Chapter 30: The Locked Chest

“Hey, what great luck,” Xu Feng exclaimed. In his past life, he had opened countless chests, and the best he ever got was a Silver Quality ring. Yet, Wang Ying had managed to pull out a Curio on her very first try.

After Earth’s Will awakened, ordinary items were no longer valuable. Only those items filled with magic were what Earth’s Chosen pursued.

Whether weapons, armor, jewelry, vehicles, or even food, everything was graded by effectiveness into Black Iron Grade, Bronze Grade, Silver Grade, Shining Gold Grade, Dark Gold Grade, and Sacred Grade.

Additionally, there was a category of items known as Curios, which possessed miraculous effects. Some had very minor uses, almost like ordinary items, while others had surprisingly powerful effects, even comparable to Sacred Grade items. Curios always emitted a green glow.

“What, what is this thing?” Wang Ying wondered, pulling out an item the size of a walnut from the chest. Its surface was covered in a jade-green skin, and beneath that skin, golden runes seemed to flow continuously.

“It looks, it looks like a magic seed,” Xu Feng said, furrowing his brow as he examined it closely.

“Yeah, it should be a magic seed, but we don’t know what it could grow into,” Xu Feng shook his head. “If someone takes on the Planter profession, you could probably sell this to them for a good price.”

“Planter? What’s that? Can’t we plant it ourselves?” Wang Ying asked curiously.

“Planter is a profession. Well, compared to combat professions, it’s a lifestyle profession. Once you reach Three-Star, you’ll understand; after Three-Star, everyone can have their own profession,” Xu Feng said calmly. “As for planting it ourselves, without the Planter profession, it’s impossible to plant this kind of magic seed.”

“So, this thing is useless for now?” Wang Ying said, sounding a bit disappointed.

“Keep it. It will definitely be useful later. Besides, if you get the chance, you could become a Planter. You have a healing talent, which pairs well with the Planter profession,” Xu Feng said.

“Okay, I’ll put it away for now. There seems to be more stuff inside,” Wang Ying said.

Soon, the two of them took out all the items from the chest, and the wooden chest gradually faded away until it disappeared.

“That’s amazing. It really vanished right before our eyes,” Wang Ying said in surprise.

“Haha, once you see it more often, it won’t seem so strange,” Xu Feng said with a laugh, his gaze shifting to the other items Wang Ying had retrieved.

“Two pieces of fish meat, one iron ore, and a blue crystal. Not bad luck,” Xu Feng praised.

“Really?” Wang Ying asked.

“Yes, most people only get two or three items, and most of them are ordinary quality junk. But these are all Black Iron Grade materials,” Xu Feng said.

Hearing this, a hint of a happy smile finally appeared on Wang Ying’s face.

“Let’s keep going. There should be many chests around this area. Let’s try to get you a weapon,” Xu Feng said with a low laugh.

Trying to get a Black Iron Grade weapon from the chests by the lake wasn’t impossible, but the chances were very slim. In his past life, Xu Feng had opened hundreds, if not thousands, of chests here, but only a handful contained Black Iron Grade equipment. Statistically, it was about a one in several hundred chance to get Black Iron Grade equipment, and that included armor, weapons, and jewelry. So, the chance of specifically getting a weapon was probably less than one in a thousand.

“Let’s split up and search. That way, our chances will be better,” Wang Ying said excitedly.

“Okay, but make sure to stay away from the Resort Lake. There are many monsters in there,” Xu Feng hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

The two split up and began searching along the lake shore.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was almost evening. The sky gradually darkened. Xu Feng had found about eight or nine chests nearby, but the items he got were average, mostly worthless food and drinks. Very few contained Black Iron Grade materials. Compared to the first chest they opened, these were far worse.

He glanced at Wang Ying not far away. She had a happy expression and occasionally let out a suppressed exclamation. It seemed her haul was quite good.

“Xu Feng, come quick, come quick! I found a locked chest,” Wang Ying looked around and, seeing Xu Feng, waved urgently for him to come over.

“A locked chest?” Xu Feng’s eyes lit up. After all, locked chests always contained good items.

Sure enough, at Wang Ying’s feet was a chest twice the size of a regular one. It seemed to be made of metal, with strange patterns carved on its surface, and a copper lock securely fastening it shut.

“Xu Feng, Xu Feng, can this chest be opened?” Wang Ying asked nervously. This chest clearly stood out; its design alone was much more luxurious than ordinary chests. It surely held good items. The only problem was the lock preventing it from being opened.

“In games, locked chests like this require lockpicking skills and tools to open, right, Xu Feng?” Wang Ying tugged at Xu Feng’s sleeve and asked in a low, anxious voice.

“Haha, that’s right. There’s another way: hunt the nearby Fish Monsters. They might carry keys to the chest,” Xu Feng said quietly. “But I know an even simpler way to open this chest.”

With that, Xu Feng swung his longsword and, with a snap, struck the copper lock.

“You, you want to break the lock?” Wang Ying asked in surprise.

“Yeah, it’s the simplest method,” Xu Feng said, pulling back his sword and striking the copper lock again.

Seeing Wang Ying’s shocked expression, Xu Feng chuckled inwardly. In his past life, he had been fooled by such chests too. Following typical game logic, these chests required lockpicking skills and tools to open. Many people desperately sought lockpicking skills just to open these chests.

Later, a reckless Chosen One finally found a chest but discovered it was locked. In a fit of rage, he took a giant axe and started smashing the copper lock. Initially just venting frustration, he ended up breaking the lock off.

After that, everyone learned that such locked chests could be forcibly dismantled. When Xu Feng found out, he regretted it for a long time. After all, he had encountered dozens of locked chests but had given up on them all.

In this life, Xu Feng would not have such regrets again.