But the fish was too heavy.
Aruk exerted all his strength, the veins on his neck almost bursting, but the fish's body only lifted halfway out of the water. The enormous weight almost caused him to drop it.
"Damn, it weighs at least 250 pounds. And that's wet weight."
Aruk's face turned red and his neck bulged.
"I can't do this by myself. Please help."
Su Wei quickly inserted the fishing rod into the rod holder behind him, locking it to reduce the force.
He took a step forward, grabbed the gunwale with his left hand for leverage, and grabbed the long handle of the hook with his right hand.
"One, two, pull!"
The two of them joined forces and shouted simultaneously.
boom!
With a heavy thud, the enormous creature was dragged across the ship's side and slammed heavily onto the aluminum alloy deck.
The entire ship shook violently.
The huge halibut was thrashing about on the deck, its massive tail slapping against the metal floor with deafening thuds that sent shivers down everyone's spines.
The ground was covered with slippery slime and its own excrement, and a fishy smell instantly filled the air.
Without pausing, Su Wei drew his KA-BAR Hunting Knife from his waist, stepped forward, and precisely stabbed the fish in the ventricle behind its eye.
The blade spins.
The enormous fish convulsed violently before collapsing.
Only then did Su Wei let out a long breath, feeling his arms heavy, trembling even as he lifted them.
"My God... my God..."
Aruk plopped down on the fishy-smelling floor, staring blankly at the giant fish that took up the entire aft deck.
" Su Wei, this one... this one alone is enough to cover my gas money for half a year."
Don't be so happy yet.
Su Wei shook the slime off his hands, stretched his aching shoulders, and turned his gaze to the fishing rod on the other side, which was still bobbing wildly inside the rod holder.
There's one more.
Aruk let out a wail and scrambled to his feet. Although he complained of being tired, his body betrayed him, and he tumbled and crawled toward his fishing rod.
Who would turn down money? In this godforsaken place, money is life.
Twenty minutes later.
The second large halibut was hauled onto the deck.
This one is slightly smaller than the previous one, but it still weighs close to two hundred pounds.
The two giant fish were stacked together, almost completely filling the narrow aft deck.
By this time, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
A few streaks of gray-blue morning light pierced through the thick clouds on the eastern horizon. The wind and waves had subsided somewhat, but the sea remained wild.
Su Wei leaned against the cockpit door frame, holding a freshly opened can of Red Bull in his hand. The icy liquid slid down his throat, suppressing the burning sensation in his lungs.
He looked at the deck in disarray and the two enormous beasts that resembled spoils of war.
The system interface appeared before my eyes.
[Fishing and hunting completed.]
[Prey obtained: Pacific Ocean Halibut (LV3) x2]
[Evaluation: A perfect deep-sea strangulation. You used your superior equipment and precise senses to conquer the heavy units of the Bering Sea.]
[Gain Experience: Fishing Module +85]
[Current Progress: Fishing Module LV2 (12/300)]
[Congratulations on achieving the desired effect; Water Condition Perception has been upgraded.]
[Effect - Water Condition Perception: Can sense the approximate density and activity level of fish within a 50-meter radius.]
The Fishing Module has been upgraded, and its range has been increased.
" Su Wei, look at this."
Aruk was squatting on the ground, bleeding the fish.
Blood flowed into the sea through the deck's drainage channels.
He pointed to the tail of the first big guy, a hint of surprise in his voice.
Su Wei walked over.
On the fish's broad tail fin, there was a rusty metal tag.
The sign had a blurry number engraved on it, and some barnacles had already attached to it.
"This is a research marker from the Fish and Game Department."
Aruk scraped off the residue with a knife, revealing the clear age of the material.
"2009. Good heavens, I was still in elementary school with a runny nose when this fish was tagged."
Su Wei crouched down and touched the metal plate with his fingertips.
This fish had been swimming in the cold, deep sea for over a decade before finally dying in this area, becoming his first catch from sea fishing.
Can this be exchanged for money?
Su Wei asked a practical question.
"Certainly."
Aruk grinned, revealing a set of white teeth stained with tobacco.
" The Fish and Game Department will retrieve the tags from tagged fish, and there's an extra reward. And..."
He patted the thick piece of fish.
"Wild halibut of this size are currently fetching $7 per pound. These two together weigh at least 450 pounds. My friend, there's over three thousand dollars lying on this deck."
Three thousand US dollars.
It took less than an hour.
With two deep-sea behemoths weighing over 400 pounds combined lying across the aft deck, Aruk's 24-foot fishing boat suddenly felt incredibly cramped.
Su Wei didn't put away his fishing rod. He glanced at the sonar screen; the seabed topography was on the deep side of that cliff, and the depth gauge showed the water depth was transitioning towards 350 meters.
[ Fishing Module LV1: Water Condition Perception ]
The horizon descended again.
This time, the two dazzling golden cursors were gone, replaced by a dense array of red dots.
Unlike halibut, they don't lie flat on the bottom; instead, they float in groups two or three meters above the bottom, moving slowly with the ocean currents.
This density, this depth.
Su Wei's pupils contracted slightly.
Black cod.
This refers to the expensive silver cod on the menus of upscale restaurants.
In Alaska, this stuff is known as "sea butter," and its price is higher than that of halibut. Moreover, they never hunt alone.
"Change to a thinner hook and hook the squid cut into pieces."
Su Wei deftly pulled a pre-tied deep-sea grappling hook from his waist pouch, his voice calm yet tinged with urgency.
"Below is a large school of black cod."
Aruk had just thrown down the bloodstained hook and was about to rest when he heard this, and he jumped up.
The person who had just been yelling that his arm was broken and he was about to die seemed to have vanished.
"Black cod? That's a hard currency, worth $8 a pound."
As he roared, Aruk frantically searched for his fishing rig, his eyes gleaming with greed.
"Damn it, where's my hook? Damn it, I'm going to be rich!"
Su Wei had already skillfully baited the hook.
Five sharp fishhooks, each adorned with glowing beads and laden with tender squid strips, whistled into the dark sea, pulled by a two-pound lead weight.
The Shimanostella spool rotated smoothly, and the numbers on the meter counter jumped rapidly.
100 meters.
200 meters.
300 meters.
Bottom reached.