For the entire afternoon, no one saw any sign of Gyarados until the sun was about to set, when Gyarados returned, carrying two skipjack tuna, each over a meter long.
For some reason, there was no emotional fluctuation in Gyarados's eyes, and he didn't seem to hear Chichi greeting him; he just put down the skipjack tuna and lay back down in the yard.
"What's wrong with Gyarados?" Chichi asked Mu Li.
"Uh..." Mu Li hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's probably post-training fatigue? He'll be fine in a day."
"Really?" Chichi expressed doubt.
"Don't worry, tomorrow he'll be a brand new Gyarados!" Mu Li snapped his fingers, and Gengar, with perfect understanding, threw a Hypnosis.
"Let him rest in his Poké Ball. There's no Pokémon Center around here, otherwise, resting at a Pokémon Center would be best."
Chichi, half-believing, recalled Gyarados and stood in front of the two skipjack tuna: "How do we deal with these two big guys?"
"Sashimi! Sashimi!" Mu Li exclaimed excitedly, "Of course, such fresh skipjack tuna must be eaten as sashimi!"
Huang Xiaochu, however, looked a bit troubled: "But I don't know how to prepare this either."
In the end, everyone paid the price of one and a half skipjack tuna to have the production team help prepare them.
"Speaking of which, why do we only eat fish every day? We haven't even had oysters, crabs, or eels..." After eating and drinking to his fill, Mu Li began to speak with a touch of insatiability.
Huang Xiaochu retorted, "Come on, what are you complaining about when you have skipjack tuna to eat? It's all thanks to Gyarados, otherwise, we'd only be eating vegetables."
"That's not entirely true; at least the ingredient bag provided by the production team still has pork and chicken," He Lin added.
"I suspect there's something wrong with the fishing gear provided by the production team," Mu Li said angrily. "Director Wang, you must have tampered with the fishing tools."
Wang Xiang sneered, not bothering to pay any attention to Mu Li.
"How about, A Li, you try not going to retrieve the net tonight?" Zhang Xiaofeng suggested.
"Sister! Even you don't believe me?" The world around Mu Li immediately lost its color.
"Huh? No? How could I not believe you?" Zhang Xiaofeng said calmly.
"Then why don't you want me to retrieve the net?" Mu Li questioned.
Zhang Xiaofeng explained, "I just have absolute faith that you'll come back empty-handed, that's why I'm advising you not to go."
Pfft...
Mu Li spat out a mouthful of old blood and collapsed directly onto the ground.
After a unanimous vote by all members, Mu Li was left behind to play poker with Huang Xiaochu and He Lin.
"Teacher He, I think I should still go pick them up? It's dangerous for them to be out so late," Mu Li tried to argue.
"You just stay here and play cards with us; Chichi is over there," He Lin unhesitatingly rejected Mu Li's suggestion.
"I think they will definitely come back empty-handed," Mu Li said, unwilling to give up.
"Oh really?" Huang Xiaochu said dismissively, "Don't worry about them. Even if they come back empty-handed, they can go again tomorrow. Anyway, it's not the first or second time we've come back empty, so one more time won't matter."
Mu Li always felt that Huang Xiaochu's words had a hidden meaning, as if he was mocking him, but he had no proof.
"Damn it! It's Chichi Ge's first time here, must I let him experience the pain of coming back empty-handed?" Mu Li muttered with a dejected expression.
Huang Xiaochu rolled his eyes and said to He Lin, "Isn't this child tired of acting so much every day?"
He Lin shrugged, "You'll get used to it."
He Lin looked at Mu Li and said, "A Li, how about you sing a song for us?"
Mu Li sighed and walked to the keyboard. As his fingers danced, a cheerful rhythm began to play.
"Fishing, fishing, what fish did I catch? Look, I caught a little goldfish..."
"Fishing, fishing, what fish did I catch? Look, I caught a grouper..."
...
Huang Xiaochu almost spat out a mouthful of water: "A Li, what song are you singing? A children's song?"
"No! This is the song of my heart!" Mu Li choked out.
He Lin couldn't help but cover his eyes: "I can't bear to watch. Such a good child, ruined by fishing. People get addicted to fishing because they've caught fish and enjoy the sense of accomplishment, but this child has never caught a single fish, so how can he be so obsessed?"
Huang Xiaochu sighed, "If it doesn't work out, let's take him lobster fishing later? Those are easy to catch."
"Is it possible that it's not about whether fish are easy to catch, but rather this child's physical constitution?" He Lin complained.
The two complained back and forth, and soon they welcomed back the main fishing party.
Mu Li heard the boat's engine from afar. Before everyone even entered the door, he saw Mu Li running out quickly, shouting as he ran, "How was it? How was it? Did you not catch any fish?"
No one spoke; they just held back their laughter, silently carrying two buckets past Mu Li.
Didi deliberately said, "So tired, this bucket is really too heavy."
