Chapter 65 Fighting Monsters is Fun, Opening Chests is Hell

Chapter 65: Monster Slaying Thrills, Loot Box Chores

As Hua Diao finally finished washing the dishes in the kitchen, she tiptoed cautiously into the living room. There, on the balcony, she spotted the tall, long-legged man squatting, grunting as he mixed cement and laid bricks.

His fair, refined face was now streaked with two lines of mud, instantly transforming him from an aloof, domineering CEO into a handsome construction worker.

It was… quite amusing, instantly dissolving his usual air of detachment.

Hua Diao watched his back, lost in thought and smiling for a moment, before snapping back to reality and hurriedly averting her gaze, coughing lightly in a guilty manner.

Seeing that Xie Tingsheng was still engrossed in his work and hadn’t noticed her, she grinned and quietly slipped back to the dining table. Gently, she opened the rosewood box placed there.

Inside, three neat rows of peach blossom cakes were meticulously arranged—ten pieces per row. Each cake was almost identical, shaped like a blooming peach blossom, boasting an incredibly high aesthetic appeal. Pink, soft, and chewy, they looked irresistibly delicious.

Hua Diao, ungracefully, swallowed hard, then swiftly fetched a plate from the kitchen. She divided the cakes, placing half—fifteen pieces—on the plate and leaving it on the table. The remaining fifteen in the rosewood box were promptly scooped up as she darted back to her room.

Hearing the click of the door lock, the man crouching on the balcony—his long legs looking particularly cramped—pricked up his ears and glanced inside. Spotting the plate of cakes on the table, the corners of his thin lips curled into a pleased smile.

Then, he resumed his bricklaying at an even faster pace.

Back in her room, Hua Diao eagerly grabbed a peach blossom cake from the rosewood box and stuffed it into her mouth, devouring it without a care.

The cake was soft and chewy, neither too sweet nor too bland, carrying a delicate honeyed peach blossom fragrance. It was utterly delicious—no cloying sweetness, just a lingering, elegant floral aroma in her mouth.

No wonder these peach blossom cakes had been so popular before. One bite was enough to melt all worries away, even leaving her breath lightly scented with peach blossoms.

Unable to contain her joy, she rolled around on the bed, humming a tune before flashing into her island space.

While the little balcony outside was being prepped for planting, her island space couldn’t be left idle either. Such a vast stretch of rich black soil going to waste would be a shame.

Her ancestral farming spirit, deeply ingrained in her soul, ignited!

Hua Diao's eyes burned with excitement as she munched on the delicious peach blossom cake while operating a small agricultural machine, tirelessly plowing, digging holes, and planting seeds in one seamless motion, working with unstoppable enthusiasm.

It must be said that this multi-purpose farm machine was truly fantastic—a real time-saver that made everything easier.

At the edge of the massive pile of supplies, she dug up two acres of land in one go. One acre was planted with the previously unplanted fruit saplings, while the other was sown with her favorite tomatoes, bok choy, peas, and cucumbers. She also set aside a small corner to plant the seeds of vitex, codonopsis, and licorice she had obtained from treasure chests.

However, the three medicinal herbs were laughably scarce, occupying only a patch of land slightly larger than three palms—far too meager and sad.

No way were game seeds this pathetic! They deserved better. She needed more planted to look respectable.

With that thought, she immediately recalled the unopened treasure chests from the afternoon.

Earlier, in the abandoned park, the lightning scroll's massive blast had cleared out every werewolf and goblin within a five-mile radius, leaving behind a small mountain of treasure chests—estimated at five to six hundred in total.

When she drove the agricultural machine over, the dazzling golden glow from the treasure pile almost seared her eyes out.

Thus, Hua Diao dove happily into her treasure-opening spree.

Among the mountain of chests, a few shone particularly brightly—likely from the Elite Werewolf Big Boss. Rolling up her sleeves, she decided to open those first.

The first chest contained: a one-time scroll*1, a pineapple fruit*1, 10 gold coins, and a piece of golden thread stone*1.

"Golden Thread Stone: A high-grade material, flexible in texture with exceptional bonding strength, most suitable for forging flexible weapons. Note: Ordinary fire cannot melt it—requires high-level burning flames."

What exactly were high-level burning flames?

Still, according to the description, this golden thread stone seemed perfect for upgrading her Elven Wooden Bow. The recipe she had obtained for upgrading ordinary weapons to advanced ones stated that each weapon had unique characteristics, requiring vastly different materials. The higher the compatibility between the weapon and the high-grade material, the better the upgrade chance.

The flexible texture of the golden thread stone makes it perfect for the Elven Wooden Bow, which requires bending and drawing.

Hua Diao happily decided to include this high-grade material in the materials for upgrading the Elven Wooden Bow. As for the high-tier burning flame, she would search for it later.

Eagerly, Hua Diao continued to open the next treasure chest.

The second treasure chest contained 10 Gastrodia Elata seeds, 10 gold coins, 1 disposable scroll, and 1 Space Expansion Stone.

Compared to the first chest, the items from this one were slightly inferior, and it didn’t contain the high-tier burning flame she wanted.

Hua Diao sighed regretfully but kept going.

The third treasure chest contained 1 disposable scroll, 1 Health Potion, 15 gold coins, and 1 broken dagger.

"Weapon: Broken Dagger"

"Grade: Common"

"Description: A failed product forged by dwarves, only slightly sharper than an ordinary dagger, with no magical or spell enhancements."

Tsk, just a basic white-tier dagger.

Hua Diao’s excited sparkle faded again, and she pursed her lips before continuing to open the next chest.

......

Working like a busy bee, Hua Diao bustled around the pile of treasure chests, making full use of her mermaid's inventory to store the items and speed up the opening process. Even so, it took her nearly three hours to open all the chests, leaving her back sore, fingers cramped, and feeling more tiring than monster hunting.

Ugh, fighting monsters is fun in the moment, but opening chests is pure torture.

She lay on the beach, not even wanting to lift a finger.

It was just so freaking exhausting!

Unfortunately, this sweet suffering was probably hers alone on Aqua Blue Star. If word got out, she might become the global enemy.

After resting for a minute, Hua Diao mustered her willpower and stubbornly got back up.

After this wave of chest openings, she was practically drowning in loot, so she decided to sell some unwanted items in the player marketplace to earn more gold coins for purchasing weapon upgrade materials.

In the official game trading zone, the exclusive page for legendary members offered all sorts of rare materials and herbs from the Fantasy Continent—none native to Aqua Blue Star—but their prices were exorbitant, far beyond what was available in the Advanced Member section.

Though she now had enough gold coins to upgrade to legendary member status, she was still missing one condition: reaching level 20.

Despite the massive number of goblins and werewolves she had slain that afternoon, the use of a mass-damage scroll triggered the game’s balance restrictions, reducing her experience gain to just one-third.

As a result, she was still only level 13, with a long way to go before reaching level 20.

Her tasks for the next few days would be grinding levels and selling items to save up gold coins.