NOVEL NEXT Chapter 235 - 232 You Still Say You're Not Poisoned!
Chapter 235: Chapter 232 You Still Say You’re Not Poisoned!
The sun was about to set, and there wasn’t much time left.
Bi Fang had to catch a squid during the day, otherwise once night fell, the darkness would make it exponentially harder to capture them, let alone see them clearly.
A large group of squid was right before his eyes, but there wasn’t much time left for him to capture them, and the feeling of seeing but not being able to eat was indeed frustrating.
Thousands of squid swam below him, yet not a single one belonged to him.
It was indeed a sad story.
Bi Fang rubbed the spot between his eyebrows, shook off the negative emotions in his mind, and began to think about how to catch squid. It was clear that diving in to catch them was not feasible.
The squid’s reaction was too fast; the chances of catching one in the sea were too low, unless he had a net. But he didn’t even have a piece of cloth, let alone a net; all his possessions added up to nothing more than the clothes on his back and a life raft. He would have to be a fool to tear down his tent and cut holes in it.
The most crucial point was that Bi Fang didn’t have the strength to go back into the water. He had just gotten through a storm, recovered from hypothermia, and now he was expected to dive in again—how could anyone endure that?
Super Saiyan?
If he didn’t catch anything, he’d be completely done for. His body couldn’t take any more torment. Even with a physique of 15 points, it couldn’t withstand entering the water repeatedly in the winter.
Since he couldn’t catch the squid directly, he could only try fishing for them.
Bi Fang’s gaze became resolute. There were significant differences in fishing methods for different creatures, and this was something in which Bi Fang was quite confident. With so many squid, the chances of getting a bite were very high.
As long as the fishing technique was right, he would catch one with every attempt. Then he could eat one and throw one away, grilling or steaming as he pleased, with no one to stop him.
The sight of a squid school surfacing was rare—seizing this opportunity was like seizing the future!
With that in mind, Bi Fang picked up a fishing hook, plucked off the horsetail kelp that was on it, and submerged the bare hook into the water, beginning his grand plan to fish for squid.
“Many people living by the sea may often see squid, so they think it inhabits the coastal waters, but this is actually a misconception. Compared to the coast, squid prefer to dwell in the deep waters of the open sea.”
“Every spring and summer, squid swim from the deep sea to the shallower inner bay to spawn. From April to June, they lay their eggs attached to seaweed and other objects, like bunches of grapes. Squids also like to be gregarious and often migrate in the same water layer, creating the scene you see.”
“Whenever this happens, coastal fishermen often bind sticks and the like into bundles and drop them into the sea to attract squid to lay their eggs. When the schools of squid come to spawn, they then spread out nets to capture them, reaping a bountiful harvest.”
[Ah, squid really love diving!]
[So are all the squid caught while beachcombing in winter fake?]
[By the way, why did Old Fang pull off the horsetail kelp to fish? Not using plant bait anymore?]
The netizens had many questions, and Bi Fang answered them one by one after seeing them. This was one of the charms of his live broadcast, with very strong interactivity.
“Squid live in the open ocean, but not too deep, usually inhabiting waters between 30 and 60 meters. They ascend to the surface of the water in the morning and evening, and descend to the middle and lower layers during the day.
But since a storm just passed, the water is low in oxygen, and the temperature in the middle and lower layers has further dropped, forcing this group of squid to come up to the surface bathed in sunlight. This presents an excellent opportunity for us.”
“Moreover, squid are carnivorous, mainly eating crustaceans, shrimp, and juvenile fish. My horsetail kelp has no appeal to them, less so than the hook itself. What bit the hook just now probably wasn’t squid, but some other small fish—I didn’t catch a glimpse of it, though. So our main goal is still to catch a squid.”
Bi Fang’s wrist moved ceaselessly, hoping to entice a squid to bite.
The end of his fishing line was very smooth and flat, reflecting light very clearly under the slant of the setting sun, and it didn’t take long for several squid to take notice and leisurely swim toward the reflecting object.
