A total of eighty people signed up for the mixed fish competition, with mixed fish taking up half the spots, forty people. Among them, Qian Wenjun has a say with the local anglers, totaling about a dozen to twenty. Statistically speaking, after some maneuvering, the probability of sitting next to Zhang Yang is actually quite high, almost reaching half.

This kind of unruly behavior is no secret in the local fishing circles of Wa City. It's generally used to deal with outside anglers who are like dragons crossing the river. The referees are familiar with them, and with a little effort, they can assist in the seat exchange operation and are happy to offer help for favors in return.

Only the two people exchanging seats, plus the referee, know about this process, and outsiders have no way of discovering Duan Ji because it's secretive enough, and there's never been an issue before.

Even if sporadic information spreads after the fact, the deed is done, and without evidence, appeals are useless. The goal has long been achieved, and it's too late for anything.

Thus, in secret, arrangements regarding Zhang Yang were quickly agreed upon, just waiting for the draw to enter the fourth round.

The break ended, and the sound of gathering for the draw came from the workbench.

Zhang Yang, along with Liu Zi, Meng Fan, and the others, strolled to the front, and after waiting for a while to hear his name called, quickly went on stage to draw a number.

Number 05!

An okay position, not particularly good, but definitely not a dead position either. Zhang Yang was very confident in the power of his shrimp bait cannon, so his emotions were very calm before entering the field.

On the other side, Qian Wenjun and Xiao Wei were a bit nervous. A probability of about fifty-fifty seemed significant, but there's also an element of luck involved. Zhang Yang drew a five, and what if four and six were strangers from outside? The previous plan would then be completely aborted.

Fortunately, luck wasn't on Zhang Yang's side during the draw. When it ended, an angler named Liu Tinglong drew a four, right next to Zhang Yang.

Liu Tinglong was an angler in Ma Xiaofei's group, somewhat famous in Wa City, and he knew Qian Wenjun and Xiao Wei.

In the previous three rounds, Liu Tinglong's performance flopped in one, so his hope for a good ranking was almost nonexistent.

For the sake of performance, covertly exchanging positions, considering the several hundred to a thousand yuan benefits at stake, was still acceptable.

After the draw, Qian Wenjun simply mentioned it to Liu Tinglong, and he quickly agreed.

A one-thousand-yuan under-the-table red envelope led him to agree to swap fishing spots with Qian Wenjun, while Qian Wenjun handled the adjustment of their seat numbers on the draw record sheet by contacting the referee.

Soon, the draw was over. Zhang Yang casually headed to the fifth spot with his fishing box on his back.

Meanwhile, Qian Wenjun also lagged a bit, seated in the white 26-liter Daiwa fishing box right next to Zhang Yang at the fourth spot.

"Wow, such luck, we're right next to each other!" Qian Wenjun approached Zhang Yang, pretending to be very surprised.

Zhang Yang felt a jolt when he saw that Qian Wenjun was next to him at the fourth spot.

With his rich experience in competitions from his previous life, Zhang Yang did not believe in such nonsense about coincidentally being next to someone due to luck.

Forty contestants in the mixed fish pit, and two happened to be next to each other—a probability of one-fortieth. Mathematically, this probability is already quite low; such coincidences don't just happen.

The last time Meng Fan ended up being tricked by Qian Wenjun's teammate in Jincheng, and now Zhang Yang was next to Qian Wenjun himself. This entire affair seemed suspicious no matter how one looked at it.

Moreover, previously, referee Chen Guangzu had been caught stealing bait and attempting to get close to Zhang Yang, and all these details combined to give an impression of impure intentions.

"Hey! Even though we have an agreement on fish-cutting, there's no need for that expression upon seeing me, right?"

As Zhang Yang was pondering rapidly, Qian Wenjun shamelessly added a remark, seemingly dissatisfied with Zhang Yang's current expression.

Zhang Yang quickly composed himself, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile: "Look at what you're saying, it is indeed quite fortunate! But being next to you isn't good luck at all; I'd rather be as far away from you as possible!"

