Chapter 5: Human Traffickers?
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The mechanical system suddenly started beeping, and at the same time, the dusty ropes gleamed with a faint white light. This scene really did have the feel of a magical forest.
The interface from when she opened the blind box appeared before her eyes, except now the interface content had changed to the use of the fishing net prop.
She curiously examined the panel, which, in addition to the source of the fishing net and the number of times it could be drawn, also included an automatic fishing button and a manual operation aperture.
According to the system explanation, automatic fishing means that after pressing the button, you don't need to worry about it, it will directly complete the action of catching and harvesting fish, and the host can sit back and enjoy the fruits of the labor.
Manual operation requires manually casting the fishing net and waiting for the aperture to enter the red circle range on the panel. Then, pull up the rope to catch all the detected fish. If the aperture hasn't entered the red circle range or has been in the red circle range for too long before you pull up the net, the number of fish will decrease or they will all escape.
The manual aperture control was a familiar setting to She Ning, seemingly similar to the setting of a farming and life simulation game she played in her later life.
The automatic fishing button is gray. She Ning tried pressing it several times, but the fishing net didn't respond. It seems that the "incomplete" part mentioned on the item description means that automatic fishing is not possible.
It was a little regrettable, but since it was an unexpected find, She Ning wasn't greedy. She turned around and pressed the manual operation button. With a flick of her wrist, the rope-like fishing net flew out of her hand and instantly transformed into a common net shape. The fishing net was precisely positioned above the school of fish, with white circles flashing. The closer it got to the red circle, the faster it moved.
With lightning speed, just as the light circle entered the red circle, She Ning pulled on the other end of the fishing net rope. Whoosh, the weight in her hand almost pulled her into the water.
Fortunately, this fishing net has a kind of immobilization effect. When the light circle enters the red circle and the rope is manually pulled, everything in the net belongs to the system by default. In the fishing net produced by the Magic Forest, there will be no phenomenon of fish struggling desperately in the net, as is the case with ordinary fishing nets.
Thank goodness! If the fish had struggled, she would definitely have fallen into the water today. She Ning loosened the rope in her hand, letting the fishing net soak in the water.
"Beep, the system has detected that the host has acquired a total of 108 native fish species from Earth, which can be exchanged for 20 points. Do you wish to proceed with the exchange?"
Compared to a mid-range gift box.
In other words, she has already recouped her investment this time, and the remaining two opportunities are all gains.
She Ning looked at the types of fish in the fishing net on the interface. Most of them were common fish such as crucian carp, tilapia, carp, and grass carp. Villagers often caught them and sold them. They weren't worth much money, so she chose to recycle them and exchange them for points.
"108 fish recovered, 20 points paid." After the system finished broadcasting, the rope in her hand suddenly felt lighter; the fish were gone, and the fishing net, once pulled up, had reverted to its original shape as a hemp rope.
Sure enough, on her system interface, the points count had changed from 20 to 40.
She Ning happily rowed her small boat away from the patch of water plants. The river was long, so she rowed the boat to another area with lush water plants and cast the rope again, just like before.
This time I gained even more, earning 30 points, and even bargained with the system to keep two large grass carp and a very beautiful, golden carp.
Wearing a straw hat and enjoying the cool river breeze, She Ning was almost reluctant to leave. Unfortunately, the fishing net tool could only be used three times, but that was enough. For her last chance, She Ning planned to go to the waters that her grandfather used to frequent.
The perch from the brackish water is more tender and flavorful than those from ordinary rivers. Grandma She has a poor appetite, so steamed perch is perfect for her. The fish is easy to eat and provides high levels of protein and various vitamins needed by the human body.
That stretch of water was close to the sea, and to get across it, you had to cross a bridge. As She Ning rowed her boat across, she could vaguely hear someone shouting something in the distance.
She looked back. There was no one on the bridge. The reeds on the bank were tall and dense, and she couldn't see what was happening on the other side of the road. The sounds of people had disappeared, leaving only the rustling of the wind blowing through the reeds and the occasional splash of fish jumping out of the water.
Human traffickers? Was that what the voice was calling? She Ning stood on the boat, turning back three times to try and see nothing. There was no movement on the shore either. She then found a better spot to moor the boat.
In real life, apart from being abandoned at birth, She Ning has always had a smooth life. Her grandparents took good care of her, and she has met kind people along the way. She has only seen the wicked things in society on the news.
However, for people like human traffickers, they are simply hell on earth, and they don't deserve any forgiveness or sympathy no matter how many times they die.
Compared to later generations, society in this era still has many imperfections, and human traffickers are even more rampant, making it very difficult to catch them.
Better safe than sorry, She Ning cautiously went ashore. Just like in the various system novels she saw in later generations, the blind box system also had a shop. She Ning got 30 points the second time, and her total score was 70 points > 50 points. A convenience store icon appeared in the small corner of the upper right corner.
