Chapter 9. The Tree Demon's Secret Realm ④: Lin Xiaoxiao's...
Exhausted from a long day, the Dragon Fang team decided to set up camp where they were.
Late at night, Lin Xiaoxiao quickly sat down next to Xiao Weizhi, who was keeping watch by the campfire.
Xiao Weizhi gently snapped the branch in his hand and threw it into the bonfire: "What's going on?"
Lin Xiaoxiao hugged her knees to her chest, fumbled in the small pocket of her coat, and took out the gold card she had picked up during the day. She handed it to him: "Here, I think this should be your card, so I brought it here to return it to you."
The character "箫" (xiao, a type of vertical flute) on the gold card gleamed with a cold, metallic golden light under the firelight.
Xiao Weizhi didn't take the gold card, nor did he even look at it. His eyes were fixed on the orange flames, and his voice was calm: "Since it's your compensation, then you can keep it."
For a moment, a silent atmosphere lingered between the two.
Perhaps because the atmosphere was too silent, Lin Xiaoxiao felt a little uncomfortable. She wanted to leave but didn't know how to start the conversation, so she started a casual chat with him.
Although Xiao Weizhi doesn't talk much, he will give brief responses to what Lin Xiaoxiao says.
As we were chatting, the conversation somehow drifted to relationship issues.
Lin Xiaoxiao kept hinting and saying vague things, such as: "Forced love is never sweet," "If you don't love me anymore, then let go gracefully," and "The next one will be better and more compatible."
Xiao Weizhi wasn't stupid; in fact, he was highly intelligent and emotionally intelligent. He understood Lin Xiaoxiao's unspoken meaning and threw the last piece of wood into the campfire.
He sneered and asked, "Do I look like the type of person who would be trapped by love?"
Lin Xiaoxiao was so embarrassed she felt like she was digging her toes through her shoes. She chuckled awkwardly and replied, "It doesn't look like it, it doesn't look like it."
However, your description in the book is: no matter how much the female lead scolds you, gets angry at you, or resents you, you always follow her around to the secret realm, and even occasionally give away resources... You are a complete obsessive love-struck person.
Lin Xiaoxiao pretended to yawn, and before Xiao Weizhi could react, she quickly got up and left: "It's late, I'm going back to my tent."
She didn't notice that Xiao Weizhi's eyes flashed with coldness when he looked at her, as if he knew some secrets of her soul through their previous conversation and through her appearance.
Lin Xiaoxiao, who had just returned to the tent, patted her head and felt secretly annoyed. She had gone out to look for Xiao Weizhi in the middle of the night for two reasons:
First, return the gold card; second, make him open today's box.
The reason is that Lin Xiaoxiao's third job advancement quest is completely different from everyone else's.
Other people's upgrade tasks are either to obtain certain materials or to kill designated monsters, but hers is:
[Third Job Breakthrough Mission: Open 100 daily treasure chests [60/100]]
She sat in the tent, opened her control panel, and sighed softly as she looked at the data on it.
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 in progress, before completion: all excess experience is retained, currently retained experience value: 945475]
Job Skills: Daily Treasure Chest [0/10] (10,000 Gold Coins/chest), Lucky Treasure Chest (refreshes daily), 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)]
A few minutes later, Lin Xiaoxiao silently took out another black card and threw it into the fist-sized vortex that emitted bursts of light when she used the skill.
A few seconds later, the card was ejected, and the gold coin balance displayed on the card was reduced by 100,000.
Then, a daily treasure chest appeared out of nowhere, stacked on the ground in front of her.
Lin Xiaoxiao waved her hand and put all the daily treasure chests into the space, planning to wait until tomorrow daytime and find a suitable time to send them to Xiao Weizhi.
According to the agreement, from now on, all purchasers of daily treasure chests will be Xiao Weizhi.
Lin Xiaoxiao only has one lucky treasure chest per day.
[Item Acquired: Laundry Cleaner (Bronze Level)]
[Item Analysis: This item can instantly refresh your clothes, making it a great help for those with obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness. One low-level energy stone can last for a year. (A best-selling item casually created by the alchemist, Delight.)]
Lin Xiaoxiao opened today's lucky treasure chest and saw the cleaning device that looked like an iron, her expression was somewhat conflicted.
This prop is a waste of a precious item in her hands, but it might be more useful in the hands of Xiao Weizhi, who has a cleanliness obsession. Or should we find an opportunity to sell it to the boss?
With a belly full of random thoughts, I slept straight through until dawn.
While the early risers in the team weren't paying attention, Lin Xiaoxiao quietly slipped into the purple tent and asked softly through the screen, "Boss, are you awake?"
A few seconds later, Xiao Weizhi's slightly hoarse voice came through: "What is it?"
Lin Xiaoxiao lowered her head and softly explained her purpose: "Shall I put your box here for you today?"
All she wanted to do now was put the box down and leave the tent.
Otherwise, if her friends wake up and see her sneaking into Xiao Weizhi's tent, she'll be in deep trouble and won't be able to clear her name no matter what.
From behind the screen came the soft rustling of clothes against the bed: "Put it on the floor."
After all, except Xiao Weizhi, no one else in the Dragon Fang team knew Lin Xiaoxiao's career situation at all. He also knew why Lin Xiaoxiao was so anxious to send the BOSS treasure chest, because: the third transfer task.
(Special Note: Without completing the promotion quest, your level cannot be increased further.)
Lin Xiaoxiao quickly put the ten boxes in the space away and left the tent stealthily.
However, she didn't notice that a pair of eyes nearby had seen her sneaking away from Xiao Weizhi's private tent early in the morning, as if she had done something shameful.
