"So confident?"

"Must be confident!"

"Alright then, I'll report honestly! They're waiting for my news there!"

"Good!"

...

After hanging up, Zhang Yang woke up completely, not a trace of sleepiness left.

Although the contract didn't have any restrictive clauses, Zhang Yang proposed the plan this time, with Liu Xingyun assisting in reporting it. If it messes up, it won't affect Zhang Yang much, but for Liu Xingyun, it's not a minor issue. This involves Old Liu's impression with the higher-ups.

Thinking about things, Zhang Yang was a bit distracted, holding his phone and turning around to go back inside, coincidentally bumping chest-first into Liu Wenjun not far behind him.

"Ouch!" Zhang Yang was momentarily stunned, reflexively extending his arm to block.

Luckily, Liu Wenjun reacted quickly and sidestepped to avoid it.

"What are you doing? Didn't see you guys at lunch!" Liu Wenjun asked with a smile, showing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Received a call from the platform's leader! After lunch, I took a short nap in the prefab room! You must be thinking about the fermented grain, right? I'll get it for you!"

"Alright, thanks! Your teammates are resting inside, so I won't go in!"

"Just a moment!" Zhang Yang gently pushed open the door and walked inside.

As soon as Zhang Yang turned around, Liu Wenjun's expression changed from harmless and friendly to something sinister, with a hint of cunning and malice underneath the smiling facade.

Needless to say, Liu Wenjun unintentionally or intentionally overheard the content of Zhang Yang's call just now.

A minute later, Liu Wenjun left with the fermented grains he had thick-skinnedly asked from Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang glanced at his phone; there were 18 minutes until start time, still enough to sit for a bit inside.

Meanwhile, Liu Wenjun quickly walked towards a nearby shaded canopy where their friends were gathered with the fermented grains in hand.

"Xiao Ding, how much did you guys catch this morning with Erwa? If you perform well in the afternoon, what's the potential for your overall score?" Liu Wenjun asked his companions seriously.

"It's alright. Yesterday, we were first in the group, and this morning's fishing was also decent. We probably have about over a hundred pounds in total! What's up, Teacher Liu?" Xiao Ding asked.

After hearing Xiao Ding's answer, Liu Wenjun turned to look at Erwa.

Erwa replied, "I was third in the group yesterday, but I performed well today, catching a thirteen-pound big carp this morning! Currently, I'm at the top of the big fish single-entry list! Why are you asking, Brother Liu?"

After hearing the achievements of his cooperative anglers, Liu Wenjun quickly made up his mind.

Zhang Yang had such confidence while calling the platform; if left unchecked, he might really have no chance in the afternoon.

Old Liu himself did quite well in the morning; if not placed next to Zhang Yang, achieving top two or three in the group wouldn't be difficult.

But being in the same group as Zhang Yang, there's hardly a chance for tied ranking, even losing by a fraction means no chance at claiming the championship.

Given these realities, Liu Wenjun felt it necessary to adjust the strategy. If he could successfully halt Zhang Yang's performance in the second half, his teammates theoretically still had a shot at the championship.

Saying it in words sounds awkward and hard to understand; a simple analogy like Tian Ji horse racing model fits here.

Liu Wenjun, an upper-grade horse encountering Zhang Yang, also an upper-grade horse, lacked confidence deep down; the last few grass carp in the morning already made him aware of the disparity in catches.

Blood-pitting all the way without flexibility could end up with himself being toppled off.

Competition ranking is based on point system; first looking at points, if points are tied, then checking individual events. If Old Liu avoids directly pitting against Zhang Yang and instead intentionally affects the other's fish catches, then Xiao Ding and Erwa in other groups have a chance.

With reasonable arrangements and a bit of luck, perhaps the million-dollar championship prize could be won, and when split among the brothers, the money received would be much more than getting second, third, or even worse positions.

Seeing this, many people might gripe that Liu Wenjun's mindset is too dark. Zhang Yang provided him bait, exchanged fish insights; on the surface at least, he has shown courtesy, but this guy seems ungrateful, so why so sinister?

Reality is this harsh; in the face of real interests, small favors, or so-called surface brotherhood, familiar face cannot sway the final decision.

Obviously, between gaining Zhang Yang's surface friendship or the million-dollar prize, Liu Wenjun has made his choice.

Liu Wenjun ripped open the two packs of fermented corn he held, poured them into a basin, then divided it into three, evenly sharing with Xiao Ding and Erwa.

Liu Wenjun explained, "This is Zhang Yang's competition paste dip!

After the mouth stopped in the morning, he used fly lead to dip this stuff for paste fishing, catching at least four or five grass carp!

With midday heat like this, I guess the fishing bite won't be great in the afternoon either; try if the grass carp will bite!

In the afternoon competition, I'll pursue score while disrupting his rhythm; perform well! Whether you can feast depends on today afternoon!"

The two were also seasoned, immediately understanding the essence after Liu Wenjun spoke, evidently Old Liu had made up his mind, ready to go all out this afternoon.

"Alright, we'll follow your lead!" The trio discussed and thoroughly implemented their tactical plan.

... 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Before long, the loudspeaker called for gathering and entrance once more; anglers who took short lunch breaks heard the call and gathered at the fishing ground entrance. Once time arrived, they energetically entered and returned to their respective fishing spots.

Zhang Yang similarly followed the crowd back to his fishing spot, casually picked up small scissors from his fishing box, cut open the strap, and under the referee's guidance, the afternoon match continued!

Nearing the end of the morning, Zhang Yang had set quite a few nests directly in front of the fishing spot; starting the afternoon's first cast, he habitually double-hooked and scooped two soft, sticky baits, without dipping pellets, directly casting into the nests.

After all, it was an hour of idle time; if the nest activated, fish might bite the bait!

However, the idea was rich, the reality was quite harsh; Zhang Yang cast several rods in the eight-point nest position, but there wasn't a single bite.

Even immortals have difficulty fishing midday fish, the fish proverb was right!

No bites in the nest, Zhang Yang's small hope fell flat, and from the next cast onward, he resorted to the fly lead paste ball technique again!

No bites at the bottom? Try the process, soft sticky baits don't work? Switch to paste balls, midday with high temperatures.

If he could fool a few grass carp into the net, then after three o'clock when fish descend to the bottom to eat, adjusting to respond promptly, championship is promising!

With this mindset, Zhang Yang started high-frequency and steady rod casting just like in the morning.

Large fly lead, paste balls dipped in grains, casting every thirty to forty seconds consistently never stopping.

And as for Liu Wenjun on Zhang Yang's side? After formulating the afternoon's battle plan, he also firmly followed Zhang Yang's casting rhythm.

Regarding casting fundamentals, reaching Liu Wenjun's level enough to earn fishing king status, fundamentals certainly aren't lacking, but these not lacking, if dissected more finely, there's variance in quality too.

Compared to ordinary anglers, Liu Wenjun's fundamentals are solid, but compared to Zhang Yang, who is young and at peak physical condition, he's slightly behind.

Not to mention anything else, just sitting and casting the seven-meter-two long rod using fly lead paste ball method, even the casting frequency, Liu Wenjun couldn't keep pace with Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang would cast around every thirty-five to forty seconds; as for Liu Wenjun, each cast took at least forty-three or forty-four seconds on average. After several consecutive casts, the rhythm was disrupted.

It's not that he doesn't want to speed up; rather, this has reached the limit of what he can handle, pushing any further risks deformation of actions.

What to do? What to do? Realizing he couldn't keep up with the rhythm, Liu Wenjun's mind raced.

Suddenly, a bright idea struck his mind—he had it!