Farming Games are All About Grinding

[Through the transaction, you have obtained 16,875 gold]

The bonus from the Fisherman profession really comes in clutch.

After selling two Deng's fish, Han Qiwu climbed back onto the reef to check the situation.

After waiting three to four minutes, he finally saw two Deng's fish dart out from behind the trench.

What he didn't expect was that the two fish swam straight toward the horizon without even looking back.

They cut through the waves with impressive speed.

Little Deng: "Dad, aren't we going for revenge?"

Big Deng: "Revenge? Forget it. Let's hurry back and eat some fish to regain our strength!"

"Well, it's good they ran off, as long as they don't wreck my reef," Han Qiwu chuckled. Seeing there was still some time, he ran over to haul up the crab cage, yielding [Lobster]×2, [Stone Fragments]×3, [Wood Splinters]×3, [Kelp]×2.

Time to wrap it up.

After leaving the secret realm, Han Qiwu rode his bike straight to the seaside, intending to catch some ordinary fish.

Fish from the secret realm may sell for a fortune, but not being able to eat them is endlessly frustrating.

Once he reached the trading post near the shore, Han Qiwu splurged 7,000 gold on two [Sturdy Floats] and one [Fishing Rod Float Slot Add-On].

The previous sturdy float was already chewed up and on the verge of being totaled by Big Deng's Fish.

[Golden Sun now has 1 float slot added]

[Float slot limit reached]

Done.

Now Golden Sun has two floats. I wonder if that'll make the fishing mini-game display two floats.

It'd be awesome if the float lengths could stack.

Daydreaming for a while, Han Qiwu sat by the shore, baited his hook, and started fishing.

*Whoosh*

He purposefully cast his line to the farthest edge of his fishing range, and the hook flew out, landing in the water at quite a distance.

A few seconds later, the float sank sharply.

Got a bite.

[Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp: Movement trajectory: ricochet. Skill effect: Burns the float, reducing its durability]

"Another Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp, huh?" Han Qiwu distractedly glanced around and realized he was almost exactly in the spot where he'd caught one of these previously.

Switching to the fishing mini-game, he took a quick look at his float.

Unfortunately, it didn't become two. Instead, a few lines of prompts appeared outside the game window.

[Currently equipped floats: Sturdy Float, Spinning Float]

[Special effects compatible]

[Please select a float appearance; default set to Sturdy Float]

"So it's just compatibility," Han Qiwu muttered, curling his lips. Looks like float lengths can't stack.

But if he could find a float that increases length in the future, equipping it might achieve the desired effect.

As for the appearance, he didn't plan to change it. He'd stick with the Sturdy Float.

It's durable.

The Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp in the game window was as restless as ever, hopping around uncontrollably.

Without using any skills, Han Qiwu wrangled the big float for a few minutes and reeled it in.

[Congratulations! You have caught a Scenic Shrimp: Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp from the Undersea Volcano]

[Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp]

[Stamina +50]

[HP +20]

[Special Ability - Super Heat Resistance: The intense temperature fluctuations grant it the ability to withstand high heat. Consuming grants temporary heat resistance.]

[Note: Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp on your hook can attract other volcanic creatures.]

"Looks like the Heat-Resistant Shrimp's special effect got an upgrade. Wasn't it just called 'Heat Resistance' before?" Han Qiwu frowned in thought.

Intense temperature fluctuations?

Could the undersea volcano erupt?

After considering the note, Han Qiwu had an idea. He'd seen fishing shows where shrimp meat was used as bait for sea fishing.

Since he wasn't in immediate need of the Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp, he figured he could just use it as bait!

Taking the shrimp off, Han Qiwu hooked it up directly without adding any bait and tossed it into the sea.

He watched as the hook with the Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp slowly sank, and the seawater grew darker with depth.

Suddenly, a shadow darted out and swallowed it whole.

Fishing mini-game triggered.

"That thing is fast. What kind of fish is it?" Han Qiwu curiously opened the guide:

[Volcanic Squid: Movement trajectory: ricochet. Skill effect: Pollutes float, temporarily disabling its special abilities]

Squid??

A Volcanic Squid??

It sounds like something straight off a barbecue stall menu.

In the game window, the squid's entire body was bright red, agile and fast, its dozen or so long tentacles swishing constantly. The icon was about the same size as the Swordfish, but even in the mini-game, it was fidgeting and jumping around.

"This thing would make an amazing barbecue snack," Han Qiwu said, pumped up, as he maneuvered the float to attack.

Before he could get close, the Volcanic Squid, sensing danger, spat out a mouthful of dark red ink at the float. The moment the ink landed, the float dulled and dimmed.

At the same time, the progress bar ticked up a bit, signaling that the Spinning Float's effects had been nullified.

"Interesting, let's zap it and see." Han Qiwu cast a mid-level Thunder Spell at it.

To his surprise, the mid-level Thunder Spell not only stunned the Volcanic Squid but also shrank its icon by a notch.

"Did I zap it smaller?" Han Qiwu laughed, delighted by the unexpected side effect.

With the control effect still active, he quickly maneuvered the float closer, steadily increasing the progress bar.

Five minutes later, the shrunken Volcanic Squid appeared in Han Qiwu's inventory.

[Congratulations! You have caught a Scenic Creature: Volcanic Squid from the Undersea Volcano]

[Volcanic Squid]

[Stamina +100]

[HP +50]

[Special Ability - Heat Resistance: Consuming grants +5 Fire Resistance. A maximum of 5 Fire Resistance can be gained from Volcanic Squid.]

[Note: Volcanic Squid is known for its deliciously tender meat.]

The Volcanic Squid's stats were indeed better than the Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp, with double the recovery and an additional bonus of 5 Fire Resistance upon consumption.

Too bad it couldn't stack indefinitely.

"By this logic, maybe other volcanic fish could provide even higher fire resistance," Han Qiwu's eyes lit up.

Turns out, interesting catches weren't exclusive to the secret realm.

The vast ocean also held plenty of secrets waiting to be uncovered.

Time to fish some more!

Based on his earlier success, Han Qiwu suddenly had a theory: "If using Volcanic Heat-Resistant Shrimp can attract Volcanic Squid, could using Volcanic Squid attract even larger volcanic creatures?"

Should I give it a shot?

Taking into account the Volcanic Squid's size, Han Qiwu cut off half a tentacle and hooked it before casting it into the water.

The severed tentacle twitched slightly as it hit the water.

A little over a minute later, Han Qiwu finally triggered a fishing mini-game notification.

[Volcanic Blackfish: Movement trajectory: mysterious. Skill effect: Camouflage]

"Volcanic Blackfish? What's that?" Han Qiwu grew intrigued and looked at the game window.

The Blackfish's icon was rather peculiar—scaleless, with huge eyes, resembling some kind of mythical creature.