Chapter 3: The Upgraded Golden Finger

The fishing hook was bitten again by something, and without hesitation, Billy lifted the fishing rod. This time, instead of an empty rod, he saw a ring reflecting a green glow!

Billy: …………

Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. His fishing skill had to be flawed—how come he hadn’t caught a single fish, but instead kept pulling up these strange jewels?

Could it be that his fishing skill was actually for catching jewelry? Billy felt a surge of secret delight. If that were true, he might just strike it rich!

But he still had a nagging feeling that his lucky charm wasn’t quite so fortunate. Even if it truly was like that, selling these priceless jewels would be dangerous. London wasn’t the orderly city of later times; it was chaotic and lawless. Especially since he wasn’t middle class or nobility—he could easily be robbed or imprisoned because of this strange skill!

“Congratulations! Your fishing skill has leveled up to Level 1. Fishing success rate is now 20%. You have obtained the reward ‘Physiological Saline Conversion Technique,’ which allows you to convert any liquid into saline solution.”

Hearing the sudden voice inside his head, Billy felt completely off-balance. He was shocked that his lucky skill even had upgrade rewards, and that each level-up came with a voice prompt. More surprisingly, his skill was indeed meant to be upgraded!

But his current fishing success rate was only 20%. No wonder it took so long to catch just two items.

Still, why hadn’t he caught a single fish yet? This lucky charm was definitely malfunctioning!

While Billy was distracted, Holmes swiftly grabbed the fishing line and held the emerald ring glimmering brilliantly in his hand.

Watson was stunned, utterly unprepared for the scene unfolding before him. So fishing really could pull up jewelry! No wonder Holmes had boasted so boldly.

But this was bizarre. Could this little guy have some unique fishing technique? Watson, dazed and puzzled, glanced between the equally bewildered Billy and Holmes, finally unable to resist leaning in to examine the emerald ring in Holmes’s hand.

Just like the pearl necklace, it was obviously a valuable treasure!

But the culprit had thrown the jewels into the middle of the Thames. This was the lower reaches, where the river was almost 200 meters wide. The jewels had been submerged for only an hour or two. Even with the current, could they have been pushed so quickly to the shore?

Watson’s mind was filled with question marks. His scientific education was suddenly shaken. Perhaps this little guy had been blessed by some divine power, which explained his miraculous ability?

Unable to explain it scientifically, Watson felt he could only resort to theology, looking at Billy with awe.

Billy, coming back to his senses, was confused and had no idea what was running through Watson’s mind.

Though he had spent 18 years in London and his family had followed the trend of faith, the poor residents of the East End barely had energy to survive, let alone attend church regularly. For most, religion was merely a simple spiritual consolation.

Especially now that Billy had regained memories from his previous life, his already fragile faith had been cast aside, so he couldn’t fathom Watson’s line of thinking.

Still, he guessed that his bizarre lucky charm had aroused suspicion in these two men. But compared to others, these two well-known figures whom Billy trusted instinctively seemed unlikely to harm him upon learning the truth; instead, they might even help.

Especially Holmes—perhaps he would be intrigued by the strange ability and study it, offering Billy some extra reward?

Working at the docks was not a sustainable way to make a living.

Holmes cleaned the emerald ring and pocketed it, his gray eyes burning with intensity as if he had discovered a new world.

“Incredible, beyond imagination—truly a miracle. Little one, what is your name?”

“Billy…” Billy began to answer but suddenly felt something was off. His parents and close friends called him Billy, but perhaps that wasn’t his real name.

“No, it’s William—William Fish,” Billy said his true name, “but Mr. Holmes, you can call me Billy.”

Billy was a nickname, just as Tom was short for Thomas, and Bobby for Robert.

Probably because he had just regained his past-life memories and was confused, Billy felt that the more frequently used name was his true one.

But a nickname was still a name, so calling himself Billy was not wrong.

“Alright, Billy.” Holmes used the nickname without hesitation. “Obviously, you’re shocked by your own miraculous ability. We need to thoroughly test its limits and understand how it works. You’ve caught things with such rudimentary fishing gear—would professional equipment improve your success rate, or would it make no difference?”

“Of course, I’ll cover all expenses for this. Accommodation and meals for the next few days will be on me as well.” Holmes was as pleased as a cat discovering a new toy; he grabbed Billy’s hand and pulled him up from the riverbank.

“First, we’ll get you some well-fitting clothes, then we’ll buy proper fishing gear.”

Billy was dragged from the grassy patch, hopped into a carriage, and was taken straight to Baker Street by Holmes!

He was ushered into a bathroom to wash up. When he emerged, a set of fitting clothes was laid out, along with brand-new fishing equipment nearby.

“Change your clothes, then have a glass of milk. After that, we’ll set off.” Holmes leapt up excitedly, clearly impatient.

Billy quickly put on the surprisingly well-fitting clothes, switched to clean shoes, drank the milk in one gulp, and hurriedly followed Holmes’s brisk pace outside.

It felt like going to war. Billy had never known Holmes to be such a hurry.

But for a detective, seizing every moment to swiftly solve cases was an essential skill, so it made sense that Holmes was impatient.

Watson, Holmes’s partner, followed along. Though unknown what they discussed, Watson’s gaze toward Billy had returned to normal.

They arrived upstream of the Thames, away from the foul lower reaches.

Only then did Billy realize Holmes had brought fishing gear too. The two sat side by side fishing, while Watson took notes.

A comparative experiment, Billy thought.

Soon, Billy noticed something was wrong with his lucky charm. Without it, even a novice like him should catch at least one fish. Yet not a single fish had been caught.

As the voice in his mind had said, there was only a 20% chance of catching something.

More importantly, what he caught were all jewels. Cold sweat broke out on Billy’s forehead. This lucky charm seemed increasingly bizarre.

If Holmes hadn’t discovered it, Billy felt certain he would be dissected as a lab rat!

Fortunately, Holmes had chosen a secluded spot. Catching so many jewels in public would attract too much attention.

Holmes had also wisely brought a box, which was half full by nightfall.

Billy felt his lucky charm was downright absurd! Catching rings and necklaces with hooks was understandable—they had loops. But huge diamonds or other loose gemstones, not even set into jewelry, being caught? It was as if the fishing hook contained a magnet that attracted jewels!

Billy wiped the sweat from his brow, sneaking glances at Holmes and Watson. Even if these two were upright gentlemen, he doubted they could resist dissecting him to understand his ability—especially since Watson was a doctor!

“A 20% success rate—that’s remarkably consistent,” Holmes said, tossing his rod aside and examining Watson’s notes.

“This is nothing short of a miracle!” Watson sighed.

Billy felt he should start contemplating his fate. This lucky charm was just too much. It felt like the end of the line.

Just as Billy was drenched in cold sweat, the fishing rod in his hands suddenly tugged hard.

In that moment, Billy wanted nothing more than to throw the rod into the Thames and run away—maybe even jump in to escape.

He was almost afraid to reel in the line and see what was hooked.

But Holmes and Watson were watching him closely. If he dared to do that, his weak, recently ill body surely couldn’t stand up to these two strong men.

So Billy reluctantly reeled in, praying he wouldn’t catch anything this time.

His prayers were in vain. Under the faint gaslight, the catch still reflected a beautiful metallic sheen.

But when he grasped it, he realized something was wrong. It wasn’t a large precious gem, but just a plain, crudely gold-plated pendant box!