Lucas Hall took a deep breath and glanced at his status.
Rationality: 100/100
Stamina: 90/100
He had already used the journal's basic crafting feature to make a simple spear out of 5 pieces of wood, just in case. He also kept his flintlock pistol tucked at his waist.
In case he hooked a giant fish, he might need to use some physical force to subdue it.
As for the bait, Lucas had checked the journal, and here, fishing didn't require bait—it was supposed to be the system's power.
But using bait could increase the fishing efficiency, so he attached some anyway.
Everything was ready.
Now... time to fish!
Lucas swung the rod, and the hook flew out in a graceful arc, landing in the sea.
He wasn't particularly good at fishing, but right now... he had all the time to learn!
Fifteen minutes passed with no sign of a bite.
Lucas opened the world chat to see what other fishers had caught, preparing himself mentally.
"You guys really know when I caught one, 100CM!"
Accompanied by a photo of a large bass.
"FUCK, who asked you?!"
"I caught a giant too!"
"How big?"
"Super huge, didn't reel it in!"
"Then what's the point of talking about it?!"
.....
Lucas scrolled up and found an interesting message.
"Be careful when fishing, if something seems off, cut the line immediately.
There's no punishment, as long as your rod doesn't break, the fishing line regenerates infinitely."
"So, what did you catch?"
"It looked like a human figure, I just cut the line."
"Maybe it was a mermaid? You released your wife!"
"That thing definitely wasn't right. Just look at my fishing rod."
[Name: Carbon Fiber Precision Rod]
[Type: Tool]
[Grade: Excellent]
[Description: A top-notch rod, can be passed down to your grandkids.
Increases fishing success rate, reduces fishing stamina consumption, and slightly increases the chances of hooking unknown creatures.]
"Good stuff! My rod's just a plain white one!"
"You should be grateful! I'm an experienced fisherman and I don't even have a rod, still using a claw hook, a simple fishing rod needs ten pieces of wood to craft!"
"Don't be so quick to envy, check out my boat."
[Fisherman's Boat, Level 1, Durability 345/400, Capacity 500 units, Speed 25 knots]
[Boat Skills: None]
[Description: It's not very sturdy, and it has no skills, but it makes you look more like a fisherman.]
Seeing the boat with a speed of 25 knots, many quickly stopped being envious.
"Why's your boat's durability dropping?"
"I just reeled in a 3-meter great white shark, almost got swallowed...
Now, I just cut the line if it's something bigger, who knows who's eating who if I pull it onto the boat!"
.....
Lucas kept scrolling, discovering that fishing here could yield many unexpected things.
Some had even caught treasure chests, fresh water, and more.
"I caught a treasure chest!"
"A treasure chest? What's inside?"
"Secret!"
"You guys are catching fish, I haven't seen a fish shadow yet!
I only caught socks, water, and even a balloon."
"water...?"
"This balloon, is it even real? Could it have been used before?"
.....
From the chat records, it became clear that fishing here wasn't limited to fish; you could catch all sorts of strange things.
Some even caught monsters.
Lucas was mentally prepared that if anything strange surfaced, he'd cut the line immediately.
A few minutes later, the bobber finally started to shake—something had taken the bait.
Lucas held his breath, fully alert.
He had a spear and a pistol—if it was just a fish, it shouldn't be much of a problem...
The bobber sank—now, reel it in!
Lucas yanked hard, keeping his eyes on the deep blue sea.
He didn't see any huge shadow, and with a casual pull, whatever it was came out of the water easily—no resistance at all.
What landed on the deck was a small fish, about the thickness of a thumb, but not entirely fish-like.
It was about 3 centimeters long, streamlined like a typical sardine.
But this fish had four large legs, about 5 centimeters long, sticking out from each side, standing upright on the boat deck.
Lucas froze, staring at the creature in disbelief.
"Is this even a fish?"
Lucas was shocked.
[You've discovered a bizarre fish, Rationality -2.]
In the next moment, the fish skillfully used its long legs to try to escape back into the sea, but Lucas quickly impaled it with his spear.
[Name: Long-Legged Sardine]
[Type: Food]
[Description: A deep-sea fish species, rumored to grow long legs if consumed often.
Edible, non-toxic, tastes delicious, but eating it requires courage and might lower your rationality.]
Lucas picked up the fish—it weighed barely 100 grams, its four pale, broken legs exactly like human ones, with a rubbery feel.
"Can this even be eaten?"
Lucas remembered his ship's skill—Fisherman's Curse: You can't catch regular fish.
He snapped a photo of the fish and shared it in the world chat.
"Has anyone else caught one of these fish?"
The response was immediate.
"Holy shit, what is this thing, a mental pollution hazard, Rationality -8."
"Is this even a fish?"
"Why did you have to ruin my eyes, Rationality -10!"
"Blocked!"
"Blocked!"
"Never want to see you again!"
Lucas was instantly blocked by over a billion people, each of them experiencing some level of rationality decline.
But one person suddenly messaged him privately.
"Is the water in your sea dark? You'd better leave soon, or you might be attacked by some unidentified monsters!"
Lucas glanced at the blue sea beneath his boat, feeling slightly speechless.
"It's not. My boat's a ghost ship..."
"Wow, you're something! Add me as a friend?"
Captain Xu Da of the Gale requested to be friends.
Lucas accepted—it wouldn't hurt to add a friend.
"You'd better stop posting such photos, my rationality is only 54, if it drops any further, I'll go crazy."
"Got it."
Lucas also realized the severity of the situation, but for food and fresh water, he had no choice but to keep fishing!
[You've caught a Long-Legged Sardine.]
[You've caught another Long-Legged Sardine.]
[You've caught a Long-Legged Sardine missing one leg.]
"SHIT!"
[Your Rationality has dropped by 1.]
Lucas felt that the system was deliberately messing with him by giving him an abnormal boat.
Under normal circumstances, people would go mad after just a day of fishing.
After three hours, Lucas had caught eight Long-Legged Sardines, some of which were missing a leg.
But fresh water? Not even a drop in sight!
Where were the water?
Without food, people could survive for over a week,
But without water, they'd die in three to five days unless... they drank their own urine!
Unless it was absolutely necessary, Lucas didn't want to reach that point!
He gritted his teeth and grabbed one of the Long-Legged Sardines to use as bait, preparing for his next fishing attempt.