Chapter 225: Huge Gains

This cruise ship holds occasional events that all passengers can attend for free. Each event is personally promoted by the captain, always attracting a lot of attention from the tourists.

“We’ll be stopping in this area rich with fish for a while. After we leave this area, we’ll rank the contestants based on the number of fish they’ve caught. In one hour, the top three will receive generous prizes!”

As soon as the captain said that, the tourists got excited and started pulling out their fishing gear to sign up.

Even those without rods could borrow from the crew, but there was a limited supply, first come, first served.

Lu Yunze figured he had nothing better to do, so he joined the event, grabbed a fishing rod and a bucket, and found a spot with fewer people to start fishing.

‘Fishing on a cruise ship for the first time… will it actually work?’

Lu Yunze gave a strong flick, casting the hook into the sea, then waited quietly for a bite.

He was interested at first, but after a while, he started getting bored because no fish were biting at all.

He wasn’t as actively engaged as the other tourists. He felt like Jiang Taigong fishing—waiting for the willing to take the bait.

Just as Lu Yunze was playing on his phone, the fishing rod next to him suddenly jolted.

He thought a fish had bitten.

Turning his head, he saw a face that was almost black, almost dead.

For a split second, he thought he was looking at a corpse pulled from the sea, but he quickly recognized it as Luo Heng.

“Lu Yunze, help…”

“What’s wrong with you?”

To be honest, Lu Yunze was really startled.

It wasn’t a fish biting at all—Luo Heng had come over and leaned against the railing post, and the vibration affected the rod.

Lu Yunze reeled in the hook and found the bait was gone. He had to put on new bait and cast again.

“Why did the ship stop? I feel like I’m really dying.”

Even though the ship had stopped, the waves kept slamming against the hull, and the rocking didn’t stop.

For someone like Luo Heng, who suffered from severe seasickness, it was still torture.

Luo Heng’s voice had become hoarse, as if he might kick the bucket any second.

“If it’s really bad, go throw up. That should help a lot.”

“I already did, but I still feel terrible.”

“Huh?”

Lu Yunze was taken aback.

“No wait, how come you look perfectly fine?”

“Because I drank lemon water.”

“What?”

Luo Heng raised an eyebrow.

“What does lemon water have to do with anything?”

“You don’t know? The lemon water they sell here can relieve seasickness.”

Even though Lu Yunze’s expression was sincere, Luo Heng blinked and then made a displeased face.

“You’re joking with me at a time like this? Not cool.”

“I’m really not lying to you.”

“Forget it. I’m the one with the worst seasickness out of everyone. I’m going to sleep.”

Luo Heng left, but Lu Yunze kept muttering to himself.

‘I clearly wasn’t lying, so why didn’t he believe me?’

But watching Luo Heng’s zombie-like retreating figure, Lu Yunze couldn’t help feeling relieved.

‘Good thing I have Jiang Sui looking out for me, or I’d end up like Luo Heng.’

Lu Yunze hummed a cheerful tune and continued fishing.

“Brother Lu!”

He heard Luo Yao calling him from afar.

Lu Yunze looked over and saw her running toward him.

“What’s up?”

“Guess what surprise I’ve prepared for you?”

Luo Yao stopped in front of him and glanced at the fishing rod in his hand.

“Brother Lu, you joined too?”

“Yeah, nothing else to do, so I’m just playing around.”

“Guess what surprise I’ve prepared for you?”

Seeing her expectant expression, Lu Yunze knew he had to guess.

“Could it be—you caught a big fish?!”

With Luo Yao’s Secret Art, she could easily catch plenty of fish just by stirring the sea a little. Why bother with the hassle of fishing?

‘But wouldn’t that be unfair to the other contestants?’

As soon as he said that, Luo Yao’s expression shifted from anticipation to disappointment.

“Brother Lu, all you can think about is fish. I came to give you this.”

She pulled out something she had hidden behind her back—a drink.

“Huh? Why so sudden?”

“Brother Lu, aren’t you seasick?”

Luo Yao smiled.

“I bought you a drink. Maybe drinking something nice will help you feel better.”

“I see.”

But unfortunately, Luo Yao was too late.

Lu Yunze had already drunk Jiang Sui’s “special lemon water” and now felt completely refreshed, with no trace of seasickness.

“I’m not thirsty right now. Just leave it there.”

‘If I wanted a drink, I would have bought one myself. I don’t need Luo Yao’s help. If she helped me fish, that would be another story.’

Luo Yao blinked and started studying his expression.

“Brother Lu, aren’t you seasick? Why do you look so energetic now?”

“Well, maybe it’s because…”

Lu Yunze broke out in a light sweat.

“I think fishing is pretty fun. Maybe the discomfort just got pushed aside.”

“That can happen?”

“Actually, I still feel a little uncomfortable, but it’s a lot better now.”

Lu Yunze continued.

“I want to focus on fishing now. Why don’t you get a rod and join in?”

Luo Yao heard that, walked over to the railing, looked at the sea for a moment, then shook her head.

