Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 593 - 580: The Beach Old Sailor! King Squid Acquired!
"Coo, coo, coo, coo."
Upon waking up, Han Qiwu looked puzzled. Since when did the house have pigeons?
Glancing at Tang Qingying, who was still fast asleep, he tiptoed outside to the courtyard only to find Little Lei as the source of the sound.
"Little Dian, teach your wife how to make proper sounds. Of all things, why learn to coo like a pigeon!" Han Qiwu waved his hand to wake up Little Dian, who had worked overnight, and handed over three Mist Fruits and two large Mist Pinecones.
"Poof, poof."
Freshly awakened Xiao Lai jumped up upon seeing this and reached out for pinecones.
"Go do your chores first, I'll give them to you later." The ruthless Han Qiwu waved him off and headed to the kitchen, where he started a fire for breakfast while checking his log.
What he saw shocked him.
Wait.
What was this situation?
He had anticipated his mining skill might level up, but he hadn't expected it to jump two levels all at once!
How satisfying was this?
He hadn't checked out the Level 9 Gemstone Duplicator just yet but instead turned his attention to the two progression paths available for miners.
After comparing them briefly, he chose the Master-Level Miner path without hesitation.
The reason was simple — the Master-Level Miner path, whether in reducing smelting time or boosting occupational skills, fit perfectly with Han Qiwu's urgent resource needs.
As for the other path involving coal mining, he did like it too, but since resources in the Thunder Secret Realm could replenish his needs, it wasn't worth sacrificing the bonuses of the Master-Level Miner route.
[Congratulations on successfully becoming a Master-Level Miner]
Having finalized his profession choice, Han Qiwu now called up the attributes of the Gemstone Duplicator.
[Gemstone Duplicator]
[Materials: [Battery Pack] ×1, [Iridium Ingot] ×2, [Gold Ingot] ×5, [Rock] ×99]
[Effect: It can continuously duplicate gemstones placed inside over a certain period]
[Note: Only replace the gemstone after each duplication has succeeded. Do not place other materials inside.]
"So it's used for duplicating gemstones?" Han Qiwu's first thought was to use it to duplicate jade and later exchange them with the peddler for stairs to mine with.
But thinking deeper, it seemed like this gadget had other worthwhile uses. Find an expensive gemstone and slowly duplicate it — free money!
It's not scientifically sound, but it's delightful.
While Han Qiwu was still working on breakfast, Tang Qingying had already woken up. She tidied the quilt, hugged Han Qiwu briefly, then excitedly dashed to the cow shed to milk the cows.
This was her newfound hobby over the past few days — in her words, freshly milked cow's milk was the best.
A while later, Tang Qingying returned with a full pot of milk, boiled it, and gleefully scooped the creamy top layer. "By the way, how's the mining skill upgrade reward?"
Han Qiwu nodded and said, "The reward isn't bad. Take a look yourself. Also, I leveled up twice this time and even switched careers to Master Miner."
"That's so fascinating!" Tang Qingying's eyes lit up. While feeding Han Qiwu a piece of the creamy top layer, she checked its attributes.
The warm, creamy layer was rich in milk aroma, soft and smooth — every bite was delightful.
Having eaten a piece of the creamy layer, Tang Qingying also finished checking the attributes. She patted Han Qiwu's shoulder and said, "When we have more jade later, we'll no longer need to slave away in the mines. We could get everything done with just an hour of effort every day. Much more efficient."
Han Qiwu nodded. "From the looks of it, the planting skill is also close to max. Today, I'm heading out to fish to earn extra money. You stay home and lock down any special templates you encounter. Our family has money!"
"Got it~ My amazing husband!" Tang Qingying elongated her tone and laughed, hugging Han Qiwu's shoulder.
After a brief cuddle, Han Qiwu headed to the courtyard and crafted a Gemstone Duplicator.
Surprisingly, it only took ten minutes to make this gadget.
The completed Gemstone Duplicator resembled a washing machine. Opening the lid, Han Qiwu peeked into its pitch-black interior, where even a flashlight wouldn't illuminate anything.
Nevermind, he thought, and he tossed in one piece of jade.
[Jade duplication in progress, estimated time: 24 hours]
"That slow, huh? Only one per day." Han Qiwu frowned. To achieve the scenario Mr. Tang previously described, he'd need at least fifty Gemstone Duplicators.
That would require close to five thousand rocks!
Step by step, then.
Before heading off to fish, Han Qiwu casually slapped the TV to check on it, and Tang Qingying leaned over, curious to see as well.
[Weather Forecast]
Tomorrow: Thunderstorms
[Life Tip]
Seize the opportunity!
[Almanac]
Good: Exchange
Bad: Hesitation
[Shennong's Recipe]
[Are you prepared for an important moment in your life?]
[You've learned the recipe for handmade flower bread]
[Handmade Flower Bread]
[Ingredients: [Peanuts] ×3, [Red Dates] ×3, [Flour] ×3, [Dried Fruit] ×5]
[Special Effect - Joy: Words cannot describe it; consuming it brings comprehensive understanding.]
[Note: Holds deeper significance when made by hand.]