As Chichi walked past Mu Li, he deliberately knocked over the bucket: "Oh, the lid fell off! Was it pushed open by a fish?"
"No way?" Peng Xiaochang echoed, "It must be that there were too many fish, and the lid couldn't close tightly."
The two sang and harmonized, completely ignoring Mu Li, who had already turned into a plaster statue beside them.
Didi, however, glanced at Mu Li and said to Chichi, "Is this kid going to be okay?"
Chichi retorted, "He's not that fragile. He has nothing else to do every day but put on a show. I don't know why he became a singer; he would have been so much better as an actor."
It wasn't until everyone had reached the Mushroom House that they heard Mu Li's tragic wail: "No! My life is over!"
Chichi sighed and shouted at Mu Li, "Stop yelling! Get ready to roast some squid; we caught a lot of it."
The next moment, Mu Li suddenly appeared beside Chichi, revealing a fawning smile: "Brother, you even caught squid? Teppanyaki squid is delicious!"
Chichi couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Such a character..."
For Mu Li, what was coming back empty-handed, what was dignity—nothing brought him more joy than food in his mouth.
It must be said that fresh seafood straight from the sea tasted incredibly good; the most delicious ingredients often only required the simplest preparation.
Steaming and grilling brought out the freshness and aroma of the seafood to the extreme.
After enjoying a delightful seafood barbecue, Mu Li had completely forgotten about fishing.
"Fishing? What's that? Isn't fishing just for eating?" Mu Li said stubbornly.
Even Peng Xiaochang sighed, "Someone's memory can truly rival Magikarp's."
However, what no one knew was that the next day, before dawn, Mu Li secretly went out to sea alone with his fishing rod. This time, he didn't even notify the production team. He just took a GoPro to record the entire process of his trip, aiming to document his catch.
To prevent everyone from worrying, he even left a note: "I've gone fishing. If I don't catch anything, I won't come back."
Huang Xiaochu and He Lin saw the note Mu Li left after waking up early, and their mouths twitched: "This child is truly persistent."
Then, the two directly taped the note to the most conspicuous spot on the door, so that everyone passing by could see it.
Chichi and the others also gradually woke up: "Where did A Li go? He's been gone since early morning?"
He Lin didn't answer; he just strangely pointed to the note on the door.
Chichi said helplessly, "What on earth is this kid thinking?"
"Teacher He, is A Li not planning to come back?" Peng Xiaochang said with a laugh.
"I estimate he won't be able to come back in this lifetime," Chichi mocked mercilessly.
Suddenly, a crackling sound erupted from inside the room. Before Chichi and the others could react, they saw Mu Li walk out of the bedroom.
"No, A Li, didn't you go fishing?" Peng Xiaochang's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Hehe..." Mu Li sneered, "What fishing? Peng Peng Ge, what nonsense are you talking about? I've been sleeping since last night until now!"
"But... but..." Peng Xiaochang pointed at the paper on the door. Before he could finish his sentence, Mu Li expressionlessly tore the paper down and threw it into the air.
"Big! Character! Explosion!" Mu Li gritted his teeth.
Only a sigh was heard from Ninetales, and a flash of flame later, the paper instantly turned to ash.
"What paper?" Mu Li blinked, as if nothing had happened, and looked at Peng Xiaochang, asking, "Peng Peng Ge, what paper are you talking about?"
Peng Xiaochang stared dumbfounded at the few ashes still floating in the air, wanting to say something, but Chichi covered his mouth.
"Don't ask anymore. Can't you tell?" Chichi said helplessly, "He must have come back empty-handed again, so he's pretending he never even left the house."
Peng Xiaochang was stunned: "There's such a move?"
"You'll get used to it," Chichi said helplessly. "What outrageous things can't this guy do?"
Zhang Xiaoyang happened to pass by, saw Mu Li, and casually asked, "A Li, you're back? How was it? Did you catch any fish?"
"Fishing? What fishing?" Mu Li blinked, pretending nothing had happened, "I've been sleeping this whole time, Ge. I just woke up."
Zhang Xiaoyang was about to ask something else when Zhang Xiaofeng walked over from the side and reminded him, "Ge, A Li's current persona is that he didn't go fishing and has been sleeping at home until now."
As she spoke, Zhang Xiaofeng glanced at the empty bucket nearby, and Zhang Xiaoyang instantly understood, showing a speechless expression.
On the other side, Peng Xiaochang had already run to the kitchen to spread the news.
"This kid probably has an empty-handed debuff," He Lin sighed. "He's truly hopeless."
Mu Li had completely forgotten that with his aura blessed by Legendary Pokémon, what fish would dare to appear around him, let alone that he was riding a Gyarados? The only fish he might be able to catch would probably be that bighead carp.
Hmm... or maybe Psyduck, Slowpoke, Magikarp...
That should be about it, after all, there aren't many silly Pokémon...
While Mu Li's daily segment was underway, a group of people wearing red National Team uniforms gathered at the village entrance and walked towards the Mushroom House.