Farming Games are All About Grinding

"This is too much; I feel bad taking it." Han Qiwu smiled awkwardly as he reached out to accept the large black bag.

When he opened the bag, he saw an entire hind leg of a sheep, hefty and likely weighing dozens of pounds, with a faint glow emanating from its surface.

[Gobi Sheep Leg]

[Stamina +260]

[HP +150]

[Note: A tender and aromatic Gobi Sheep leg]

"Thank you, Brother Yang. I won't say any more polite words." Han Qiwu clasped his hands in thanks, as this large sheep leg, worth hundreds of dollars in the market, might not even be purchasable with money.

Yang Yangyang waved his hand. "It's just a sheep leg. Take it home and eat it: roast it, make hotpot, or stew it; it'll all taste great. Do you have a meat cleaver? If not, I can help you chop it."

"I have one. I'll deal with it myself later." Han Qiwu chuckled. After chatting for a while longer, he lifted the bag and rode away.

"Tomorrow, bring some strawberries and pine nuts for Xiao Shu. Kids can benefit from eating more nuts; it helps with brain development." Han Qiwu thought to himself.

Though, he figured that Xiao Shu's little head already didn't need more 'brain boosts.'

If it gets boosted any further, the other boys in the class might just go crazy.

Once out of sight, Han Qiwu stored the Gobi Sheep leg into his inventory and cycled straight toward the mine.

He hadn't brought Xiao Dian or Xiao Lai with him today.

Yesterday's battles had left them both a bit drained and slightly burned. They needed to stay home and recuperate properly.

Upon reaching the first floor of the mine, Han Qiwu first took out several servings of frozen birch sap from his inventory, then headed into the Explorer Guild.

The Explorer Guild's counter was rather quiet today; Egger and Jin Tu weren't there. Through the partition, Han Qiwu could hear the sounds of mixing and crafting from the inner room.

Since these two tasks required full concentration once started, disturbing them wasn't ideal. Han Qiwu found a chair, sat down, and prepared to wait for a while.

Sitting there, he glanced around and suddenly noticed the wall with bounty mission postings. He immediately remembered that he had accepted three missions here!

With so many things happening, he'd completely forgotten about the bounty missions here.

Time to check them out!

Approaching the wall, Han Qiwu immediately spotted the two golden mission listings floating at the top.

[Bounty Mission: Nasty Bugs] (Completed) (Reward Pending Collection)

[Stink Bugs, Roadblock Bugs: 200/200]

[Mission Reward: A bottle of insecticide + crafting recipe]

[Bounty Mission: Rodent Nemesis] (Completed) (Reward Pending Collection)

[Mine Rats: 100/100]

[Mission Reward 1: A batch of rat poison + crafting recipe]

[Mission Reward 2: Beginner Slingshot]

"Looks like I need to visit the guild to collect rewards after completing bounty missions; no wonder nothing triggered earlier," Han Qiwu noted to himself as he claimed the rewards for the two missions.

[Congratulations! You've completed the bounty mission: Nasty Bugs, and your reward has been issued.]

To Han Qiwu's surprise, after claiming the first "Nasty Bugs" mission reward, a notification popped up in his field of vision:

[Congratulations! You've completed your first bounty mission and unlocked the achievement: Rookie Bounty Hunter.]

[Achievement: Novice Bounty Hunter]

[Achievement Perk: Gain extra combat experience when completing bounty missions.]

[Note: Slaughtering leads to fortune!]

"Extra combat experience for completing missions? Looks like my combat skills might level up soon," Han Qiwu thought with anticipation. He still had his compatibility potion saved up!

[Congratulations! You've completed the bounty mission: Rodent Nemesis, and your reward has been issued.]

[You have been granted an additional 500 combat experience points.]

"Five hundred points. That's quite substantial."

Having claimed both rewards, Han Qiwu sat back down and began examining his loot.

The insecticide looked very simple in design: its casing was wooden, with a button on the side and a nozzle made of stone.

[Insecticide Type III]

[Remaining Uses: 10]

[Effect: Deals 15% of current HP damage to insect-type creatures within a 3x3 area upon use.]

[Applicable Mining Layers: Layer 10 to Layer 90]

[Note: Do NOT step within the range of the insecticide's attack!]

[Insecticide Recipe]

[Material Requirements: Insect Meat ×5, Spring Water ×1]

[Note: The killing power and range of the insecticide depend on the quality of the insect meat used.]

"This insecticide is pretty lethal!" Han Qiwu marveled at the [Insecticide Type III] in his hands. Though it dealt only 15% of current HP damage, spraying ten times could easily eliminate insect-type creatures.

The applicable range of mining layers conveniently included the 80s, where he was currently exploring.

Looks like he could give it a whirl during today's mining expedition!

Sweet!

As for the insecticide recipe, Han Qiwu applied it with a clap of his hands, ready to craft one later after gathering some insect meat.

He didn't intend to revisit earlier mining layers and collect meat from lower-level roadblock bugs. Judging from their low quality, insecticide crafted from them would likely be ineffective in higher-level mining layers.

Next, he inspected the rat poison.

The rat poison resembled a herb pouch, opening to reveal five pink pills emitting a sickly sweet aroma.

[Rat Poison Type IV]

[Remaining Uses: 5]

[Effect: Attracts rodent-type creatures to feed upon use. Upon consumption, deals damage equivalent to 2% of maximum HP per second for 10 seconds.]

[Applicable Mining Layers: Layer 40 to Layer 100]

[Note: Rat poison won't cure rat-related diseases.]

[Rat Poison Recipe]

[Material Requirements: Rat Meat ×5, Rice Grains ×1]

[Note: The killing power and applicable mining layer range of the rat poison depend on the quality of the rat meat used.]

The rat poison works differently compared to insecticide, inflicting sustained single-target damage instead. Its total damage reaches a whopping 20%; feeding five pills could instantly eliminate rodents.

Perhaps due to its higher tier, the rat poison's applicable mining layer range was deeper, making it look rather promising.

Sweet!

"The rat poison recipe requires rice grains; I'll need to set some aside later." Han Qiwu tucked away these unexpected rewards and looked up at the bounty mission wall.

Exploring down to layer 80 should mean new missions are available.

Looking closely, the previous two missions had disappeared, replaced by two brand-new bounty missions:

[Bounty Mission: Eliminate Metal Bigheads]

[Metal Bigheads: 0/300]

[Mission Reward: Metal Bighead Overseer ×10]

[Bounty Mission: Cool Down the Spiders!]

[Lava Spiders: 0/400]

[Mission Reward: Fire Resistance +40]

After reading the missions, Han Qiwu took them both without hesitation.

After accepting, Han Qiwu shook his head and muttered, "What a loss, what a loss. Accepting these missions late means none of the Metal Bigheads I already defeated got counted."

Metal Bighead Overseers—it sounded pretty interesting.

For now, he'd focus on this specific mission.

As for the Lava Spiders, he'd have to encounter them first to gauge how tough they were to fight.

The 40 fire resistance reward definitely wouldn't come easy!