However.
Just as Chi Cheng was about to press the left mouse button.
His hand suddenly froze.
The excitement on his face gradually faded, replaced by extreme caution!
"No... something's not right."
"Hold on."
"Guys, I'm not buying the gear just yet."
The chat was filled with question marks.
[Why?]
[Upgrade!]
[Isn't bait better than worms?]
[That ancestral bamboo rod is bound to break sooner or later.]
Chi Cheng's expression was very serious.
"You don't understand."
"I'm already wary of Zhaoxi Games."
"The last game, 'I Picked Up the Imperial Jade Seal!', I trusted it too much."
"I thought if I worked hard, enfeoffed talents, and organized the community, I could definitely take on the Xinghai Group."
"And what happened?"
"It showed me."
"But it wouldn't let me in."
Chi Cheng's voice even carried a hint of genuine resentment as he spoke.
"So this time, I'm not rushing to upgrade my gear."
"I just want to know one thing."
"Can the later maps in this game be unlocked? We absolutely can't repeat the same mistake this time!"
The chat erupted in laughter.
[Hahaha, a man scarred by the Jade Seal.]
[Chi is now as cautious as someone who's been cheated out of a dowry.]
[Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of ropes, that's the psychological shadow left by the village chief.]
[So what now? Save the money for the next generation?]
"No buying gear! Absolutely not!"
"Worms aren't unusable! Didn't I just catch a big fish with them?"
Chi Cheng's eyes became incredibly determined, and he decisively closed the tempting store interface. His mouse moved swiftly across the screen, directly clicking on the globe icon in the upper right corner labeled [Map].
"I don't want anything right now, and I don't care if this broken bamboo rod can catch big fish. Even if I die today, even if I go bankrupt catching nothing, I must see if this game has a second map!"
"If this game can't even get past the Village Entrance Wild River, I'll never spend another penny on Zhaoxi Games in my life!"
The regional map interface unfolded.
A huge hand-drawn parchment scroll appeared on the screen.
Apart from the currently lit [Village Entrance Wild River], there were four other gray areas shrouded in thick fog of war on the scroll!
And next to the mud pond, a dotted line connected to the next area.
In bold letters, it read: [City Park Lake].
Below the area name hung a small golden lock, with a clear number beside it: [Unlock Condition: 200 Gold Coins].
Chi Cheng glanced at the balance in the upper right corner of the screen; the wild big carp he just sold earned him 25 gold coins.
Which meant he was still over a hundred short of unlocking the next map.
He couldn't unlock it immediately.
But this number completely put Chi Cheng's anxious heart at ease.
"Guys, did you see that?"
Chi Cheng slapped his thigh and let out a long sigh of relief.
Because this felt different from 'I Picked Up the Imperial Jade Seal!', 'Great Angler' at least laid out the conditions clearly.
"As long as there's a clear price, as long as I can see a progress bar, it means there's definitely something beyond this map!"
"Isn't it just a few more gold coins? It's just a matter of catching a few more fish!"
"As long as I can confirm I can leave the Beginner Village, even if it's 50 gold coins, even if it's 500 gold coins today, I'll grind them out!"
The chat was buzzing with excitement.
[That's right, there's hope! The Great E Empire may have fallen, but the angler's journey has just begun!]
[Quick, quick, quick, while the fish are biting, cast another line!]
[Is that broken bamboo rod's durability still enough? Don't let it break later.]
Chi Cheng was full of confidence, just about to reach for the mouse, but his hand suddenly stopped in mid-air.
It was as if he remembered something, turning his head to look at the shelf next to his computer.
"Wait, guys. Just now, when I was fishing, the system seemed to pop up a message saying this game strongly recommends using a controller for better force feedback?"
Chi Cheng rubbed his chin.
He reached out and took a top-of-the-line vibrating game controller from the shelf, skillfully plugged in the data cable, and connected it to the computer.
"Fishing with a keyboard and mouse is ultimately separated by a screen."
"Today, I'll try using the controller to see what kind of fancy feedback this ten-dollar single-player game can provide!"
Connection successful.
A small controller icon immediately appeared in the upper right corner of the game interface.
Chi Cheng sat up straight again, holding the controller with both hands.
"Here we go, second cast."
Following the system's button prompts, he pushed the joystick to select the drop point, then held down the right trigger to charge.
The moment he pressed the trigger, Chi Cheng's expression changed.
"Huh?"
The controller emitted a very slight, yet exceptionally clear vibration.
"Here we go!"
Chi Cheng released the trigger.
"Whoosh..."
Accompanied by the sound of the line cutting through the air in the game, the controller delivered a crisp, clean recoil vibration the moment it was released!
"Plop."
The float hit the water.
Chi Cheng held the controller, initially intending to chat a bit more with the viewers.
But soon, he realized the controller was indeed different.
When the float was still, the controller had almost no feedback.
Just a very light water flow vibration, like the fishing line gently swaying with the water surface.
This vibration was so weak.
So weak that it could be ignored if not carefully felt.
But precisely because of this, when something underwater touched the bait, that slight vibration became very noticeable. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Chi Cheng's expression changed instantly.
The force feedback in this game was too well done!
"Huh?"
"Guys, it seemed like something just touched it."
"Did Zhaoxi Games pour their entire budget into the physics engine?!"
Before the chat could react, the float gently bobbed again.
This time, a short vibration came from the right side of the controller.
It wasn't the fierce tug of a big fish biting the hook.
It felt more like a subtle, tentative nibble.
Again and again.
The amplitude was small, but the controller clearly conveyed that fine vibration.
Chi Cheng's expression turned serious.
"Guys, did you see that? Did you see that! There's definitely something going on!"
"This kind of tentative bite, based on my years of watching others fish in various livestreams, there's definitely a cautious old sly fish underwater!"
The chat also grew tense.
[Shh, don't make a sound, careful not to scare the fish.]
[Is it really this amazing? A ten-dollar game can even convey the tentative bite action through the controller?]
[Streamer, stay calm! Waiting for a big float dive!]
[You were just saying critical playtesting, now you don't even dare to breathe loudly.]
[Little fish: Don't rush, let me taste the saltiness first.]
Chi Cheng's eyes were fixed intently on the screen, on the small red-tipped float.
The float twitched nervously on the water surface, then suddenly dipped lightly.
Now's the time!
"Get up here!!!"
But this time, there was no earth-shattering tug, nor did the fishing line run wildly.
The controller only gave a slight fluttering sensation.
Chi Cheng was momentarily stunned.
"Huh?"
"This force... doesn't seem strong."
He slowly reeled in the line.
On the water's surface, a small shadow was pulled over.
Soon, a small silver fish was lifted out of the water, flicking its tail in the sunlight.
A prompt appeared in the center of the screen.
[Successfully Caught: Wild Minnow]
[Weight: 50 grams]
[Quality: Common]
[Experience Gained: +1]
[Encyclopedia Unlocked!]
Chi Cheng: "..."
Livestream Room: "..."