Chapter 345: Chapter 345

Sitting by the river, Han Qiwu skillfully cast his fishing rod.

Although there weren’t many ice chunks left on the surface of the river, the melting water had increased the flow, making the current swift and turbulent, causing the fishing hook to sway chaotically.

Han Qiwu wasn’t worried. He found a slightly stable spot and waited quietly.

With such tempting bait, how could the fish resist?

For fish hidden underground like these, they’ve probably never seen such delicious bait.

A few seconds later, the fishing game was triggered.

[Silver Trout, Aggressive Type, No Skill Effects]

"No skills, huh? Then I won’t hold back." Han Qiwu grinned. The Silver Trout’s icon had a beautiful color, and it probably tasted great.

With two alternate skill casts, he easily and joyfully reeled it in.

[Note: The Silver Trout is a rare delicacy found underground.]

The Silver Trout he caught was slender, full of vitality, with a few marks on its scales from hitting ice chunks.

Han Qiwu glanced at the Silver Trout and, seeing no special effects, decided not to fish anymore.

Catching one to try was enough; with his professional skills active, wasn’t mining more rewarding?

Just as Han Qiwu was holding the Silver Trout, a Giant Winged Ice Bird suddenly swooped in diagonally, flapping its wings as it dove toward the Silver Trout.

"Trying to steal from me?" Han Qiwu quickly stashed the Silver Trout, pulled out his Ice Slingshot, and launched a piece of iron ore.

The flying iron ore struck heavily toward the Giant Winged Ice Bird.

But at that moment, the Ice Bird flapped its massive wings, generating a strong gust of wind that deflected the iron ore.

"Ranged attacks aren’t working?" Han Qiwu frowned. Judging by the Giant Winged Ice Bird’s appearance, the final piece of the Ice Bird Statue must be on it.

With wings that large, doesn’t it get tired?

After deflecting the iron ore, the Giant Winged Ice Bird adjusted its direction and continued charging toward Han Qiwu at high speed.

Han Qiwu quickly took a few steps back, stepping away from the riverbank.

Better not let that big Ice Bird knock him into the icy river.

Getting frozen would definitely be uncomfortable.

"Xiao Lai, Electric Shock!" Han Qiwu shouted, simultaneously throwing an Ice Bullhorn infused with 15 health points.

The spinning Ice Bullhorn ignored the gusts from the Giant Winged Ice Bird and resolutely struck its body.

A thin crack appeared on the Giant Winged Ice Bird.

"Even though this guy has huge wings, its defensive power seems about the same as other Ice Birds," Han Qiwu relaxed slightly, took two steps back with his Ice Staff, aimed at the crack caused by the Ice Bullhorn, and jumped up for a heavy smash.

The Giant Winged Ice Bird shattered into countless ice crystals, dissolving into white light and vanishing.

A giant wing statue dropped from the sky.

[Ice Bird Statue Fragment 1]

Han Qiwu took out the other four statue fragments and knelt down to piece them together.

Just as he finished, a stream of blue light circled around the Ice Bird Statue, fusing all the cracks seamlessly.

At this moment, a phantom of an Ice Bird slowly rose from the statue, spreading its wings to soar in a circle while sprinkling snowflakes, then disappeared.

[Giant Winged Ice Bird Statue]

[Usage: Special Building]

[Effect - Nurture: Increases yield of all ice-snow crops on the farm, effective in a 10×10 range]

[Effect - Ice Vein: The Giant Winged Ice Bird Statue may transform normal trees within a 12×12 range into Ice Age Trees, which yield special items when harvested]

[Note: The Giant Winged Ice Bird originated from the Ice Age]

Finally, he had collected all the pieces.

Han Qiwu felt a deep sense of accomplishment.

The range of the Nurture effect was genuinely vast—covering a hundred tiles—enough to be useful for a long time.

And the Ice Vein effect intrigued him even more.

Would they grow particularly large?

Their sap would probably be delicious, right?

Maybe I’ll plant a few to check them out!

Stashing away the Giant Winged Ice Bird Statue, Han Qiwu contentedly resumed mining for iron ore.

Perhaps his luck had run dry, as it took him two hours on this level to uncover the staircase to the next floor.

Even though he still had plenty of supplies, the mental exhaustion wasn’t something supplies could fix.

"I’ll just take a quick look and then leave," Han Qiwu muttered, rubbing his temples as he descended the staircase.

[You have arrived at the 78th level of the mine]

The ice here was even thinner. As Han Qiwu walked toward the cable car, he glanced at the ice layers on both sides, hoping to find something good.

Sure enough, he discovered some Snowberries and Snow Lotus Fruits.

Unexpected gains, for sure.

Hopping onto the cable car, Han Qiwu quickly exited the mine.

"Ah, it feels so much better to be on solid ground," Han Qiwu sighed, glancing at the setting sun. He hurriedly biked back home.

After opening the door, he checked out Little Prince and Little Shui’s foraging results, then casually planted the Osmanthus tree sapling Little Prince had brought back beside the icy environment.

After planting the sapling, he placed the Frost Dwarf Statue in the snowy environment.

Little Shui curiously clambered onto the Frost Dwarf Statue, knocked on its head, and compared its height with his own, giggling cutely.

"Little Shui, you’ll definitely grow taller in the future," Han Qiwu said, smiling as he picked up Little Shui. Walking to the center of the icy environment, he set down the Giant Winged Ice Bird Statue.

Unlike the Frost Dwarf Statue, the Ice Bird Statue emitted a faint blue glow as soon as it landed, spreading out over a 10×10 area. Under this blue light, Han Qiwu noticed the Frost Mushrooms quivering slightly, looking quite pleased.

"Not bad," Han Qiwu nodded. He glanced at the Osmanthus saplings he had just planted and saw that they, too, glowed faintly blue. Who knows when they’d transform?

After placing down the two statues, Han Qiwu felt exhaustion creeping in. He retrieved three eggs from the storage box, stripped down, and slipped into the hot spring, letting the warm water soothe him.

Soaking in the hot spring felt incredible.

After soaking for a while, he gazed at the nearby muddy pond and noticed that the mud fish were adapting well, splashing around energetically.

As he was relaxing, the long-dormant East Sea Dragon King Statue suddenly lit up. A cyan beam of light shot out from its dragon horns, soared into the sky, and burst into countless specks that slowly descended onto the trees.

As the cyan light was absorbed, every tree grew rapidly, becoming lush and vibrant, their trunks shimmering faintly.

After five minutes, the frenzied growth of the trees subsided, their sizes now significantly larger than before.

Not only that, one Osmanthus sapling seemed to have grown at an unusually fast rate.