CHAPTER 469: CHAPTER 456 CREATE NEW BAIT

The Poison Liquid Radio quickly dealt with the remaining little hedgehogs.

Following the white light, Han Qiwu cheerfully bent over to pick up the hedgehog spikes.

He noticed that it seemed Flame Iron Hedgehogs only dropped this one type of item.

However, a single hedgehog could drop multiple spikes, so the yield wasn’t bad.

This kind of consumable? The more, the better.

After picking them all up, Han Qiwu successfully collected [Hedgehog Spike]×160.

That should last for a while.

What a haul.

At the same time, lines of text composed of spikes appeared before Han Qiwu.

[Flame Iron Hedgehog Tribe has been eliminated. Do you want to claim the current mining area?]

[Current Mining Skill Level: 5, Mining Areas Claimable: 5, Mining Areas Occupied: 3]

[Mining Area: 83rd Floor of the Mine, Primary Flame Iron Ore Mine]

[Mine Total Capacity: Flame Iron Ore ×202]

[Daily Output: Flame Iron Ore ×15]

[Abandoning the claim will revert the mine to normal mining mode]

"The Flame Iron Ore yield here isn’t bad," Han Qiwu said, grinning as he chose to claim the mine.

After claiming it successfully, Han Qiwu gathered his Poison Liquid duo and proceeded down the staircase he’d just fought to uncover to reach the next floor.

The sooner he finished, the sooner he could go home and grab some food!

[You have arrived at the 84th floor of the mine.]

The temperature on the 84th floor was even higher than the previous levels.

As soon as he regained sight, Han Qiwu hurriedly poured large gulps of White Rootwater down the throats of his two pets.

After feeding them, he took a few swigs himself.

It was way too hot.

Before he could even check the map for the mining area’s location, a buzzing noise came from a nearby passage.

"Prepare the Dazing Mist," he instructed immediately.

Judging by the intensity of the sound, Han Qiwu knew there were definitely a lot of enemies.

And sure enough, he was right.

Within seconds, a dozen or so strange crawling bugs emerged from the nearby passage. They looked a bit like centipedes, but shorter in length.

Pretty gross to look at, honestly.

"Don’t let those things get close!" Han Qiwu quickly shouted to Xiao Lai.

Xiao Lai, equally disgusted by the bugs, puffed out its cheeks and sprayed out waves of Dazing Mist, immobilizing the creatures in no time.

[Cave Worm]

[Level: 80]

[Attack Method: Bite]

[Note: High-tier bugs dwelling in caves, capable of astonishing damage]

Glancing at the worms’ stats, Han Qiwu felt a thrill of excitement.

Key phrase noted.

High-tier bugs.

If they were high-tier bugs, then their meat must be at least Silver Star quality.

Time to kill!

Han Qiwu took out his Ice Slingshot, gripped one of the freshly acquired hedgehog spikes, and aimed at the Cave Worms’ heads, firing multiple shots in succession.

"Bang!"

When the hedgehog spike struck a Cave Worm’s head, it burst like a watermelon.

A spray of colorful, unidentified fluids splattered everywhere.

"Thank goodness I didn’t use the ice rod; that would’ve been even grosser." Han Qiwu wrinkled his nose, muttering that the creature’s attacks should’ve included "disgusting people" as a secondary effect.

Fortunately, those body fluids disappeared along with the Cave Worms as they transformed into white light.

After downing two Cave Worms, the rest began recovering from the Dazing Mist and started inching toward Han Qiwu, skittering in alarming unison.

"Xiao Lai, coat these in poison," Han Qiwu said, grabbing ten hedgehog spikes, bundling them together, and shoving them into Xiao Lai’s mouth.

After all, Slimes are elastic and squishy. Right?

A little shove shouldn’t matter, right?

Xiao Lai: "......"

That’s hedgehog spikes!!!

And you’re shoving them in my mouth?!!!

Seeing Xiao Lai’s angry, beady eyes, Han Qiwu coaxed, "Hurry up, and I’ll give you a Mist Fruit when we get back."

"Slurp, slurp."

Xiao Lai obediently oozed venom while muttering to itself, "If it weren’t for that fruit, this Slime royal wouldn’t stoop to such nonsense!"

In mere seconds, the bundled hedgehog spikes were drenched in venom.

Han Qiwu retreated on his Wind-Fire Wheel while steadily taking potshots at the Cave Worms with his Ice Slingshot.

This was the art of kiting.

Luckily, the only skill the worms had was biting.

If they couldn’t bite him, they could only scuttle around helplessly.

Five minutes later, Han Qiwu finally took down all ten or so Cave Worms.

"The fight dragged a bit far; now I have to run back to pick up the drops," he sighed, walking to the nearest defeated Cave Worm and stooping to collect it.

[Cave Worm Meat (Silver Star Quality☆)]

[Usage: Material]

[Note: Ugly bug, fragrant meat!]

Just as Han Qiwu expected, the Cave Worms dropped Silver Star quality meat.

Now he could try crafting that Universal Fish Bait recipe he got yesterday.

Backtracking along his path, Han Qiwu collected a total of five portions of Silver Star quality Cave Worm Meat.

After stashing the meat, he glanced at his map and found no mining areas on this floor.

That meant he’d have to settle for nearby deposits.

After searching two tunnels, he discovered a vein with both rubies and iron ore mixed in.

Time to dig!

Gripping his Flame Iron Cross Shovel, Han Qiwu targeted a ruby deposit and charged up.

"Clang!"

[Ruby]×2.

With a fully charged swing, he managed to extract two rubies at once.

"If I upgrade this shovel next time, I hope it extends its effective range. I’m not even asking for a full 3x3 grid hit, I’d be happy if it just covered a tic-tac-toe shape," he mused.

Reality aside, dreaming big came first.

After digging for over half an hour, Han Qiwu unearthed another staircase.

In that time, he’d harvested [Iron Ore]×52, [Stone]×162, [Ruby]×18.

Glancing at the time, he realized it was time for a meal.

"Alright, let’s go." Han Qiwu grabbed his two pets and stepped into the staircase.

[You have arrived at the 85th floor of the mine.]

[Cable car floors have been refreshed.]

Seeing the second line of notifications, Han Qiwu let out a relieved sigh.

The day’s mining task was finally complete.

He glanced around the area, murmuring regretfully.

No gear.

No mining spots.

No Coal Essence.

Just as he felt let down, a booming sound echoed across the 85th floor.

"Splash—Splash!"

"Crash, bang!"

Hearing the commotion, Han Qiwu’s eyes lit up.

A molten lava river!

Time to fish for Lava Eels!

Their market price? 1,000 coins each.

Even if he didn’t sell them, eating one and taking a lava bath afterward would be a treat.

Before heading over to the lava river, Han Qiwu sent his two near-exhausted pets to the surface via the cable car.

If he didn’t, he’d be left with nothing but dried jerky.

After returning to the 85th floor, Han Qiwu used the materials on hand to craft five portions of Universal Fish Bait.

The bait’s aroma? Surprisingly enticing.

Truly living up to the Cave Worm Meat’s description.

Ugly bug, fragrant meat.

The Universal Fish Bait even bore some resemblance to Cave Worms, complete with countless little tendrils.

[Universal Fish Bait]

[Attribute: Reduces fish bite time by 20%.]

[Special Effect - Mysticism: Due to esoteric principles, the bait has a small chance to help you catch two fish at once.]

[Note: Rumor has it, lucky individuals always reel in two fish at a time.]