Upon hearing [ Howling Pothos's ] statement, [ Epic-Level Giant ] curled its lip in disapproval:
"Is there really any positive feedback? Why don't I get any...?"
As he said this, the boom bar next to him suddenly bent downwards for a moment.
[ Epic-Level Giant ] tossed the half-cooked fish to [ Howling Pothos ] and then pounced, pulling at the fish beneath the ice.
A few minutes later, the fish, exhausted from being pulled, was finally pulled out of the ice hole by him.
"Positive feedback, I love it!"
[ Howling Pothos ] didn't say anything more. After his body gradually warmed up from the heat of the flames, he got up again, having eaten his fill of fish, and prepared to go back into the water.
"Can I borrow your hand drill?"
"Sure, but you want to use this to fix the metal grille?"
"No, I just wanted to create a breathing space for myself."
"Thump."
After the two finished their discussion, [ Howling Pothos ] jumped into the water again with the rope.
This time, instead of resisting the current, he went downstream and, unsurprisingly, got stuck outside the metal grille.
This was exactly what he planned. Using the metal grille for leverage, he quickly drilled a breathing hole upwards from under the ice with his hand drill.
After confirming that everything was in order, he embarked on his journey back to the supply depot once again.
It was already quite dark by then. [ Howling Pothos ] logged off first, while [ Epic-Level Giant ] began to enjoy the pleasure of winter night fishing.
Early the next morning, [ Howling Pothos ] emerged from the "cocoon." He used his Directed Alienation hand to conjure a breathing tube, then entered the cave entrance for the third time, which had been covered with a thin layer of ice again, and made his way to the metal grille.
He hooked his foot onto the mesh structure of the grille and extended the breathing tube through the hole that had been drilled the day before.
With everything ready, he pulled two saw blades from his waist and began cutting the vertical and horizontal connection points of the metal grille underwater, bit by bit.
The invention of the breathing tube greatly extended his time underwater.
As for the low temperature issue, after experiencing it several times, [ Howling Pothos ] can clearly feel its body gradually adapting to this environment.
The noise from the friction between the metal saw blade and the metal grille was drowned out by the gentle flow of water. Throughout the morning, [ Howling Pothos ] made four round trips, battling hypothermia by using the smokeless stove dug out by its companions.
Finally, he cut seven or eight slits in the grille, creating a hole large enough for one person to pass through.
Having done all this, [ Howling Pothos ] logged off, then logged back into the game in the evening.
The [ Epic-Level Giant ] is still fishing by the river, as if it were just an NPC that has respawned in a different location.
Upon seeing his companion come online, he understood what the other person meant and politely put away his fishing gear, waiting for [ Howling Pothos ] to dive.
"Aren't you going to stop using ' Bee Silk ' this time?"
Seeing the other party's confident demeanor, [ Epic-Level Giant ] couldn't help but feel curious.
"It's already been cut open; this time I'll just infiltrate directly."
"Okay, take this."
[ Epic-Level Giant ] handed the hand drill to [ Howling Pothos ]:
"Don't get trapped and die under the ice."
"Probably not."
Watching its companion disappear into the ice cave, the [ Epic-Level Giant ] temporarily lost interest in fishing.
It takes at least ten minutes for the fish that have been disturbed to return to the area.
He turned around and laid out his catch from the past two days. The winter cold had preserved the fish in a remarkably fresh state, showing no signs of spoilage.
After taking a few photos, he unusually opened his World of Disorder forum, uploaded the photos, and captioned them. "Mysterious jungle spot."
The Shattered echoed continuously above [ Howling Pothos ].
A breathing hole quickly appeared, and he extended the breathing tube, continuing to widen the hole until he could crawl out.
The unnamed river flows from north to south through Fir City, and the chapel he had last landed and investigated seemed to be located in the west of the city.
In other words, this is yet another brand new adventure for [ Howling Pothos ].
He broke through the ice near the shore and squeezed his body over little by little.
It was completely dark by then, and all around were houses, but there wasn't a single pedestrian in sight.
[ Howling Pothos ] reached the shore, panting, and found a roadside tree not far away, about as thick as a human waist.
So he quickly walked over and sat down against a roadside tree to rest and recover his strength.
The roadside tree he was leaning against seemed to move slightly, but [ Howling Pothos ] didn't pay attention, since his back was completely numb and he couldn't feel the slight movement.
But he soon realized something was wrong—
Beneath his buttocks were neatly arranged stone bricks, which extended down to the base of the large tree.
The question then becomes obvious: how did a large tree grow from the cracks in the stone bricks and reach the thickness of a person without affecting the arrangement of the bricks?
In the blink of an eye, [ Howling Pothos ] realized something was wrong.
As I leaned back here, the tree behind me seemed to... move slightly?
He immediately felt a chill rise from his back, and with a flick of his right hand, the folding knife from his custom-made weapon appeared in his hand.
There was clearly something wrong with the tree behind him. He tried to get up, but found himself unable to move, as if he were stuck to it by a sap-like substance.
Looking up, he saw that the once straight tree had bent at a ninety-degree angle, and two round holes in the trunk were staring at him like two eyes.
[ Howling Pothos ] immediately felt a warning bell ring in his mind. He had been busy with his infiltration mission these past two days and hadn't been browsing the forums much, so he naturally missed the strategy guide " How to Escape from Living Wood " co-authored by [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] and [ Dark Archmage ].
The total value of my equipment and items is about four gold coins. My current savings are enough to play a few more rounds like this...
Just as [ Howling Pothos ] had begun to arrange his "afterlife," a branch suddenly moved from the side to his front, on which hung a fresh, green fruit about half the size of a fist.
A muffled sound came from a larger, deeper tree hollow:
Would you like something to eat?
The plot always takes unexpected turns, but considering that this is World of Disorder, [ Howling Pothos ] doesn't find anything wrong with it.
He was prepared to give up all the good stuff he had on him, so he bravely picked a fruit and took a bite.
Hmm, it's a bit astringent; it doesn't seem ripe yet.