Fishing Livestream

Zhao Zheng nodded, "Okay, I'm definitely not holding back in the last round. In hindsight, going on stage in the final session means I have no worries. If there's a bite, I'll strike without hesitation! If there's no bite, I'll reel in early!"

Zhao Ran glanced at his watch; there was only one minute left in the third session. He got up early to stretch his wrists and ankles, then strode onto the stage after hearing the substitution signal.

Yue Feng was swapped out and returned to his seat, sensing an unusual atmosphere among the team members. He frowned and glanced around, finally fixing his eyes on Wang Xiaomin.

"Xiaomin, what did you guys do while I was playing? Held a criticism rally for Wang Zhen? Why's his face all red and silent like a gourd?"

Wang Zhen pouted, "Brother Feng, I couldn't hold it in and messed up the fishing grounds! Xiaomin was right!"

Yue Feng couldn't help but smile, "That's quite an insight! In competition, you make so many decisions, you can't get every one of them 100% right! It's normal. As long as you learn from your mistakes and don't repeat them, you're good!

Speaking of which, after the second match, don't we still have two hundred pounds of fish to release? Better to run into this situation now than when facing Tianyuan next round!"

"Got the fish situation figured out, next round against Tianyuan, we'll knock them out!" Wang Xiaomin glanced at the Tianyuan team on stage, gritting his teeth.

Yue Feng chuckled, shaking his head, "You haven't got the fish situation figured out. Thinking so is a big mistake!"

"Huh? Isn't it obvious? What's left to figure out?"

Yue Feng gestured, and everyone, except Zhao Ran on stage, gathered around.

"I have a feeling, with another two hundred pounds of new fish released, the next session's fish situation will change! While fishing earlier, I could already feel it—the bites from the newly released fish were unstable!

For example, earlier, once there was movement at a high spot, the float movement was quite standard, but after catching a few, the bites turned very tentative!

As you've seen, the new fish could only be caught mid-session. Once this round finishes, they'll likely make up the majority!

The distribution levels of these fish are low, making efficient catches difficult. When the density is high, they open their mouths like fresh fish!

I suspect that once the next round's fish are released, a relative tipping point will be reached. The differences in tactics will be clearly reflected in the catch!"

"If the captain's analysis is correct, what's our strategy for the next match?" Wang Zhen asked further.

Yue Feng hesitated briefly, then waved for everyone to lean in as he whispered his plans, earning nods all around.

...

The match continued, but what Zhao Ran did after getting on stage was almost identical to Yue Feng's last session. Most of the time was spent casting to gather fish, seizing small, opportune moments to take a bite, keeping the fish situation stable in the spot.

As for the catch difference between him and the neighboring angler, it neither widened nor narrowed, maintaining stability artificially. Every now and then, Zhao Ran would discreetly cast a few rods at a distant point on the other side, leaving it be, in preparation for the final session.

Fifteen minutes flew by, with Zhao Ran catching only thirteen fish, maintaining a moderate pace of catching one fish every three casts. Nearing the substitution, the height of the bites in the fish layer at the spot increased significantly, but Zhao Ran deliberately didn't catch them, letting more fish congregate.

Soon, in the final session, Zhao Zheng swapped in for Zhao Ran.

Veteran players, a wordless glance between them exchanged all the messages they needed.

After two lackluster rounds, the Hua Clan still thought the fish situation was so-so. With only a single-digit fish catch difference, a desperate push in the last round might just give them a chance.

But as soon as Zhao Zheng went all out, Han Luofeng realized how naive he had been.

The middle two rounds seemed even, but that semblance of balance was deceiving.

With the groundwork of stocking set up by sneaky tactics earlier, the third and fourth sessions were leveraged on this, purposefully holding back the catch in the spots.

In the final session, the fish had gathered sufficiently, and the stockpiled fish in the spot were like tender chives, ready for harvesting.

Consequently, from the very first rod cast, Zhao Zheng's catch rate and frequency surged, creating a fierce 7:0 run!

Realizing the issue, Hua Clan angler Hu Yuejin felt devastated, having once thought they were evenly matched. The final session seemed winnable, but the competitors had merely pretended weakness to conserve strength, showing true might made the fish situation of the two spots worlds apart.

As for Zhao Zheng, he mirrored Wang Zhen from the second session, targeting the main spot and the distant spots on both sides alternately, no longer caring about catching out the spots, focusing on snatching fish as quickly as possible.

After extensive preparation, each spot had at least some fish, leading to hookups every cast and a skyrocketing match tempo.

The investment over the two sessions climaxed in the final session, with Zhao Zheng pausing the fishing in all three spots in just ten minutes.

Once entirely without bites, Zhao Zheng arrogantly placed his rod on the holder, crossed his arms, and resigned early for a breather.

With a ten-minute, aggressive haul bringing in dozens of fish, even though the match hadn't ended, it had entered garbage time. Zhao Zheng's message was clear—I'm not fishing anymore; if you think you can still catch up, go ahead!

This tactic injured Hu Yuejin, who entered in the fifth session. Since when have I experienced such treatment? My reputation ruined at once!

In the midst of such torment and frustration, the end-of-match whistle for the fifth session sounded, and Old Hu listlessly tossed his rod onto the holder, rubbing his face in agitation with broad hands.

"Brother Hu, what's up, feeling low?" The match over, Zhao Zheng cheerfully produced cigarettes from his pocket, flipping one to Hu Changsheng.

Not missing a beat, Old Hu grabbed a cigarette and took three fierce drags, feeling his mood settle a bit.

"Damn, lied, you guys at Yuefeng Club are beasts! The match ruined my mood!" Hu Changsheng lamented like a jilted lover.

"C'mon, we're opponents on stage, brothers off stage; no need to make it sound so scary!"

"Sounds nice, but when it was 7:0, did you remember I was your brother? When you weren't even holding your rod the last five minutes, did you think of me? Tonight's celebration dinner better have a Panulirus Cygnus, or we're not done!"

Old Hu got more animated as he spoke, shamelessly starting to play the rogue and demand compensation.