As expected of a blind box system with extremely high freedom, where you have to figure everything out on your own.
Before disembarking, she redeemed a bottle of pepper spray with 5 points. It was said that pressing the spray button could take down an elephant on Earth in one second.
After observing the surrounding area, She Ning swept the reeds with a large bamboo pole, flattening a large patch of them. She then swept away the water hyacinths on the river surface. Finding nothing there, she finally put her worries aside.
Sigh, I'm just scaring myself.
Back on the ship, She Ning reached out and rubbed her face, which was a little stiff from the wind, and joked to herself.
Taking the fishing net out of the bamboo basket, the dusty rope still glowed with fluorescence, but unlike the previous two times, the system's prompt was different.
"A large fish has been detected underwater. Do you want to activate the net fishing mode?"
Large fish? She Ning was curious. She had caught some big fish in the previous two times. She estimated that several grass carp and silver carp weighed about 20 kilograms, and the largest one might have weighed 25 kilograms.
The grass carp and silver carp we usually see only weigh 5 to 10 kilograms, but the fishing nets produced by Magic Forest are really powerful; they can probably catch the ancestors of grass carp and silver carp directly.
The fish was too big, and She Ning was tempted, but she still had the system recycle it directly, earning her 1 point.
A 25-kilogram fish wouldn't warrant a system notification, but now the system is proactively reporting the detection of a large fish underwater. She Ning's curiosity has been thoroughly piqued by the system.
Bass can be caught with ordinary fishing nets. If that doesn't work, just cast the net a couple more times. The chance of encountering a large fish that the system alerts you to is not something you usually get to see.
Manually press the fishing net button.
With a practiced flick of her wrist, the rope transformed into a fishing net in the air, and then...
She Ning and the boat were pulled up the river by the rope, the river wind howling and stinging her face, until they reached a patch of water plants about a few dozen meters away from where she had just stopped. The fishing net fell precisely onto a patch of water plants, and then the light circle began to flash.
She Ning hadn't quite recovered from the thrilling speed of the flying spaceship, but her eyes and hands were already working in perfect coordination. As the light circle touched the red circle, she tightened the rope. This time, the weight wasn't as heavy as the previous two times, which puzzled her.
"Beep, a relatively large fish has been caught. Not redeemable for points." As the net tightened, the system's cold voice rang out.
She Ning was dumbfounded when she pulled the net up; she hadn't even paid attention to what the system's last words were.
Where are the fish we were promised? Where are the larger fish?
In the fishing net, what is that middle-aged man with a reed stalk to his mouth, wet hair hanging down his forehead, bruises on his face, and a cunning look in his eyes?
Is it a large fish?
Oh, humans with fish lips are fish too.
System, you're so boring.
She Ning was initially shocked and didn't react immediately, but later she calmly accepted the explanation. The system often talked about free exploration, so this time it might have a deeper meaning.
The man was submerged in the water and knew to use reeds to breathe, which meant he had planned it. Moreover, apart from the bruises, his face was clean, and his nasolabial folds and crow's feet were very deep, showing that he was a person who often smiled. However, he gave She Ning a very bad feeling, and she felt genuinely disgusted when she looked at him.
Suddenly caught in something, the man thought for a moment that he had been exposed and struggled to make a last-ditch effort, but for some reason, he couldn't break free from the thing that was trapping him.
He was almost ready to give up when he surfaced and his eyes lit up. It was a teenage girl. Children that age are the most compassionate and the easiest to fool.
"Little sister, your fishing net..." He slowed his speech, his tone gentle, and with his smiling eyes, he really did seem kind and approachable.
"No way!" She Ning said bluntly, and with a flick of her wrist, she sprayed him with pepper spray.
The system's products are always of high quality, and it worked perfectly. He fainted instantly.
Within the properties of the fishing net, the man couldn't struggle or run away, but She Ning didn't want to listen to him.
When she caught fish before, she noticed that there was a small button next to each fish. Clicking it would show detailed information about the fish, including its species, age, weight, and so on.
After pulling the person out of the water, She Ning followed her heart and clicked on the details of the human with the fish's lips. She was furious as soon as she saw it.
Chen Heping, male, 51 years old, from Dayang Village, Hongqi Brigade, Hongqi Town, L City, occupation: human trafficker, who has trafficked 5 women and 3 children.
They were human traffickers!
She hung the rope to the stern, tilting the man's face upwards so it was above the water. She then poled the boat, preparing to dock and find the police. After using up her three chances with the fishing net, her magic skill would be lost, but she wasn't afraid of exposing the net to everyone.
She Ning went upstream, and just as her boat was about to reach the shore near the main road, a person suddenly appeared from the reeds ahead.
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