Chapter 68. Fourth job advancement quest completed, half...
Congratulations on completing the fourth job advancement quest: Craft [100/100] (Bronze-level) treasure chests.
[Acquired Skill: Sealing Technique (Diamond Level) (Upgradeable)]
【Sealing Technique (Diamond Level): Can easily seal away all things and create a layer of disguise on the outside that even those below the eighth level cannot see through. It is a skill used in conjunction with [Extraction Technique of All Things]】
[Special Note: To seal a creature, its consent is required; to forcibly seal it, the target's level cannot exceed the caster's level.]
In a corner of the two-person tent, there was a huge workbench measuring 2 meters by 1.1 meters. The surface and the area around the feet were covered with wood shavings of all sizes, and there were dozens of treasure chests, each slightly larger than a basketball, next to it.
The treasure chest is dark brown overall, rectangular at the bottom and cylindrical at the top. The edges are edged with bronze-colored metal, and the lock is also a rectangular bronze lock, inlaid with several gems the size of a little finger.
It's the kind of treasure chest that, at first glance, looks very traditional.
Lin Xiaoxiao took off her gloves, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and smiled with satisfaction. The fourth job advancement quest was finally completed.
She was just struggling with what to do with the resources the mysterious person had sent her;
After Xiao Weizhi learned the whole story, he took everything away and immediately contacted his connections in the capital city to have a batch of wood, metal, gems, inscription pigments, and equipment needed to make treasure chests sent to him in exchange for the inexplicably sent resources.
He then coordinated and explained within the team: let her focus on completing the fourth job advancement quest for the next few days, and then return to the team to fight after completing the quest.
So these past few days, Lin Xiaoxiao has been staying in the tent area at the back, working overtime to finish making the bronze treasure chest.
Finally, four days later, I completed the crafting of 100 treasure chests and successfully passed the fourth job advancement quest.
The black cat nestled in the cat bed next to it, curled up in a light sleep, its whiskers twitching occasionally, and its mouth twitching with disgust from time to time, as if it were dreaming of something it didn't like.
The treasure-hunting mouse sat on the corner of the workbench, crunching on the nuts held in its two little paws, ignoring the bronze-level treasure chest piled high in front of it.
Treasure chests of this caliber are nothing more than roadside goods in the eyes of the treasure-hunting rat, having no collectible value whatsoever; even glancing at them would be a waste of its energy.
Lin Xiaoxiao had just finished collecting all the bronze-level treasure chests in front of her when a new quest screen appeared:
As a treasure chest merchant, you've finally reached a crucial turning point in your career. After your fourth job advancement, you can gain experience points by crafting treasure chests.
Crafting one Bronze-level treasure chest will grant you: 80,000 experience points and 1 skill proficiency point.
Crafting one Gold-tier treasure chest will grant you: 150,000 experience points and 2 skill proficiency points.
Crafting one Diamond-tier treasure chest will grant: 250,000 experience points and 5 skill proficiency points.
After this task notification screen appears.
A hidden proficiency level note appears next to each of the upgradable skills on the panel.
After opening, this is what it looks like:
【Treasure Chest Crafting (Diamond Level): [100/10000] {Once the proficiency value is full, the upgrade quest can be completed to increase the skill level}】
This kind of note appears after each upgradable skill, including the one that has already been transformed into a skill body.
This means that Lin Xiaoxiao has another way to gain experience points and level up.
As she packed everything up, holding the black cat and carrying the treasure-hunting mouse, she prepared to leave the tent.
Xiao Weizhi lifted the tent flap and came in. His head was covered with a layer of dust, his cheeks were a little dirty, and his glasses were blurry: "Mission complete?"
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded, holding the black cat: "It's done. What about Red Tail?"
Xiao Weizhi shook his head, brushed the dust off his hair, patted the thick layer of dirt off his robe, and a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes at his own filth: "Red Tail went out with Jiang Tao and hasn't come back yet."
Lin Xiaoxiao chuckled and reached out to brush the dust off Xiao Weizhi's robe.
He dodged to the side: "Your clothes are too dirty, don't get your hands dirty."
