American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 65 Record-Breaking Big Fish
After finishing a bowl of thick, white fish head soup, Lin Yu'an felt all her fatigue disappear, leaving her feeling warm and satisfied from the inside out.

He carefully moved the remaining fish head soup to the stove, intending to save it for the next day.

Then, he returned to the fishing platform with the brand-new Pacific yew fishing rod, full of enthusiasm once again.

Lin Yu-an confidently said to the camera, "Guys, that big lake trout was just an appetizer!"

"I think my skills have improved again! Let's keep it up and see if we can catch anything good!"

He returned to the fishing platform, baited the hook with fresh blood, and cast the line into the water with a flourish.

And so they waited with great anticipation.

However, things took an unexpected turn.

I fished from afternoon until the sun was about to set, but the float remained motionless on the calm lake surface, and the fishing line made no further movement.

This is very strange! Lin Yu'an frowned slightly. His enhanced 'sixth sense' told him that there were plenty of fish underwater!
He could even sense several rather large 'shadows' lingering near the area where he had baited, but they just wouldn't bite.

He tried different blood baits and different fishing spots, but the result was the same.

Finally, when it was almost completely dark, he returned to the shelter, still full of resentment.

As he slowly and methodically wove a larger willow fish basket by the stove, he grew angrier the more he thought about it.

"That doesn't make sense! Same fishing spot, same blood bait, why isn't anyone biting?"

He muttered to himself, the willow branches in his hands making a creaking sound as he wove them.

"Could it be that fishing really depends on some kind of mystical art? Does it absolutely require a new fishing rod?"

That night, Lin Yu'an drifted off to sleep with the same deep confusion that all anglers shared.

Day 54.

Lin Yu'an woke up in the warm shelter early in the morning.

He walked to the stove, looked at the pot of fish head soup that had cooled overnight and had a thick layer of white fish jelly on the surface, and fell into deep thought.
The strong fishy smell lingered even with the addition of wild onions and deer oil.

He took another bite of the heated fish jelly, and the fishy smell hit him right in the head.

"It tastes absolutely awful..."

Lin Yu'an threw the remaining fish jelly back into the earthenware pot with a look of disgust.

"After it cools down, without enough seasoning, the fishy smell simply can't be masked."

After a fierce internal struggle, he decided to give up on these "culinary disasters" and temporarily store them away in his spatial dimension to gather dust.

For breakfast, he still pan-fried himself tender fish fillets.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Yu'an looked at the yew fishing rod in the corner, and his stubbornness returned.

"No, I have to try again today!"

An absurd yet "metaphysical" idea formed in his mind.

He decided to give metaphysics another try today!
Then he walked into the woods outside the shelter and casually broke off a willow sapling that was about two meters long and looked unremarkable.

He simply cut off the branches with a knife, without even removing the bark, and tied a piece of fishing line and a hook to the tip of the rod.

"If the new rod has some kind of mystical blessing, then I'll just make another new rod!"

Lin Yu'an held up that extremely simple tree sapling fishing rod, his face bearing a "what's the use of trying" expression.

"I refuse to believe it. I'm certain I relied on my skills, not some 'new rod halo' claim!"

He returned to the fishing platform, baited his hook with the same blood bait, and without even baiting the area, casually cast the line. The hook, baited, fell into the water with a "plop," its movement utterly devoid of any grace.

However, just as the hook sank into the water, and before the fishing line was fully taut...
"Om-!"

A tremendous force, even more violent and tyrannical than yesterday, suddenly surged from underwater!
That poor willow sapling fishing rod didn't even have time to form a proper bend before it snapped in two under the immense force of the pull!

It was instantly torn in two!

"Crack——!"

"My grass!"

With lightning speed, Lin Yu'an grabbed the half of the fishing rod that was about to be dragged into the water the instant it broke!
He used his gloved hand to tightly wrap the fishing line, and his other hand quickly followed suit.

An overwhelming force traveled along the fishing line, almost dragging him off the fishing platform!

"This...this new rod aura is just too mysterious!"

Lin Yu'an held the fishing line tightly while ranting incessantly.

He planted his feet firmly in a horse stance, leaned back, and engaged in a primal and direct tug-of-war with the giant underwater creature!
This time, without the elastic cushioning of the yew fishing rod, all the force was brutally transmitted to his arm and body.

Even with gloves on, he could clearly feel the powerful pull of the fishing line in his palm.

The creature underwater was clearly more irritable and aggressive than the lake trout from yesterday.

Instead of probing and exploring, it darted and rolled wildly and irregularly underwater, like a raging bull in the water!

The sudden burst of pulling force made Lin Yu'an feel as if his arm joints were about to be dislocated!

"Roar--!"

Lin Yu'an let out a suppressed growl, wishing he could pour all his strength into his arms.

At this point, he no longer cared about whether the hook would break or the line would be cut.

A primal desire to conquer and an indomitable spirit were completely ignited!
He had only one thought in his mind—to forcefully pull this huge thing from underwater onto the shore!
Lin Yu'an stopped passively defending and began to take the initiative.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when the giant thing was exhausted from its sprint, the muscles in his arms suddenly swelled, and he used his waist and back to forcefully pull the line back!
Instead of retracting it inch by inch, he dragged it backward half a meter at once.

Then quickly use your other hand to wrap the retrieved fishing line around your arm once, and continue to exert force!
The underwater behemoth clearly hadn't expected its opponent to be so tough, and immediately launched an even more frantic struggle!
"Crack-!"

A huge splash erupted in front of the fishing platform! A massive figure, even larger and more ferocious than the lake trout from yesterday, was dragged halfway out of the water by Lin Yu'an!

It was a giant pike with an extremely robust body, covered with strange yellow-green spots and patterns, and its mouth was full of sharp teeth!

It frantically thrashed its massive head on the surface of the water, trying to bite through the fishing line with its mouthful of sharp teeth.

Lin Yu'an didn't give it any chance to dive again!

He unleashed his full power once more, pulling the fishing line backward rapidly while pushing off the fishing platform with both feet, his body retreating step by step towards the shore!
They forcefully dragged the giant pike, which was still writhing and struggling violently, from the water onto the shore!
When that enormous body was completely lifted out of the water and dragged onto the rocks and mud on the shore, Lin Yu'an felt as if all his strength had been drained.

With a "plop," he sat down on a rock on the bank.

"Huh...huh...huh..."

His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, his arms trembling uncontrollably from prolonged exertion.

He looked at the massive creature at his feet, which was over a meter long and weighed at least 25 kilograms, still weakly opening and closing its terrifying maw.

His face looked exhausted, yet he couldn't help but grin like a fool.

"Guys, this new fishing rod magic... it actually works like a madman..."

(End of this chapter)