Chapter 31: The Pattern on the Treasure Chest

While Xu Xin was checking out the items that could be crafted under the [Treehouse Renovation] section, Li Wenxi sent him a message.

"Xu Xin, are you back?"

It seemed like she hadn't encountered any trouble.

Xu Xin had many things he wanted to ask her, so he initiated a video call right away.

The video was answered instantly, and seeing Li Wenxi in the video made Xu Xin's eyelid twitch.

In the video, Li Wenxi looked extremely disheveled, with scratches visible on her arms and thighs. Even the newbie two-piece set was a bit torn, revealing some skin.

However, she didn't seem to notice this. Her expression was very excited, and as soon as the video connected, she exclaimed, "Xu Xin, I found the copper treasure chest! Oh, hi, hello there, little panda!"

"Eep!" Keke, perched on Xu Xin's shoulder, greeted Li Wenxi in the video as well.

"How did you get all those injuries? Were you attacked by creatures near the treasure chest?"

"Yeah, yeah, how did you know? Oh, you must have found the treasure chest too, right?" Li Wenxi realized, and nodded in agreement, "I knew you'd find it too. Did you see the regional chat? There aren't many who found the treasure chest! We're pretty amazing!"

Xu Xin glanced at the regional chat, and the remaining number of people was down to 7,568, with hundreds more losing their lives during the day.

"Probably many people encountered the treasure chest, but they were taken down by the creatures nearby..."

Xu Xin didn't finish, but Li Wenxi understood and nodded in agreement, "Indeed. By the way, what kind of creatures did you have over there? My treasure chest was actually inside the roots of a vine!"

Hmm?

She's just like me?

"Mine was in the roots of a vine too. That vine suddenly burst out of the ground, attacked me twice, and died."

"Eh? That's exactly what happened to me! The vine suddenly came out from under my feet! If I hadn't been alert, I would have died immediately! I checked the regional chat, and others who obtained the treasure chest did not encounter vines? I thought everyone faced different dangers."

Xu Xin was browsing the regional chat, and a few others who found copper treasure chests were very active, including the person he saw upon returning at noon, who was attacked shortly after leaving the treehouse.

Some were ambushed and entangled by snakes as thick as a bowl, some were chased and gnawed by rats the size of small cats, some had insects as large as southern cockroaches burrow into their bodies, some were entangled by suddenly growing brambles, but without exception, these creatures all burst out of the ground.

Was it just a coincidence for him and Li Wenxi?

"I'm not sure, maybe it's just a coincidence." Xu Xin couldn't figure out the logic behind it, shook his head, and asked, "How did you find the copper treasure chest?"

"I don't know either, I just walked by feeling for a day and just when I was about to give up, the vine ambushed me." Li Wenxi explained honestly.

Goodness, a true luck king, huh, discovering a treasure chest in an area spanning three kilometers solely by chance.

"Did you also get fertilizer and two bags of seeds from your treasure chest?"

"Yes," Li Wenxi nodded, "The seeds, as they mentioned in the chat, are birch and pine tree seeds. Everyone seems to have the same; it's just unclear what these logs and timbers are for. I checked the crafting list and there isn't anything that requires logs and timbers."

Xu Xin opened his mouth but decided not to tell Li Wenxi about the silver treasure chest he obtained, especially after the episode with the giant terrapin in the river, which he himself didn't know how to explain. He simply said, "Perhaps it has something to do with the items in future treasure chests."

"Ah well, who cares? I'm taking it easy! Not going out at night; daytime is dangerous enough, and going out at night is just too unsafe! Ouch ouch ouch..." Li Wenxi's injured arm bumped against the table, and she quickly withdrew her hand and lightly rubbed it.

Xu Xin traded over some herb he found before that could be applied externally, saying, "Use this, it's an herb. There should be plenty around your house, but they look almost like regular grass, so they're not easy to recognize."

"Really?" Li Wenxi looked at the herb in her hand, and it looked exactly like the weeds downstairs, but what she saw in the description was [Coagulant Herb: A special type of grass].

Without Xu Xin's item identification ability, Li Wenxi's item descriptions were simpler, just a single sentence.

"You can even discover this?" Typical items need to be held or touched to see the description. It sounds simple, but who would be bored enough to fiddle around with weeds? Plus, you'd have to pick the coagulant herb precisely to discover it.

So far, this herb with healing properties hasn't appeared on the trading platform.

"Discovered it by chance." Xu Xin naturally wouldn't reveal his ability. "Alright, if you're not going out then get some rest. I won't stay in the treehouse tonight."

"Oh okay, hey, you gave me so many things, I should return them to you!" Li Wenxi seemed a bit embarrassed by her own laid-back approach.

"No need, keep them. Just don't forget me if you find something good later."

After hanging up the video call, Xu Xin took out the golden compass.

Only the final golden treasure chest was left. Who knows what kind of resources would be in it?

The copper treasure chest was in the root of the killer vine, the silver treasure chest in the mouth of the giant terrapin, so where would the golden treasure chest be?

[Golden Treasure Chest Compass: Spin the pointer to determine the general direction of the golden treasure chest, with a usage interval of 5 hours.]

The interval time for using this compass was much longer than for the silver treasure chest compass, undoubtedly making it harder to find the golden treasure chest.

He spun the compass, and the pointer finally stopped at the northwest direction.

"So it's over there..."

The area full of red dots in the hilly region was in the northwest direction. Fortunately, that area was beyond three kilometers, so the golden treasure chest was certainly not within that dangerous range.

Xu Xin didn't rush out but instead roasted a few pounds of bear meat, paired it with mushrooms he had collected earlier, and enjoyed a hearty dinner. Searching for the golden treasure chest might likely end in a fierce battle, so how could he not eat well and fill up?

Placing the silver treasure chest from his backpack beside the copper treasure chest, Xu Xin was about to rise and leave when his gaze froze, and he began to scrutinize the two treasure chests side by side.

Xu Xin initially thought the styles of the two treasure chests should be exactly the same, but upon placing them together, he noticed differences.

Previously, it was hard to see anything when looking at them separately, but now, with the two treasure chests side by side, the patterns on the silver and copper chests seemed to form a single design, an incomplete design.

It was an outline of an animal seen from the side, with the pattern on the left copper chest being part of the animal's tail and hind legs, the right silver chest holding the middle body and front legs, while the head was missing. Considering this, the head's pattern should be on the body of the golden treasure chest.

Judging by the body alone, the pattern somewhat resembled that of the mythical beast Qilin, a body like a musk deer, a tail like a dragon, and scales covering its body.

Xu Xin had already encountered two beasts in this world that defied logic: the giant anaconda in the lake and the massive terrapin in the stream bottom, each surpassing his imagination, so encountering a Qilin here wouldn't surprise him much.

Who knows what the pattern on the treasure chest represents? Ah well, no need to think too much about it. Once I find the golden treasure chest, whatever the pattern signifies will naturally become clear.