Lin Xiaoxiao withdrew her hand, hugged the black cat, stood aside with a smile, and asked softly, "Would you like to rest for a while?"
These past few days, Xiao Weizhi has been coming back to see Lin Xiaoxiao during his rest periods when he has no blue stamina.
After ensuring she was safe and in no trouble, she left the rest area tent and returned to the front lines to continue fighting.
Xiao Weizhi shook his head: "No, with those furriers in front, Chen Feng might not be able to keep them under control."
After chatting for a few minutes, the two packed up their tent and went to the operations department registration desk to pay their accommodation points for the past few days.
Why did Xiao Weizhi dare to let Lin Xiaoxiao make the treasure chest alone in the tent?
Firstly, this rest area was designated by the operations department, and by paying a certain number of points, personal safety can be guaranteed to a great extent.
Secondly, the black cat stayed by Lin Xiaoxiao's side, and she was also wearing a lot of jingling protective gear. Even if something happened, it would be enough to hold out until Xiao Weizhi came to rescue her.
After paying the tent area fee of over a thousand points, the two set off for the location of the Dragon Fang Squad.
The journey was smooth and unobstructed. After walking for more than ten minutes, I successfully met up with my friends.
Cheng Cheng sat in the chair and weakly raised his hand to greet her: "Xiaoxiao, did you complete the upgrade task?"
Lin Xiaoxiao nodded with a smile: "Yes, the upgrade mission is complete. Now we can finally catch up with the brigade headquarters' level."
Chen Feng is currently the highest-level member of the Dragon Fang Squad, at level 141.
Next are Xiao Weizhi (level 139); Liu Huihui (level 129); Li Junxuan (level 118); Jiang Tao (level 105); Cheng Cheng (level 99); Wang Hao (level 99); Huang Yuwei (level 94); Chen Yijin (level 92); and Lin Xiaoxiao (level 71).
Currently, everyone's level is above the fourth job advancement level, but the reason why their levels differ so much is unclear.
Firstly, there are differences in their age, time of joining the team, and level.
Secondly, the experience distribution mode of the Dragon Fang Squad is based on damage ranking (many squads also use this mode: the main purpose is to feed high-attack combat professions, and then the combat professions carry the other members of the squad).
Over the past year, the team members have all leveled up significantly (except for Huang Yuwei, who has only been in the team for a short time).
Huang Yuwei sat next to Cheng Cheng, holding her magic wand in her arms. Her expression was blank, tired, and numb, clearly indicating that she was extremely exhausted.
Xiao Weizhi glanced around, his brow furrowing: "Where are Jiang Tao, Liu Huihui, and Chen Feng?"
Chen Yijin remained expressionless, his movements slowed considerably as he continued to prepare mana-restoring, health-restoring, and healing potions.
Wang Hao squatted in front of his turret weapons, controlling the direction of the 11 o'clock, 1 o'clock, and 3 o'clock positions, throwing out several skills. He was concise and exhausted, completely losing his usual talkativeness: "Going to deliver potions."
Some familiar teams approached Xiao Weizhi, hoping that Chen Yijin could sell some of the potions to their team. They could provide the raw materials themselves, and the processing fee was 40% higher than the market price.
Only after negotiating with Chen Yijin and obtaining his consent did they accept a few orders.
85% of the reward for this order goes to Chen Yijin himself, 10% is the delivery fee, and the remaining 5% will be put into the team's shared expense account.
While the two were chatting, Lin Xiaoxiao took out a turret, set it up, filled it with gold coins, put the black cat on the turret, and then started coordinating with Wang Hao to throw skills into the gaps.
After Xiao Weizhi had rested, he also picked up his staff and joined in.
The three of them bombarded the monsters in circles from all directions, leaving no blind spots.
Once Li Junxuan gets tired, the entire Dragon Fang Squad will retreat to the vicinity of the protective shield. If they can't win, they'll retreat inside the shield; if they can, they'll grit their teeth and continue.
For the next twenty-odd days, the pace was alternating between two days of monster hordes and one day of boss battles.
The battles over the capital city have evolved from cat-and-mouse games to fierce confrontations, with at least dozens of skirmishes fought, resulting in injuries on both sides. There have been wins and losses, but overall the outcome is fairly even.
