Chapter 1: Aquatic Products Atlas (New Book, Please Collect)

"Okay, see you tonight!" After hanging up the phone, Chu Mingcheng looked at the time with a beaming smile. There were still about ten minutes until the end of the workday, so he immediately began packing up his things, ready to leave work.

Just then, his superior, a middle-aged man who could only avoid the tigress at home by working overtime, came over with a document in his hand.

He tossed the document onto the table and ordered, "Ah Cheng, you need to work overtime tonight to revise a proposal. The client is in a hurry to have it."

"..."

At twenty-eight, soon to hit the big three-oh, Chu Mingcheng looked quite troubled.

They couldn't have brought it earlier or later, but just had to bring it when it was almost time to leave work. Isn't this just making life difficult for people!

"President Chen, you should let the person who wrote this proposal revise it. I have a blind date this evening!"

Chen Jie was slightly startled, then said earnestly, "I'm asking you to revise it because I trust in your abilities. This is also a time to prove your strength. This deal is important. If the client is satisfied, I'll give you a bonus."

"You've been with the company for several years now, and you're more than capable. Next year I'll promote you and give you a raise. Nowadays, young girls are very realistic. Will you still need to go on blind dates by then?"

"Make sure you revise the proposal well; don't let me down!"

"I..." Chu Mingcheng was about to say something else, but Chen Jie didn't give him a chance and turned back to his office.

Looking at the proposal, he felt like throwing it back in the other person's face to show that he wouldn't do it.

Unfortunately, jobs were hard to come by, and he wasn't a rich second-generation, so he could only take out his phone to explain the situation to his blind date—overtime!

"This Boss Chen is going too far. He gives you the proposal to revise just when it's time to leave. Isn't this tormenting!" said a male colleague sitting next to Chu Mingcheng, speaking out against the unfairness on his behalf after Chen Jie left.

He just smiled and didn't answer, certain that if he expressed any dissatisfaction, Boss Chen would soon find out he had been badmouthing him and was unhappy with his work.

After that, he would be forced into overtime every day for a while, along with all kinds of errands lying in wait for him.

With the boss's temperament, the office atmosphere naturally wasn't great either.

And as for overtime pay, it's a merit that the company values you, so why bring up overtime pay?

This resulted in everyone being unwilling to do overtime, which naturally led to them trying to get someone else to take it on!

It wasn't until ten o'clock at night that Chu Mingcheng finally finished revising the proposal.

He stretched and looked around the empty office, cursing Boss Chen under his breath before packing up to go home and sleep.

But as soon as he picked up his phone, he saw a message from the blind date and opened it, causing his expression to change abruptly.

"I'm looking for someone who can be with me often. You must have to work overtime frequently, right?"

"If we were together, you wouldn't be able to be by my side. You're not the kind of person I'm looking for. Let's just leave it at that..."

Slowly putting down his phone, Chu Mingcheng sat on the chair, staring blankly for a long time, drained.

It wasn't so much because he was sad about being rejected by the blind date; after all, the two had only exchanged photos and chatted for three days, never having met in person.

He was just wondering if this was really the life he wanted.

His monthly salary was just seven thousand, yet he often had to work overtime without conditions.

In the county town, life was indeed not too bad, but he was in a coastal city in the south. Even in the county town, the cost of living was not lower than in some provincial capitals in the northwest region.

So, after he bought a car worth a hundred thousand in cash the year before last, he didn't have much left.

Because of work, his girlfriend had left him.

Because of work, he had lost three potential matches from blind dates.

All of a sudden, Chu Mingcheng felt that life like this was so meaningless. Sadly, to survive, he couldn't throw these proposals back in his face, and even if he was manipulated in all sorts of ways, he could only bear it.

Rubbing his face, he took a deep breath, pressing down all kinds of emotions deep inside his heart, ready to go to the seaside to clear his mind.

Although it was quite late, at this moment, he needed to vent all the negative emotions in his heart.

Chu Mingcheng had always had this habit.

