Chapter 46: Forced Opening

“Brother, we decided to trade with you,” Ma Wei stepped into the room and stood at the doorway, speaking to Xu Feng.

“Alright, since it’s still early, tell me where the Treasure Chest is. I’ll go take a look,” Xu Feng stood up from the sofa and walked over.

“We’ll take you there. It’s quite far from here, about a two-hour walk,” Ma Wei said.

“Mm, let’s go then,” Xu Feng casually tossed the Black Iron Grade Short Blade to Ma Wei.

“Hey, it’s pretty heavy,” although it was just a Short Blade over a foot long, Ma Wei needed both hands to swing it.

“Are all of you coming?” Xu Feng asked.

“I’m not going. Walking back and forth would wear me out,” Li Min said.

“Then… then I won’t go either,” Sun Liang hesitated and shook his head.

“I’ll go along to see if I can help in any way,” Guo Yu said.

“Alright, Guo Yu and I will go. The rest of you stay here and rest. You’ve walked a lot today and must be tired,” Ma Wei glanced at Zhang Qiang and said.

Zhang Qiang was originally the strongest among the five, but after being kicked by Xu Feng, he seemed to have internal injuries. His chest kept aching faintly, and he couldn’t muster much Strength.

Ma Wei and Guo Yu led Xu Feng toward the back mountain.

“I really want to see what could come out of that Treasure Chest,” Zhang Qiang watched their departing figures, his eyes flickering, and murmured to himself.

“Just forget it. If something really good comes out, wouldn’t it be maddening? It’s fine as it is,” Sun Liang said.

“Yeah, we couldn’t even open that chest. It seems that guy has a way to open it. Let’s not end up in conflict with him again,” Li Min was still somewhat afraid.

“Hmph, if only we could all gain power as strong as his…” Zhang Qiang said unwillingly.

“Enough, don’t spout nonsense in front of that guy. I think he’s a ruthless character who wouldn’t blink at killing. Look at how many monsters he’s killed…” Sun Liang said with lingering fear, recalling the pile of monster materials from yesterday that had startled him.

“Hey, this is our chance,” Zhang Qiang punched the sofa armrest angrily and said bitterly.

…

“By the way, brother, you’re so strong, what should we call you?” Ma Wei said with a chuckle, “I’m Ma Wei, Ma as in horse, Wei as in great. He’s Guo Yu.”

“Ma Wei?” Xu Feng was stunned. This name seemed familiar, and quite famous at that.

“Xu Feng!”

Xu Feng lowered his head, recalling the name “Ma Wei.”

After thinking for a long while, Xu Feng’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Ma Wei, Ma Wei, isn’t that the guy who established the first human settlement in Huaxia?” Xu Feng remembered the name.

In his previous life, there was a man named Ma Wei who discovered a valley behind this Resort and established the first human settlement there. Xu Feng often went to that small village-like settlement to buy supplies and then came to Resort Lake to hunt monsters and search for Treasure Chests.

“Could it be that the golden chest they found is related to establishing a settlement?” Xu Feng’s heart grew excited.

A settlement—a human settlement wasn’t just a group of people staying in one place. It had to be a place activated with the protection of Earth’s Will to truly count as a settlement.

Otherwise, it could easily be overrun by monsters. A settlement protected by Earth’s Will was a real settlement, one that could gather people from nearby to live there.

If Xu Feng could obtain a settlement, just by issuing daily tasks, his Strength would skyrocket without any danger. The leader of a settlement was practically a local emperor of a small kingdom.

However, after this Ma Wei established the settlement, it seemed he used up all his luck. That settlement remained a level-one settlement for years without upgrading, with very few functional buildings. Later, after Xu Feng’s Strength improved, he left the Resort and never knew what happened to that settlement.

Ma Wei and Guo Yu seemed to notice that Xu Feng wasn’t much for talking. After chatting idly for a few sentences, they fell silent. The three of them trudged along in the mountains as the sky gradually darkened.

“How much longer?” Xu Feng looked up at the sky and frowned.

Many monsters liked to come out to hunt at night. Although there were few living creatures in the mountains and relatively few monsters, once one appeared, it was usually a tough one.

“Almost there, almost there. Just ten minutes at most. It’s right on the hillside around the corner,” Ma Wei said, wiping sweat from his forehead.

After walking all day, Ma Wei and Guo Yu’s stamina was nearly spent, and both felt very tired.

Soon, the three arrived at the foot of the hillside where the golden Treasure Chest was located.

“It’s that big rock. See it? Behind that rock. Just climb onto the rock, and you’ll see the chest,” Ma Wei pointed at the hillside.

Xu Feng looked up and indeed, halfway up the hillside, there was a huge rock. Behind it, a golden glint occasionally flashed.

“Alright, I’ll go up and take a look. Wait for me down here,” Xu Feng said, then climbed the hillside alone.

“You said you wanted to see what’s in the chest. Why aren’t you following him up?” Guo Yu turned and asked.

“Never mind, too tired. Look at that guy’s speed—we can’t keep up. By the time I get up there, he’d have taken everything. What’s there to see?” Ma Wei wiped his sweat and said.

Xu Feng easily stood on top of the large rock. Sure enough, behind the rock was a Treasure Chest shimmering with a golden glow.

“Heh heh, great! A golden Treasure Chest. It should contain at least one golden item,” Xu Feng chuckled, drew his longsword, jumped off the rock, and swung hard at the chest’s lock.

Crack~

In the open area, the sound carried clearly. Ma Wei and Guo Yu heard the crisp clashing of metal from the hillside and looked at each other, puzzled about what Xu Feng was doing.

“What do you think he’s doing? Does unlocking need that much noise?”

“Not sure. Could he be smashing the lock?”

“Possibly. With all that noise, it sounds like he’s hacking at something…”

“Darn, mental block! We’re so dumb. This isn’t a game; it’s the real world. If there’s a lock, it can definitely be smashed!” Ma Wei slapped himself hard on the cheek and said regretfully.

“So… what do we do now?” Guo Yu also felt regretful, wondering why they hadn’t thought of smashing the lock earlier, giving away a Treasure Chest for nothing.

If Xu Feng knew what they were thinking, he would surely scoff. Although a locked chest could be smashed open, it depended on what you used. With ordinary quality weapons, it was impossible to break the lock on a golden chest. At least a Black Iron Grade weapon was needed to smash the lock of a golden Treasure Chest. Since none of them had a Black Iron Grade weapon, even if they knew to smash the lock, they couldn’t have opened it.