Chapter 64: The Fishing Growth Route

The purification mission rewards for the Yuntian Domain node made all the players' hearts race with excitement.

The independent farming space mentioned in the rewards was like a planting mini-game built into the original game, but only players who ranked on the contribution list were qualified to use it.

By consulting the Guide, players learned that they only needed to sow seeds in the spiritual field mini-game and wait for the spiritual plants to mature rapidly, then harvest them and plant new seeds.

This was equivalent to obtaining a small-scale Sacrificial Power production pool.

Perhaps the yield would not be very high, but the key point was that this Sacrificial Power income was extra profit generated outside of hunting, mining, and other methods.

It could be understood as making money while lying down.

Regrettably, the intensity of the Erosion Core occupying Yuntian was extremely high; it could control a large number of corrupted plants with hunting levels between 30 and 45 to fight, and players at the current stage simply lacked the strength to take it down.

However, some players still figured out a method to farm contribution points.

Although they couldn't occupy the area, as long as they dealt damage through their output, contribution value would be calculated, opening up new ideas for many players.

While the main force focused on leveling up, some weaker players took a different path, starting the competition for the contribution leaderboard early, focusing on accumulating small gains into a large sum.

This caused the contribution leaderboard for purifying Yuntian to become a battleground for low-level players in the early stages.

6 PM.

After a busy day, Wu Quan returned home, exhausted in body and mind.

Pushing open the door, he found a sumptuous dinner already set on the dining table.

The robot butler greeted him enthusiastically, asking if he had any other needs.

Ignoring the robot butler, Wu Quan tossed his work bag onto the sofa, washed his hands, and began to eat heartily.

After finishing dinner, he took out his phone to scroll through his chat software; the first thing that caught his eye was a message from his old mother urging him to get married.

Mom: You're already 30 and still haven't found a partner; you're not worried, but I'm anxious to hold a grandbaby (Angry.jpg).

Mom: Why aren't you replying? How do you feel about the girl Aunt Wang introduced to you recently? Do you have any thoughts on developing the relationship further?

Mom: (Heartbroken Old Mother.jpg) Tell Mom, do you like men? Is that why you haven't found a partner?

After scrolling down the screen to read his old mother's series of questioning messages, Wu Quan chose to ignore them.

Instructing the robot butler to clear the dishes, he walked toward the game pod.

Ever since he obtained the qualification for "Dark Land" through the link, he entered the game every day after work; this was one of his few sources of happiness.

His game time was from 8 PM until 9 AM the next day, and he even spent his sleeping hours inside the game pod.

However, his way of playing games was different from the vast majority of players.

Hunting, gathering, exploring... in his opinion, these gameplay mechanics were simply too tiring and failed to spark any interest whatsoever.

In his youth, he had also been a passionate gaming enthusiast, but as he aged, his attitude toward gaming gradually became more relaxed; he disliked competition and only enjoyed casual, laid-back gameplay.

The only joy he found in playing games now was one thing: fishing.

Before experiencing Dark Land, he was already a veteran fishing-party player.

Every holiday, he would shoulder his gear and go out fishing.

In his view, this process was incredibly stress-relieving.

His fishing spots were generally chosen in scenic waters, such as lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or seaside locations.

During each fishing session, he could immerse himself in the natural environment, far from the city's hustle and bustle, enjoying tranquility and beautiful scenery; basking in the sunlight, breathing fresh air, listening to the sound of rippling water, and feeling the cool breeze on his Iron Face, this intimate contact with nature made him feel relaxed and happy, forgetting all his work troubles.

The only regret was that he never actually caught any fish.

The Cloud Mist City where he lived bordered the sea; during the Mechanical War, it had been bombed by several mutated shells, and although the pollution had been cleared, many fish species had undergone genetic mutations due to the influence of the mutated shells, causing the difficulty of fishing to skyrocket.

Especially in recent years, it seemed as if the fish had evolved intelligence; they wouldn't eat bloody bait, fragrant bait, grain bait, or simulated bait... they wouldn't eat this, they wouldn't eat that, making the difficulty of catching fish climb straight up.

Sometimes he even wanted to take out his phone, open the "BaoLeMe" food delivery app, throw it into the water, and let the school of fish place their own orders for what they loved to eat, then obediently take the hook.

With the joy of fishing diminished, he thought of satisfying his hobby through virtual games.

The first target he set his sights on was the recently released "Dark Land," which claimed to offer perfect immersion.

He reasoned that since the promotion claimed this was an ultra-realistic game, it must support some non-mainstream gameplay styles, such as fishing.

But the biggest problem with this game was that applying for a game qualification was extremely difficult; even with money, one might not be able to buy it. One could only rush to purchase it when qualifications were released on the official website, and the lottery success rate was extremely low.

He had thought that within three years, he would most likely have no chance to play this game.

