Rustle, rustle…
The yellow sand filled the sky.
Chen Yu stepped onto the soft sand, his back to the direction of the wind, and dug the sand from the ground, shovel after shovel.
[Cave Reminder: Sand +1]
[Cave Reminder: Sand +1]
[Cave Reminder: Sand +1]
…
When he had dug up 20 units of sand, he received a reminder.
[Cave Reminder: Resource collection has reached its limit]
So he couldn't keep digging.
Chen Yu immediately stopped.
Collecting these resources was purely for precaution, like digging for soil in a rainforest; no one could be sure when it would be useful.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Chen Yu’s gaze fell upon the treasure chest in front of him, half-buried in the sand.
He had noticed it long ago.
A treasure chest exuding the aroma of food.
[Bronze Treasure Chest: A higher-tier treasure chest compared to an iron treasure chest, containing relatively abundant supplies within, but also potentially fatal dangers. Consider carefully.]
A bronze treasure chest.
This was the highest-tier treasure chest Chen Yu had encountered so far.
It was just that the color of this treasure chest was a bit strange.
[Caution, the treasure chest is poisonous]
Hearing the reminder from the "Soul of Gluttony," Chen Yu shrugged.
Just as he thought…
The color of this treasure chest was a bit odd.
A bronze treasure chest should be relatively dark, with a brownish-gold hue, but this treasure chest had some strange purple spots on it.
If other survivors saw the treasure chest, their hearts would leap with joy.
Excitedly they would open it.
*Gulp!*
This desert would then have one more unfortunate soul.
Cutting out a wolf hide the size of his palm, Chen Yu wiped around the chest and then tossed the wolf hide onto the sand pile.
He would not recycle the wolf hides.
He was afraid of dying.
If anyone unlucky enough to pick up the wolf hide were to perish, Chen Yu wouldn't take the blame.
Looking at the treasure chest, Chen Yu rubbed his hands together.
Food!
This contained food.
The treasure chest was opened.
[Cave Reminder: 350g White Bread +1]
[Cave Reminder: 100g Ham +1]
[Cave Reminder: Roasted Meat +1]
Seeing these, Chen Yu's heart remained unmoved.
He knew the main event was the Greed Critical Strike.
Explode, explode, explode!
Don't give me just a 5x or 8x multiplier, those are boring. Give me a 300x or 500x!
[Ding: Gluttony activated for the Foodie, Food Greed Critical Strike 25x]
[Greed Critical Strike: 350g White Bread +25]
[Greed Critical Strike: 100g Ham +25]
[Greed Critical Strike: Roasted Meat +25]
Hiss!
Wow.
Seeing the critical strike numbers, Chen Yu felt as if he had entered a state of enlightenment.
So satisfying!
A 25x multiplier.
Although not as exaggerated as 300x or 500x, it was enough.
One must learn to be content.
The consumed food was instantly replenished.
It was only a bit disappointing that no water was obtained.
No problem.
If he could find a bottle of water, he would instantly ascend.
He glanced at the bronze treasure chest on the ground.
Deconstruct.
[Cave Reminder: Copper Block +4]
There wasn't much else to explore in the current cave. Chen Yu couldn't just stay here digging sand forever.
He almost forgot.
He wasn't even allowed to dig sand anymore.
He scanned the surroundings again with his sense of smell, but this time he wasn't so lucky.
The nearby areas were either lava zones, gas chambers, or inhabited by beasts. There were also some small rooms that might contain stone materials.
Unless absolutely necessary, Chen Yu would never go fight beasts.
He could explore safely and obtain sufficient resources with food; why would he take risks?
Even though he had the Gale Sword of Adventure.
That was also a melee weapon.
It required close-quarters combat with beasts.
If Chen Yu could get shoes that allowed him to run very fast, or a ranged weapon, he might consider fighting beasts.
The prerequisite was absolute safety.
Survival required caution.
With the slightest carelessness, being bitten by a beast, even if he didn't die, would leave him with a wound that would be troublesome.
Infection of the wound would be even more disastrous.
Chen Yu was not like others who had no choice but to open blind boxes.
He had a choice.
Everyone in cave survival must find their own way of living. Chen Yu's idea was to be prudent, relying on food and Greed Critical Strikes to make his life in the cave better.
