"Finally got the rod out, what's up with today, I'm not performing as well as yesterday!"
"Exactly, only one fish after so long, Old Liu is already on his tenth! And there's less than fifty minutes left, catching up won't be easy!"
After removing the fish from the hook and re-baiting, Yue Feng cast his line again, then he finally opened his mouth and said, "We've baited the spot, let's switch to battle mode, everybody just calm down! The fish will bite faster and faster!"
With the increased catch rate from the Wild Fishing Badge and Wild Fishing Companion, Yue Feng quickly stabilized the situation after the initial baiting period, continuously casting his double-hook Lure with high frequency, and the speed of catching fish grew faster and faster.
Initially, Liu Mingyuan mocked Yue Feng, but roughly half an hour later, his tally was surpassed by Yue Feng.
The bites were coming faster and faster for Yue Feng, while Liu Mingyuan's fishing session seemed lukewarm with no progress in sight.
There were still discerning viewers in the live stream, and soon someone commented in Liu Mingyuan's live stream,
"Early weight gain doesn't count, it's the later gain that crashes the kang, Old Liu's fishing seems a bit off today!"
"Seems off +1, started off well and doesn't seem negligent, but he is slowly getting caught up by someone else!"
"The other guy's casting frequency is fast, way faster than Old Liu's, you'll see if you watch closely!"
Yue Feng's casting frequency was indeed faster, as martial arts dramas say that nothing in the world of martial arts is indestructible except speed, and the same principle applies to fishing.
In a certain area, the total number of fish is fixed. Every time the bait—like the Lasi Powder—is cast into the water, it starts to disperse from the surface, and by the time it sinks to the lower layers of the water, most of the wheaten bait has already swelled with water and fallen off into the water, leaving only a small part of Lasi Powder residues and bloodworms on the hook.
The faster the casting frequency, the more of this powdery food debris lingers around the baiting spot, and the stronger the attraction to the fish.
Plus, with the additional increase in catch rate from Yue Feng's equipment and additives, luring the fish became even easier.
In contrast, Liu Mingyuan relied on the advantage of having secretly prepared his baiting spot beforehand, starting to catch fish with great effort shortly after beginning to fish. However, Liu Mingyuan's casting frequency was just passable, half as frequent as Yue Feng's, and over time, this gradually created a widening gap. Eventually, as Yue Feng reinforced his bait spot and the fish moved in, being overtaken was inevitable.
One hour passed by under the watch of the two competitors and their viewers, second by second, until the hour-long timer went off, and Yue Feng put down his rod and stood up.
"The competition is over!" Yue Feng exhaled and lifted the Fish Guard out of the water.
For today's competition, Yue Feng specially brought a handheld electronic scale. Without wasting words with Liu Mingyuan, he pulled out a transparent plastic bag from his pocket, dumped the crucian carp he'd caught into the bag, and placed it on the scale.
"5.7 jin! Boss Liu, want to come over and check the number?" Yue Feng said, pointing at the number on the electronic scale.
Liu Mingyuan's catch rate had slowed down in the second half, and he knew he had lost this round even without weighing it.
"I guess there's no need for me to weigh mine, I admit defeat!" As Liu Mingyuan looked at Yue Feng, his expression held a hint of hope, his gestures and expressions as if begging Yue Feng to take it easy on him.
If it were any other day, Yue Feng might have gone soft-hearted and dropped the matter, but recalling the screenshots he saw on WeChat, a fire was smoldering in his chest.
As for leaving Yue Feng some face, no chance of that.
The corners of Yue Feng's mouth turned up slightly as he said, "What do you mean by 'consider yourself lost'? Lost is lost, won is won. We agreed on a one-hour weight competition, and here you are conceding without weighing your catch; isn't that against the rules? What if you caught more fish than I did? After all, you had such a quick bite when we started!"
At this, Liu Mingyuan had nothing to say and looked visibly upset as he took the Fish Guard from the Fishing Box and lifted it up, then dumped it into the plastic bag Yue Feng had prepared.
The electronic scale jumped to 3.3 pounds, not only overtaken by a large margin, but also surpassed by Yue Feng by a full 2.4 pounds of fish catch.
"3.3 pounds! Everyone is watching, folks, Liu the boss has lost the fish-off again!" Yue Feng held up the fish intentionally showing the scale's display to everyone, fearing that old Liu might renege and bite back.
"Next up, the most thrilling moment has arrived, please welcome Liu Mingyuan to perform his specialty for everyone, standing on his hands and barking like a dog! Those who have just joined the live stream, please note, if you haven't followed the host, give us a follow. And those who haven't shared the live stream today, please help out and share. Yue Feng here is thanking you all in advance!"
Having won the fish-off, Yue Feng was feeling pretty smug, and his voice got louder, attracting the curious glances of the anglers by the river who weren't initially paying attention to the ruckus.
Liu Mingyuan was furious and annoyed but having agreed to the wager, he had no choice. He saw Yue Feng again adjust the drone camera towards him, and with gritted teeth, he thought, what the hell, it's just standing on his hands and barking like a dog – let's do this.
Li Mingyuan didn't even bother to find a flat, clean patch of sand or dirt; he took a few steps back and with a deep breath, stood on his hands.
"Don't blink, folks, this action looks simple but is not easy to execute. Liu the boss has profound skills! Next, let Liu the boss bark like a dog for us, and I tell you, it's incredibly realistic!"
Yue Feng watched, providing commentary to the live stream viewers, but he was internally fuming and couldn't possibly say anything nice. It was all mockery and teasing, leaving Liu Mingyuan dazed and confused.
"Woof… woof!"
Just as Liu Mingyuan barked out twice, the same tingling sensation returned to his right elbow. But this time, it wasn't as intense as before, giving Liu Mingyuan a moment to react.
If he had chosen a more spacious and even area to perform the handstand, he might have been able to regain his balance just by lowering his legs, but since he was standing close to the fishing spot, the discomfort in his arm made him lower his legs involuntarily. He lost his balance, stumbled backward several steps without steadying himself, and splashed into the water with a "plop".
The river wasn't deep, and when Liu Mingyuan stood up, the water only reached his waist, posing no danger to his life, but he was completely soaked.
"Tsk tsk! Thanks to Liu the boss for his dedicated performance, giving us an extra 'doggie face plant' yesterday, and today an extra 'doggy paddle'! Anyone with gifts, send them over now. Thank you all!"
While the viewers had no complaints about Liu Mingyuan losing the fish-off and accepting the punishment, seeing old Liu fall into the water and Yue Feng being indifferent to the point of mockery made Mingyuan's live stream audience restless. They jumped straight into Yue Feng's live stream.
"Don't go too far in killing a man, Liu has accepted the punishment for losing the fish-off. Your words are too harsh, aren't they?"
"Liu is of a certain age after all, don't you have a bit of basic respect? You seemed quite amicable when speaking normally, but the manners you show in critical moments are a bit lacking! Aren't you embarrassed?"