Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
They would camp there for the night, no doubt.
Brother Wolf and Godzilla put up the tents, Firecracker built a fire, and Li Du took a fishing rod to the lake.
Lu Guan was surprised when he saw the fishing rod. “Boss, you took this thing up the mountain? No wonder the rucksack was so heavy!”
Li Du looked at him in disdain. “It’s only an extra fishing rod and hook.”
“It’s a heavy fishing rod,” complained Lu Guan,
Li Du said, “Go away, this pole is supposed to support the tent!”
Lu Guan smiled and said, “Oh, no wonder it looks a little familiar.”
There were scattered stones at the edge of the lake. The water was very clear. Li Du stood on a stone and sprinkled some breadcrumbs in the water.
“Bigmouth bass, that’s good, and black barracuda. Looks like we can make fish soup tonight,” Li Du confidently threw in his fishing rod.
Brother Wolf went to the lake to get water. He followed Li Du to the lake and looked on for a couple of minutes, then said, “Boss, are you fishing here with a rod?”
“What am I supposed to do, catch the fish with my bare hands?” asked Li Du.
Brother Wolf smiled and said, “That’s right.”
“Are you kidding?”
Brother Wolf put down the bucket and lifted a rock. He soon found a few earthworms. He cut the worm into several pieces and found a rock to stand on too, and just like Li Du, he sprinkled some breadcrumbs into the water.
Several of the fish that had been wandering on Li Du’s side were lured away and were fighting over the crumbs when Brother Wolf threw the worm pieces into the water.
The fish were excited and fought for the earthworms in the water. There was plenty of bass around.
Then Brother Wolf put his little finger into the water, bending it slightly like a hook, and a bass that did not manage to get an earthworm rushed at him, opened its mouth and bit.
At that moment, there was a splash of water, and Brother Wolf picked up the fish.
He raised his arm and smiled at Li Du. He held a large-mouthed bass that was flicking its tail hard but was not able to escape anymore.
Brother Wolf threw the bass on the grass, where it flipped vigorously.
Li Du was impressed. “I didn’t know you could do that!”
“Only with wild fish,” explained Brother Wolf. “Wild fish hunt for small meat-worms, and when you wiggle your fingers in the water, they will think that it’s a worm and bite. If you react fast enough, you can lift them. The big mouth bass especially likes small meat-worms.”
Indeed, the fishing rod seemed wholly unnecessary in these circumstances. Li Du was probably the fastest person in the world, and by slowing down the time, the speed of his reaction was virtually unlimited.
He was about to give it a try when Lu Guan, who was standing on the stone beside him, suddenly plunged into the water with a splash, scaring all the fish away.
Li Du was frustrated and said, “What the hell are you doing?”
Brother Wolf got into the water and helped Lu Guan get ashore.
Li Du wanted to check out what happened so he went ashore too to check the situation.
Lu Guan said with a puzzled face. “What happened? I just squatted down next to the water to see the fish, and suddenly I felt weightless, no, actually I felt as if there was a mysterious force that pushed me in. Boss, would it be a ghost?”
Li Du rolled his eyes and said, “How could a ghost attack you? With Brother Wolf here, no ghost would dare to touch you.”
“Could it just be my brain going haywire?” said Lu Guan with a mournful face.
Brother Wolf nodded and said, “Yes, it could.”
Lu Guan was afraid. He knew Brother Wolf never joked, and said in a panic, “What has happened to me? Is it a brain tumor? Cerebral hemorrhage?”
Brother Wolf said, “The water is too clear and calm, and the reflections in the water are extremely lifelike. Therefore, when you stare at the lake for a long time, your brain becomes confused, unable to tell what is real and what is not. When it thinks the reflections in the lake are real, you might become confused enough to jump into the lake, thinking you are stepping on solid ground.”
Li Du said, “So why didn’t it happen to me? I’ve been staring at the lake, too.”
Brother Wolf looked at Lu Guan and said slowly, “Because your brain is developed enough to tell reality apart from illusion.”
Lu Guan said in offense, “What does this mean?”
Li Du laughed. “This means your brain is simple.”
Brother Wolf was not wrong. Li Du’s brain was indeed very developed, and his reaction speed was uncanny.
After luring the fish close to him again, he followed Brother Wolf’s method, putting his little finger into the lake and gently shaking it.
Soon a largemouth bass took the bait.
Using his ability to slow the passage of time, Li Du watched as the bass opened its mouth, swam up and bit his finger.
At the same time, he thrust his little finger in the fish’s mouth and grabbed the fish’s head with the other fingers. He quickly lifted the fish out of the water, flicked his wrist and threw it onto the grass.
Now the two basses were leaping, one higher than the other.
Li Du laughed and said, “Did you see that? I’m awesome!”
Brother Wolf said, “This method is suitable for wild freshwater fish, who eat meat insects for food and have no experience of contact with humans, so they would take the bait easily. This method does not work on saltwater fish.”
In this way, Li Du caught another five or six fish, all of them large bass.
However, all he caught were bass, while the barracuda and trout in the lake did not fall in the trap.
“Is this method only good for bass?” he asked.
“No, but the largemouth bass is the most voracious,” said Brother Wolf.
In the end, the fish ended up as food because of their greed. Brother Wolf cut the fish heads and tails and removed the guts. Li Du set up the fire, stewed half of the fish and grilled the rest.
They were carrying enough food, apart from tents and supplies. However, there was no such thing as too much food, because Godzilla had a large appetite.
Meals in the wild could not be too demanding. Li Du stewed a pot of fish and a pot of soup made with dried beef, seasoned with black pepper and served with pressed biscuits.
Like Cleveland, Pittsburgh had long days at this season. The sun did not set in the west until eight o’clock at night.
The wild fish smelled delicious as it cooked. A pot of fish stew simmered for an hour and a half, and finally, a milky thick stew spread out its fragrance when they opened the lid.
Ah Meow came back with a rabbit in his mouth, and Ah Bai settled down to eat the wild fruit he had found from nowhere. Li Du stared at him and said, “You just know how to forage, and see how capable Ah Meow is!”
With a squeak of disapproval, Ah Bai took off with his satchel.
After a while, the fish stew and grilled fish were almost done. Li Du started looking for Ah Ow and Ah Bai to have dinner. However, he heard a gunshot before he could find them!
Summer was not the hunting season and very few people would go into the mountains to hunt, but there were some natives and some hunters living in the mountains, so an occasional gunshot was normal.
After the first shot, another one was heard. Then Li Du heard a familiar howl. Owwww!
Li Du put away the bowl of soup he was about to eat and said, “Ah Ow is in trouble! Let’s go!”
