The World's Richest Man: Start with the Daily Intelligence System

87: Chapter 87 The Villain Grows OldThe swimming auntie nearby rolled her eyes, a sinister sneer spreading across her face: ”Old Xia, let’s get in the water and ruin their fishing.” She was the leader of this group and had quarreled with these two fishing grandpas more than once. How could she bear to watch them catch a big fish right in front of her and show off?

The group put down their backpacks and prepared to enter the water via the steps along the bank. One of the fishing grandpas caught sight of them and immediately shouted, ”You can’t go in there, don’t cause trouble!”

But they paid no heed. The leading auntie swam straight toward where the fishing line entered the water, thinking she’d snag the hook and leave these fishermen disappointed.

Zhang Wei, panting heavily, felt a surge of anxiety. Wasn’t this auntie just rushing to her doom?

By now, the Alligator Gar was also exhausted. It couldn’t understand why this line held it so firmly. Just then, a colorful figure approached. The Alligator Gar’s ferocity erupted completely. Summoning its last ounce of strength, it lunged and bit down.

The auntie reached out to grab the hook, only to see a massive dark shadow rushing toward her. Then, an excruciating pain shot through her fingers. She couldn’t hold back a scream of agony.

Blood gushed from the wound. Terrified and disoriented, the auntie swallowed several mouthfuls of water. Although the lake was man-made, its average depth exceeded two meters. Even expert swimmers could get into serious trouble during a sudden crisis.

People on the shore saw a two-meter-long shadow thrashing beneath the water and exclaimed in shock. Some even yelled, ”Crocodile! There’s a crocodile!”

The others who had been swimming behind the auntie froze upon hearing ”crocodile,” then immediately turned and fled toward the bank, leaving her alone, flailing in the water.

”Quick, notify the park security! And get a few people to help me pull on the rod!” Zhang Wei shouted desperately, struggling to steady his hands.

The situation was critical. He could no longer worry about the rod snapping. The Alligator Gar had to be hauled up immediately. Once this type of fish latches onto prey, it never lets go. Rescuing the woman was now the top priority.

The two fishing grandpas were the first to rush over, grabbing Zhang Wei around the waist and pulling him backward. Several long-distance running grandpas emerged from the crowd, and together, they finally managed to drag both the Alligator Gar and the auntie to the shore.

As the strange fish revealed its true form in the water, everyone gasped. It resembled a crocodile, its upper and lower rows of teeth still clamped tightly onto one of the auntie’s fingers.

”That thing must be two or three meters long!” exclaimed one grandpa nearby.

Zhang Wei yelled, ”Hurry! Get the landing net!” Someone from the crowd picked it up and handed it over. Zhang Wei took one look and was dumbfounded.

The two fishing grandpas usually only caught carp or crucian carp. Their landing net was only the size of a bucket—not even big enough to hold a third of this fish.

He simply borrowed a pair of work gloves from a grandpa practicing on the parallel bars. Handing the fishing rod to a fishing grandpa nearby, Zhang Wei put on the gloves, timed his move perfectly, grabbed the fish by its tail, and with all his might, hauled the Alligator Gar onto the bank.

At that moment, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. Zhang Wei collapsed onto the grass, breathing heavily.

The auntie was also pulled ashore by the crowd. She had choked on water several times in the lake and was in bad shape—pale, her consciousness fading, with one finger of her right hand still trapped in the fish’s jaws.

Someone quickly found a branch and tried beating the Alligator Gar’s head to force it to release its grip, but it had little effect.

Several security guards ran over from a distance with riot control tools. After some discussion, they first tied the fish up securely with rope. Then, using pliers, they pried its mouth open bit by bit.

The auntie’s finger was finally freed. A row of dense puncture wounds continued to ooze blood.

Seeing the situation, the security guards didn’t dare delay. They called both the police and emergency services. The other grandpas and aunties present were shrewd; no one stepped forward to help. After all, the unconscious auntie was notoriously foul-tempered. Approaching her rashly might lead to accusations once she woke up.

After a while, paramedics arrived carrying a stretcher. After understanding the situation, one knelt beside the auntie and began performing chest compressions.

After five minutes of effort, the auntie coughed up a mouthful of water and slowly opened her eyes. Seeing herself surrounded by onlookers with the strange fish lying nearby, she nearly fainted again from fright.

”Alright, she still needs to go to the hospital for further examination. We’ll take her now. Who is a family member to accompany us?”

The wild-swimming team grandpas exchanged glances. Finally, a familiar auntie reluctantly agreed to go along.

By then, the Police Officers had also arrived, followed by two reporters who had likely caught wind of the incident for a timely news story.

After understanding what happened, the Police Officers sternly reprimanded the grandpas and aunties who had been swimming illegally. Then, examining the fish carefully, he said to the crowd, ”This appears to be an invasive species from North America. Once discovered, it must be handed over to the ecological environment department immediately. Otherwise, all the fish in this lake could be in danger.” He then scanned the crowd and added, ”Who caught it? Relevant departments offer rewards for reporting seriously harmful invasive species. Not only could this make the news, but there’s also a 300-yuan bonus.”

Everyone turned to look at Zhang Wei, who was slumped on the ground nearby.

Having caught his breath by now, Zhang Wei saw everyone looking at him and quickly waved his hands. ”I can’t take all the credit for this fish. Everyone helped, especially the two fishing grandpas. Without them teaching me how to fish, I wouldn’t have been able to catch even a scale of this thing.”

Hearing this, the two grandpas stood a little taller, feeling a sense of shared pride. A reporter stepped forward to interview Zhang Wei: ”Sir, how did you feel at that moment?”

”Sorry, I don’t give interviews,” Zhang Wei declined with a wave of his hand, accustomed to keeping a low profile and not wanting to be recognized everywhere.

But the reporter, having finally landed such a sensational story, wasn’t about to give up easily.

Helpless, Zhang Wei approached the Police Officers and said quietly, ”I’m quite familiar with Captain Jiang from the Criminal Police Brigade. Due to professional reasons, it’s not convenient for me to give an interview. I hope you can help handle this and prevent the reporters from taking unauthorized photos or writing misleading reports.”

He then called Jiang Yuanan to explain the situation. Zhang Wei hadn’t wanted to disturb Captain Jiang while he was recuperating, but Zuo Hemei was likely busy investigating the buddha head case, so it wasn’t a good time to bother her.

”You really know how to stir things up, kid. I heard today you even assigned a case to Zuo Hemei? Anyone would think you’re the head of the Criminal Police Brigade,” Jiang Yuanan teased in a robust voice, sounding like he was recovering well.

”Uncle Jiang, please don’t tease me. Here, let me pass the phone to the Police Officers so you can explain.” With that, he handed the phone to the Police Officers.

After a brief conversation on the other end, the Police Officers nodded. ”I understand the situation now. I’ll speak with the reporters shortly. Don’t worry.”

Zhang Wei thanked him repeatedly. Thinking that this was, after all, the first fish he’d ever caught—and a two-meter-long giant at that—he asked the Police Officers to take a photo with him as a memento. Then, bidding farewell to the grandpas and aunties, he made a quick getaway.