"Daily mission: Seedling Slayer — Catch 100 fish with individual weights under 10 grams."
"What the hell is this? Ten grams? That's barely two qian! Even whitebait won't count. Don't tell me I have to fish for fry!" Looking at the daily task in front of him, Xiang Ye couldn't help but curse.
But since the task had arrived, Xiang Ye had no choice but to complete it. Muttering to himself, he drove over to the parking lot of YueJing Lake.
By the time he arrived, Huang Kai, Liu Guangqing, Zheng Jianping, and Zhang Tianyu were already there—they were tagging along today to ride Xiang Ye's coattails.
They were a bit surprised when they saw Xiang Ye's car pull up, but said nothing. Their friendship was like water—calm and without pretenses.
They wouldn't treat him differently just because of what car he drove or how much money he had.
"Let's go!" Seeing Xiang Ye walk over, the group cheered excitedly, shouldered their fishing gear, and entered the park together.
The process was still the same—first a ride on a little electric cart to the lakeside dock, then a 500-yuan fishing fee scan, followed by a boat ride to the island.
When they arrived today, the place was still empty.
They could pick any spot they liked. But this time, the areas on either side of Xiang Ye were hot commodities—just as he chose his spot, Huang Kai and Zhang Tianyu claimed the flanks.
Liu Guangqing and Zheng Jianping settled in spots nearby.
"What bait are we using today?" Huang Kai asked, opening his gear bag. Xiang Ye glanced inside—it was neatly packed with at least a dozen different bait packs.
A quick scan revealed bait for Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Silver Carp and Bighead Carp, Black Carp, Grass Carp—you name it, he had it. Xiang Ye turned to the others.
"I'm not sure. Got any cravings?"
"How about Silver Carp? Xiang Ye's never fished for those before, right?"
Hearing this, Liu Guangqing chimed in.
"Sure!" Xiang Ye hadn't fished for Silver or Bighead Carp before, so that sounded fine.
With the bait chosen, Huang Kai began mixing the chum. While he worked, Xiang Ye set up his short rod—he needed to start catching small fish for the mission.
He grabbed a handful of bait from Huang Kai's mixing basin. Tiny fish weren't picky—they'd eat just about anything, so there was no need to get fancy.
He used a 2.7-meter rod and a size-1 sleeve hook. Once everything was set, he began fishing for small fry. And sure enough, YueJing Lake was full of them—there wasn't even a need to prep the spot. Just seconds after his bait hit the water, the float twitched.
Even though he was using the lightest float, the bite was still subtle.
The moment it moved, Xiang Ye yanked, pulling up a small fish. He recognized it immediately—he'd caught them before in wild rivers.
It was a Mosquitofish. Most people might not be familiar with that name, but its cousin—the guppy—was a household pet.
Originally from the U.S., this invasive species had now spread to waters all across China.
It was a love-hate kind of fish. True to its name, it fed on mosquito larvae. As juveniles, they primarily consumed rotifers, ciliates, and other plankton, but had a particular fondness for mosquito wrigglers.
A single adult Mosquitofish could eat up to 2,000 mosquito larvae in a day, making it a prized ally for mosquito-haters.
But the downside? It didn't just eat mosquito larvae—it also fed on fish eggs and aquatic vegetation, disrupting ecosystems. That's why people were torn over this species.
To make matters worse, the fish had very little edible flesh, was full of fine bones, and had oversized innards—not exactly a delicacy. Since humans didn't eat it, it thrived unchecked and reproduced rapidly.
Still, for Xiang Ye, it was a godsend today.
Because these tiny fish were certainly under 10 grams and perfect for completing his task.
After catching one, he casually unhooked it and tossed it into the water bucket next to him.
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for capturing Mosquitofish x1 (9g). Reward: 100 yuan.
Wow. The system's payout threshold was 50 grams. Anything under that got 100 yuan by default. Not bad—but 9 grams was cutting it close!
"Wonder if I can turn off this BUFF…"
Muttering to himself, Xiang Ye looked at his rod. As he did, a toggle switch suddenly appeared next to the BUFF settings.
It seemed all buff could be turned off. Great.
He promptly disabled the "Big Fish BUFF," so he wouldn't hook any oversized Mosquitofish by accident.
With the first fish in the bucket, he started farming small ones in earnest.
One, two, three… Soon the tiny fish were piling up in his bucket. The others, who had just finished prepping their bait, looked at him curiously.
"What are you catching all these little things for? Planning to deep-fry them?" Zhang Tianyu asked, puzzled as he eyed the tiny creatures in Xiang Ye's bucket.
"They're like guppies—can't eat 'em. I don't get it either," Huang Kai added, just as confused.
"Eh, just fishing for fun. Remember that Soft-shell Turtle I caught? I'm keeping it at home—gotta feed it something, right?" Xiang Ye replied, using the excuse he'd prepared earlier.
He was indeed keeping the turtle in a big basin in his bathroom. It had been doing pretty well—every time Xiang Ye went in to wash or use the toilet, the turtle would crane its neck and watch him. Never tried to escape—kind of a weirdo.
"People keep Soft-shell Turtles? Aren't those usually food?" Zhang Tianyu asked, frowning. Xiang Ye just laughed—excuses were excuses. Who knew, maybe someday he'd stew the little guy, especially now that he was getting good at cooking.
The others accepted the explanation and stopped asking. They started setting up their rigs, while Xiang Ye sped up his fish-catching.
Of course, not everything he caught was a Mosquitofish. Occasionally, he hooked a juvenile Crucian Carp or small whitebait. The whitebait were sometimes under 10 grams, but the Crucian Carp usually weren't.
It was frustrating!
But he couldn't skip the task. Daily missions now came with huge rewards—even beyond Buff, the items were often worth over three million. He might not be a fan of that fancy watch he got last time, but he was still wearing it. How could he turn down rewards like that?
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]