Chapter 10. An ominous sign, the same as Xiao Wei's...

[Ominous: Heading south is a path where good and bad fortune are intertwined, fraught with danger; rare treasures may be hidden in thorns or concealed along perilous paths; those who tread this path may have the opportunity to seize wealth, but they also face the danger of death. Please proceed with extreme caution.]

Upon seeing that today's fortune was an ominous sign, the entire Dragon Fang team didn't even bother to read the contents; they simply stared at the direction and began to cheer.

"Wuhu~ If we go south today, we will have great gains. Hurry up, pack up and get ready to go." Wang Hao's cheerful voice came.

He didn't even look at the content on the screen, only at the first few words: "凶" means "Great harvest today"; "向南" means "Harvest in the south".

Jiang Tao didn't even look at the screen; he had already started quickly packing up his things.

Chen Yijin and Chen Feng didn't get close at all; only Lin Xiaoxiao and Cheng Cheng read the entire contents of the fortune slip.

Lin Xiaoxiao's lips twitched, speechless: "Don't you guys even look at the fortune slip? Today's slip isn't just slightly bad, it's really bad."

Cheng Cheng rested his fingers on his chin, rubbing them back and forth, his eyes slightly narrowed as if he were studying it carefully. However, what he said was, "Xiaoxiao, what does this fortune teller's inscription mean? I only understand that there is danger."

Lin Xiaoxiao looked shocked, her expression clearly conveying one meaning: You don't understand, yet you're taking it so seriously?

Cheng Cheng awkwardly scratched his cheek with his fingers and explained with a forced laugh: "I lived in the Great Eagle when I was a child. I only came back to the Dragon Kingdom with my grandparents when I grew up. I can only barely understand the Dragon language."

Lin Xiaoxiao instantly realized that he was a "red heart banana" (a person with a rosy complexion but a savvy, unattractive appearance).

He pulled her aside and began to whisper to her the meaning of the divination slip: Going south is extremely dangerous, but the rewards may also be great. However, a moment's carelessness could lead to death. You need to carefully consider whether you really want to go south.

After listening, Cheng Cheng clasped his hands together and said, "Oh, I see. I understand, I understand."

There was no fear of danger on his face, only the joy of having his questions answered.

Lin Xiaoxiao's lips twitched uncontrollably. What was wrong with these people? After spending more than half a month with them, they really weren't afraid of danger at all.

Xiao Weizhi suddenly appeared, grabbed Lin Xiaoxiao by the back of her collar, pulled her behind him, and said coldly, "All packed up, get ready to go."

Soon the Dragon Fang team began to head south.

But what they didn't know was that from this point on, the Dragon Fang Squad embarked on a completely different path from the original story.

In the original work, at this time, they would follow behind the original male and female protagonists' Rising Sun Squad. Although there was no danger, they were always picking up the leftover resources of others, which caused them to fall behind step by step.

Five two-seater mountain bikes sped south.

Leading the charge were Li Junxuan and Wang Hao, followed by Chen Feng and Cheng Cheng, then Liu Huihui and Chen Yijin, then Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao, and finally Jiang Tao riding a mountain bike all by himself.

After driving for over a hundred kilometers, the Dragon Tooth team encountered their first problem of the day.

A huge rice paddy, covering about fifty acres, is filled with rice stalks as tall as a person and as big as a fist, hanging from the branches. As they sway in the wind, they emit a fragrant aroma that can be quite overpowering and make you feel dizzy if you smell it for too long.

The staff appeared out of thin air in Xiao Weizhi's hand. He waved it gently, and a gust of wind swept by, blowing all the fragrance back towards the rice paddies.

He said coldly, "Get out of the car and prepare for battle."

The team members acted swiftly and in perfect unison, immediately getting out of the vehicle and grabbing their weapons.

The moment they grabbed their weapons, a swarm of rice stalks shot towards the squad like cannonballs. The golden rice stalks twisted dramatically, as if to increase the power of the rice they fired.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! It hurts! Brother Hui, quick, set up the shield!" Wang Hao was hit in the leg by a stalk of rice and howled in pain.

Jiang Tao's body remained in shadow, so the rice-flecked bullets couldn't hit him at all.

He scoffed, "Oh, oh, oh~ How pathetic you are, sharpshooter."

Chen Feng shielded Cheng Cheng behind him, swinging his greatsword in a circular motion, rapidly knocking down the rice stalks. He said helplessly, "Alright, enough with the talk, focus on the fight."

Xiao Weizhi stood in front of Lin Xiaoxiao, his left hand constantly forming hand seals, while his right hand tapped the ground with his cane from time to time. A new protective shield skill would replenish the shield just before it was completely depleted.

Of the entire Dragon Fang squad, only Xiao Weizhi currently has the strength to retaliate; the others are desperately using skills or weapons to block the rice's attacks.

As the skills landed in the explosion zones created in the center of the rice paddies, fewer and fewer rice stalks were shot out.

