Farming Games are All About Grinding

Five minutes later, the twelve contestants began selecting their fishing spots in the order of their assigned numbers.

Han Qiwu stood on a nearby stone stump, tiptoeing to survey the area. He spotted a fishing spot with a lot of bubbles, grabbed his portable fishing chair, and plopped down decisively.

What he didn't expect was for the short-statured Xiao Lin, contestant number two, to walk over without hesitation and place his fishing kit at the spot next to his. The two spots were only three meters apart.

Sitting on his fishing box, Xiao Lin coolly declared to Han Qiwu, "Nothing can stop me from winning Shadow. Not even you."

Hearing his voice, Han Qiwu couldn't help but chuckle.

What was up with this Xiao Lin? Why did his voice sound so childish?

Judging by the voice, he couldn't be very old.

Ah, youthful arrogance—understandable.

Han Qiwu wiped the smile off his face and responded in a serious tone, using the kind of voice one would use to humor a child, "Listen, little bro, there's always someone better out there, and the sky has no limit. You can't force things to go your way. You need to stay calm."

"Don't talk to me like that! I'm an adult! Mind your own business!" Xiao Lin growled in a low voice, clearly agitated by Han Qiwu's tone. He angrily opened his fishing box and began preparing his gear.

How infuriating! Treating me like a kid! Just wait until I beat you!

To Xiao Lin, the other fishing enthusiasts didn't even matter. His only true rival was this so-called mysterious guest.

Why did I get number 002?

I should've been the top dog!

Meanwhile, on the main podium, Old Huang hadn't expected something as simple as a number change to ignite Xiao Lin's competitive spirit.

If he'd known, he would've given Han Qiwu the number 111 instead.

Han Qiwu glanced at Xiao Lin and gave him a friendly smile.

This Shadow is way too good to just hand over to you, little bro.

Retracting his gaze, he looked up at the other ten contestants to see which spots they'd choose.

Clearly, the other ten weren't as stubborn as Xiao Lin. They were all careful to avoid interfering with each other's fishing areas, choosing spots with plenty of distance between them.

Seeing Xiao Lin sitting right next to Han Qiwu made Old Huang beam with satisfaction.

This was precisely the result he wanted to achieve.

You brat, complaining about me before—let's see how you feel now with a fishing master sitting right next to you!

Fearing that Xiao Lin might change spots, Old Huang quickly grabbed the microphone and announced, "All twelve contestants are in position! Spots are now locked in. Preparation time is ten minutes. Countdown starts now!"

The ten minutes were mainly for contestants to set up their rods and prepare their baiting areas.

With that announcement, the anglers got to work, baiting and casting to observe fish activity.

Xiao Lin sneaked a glance at Han Qiwu before tossing his pre-prepared bait into the water with practiced precision. His technique was excellent, and the bait quickly diffused in the water, attracting nearby fish.

But Han Qiwu, sitting right next to him, showed no intention of preparing bait. Instead, he stood up to stretch his back, picked up his rod "Golden Sun" and began testing its flexibility, adjusting his grip to find the perfect feel.

Watching his movements, Xiao Lin couldn't hold back and blurted out, "Why aren't you baiting? You looking down on me? Let's see your full power!"

Han Qiwu sighed helplessly. "Ah, little bro, maybe cut back on the anime. Your baiting's already so good—why should I bother baiting too?"

Xiao Lin ignored the first half of his comment and laughed smugly. "Well, you're dead wrong. The fish drawn in by my bait will only go for my bait."

Han Qiwu glanced at the frothing water in front of Xiao Lin and gave him an earnest thumbs-up. "You've got skills. Keep it up!"

"Don't need your compliments!" Xiao Lin huffed, turning back to focus on baiting. Soon, the water in front of them was filled with fish, some even leaping out of the water in spectacular displays.

The breathtaking sight sparked discussion among the other anglers:

"Here we go again. His bait is really something."

"Yeah, I think the next competition should use standardized bait so we can really compare skills."

"Why? Preparing bait isn't a skill to you? Why not just hand out swimsuits and have everyone dive in to catch fish?"

"Heh, Old Li, you wouldn't beat me at swimming either."

"Bring it on! Let's settle this in the water!"

The two old-timers started stripping off their shirts as they bickered.

Had their families not intervened, those two might have actually jumped into the sea for a showdown.

Mrs. Tang, standing nearby, looked a little worried and asked, "Can Xiao Han even win? That Old Huang is so unfair—putting someone as young as him in the spotlight like this."

"Don't worry about it. If you don't believe anything else, at least trust our daughter's judgment! Even if he loses, it's no big deal—his mindset looks pretty solid to me," Mr. Tang responded cheerfully, completely unfazed.

Mrs. Tang thought he had a point and happily wandered over to the snack stalls, returning with a few skewers of grilled squid. As she ate, she remarked, "This squid is so fresh—way better than what we have back home."

"Really? Let me try." Mr. Tang grabbed a skewer and joined in on the feast.

The ten-minute preparation period flew by, and with Old Huang's whistle, the twelve contestants began casting their rods into the sea.

The variety of fishing rods carved graceful arcs through the air, landing with precision in their baited areas to entice sea fish.

The impressive sight quickly drew the attention of the onlookers, who stood up to watch.

With their rods cast, the contestants stayed standing, keenly observing their floats, ready to reel in a catch at any moment.

Since this was a speed-fishing competition, every second counted.

Mrs. Tang stood up for a better view, then crouched down to pull Mr. Tang up as well. "Something's off. Xiao Han's rod looks crooked. Did he cast toward that little guy's spot?"

The slightly loud comment caught the attention of a bald fisherman nearby, who quipped, "Probably just envious of Xiao Lin's fish density. But the kid's new—he likely doesn't know that the fish drawn to Xiao Lin's bait only bite his bait."

"He's just trying to leech off Xiao Lin's fish."

"I remember there were others who tried to do the same during the preliminaries."

"Xiao Lin's prelim score was seventy-two fish in thirty minutes, wasn't it? Doubt he's worried about anyone leeching off his spot."

"Yeah, especially for ocean fishing, and with today's pretty average conditions—his skills are crazy good."

Hearing them chatter, Mrs. Tang retorted, "Maybe he just cast wrong and will recast later! And anyway, how can you claim the sea's fish belong to Xiao Lin until he actually catches them?"

The bald man shot back, "There's only thirty minutes. A recast wastes at least a minute—it'll just put him even further behind Xiao Lin."

"Not just a minute. If he doesn't know better, he'll waste a few minutes testing out Xiao Lin's spot—completely pointless."

Old Huang, watching from the grandstand, shared their thoughts. A smug grin spread across his face as he handed his microphone to the other emcee and pulled out a DSLR camera to snap some shots.

He was looking forward to capturing Han Qiwu's panicked expressions!

But just then, less than ten seconds after casting, Han Qiwu suddenly exerted strength and pulled his rod into a sharp crescent shape.

"He's already reeling in?"

"Quick reactions, I'll give him that."

"At most he's wasted half a minute—quick thinker. Still, what's he gonna do without bait? He's screwed."

Before they could finish their remarks, their voices abruptly stopped.

At the lowest point of the crescent rod hung a golden yellow fish, flailing its tail wildly in the air.

It looked as though it were slapping the air.

Slapping their faces.

Smack! Smack! Smack!