"Haha, when it comes to fish-cutting, regardless of the bet, you have to honor it! It's all about skill, the art of fishing! Being next to each other is just a testament to ability!

You've performed well in the first three rounds, so in the fourth round, I, my friend, will bring out my lifelong learning with fervor, and we'll have a good matchup!"

Someone unfamiliar with Qian Wenjun might mistakenly think his upright and impassioned words suggest he's a decent guy, but to Zhang Yang, they sounded utterly hypocritical—every single punctuation mark was untrustworthy.

"Alright, let's spar if we're going to spar!" Zhang Yang nodded, thoughts racing through his mind.

The competition is like a battlefield. To be the one smiling at the end, one must stay highly vigilant at all times—Meng Fan got deceived by Qian Wenjun last time, and Zhang Yang had no intention of repeating that mistake.

After all, Zhang Yang was the top combat force in his team, while Qian Wenjun's side had experts like Xiao Wei, who was nearly at a professional angler's level.

If this moderately skilled piece, Qian Wenjun, traded positions with Zhang Yang, a superior piece, Xiao Wei's victory in fish-clipping could become highly possible.

Suddenly, Zhang Yang had an idea.

He glanced at the fishing rods prepared before him, deliberately put them away, then turned back to the rod bag behind him to switch to another rod.

Simultaneously, Zhang Yang secretly turned on the recording function of his phone, slipping it into the side mesh pocket for water bottles and miscellaneous items of the rod bag stand, casually adjusting the angle and aiming the phone lens at Qian Wenjun at the adjacent fourth position.

In such a setting, bringing a rod bag into the venue is very common for anglers. After taking out rods, leaning the rods open and resting them behind is also very normal.

Zhang Yang's detail of swapping rods positioned him slightly behind Qian Wenjun, and with Qian Wenjun already having hidden intentions, he didn't notice a thing.

Having prepared all this, Zhang Yang calmly returned to his fishing spot, resuming pre-match preparations and waiting for the competition to begin.

In the last round of mixed fish, Zhang Yang was still using the aggressive fishing method of shrimp paste bait and shrimp cannon. He had reserved all the fresh shrimp meat, mixing up a full basin of scatter shot bait with large chunks of shrimp.

While scooping the scatter shot from the basin into the bait box, Zhang Yang spoke with double meanings: "I heard from Xiao Fan that you experts are quite skilled at silencing the neighboring spot!

Last time, Xiao Fan suffered from this; now that you're next to me, are you planning to serve me the silence package too?"

"Look at your words, rumors, definitely rumors! It was just bad luck with drawing a dead position and poor fish situation; I don't have such abilities!"

Qian Wenjun's face looked slightly unnatural, hurriedly shaking his head under Zhang Yang's gaze.

The old saying goes: a guilty conscience. Qian Wenjun's performance at this moment was the truest display of a guilty conscience—his tone insecure, gestures stiff, appearing a bit unnatural.

"That's what I thought, it must've been bad luck with the fish situation for a bald result. Fishing mixed species in Sun Bay, with such density, it shouldn't result in a bald catch, right? What do you think?"

"Uh, I also think we shouldn't go home empty-handed! The previous rounds of mixed fish had quite good results!"

"Well then, that's good!"

Zhang Yang didn't continue to press on, nodding with a smile, letting his gaze linger on Qian Wenjun for a second, giving him a meaningful look.

Although this verbal exchange seemed to have no substance, it was deliberately orchestrated by Zhang Yang.

Through the conversation, he intended to create some psychological pressure on the opponent so that they would hesitate before making a move.

Coupled with Zhang Yang's heightened state of alertness, this approach aimed to keep him relatively safe, avoiding being duped without a clue.

Qian Wenjun's body language and tone had already provided Zhang Yang with some feedback—this guy didn't seem as bold as Meng Fan had claimed; after a few sentences, his expression stiffened.

Faced with Zhang Yang's 'talking technique,' even this scheming guy couldn't hold his own!

The preparation time after entry quickly passed, and all anglers simultaneously lifted their rods for casting. The final round of competition officially began!

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