Since he was at the water’s surface, Bi Fang could see several blurry figures swimming towards the life raft.
“Do you see that? A few are coming over.”
Bi Fang lowered his voice, afraid that a louder sound would scare away the squid. However, the excitement in his voice was palpable, and he continued to move his wrist even more rhythmically.
“`
[Holy cow, can you really fish without bait?]
[Eye-opener!]
[The first person to catch something out of nothing!]
[Master Fang is awesome!]
The audience was shocked by this scene. Could you actually catch a fish with just a button?
Isn’t this too magical?
They seriously suspected that Master Fang had seduced the squid with some kind of drug!
“That’s because squids are attracted to light. If we don’t have shrimps as bait, we can wrap the fishing hook with cigarette foil, which is the silver paper inside the cigarette box. We tear it off and wrap it around the hook. There are many ways to do this, either covering each of the three hook points separately or wrapping the entire hook, but it’s important that the foil is ball-shaped rather than flat strips.”
“This way, as the hook moves up and down, the foil continuously refracts and reflects light, luring the squid onto the hook. But I don’t smoke, and the button is enough. Of course, the best method is actually to light up at night, which greatly increases the catch rate of squids, almost guaranteeing a catch with every cast.”
Every item is of use in Wilderness Survivalist, even a cigarette box can play a key role when necessary!
[Ah, suddenly I have a legitimate reason to smoke]
[When my wife asks again, I’ll say it’s for the day I get marooned on a deserted island, so I can use the foil to fish!]
[Genius! I’ve learned something useless]
[Marooned on a deserted island, that’s really something]
As the squid drew nearer, the audience’s barrage of comments dwindled as they concentrated on the unfolding scene, hoping Bi Fang would catch a squid and break the three-day curse of no meat.
Hope was in sight, and Bi Fang’s movements became subtler and subtler. Aside from his wrist, his body was almost imperceptible to any tremors, as if even his heartbeat had stopped.
The half a year of breath control practice had turned Bi Fang into a stationary rock. If it weren’t for the breeze moving his hair, the audience might have thought he was a stone statue.
But Bi Fang was not. Instead, as the squid swam under the life raft, his lips buzzed, his voice barely audible. Without the powerful function of the drone, it might not have captured anything he said.
“If you are using shrimp jigs or shore fishing and encounter squids, the bite signal of the squid is similar to that of fish. But when fishing baitless like I am doing, it’s quite different.
At this time, the squid’s bite is peculiar; it doesn’t have the clear bite signal that fish do. The only sensation is that during lifting, the hook will feel suddenly heavier and there will be a sensation of tugging. At this point, we should relax the fishing line a bit.
The reason for the heavy feeling is because when the squid bites while swimming, its body is suspended, but it doesn’t swallow the bait. Instead, it uses its numerous tentacles to firmly embrace the bait.
The sudden heaviness comes from the ‘fish’s’ weight and the resistance of the water. The ‘tugging’ is the squid reacting to the lifting of the bait by contracting its tentacles, which doesn’t mean it has taken the bait. At this moment, the purpose of slackening the line is to make the squid embrace the bait even tighter.”
After the squid has taken the bait, some fishermen, being impatient, lift it out of the water; as a result, when the squid reaches the surface, because it hasn’t firmly held onto the bait, it gets off the hook and all that’s left behind is a cloud of ink.”
Bi Fang’s energy was grounded, and his mind was as calm as still water, like Meditating Buddha—only, this Buddha hadn’t eaten meat for so long, his stomach was grumbling.
The sun cast slanting rays, and due to the reflection, the cameras could no longer clearly see the situation as the squid approached closer.
Without bait, fishing relied entirely on hand feel, which greatly tested the angler’s experience and technique. Fortunately, Bi Fang lacked neither. Within minutes, he felt the line in his hand sink.
Here it comes!