In just one morning, the news spread throughout the entire Dragon Fang Squad.
The way all the team members looked at Lin Xiaoxiao and Xiao Weizhi was as if they had discovered some incredible secret; their gazes were ambiguous and gossipy.
Next, Lin Xiaoxiao drew an average fortune, a lucky one.
The general meaning is that today is a good day and you will gain something in whichever direction you go.
Those who saw this sign were quite disappointed, because although the previous experiences were dangerous, the gains were real.
The team swept southwards, but their harvest was mediocre, leaving everyone somewhat disheartened.
Wang Hao lazily shot an arrow at a three-foot-tall pumpkin monster, his tone somewhat weak: "Why is it so quiet today?"
Li Junxuan slammed down hard with the two-meter-long shield in his hand, smashing several pumpkin monsters in one go. He nodded in agreement: "Yeah, these are just small monsters today."
Jiang Tao didn't even lift a finger, lazily squatting to the side, poking at the grass on the ground with the dagger in his hand: "Boring."
Cheng Cheng and Lin Xiaoxiao sat together on small stools, and Cheng Cheng said helplessly, "Isn't peace and quiet better?"
Jiang Tao pursed his lips and replied, "Okay, very good."
It's just that everyone was used to high-intensity battles before, and then we entered a bountiful harvest mode.
Returning to this peaceful state where you can kill monsters with a mere wave of your hand and reap small rewards feels strange.
A loud bang rang out.
Xiao Weizhi raised his hand and unleashed hundreds of wind blades, exhausting all his mana, and annihilated all the pumpkin monsters in one fell swoop, ending the battle.
Immediately afterwards, Cheng Cheng used his skill to release a mana-restoring skill, bringing Xiao Weizhi's mana back to half.
[Congratulations to the Dragon Fang Squad for defeating the level 30 Mischievous Pumpkin Monster Horde]
[Experience gained: 4151211, distribution method...]
[Top DPS: Captain Xiao Weizhi...]
Lin Xiaoxiao sat on a small stool, staring longingly at the group of 'corpses' of skinny pumpkins, her throat moving slightly as she swallowed.
In the very center of the pumpkin's shattered head was a monster crystal core about 3 centimeters long, containing plump pumpkin seeds about 4 centimeters in size. The orange-yellow pumpkin flesh beside it emitted a fragrant aroma in the breeze.
It looks like a great ingredient for making pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin porridge, and other delicious foods.
She raised her hand to wipe away non-existent drool from the corner of her mouth, tilted her head, and asked Cheng Cheng, "Can this pumpkin be eaten? It looks so delicious, roasted pumpkin, pumpkin dumplings, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin porridge..."
Cheng Cheng laughed: "Of course we can eat it. The flesh and blood of monsters is the best tonic for us professionals."
It not only replenishes energy, but also enhances one's physical fitness.
However, most pioneering teams have limited space, and monster flesh is not a resource that must be brought back. Therefore, the price of monster flesh on the market is inflated, and low-level professionals are generally unwilling to spend a high price to eat it.
Under the command of Chen Yijin, a professional logistics staff member, Lin Xiaoxiao took out a rectangular insulated warehouse box measuring 8m*4m*10m from the space.
There is a control panel on the top of the cargo box, which is about 1m*80cm in size. Its function is to keep the food fresh.
While cleaning up and harvesting, Chen Yijin couldn't help but sigh, "Finally, I don't have to abandon these good things in the dungeon due to lack of space."
It turned out that many times before when they went into the dungeon, the Dragon Fang team could only selectively take away the important gains due to the lack of space, and the other things had to be left in the secret realm.
As the team's logistics officer, Chen Yijin, who has a strong habit of stockpiling, often laments that it is such a waste.
The first person to accept Lin Xiaoxiao's joining the team, who possesses an extraordinary talent for storage space, was this senior logistics officer, who wholeheartedly supported her decision.
From the moment they entered this dungeon, they didn't give up on any gains, and Lin Xiaoxiao collected everything, big and small, into her spatial storage.
Chen Yijin, who was also in a good mood today, asked Lin Xiaoxiao to take out a large amount of meat ingredients, saying that he would show off his skills today and make a delicious meal using today's pumpkin meat.
Previously, for various reasons, the entire team had been eating canned food and boxed meals that they had bought in advance.
Lin Xiaoxiao finally got to eat the pumpkin pancakes, sour beef soup, garlic pumpkin leaves, and creamy pumpkin soup she wanted...
She never expected that Chen Yijin's cooking skills would be so good, even better than the five-star hotel cuisine she had eaten in her previous life.
Lin Xiaoxiao originally wanted to be ladylike and reserved, but it was just too delicious, and she couldn't resist eating it bite after bite, one bite after another, completely unable to stop.
Seeing her engrossed in eating, her companions also ate quite a bit more.
Even Xiao Weizhi, who had developed the habit of only eating until she was 70% full since childhood, couldn't help but eat until she was 100% full.
Late at night, everyone sat around the campfire to digest their food, amusedly watching Lin Xiaoxiao squatting by the pot, watching Chen Yijin roast pumpkin seeds with longing eyes.
As the youngest mascot in the team, everyone consciously treats Lin Xiaoxiao like a child.
Xiao Weizhi's gaze pierced through the campfire and landed on Lin Xiaoxiao, who was huddled in a small ball. Some emotions in his eyes were hidden by his glasses, and his fingers kept gently tapping the bones on his knees.
Chen Feng, who was not far from him, seemed to sense something and glanced back and forth between Xiao Weizhi and Lin Xiaoxiao a few times.
A note from the author:
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