Seine Fishing

Press the post on the near bank and drag your finger into the river. The line you leave behind is the net itself, so the shape is yours to pick: a tight pocket against the bank, or a wide arc that reaches the far side. Carry it to the second post, let go, and the net closes and hauls everything inside it up onto the dock. Nothing rushes you. The fish drift downriver on their own, so you can hold the post and wait for a school to line up before you commit. What you do have to watch is the net. Every fish that catches in the mesh eats into the length you have left, and if you reach too far with too much weight on it, the line goes taut, sparks fly off the break, and the catch spills back into the water. Named fish work their way past you, each worth more than the last: mackerel and salmon at first, koi carp and pufferfish once you have grown, swordfish at the far end of the book. A golden one surfaces from time to time and pays ten times its weight. Everything you bring ashore is recorded, so the book fills in as you go. Coins buy three things, and you will want all of them: a longer net, a tougher one, and more fish in the water. Keep at it and the river itself widens, the view pulls back, and the pocket that felt generous a minute ago looks small. There is no final stage to clear. The water keeps coming. No account to make. Your book and your coins stay on the device.