Farming Games are All About Grinding

[You have reached the 86th level of the mine.]

The scenery of the mine's 86th level remained as fiercely intense as ever.

As his vision recovered, Han Qiwu once again saw a dozen Cave Worms crazily charging toward his position.

"Little Ice, deal with them."

After tossing out the gigantic spider puppet, Han Qiwu didn't even look back, taking out his pickaxe and starting to strike the nearby iron ore deposits.

He needed to hurry down to the 88th level to find the scroll.

The small figure floating in the air, Xiao Dian, felt inexplicably restless.

It flew around for a moment, but before it could attack, it noticed that all the Cave Worms had already turned into white light.

Looking at Little Ice, Xiao Dian suddenly fell into self-doubt.

How odd. Xiao Dian felt a strange discomfort when its master asked it to work, but when its master didn't assign it tasks, it began to feel a small sense of loss.

What's going on?

Quietly gnawing on a rock nearby, Xiao Lai instantly saw through the confusion in Xiao Dian's mind, shaking its head helplessly and calling out twice: "What's wrong with you? Stop thinking so much. Think about your little lady bird—you'll know what to do."

"Oh."

Xiao Dian understood.

Little Ice was just a puppet and couldn't find itself a wife.

No matter how well it performed, the master would still find me a spouse!

Having sorted this out, Xiao Dian leisurely perched on a stone next to Xiao Lai, idly moving. From time to time, it advised Xiao Lai, "Eat slowly, don't eat overly hot food. I heard on TV that people who like eating hot food easily get esophageal cancer."

Xiao Lai: "..."

I'm a Slime. I definitely won't get esophageal cancer.

Han Qiwu's luck was pretty decent over here—in just ten or so minutes of mining, he found the staircase leading to the next level. He called Xiao Dian, Xiao Lai, and Little Ice to join him before proceeding further.

[You have reached the 87th level of the mine.]

Last time, due to a mining disaster, he hadn't had the chance to check out this level.

As his vision recovered, Han Qiwu heard the sound of objects scraping in the distance. The noise was like a "swish, swish, swish" sound, oddly familiar.

"What's that sound?" Han Qiwu struggled to recall.

When his peripheral vision caught sight of Little Ice, he understood.

It was the sound of spider legs scraping against the cave walls.

"Prepare to fight." Han Qiwu quickly found a few large rocks for cover, cautiously watching the direction the sound was coming from.

Next to him, Xiao Dian and Xiao Lai rapidly fused together, one focusing on charging up electricity while the other gathered strength, making their battle preparations.

Ten seconds later.

A large red spider, comparable in size to Little Ice, began lumbering heavily toward Han Qiwu's direction.

To adapt to its environment, the spider's shell had evolved into a harder, crab-like exterior that was fire-resistant. However, this came at the cost of mobility, as it had lost the agility spiders typically possess.

Nonetheless, its web-spinning skill hadn't entirely disappeared. As it approached the boulder Han Qiwu was hiding behind, the spider turned sideways and suddenly sprayed thick bursts of reddish-brown spider silk from two spinnerets on its sides.

"Little Ice, just entangle it," Han Qiwu issued the order before the reddish-brown silk reached him, then quickly pulled out a fire crystal and began charging up a blue fireball.

Upon receiving the command, Little Ice rapidly scuttled over to the large red spider. Without hesitation, it lashed out with one of its legs.

"Smack."

The blow dealt damage, unlocking the spider's attributes for Han Qiwu.

[Earthfire Spider]

[Level: 88]

[Attack Methods: Earthfire Spit, Spider Web Interception]

[Notes: Excellent at close-quarters combat]

As indicated by the notes, although Little Ice's leg attack didn't cause significant damage, the Earthfire Spider caught the opening in its defenses and counterattacked, reducing Little Ice's durability by quite a bit.

At this moment, the Earthfire Spider's reddish-brown silk had already reached Han Qiwu's surroundings, sealing off the paths before and behind him while also blocking his line of attack.

"Get out of my way."

Han Qiwu, while charging his fireball, tried to kick the spider silk apart.

What he hadn't anticipated was that these spider silks weren't silks at all—they were more akin to spider ropes.

The adhesive quality typical of spider silks had completely vanished, replaced by a heat-resistant toughness that not only blocked pathways but also raised the surrounding temperature.

There was no way to kick them apart.

"Poison Liquid Radio, get rid of those, and make it quick," Han Qiwu, still focused on preparing the blue fireball, gave commands to deal with the situation. He was too busy to handle it personally.

Upon receiving the order, Xiao Lai moved its jaws before spitting out venom.

The airborne venom split into four streams, each targeting one end of the spider silk.

Right after, Xiao Dian generated an electrical mist nearby and shot forward as a streak of lightning.

"Sizzle."

The air carried the smell of burnt protein as the spider silk vanished in response.

"Nice work!"

Han Qiwu praised them, releasing the blue fireball he'd been holding back.

"Little Ice, dodge."

The blue fireball, moving at an incredibly fast pace, struck the clumsy Earthfire Spider within seconds.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion echoed in the hallway of the mine.

With the blast, pieces of the spider's shattered red shell embedded deeply into the surrounding rock walls, while blue flames erupted across its body.

The damage was colossal!

"You heavy types are my favorites," Han Qiwu remarked gleefully as he grabbed his ice sword and rushed forward, slicing at the spider's legs.

He hadn't forgotten: the lightning rod at his home still needed materials crafted out of this spider's appendages.

He aimed to chop off as many as he could. The more loot he obtained, the better the chance for item drops.

The Earthfire Spider writhed in furious agony, madly flailing its remaining legs to attack Han Qiwu.

Yet, with the chilling effects from the ice sword accumulating, its attack speed had decreased by 35%. Its strikes were now like slow-motion, making it easy for Han Qiwu to avoid.

After cutting off three of the spider's legs, Han Qiwu suddenly sensed the temperature on the Earthfire Spider's body spike rapidly.

"Spitting lava next, huh?"

Feeling a warning in his gut, Han Qiwu retreated several steps in the opposite direction of Xiao Dian and Xiao Lai, creating more distance.

Sure enough, the Earthfire Spider's attention was drawn by his movement. It changed direction and tilted its head back to produce a harsh sizzling sound, then spewed scorching lava toward Han Qiwu.

"Spitting anywhere you like—that's pretty uncivilized," Han Qiwu muttered, promptly turning and bolting away.

It's just lava. Keeping one's distance would suffice.

Watching Han Qiwu run farther away, the Earthfire Spider was overcome with rage.

In its usual hunting scenario, this damned bug should have been drenched in lava by now!

From a hundred meters away, Han Qiwu glanced back to check the situation. In the distance, he noticed that the Earthfire Spider's body had shrunk significantly, its coloration dimmer.

Tch, tch. Spitting all that out has worn you out, hasn't it?

Well then, let me send you back home.

Han Qiwu turned back and launched his offensive, dispatching the Earthfire Spider in seven or eight strikes, turning it into a thick burst of white light.

"Clang!"

A sudden, clear sound rang from his ice sword, followed by a prompt appearing on it:

[Ice Sword Progress (2/5)]