Just as the entire Dragon Fang team breathed a sigh of relief, all the rice seedlings suddenly burst forth, their branches and leaves waving wildly, forming semi-transparent wind-based spells around them: wind blades, wind arrows, wind...

As if by prior arrangement, they fired directly at the location where the group was, and some of their skills even turned and spun around.

Xiao Weizhi had to allocate some of his mana again to cast a shield skill to protect his teammates.

But there is a problem with this. He has to be the main output player and use shield skills to protect his teammates. Cheng Cheng's mana recovery skill cannot be used on Xiao Weizi all the time.

Before long, Xiao Weizhi's face began to turn pale due to the lack of blue.

Lin Xiaoxiao poked Xiao Weizhi's waist with her hand.

Xiao Weizhi didn't turn around, and asked in a deep voice, "What?"

Lin Xiaoxiao stretched out her small hand from the side, holding a crescent-shaped pendant about half the size of her palm, entirely blue: "Here you go."

Xiao Weizhi switched the staff from her right hand to her left, reached for the pendant, but the moment she picked it up, her pupils suddenly contracted, because:

Congratulations on obtaining the item: Pendant of the Goddess of War (Broken Version) (Diamond Rarity)

[Note: Legend has it that the Goddess of War, a female warrior who has fought on the front lines for many years, possesses an inexhaustible supply of mana. [Pendant passive: Restores 1% mana per second during combat and 20 mana per second when not in combat]]

Xiao Weizhi felt his throat suddenly become dry, and a strange ripple stirred in his heart. Without turning around, he tentatively asked, "Really for me? This thing is quite valuable."

Lin Xiaoxiao huddled behind Xiao Weizhi, listlessly picking at her fingers: "Hmm, here you go."

Anyway, I got this item from a lucky treasure chest a couple of days ago.

She doesn't have any combat skills that require mana, so it would be a waste to keep it. She doesn't believe that Xiao Weizhi, her boss, would let her suffer a loss.

Xiao Weizhi put the necklace on her neck, bound it to her equipment, and her mana recovery increased dramatically. She assured him in a hoarse voice, "I won't let you suffer any losses."

Lin Xiaoxiao replied absentmindedly, "Mm."

She stared at the rice stalks that had fallen not far away and wondered if they would taste especially good when used to make rice cakes.

After several hours of fighting, only Liu Huihui was seriously injured. He didn't notice a skill coming from a distance and scraping a large chunk of flesh off his right arm, exposing the bone.

But after the battle, with Cheng Cheng's help, he quickly recovered.

Lin Xiaoxiao happily joined the harvesting team. She originally wanted to go along to collect the crops and ask Chen Yijin if she could make rice cakes from the rice.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Weizhi pulled him aside.

Xiao Weizhi rarely spoke for a long time, but finally realized that the woman in front of him was distracted. He frowned slightly and asked unhappily, "What are you thinking about?"

Without hesitation, Lin Xiaoxiao replied, "I want rice, I want to eat rice cakes."

Xiao Weizhi took several deep breaths before swallowing back the venomous words that were about to burst forth. He rubbed his forehead and waved his hand helplessly, saying, "It's alright now. You can go help them pack their things."

He had just said so much about the reward for exchanging this pendant, but it was less than a pile of broken rice. He didn't want to say any more. In the end, he wouldn't let her suffer a loss.

Upon hearing Xiao Weizhi's words, Lin Xiaoxiao immediately took off running, silently chanting in her mind, "Rice, here I come! Rice cake, here I come!"

Before going to bed, she was very satisfied because the male comrades in the team took turns helping her make rice cakes, which she and Cheng Cheng enjoyed to their heart's content.

It was one o'clock in the morning, when no one was paying attention.

Deep underground, many vines were slowly wriggling, their target the Dragon Fang Squad's camp.

At 2 a.m., below the Dragon Fang Squad, clumps of vines crowded together, and at 2:15 a.m., as if receiving a command, they instantly surged out from underground.

In an instant, all the tents were pierced. Everyone else reacted quickly, either using their skills to cut the vines or escaping before they could be tied up.

Lin Xiaoxiao, being a non-combatant and alone in a tent, could only be bound by those vines.

Xiao Weizhi, who hadn't even had time to put on his glasses, cursed angrily, "Damn it, prepare for battle."

When Lin Xiaoxiao was kidnapped, her protective gear decreased by 1 again, the small gourd hanging at her waist instantly shattered into powder, and her skin instantly shone with a metallic sheen. No matter how tightly the vines tightened, she felt nothing.

The battle ended three hours later.

[Congratulations to the Dragon Fang Squad for defeating the level 59 raiding Grass Demon horde!]

...

These vines are called Plunder Grass Demons. They live deep in the earth year-round and are a treasure from head to toe. Their roots can be used as medicine and their bodies are excellent materials for refining weapons.

Xiao Weizhi, breathing heavily, pushed aside a pile of vine debris and found Lin Xiaoxiao, who was sitting in a ball with her knees hugged. He said in a cold voice, "From now on, you will sleep in the same tent with me."

