The Fish I Catch Can Level Up

Chapter 243: Giant Tasmanian King Crab

Chu Mingcheng didn't let Noah know he thought five tons was too little. If he had, Noah would've definitely called him greedy.

Giant Tasmanian King Crabs are only found in Australia, and their annual yield is extremely scarce—just a few dozen to a hundred tons total, a world of difference from regular king crabs, which can reach tens of thousands of tons.

His five-ton quota was already quite substantial.

Normally, a full twenty-five companies across Australia competed for that meager quota of a few dozen to a hundred tons.

Noah suddenly remembered something important. "Oh no! Cheng, I'm so sorry—I didn't rent a crab boat for you. But this fishing yacht has a crane, so we can buy smaller crab cages and still pull them up. If that won't work, I can go rent a proper crab boat instead."

Catching Giant Tasmanian King Crabs was just like catching regular king crabs: you dropped large cages into the water, waited, then pulled them up.

The size of the haul depended entirely on finding a good spot.

You needed a winch to pull the cages up. Noah, thinking his friend's boat was cheaper to rent and that Chu Mingcheng himself had requested a fishing yacht, hadn't considered the details. Only now, as they were about to buy the cages, did he realize the problem.

"No need. This boat's fine," Chu Mingcheng said, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm strong enough—I can handle pulling the cages up with the crane."

As long as the cages were smaller, with his current strength and the crane's help, it wouldn't be difficult.Noah sighed. "Still, with smaller cages, we'll probably have to spend more time and money."

"It's fine. I have a quick way to catch them." Chu Mingcheng was, of course, referring to his diving ability.

Back in China, he'd tested diving to two hundred meters and stayed at the bottom for over an hour.

Normal scuba divers had to adapt slowly to water pressure when returning to the surface, but Chu Mingcheng didn't need to. Swimming freely allowed him to withstand most of the pressure, letting him ascend quickly.

In the current weather, Giant Tasmanian King Crabs mostly live at depths around one hundred and twenty meters. That depth was no problem for him.

The only thing was that he'd have to surface more slowly to give the crabs a chance to adapt to the pressure change.

Combined with the crab cages, he believed he could fill the five-ton quota quickly.

Therefore, he had no need to spend extra money switching to a crab boat. The rental cost would be a terrible deal.

From the moment Chu Mingcheng had personally obtained the fishing license and secured the quota, Noah had seen him as a very resourceful person.

So when he refused to switch boats, Noah, though a bit puzzled, didn't press the issue.

They'd rested enough in Melbourne. After getting the fishing license and quota, Chu Mingcheng had Noah drive them to the pier that very evening.

The boat Noah had rented was a Class II fishing yacht, perfectly capable of navigating the Bass Strait as long as they didn't run into heavy winds.

Besides, if severe weather hit, the local meteorological station would issue advance warnings for all ships to return to shore. Nothing to worry about.

The boat was sixteen meters long, with three rooms and a large open bunk area.

Fortunately, there was a captain's cabin. Jiang Luoluo laid out the new quilt and sheets they'd bought—the two would sleep there at night.

The boat's fuel tank held two thousand liters, giving it a range of about forty hours. Its top speed was twenty knots, with an economical cruising speed of fifteen knots.

The boat had a desalination machine, so for this trip, Chu Mingcheng only bought a few barrels of mineral water for drinking and cooking, along with three days' worth of food.

After boarding, he checked the fuel tank and found only about three hundred liters remaining, so he had to call a fuel truck to top it off.

Melbourne's fuel prices have skyrocketed this year, currently at 2.07 Australian dollars per liter—much more ridiculous than back home.

Fueling up cost him over three thousand four hundred Australian dollars.

The ten crab cages cost another two thousand Australian dollars.

Of the fifty thousand Australian dollars he'd exchanged, he was left with only thirteen thousand.

In that moment, he deeply missed the diesel boats back home. Running a gasoline-powered boat was just too expensive.

Waving goodbye to Noah, Chu Mingcheng started the fishing yacht. After warming up the engine, he set off.

Holding the map of Giant Tasmanian King Crab distribution areas provided by the fisheries authority, he confirmed his location on the navigation system and chose a spot closest to Melbourne.

If the crabs were plentiful there, he wouldn't need to travel any farther.

Unlike fish, Giant Tasmanian King Crabs couldn't be located with a fish finder. They hid in rock crevices, as still as stones.

Chu Mingcheng didn't know if the most advanced fish finders could detect them—he'd never used one—but the fish finder on this boat definitely couldn't.

Therefore, he could only rely on the distribution map from the fisheries authority and dive to check the situation himself.

Fortunately, there was plenty of fresh water for showering on the boat. He didn't have to worry about the water tank like on his own small boat.

On that boat, if he dove too much and used up the fresh water, he wouldn't be able to shower.

A little over four hours later, the fishing yacht reached its destination.

The closest distribution area on the map was just over sixty nautical miles from Melbourne.

It was now past eight at night, still early. Chu Mingcheng told Jiang Luoluo to stay in the pilothouse while he lowered the ten small crab cages into the water.

One cage could hold about fifty jin of crabs, and the cage itself weighed eighty jin. Fortunately, he was strong enough now that, with the help of the boat's small crane, pulling them up was no problem.

Then he changed into his diving suit, preparing to check the situation below.

