Volume One, Chapter 22: The Azure Tide Sea, The Piercing Dagger.

[Page 1/3]
[Player has entered a new area: Plant Spirit Realm — Green Sea — Azure Tide Waters]
[You have accepted a daily quest: "Would anyone like to go out on the beautiful sea and catch some fish to taste?"]
[The Green Sea is a truly wonderful place where you can feel the vastness of the world and your own insignificance. Take a fishing rod and catch two fish for me to taste.]
[Quest Rewards: Copper Coins *100, EXP *100, Bronze Treasure Chest *1, Temporary Photosynthetic Cabin (Blue) *1.]
[Quest Penalty: Become my food!]
[Quest Progress: 0/2]
[Time Remaining: 1 hour 59 minutes]

The color of the sea was not blue, but green! A deep, emerald green!
Li Chuan looked up in astonishment.
"That is... oh, I see."
A canopy of trees, so massive it blotted out the sky, covered the entire expanse above. The sunlight could only filter through the transparent green leaves, giving the sea its emerald hue.
"Logical enough! It's just a tree, albeit a very large one. Why wouldn't it be logical?"
After a moment of shock, Li Chuan lowered his head to look for a fishing rod.
He was currently standing on a tiny black island.
It was only about three square meters—too small, so small that Li Chuan only wanted to call it a reef.
On the reef sat a firmly bolted stool, a fishing rod, and some bait wriggling with weak, pathetic bodies. There was nothing else.
"You could at least have provided a landing net and a fish basket!"
Li Chuan muttered as he sat on the stool, expertly baited the hook, and cast his line into the sea.
In the past, Li Chuan had fished for leisure, but this time, he was gambling with his life!
"I've never been this nervous while fishing in my life!"
Just as he was praying for a harvest, a string of numbers appeared on the bobbing float.
[12%]
This! Just this!
My highest respects to you, God of Insight!
Li Chuan immediately pulled in the hook and cast it in a different direction.
[23%]
"Still too low!"
[25%]
"This one is also low!"
Li Chuan circled the small island before finally selecting his fishing spot.
Due north.
[73%]
Fishing is a task that requires immense patience; one must keep their eyes glued to the float.
Although Li Chuan was no master angler, he knew the basics.
Time ticked by, and just as Li Chuan was considering whether to change spots again, *whoosh*.
The float moved, sharply, and was dragged underwater in an instant.
Li Chuan hurriedly grabbed the rod and tightened his grip on the reel.
"Holy crap! That's a big one."
Li Chuan now possessed 37 points of Strength, equivalent to four strong, able-bodied men, yet he still felt like the giant creature in the water was about to pull him in.
"Left!"

