Infinite Survival: The winner takes all!

The next afternoon, golden sunlight sprinkled down, painting the whole world in warm hues.

The sky was a deep azure blue, as pure and flawless as if it had been washed. There was not even a trace of cloud, showing an endless expanse of clear sky.

On the banks of the Xingya River, there are a few anglers sparsely scattered on the lush grass on both sides.

Li Ming is also one of them.

At this moment, he was sitting quietly under the parasol, holding the fishing rod in his hand with a steady posture, his eyes fixed on the fish float on the water in front of him, and an extraordinary concentration expression on his face.

After a moment, the colorful fishing float trembled gently again.

"Here it comes..." Li Ming swallowed subconsciously. Although his heart was filled with ripples, he took a deep breath, tried to calm his excitement, and did not raise the rod hastily.

As time passed, the vibration of the float became more and more violent, as if indicating that a big fish was about to be caught.

He could no longer hold back, and exerted all his strength to lift the fishing rod in his hand.

The fishing rod instantly bent into an elegant arc, obviously bearing a huge force.

Sure enough, a big fish was caught!

Li Ming hurriedly tightened the fishing line, trying to pull the big fish ashore as soon as possible.

At this time, a middle-aged man in his fifties not far away observed for a moment, and finally couldn't help but walked over quickly.

He waved his hand as he walked and said, "Don't pull it hard with brute force. First loosen the line a little to give the fish some space to buffer."

"Oh?" Li Ming turned his head in confusion and looked at the middle-aged man. "Can't you just pull it up?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and explained seriously: "Of course not, because the big fish that has just been hooked is very strong. If you just pull it with brute force, the fish will easily fall off the hook."

After saying that, he reached out and held the fishing rod. "Let me help you. Watch how I operate it."

"Okay." Li Ming didn't care and let go of the fishing rod in his hand with a smile.

"Ouch, it's really heavy." The middle-aged man felt a huge pulling force on his arm, which trembled slightly. He was amazed and said, "Look at the force, the thing under the water must weigh at least eight kilograms."

But he is clearly an extremely experienced fishing veteran.

Seeing the big fish struggling violently, he quickly let go of the reel, letting the fishing line slacken a little to give the big fish a chance to breathe.

When he gradually got used to the strength of the fish's struggle, he quickly tightened the fishing line and continued to deal with the big fish.

Seeing Li Ming's focused and serious expression, the middle-aged man couldn't help but grin and explained kindly: "Don't be anxious at this moment. We need to wear down the fish's physical strength through constant tug-of-war. Only after it is exhausted can we easily pull it ashore."

Li Ming laughed and said frankly: "This is my first time fishing, I don't have much experience."

The middle-aged man manipulated the fishing line skillfully and said, "Fishing does not completely rely on experience. What's more important is to maintain a good attitude and enough patience."

At this moment, a wave suddenly surged on the water surface. Li Ming turned his head and saw a fish about half a meter long being pulled by a fishhook and slowly floating to the surface.

"I'm really lucky. I actually caught a black-bellied fish. It's rare to see such a big one." The middle-aged man looked a little surprised. Then he raised his chin and said, "Look, its strength has obviously weakened now. It can't struggle anymore."

"Yeah." Li Ming nodded and gave a thumbs up, praising, "Uncle, you are awesome."

“Hahahaha…” The middle-aged man laughed heartily at the compliment.

A few minutes later, with the joint efforts of the two, a big fish about 80 cm long with striking black stripes on its belly was finally dragged ashore.

Li Ming quickly took out the fishhook, and then put the black-bellied fish weighing more than eight kilograms into the fish basket by the water.

After completing these actions, he walked to the water and washed his hands, then turned to the middle-aged man and said, "Thank you very much for your help, uncle. My name is Li Ming. What is your name?"

"Just call me Lao He." The middle-aged man waved his hand and said casually.

"Uncle He, judging from your fishing skills, you must have been doing this for quite some time." Li Ming said as he re-baited the fishhook with a slightly unfamiliar look.

"As for me, I've loved fishing since I was a child, and it's been more than 30 years." The middle-aged man didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave. He sat down on the grass and started chatting with Li Ming.

A trace of nostalgia flashed in his eyes, and he slowly narrated: "In the past, there were many fish in Xingya River. When I was a child, I often secretly ran here to fish without telling my parents."

"At that time, I made all the fishing rods myself. I used bamboo as the rod, nylon thread as the fishing line, and bent the sewing needle to become a fish hook..."

Li Ming smiled knowingly, did not interrupt the other person, but just listened quietly.

"Later, due to overfishing and factory pollution, the number of fish in this river decreased significantly." The middle-aged man sighed, "Fortunately, in recent years, the government has begun to pay attention to environmental governance and crack down on illegal fishing, and the situation has gradually improved..."

"Oh." Li Ming asked casually while paying attention to the movement of the fish float: "Uncle He, you must be a local, you know the situation here so well."

……

Just as the two were chatting, a group of young men and women with laughter came over from a distance.

In the crowd, Xu Yanbing's eyes inadvertently swept across two figures by the river. She suddenly stopped, her eyes revealing a bit of surprise.

"Bing'er, what's wrong?" A girl with short hair next to her noticed her unusual reaction and asked.

"I seem to see an acquaintance." Xu Yanbing said as he quickly took a step forward and walked straight towards the figure on the river bank.

The two men and three women who were traveling with her looked at each other and followed closely.

Li Ming was discussing fishing techniques with the middle-aged man next to him when suddenly, a fresh fragrance came towards him, followed by a gentle pat on his shoulder.

"Haha, it's really you, Li Ming!" A clear and pleasant voice sounded in his ears.

Li Ming turned his head and what came into view was a baby face with a smile as beautiful as a flower and a pair of large headlights highlighted by the tight beige T-shirt.

He turned his eyes away gently, nodded slightly, and responded: "Long time no see."

"Hey, your reaction is too bland." Xu Yanbing grumbled in dissatisfaction, "You don't forget me, do you?"

"Xu Yanbing, the school team's basketball manager." Li Ming responded calmly, "I don't have Alzheimer's disease, how could I not remember it."

"What? Shouldn't you be more enthusiastic when meeting your senior?" Xu Yanbing said as he squatted down with a slightly reproachful look on his face.

Then, she looked at Li Ming carefully and couldn't help but say, "You have really changed a lot. Your temperament is completely different. It's really strange. It's obviously not been that long."

"Your eyes are so beautiful, as bright as shining stars." The short-haired girl next to her couldn't help but say.

But as soon as she finished speaking, she immediately realized that she had said something wrong.

After all, she and Li Ming had never had any contact before, and praising him so directly on their first meeting might very likely lead to misunderstanding.

"Hmm..." She smoothed the hair beside her ear, a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face, "I just said it casually, don't take it too seriously."

Li Ming's expression didn't change much, but the two boys next to him looked unhappy, and there was a hint of hostility in their eyes when they looked at him.