He decided to go into a small room!
Upon arriving at the small room, Chen Yu was somewhat surprised. There was an iron treasure chest inside.
"So lucky."
Chen Yu couldn't help but mutter.
In his previous explorations of small rooms, they only contained piles of resources, and once the resources were taken, there was nothing else.
[Cave Reminder: Iron Treasure Chest +1]
[Cave Reminder: Water Condenser Crafting Recipe +1]
[Cave Reminder: Wind Elemental Crystal Shard +1]
Whoa!
He got a crystal shard.
This was the first time Chen Yu had obtained a crystal shard, and he couldn't help but feel a bit excited.
He held the shard in his hand.
He could vaguely feel the gentle movement of the wind.
He tossed it into his inventory.
He now had two Wind Elemental Crystal Shards in storage.
Although he didn't need them now, it was always good to keep them. If all else failed, he could make two Gale Swords and sell them.
There were always people who liked magical weapons.
After a brief moment of excitement, Chen Yu looked at the blueprint again.
[Water Condenser Crafting Recipe: Provides energy, capable of condensing water elements from the air into potable water resources. A daily-use, charge-type, low-level magical engine device.]
[Crafting Requirements: Wood 129/20, Stone 17/20, Copper Block 51/20, Silver Block 0/5, Water Elemental Crystal Shard 1/1, Fire Elemental Crystal Shard 0/1]
[Consumable crafting recipe, the recipe disappears after use.]
Water element.
Low-level magical engine device.
Here it comes again.
Chen Yu mentioned magic when crafting the Gale Sword of Adventure, and the wristband's reminders when making the campfire also mentioned magic.
Magic!
Could this cave world truly be a world of swords and magic?
He blinked slightly.
A smile appeared on Chen Yu's face.
The Water Condenser.
This was definitely a good thing.
Once he crafted it, he would no longer have to worry about water.
It was just that this was the first time he had encountered a consumable recipe, and it felt quite advanced.
Thinking about it.
Chen Yu understood.
If everyday items like this, capable of condensing water elements, could be crafted endlessly, then anyone who got the recipe could make a house full of Water Condensers and sell water all day long.
Making a Water Condenser was not simple.
Stone materials were easy to obtain.
He didn't have Fire Elemental Crystal Shards.
Silver Block.
This item was not cheap either.
He opened the trading channel and searched around, but couldn't find any Fire Elemental Crystal Shards. There were Silver Blocks, however, and one unit cost 200.
Purchase order.
[Seller: Chen Yu]
[Trade Item: 350g White Bread, 100g Ham]
[Demand: 1 Fire Elemental Crystal Shard]
[Quantity: 5]
[Remarks: Buying any elemental crystal shards]
As for Silver Blocks, Chen Yu could acquire them whenever he wanted, so he wasn't in a hurry.
Even if they were selling for 200ml now, he could directly cut the price in half when he bought them, and people would still sell.
The most important thing was to solve the elemental shard issue.
“Warning, warning, Big Shot Chen Yu is selling food resources again, demanding Fire Elemental Crystal Shards, rush to buy.”
“Big Shot Chen Yu has been collecting elemental crystal shards recently.”
“Hey, did you notice? Big Shot Chen Yu is selling white bread and ham this time. Yesterday it was black bread and boiled eggs. It seems Big Shot Chen Yu has a lot of variety in his food.”
“We don’t understand the world of Big Shots!”
“Brother Chen Yu, wait for me. When I find Fire Elemental Crystal Shards, I’ll give them to you. I’m Little Sweetie!”
“Bitch upstairs.”
“Scram, are you sick? Why are you chasing and biting me.”
“Idiot!”
After watching the chat channel for a while, there were no trading reminders, nor did anyone send private messages about elemental shards.
Chen Yu was not in a hurry.
He continued to explore slowly, perhaps with good luck he would find them himself when opening chests. The auspicious start in the first two caves filled him with confidence for today's exploration.
He stretched lazily.
His gaze swept towards the several glowing circles in the small room.
——————————————
Thank you all, my lords, for reading this far. If you don't like it by chapter 50, I'll pay for your plane ticket to come chop me.