It was only because a separate space was created before each battle that the underground professionals did not discover anything unusual.
That day, Lin Xiaoxiao returned to the tent, sat on the small bed, bent down to remove her prosthetic leg, and lay down to rest.
A gust of wind blew up the tent flap, and the uninvited guests barged in again.
The man who arrived this time was tall and strong, about two meters tall, wearing a dark gray suit of armor, with several strings of bones shaped into various beads around his neck, short hair neatly combed back, and a thick beard around his face.
The man's gaze first fell on the black cat in the corner, and then he turned back to look at Lin Xiaoxiao.
When he saw Lin Xiaoxiao, his eyes were filled with shock, as if he hadn't expected to find her in a place like this after following the black cat's scent.
The man immediately bowed and introduced himself politely: "Hello, I came here to see Terral (the black cat's name). I didn't know you were here, so I'm very sorry for barging in."
The man's voice was like a clear spring, magnetic and clear. Even without seeing his face, just listening to his voice gave the impression that he must be a handsome man with a gentle and refined demeanor.
Lin Xiaoxiao sighed helplessly. Here they come again. Can't these people at least say hello before coming in?
The man in front of her carried a very familiar energy, the kind that Lin Xiaoxiao had felt in Darlin before, so there was no need to speculate too much about his identity.
She straightened up and said helplessly, "It's alright, I'm the treasure chest merchant—Lin Xiaoxiao, nice to meet you."
The man immediately introduced himself: "Hello, I am a minor official under the God of Justice, named Guo Duoan. It is an honor to meet you."
Little volunteer officials? Are all volunteer officials so subtle in their self-introductions?
Previously, Darlene introduced herself as "Little Wish Officer".
Now, Guo Duo'an is saying the same thing. Could it be that after becoming a volunteer official, calling himself a "little volunteer official" is their self-introduction term?
Lin Xiaoxiao suppressed her confusion and nodded.
Guo Duoan took the opportunity to exchange contact information with Lin Xiaoxiao, and then explained his purpose again: "My mission requires the help of Tailar, so please allow it to leave for a period of time."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoxiao looked awkwardly at the black cat that had slightly raised its eyes.
The black cat isn't her property; whether it stays or leaves is entirely up to its own preference, and it doesn't need her permission at all.
She said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, you can discuss it with Black and Terral. You don't need my permission."
Guo Duoan looked somewhat surprised, but didn't say anything. He immediately nodded and turned to face the black cat.
The black cat flicked its tail in frustration, then suddenly turned its back to Guo Duo'an, who had come looking for it, clearly not wanting to talk to him.
Guo Duoan explained helplessly in a low voice: "I know you have completed your mission. I would not have bothered you unless it was absolutely necessary, but without your help, we would not have been able to wipe out that group of people in one fell swoop."
The black cat flicked its tail, its fur undulating slightly. Its face was turned towards the cat bed, its dark back facing Guo Duo'an, as if it couldn't understand what he was saying.
Lin Xiaoxiao felt helpless as Guo Duoan cast a pleading look at her.
Why would this person think that she could command the Black Cat boss?
The two people and the cat remained locked in a stalemate for quite a while.
In the end, Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere and had no choice but to say, "Hey, cough, Terral, can you help him? He looks like he really needs help."
Not long after she spoke.
The black cat turned its head and glared at Lin Xiaoxiao with an angry and defiant look in its eyes. Then it jumped down from its cat bed and walked out of the tent.
Guo Duoan immediately bowed in gratitude: "Thank you for your advice and help. I will visit you to express my gratitude when I am done with my work there."
After saying that, he followed the black cat and hurriedly left.
Lin Xiaoxiao was left bewildered by the black cat's glare. Had she said something wrong?
The black cat that came out of the tent walked slowly out, not even thinking of stopping to wait for Guo Duoan behind it.
Guo Duoan had worked with the black cat before and knew its bad temper very well. He explained helplessly, "I didn't mean to interrupt your vacation. It's just that there were more insects than we expected, and we couldn't catch them all at once. That's why I had to be so shameless as to bother you."
