Treasure Chest

Ling Chu frowned. Some sea urchins could explode...

No wonder the system rules had described it that way, and no wonder the Pompom Sea Urchin's cleanliness score was only slightly higher than the sea star's—it turned out there were explosive ones mixed in.

After discovering this, Ling Chu became extra cautious when collecting sea urchins.

It wasn't until she pried off one sea urchin that she sensed something was off. The urchin in her hand felt heavier than a normal Pompom Sea Urchin, and it was faintly warm to the touch.

She reacted instantly, tossing the sea urchin toward her feet while activating the Ghostly Steps skill.

With a deafening boom, the reef beneath her exploded.

[You have collected an Exploding Sea Urchin. Cleanliness +10]

[Exploding Sea Urchin: Resembles a Pompom Sea Urchin in appearance, extremely difficult to distinguish. Detonates instantly upon leaving the reef surface, with power comparable to a small explosive charge.]

Ling Chu let out a breath. The sea urchin had about a one-second delay before exploding. Fortunately, her quick reflexes, combined with the Ghostly Steps skill, allowed her to dodge perfectly.

But other players weren't so lucky. Those unfortunate enough to pick up an Exploding Sea Urchin either ended up injured or, in worse cases, knocked unconscious by the blast.

Explosions rang out one after another, and the Nearby Channel was flooded with complaints.

"Fuck, I knew this challenge wouldn't be that easy!"

"That hurt like hell, my health dropped by a third in an instant. Anyone got hemostatic bandages? Help me out here."

"Damn, even staying on the boat doesn't work. The system just warned me for passive play—if I don't go into the water in five minutes, I'll be kicked out of the challenge and lose three random items."

"I shouldn't have joined this shitty challenge in the first place. I didn't have much supplies to begin with, and now I'm gonna starve to death..."

The Nearby Channel was filled with wails of misery.

To be safe, Ling Chu stopped digging for sea urchins and switched to collecting Long-spined Sea Stars instead.

Ghostly Steps had a cooldown of half an hour. After that, she would resume gathering sea urchins—after all, her life was more important than the rewards.

Titch, on the other hand, wasn't afraid of the explosions. Physical attacks seemed to have no effect on it. Ling Chu watched as it dug up an Exploding Sea Urchin and had one of its arms blown off. Then, as if nothing had happened, it shook off the tiny spines, trotted over, picked up the arm, and reattached it.

Aside from worrying about sea urchins exploding in their hands, players also had to watch out for harassment from marine life.

The most common creatures in this area were Triggerfish and Jellyfish.

Triggerfish were among the most hated fish for snorkeling enthusiasts. With their large buckteeth and aggressive nature, they left bruises all over anyone they bit. Jellyfish stings were even worse, causing unbearable itching and swelling on the skin.

From time to time, Ling Chu saw players being chased by Triggerfish biting at their butts, or covered in red welts from Jellyfish stings.

Perhaps thanks to her Double Luck, no Triggerfish or Jellyfish bothered her.

A large school of tropical fish surrounded Ling Chu, seemingly very interested in the sea urchins in her hands.

She didn't need to return to the boat to store her sea urchins or come up for air, saving a huge amount of time. Titch never stopped collecting for a single moment.

Confident she could secure a good ranking, she generously took out a sea urchin and cracked it open. The distinct, orange-yellow sea urchin roe scattered into the seawater, and the fish swarmed in, eagerly pecking at the meat.

They loved eating sea urchin roe but had no way to deal with the hard, spiny shells.

This kind-hearted human was actually cracking open sea urchins for them to eat!

The news that Ling Chu was cracking sea urchins spread through the fish school in an instant, and more and more tropical fish gathered around her.

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Seeing how much they loved it, Ling Chu casually cracked open two more sea urchins for them.

After the fish finished their meal, they suddenly swam off in another direction. Ling Chu felt they were trying to lead her somewhere, so she followed them for several dozen meters.

The fish stopped in front of a massive reef.

Ling Chu noticed there were even more sea urchins here, and beneath the reef, a treasure chest was wedged in place.

She swam over quickly and stored the wild chest into her Ring Space.

[You have obtained a Rusty Treasure Chest.]

[You have cleaned up a piece of marine debris. Cleanliness +20.]

Ling Chu's eyes lit up. Picking up treasure chests also increased cleanliness, and by 20 points at a time!

Chests salvaged from the seabed didn't contain as much variety as System Blind Boxes, and they almost never yielded food, but the probability of getting equipment was high.

Almost all of Ling Chu's current equipment had come from these chests. There was no way she was letting one slip by.

She hadn't expected that using three sea urchins would get the fish to lead her to a treasure chest. What a bargain! Delighted, she cracked open two more sea urchins for the fish.

After finishing their sea urchin feast, the fish led Ling Chu to an Underwater Shipwreck Site, where another chest was hidden beneath the decayed planks.

By feeding the fish, Ling Chu had collected three treasure chests in a row.

The rewards from these chests far outweighed digging for sea urchins. Besides, as long as she maintained a decent ranking, that was enough. She stopped collecting sea urchins altogether and was about to continue building her friendship with the fish when the Nearby Channel erupted in noise.

[Nearby Channel]

Missing Teeth: "Feed the fish sea urchins, and they'll lead you to nearby treasure chests. Just discovered this."

"There's such a thing? Thanks for sharing, bro!"

"Thank you, kind soul!! I bow to you!"

"It actually works! I just tried it and found a chest less than twenty meters away from me, completely covered in seagrass. I never would have spotted it on my own! Thank you, kind soul, may you live a long life and get rich!!"

The player called Missing Teeth was basking in the crowd's gratitude and flattery when a jarring voice cut through.

Squid Ball: "Think you're the only smart one, huh? Keeping quiet and raking it in is fine, but why blab it out? Might as well rename yourself Missing Brains."

Missing Teeth: "?"

Missing Teeth: "I'm called Missing Teeth because I like eating squid balls—how is that a personal attack? I've got info, and I'm happy to share it with everyone. Don't be so selfish."

Squid Ball: "I'll attack you all I want, you self-righteous moron. You're so self-sacrificing, they should kick the Leshan Giant Buddha off his seat and put you up there."

Missing Teeth: "Why do you have to be so nasty? I'm giving out info for free, and I'm the one in the wrong?"

Squid Ball: "You're not wrong, you're so noble, you're the light of righteousness on earth. I was having a blast sneaking around for treasure chests, and you had to donate it all for free. Love being praised and thanked that much? Pay me back for two chests, and I'll sing your praises to the sky!"

Missing Teeth: "Utterly unreasonable. I won't argue with a woman—long hair, short sight."

Squid Ball: "At least I have long hair. Not like you, short everywhere."

Missing Teeth: "??"