novelraw Chapter 157: The Obsession with 0 and 1
Chapter 157: The Obsession with 0 and 1
“So, since the outcome of this war is about to be decided, what will the Gottero Empire have to give up?”
Since Lewis knew about the international situation, Leon naturally wasn’t going to miss the chance to dig for more information.
“Probably an expansion of territory in the Gem Sea,” Lewis replied. “The Gottero Empire itself doesn’t have anything the Fengier Republic particularly needs. But its territorial waters… that’s something the Fengier Republic has always coveted. With victory this time, most of the islands in the Gem Sea will likely become Fengier territory.”
“Why is the Fengier Republic so interested in those islands?” Leon pressed.
“I don’t know what the higher-ups are thinking. But almost every one of those islands in the Gem Sea has ruins and secrets from ancient times. That might be what they’re after.” Lewis lowered his voice at the end.
“Don’t tell anyone about what we talked about today. That includes anything about Pam. I’ll reveal the truth when the bus to the Calico Desert is repaired.”
“Alright,” Leon agreed.
After saying his piece, Lewis turned and went back to drinking with Marnie.
Having gotten the information he wanted, Leon didn’t linger at the Stardrop Saloon. He paid his bill, said goodbye to Emily, and left.
The moment he stepped outside, a hint of chill brushed against him, though it was still bearable.With nothing better to do if he went home so early, Leon stowed his bicycle in his backpack and walked to the stone arch bridge that spanned the river leading to the beach. There, he pulled out his new fishing rod.
He baited the hook and cast into the water. The fiberglass rod had a round float about the size of an egg, which glowed faintly in the night. It looked much more refined than the small bean-shaped floats he used before.
Some special fish only appeared at night—species needed for the old Community Center’s fish tank bundle.
And since his fishing level was still at 0, Leon had chosen this time to practice.
He leaned against the stone bridge, occasionally glancing at the float bobbing on the water. He stifled a yawn. Fishing was like this—boring until a fish finally bit.
Whether it was because his bait didn’t appeal to nocturnal fish or because he’d picked a bad spot, ten minutes passed without the float twitching even once.
A minute or two later, still no action. Leon reeled in and switched to the red worms Willy had given him, then cast again.
This time, the moment the hook hit the water, the float began to bounce. Leon quickly lifted the rod and reeled in.
The fish on the hook didn’t struggle much. If not for the faint resistance, he might have thought he’d hooked a piece of trash.
When he pulled it out, he saw a silver-scaled fish, a little longer than chopsticks, with pale blue fins.
“Bream: A common river fish active at night.”
Landing his target fish in one try, Leon was pleased. He also remembered Willy’s praise for his homemade bait.
Now, Leon felt that Willy had only said that to encourage him.
In truth, the old fisherman’s recommended bait completely outclassed his homemade one.
Still, Leon wasn’t ready to believe his bait was that bad. So he switched back to his own bait and cast again.
Two minutes later, the float moved. He reeled in with little resistance, hauling up a smallmouth bass.
After putting the bass away, he switched back to red worms. A minute later, another bream came up.
That puzzled him. Testing back and forth a few times, he realized his homemade bait seemed to work well on smallmouth bass… but bream only seemed to like red worms. Nearly every time he used them, he caught one.
The results left Leon uncertain. If his bait was useless, why would smallmouth bass bite it? If it worked, why would bream ignore it?
Unfortunately, he hadn’t hooked another catfish the whole time. He couldn’t tell if the one he’d caught earlier with his homemade bait was pure luck or if catfish really liked it.
“Forget it. Let’s try the beach.”
Leon packed up. He wasn’t going to waste more time on the town’s river. Without catfish, even a huge haul of smallmouth bass and bream wouldn’t be worth much—they were too small and bit too often to be valuable.
Since he’d already started fishing tonight, he might as well see if he could catch another fish needed for the bundle: the eel.
And with his fishing level still at 0, Leon decided he wouldn’t go home until that 0 became a 1.
At night, the beach was quiet except for the waves. The dark, oppressive sea stretched into the distance. With the sky shrouded in clouds, the stars were hidden and the moonlight was thin. The damp, chilly sea breeze made Leon feel like he’d walked into a horror movie.
But Leon wasn’t easily spooked. He stepped onto the pier, found a good spot, and cast his line.
This time, he used red worms. Willy’s advice still rang true—his homemade bait just wasn’t tempting to sea fish, while red worms were a tried-and-true choice.
Facing the wind and watching the sea, Leon soon noticed the float stir. He reeled in, but the line instantly went taut—and to his surprise, he couldn’t turn the reel at all.
The pull felt like he’d hooked something huge and heavy. No matter how much strength he put in, the fiberglass rod bent into a bow, but not an inch of line came back.
After several futile attempts, Leon sighed. He was certain he’d hooked an entire planet.
Just as he was about to pull out his Galaxy Watermelon Knife to cut the line, he noticed a black shadow rising from the depths, growing larger, coming from the exact direction of his hook.
Instantly, Leon drew his Galaxy Watermelon Knife and stood ready.
An ordinary person would have either dropped the rod and run or cut the line on the spot. But Leon, a reckless man who also wielded forest magic, didn’t flinch.
He wanted to see just what, exactly, he had hooked.