Bi Fang’s pupils dilated, indicating his immense excitement, but even so, he did not act prematurely. One mistake could scare away the other squids; this was his only chance!
The fishing line didn’t shake at all, but the sensation of heaviness was very clear.
The audience’s eyes were fixed, their hearts pounding.
The fishing line was three meters long, and Bi Fang methodically tested and felt the heaviness in his hand, realizing that the squid had taken the bait!
“`
Bi Fang moved slowly, starting to gently reel in the line as he softly explained.
“Squid don’t swim fast unless they are in danger. When they encounter bait, their tentacles will cling tightly to it. As they move forward, they tug on the fishing line. When they feel the line is hard to pull but are reluctant to give up the tasty morsel at their mouth, they will retract their body, which draws the fishing rod downward.
There’s no need to jerk the rod when angling for squid; reeling in is enough to achieve the goal. Moreover, the speed must be even. Once there is any abnormality, the squid will release the bait and escape. Also, when bringing the squid to the surface, to prevent it from dropping the bait and fleeing, it’s best to use a landing net.
Squid use the suction cups on their tentacles to grasp the bait. The moment they are lifted out of the water, they immediately let go and escape. That’s why after hooking a squid, you mustn’t lift it out of water. Before lifting it out, you should net it with a landing net.
But I don’t have one, so now it’s a test of your reaction and hand speed,” he said.
Bi Fang kept a close watch on the water’s surface. Without a landing net, it meant he had to extend his hand to grab the squid at the very moment it left the water. Should he fail, the startled squid would instinctively squirt ink. Once the ink dispersed, it would alert the other squid making it extremely difficult to catch any more.
Estimating the length of the fishing line, Bi Fang’s hands became steadier. He had marked the line, tying knots at intervals. When the last knot emerged from the water, his mind was extremely tense.
Just half a meter to go!
Bi Fang pulled his right hand back, switched to his left hand to draw the line single-handedly, and slowly brought it upward. He could even see a blurry outline of the squid!
He wrapped the line around his wrist, the squid becoming clearer and clearer. Just as it was about to surface, the constantly pulled squid finally realized something was wrong. Its naturally keen instincts kicked in, and it immediately tried to let go and flee, but!
It was too late!
Bi Fang’s heart pounded as the sun dipped lower. It was as if the sea had stopped rippling, and his right hand, like a venomous snake, shot out fiercely towards the water!
In just an instant, the slippery and greasy sensation was in his grasp. No time for joy, Bi Fang quickly scooped it out!
Sparkling water beads danced in the air, scattering all around.
The squid in mid-air suddenly contracted its body, and a jet of black ink burst out. Bi Fang dodged the ink sideways but did not expect the force of the squirt to be so strong that the squid slipped right out of his hands!
Damn it!
As Bi Fang had said, squid propel themselves forward at great speeds by ejecting water through the funnel on their undersides; they can leap from the depths and jump out of the water rising 7 to 10 meters high, their bodies soaring like cannonballs for about 50 meters in the air!
The audience’s hearts sank, yet the next second, to everyone’s surprise, the squid flew straight into the tent!
The squid, suddenly launching out of Bi Fang’s grip and thinking it was about to escape to freedom, abruptly collided with a large cloth and fell down, its ink spraying onto the tent, leaving a black spot.
The squid still wanted to escape, but having sprayed once, it was now too weak to do so again; out of the water it was even less energetic than a fish, lying limply on the life raft until Bi Fang grabbed hold of it.
“Ha! Finally got you!” he exclaimed.
Bi Fang pinned down the squid, extended his index and middle fingers, and directly removed the cuttlebone from its body. This bone, similar to the spine in mammals, meant the squid became a limp mass upon its removal.
Without pausing to sort out his catch, Bi Fang hurriedly dropped the hook back in the water. It had taken him mere minutes to catch one, so why not take advantage of the remaining sunlight to catch a few more?
