Chapter 357: Chapter 357: Victory or Defeat

The two little creatures exchanged glances without asking too many questions.

Since they were both naturally restless and found accompanying Qin Lang a tad boring, Dan Bao and Spicy took the mission with great enthusiasm. Then, they split up and flew off in opposite directions.

Qin Lang, on the other hand, waited patiently for his next catch.

Soon, the float began bobbing up and down once again.

This time, he caught a Crucian carp. Although it was not as big as the carp he had caught earlier, Qin Lang thought about all the delicious dishes that could be made with it, which made the catch worthwhile.

Not long after he dropped the Crucian carp into his fishing basket, Dan Bao and Spicy returned.

“How did it go?” Qin Lang asked with curiosity as he looked at the two creatures, “How are the other contestants catching their fish?”

“Click-click’”

Well, you’ll have to ask Dan Bao about that.

Spicy gave Dan Bao an odd look and then flew up to Qin Lang’s side.silently.

Meanwhile, Dan Bao looked somewhat helpless.

“Gurgle-”

Alright, alright.

Immediately after, without waiting for Qin Lang to react, Dan Bao slowly flew over to the float. Lowering its big tail, it approached the surface of the lake.

A question mark formed in Qin Lang’s head.

What is it doing?!

“Chachaka chaba…”

Spicy jumped in to explain when seeing that Qin Lang still didn’t get it.

Soon, Qin Lang understood what it meant.

“Are you saying that many contestants are using their Food Spirits’ tails to lure the fish?” Qin Lang looked somewhat surprised.

“Chachaka!”

Correct, that’s exactly it!

Spicy earnestly nodded its head before showing off its own round and chubby tail.

But Spicy’s tail is too short for such a task.

So, this difficult task could only be left to Dan Bao!

“Does that work?” Qin Lang stroked his chin, appearing lost in thought.

It was reasonable, in theory. The fish in the lake might mistake a shadow floating on the surface as food and approach it. Thus, attracting fish with a tail was theoretically plausible.

This was, after all, a fun competition targeting Spirit Chefs. If only the Spirit Chefs themselves did the fishing, the Food Spirits would feel even less involved.

So the rule prohibiting Food Spirits from using combat skills was meant to suggest something like this.

Qin Lang felt like he’d figured it out.

“Splash-”

A soft sound was heard. Once again, the line that Dan Bao had just dropped started to pull, making the float bob up and down. Qin Lang gasped in disbelief. Really? That effective? Are the fish in Falling Cloud Lake too naive?

After tossing the third fish into his fishing basket, Qin Lang gave Dan Bao a look of encouragement.

Dan Bao nodded solemnly, its yellow face full of determination.

The soft, large tail was like a leaf on the lake’s surface. It rocked gently with the ripple of the water, continually attracting fish lurking underneath.

The fourth fish, the fifth fish…

With the help of Dan Bao, Qin Lang’s fishing rate picked up speed.

He finally understood the rhythm with which the other contestants were catching fish continuously.

Listening to the results constantly being announced through his earpiece gave him a feeling of blissful delight.

However, Ren Feng on the other side was having a completely different experience.

At first, it was tolerable, but when he heard Qin Lang catching his third, fourth and then even more fish, he became restless. He immediately turned to Qin Lang’s direction to see what this guy was up to.

Quickly, he spotted Dan Bao, whose tail was wagging on the lake surface.

Huh?

What’s going on?

Although Ren Feng found it perplexing, he had a hunch that this might be the reason why Qin Lang was continuously catching fish.

He ditched his fishing rod and focused all his attention solely on observing Qin Lang’s operations.

But in the short time that he was observing Qin Lang, another fish was caught by him, which made Ren Feng twitch involuntarily.

However, after careful observation, he finally understood what Qin Lang was up to.

Using the tail of Food Spirits to allure the fish in the lake?

That’s indeed a brilliant idea! It’s ingenious!

He could totally mimic such a strategy!

Thinking about it, he wasted no time in summoning his two Food Spirits.

Like Qin Lang, Ren Feng also had two Food Spirits. Even though one of them was only a One Star, both of them had long tails!

In this Fishing Competition, his advantage was even more considerable.

Very soon, the two Food Spirits started following Ren Feng’s instructions and mimicked Dan Bao’s actions.

Before long, the rate at which Ren Feng was catching fish accelerated substantially.

Time slipped away minute by minute.

This Fishing Competition had a time limit of six hours. As the contest was nearing its end, Qin Lang’s fish basket, which was as tall as half a person, was filled to the brim with fish. It weighed an estimated hundred pounds, denoting a plentiful harvest.

On the other side, Ren Feng, with his fishing basket on his shoulder, panted as he approached. His face bore a hint of competitiveness, “How many fish have you caught?”

“Let’s wait for the staff to tally it.” Qin Lang shrugged. The fishing basket, under the effect of Dan Bao’s Thought Power, slowly rose from the lake, which made Ren Feng twitch yet again.

“Let’s see who wins and who loses then!” Ren Feng face showed a hint of anticipation.

He kept an ear out for the host’s announcements. Judging from the number of fish caught, he and Qin Lang were neck and neck.

But the final result of this Fishing Competition wasn’t ranked based on the number of fish caught alone.

The organizer issued a list, scoring based on the difficulty and value of each species of fish caught, with each fish’s weight affecting the score.

It was quite a complicated scoring process. It required the staff to weigh and tally each contestant’s harvest to arrive at the result.

Soon, a staff member approached the two of them and began weighing their respective harvests, recording them with a simple fish scale.

“Sir, what’s my final score?” The moment the staff member turned to leave, Ren Feng swiftly stopped him and inquired cheerfully.

“You can check the ranking table later.” The staff member scratched his head. “But if you want to know now, I can tell you.”

“You caught thirty-seven fish in total. Based on the scoring rules, your total score is one thousand four hundred and sixty-three points.

“What about me?” Qin Lang, feeling motivated, asked as well.

“Your score is a bit higher.” The staff member grinned. “You caught thirty-six fish, but your total score is one thousand four hundred and ninety-seven points.”

Upon hearing the staff member’s words, Qin Lang sighed in relief, smiling at the disillusioned Ren Feng. “Thankyou for going easy on me!”

“Damn it, I just missed out by a bit!” Ren Feng could not hide his frustration. One more fish and victory would have been his.

Not only did he miss out on the precious handicraft that his grandfather had promised him, but now he had to fork over ten thousand yuan as well!

“Abet’s a bet!” Ren Feng promptly transferred the money and thenpicked up his fishing basket and left.

He couldn’t bear to stay a moment longer in this heartbreaking place!

Watching Ren Feng’s retreating figure, Qin Lang was stunned before turning to the staff member. “Sir, what’s my rank among the contestants?”

“It’s uncertain for now.” The staff member shook his head. “But among the contestants that I have tallied so far, your score would be ranked in the middle.”

The competition is that fierce, huh?

Qin Lang grinned.

It seems that he can’t expect to rank among the top.

However, with his many catches, he couldn’t say that he walked away empty- handed from this enjoyable competition.