“Forget it, I don’t like doing things that take so much effort. Besides, the fish would probably dirty my dress.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I’ll leave the drink here. Drink it whenever you want, Brother Lu.”

“Okay.”

After dealing with Luo Yao, Lu Yunze finally sat down to rest.

He checked a few more times, and every time he reeled in the hook, he found the bait missing.

‘Did I cast too hard and accidentally knock the bait off? Or is the spot bad, and the bait got washed away by the seawater?’

Lu Yunze put on new bait and started fishing again.

From time to time, cheers reached his ears.

A slight turn of his head let him see the joyful expressions of other tourists catching fish.

That only made Lu Yunze more frustrated.

‘When will I ever catch a big fish?’

He reached out to take the drink Luo Yao had left for him, but a small hand grabbed it first and snatched it away.

“Young Master, fishing is a job that tests patience. You can’t get distracted.”

Jiang Sui was holding the straw, smiling as she spoke.

“That was bought by Luo Yao.”

“But it was given to you, Young Master, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, so you better not…”

Before Lu Yunze finished, Jiang Sui bit the straw again and downed the whole drink in one go.

“Phew, I tested it for you, Young Master. No poison, and the taste is average.”

“What kind of poison test is that?”

Lu Yunze’s mouth twitched.

With something so dangerous, how could Jiang Sui let Lu Yunze touch even a sip?

‘In the blink of an eye, she tried to steal it?’

Jiang Sui had to admit that Luo Yao was very sneaky now.

Good thing she arrived in time. If Lu Yunze weren’t in front of her, she would have poured the drink straight into the sea.

After finishing the drink, Jiang Sui tried to talk to Lu Yunze again.

But he was busy with his fishing and didn’t have much time for her.

Lu Yunze just kept repeating the motion of putting on bait.

For some reason, even though no fish were biting, his bait kept mysteriously disappearing.

Even after changing spots, the result was the same.

This caused Lu Yunze’s expression to visibly worsen.

Jiang Sui’s face wasn’t much better, because Lu Yunze kept ignoring her.

‘What’s so fun about fishing?’

She didn’t believe some stupid activity could be more interesting than her.

But since Lu Yunze wasn’t paying her any attention, she had no choice but to stand quietly by his side, bored enough to play with her own hair.

“Forget it, I’m out!”

With only the last bait left, Lu Yunze’s patience shattered. He pulled back the rod and was about to leave.

There were only five minutes left until the event ended.

Not far away on the deck, a contestant was already showing off his catch.

The ridiculous gap made everyone else sigh in regret at losing the championship.

“Wait, Young Master. Let me try.”

“…Can you do it?”

Lu Yunze raised an eyebrow.

“Young Master, just because you can’t doesn’t mean I can’t.”

The little maid raised an eyebrow at him.

Lu Yunze took a deep breath and actually handed her the rod.

After watching him do it so many times, Jiang Sui knew what to do.

She put on the bait, cast the hook.

The two heard a plop, confirming the hook was in the sea. Now it was just a matter of waiting for a bite.

Lu Yunze wasn’t expecting anything. He just wanted to wait until time was up and then drag her away.

Not much time left until the event ended. The captain had already started calling out.

Four minutes left. The sea was still calm.

Three minutes left. Jiang Sui’s rod still showed no movement.

Two minutes left…

Suddenly, Jiang Sui felt a force tugging at the rod, and her face lit up with joy.

“Huh?”

“A bite?”

“Young Master, something bit—wow—woah!”

Before she could finish, the force suddenly grew massive, yanking Jiang Sui forward toward the sea.

“Jiang Sui!”

Luckily, Lu Yunze reacted quickly. He grabbed her around the waist and braced his feet against the edge of the cruise ship, barely keeping her from flying off.

“What did you catch? It’s so heavy?”

Both of them were now on the edge. If Lu Yunze let go, she would fall into the sea with the rod.

Jiang Sui, on the other hand, was even more excited, gripping the rod tightly.

“I don’t know, but this is a big catch, Young Master!”

“Young Master, pull harder! Didn’t you eat?”

“Are you sure?”

“Pull! Are you a man or not?”

Hearing that, Lu Yunze took a deep breath, concentrated the Force Accumulation Anchor under his feet, then pushed off with all his strength.

The two of them launched into the air, pulling whatever was in the sea out of the water as well.

It was a huge one.

It writhed midair, its scales glittering in the sunlight.

The moment Lu Yunze landed, he swung the rod again, trying to toss the big fish onto the deck.

But the fishing line snapped midway, and the fish fell to a spot he hadn’t expected.

At the same time, others on the cruise ship noticed the giant fish falling from the sky and screamed as they scattered.

Luo Heng, who was sunbathing, suddenly felt the sunlight blocked. He opened his eyes.

“Did it get dark?”

In his line of sight, a fish face was rapidly enlarging.

Luo Heng was completely dumbfounded.

With a crash—

At that moment, the true champion of this event was decided.