[Page 2/3]
"Right!"
Li Chuan began to pull the rod laterally, attempting to exhaust the giant creature's stamina.
After repeating this back-and-forth dozens of times, feeling the tension on the rod weaken, Li Chuan quickly reeled in the line!
"Come here!"
Li Chuan dropped into a horse stance, braced the end of the rod against his belt, and pulled with all his might!
[Ding! Captured Lv32 Grass-Base Fish, EXP +100]
Li Chuan stared, dumbfounded, at the massive, strange fish breaking the surface.
The creature looked like a Flowerhorn fish magnified hundreds of times, entirely black and at least two meters long!
"Holy cow! Level 30-plus? And this big? I don't even have a landing net big enough for this!"
*Splash!*
The water churned. Li Chuan felt the reef beneath his feet tremble violently and quickly gripped the rod with one hand while holding onto the stool bolted to the rock with the other.
The next moment, three deep-green tentacles emerged from the water, grabbed the giant fish, expertly removed the hook, and tossed it upward. A gaping maw opened from beneath the water, and the large fish fell directly into the gluttonous jaws.
*Crunch, crunch, crunch.*
[Ding! Assisted in killing Lv32 Grass-Base Fish, Gold Coins +2, EXP +300]
A moment later, the water and the reef returned to calm.
Blood and flesh fragments slowly dispersed on the surface. Li Chuan sat on the stool, still shaken.
This is absurd, absolutely absurd! This isn't a small island, nor is it a reef; it’s the top of a giant monster's head!
So, I’m a chef standing on a monster’s head, and if I don't serve a meal, I become the meal!
Li Chuan looked down at his feet silently.
[Fish-Eating Duckweed (Plant Spirit): Blue]
[HP: 500/500]
[Lv60, Advanced Plant Spirit species, currently in a state of hunger. Weakness marked!]
It ate such a big fish and it's still hungry?
*Thwack!*
Half a fish carcass was tossed onto the reef by a tentacle.
"For me?"
[Grass-Base Fish Meat: Green]
[High-level ingredient, consuming multiple times can increase Mana.]
[Hard Fish Bone: White]
[Hard material, can be used for alchemy and forging.]
It eats the meat, and I drink the soup? It actually has a sense of contract!
But Li Chuan felt a lingering, inexplicable sense of humiliation at being a beast of burden.
Forget it, it's better than nothing.
Sitting back on the stool, Li Chuan cast his line back toward the same spot.
One more fish and the quest would be complete!
[56%]
"Eh? Why did the probability drop?"
Did my previous movements scare the fish away?
Li Chuan hurriedly searched for a spot with a higher probability again.
After circling around, the highest he could find was only around 60%.
Li Chuan frowned and gave the black ground beneath his feet a hard pat.

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"Big guy! Can you move somewhere else? There aren't many fish here!"
What happened next was incredible: the plant spirit actually understood Li Chuan, and it began to swim slowly through the water.
[87%]
"Stop! Right here, don't move."
The reef slowly came to a halt and truly stopped moving.
Ten minutes later, another massive force jerked the fishing line.
Having learned his lesson, Li Chuan was no longer afraid and began to play the fish.
*Splash!*
The giant creature broke the surface again.
[Ding! Captured Lv35 Water-Sword Dolphin, EXP +100]
The gluttonous maw reappeared, and a large fish with a razor-sharp protrusion on its forehead was swallowed whole.
[Ding! Assisted in killing Lv35 Water-Sword Dolphin, Gold Coins +2, EXP +300]
[Ding! Player 'Li Chuan' has gained enough EXP, Level +1, obtained Free Attribute Points *5.]
"Nicely done!"
Li Chuan felt the heavy burden on his shoulders vanish instantly.
After allocating his free points, Li Chuan waited quietly for the Fish-Eating Duckweed to finish its meal and toss something up for him.
*Thwack.*
A piece of fish meat was tossed up, but Li Chuan caught a glimpse of a blue shimmer among the meat.
Five pieces of green fish meat.
Ten hard fish bones.
And finally, there was even an ice-blue short dagger.
[Piercing Dagger: Blue]
[Equip Level: 15]
[Armor Penetration +10, Sharpness +10, Critical Hit Rate +10%, Strength +15.]
[Evaluation: Fast, accurate, and ruthless!]
I must keep this dagger safe; I can't let that psychopath see it.
I never expected to get loot from fishing—what a pleasant surprise.
However, I’ve caught two fish now, shouldn't the quest be finished?
He opened the quest panel.
[You have accepted a daily quest: "Would anyone like to go out on the beautiful sea and catch some fish to taste?"]
[The Green Sea is a truly wonderful place where you can feel the vastness of the world and your own insignificance. Take a fishing rod and catch two fish for me to taste.]
[Quest Rewards: Copper Coins *100, EXP *100, Bronze Treasure Chest *1, Temporary Photosynthetic Cabin (Blue) *1.]
[Quest Penalty: Become my food!]
[Quest Progress: 2/2]
[Time Remaining: 1 hour 02 minutes]
It’s clearly finished, so why can’t I go back? Do I have to wait for the remaining time to hit zero?
Well, that's great!
I can totally use my Probability Goggles to catch a few more!
Overjoyed, Li Chuan eagerly reached out to grab the fishing rod again.