The black cat snorted coldly, its voice somewhat impatient: "If you know you're causing trouble, then don't come."
I had previously agreed to help these people find the token to dispel the magic circle in the sky, and that was only because of their leader. I had also helped deal with a bunch of small insects along the way.
After completing the task, they came looking for it again, a bunch of useless little snacks disturbing its vacation.
Guo Duoan didn't dare say much, only apologizing and saying nice things: "I'm so sorry, it's really our problem, and we're not capable enough. We can only trouble you... It's our pleasure that a demigod like you is willing to help..."
The black cat sneered, created a teleportation vortex, and took Guo Duoan into it.
[Terrar (Demigod-level): A notorious troublemaker in the City of the Gods. As a demigod-level beastman with the talent to easily tear through space, he is unwilling to join any faction or befriend anyone, making him an object of everyone's desire to win him over.]
{Special Analysis: It is said that several forces have attempted to capture Terral, but all have failed. It is elusive, arrogant, willful, and defiant, responding only to threats… No one can command its actions!}
That very night, an extremely fierce chase took place in the skies above, inside, and far from the capital, without the knowledge of most people.
The spatial teleportation vortex that inexplicably opened up around them became a nightmare for the group of stowaways.
At daybreak, all the illegal immigrants were arrested.
Apart from a certain woman who sensed something was wrong beforehand and used all her companions as a cover.
In a certain alternate dimension, there is a group of hundreds of stowaways who are tightly bound.
Among them was a burly man, about 2.3 meters tall, dressed in tattered clothes, with hair that looked like a frizzy steel wool ball, his face covered in white scribbles, and bound hand and foot like a worm, rolling on the ground and wailing: "My dear, how could you leave me like this? You have no heart, you don't love me anymore..."
The expressions on the faces of these illegal immigrants were originally one of utter disdain, showing no fear of death.
But when they saw the man rolling on the ground, they felt extremely ashamed and lowered their heads, making a gesture of admitting their guilt.
Standing in the alternate dimension, the administrator guarding these stowaways couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. No one had ever told them that the infamous 'Black Demon' was such an idiot.
Guo Duoan tapped his right earlobe with his little finger and turned to ask the person next to him, "Didn't you catch the Enchantress?"
A girl in a pink dress, holding a notebook covered in stickers, tried to keep her cute face serious as she answered, "No, she got away."
Guo Duoan nodded. This wasn't the first time they had encountered that cunning Enchantress. Every time, she was as slippery as an eel, always able to sense something was wrong in advance, and then she would leave behind a piece of her tail to escape.
The black cat, who was sitting to the side, was so annoyed by the black demon's howling that it raised its paw and used its spatial power to slap him, knocking him unconscious.
Just as everyone was preparing to call it a day and head home, an unexpected event occurred.
The Enchantress released the three (Legendary) BOSSes from the SS-level secret realm and guided them towards the capital.
When Guo Duoan heard the news, his face turned extremely ugly. Gritting his teeth, he ordered, "Damn bugs, we'll crush them sooner or later. Send a group to take these stowaways back. The higher-level ones come with me to deal with these three bosses..."
Immediately afterward, all the professionals in the capital who had just seen the towering, gigantic (legendary) BOSS gave up the struggle and prepared to quietly await their death.
The next second, the three bosses disappeared from the spot at the same time, along with most of the monsters.
The professionals guarding the four city gates of the capital were initially puzzled by this turn of events. After clearing out the remaining monsters, they discovered that no more monsters were coming.
A thunderous cheer erupted from all sides, a celebration of their survival and their joy at escaping death.
Some of the surviving professionals felt a deep sense of sorrow because they had lost very close teammates during this siege.
Even the high-ranking officials in the capital who knew the inside story could only sigh silently and prepare to clean up the mess.
Lin Xiaoxiao stood in the group, looking in the direction where one of the BOSSes had disappeared. She had a feeling that this was the work of the Black Cat and the Wish Officer of the God of Justice.
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Author's Note: Sorry, sorry, I had some things to take care of today, so the upload is late. [Hands clasped in prayer]
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