I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 272: Chapter 173: This Kid is a Pixiu

”Ah Nan, when you have time, let’s go check that spot out again. You’re a lucky guy, so if the fish hasn’t been taken by someone else, you might just be the one to catch it.” Although Guo Xiao wasn’t holding out much hope, he still had some faith in Gu Nan.

”Alright. Brother Guo, just let me know whenever you’re free, and we’ll head out to sea together,” Gu Nan agreed with a nod.

He wasn’t nearly as busy as he had been when he first linked with the game, so taking some time off for other things was perfectly fine and wouldn’t result in any losses.

After about half an hour of idle chatter in the office, the diving instructor, Song Chengdong, casually strolled in.

Class started in another half hour, and he’d come to the office to kill time and chat with Guo Xiao, not expecting to find Gu Nan and his girlfriend there too.

But they all knew each other, so it wasn’t as formal as it might have been in the past. When he heard Gu Nan had brought his girlfriend to learn how to dive, Song Chengdong patted his chest and promised to teach them well so they could pick it up quickly.

After a short chat and two cups of tea, the three of them left the office and headed to a classroom on the second floor.

”Ah Nan, your timing is perfect,” Song Chengdong said with a smile. ”Today’s the first class for a new group of students, so you two can join right in.”

Gu Nan laughed. ”That’s perfect. But Brother Song, you’ll still have to give us a few private lessons, alright? We want to learn as fast as we can so we can team up and go spearfishing together.”

”No problem, no problem. Old Guo and Old Wang are always busy; sometimes it’s impossible to get them to come out. You’re in great shape, kid. With you around, we’ll be much safer.” Song Chengdong was very keen on the idea.

He was in need of a good partner at Yangjiang Port, and he knew Gu Nan fairly well. He knew the kid had a reliable and cautious temperament.

For spearfishing, the most important things weren’t technique or physical fitness, but rather caution and restraint.

Some people, confident in how long they can hold their breath, would relentlessly chase after prey, which is exactly how accidents happen.

Diving itself is risky, and spearfishing is even more so. Without a good partner, you theoretically shouldn’t even be allowed in the water alone.

The three of them soon arrived at the classroom. It wasn’t large, and it wasn’t crowded; including Gu Nan and Yi Chen, there were only twelve people in total.

Eight of the other students in the classroom were men; the remaining two were attractive young women with nice figures.

However, compared to Yi Chen, they were a clear notch below in both figure and looks.

Diving was still a male-dominated activity.

In China, very few women took up diving out of pure interest. It was more common for them to take Mermaid courses, which could lead to high-paying jobs at aquariums.

Song Chengdong walked up to the lectern, gave a brief self-introduction, and began the class.

The first session was mostly theory. It started with the basic principles of diving and an overall introduction, then heavily emphasized the importance of a buddy for open-water dives. Gu Nan felt like he was back in a classroom again.

Luckily, he was genuinely interested in diving, so he listened with great attention.

After finishing the general introduction, he began teaching everyone the most important technique in diving: ear pressure equalization, also known as the Franco.

”So what is the Franco? It’s ear pressure equalization. In freediving, as you descend, the water pressure increases. The pressure differential between the inside and outside of your eardrums causes pain, and that’s when you need to equalize.”

Once Song Chengdong finished explaining the Franco, he began a demonstration. The class was moving along at a surprisingly fast pace.

Or perhaps it was just that the most basic diving knowledge was limited, with the real focus being on practical application.

A diving course like this typically lasted only three days, so it made sense not to spend too much time on theory.

Still, Gu Nan was a little disappointed they wouldn’t be getting in the water today.

Fortunately, his situation was different from the other students. After learning the theory, he could just come practice in the pool whenever he had time, rather than sticking to a fixed schedule.

Gu Nan sat in his chair and, following Song Chengdong’s instructions, pinched his nostrils shut, leaving a tiny gap. Then, he tried to lift his throat, pushing air from his larynx up and out through the small opening between his fingers.

He wasn’t used to it at first. Song Chengdong checked on him specifically, and seeing that Gu Nan had already gotten the hang of it—the rest was just practice to achieve proficiency—he nodded in approval and moved on to the other students.

Yi Chen pinched her nose, HUFFING and PUFFING for a moment until her face turned bright red from holding her breath. She looked exceptionally cute.

Amused, Gu Nan gently pulled her hand away. ”You’re not supposed to hold your breath. You just need to keep moving that pocket of air in your throat.”

”Watch me. Pinch your nose with one hand and press on the hollow spot below your breastbone with the other. Now, exhale all the air from your lungs.”

”Your lower hand and your stomach shouldn’t tense up at all. Just keep lifting your throat. If you hear a POP as air is pushed into your ears, it means your Franco equalization was a success.”

Gu Nan gave her a careful demonstration. His pinched nostrils flared a little unsteadily, but he managed to do exactly what Song Chengdong had described.

”Like this?” Yi Chen copied him, pinching her nose again.

But the air wouldn’t go out, and she couldn’t breathe in, either. It was so uncomfortable that in just a moment, she was oxygen-deprived again.

”HUFF... HUFF... Ah Nan, am I just stupid? Why can’t I get this?” Yi Chen finally let go, her face a mask of frustration.

”Well, you’re not *that* stupid. At least you know to let go when you’re running out of air,” Gu Nan teased with a perfectly straight face.

