CHAPTER 389: CHAPTER 380: NEW EQUIPMENT FOR THE 80TH FLOOR! (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE)

"Bo Bo Bo!"

Xiao Lai felt heartbroken seeing Little Electric covered in wounds and hopped over, wanting to reach out and pat its head.

Unfortunately, the Slime didn’t have hands, so it could only rub against Little Electric’s bird head.

Seeing Xiao Lai, Han Qiwu got an idea and chuckled, saying to the immobile Little Electric: "Little Electric, if you’re so eager to evolve, why not let the Little Prince and Xiao Lai help pluck out your feathers in a fight tonight? I guarantee the results will be amazing and effective!"

Little Electric: "(,,#゜Д゜),"

Even though it was still unable to move, Little Electric struggled to shake its head.

"Master, drop the idea. I want to be a warrior who evolves in battle, not a bald bird."

Seeing this, Han Qiwu also shook his head.

"What a shame, no feather duster."

Bird feathers collected during battle are no good—the quality is bad, definitely not as neat as what the Little Prince could pluck.

After quickly bandaging up Little Electric, Han Qiwu placed it on Xiao Lai’s back, earnestly instructing: "Xiao Lai, I’m counting on you to take care of Little Electric."

"Bo Bo Bo!" Xiao Lai nodded solemnly, indicating it was no problem.

In the upcoming battles, Xiao Lai and Little Electric surely wouldn’t be able to participate. Might as well find the entrance to the 80th level, activate the cable car permissions, then send the two companions upstairs to wait while he ventured solo to the 81st level to check things out.

But before digging the stairs to the 80th level, it was time to savor the rewards of this battle.

Besides those frozen crystal spheres, the four Ice Rock Hermit Crabs dropped four items: [Ice Rock]×2, [Thirty-Year Crab Shell]×2

[Ice Rock]

[Usage: Crafting material]

[Special Effect - Cooling: Items crafted with Ice Rock radiate a refreshing coolness]

[Note: Only Ice Rock Hermit Crabs that haven’t used the Sandstorm ability drop this item]

[Thirty-Year Crab Shell]

[Usage: Attracting crabs]

[How to use: Throw into a water source to attract crabs]

[Note: It’s said that aged crab shells are even more robust※]

Han Qiwu: ".....Here we go again."

"Robust what, you nonsense-spewing thing? Not like I need it anyway."

He tossed both shells into the river to see if they’d attract some delicious crabs.

As for the Ice Rock, its appearance wasn’t like ancient glacier stones at all. Its striped patterns looked a bit like marble, but its color was ice blue and felt exceptionally smooth to the touch.

Truth be told, Han Qiwu’s heart was set on it the moment he saw the cooling effect.

"Using this to make a chair—wouldn’t sitting on it be insanely refreshing?"

"Though it might chill my buns a little."

He packed it away, deciding to consult Master Gongshu later.

"Worst case scenario, put a cushion in the middle!"

Next came the main event.

"Gather those crystal spheres!"

Over twenty frozen crystal spheres varied in size, the largest as big as a basketball, the smallest about the size of a ping-pong ball—but they all had similar appearances.

He collected them all.

"With these frozen crystal spheres, Master Gongshu’s favorability score is bound to skyrocket!"

"Thank you, Ice Rock Hermit Crabs."

Han Qiwu speculated that these frozen crystal spheres might have been deliberately gathered by the crabs from surrounding areas as bait.

"Too bad they ran into Little Electric."

Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been challenging for Han Qiwu to deal with four Ice Rock Hermit Crabs equipped with Sandstorm abilities.

Thankfully, Little Electric had mastered the High-Voltage Electric Field.

"Although using this skill drains all its energy, the payoff is absolutely worth it."

"Time to dig up the stairs and find a way down!"

Half an hour later.

[You discovered a staircase]

"Off we go!"

Han Qiwu scooped up Little Electric and grabbed Xiao Lai as he headed into the staircase.

[You’ve arrived at Level 80 of the mine]

[Cable car level recorded]

Before his vision fully adjusted, Han Qiwu could already feel a wave of heat rushing towards him. Roughly estimating, it was about thirty degrees Celsius.

Looking around, Level 80 of the mine was filled with dark red rock walls, while the ground was covered in bright red rock fragments, radiating similarly high temperatures.

"Feels like I walked into a massive sauna."

"So this is Level 80 of the mine? The Lava Layer?" Han Qiwu wiped sweat off his forehead.

"It’s way too hot. Just a few seconds in and I’m already drenched."

Seeing the situation, Han Qiwu finally understood how crucial the ’Immunity to burning injuries while walking’ effect of the Ice Armor was.

"At least my feet won’t get scorched!"

"Better switch to a straw hat to cool off." Han Qiwu swapped his miner’s helmet for a straw hat.

The cooling airflow brought by the straw hat immediately made him feel much more comfortable.

"Huff puff."

It wasn’t just Han Qiwu struggling in the heat—Little Electric, covered in bandages, was panting heavily and sticking its tongue out from the heat.

Wounds might handle cold fine, but heat was a problem.

Xiao Lai, meanwhile, looked mostly unaffected, though its body was slightly warm, and its tiny bean-like eyes curiously darted around.

Seeing Little Electric like this, Han Qiwu didn’t dare linger, quickly running with Little Electric and Xiao Lai towards the cable car station.

Upon reaching the cable car entrance, he was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of red equipment resembling knee guards lying quietly on the ground.

"So this is the Level 80 reward?"

Han Qiwu bent down to pick them up and strode into the cable car, selecting Level 1 of the mine.

Leaving the high-temperature environment, Little Electric gulped down several mouthfuls of water and gradually started feeling better.

To prevent any lingering issues, once they returned to Level 1, Han Qiwu deliberately placed Little Electric on two pieces of Ice Rock and instructed Xiao Lai: "Keep an eye out—once Little Electric’s body temperature is back to normal, move it off the Ice Rock. Don’t let it end up too cold."

"Bo Bo." Xiao Lai nodded repeatedly, signaling full responsibility.

"Definitely won’t let Little Electric cool off too much!"

After settling the duo, Han Qiwu hopped back into the cable car and returned to Level 80. During the ride, he eagerly took out the red equipment to examine.

The red equipment seemed like leg bindings, adorned with numerous flame patterns. They didn’t feel particularly rigid and appeared to be made from some kind of creature’s hide—they were incredibly lightweight.

[Lava Leg Bindings]

[Level: 80]

[Fire Resistance +10]

[Defense +20]

[Special Effect - Fire Assist: Fire-type damage +20%]

[Skill - Fire Step: Boost movement speed in lava environments by +20 for 20 seconds, cooldown five minutes]

[Note: Helps you better escape battles]

Han Qiwu: "...."

"Escape battles?"

"That’s called strategic retreat."

"No point picking fights with no rewards."

After reaching Level 80 again, Han Qiwu equipped the Lava Leg Bindings. Once he wore them, the heat he felt seemed to lighten slightly.

"Let’s test the skill out."

[Fire Step]!

As soon as the skill activated, Han Qiwu felt as though his feet were equipped with flame thrusters—a sudden burst of propulsion surged underneath him, and his speed skyrocketed!

"Speed is king!"

Taking advantage of the increased speed, Han Qiwu quickly explored half of Level 80, partly searching for dig sites, partly acclimatizing to the high-temperature environment.

Unfortunately, after circling around, he neither found any diggable areas nor saw any creatures like coal spirits.

"Strange."