Lin Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, as if to say: Boss, we're not related, is it really appropriate for me to share a tent with you?

But when faced with Xiao Weizhi's cold stare, he chickened out and obediently nodded in agreement.

When the team members heard their leader say those words, they couldn't help but look up, exchanging glances and winks.

After packing everything away, Lin Xiaoxiao followed instructions and took out the spare tent from her spatial storage.

After all the tents were set up, Guai Guai followed Xiao Weizhi into the tent. Inside the tent were two 1.2-meter folding cots, placed flat, with a little over 1 meter between them.

If an accident were to occur, Xiao Weizhi would definitely be able to react immediately.

Lin Xiaoxiao sat on her small bed, feeling somewhat uneasy and embarrassed.

Xiao Weizhi unbuttoned a few buttons on his robe, glanced at her, and said coldly, "My taste isn't that bad."

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao instantly laughed in anger. What did Xiao Weizhi mean? Did he mean she was bad? You jerk, you have no right to be disliked by the female lead.

She picked up a pillow and lay down, her back to Xiao Weizhi's small bed. Even from her back, you could tell she was very angry.

As Xiao Weizhi watched her retreating figure, a hint of a smile appeared on his face without his knowledge.

Lin Xiaoxiao originally thought she would have trouble sleeping in the same tent as Xiao Weizhi, but she slept soundly all night without even having a dream, and even overslept the next day.

When she woke up, it was already past 8 a.m.

She was the only one left in the tent. Just as she sat on the bed, still half asleep and hugging her pillow, Xiao Weizhi opened the tent flap and entered: "Get up if you're awake. Pack your things, eat something, and get ready to leave."

Just as he turned to leave, Lin Xiaoxiao called out to him, "Wait, don't go yet."

Xiao Weizhi turned around: "What is it?"

Lin Xiaoxiao quickly bought the ten daily treasure chests for today, placed them on the ground, and looked at Xiao Weizhi expectantly: "I haven't opened today's chests yet."

She finished opening all the boxes for today, and that completed her third job advancement quest. She heard that the third job advancement is a hurdle, and things will be completely different after you reach it.

Xiao Weizhi raised an eyebrow, bent down, and quickly opened the ten boxes. Inside were all useless scraps of metal, such as tattered straw sandals and half-eaten candies...

Seeing this, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh, like a clear bird's chirp, which came from inside the tent: "Giggle giggle..."

The people outside the tent all pricked up their ears and turned towards Xiao Weizhi's tent, trying to find out why Lin Xiaoxiao was laughing like that.

Inside the tent—

Lin Xiaoxiao's expression was a little strange when she saw the newly acquired skill. Was it an injection of experience points?

Congratulations on completing the third job advancement quest: Opened 100 daily treasure chests [100/100]

[Gain Skill: Experience Chest (The chest level can be increased by injecting a large amount of experience points, with a maximum of 3 per month.) (100,000 Gold Coins/chest)]

Looking at her expression, Xiao Weizhi guessed that she had probably acquired some strange skill. He suppressed his curiosity and silently watched her.

Lin Xiaoxiao directly showed the panel to Xiao Weizhi:

Name: Lin Xiaoxiao

Age: 21

Occupation: Treasure Chest Merchant [Super Hidden Occupation]

Destined Bound Person: Xiao Weizhi [Effect: Shared Life and Death]

Level: LV30 (0/8800000) [Third job advancement quest completed, currently retaining experience points: 1945475]

Job Skills: Daily Treasure Chest [10/10] (10,000 Gold/chest), Luck Treasure Chest (refreshes daily), Experience Treasure Chest [0/3] (100,000 Gold/chest), Sacrifice to the Goddess of Fortune (once every six months)

Other skills: Identification (primary), Collection (intermediate)

Talents: Extra-large storage space, Lucky Libra, [Negative Buff: Experience Points -50% (Permanent)]

Xiao Weizhi's throat felt like it had been filled with cement, dry and constricted. After a long while, he finally found his voice: "Try out your new skill."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded, swiped her black card for 100,000 gold coins, and bought an experience chest.

A tattered little wooden box fell out of nowhere onto the ground of the tent.

She looked at Xiao Weizhi: "How many experience points do I need to inject into it?"

Xiao Weizhi stared at the tattered little wooden box: "You decide what to do."

Lin Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, then first injected 100,000 experience points into it. The tattered wooden box began to transform into a clean one. After thinking for a moment, she injected another 800,000 experience points into it, leaving her with only one million experience points.

The small wooden box transformed directly into a silver-white metal treasure chest.

She made a gesture of invitation, and Xiao Weizhi bent down to open the box. The moment the box was opened, a faint rainbow light gushed out:

Congratulations on obtaining: Forbidden Magic Spell - Heaven-Burning Earth-Splitting (Silver Grade)

[Heaven-Burning and Earth-Splitting: A forbidden fire spell; casting time is 15 seconds; after 15 seconds, a 30m*30m fireball meteor shower will fall; duration: 30 seconds; damage: gradually increases until it stacks to 25%; mana cost: 200,000.]