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Chapter 865: 848: Schemes Win People's Hearts

Chapter 865: Chapter 848: Schemes Win People’s Hearts

Xiao Liqiang looked up and down at Zhao Zheng and the others’ fishing results, and said somewhat unconvinced, “Wow, guys! Winning a championship in the first round!”

Zhao Zheng gave a “simple-hearted” laugh: “Just lucky, the fish were biting well today, recognize the bait! Next round, try attacking with lure and powder! I saw quite a few folks didn’t even open the bait, no wonder they weren’t catching any fish!”

Though it was a fish behavior anyone could understand, hearing it from Zhao Zheng’s mouth still earned him some friendliness. Those who didn’t do well quickly adjusted their strategy, and Xiao Liqiang nodded energetically.

Soon, the scores were tallied, bets paid out, and after a few minutes break, redraw lots, and continue to the next round.

Another round of explosive battle ensued, and with the experience from the previous match, the results this time significantly improved.

Zhao Ran won the championship with a score of 10.4kg. Xiao Liqiang took second place, Yue Feng and Wang Xiaomin secured minimum scores, and most of the others dug themselves a deeper hole once again.

The addition of loose powder narrowed the score gap once more. Within Yue Feng’s team, there was an unspoken understanding about throwing the game. The fifth and sixth places were only 0.1kg apart, and the others were only a few fish away, making winning seem not difficult at all.

This time, one champion, two secured scores, and another two hundred plus yuan in the account.

In the third round, everyone threw the game, letting a chubby guy take the championship. Xiao Liqiang placed fifth, and several others with slightly higher skills appeared at the top of the rankings. Yue Feng’s six people unhesitatingly filled in the 180-yuan bet.

Yue Feng, like a behind-the-scenes manipulator, always controlled the pace of the competition. When it was time to take scores for cash, he was ruthless. When drawing bad lots, he’d happily throw the game and fill the hole, tightly controlling the anglers’ mindset, keeping the fishing scene at a level where most people could see hope and occasionally win a few rounds.

With careful planning and absolute technical and bait suppression, the final result was quite simple.

A morning’s work, seven rounds and a thousand bucks in hand, not to mention making the other anglers antsy. A few of the more addicted ones wished they didn’t have to eat lunch, convinced their losing streak was just bad luck and they’d definitely turn the tables next round with a bit more effort.

“Alright, alright, guys, time for lunch! It’s getting dark later in the evening now; let’s eat and drink well, then continue in the afternoon!” Zhao Zheng waved, pausing the next fishing round.

“Yeah, let’s eat first. I’m starving since we didn’t have breakfast this morning!” Wang Zhen said, clutching his stomach.

Xiao Liqiang, having taken a few second places and secured scores, didn’t lose much money himself. Seeing a few suggested eating, he also nodded: “Alright then, let’s eat first! Everyone be ready earlier this afternoon, I’ve got the fish behavior figured out here, gonna dominate and win it back! Don’t be too scared to show up!”

“Ha, not showing up means you’re a coward!”

“We’ll deal with you in the afternoon, don’t get cocky!”

A few provoking words reignited the atmosphere once again.

Everyone’s fishing skills had subtle differences, but none would admit to being the worst among anglers daring to join the competition. The gap was always just a handful of fish, tantalizingly close, like a hook itching in the bottom of one’s heart, compelling them to rush in like moths to a flame.

After a quick greeting and packing up their gear, Zhao Zheng and his group got in the car and drove straight away from the Fishing Base.

Once the car left the base’s gate, Wang Xiaomin, Xue Kai, and Wang Zhen, sitting in the car, couldn’t contain their smiles any longer. Soon they were noisily chatting on the team’s group chat via phone voice messages.

“Brother Feng, Brother Feng, how much did we make this morning?”

“Fished all morning, and these guys didn’t seem like much of experts, except Xiao Liqiang who had a bit of strategy!”

“What’re we having for lunch? Made some cash, should we go for something fancy?”

Yue Feng: “Just over a thousand yuan, everyone’s performance was decent!”

“So much? Can’t believe it; I remember losing quite some bet when throwing the game!”

Zhao Zheng said, “You don’t understand a thing! Brother Feng’s been controlling the rhythm all along, even when Brother Feng deliberately made a one-fish difference between championship and second place! These guys still genuinely think we’re on the same level, blaming only luck for losing!”

“Hahaha, Brother Zheng is so bad, but I like it!” Xue Kai suddenly chimed in.

Wang Zhen, gathering courage, said: “I’ve gotta say, the sneakiest is still the captain, deliberately throwing the game while multi-tasking, whoever believes him is doomed!”

“Wang Zhen, you’ve gone too far; tick me off, and I won’t let you play in the afternoon fish fight!” Yue Feng jokingly threatened him.

Wang Zhen smirked: “Ha, Brother Feng, you’re not that kind of person! Sister-in-law’s watching, doing that would just tarnish your own shining image!

Even in the worst-case scenario, if you really dare to leave me out, I’ll spill everything on live stream! A Fishing King with millions of fans, pretending to be a fool to win bets, that’ll for sure hit the headlines!”

“Hahaha”

The group erupted into laughter.

The leading car took a turn ahead, merging into the city road, quickly heading straight to a barbecue buffet. At 78 yuan a person, this was definitely cost-effective given the large appetites of these hungry wolves.

By 1:30 PM, stuffed and satisfied, everyone returned to the base picking their teeth, with Xiao Liqiang and the others unable to hold back and having already started fishing earlier.

“Oh wow, Zhao Zheng and the crew finally showed up! Thought they didn’t dare to duel again! Old Zhao, hurry up and get ready, we’re wrapping up this round in five minutes, and I’ve won the championship twice in a row, now waiting for a defeat!!” From afar, Xiao Liqiang called out loudly.

No one could refuse such a request for a loss, so Zhao Zheng’s team swiftly unpacked their gear and started preparing bait, ready for another round filled with strategy and control.

During the lunch break, Yue Feng had a thorough discussion with the team about the rhythm of the fishing competition, how to stabilize their own fishing behavior, and even attempted to teach them how to multi-task by keeping track of the neighboring anglers’ fish counts.

But talking about it was easy, doing it in real battle was much harder. Zhao Zheng, Zhao Ran, and even Wang Zhen, Xue Kai attempted a few times, encountering various errors, with the tasks often failing either to start or to progress.

What surprised Yue Feng was that the usually stingy and quiet Wang Xiaomin actually picked up Yue Feng’s multi-tasking technique for controlling score differences. During his turn winning a championship, he managed a mere two-fish difference with the runner-up.

Seeing Wang Xiaomin’s still somewhat youthful face and his dark and bright eyes full of intelligence, Yue Feng suddenly felt he might have found his true successor.