"You say."
"Do you remember a few months ago when you fell into the water and were eaten...?"
"Remember, stop talking and get down to business."
"I discovered that our vegetative state patients could hold their breath underwater for much longer than in reality, and I decided to put this trait to use."
"Do what?"
"The queues to cause trouble in Fir City are just too long. I'm planning to develop my own dedicated portal. Anyway, the official game announcement makes it very clear that players can find their own way into Fir City."
"Is your solution..."
"By water."
"So why did you contact me?"
"I'd like a supply depot on the waterway not far outside the city, and you need a secluded fishing spot. Our needs seem to overlap a bit, don't they?"
Upon hearing this, the [ Epic-Level Giant ] immediately understood.
[ Howling Pothos ]'s meaning is clear: he needs a "security guard" to ensure that someone will be there to meet him when he evacuates Fir City.
A fishing spot known only to yourself is indeed very tempting. Fishing casually and helping the other person look after their supplies seems like a really easy thing to do...
Thinking about this, he was already quite tempted, but ultimately he was still a little conflicted:
"I'm a fisherman representing White Wax Town. If I go somewhere else..."
"Isn't that because you live in White Wax Town? It's not like you can't go fishing elsewhere, is it?"
"... It seems that's indeed the case. One last question."
"You say."
"Are there really fish there? I want to hear the truth."
Seeing the other person's eager and sincere eyes, [ Howling Pothos ] had no intention of deceiving them:
"I'm not really sure about that, but the river there is wider than here, as you've probably noticed. The rivers in the entire Aduolin Province converge from north to south. According to the locals, if you go all the way north, you'll reach the snowfields, where all the rivers originate and constantly converge as they flow..."
He looked at the [ Epic-Level Giant ] and analyzed it carefully:
"From this perspective, larger rivers have a larger volume of water, a slower current even in winter, and a larger underwater area, so naturally there will be more fish."
"It seems... there's some truth to it."
The [ Epic-Level Giant ] lowered its head in deep thought, and quickly made a decision.
"I believe there are fish in these kinds of fishing spots, as long as they're not so remote that even the fish don't know about them."
After the two reached an agreement, the [ Epic-Level Giant ] practically jogged back to the riverbank and packed up its empty fish basket.
The other fishermen on the side initially intended to scold the [ Epic-Level Giant ] for scaring away their fish, but they all burst out laughing when they saw the empty fish basket.
[ Epic-Level Giant ] made a mental note of this, vowing that once he caught the King of Fish, he would get lost repeatedly for three days near the castle and in White Wax Town.
The two bought new Seed of Rest and packed their belongings before quickly setting off.
They first used the Teleportation Tree to travel from near the castle to Acacia Town, the closest Black Locust Town to Fir City, and then left Black Locust Town, heading south along the river.
Between Black Locust Town and Fir City lies a dense forest interspersed with paths and waterways, through which a large river flows.
The two walked until dark, and finally logged off inside the "cocoon" to rest. They didn't arrive near Fir City until the afternoon of the next day.
To defend against the Blood Corpse, Fir City, which already had walls, underwent another expansion before winter.
In addition, to prevent the Blood Corpse from getting close without being discovered, the people of Fir City deliberately cut down a large grove of trees surrounding the city walls.
If the two went any further, they would easily be spotted by the soldiers patrolling the walls of Fir City. And if they went any further back, [ Howling Pothos ] couldn't guarantee that he could dive down in one breath and come out alive.
After roughly estimating the distance, the two found a spot where the river turned slightly.
The curve formed by the river's turn perfectly encloses an area, making it ideal as both a fishing spot and a resupply station.
Just as the two were about to respawn here, they suddenly discovered a problem they had previously overlooked—
How do Tree of Rest grow in the frozen soil of winter?
The two were not discouraged despite realizing this; it's just that the respawn point cannot be changed, and perhaps the official team will add a patch for it someday.
If you plan to stay here for an extended period, having plenty of disposable sleeping bags ("cocoons") is obviously essential.
Neither of them had any objections to this extra expense. [ Howling Pothos ] had just made a fortune from his retreat the day before yesterday, while [ Epic-Level Giant ], as a composed Zhongdeng, was clearly not opposed to paid fishing spots.
As long as there's a big fish, I'm willing to let it go even if I can't take it with me!
Having confirmed the location, [ Howling Pothos ] began using tools to cut down the surrounding trees, building himself a makeshift warehouse and shelter in the cold wind.
Meanwhile, [ Epic-Level Giant ] took out his hand drill, which he used for winter fishing, from his backpack and began to carefully drill holes in the ice on the riverbank.
A hand drill can only produce holes about the width of a calf, but humans have always been adept at such things.
The [ Epic-Level Giant ] drilled three adjacent holes and then slammed them into the center of the three holes.
Amidst the Shattered sound of the ice, a hole as thick as a human waist appeared before the two.
At this moment, the shed for [ Howling Pothos ] was less than half completed.
"You're incredibly efficient!"
You don't find it tiring to do things you're interested in, right?
[ Epic-Level Giant ] was quite pleased with himself at this moment. He looked at [ Howling Pothos ]'s unfinished shelter and asked:
How much longer will this take?
It probably won't be fully completed until tomorrow.
With a perfect plan in place, [ Howling Pothos ] was no longer in such a hurry as before.
After all, sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood. As long as this supply station, which belongs to him alone, can operate stably, he can continuously extract wealth from the treasure trove of Fir City, just like a rat in a granary.
So he didn't choose to slack off; instead, he built the supply station very seriously.
Upon hearing the news that it wouldn't be finished until tomorrow, [ Epic-Level Giant ] thought for a moment and said:
"Then you go ahead with your work, I'll take a swing first."
Snowflakes fell thick and fast from the sky. One of the two men was carrying timber back and forth, while the other sat upright by the river like a statue.
As night Descent, the supply station shed, built entirely of wood, was beginning to take shape, while [ Epic-Level Giant ] had caught three or four fish about the length of his forearm, and his face was beaming with an irrepressible smile.
Their hands met in the air, and both felt a sense of fulfillment.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you."
"Yes, it's a pleasure doing business with you."