Farming Games are All About Grinding
Chapter 195 - 188: Wild Oyster Mushrooms!

Chapter 195: Chapter 188: Wild Oyster Mushrooms!

Han Qiwu patted Xiao Lai on the shoulder with satisfaction.

Not bad, kid. Raising you wasn’t a waste after all—what a move!

The Royal Family really is different, huh? How many good items did they drop?

Han Qiwu eagerly ran toward the flash of white light, ready to reap his spoils.

But when he got there,

he froze.

The ground was completely clean—nothing there.

Not even a single piece of slime goo.

"Xiao Lai, what’s going on here?" Han Qiwu grabbed Xiao Lai by the head and hoisted it up.

I thought you could work some divine miracle and earn us a fortune, but you just sent them all away?

"Bo bo bo bo."

Xiao Lai hurriedly jumped to the ground, squealing and flailing to explain.

Essentially, it seemed the slimes didn’t have much on them anyway. If they were sent away, they’d be grateful to the master and bring good fortune in return.

Han Qiwu: "??? So basically, I super liberate them, and I get virtue points?"

Han Qiwu glanced at his status panel and, sure enough, there was a new effect.

[Kindhearted Person: 50% greater chance of discovering items in the mine for 2 hours]

So... does this count as a good guy card from the slimes?

A 50% boost in the chance to find items in the mine—way more practical than a pile of slime goo.

"I misunderstood you! Come on, get back up here. Later, if we encounter more groups of green slimes, make sure to liberate them all!" Han Qiwu cheerfully scooped up Xiao Lai and, as a bonus, shoved a chunk of copper ore into its mouth.

Xiao Lai: "...Are all humans this shallow?"

While chiseling at copper ore, Han Qiwu ventured deeper into the mine.

[You discovered a staircase]

After finding the staircase, Han Qiwu marked its location on his map and continued walking along the current tunnel deeper into the mine. This tunnel was much more damp compared to the previous ones—wet and clammy.

In the dim light, Han Qiwu felt his way along the rock walls, until his right hand suddenly touched something unusual.

Turning for a closer look, Han Qiwu chuckled to himself.

A solitary patch of gray-white oyster mushrooms clung to the surface of the rock wall, and nearby, scratch marks dotted the stone surface.

[Wild Oyster Mushroom]

[Stamina +50]

[Health -10]

[Note: Wild oyster mushrooms contain mild paralytic toxins. Can be cultivated with improvements.]

The mushrooms were noticeably larger than the ones sold outside, and their appearance was rather impressive.

Han Qiwu packed away the oyster mushrooms, planning to test out the cave’s cultivation potential later.

Let’s see if he could cultivate a batch of oyster mushrooms—even if they weren’t consumable directly, he could transform them into a secret mushroom dish.

No wonder he hadn’t spotted mushrooms before—it turned out they grew on rock walls here.

Using the light, Han Qiwu examined the scratch marks carefully.

They looked a bit like claw prints from cave rats.

"Stealing my mushrooms—don’t let me catch you! I’ll slay every single one I see!" Han Qiwu switched to his refined longsword, holding it ready as he continued searching along the rock wall.

Twenty minutes later, Han Qiwu gave a resigned look to the three [Wild Oyster Mushrooms] in his inventory.

Too few.

These things were indeed hard to find.

Without the [Jade Pixiu] gifted by Mr. Tang and the [Kindhearted Person] buff from liberating the slimes, Han Qiwu reckoned he wouldn’t have found these mushrooms anytime soon.

Walking toward the staircase, Han Qiwu reflected on the mushroom-foraging tips he’d gathered earlier: Always choose damper tunnels, and if you see signs of cave rats, follow them—you might find a mushroom stash.

Currently, all the oyster mushrooms Han Qiwu collected were uncontaminated glowing system items.

Glowing ones—guaranteed quality.

[You arrived at Mine’s Level 33]

Reaching this level, Han Qiwu kept extracting copper ore while quickly navigating his current tunnel.

This tunnel was too dry—definitely not it.

