Chapter 75: The World Unsettled, All Are Dark Horses

With the fishing rod in his hand, Jiang Zheng appeared as if he had everything under control.

At that moment, the trio on the other side had already reeled in their second fish. This one was a carp, not particularly large—by estimation, just over a pound. The three of them happily accepted their catch. Normally, they wouldn’t keep carp of this size; they’d release them back into the water. Small fish aren’t tasty to eat, nor are they easy to sell, so it’s better to let them grow. But the competition was different—what mattered was the total weight of the fish caught. Even a little extra was worth keeping.

As the trio landed their second fish, Jiang Zheng caught his first. It was a crucian carp, estimated at about four ounces. For a wild crucian, this was a decent size; wild ones rarely grew large, so reaching four ounces was already quite good. Farmed crucian carp were another matter entirely—those could easily weigh around a pound.

“Not bad, you’re finally not heading home empty-handed,” one of the trio joked. Jiang Zheng ignored him; he already knew these three were quite foul-mouthed, always ready with a barb no matter the occasion. They should be grateful for the rule of law these days, or they’d have been beaten up countless times already.

Seeing his son catch the first fish, Jiang’s father was genuinely pleased, even if the fish wasn’t large. For Jiang Zheng, who had just recently learned to fish, catching something so soon was impressive.

Shortly after, Jiang Zheng caught another crucian carp. The trio glanced over, saw it was only a crucian, and said nothing. It was just a crucian, after all—not as good as the carp they’d caught. The competition wasn’t about the number of fish, but the total weight. A single carp from their side could outweigh several crucians from the other.

Most crucians in this river were small, usually around one or two ounces. Just as the trio were comforting themselves with these thoughts, Jiang Zheng caught yet another, again a crucian carp. Crucians were quite easy to catch, and their numbers in this river were high, so it wasn’t surprising to reel in several in a row.

After three consecutive crucians, Jiang Zheng seemed to enter a hot streak. One after another, he pulled in more fish. None were particularly big, but their sheer number was hard to dismiss.

Now, the trio began to panic.

“What do we do? If this keeps up, we’ll lose,” one said.

“I think his fishing technique is really refined. There’s no way he’s a novice. Damn, we’ve been tricked,” said another.

“Don’t worry—there’s still time. The game isn’t over yet. We’re all dark horses until the end.”

“Let’s do this!” they whispered among themselves.

Jiang’s father’s joy became more and more evident. Having been mocked by the three young men, he’d naturally been angry. But since he hadn’t caught any fish himself, he hadn’t felt justified in arguing back and had swallowed his resentment. But who wouldn’t want a chance to get back at them?

“Go, son!” he cheered Jiang Zheng on from the side.

Jiang Zheng was on a roll, and at this rate, victory seemed certain.

Suddenly, an exclamation came from the side: “It’s a big fish!”

Hearing this, both Jiang Zheng and his father looked over. Judging by the dramatic bend in the other man’s rod, the fish was clearly substantial. The angler gripped his rod tightly, locked in a struggle with the fish in the river. Wild fish tend to be strong.

Jiang Zheng watched for a moment, then turned his attention back to his own float.

Jiang’s father, however, grew worried. They were in the lead for now, but if the other side landed this big fish, they might lose. Only ten minutes remained until the hour-long contest was over.

A minute or so later, the other angler did indeed haul the fish up—a silver carp, seemingly five or six pounds, without a doubt a hefty catch. Jiang Zheng’s side had reeled in quite a few crucians, but together they weighed only around three or four pounds. With this new fish, the trio’s total was almost seven pounds—a lead of nearly half the total weight. Unless Jiang Zheng’s side landed a big fish, victory would be out of reach.

The trio was visibly elated.

“Told you, the game isn’t over until it’s over. We’re all dark horses here,” one whispered.

“Unbelievable, what a comeback! This round is in the bag now.”

“A true dark horse, indeed.”

Then one of them called out loudly, “Tsk, tsk, what’s the point of catching so many small fish? They’re still no match for our one.”

Jiang’s father glared at them, but Jiang Zheng ignored it, focusing intently on his float.

Suddenly, his float moved, but Jiang Zheng didn’t react immediately. His instincts told him it was a feint—the fish was testing the bait. Judging by the disturbance on the water’s surface, this fish was likely sizable.

The logic was hard to explain, but Jiang Zheng trusted his instincts completely.

His father noticed the float’s movement too. Seeing Jiang Zheng hesitate to strike, he wanted to speak up but thought better of it.

Suddenly, Jiang Zheng moved with lightning speed, yanking the rod upward. The rod bent sharply in midair—he’d hooked a fish.

Beneath the water, the fish felt the pain and began to struggle violently. Jiang Zheng, gauging the strength transmitted through the rod, knew this was no ordinary catch. It was either very large, or both fierce and large. Smaller fish rarely put up such a fight.

Jiang’s father could see it, too—this was a big one. He held his breath, silently rooting for Jiang Zheng.

Meanwhile, the trio stared with wide eyes. They’d just caught a big fish themselves, and now the other side had hooked one too? Unlike Jiang’s father, they hoped the fish would break free or snap the line—if Jiang Zheng couldn’t land it, their victory would be assured.

Jiang Zheng began his struggle with the fish. Only when the fish exerted its full strength did he realize he’d underestimated it; its power was exceptional. An inexperienced angler might have been pulled into the river.

Jiang Zheng didn’t simply tug; he alternated between pulling and releasing, careful not to apply too much force and risk snapping the line or losing the hook. His technique was evident in every motion.

Of course, with such a powerful fish, technique alone wasn’t enough—strength was essential. Without enough power, it would be impossible to wear the fish out.

With the system’s “Wrestling” skill assisting him, Jiang Zheng held the upper hand in the contest of strength. In fact, he felt that if he didn’t fear snapping the line or losing the hook, he could haul the fish in by brute force, regardless of its struggles.

In reality, his father’s fishing gear was rather ordinary; if he exerted himself too much, the line would likely break.

After five long minutes of tugging, Jiang Zheng finally drew the fish close to the shore. The size of the fish and the length of the struggle had attracted a crowd of anglers along the riverbank.

“Dad, quick, grab the net and scoop it up!” Jiang Zheng called.

“Right away,” his father replied.