couldn't cover that even if you sold both your fish."

"Did you forget everything I told you last time? We're here for the experience, got it? The experience is what matters. Who said those fish are mine? I just used them for photos. I told you this trip is on me, and it is. Do you know how much that photo is worth?"

Before Ye Yuan could answer, he went on, "Let me tell you, not just this one trip—ten trips' worth of expenses wouldn't match what that photo brings me."

Ye Yuan sensed there was something fishy he didn't know about.

Second Brother realized he'd let something slip and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's nothing. I made a bet with a few friends. If I could catch a bigger fish on this trip than the ones they caught last time, they'd drop out of competing for a project my family's involved in. That saves us a lot of extra costs."

Knowing that, Ye Yuan understood why Second Brother cared so much about fishing but didn't care about the fish once it was caught.

He rolled his eyes at Second Brother. "Why didn't you say so earlier? There are plenty of big fish in the deep sea. I could even get you a shark, no problem."

"Really? You're not messing with me?"

"Why would I mess with you? We'll see. If we run into one, we'll fish again. This isn't the best spot anyway," Ye Yuan replied casually.

The fishing boat sailed across the sea, Ye Yuan and Second Brother enjoying the sea breeze. Not far away, Little Gold circled around the boat in flight.

As they chatted, Ye Yuan kept his perception scanning underwater. It had been two days since they set out, and aside from the two Bigeye Tuna, they hadn't caught anything else.

He was planning to bring back something good this time. As the boat moved, Ye Yuan sensed that the waters here were relatively shallow, with plenty of shrimp and crabs on the bottom.

Although Ye Yuan's boat didn't have crab traps, his crew members were excellent swimmers—robots that didn't need to breathe.

Ding Yi stopped the boat, and all the crew except him dove into the sea to catch seafood. Each of them symbolically wore an oxygen tank to avoid arousing Second Brother's suspicion. Ye Yuan handed Second Brother a set of diving gear and started putting on his own.

"Haven't done this since graduation. Want to have a contest this time?" Second Brother said, tilting his head toward Ye Yuan as he put on his diving equipment.

Ye Yuan ignored his look and continued with his own preparations.

With a splash, Second Brother jumped into the sea. Ye Yuan finished gearing up and followed him down. Trailing Second Brother to the seabed, he watched the man skillfully poke around in the sand, then give Ye Yuan a thumbs-up, looking perfectly fine.

Leaving him alone, Ye Yuan swam off into the distance. He couldn't let Second Brother know his secret. Through his perception, he could monitor everything around him underwater.

Taking advantage of his underwater abilities, Ye Yuan quickly filled the net bag he'd brought down. When he surfaced, Second Brother was already sitting on the deck, drinking a beverage.

"Why are you back so soon? Didn't want to play longer?" Ye Yuan asked as he swam toward the boat.

"Too tiring. My body's done for. I felt uncomfortable after a little while."

"Then rest on the boat. We'll need some more time. There's plenty of seafood down there."

PS: Thanks to 08a for the reward, and thanks to a few friends for the monthly tickets. Today marks the first recommendation spot for this, my first book. Even though the results aren't great, I'll keep working hard. Come on, and thank you all for your support.