Where the tunnel ended, it branched into six smaller tunnels of varying sizes. Two of these were slightly more damp.

Just as Han Qiwu was about to pick one to enter, four or five cave rats suddenly darted out from one of the damper tunnels.

Upon seeing Han Qiwu, all their eyes turned red, and their muscles visibly bulged as they surged toward him madly.

"What the heck? Muscle rats? Did you guys party too hard?" Han Qiwu quickly pulled out a Paralyzing Thornshield to block the front, whipped out his Mystical Light Crossbow, and aimed a bonefish arrow at the closest big rat.

[Rend]

"Swish!"

The bonefish arrow pierced clean through the big rat’s tail, pulling a streak of blood with it.

Funny enough, it seemed the bloodletting reduced the rat’s muscular intensity somewhat.

"Bloodletting therapy is this effective for your entire rat clan?" Han Qiwu stowed away his Paralyzing Thornshield, wielded his Soft Blade, and charged straight at them.

These rats didn’t inflict much damage anyway, so this was a prime chance to practice his footwork.

Closing in on the bloodied rat, Han Qiwu used the Paralyzing Thornshield to cordon off the battlefield.

Let’s duel one-on-one!

"Swish, swish, swish!"

After two swings, Han Qiwu realized this rat was significantly stronger than previous cave rats he’d encountered.

Getting a swipe at its fur actually stung a lot.

Adjusting his angle, Han Qiwu struck the rat cleanly with a dagger.

"Boom!"

The [Century Mysterious Ice Pendant]’s knockback effect kicked in, smacking the rat into the Paralyzing Thornshield.

"Plip, plip!"

As the paralysis effect activated, the thornshield’s counterattack landed several puncture wounds on the rat.

After four or five jabs, the rat slowly bled out more and more, while its strength visibly waned.

"So it’s just a paper tiger. One poke and it’s done for." Han Qiwu shook his head ruefully. "Is there anyone else brave enough to fight me?"

The remaining cave rats: "How about you drop the shield and say that again!"

Spotting the white light, Han Qiwu walked over and picked up the loot.

[Shredded Drumstick Mushroom]

[Usage: Fodder]

[Special Effect - Energy Boost: Improves livestock blood circulation]

[Note: Wild Drumstick Mushrooms contain mild hallucinogenic toxins]

So that’s why they’re so fierce. They’ve been sneaking drumstick mushrooms!

Well, that seals it—you critters are definitely not sticking around!

Using the Paralyzing Thornshield’s blocking prowess, Han Qiwu dealt with them one by one, ultimately harvesting four portions of [Shredded Drumstick Mushrooms].

Stashing the loot, Han Qiwu entered the tunnel they had come from.

Time to go drumstick mushroom hunting!

Drumstick mushrooms taste way better than oyster mushrooms—bigger, too.

Who knows, they might even have special effects!

After walking around for five or six minutes, Han Qiwu finally found a drumstick mushroom nest on the rock wall.

Holding up a torch, he inspected it closely.

...

Only the nest remained.

Not a single drumstick mushroom left.

Han Qiwu: "...."

I swear I’ll slay twenty or thirty cave rats today to vent my anger!

What a waste!

Looking bitterly at the nest, Han Qiwu begrudgingly marked it on the map.

Maybe there’ll be some next time.

Hope is what keeps you going.

After marking the nest, Han Qiwu gripped his sword and stormed off toward another tunnel.

Drumstick mushrooms! Here I come!

Rats block, rats die! Spiders block, spiders die!

Feeling along the damp rock walls for ages, Han Qiwu finally exhaled with relief.

Found you at last!

In the dim light, three or four towering drumstick mushrooms grew quietly at the base of the rock wall near the tunnel’s edge, with claw marks once again sprinkled nearby.

Looks like they’ve just sprouted.

Han Qiwu cautiously stepped forward and gently harvested them with a knife.

[Wild Drumstick Mushroom]

[Stamina +70]

[Health -20]

[Note: Wild Drumstick Mushrooms contain mild hallucinogenic toxins. Can be cultivated with improvements.]