According to the fish finder, the water depth here was over one hundred and thirty meters. There should be Giant Tasmanian King Crabs.

Jiang Luoluo, of course, didn't know that Chu Mingcheng could dive to two hundred meters.

She thought he was going to catch lobsters in a nearby area, so she deliberately steered the boat closer to a spot where the water was only about thirty meters deep.

Chu Mingcheng didn't stop her, nor did he plan to tell her about his deep-sea diving abilities.

The world record for freediving was only one hundred and twenty meters. It was best not to mention that he could dive to two hundred.

Jumping into the water, Chu Mingcheng immediately plunged in, swimming toward the location of the crab cages.

Instantly, a thick red line appeared on the fish finder.

But Jiang Luoluo was holding a tablet, watching a TV series, and didn't notice.

She was very confident in Chu Mingcheng's freediving ability now, so she rarely stared at the monitor as she used to.

She still checked every so often, though.

Therefore, Chu Mingcheng also had to keep an eye on the time and couldn't stay at the bottom too long.

His flashlight cut through the water. It was pitch black all around, and the only sound in his ears was the flow of water.

If someone with a fear of the deep sea were here, they'd probably be scared to death.

But Chu Mingcheng was already used to it. He could even get his bearings perfectly and found the rope for the crab cage.

He followed the rope and descended quickly. In just two minutes, he reached the bottom.

The seabed was a mix of sand and reefs. Chu Mingcheng swam a circle around the crab cage and was thrilled to find a very large Giant Tasmanian King Crab crawling on the sand.

Giant Tasmanian King Crabs were only worth catching if they were over five jin—smaller ones were illegal to harvest.

And this crab was clearly over ten jin, as big as a washbasin, including its legs.

When it sensed his arrival, the crab slowly raised its right pincer, as if to intimidate him.

The crab's pincers were different sizes—this large one was as thick as his arm.

But its movements were sluggish, crawling along like a lazy old man.

Chu Mingcheng immediately swam behind it, grabbed its carapace with both hands, and swam toward the cage.

Arriving at the cage, he found that the bait inside had attracted some deep-sea fish. When he approached, the fish scattered in all directions.

Chu Mingcheng paid no mind to the fish. He opened the cage door, once again lifted the Giant Tasmanian King Crab from the sand, stuffed it inside, and closed the door securely.

This was the purpose of the cage—to make it convenient for him to catch the crabs while diving.

If he had to swim back to the surface every time he caught one, it would not only be tiring but also a waste of time.

Successfully pocketing at least five hundred Australian dollars, Chu Mingcheng was fired up.

He continued swimming into the distance, searching for more crabs.

A short while later, he found another Giant Tasmanian King Crab on the sand, but this one was smaller, its carapace only about the size of a plate.

He wasn't sure if it even weighed five jin. Chu Mingcheng picked it up with one hand and, without turning back, continued his search.

Then, under a reef, he found another crab about the same size as the one in his hand.

This one was harder to catch—Chu Mingcheng couldn't sneak up on it from behind.

Looking at the crab in his hand, his eyes lit up.

He placed the crab he was holding down, grabbed its two pincers with both hands, then extended the larger pincer into the rock crevice, letting the crab inside grab it.

The crab inside was immediately provoked, its two pincers snapping wildly.

Soon, the crab inside clamped down on the pincer Chu Mingcheng had extended. At the same time, the crab in his hand also tightened its pincer, and they locked onto each other.

Seizing the opportunity, he immediately pulled the crab out from inside, then grabbed one in each hand and headed back.

When Chu Mingcheng returned to the location of the first crab cage, he was surprised to find another crab outside, attracted by the bait.

This one was even larger than the one inside the cage, probably over fifteen jin.

It wanted to eat the bait, but unfortunately, it couldn't find the entrance and was crawling around anxiously.

When Chu Mingcheng approached, it was immediately startled, quickly raising its pincer and starting to retreat.

He didn't immediately go for this crab. Instead, he first put the two in his hands into the cage, then went over, caught the slowly escaping crab, and stuffed it in as well.

The cage was a bit small. After stuffing this crab inside, the several crabs in the cage were all squeezed together with no room to move.

These four crabs together weighed about forty jin. He could probably squeeze two more small ones into the corner, but Chu Mingcheng didn't bother with this cage anymore and moved to the location of the second cage.

Each cage was about twenty meters apart. It took Chu Mingcheng a little while to find the next one.

The state of this cage left him a bit helpless. It had landed on a somewhat round reef, then slipped off and was now standing vertically in the sand, with its entrance pressed against the bottom. The other entrances were also blocked, making it impossible for crabs to get in.

If he hadn't come down, this cage would've been empty, no matter how many crabs were outside.

He first set the cage upright, then went to look for crabs.

The next moment, he let out a few bubbles. If anyone had been nearby, they would've heard him say, "Holy shit."

Because before him was an enormous Giant Tasmanian King Crab, as big as a bathtub.

Although it didn't break the seventy-two-jin record, it was definitely over forty jin—and that was his conservative estimate.

Chu Mingcheng immediately swam over and lifted the Giant Tasmanian King Crab.

It was quite heavy in his hands. Since he was underwater, he wasn't sure of the exact weight. He began to slowly swim toward the surface, carrying the crab.

A Giant Tasmanian King Crab this big wouldn't fit in the cage.