He never expected that a cracked version download link would actually appear in a famous game guild group chat he had joined several years ago.

He was lucky enough to get on board and downloaded the game.

Upon entering the game for the first time, the realism inside amazed him, making him even more expectant of the fishing gameplay within the virtual game.

During these days of playing "Dark Land," in order to find a quiet fishing spot, he traveled over mountains and rivers, exploring everywhere.

Finally, a week ago, he found a "fishing treasure land."

The specific location was a small Firefly Lake west of Emperor Tomb Village and south of Spirit Artifact Valley; there, vegetation was lush, evil spirits and monsters rarely appeared, and more importantly, the Firefly Lake contained a large number of fish lifeforms.

But finding a suitable fishing spot was only the beginning; there was a series of problems that still needed solving.

Besides needing to craft fishing gear and bait, more importantly, he needed to possess a strong physique.

Even the weakest monsters in the game had physical qualities surpassing the main human form; without leveling up his monster rank, he simply couldn't fish.

The bite rate of the fish lifeforms in the Firefly Lake was extremely high, but biting the bait did not equate to success.

Dragging the biting fish lifeform onto the shore was the key to success.

The Gargoyle initial form he chose was only level 1; the brute strength of the fish lifeforms could easily drag him into the water and swallow him whole.

Who was fishing whom was not yet certain.

To solve this problem, he followed the main force to areas like the Blood Plain and the Ancient Battlefield to hunt and level up.

After a week of effort, his Gargoyle level reached 12.

The leveling process was surprisingly interesting, especially the feeling of physical attribute enhancement brought by each level-up, which made him intoxicated.

But compared to hunting for levels, he never forgot his core goal of playing virtual games.

Now that his divine skill was complete, he felt it was time to start the joy of a fisherman.

Changing into a set of game attire, Wu Quan entered the game pod and pressed the start button.

As the nutrient fluid surged out, various parts of his body automatically connected to the neural interface hoses, and his vision was gradually shrouded in darkness.

Several minutes later.

Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, Turtle Back Firefly Lake.

The Firefly Lake water was so clear one could see the bottom, shimmering with ripples.

By the lakeside, weeping willows leaned gracefully, their soft branches swaying with the wind, lightly brushing the water's surface and stirring up circles of delicate ripples.

Not far away, plants resembling reeds grew in clusters, their ears and leaves swaying gently in the wind, their shadows reflected on the Firefly Lake surface, intertwining with the sky to form a moving scroll of beauty.

Around the simple fishing platform built on the shore, wild flowers bloomed brilliantly in a riot of colors; sitting amidst them, Wu Quan was enveloped by the fragrance of grass and flowers.

Fishing in such an environment was undoubtedly the ultimate enjoyment.

Attaching bait made of minced meat from a canned food mixed with water to his homemade fishhook, he flicked his wrist; the fishing line, rubbed and spun from silk spit by an Iron Shell Worm, drew an arc in the air and landed precisely in the water.

Summoning the built-in forum, Wu Quan leaned back in his vine-woven chair, holding the rod with one hand, leisurely fishing while browsing forum information.

During this time, he also minimized the guild chat interface to the upper left corner of his vision, occasionally looking up to see what his guild brothers were doing.

A gentle breeze brushed his Iron Face; Wu Quan felt incomparably relaxed.

Just then, the fishing rod trembled slightly.

Realizing a fish had bitten the bait, Wu Quan's mood instantly became tense; he decisively switched to his Gargoyle form and gripped the fishing rod in his hand.

The fish lifeform that had already bitten the hook seemed to sense the danger and began to struggle; the fishing line instantly tightened like a fully drawn bowstring, emitting a "whoosh" sound as a surge of brute force attacked; Wu Quan's arm muscles tensed with every pull, his expression a mix of tension and anticipation.

As the intensity of the fish lifeform's struggle continued to climb, Wu Quan also held tightly onto the fishing rod, changing from a sitting posture to a standing one.

After a fierce tug-of-war, a large fish leaped out of the water; as it flipped and thrashed in the air, crystal-clear water droplets splashed everywhere, its red scales shining brilliantly under the moonlight of the waning moon.

"Get over here!"

Wu Quan exerted force suddenly; the large fish, with nowhere to borrow strength in mid-air, flew Shunshi toward the shore.

Slap!

The large fish fell into the flower bushes, thrashing continuously; every tail flick could send it flying several meters high.

Focusing his gaze, the analysis information of the large fish entered Wu Quan's vision.

[Red-Scaled Fish (Monster)]

Hunting Level: 4

Target Introduction: A low-level monster unique to the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region; it feeds on water weeds and will attack other aquatic creatures when overly hungry.

Guide Note: This monster has high edible value; after killing it, one can choose to automatically decompose it into "Red-Scaled Fish Meat" which enters the Spatial Satchel, or choose normal killing to obtain Evolution Points and Sacrificial Power feedback.