When he was tired, uncomfortable, or unhappy, he would go to the seaside alone. If there was no one around, he would even shout out loud.

The seaside was open and spacious, unlike the cramped office, and this environment made him feel particularly relaxed.

The place Chu Mingcheng went to was actually his hometown.

His hometown was on a small island located in the southern part of Zhe Province.

Initially, Chu's father had purchased a house in town specifically so his son could attend school there, after which the entire family had moved to live in the town.

As for the old house back home, it usually remained empty, though they would occasionally return for a few days during holidays to play.

Chu Mingcheng himself didn't live at home, either. Traveling from town to the county city company by bus would take nearly an hour, so he simply rented a place near the company.

Having bought a car the year before last, he chose not to move back home, but having the car did make it convenient for him to visit his old home to have fun.

After all, being an island, there were plenty of activities like boat fishing, beachcombing, angling, and camping that men never seemed to tire of.

About an hour later, after crossing the sea bridge that connected the island with the town, Chu Mingcheng finally arrived at the beach he frequently visited.

On a normal day, if it happened to be low tide at eleven o'clock at night, one might occasionally see one or two people beachcombing.

But today, the beach was bustling with a crowd of people constantly picking up things, leaving Chu Mingcheng dumbfounded—what was going on?

Upon reaching the beach, the scent of the ocean hit him, and under the glow of the flashlight from a nearby beachcomber, a sandy beach teeming with lively mud shrimp caught his eye.

"Tss—" No wonder the beach was full of people; who wouldn't take part in picking up money when the opportunity presented itself!

Not just that, but even fishmongers had been drawn to the scene, conducting transactions right on the spot.

Without a second thought, Chu Mingcheng immediately drove back to his old house, grabbed all the buckets he could find, and hurried back to the beach to join the money-picking frenzy.

Just as he picked up a fresh mud shrimp that was fifteen centimeters long, not counting its claws and tail, a data panel suddenly appeared in his mind.

[Aquatic Bestiary (Level 0)]

[Current Experience: (1/50)]

[Unlocked capturing tools: Hand, Fishing Gear]

[Maximum Aquatic Level: 50]

[Aquatic Species: Mud shrimp]

[Special Abilities: None]

[Note: All functions of the Aquatic Bestiary are only effective on wild aquatic creatures!]

Chu Mingcheng blinked; was this the Golden Finger, and it's only effective on wild aquatic creatures?

Aquaculture: Who are you looking down on?

But how come there's no introduction feature?

He examined it up and down for a while, and this so-called Aquatic Bestiary didn't contain any other information, except for the words "Mud shrimp," which were highlighted in blue—was that the key point?

He tentatively clicked on "Mud shrimp" and, unexpectedly, the data panel changed.

[Mud shrimp, also known as Prawn (Level 0)]

[Current Experience: 1/10]

[Size +0% (Larger fish of the same species are more likely to bite, influenced by a percentage chance)]

[Tastiness +0% (Fish with higher fat content and better quality meat are more likely to bite, influenced by a percentage chance)]

[Catching Probability +0%]

Seeing this data panel, Chu Mingcheng had a bit of an epiphany.

Friends who have played games would understand this data panel almost immediately; judging from the current experience of 1/10, that '1' must be the number of mud shrimps he had just caught.

The '10' that follows is likely the number of mud shrimps he needs to catch to level up, after which the (Level 0) next to mud shrimp would probably change to (Level 1).

If that's the case, the previous data panel showing a maximum level of 50 indicates that the mud shrimp's level cap is 50.

As for all the 0% values, those are probably attributes that would increase upon leveling up.

But as to how much the attributes would increase, he would only know once he caught ten mud shrimps.

With the beach full of mud shrimp, he wasn't worried about not being able to level up.

As for the experience value of the Aquatic Bestiary, it might be related to the number of species unlocked. Maybe if he caught other creatures later, he would find out.

But for now, the most important thing was to keep picking up money; such opportunities were rare indeed.