Exploring the cave.
For Chen Yu, it was as simple as window shopping.
There was no challenge.
Chen Yu hadn't expected that in just a few short days, he no longer felt the trepidation and fear of encountering beasts when exploring caves.
Nor did he have to worry about food.
So annoying!
He really wanted some excitement.
With Kuka, the skilled woodcutter and miner, Chen Yu just strolled around, sitting on Jack's back to admire the scenery of the cave world.
Speaking of which, this cave was also very strange.
It was like a scrambled jigsaw puzzle, with no connection between the spaces in the six directions: front, back, left, right, up, and down.
The front could be a mining area.
The next space might be a rainforest, a plain, a grassland, or even a lava zone.
Tossing a black persimmon into his mouth, Chen Yu couldn't help but murmur.
"I really want to see the lava room."
Chen Yu estimated that in the outer areas, only the lava room could pose a slight threat to him.
He wasn't reckless.
Even if he were to go, he would need to be fully prepared, at least to craft the Wizard's Staff.
Otherwise, if he truly encountered danger, it would be disastrous.
Stay steady, don't get reckless!
With his current development momentum, it wasn't impossible for him to become a great slave owner in this cave in the future.
Cat-eared girls washing his feet, fox sisters giving him massages.
Finding a rabbit teacher for lessons.
How wonderful.
While fantasizing about a beautiful future life, Chen Yu finished the black persimmons in his hand.
He glanced at his stock of black persimmons, finding only 5 strings left. The ones in the planting pots were still showing as mature, with no sign of coalescing into fruits.
He needed to figure out how to get some fruits.
"Hey, Lucky Set, come on... I want to top up, give me an orchard or let me open some fruits from a box." Chen Yu tugged at his collar. "If you hear me, please respond, over!"
Purely for self-entertainment.
The Lucky Set was actually just metaphysics.
He guessed that his previous 50x critical hit and word-is-law were purely coincidental.
Sacrificing his life?
It wasn't that sinister.
"Boss."
Heidou, who had gone out to explore for treasure chests, returned triumphantly, sitting on Rou Si and holding a silver chest.
Chen Yu reached out and took the chest.
He sniffed it.
There was no scent of food.
"Tch~"
Chen Yu couldn't help but curl his lips.
That's it?
Come on, keep topping up, you're useless too?
He thought the Lucky Set would be more miraculous, but now it wasn't giving him fruits.
Did it lose its power?
He lightly raised a finger towards the chest.
[Cave Reminder: Silver Ingots +6]
[Cave Reminder: Fire Elemental Crystal Shard +3]
[Cave Reminder: Wind Elemental Crystal Shard +3]
After acquiring the Lucky Set, the probability of obtaining elemental crystal shards from opening chests increased significantly. Almost all silver chests and above could reliably yield more than 6 elemental shards.
[Cave Reminder: Treasure Map +1]
What is this?
It was a parchment drawing in his hand.
[Treasure Map: A map detailing the location of a massive treasure. No one knows its authenticity. Perhaps, it holds astonishing riches, or perhaps it is a deadly danger. You must be extremely cautious.]
"He wasn't lying; the burial site is indeed dangerous."
Danger and reward coexist.
The burial site!
This was new. Chen Yu found it quite interesting.
When he spread it out, a blue circle and a red X appeared on the map. The blue circle likely represented his current location, and the red X marked the treasure.
"I'll keep it."
Chen Yu muttered and tossed it into his bracelet.
The cave space was scrambled. It was impossible to follow the path on the map to find the treasure.
"Boss, we haven't caught any slaves this afternoon," Jack grumbled, lying on the ground. "We just walked around, chopped trees, mined, and didn't do anything else."
"You're not happy?" Chen Yu said.
"No..." Jack immediately said with a fawning smile. "I was just thinking, weren't we here to catch slaves? If we don't catch any, our plan will fall through."
Chen Yu smiled and looked down, grinning.
"You want to bully newcomers, don't you?"
Jack, whose thoughts were exposed, chuckled dryly.
He did!
After being beaten by Chen Yu, and with Rou Si seemingly developing feelings for someone else, he was extremely frustrated. Now, he desperately needed an outlet for his anger.
"I'll fulfill your wish," Chen Yu whispered.
He couldn't encounter beasts, likely due to his Lucky Set. When he prepared to enter the cave later, he would just take off the wristguards.
By disrupting the set's attributes, he could encounter beasts.
Catch one.
Train it well and give it an opportunity to join a reputable enterprise.
He stretched lazily.
Kuka, carrying his pickaxe, also returned, sweat dripping from his body.
"Boss, all collected."
Rou Si, lying on the ground, stared intently at Kuka, her eyes sparkling with hearts.
Mr. Kuka, so manly.
Sniff, sniff~~
Sensing Rou Si's gaze, Kuka flinched and instinctively retreated behind Chen Yu.
Chen Yu watched this with amusement.
What could he say?
Feelings were uncontrollable. The more you tried to suppress them, the more they would overflow and intensify. It was best to let things take their natural course.
Since all the resources had been collected, Chen Yu didn't want to waste any more time.
The sooner it was over, the better.
[In front of you is an orchard, with the sweet scent of apples.]
Gulp.
Upon seeing this notification, Chen Yu suddenly swallowed.
What's going on?
An orchard!
How could he actually encounter an orchard?
This...
Did the top-up succeed?
Was he actually paying?
No, no, he was just joking around, he wasn't serious.
He absolutely could not go there.
If he stepped inside, he would be charged.
[To the left is a lava pool, with no place to stand. Upon entering, you will be melted into ashes.]
[To the right is a lava pool, with no place to stand. Same as above.]
[Behind, same as above.]
[Above, same as above.]
[Below, same as above.]
What the hell?!
Chen Yu jumped up, staring at his surroundings.
He was surrounded by lava?
Hey!
You can't do this!
The space he had just come from had also turned into a lava pool.
What's happening?
Did the lava from the ceiling leak?
This was clearly a black market, forcing consumption!
Forced life payment.
How could this be?
He was just talking big; couldn't he even brag while wearing the Lucky Set?
Activate the life shield.
It's a payment!
No need to enter a password, password-free payment.
Chen Yu hadn't enabled this feature, and even if he had, shouldn't they ask the cardholder first?
There was no turning back now.
Forward.
Enter the orchard and pick some fruits.
The other directions led into lava pools, with no footing, directly turning him into ashes.
"Hey, where's Heidou?"
Chen Yu suddenly noticed Heidou was missing.
He looked around twice.
He saw Heidou dragging a bronze chest, seemingly using all his might. Kuka quickly went to help carry the chest back.
"Why did you get another treasure chest?" Chen Yu asked in surprise.
Heidou grinned, "I suddenly smelled a treasure chest just now, so I dug it out. Boss, wasn't that awesome!"
"Awesome..."
Before Chen Yu could finish, he suddenly felt that the smell from this treasure chest was wrong.
His nostrils twitched slightly as he sniffed.
Chen Yu: (ヾﾉ꒪ཫ꒪)
Clutching his chest, Chen Yu extended a finger.
"Quickly..."
"Take this chest away!"
"Take it away!!"
--
Author's note:
Worn out, the donkey from the production team won't be able to make a living...