This was Wu Quan's first successful catch; he couldn't help but burst into loud laughter.

But he did not rush to deal with the Red-Scaled Fish; instead, he activated the screenshot function, took a photo with the Red-Scaled Fish, and sent it to the guild group chat channel.

One of the great joys of fishing is sharing.

After doing all this, he took out a short-handled axe he had bought while leveling up from his Spatial Satchel and killed the thrashing Red-Scaled Fish.

Immediately, a kill feedback option popped up in his mind.

Choosing between fish meat or Evolution Points and Sacrificial Power, Wu Quan briefly pondered before selecting the fish meat.

Instantly, the All-Things Extraction System within the Challenger System activated; in Wu Quan's vision, the dead Red Carp was decomposed by an invisible force, and a pile of scaled and sliced fish meat appeared on the ground.

[Red-Scaled Fish Meat x3]

Spiritual Food Quality: 2

Consumption Effect: Increases satiety; after consuming each portion of Red-Scaled Fish Meat, one gains a 30-point Body Tempering experience bonus.

……

The analysis information regarding the Red-Scale Fish meat left Wu Quan somewhat surprised.

The three portions of fish meat could provide a total of 90 points of Body-Tempering experience; calculated against the Sacrificial Power cost for upgrading Body-Tempering, this equated to 90 points of Sacrificial Power, which in his view far exceeded the returns from hunting evil spirits.

A normal Level 4 evil spirit simply could not offer such high yields of Sacrificial Power.

The only drawback was that choosing to decompose them into fish meat yielded no Evolution Points, and the time spent fishing was long enough to kill several evil spirits instead.

Yet this discovery still filled Wu Quan with excitement.

It meant that fishing could also make one stronger.

Killing aquatic life granted Evolution Points and Sacrificial Power, while the decomposed fish meat could serve as rations to gain Body-Tempering experience.

This discovery made him feel that his future fishing endeavors held many more options.

Strength was the key to roaming the Monster World; he could entirely grow stronger through fishing, making the rivers, lakes, and seas of the Monster World his future fishing grounds.

Thinking of this, Wu Quan felt joyful, believing he had found his future goal.

Picking up the Red-Scale Fish meat from the ground, he tossed two portions into his Spatial Sack, leaving the remaining piece to sniff lightly at the tip of his nose.

A faint fragrance lingered in his nostrils; though he did not usually like raw food, he felt an impulse to take a bite.

Remembering this was a game where raw meat posed no hidden dangers like parasites, he tried taking a small bite.

The moment the fish meat entered his mouth, Wu Quan's eyes widened.

This was a flavor he had never tasted in the real world; the delicacy and tenderness in his mouth were far beyond any fish meat he could comprehend, seemingly containing an indescribable vitality and freshness, like morning dew sliding over tender leaves, or a mountain spring brushing across the heart.

Chewing gently, the fish meat melted on his tongue.

The faint fragrance turned intense, surging between his mouth and nose, while the freshness permeated his taste buds.

The pores all over his body dilated accordingly; every cell in his body seemed activated by this peerless delicacy, letting out joyful cries.

"Holy crap, this is too delicious."

The Red-Scale Fish meat, imbued with spiritual substances, completely conquered Wu Quan's taste buds; he swallowed it in just a few bites, even retrieving and eating the other two pieces he had originally intended to save as rations.

While gaining 90 points of Body-Tempering experience, Wu Quan was left wanting more.

"Delicious, so delicious."

Having tasted fish meat from the Monster World for the first time, Wu Quan's passion for fishing was fully ignited.

"I wonder what grilled fish meat would taste like."

After purchasing a torch from the Mall and planting it in the soil beside the fishing platform, he returned to the platform, sat down again, picked up his fishing rod, and cast a line full of expectation.

While continuing to fish, Wu Quan decided to publish his discovery on the Player Forum in the form of a guide.

During these days of experiencing this game, he had understood one principle.

For any field within the game to achieve rapid development, relying solely on individual capability was difficult to drive; it required a large number of players to join and develop it together.

For instance, the Arms Merchant Guild in the game had a group of players passionate about weapon research and development joining forces to pioneer the future.

Similarly, the development of Star Vein combinations was precisely due to the participation of numerous players that many powerful schools of Soul Fate combinations emerged.

As a player belonging to the fishing faction, Wu Quan felt that the fishing gameplay also needed a large number of players to join and push the limits of this school together.

Bait preparation, fishing line selection, fishing rod crafting... wanting to fish for high-level aquatic creatures, he alone could simply not go far.

More players needed to join, pooling their wisdom to solve various problems that might arise in the future, even upgrading fishing gear and equipment.

(It's a new month; seeking monthly ticket support. In a few days when I go on the shelves, I'll update explosively.)

(End of Chapter)