Upon seeing the weather forecast, Han Qiwu perked up. "There'll be thunderstorms tomorrow; it's the perfect time to gather some coal and battery packs."
"I'll come with you to explore this Thunder Secret Realm and see what it's like," Tang Qingying nodded. "But this almanac and life tip are kind of vague, don't you think?"
"Commonplace stuff — you'll get used to it," Han Qiwu replied before shouting in surprise, "Grandpa Shennong finally released another recipe! …But why is it flower bread? What does that have to do with life's important moments?"
Tang Qingying pondered briefly and suggested, "Could it be that the research institute has made progress again?"
Han Qiwu chuckled. "Doesn't matter; it's definitely good news. Keep it up; I'm heading out to fish. Still have mining and tree chopping to do later."
"Take a break if you get tired!" Tang Qingying waved her hand and said, "Bye-bye~"
"Heh heh."
Riding his little pony, Han Qiwu left home and headed straight for the Red Mangrove Secret Realm. Remembering the lack of seasonings back home, he planned to buy some supplies in town.
Passing by the seed shop, he suddenly noticed a glowing system notice posted outside the door.
"New seeds stocked?" Han Qiwu steered his pony closer to check.
[At noon on the beach, a mysterious old sailor from deep-sea islands may appear.]
As soon as he finished reading, the notice vanished.
Confused, Han Qiwu hadn't yet grasped the situation.
But upon linking it with today's life tip and almanac,
he began to understand.
Got it — heading to the beach at noon to wait for the old sailor.
Before waiting for him, though, fishing to earn enough money for Qingying to lock down templates was the priority.
In just a moment, he realized his pocket was lighter by 20,000 coins.
Let's go!
Upon reaching the Red Mangrove Secret Realm, Han Qiwu was delighted to find three hours of available fishing time today.
Pure joy.
It wasn't often he visited, so he decided to test his luck with the King Squid.
This thing must be worth at least several thousand!
Spending 6,000 gold, Han Qiwu bought twenty King Squid baits.
As usual, he started by catching Swordfish and Hammerhead Sharks to build up his skill count.
Feeling ready, Han Qiwu took a deep breath and threw the light-blue King Squid bait into the ocean.
The bait disappeared as soon as it hit the water; the surface remained calm.
"What's going on?"
"A fake bait?"
Han Qiwu stood for nearly half a minute, even tugging to check if the bait was still attached.
No problem there; the bait was indeed intact.
A minute or so later, the distant sea surface churned like dumplings being boiled. Numerous tentacles propelled the colossal 30-meter-long King Squid rapidly toward the bait.
Seeing the monstrous squid, resembling several segments of high-speed trains, Han Qiwu remained unfazed, calmly waiting for the fishing game to activate.
[Fishing Game Triggered]
[King Squid, Offensive Type, Skills: Ink, Tentacle Smash, Fishing Advice: Swiftly subdue the enemy]
In-game, the King Squid's body length matched Han Qiwu's floating bar length perfectly.
This was the largest marine creature icon he'd ever seen.
"Lucky I've maxed out my level before coming for you, or I wouldn't stand a chance," Han Qiwu muttered, immediately activating the shadow skill with the same name to occupy the entire fishing interface, steadily advancing the progress bar.
Unhappy with the situation, the King Squid quickly wielded two long, thick tentacles near its head to strike at the shadow covering it.
Unfortunately, its attacks were in vain.
After several strikes, the King Squid realized something was wrong and swiftly assaulted the real float while releasing its Ink skill.
"Snap!"
Instantly, Han Qiwu's screen turned pitch black — reminiscent of grade school homework mishaps with spilled ink.
[Advanced Thunder Technique]!
Seeing this, Han Qiwu quickly launched Advanced Thunder Technique to counter the King Squid's actions.
Five seconds later, the ink effect faded, and Han Qiwu's view returned. Fixing his gaze,
Well, damn — the float now had three cracks thanks to this beast!
"Looking for trouble!"
Han Qiwu promptly cast another Advanced Thunder Technique and Shadow Skill.
Meanwhile, he concentrated on keeping the float close.
The progress bar was already four-fifths complete — success was at hand!
Realizing it was losing, the King Squid abandoned its attacks and tried to flee.
But it was too late; ten seconds later, Han Qiwu successfully reeled it in.
[Congratulations on successfully catching the King Squid, awarded [King Squid Tentacle] ×5]
[King Squid]
[Selling Price: 16,000 Gold]
[Stamina Points: -600]
[Health Points: -500]
[Note: The sovereign of the sea]
[King Squid Tentacle]
[Stamina Points +300]
[Health Points +200]
[Special Effect - Energy Boost: Provides two hours of vibrant energy upon consumption]
[Note: Grill lightly to perfection!]
"This thing is ridiculously profitable!" Han Qiwu's eyes gleamed instantly.
Sixteen thousand!
Factoring in occupational specialization, selling it to the exchange point would net twenty-four thousand.
Ten units would bring in 240,000!
The thought alone brought joy!
Plus, it came with five squids' worth of legs — perfect for grilling!
This is too good!
Today's mission: fish for more of these!
Go, go, go!
