Farming Games are All About Grinding

At the moment the golden carp took the bait, the small pond it had inhabited earlier began to boil. The overflowing golden water, under some mysterious power, surged forward persistently against the mist.

A few seconds later, the golden water broke through the mist.

The second phase of Mist Forest was unlocked.

The cobblestone path from earlier transitioned into a slate road here. On either side of the path lay an impenetrable darkness, sparse and stunted trees stood lifelessly, their desolation hinting at some unknown catastrophe.

Han Qiwu stowed the golden carp away and instructed Little Electric and Xiao Lai to wait for him here. Alone, carrying a lit torch, he ventured onto the slate road.

The darkness on both sides of the slate road emanated an inexplicable sense of magic.

It was stifling.

Han Qiwu didn't go far. He soon noticed that the torch's visibility was terribly low, extending only about five to six meters.

After a few steps, he left the slate road and stepped onto the soil, bending down to scoop some dirt in his hands to examine it.

The soil was barren and heavily saline-alkalized.

After glancing at the surrounding dead trees and the ones barely clinging to life, Han Qiwu furrowed his brows. What on earth had happened here in the second phase?

Whatever. Let's chop down some trees first.

These trees seem to suffer just staying alive.

Hopefully, they'll come back as joyous family garden trees next time, happily soaking in the sun and rain, growing tall and strong.

"Crack!"

With one swing of the axe, a dead tree toppled over.

[Wood]×1

"Not bad. The required chops needed for dead trees have dropped to just one now. Although the yield is a bit low, overall it's quite cost-efficient," Han Qiwu remarked with satisfaction and resumed chopping.

After ten minutes, he had amassed a total of [Wood]×26.

Aside from that, there wasn't much else to collect.

It made sense; with trees on the brink of death, expecting them to produce something like frozen sap was wishful thinking.

Suddenly, a sinister gust of wind blew in from behind a dead tree, extinguishing his torch instantaneously.

Han Qiwu reacted swiftly. He quickly set down his shield at his feet and rolled away from his original position.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three heavy, flesh-and-blood impacts struck the spot where the shield now stood.

[Night Dead Wolf]

[Level: 70]

[Attack Methods: Death Wind, Blend into the Night]

[Note: They're not supposed to be here.]

"What the heck?" Han Qiwu lit another torch, and by its light, saw three massive wolves that seemed to embody the substance of night itself circling the shield.

Spotting the torchlight, the leftmost Magic Wolf abruptly inhaled deeply and blew fiercely at the torch in Han Qiwu's hand.

Death Wind.

"Courting death, are we?" Han Qiwu dashed forward wielding his ice sword, slashing fiercely at them.

Oddly, this time the ice blade failed to trigger its bleeding effect, and the wounds he inflicted disappeared almost immediately.

Physical attacks weren't cutting it, so Han Qiwu decided to try magic instead.

A blue fireball shot out, instantly throwing the three Night Dead Wolves into utter chaos. The highly adhesive blue flames inflicted massive damage upon them and, within seconds, reduced them to white light.

"That worked well! I need to tell Blue Firebird to spit some more flames later," Han Qiwu said, walking forward with his torch while retrieving the drops with his magnetic ring.

[Night Dead Wolf Meat]

[Inedible]

[Note: It's the Sunflower's favorite fertilizer.]

"Sunflowers? The kind that sway and bob around?" Han Qiwu chuckled, glanced around, and decided he'd return to further explore next time.

After a few hours of toil, he felt exhausted.

Exiting Mist Forest, Han Qiwu sighed at the two little tagalongs nearby who had caused all the trouble.

Next time, he'd have to visit Little Merchant to see if there was anything to stash pets away in.

If it weren't for those two, he could've just torn open the scroll and gone straight home.

Little Electric was long accustomed to its master's sudden expressions of disdain. It didn't feel odd at all; it even brazenly approached him, attempting to beg for a Mist Fruit.

"Play me a tune, something with electronic beats." Han Qiwu mounted his horse.

"Cha-cha-cha-cha, cha~cha-cha-cha."

Who knew where Little Electric had snuck off to watch TV, but it sang out an electronic remix of the nightly news opening theme.

And honestly, it was pretty catchy.

Upon returning home, Han Qiwu wasn't stingy and threw a Mist Fruit to it.

"Good work deserves a reward."

After showering, Han Qiwu prepared a simple meal.

No sooner had he finished eating than Ding Xuebo's call arrived.

The timing was impeccable—Han Qiwu had just planned to call him to inquire about the situation.

The mission was critical, after all.

"Old Han, I remember you said you were in Water Buffalo Town, right?" Ding Xuebo's voice sounded somewhat hoarse and anxious, as if he'd caught a cold.

Han Qiwu chuckled and replied, "That's right, why? Don't tell me you failed to catch that alligator gar."

"Cough, cough, how did you guess? I'm telling you, someone must've released that alligator gar. It's ridiculously smart—it knows how to avoid us and even fights a guerrilla war! When we set up the encirclement, a rookie couldn't hold the line and let it escape."

"Don't tell me it swam to my Water Buffalo River?" Han Qiwu joked, seizing the chance to see Ding Xuebo in a bind.

Ding Xuebo immediately felt embarrassed and deflected, "How the heck am I supposed to control where it swims? Luckily, during the chase, I managed to stick a tracker on it. Based on its current trajectory, it should arrive at your place tomorrow. Find a narrow stretch of river, and we'll nab it there! You absolutely have to help me out with this—you can count on dinner on me later."

"No worries. What time will you come tomorrow?" Han Qiwu asked.

"Let me check with my senior." Ding Xuebo turned to a thirty-something man next to him for confirmation.

After getting an answer, he picked up the phone again. "Around nine in the morning. I'll bring seven or eight people with me."

"Alright, see you tomorrow." Han Qiwu had initially planned to treat him to some food, but hearing that he'd bring seven or eight people, he wisely avoided making any offers—it was unaffordable.

After the call, Han Qiwu walked over to Hospital River and tossed the golden carp into it.

"Splash!"

The golden carp swiftly scanned its surroundings upon entering the water, quickly finding a fishless spot near the surface to settle.

Strangely, as it stayed there, the nearby water gradually turned a faint gold hue, covering an area of about three meters.

Han Qiwu tore off a piece of green algae and threw it into the golden zone.

"Eat up, eat up. I'll check the effects of this golden mineral water tomorrow."

After feeding it, he surveyed the courtyard, contentedly found an empty spot, and began practicing *Youthful Energy*.

Big world, huge sky—but exercising is most important.

He kept practicing until Little Prince and Little Shui returned. After wiping his sweat, Han Qiwu chatted with them casually, reviewed the day's gains, and headed inside for a shower before going to bed.

A fulfilling day.