A single squid was about the size of his forearm; frugally it could last him two days of meals. With less than half an hour until sunset, going by his previous pace, with some luck, he might still be able to catch three or four more.
Indeed, Bi Fang followed the same method. He even used a small piece of limb from the caught squid as fresh bait on the hook, preserving the lure’s flash without affecting it.
Five minutes later, Bi Fang once again reeled in another squid.
Two now!
[Holy crap, jackpot!]
[Finally, something good to eat. I’m so moved I could cry.]
[Old Fang is too strong!]
[Using squid to fish for squid, this technique is so nerve-wracking I’m getting goosebumps!]
[Xiu’er, can I touch your trophy? Just for a moment, please! I’ll wash my hands!]
[Do squids eat their own kind?]
“Yes!” Bi Fang affirmed, “Squids are creatures known to cannibalize. It’s quite common to see a larger squid eating a smaller one, and it’s even more uncertain whether they can distinguish between pieces of their own kind and other food when I only use a small segment of a squid limb as bait.”
Bi Fang wore a broad smile, delighted to have caught two squids, he couldn’t wait to cast his line a third time. This time it took a bit longer, about seven or eight minutes, but he managed to pull up another one. Unfortunately, he didn’t avoid the squid ink this time and his shoulder and half his face were sprayed.
However, he learned from his previous experience and held on to the squid tightly, crushing its cuttlebone directly.
Truly, it shattered!
[Hahaha, Old Fang looks so bedraggled!]
[Isn’t squid ink poisonous? Is Master Fang okay?]
[Wow, poisonous?]
“That’s right, it’s poisonous.”
Bi Fang wiped the ink off his face, only to find that the more he wiped, the blacker he became. His wiping smeared the ink all over, blurring half of his face, but after a brief attempt to clean himself up, Bi Fang stopped caring about his appearance and cast his line again, hoping to catch another squid. At the same time, he reassured his anxious audience,
“But don’t worry, the ink, primarily used by the squid to confuse predators’ sense of smell, although toxic, isn’t significantly dangerous. It’s a relatively weak paralytic poison, harmless to most animals. I can’t feel much from it, and I’ve heard that this stuff is quite popular in Japan, where they eat it directly.”
Bi Fang stuck out his tongue, some ink had sprayed directly into his mouth, leaving a numb sensation on his tongue, which made his speech slightly slurred, but he felt the numbing sensation fading rapidly.
[Master Fang! And you say you’re not poisoned!]
[You’ve got a lisp now]
[Life’s tough but don’t tear it down]
[People can make it, at least they should try]
Bi Fang tugged at the corner of his mouth, feeling a bit helpless, but continued to focus on squid fishing. Sadly, for some reason, he didn’t catch a fourth one for a full ten minutes, and even after the sun had set completely, he had no luck.
Did they notice?
Bi Fang wasn’t disheartened. He was quite satisfied with the three squids he had caught and didn’t ask for more. However, he didn’t give up too easily. The setting of the sun didn’t mean that the squid shoal would immediately leave. They would surely linger for a while, and indeed they did.
Half an hour later, Bi Fang caught the fourth squid. After dealing with it, he fished a little longer, but this time it was truly over; a long while passed without any squids biting.
“Phew, a fulfilling harvest!”
Far from being disheartened, Bi Fang was actually quite excited.
Without hesitation, he packed up his hook and line, grabbed a squid, and unceremoniously tore off one of its tentacles to put in his mouth.
Feeling the suction cups wriggling in his mouth, Bi Fang had a strange sensation. He had never eaten squid raw before, and it was weird.
But it had a nice chewiness, that was for sure.
After chewing several times, Bi Fang swallowed the squid tentacle. His strong stomach acid began rapidly digesting the food, and almost as soon as Bi Fang had started on the second tentacle, the warmth spread from his stomach to his limbs and bones.
Savoring the hard-earned warmth, Bi Fang almost teared up.
On the third day of sea survival, he caught four squids.