Chapter 775: Chapter 443: Advancing to the Top 16_2

Liu Xiaotao, who had figured it out, slapped his head. Perhaps because he was emotional, he didn’t notice the force he applied, resulting in a resounding smack. Instantly, Liu Xiaotao felt a burning sensation on his forehead.

Next to him, Zhang Yang was focused on casting his rod for fishing. Hearing the smack, he was startled and turned his head, only to have a soul-staring encounter with Liu Xiaotao clutching his forehead.

"What’s going on, buddy? If the fish aren’t biting, they’re not biting. No need to slap yourself!" Zhang Yang commented casually, as if nothing was amiss.

Already feeling down, Liu Xiaotao felt even worse hearing Zhang Yang’s words.

"Damn it...," Liu Xiaotao said, irritatingly scratching his head, almost spitting blood. If it weren’t for fear of being reprimanded by the referee, he would have already cursed.

"Young man, don’t be so angry! Get some herbal tea to cool off..." Zhang Yang said flippantly, just as the bobber gave a bite. He lifted the rod and hooked another fish!

...

During the final round of the competition, Liu Xiaotao was in a state of torment. The other anglers in his group gradually caught some carp, significantly improving their catch levels.

Zhang Yang was in control of the rhythm of catching fish, getting faster and faster, linking lines towards the end.

On the other hand, Liu Xiaotao was misguided by Zhang Yang’s few words, causing a rough start and subsequently falling behind at every step.

By the end of the thirty-minute final round, he hadn’t caught a decent fish, losing his chance to advance to the next round.

"Attention all anglers, ten seconds remain until the end of the competition. When you hear the ending whistle, put down your rods and wait for the staff to weigh your catch! Countdown 54321, the competition is over!"

With the sound of a whistle, Zhang Yang put down his rod and breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the fish conditions were a bit turbulent in the morning, from no bites to bites happening gradually, Zhang Yang leveraged his strong fish condition judgment ability to seize opportunities at critical moments.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiaotao ignored everything after the whistle, removed the main line and crumpled it, shoved the rod into the rod bag without wiping it, dumped the fish net into the pond, and started heading out with his gear before the staff came.

"Hey! You young angler, what are you doing! No weighing, no early departure allowed!" The scene controller referee noticed the young angler violating the competition rules and hurriedly stopped him.

Liu Xiaotao looked at the referee, spat on the ground: "I’m quitting, don’t care about the score!"

Throwing down a harsh remark, Liu Xiaotao left towards the exit without turning back.

Zhang Yang watched Liu Xiaotao leave, shaking his head expressionlessly.

Ah, young and reckless!

He managed to get into the top 32, even if eliminated in the 32 to 16, he’d still earn some points and some prize rewards. But now, with this move, his participation points and rewards are gone. If he runs into a particular referee, he might even get a warning. He was just one notch away from completing, but he forfeited. This is an act of losing composure.

Seeing Liu Xiaotao leave the arena in anger and shame, Zhang Yang felt a subtle sense of accomplishment, having achieved his goal through strategic emotional manipulation of his opponent. Zhang Yang felt his practical skills had improved.

Soon, the staff completed the weight verification for everyone. Zhang Yang’s total catch weighed 23.7 kilograms, over forty pounds of fish, unquestionably taking first place in his group and successfully advancing to the top 16.

Zhang Yang signed the confirmation of his results; the morning competition concluded. He packed his gear and casually walked out of the competition area.

Seven or eight meters away from the exit, Liu Zi was waiting, quickly stepping up to take Zhang Yang’s rod bag.

"How did it go, Brother Yang? You made it in, right?"

Zhang Yang grinned: "Absolutely! How did your brother Fan and Brother Cheng do?"

Liu Zi replied: "They should be fine too. They performed moderately in the first two rounds but caught some fish later! Xiaobao is probably out, didn’t catch any notable fish!"

"Alright, we’ll find out more once they come out!" Zhang Yang nodded, not overly concerned.

Reaching the top 32, Zhang Yang was quite satisfied with Xiaobao’s performance. The FTT competition mostly attracts circle anglers, unlike some commercial competitions where amateur anglers enter. The competition is at a relatively high level, so given Xiaobao’s skills, reaching the top 32 is acceptable.

A few minutes later, Xiaobao, Meng Fan, and Han Mocheng emerged carrying their gear.

Observing carefully outside, Liu Zi did notice Xiaobao’s poor performance, showing a downcast face upon coming out.

"Xiaobao, didn’t make it?" Zhang Yang asked.

Xiaobao pouted: "Don’t even mention it! Tried every trick in the book, but no bites at all! If it weren’t for a slightly improved bite in the last two rounds catching two fish, I would have gotten a zero score, bald! Bottom of the group, out!"

"What about Brother Fan and Young Master Han? What’s your situation?"

Meng Fan replied with a smile: "15.1, not bad, second in the group, advanced!"

Han Mocheng: "I got 17.3, noticed poor bites and shifted to targeting crucian carp, then caught some carps! First in the group!"

Zhang Yang nodded after hearing his teammates’ reports: "Three out of five made it into the top 16, that’s not bad!

This afternoon, the competition enters the private double-elimination rounds, with TV coverage all day, pressure’s on!

Let’s go find a place to eat, then rest at the hotel, get our state ready!"

"Afternoon, going on TV?" Hearing this, Meng Fan brightened in anticipation.

"Yes, starting with the top 16, it’s all live!

However, if there’s a star angler in the team, most cameras will focus on them, like Hua Clan’s Wang Chao and Tianyuan’s Huang Zheng, likely receiving special attention from the hosts!

By the way, the afternoon’s competition is a small crucian carp count match, double-elimination, things get real intense, testing your everyday skills!"

"What’s the double-elimination rule?" Liu Zi didn’t quite catch it and asked again.

Zhang Yang explained: "Double-elimination is the rule for entering the top 16. It’s divided into four groups, four people each, with two-on-two PK matches over three rounds. Whoever loses two matches first is eliminated! The remaining two advance to the top 8!

After entering the top 8, the top 8 breakout matches continue with the same rules, divided into two groups for three matches, double-elimination! The remaining ones advance to the top 4!

Entering the top 4, another round is played tomorrow morning to decide third and fourth places. The afternoon is the final championship battle, best of five matches."

"Whoa, does that mean it’s all 1v1 PK matches after?" Xiaobao reacted with a hint of nervousness upon hearing Zhang Yang’s explanation.

"Yes! 1v1, see what you’re made of!

The high value of FTT partly lies in its arrangement of the competition system, there’s a chance of luck earlier.

After reaching the top 16, you battle all group opponents once, wins and losses entirely depend on personal skill and on-the-spot performance!

Short rounds for the small crucian carp count competition, lacking skill, or unable to handle the pressure, slightly off state, you’ll be toppled!"

"I’m glad I got eliminated; the thought of being watched by so many while competing is scary!" Xiaobao patted his chest with lingering fear.

Witnessing this, Han Mocheng glanced at Xiaobao with a playful mix of irritation: "Geez, where’s your nerve! Never seen you shy when chatting up the front desk girl, yet you’re nervous fishing in public!"

Xiaobao knew he’d shown his nerves but didn’t explain, just smiled sheepishly.

Meanwhile, the others, after hearing Zhang Yang’s detailed rule explanation, felt a growing anticipation for the afternoon and tomorrow’s matches.