”I’m not an idiot... Hmph!” Yi Chen pouted. ’Can’t he just comfort me a little?’

But in the next moment, she saw Gu Nan give her a teasing look and gesture with his eyes toward something behind her.

Yi Chen turned her head and saw that everyone in the classroom was staring at her with amused, knowing smirks. She was so embarrassed she wished a swimming pool would magically appear so she could jump in and drown. ’This is social suicide!’

”Alright, alright, back to practicing, everyone. Stop staring, you’re making my girlfriend shy!” Gu Nan said with a chuckle, moving to Yi Chen’s side to block most of the gazes and rescue her from the awkward situation.

Since no one really knew each other yet, no one made any jokes. After hearing him speak, everyone just went back to their own practice.

There were three sessions that afternoon. The first covered diving basics, the second was for practicing ear pressure equalization, and the third focused on introducing various types of diving equipment and how to use them.

Once he finished explaining the gear, Song Chengdong seized the opportunity to pitch the beginner equipment sets he’d brought along to the students.

The price sounded reasonable at first, but a full set still cost over a thousand yuan. It wasn’t cheap at all.

However, the club positioned itself as a mid-to-high-end establishment. Its diving tuition was already more expensive than many other clubs, and the same went for its so-called ”beginner” equipment. The silver lining was that the quality of the gear was indeed much better.

The students here might not have been rolling in cash, but they all gritted their teeth and bought the sets anyway.

Gu Nan and Yi Chen, however, didn’t buy anything. Song Chengdong had quietly pulled him aside after the second session to let him know that he’d give them two of the club’s best sets of gear after class.

’It sure is nice to have connections,’ Gu Nan thought. ’You end up getting all sorts of perks.’

Of course, Gu Nan wasn’t about to mention that people could take things from his own shop for free, too. He’d just bring something nice to share next time he came over. ’Reciprocity isn’t the same as a transaction.’

After the three sessions were over, he politely declined Song Chengdong and Guo Xiao’s dinner invitation. He had Yi Chen get in the car first while he leisurely strolled back to the office.

”Didn’t you already take all the mineral water, kid? What are you back for?” Guo Xiao asked, looking surprised to see him again.

”Oh, I forgot a box of tea. I’m taking it home to make tea eggs,” Gu Nan said, walking over to a cabinet. Under Guo Xiao’s stunned gaze, he tucked an obviously expensive-looking box of tea under his arm, gave a wave, and made a swift exit.

Guo Xiao only snapped out of his stupor after Gu Nan had vanished. ”What the fuck? My tea!”

He scrambled to the doorway and yelled, ”Drink it if you want, kid, but don’t you dare actually make tea eggs with it! Goddammit, that box costs tens of thousands!”

Only when he heard an ”Alright!” echo from the stairwell did he return to his office, relieved. He sat down and cursed with a laugh, ”That kid must’ve been a bandit in a past life!”

Yi Chen had been waiting in the car for a little while. When she saw Gu Nan return holding a box of tea, her expression turned rather odd.

She was once again reminded of her boyfriend’s knack for acquiring things.

Seeing his girlfriend staring blankly at him, Gu Nan grinned and placed the box of tea in her lap. ”Here you go. We’ll make tea eggs when we get home.”

Yi Chen immediately rolled her eyes. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t just been drinking that very tea; even if she was no connoisseur, she knew it had to be expensive.

She knew he was joking, but couldn’t help retorting, ”Forget about us mainlanders, even that so-called ’professor’ from Taiwan couldn’t afford tea eggs made with this!”

It was already late when they returned to the shop. They prepared and ate dinner, handled some business, and closed up for the night once the customer flow at the seafood market died down.

He dropped Yi Chen off at her home first, then drove to Bazhou City to pick up the custom-made matching pendants he’d ordered.

He’d ordered them about ten days ago and hadn’t expected them to be ready just in time for their parents’ meeting.

They were a pair of matching, heart-shaped lock pendants. Yi Chen’s was made of pure white Hetian jade, while his was also white jade, carved from the same stone. His piece, however, was a shade darker, making them noticeably different. The two pieces of jade had cost Gu Nan nearly fifty thousand yuan.

He couldn’t tell good jade from bad himself, but since Wang Junhe had recommended the place, he wasn’t worried about being scammed.

The cords were tied with love knots—these were tokens meant to pledge their love for one another.

Gu Nan put the box containing the jade pendants away safely, paid the remaining balance, and left.

He didn’t go out to sea that night. He had spent a lot of time wandering the coast lately and had found many promising spots for foraging, but he hadn’t experienced another ”activation.”

He suspected he probably had to fully clear the beachcombing map he’d previously unlocked before finding another. So, he went to bed early that night, entered the map, and dug up a large haul of razor clams and tiger crabs.

He didn’t go overboard, just dug for two hours. After estimating he had enough to sell for the next few days, Gu Nan exited the map.

Sure enough, he only felt a slight fatigue, nothing like the crushing exhaustion that used to make him pass out the moment he came out.

He still had a Special Fishing Ground Card in his inventory, and since he had plenty of time tonight, it was the perfect opportunity to use it.

He opened his game inventory and clicked to use the Special Fishing Ground Card. The scene shifted. This time, he didn’t appear on a fish raft but on the deck of a trawler, roughly thirty meters long, out on the open sea.