Chapter 67 - Ring of Nothingness
The loading bar for the Treasure Chest was currently only halfway done. Hearing the roar getting closer and closer, Shi Feng became extremely anxious.
"Hurry… Hurry…"
The Mountain Beast Warrior had already entered the camp, yet the loading bar was still a hair's breadth away from full.
When the Mountain Beast Warrior saw Shi Feng opening the Treasure Chest, its large pair of eyes turned crimson red. It aimed its giant ax at Shi Feng, throwing it at him. It could not help but wish for Shi Feng to go to hell immediately.
At this moment, the Bronze Treasure Chest opened.
Without giving the flying ax even a single glance, Shi Feng immediately activated Defensive Blade, blocking the attack from the flying death ax. Following which, his two hands swiftly stretched into the Treasure Chest, taking the items within and cramping them into his bag with lightning speed.
When Shi Feng finished storing all of the items from the Treasure Chest, the Mountain Beast Warrior also arrived before him. It picked up the fallen ax with both of its hands, raising it up high as it prepared to murder.
Having no plans to stay, Shi Feng turned and ran.
Boom!
The earth split when the ax landed, leaving behind a scar and causing crushed stones to go flying. However, Shi Feng was already five yards away by the time the ax landed. He was running directly to the outside of the camp.
Seeing that its attack missed, the Mountain Beast Warrior turned to face Shi Feng and used Charge. It did not intend to give Shi Feng any chance to escape.
On the other hand, Shi Feng did not have any skills to deal with the Mountain Beast Warrior who was charging at him. He allowed the Mountain Beast Warrior to send him into a Fainted state, his body then receiving a slash from its ax. In an instant, the attack sent him flying over ten yards away.
The attack from the Mountain Beast Warrior could cause even a Level 5 Shield Warrior to harbor a grudge, yet Shi Feng acted as if it was nobody's business as he stood and started running out of the camp once more. Now, Defensive Blade could only prevent Shi Feng from receiving damage from a melee attack one more time.
Although only one chance remained, there was more than a 10-yard distance between Shi Feng and the Mountain Beast Warrior. As long as Shi Feng ran into the stone forest, he would be a lot safer.
However, an unexpected situation occurred. The Mountain Beast Warrior that should have used Charge only once used it a second time, sending Shi Feng into a Fainted state once more. It raised its giant ax, slashing it again at Shi Feng's body.
Shi Feng was sent flying for over ten yards again; this time it immediately threw him out of the camp. He was just a short distance away from the stone forest now.
However, Shi Feng's expression became much more serious. The current Mountain Beast Warrior was completely different from before. Previously, it only used Charge once. Now, it used Charge twice. That meant that there was a possibility for a third or fourth Charge, maybe even more. That meant, as long as the distance between Shi Feng and the Mountain Beast Warrior exceeded eight yards, the Mountain Beast Warrior would use Charge. This was definitely not good news.
Just as expected, the moment Shi Feng stepped out of the 8-yard range, the Mountain Beast Warrior used Charge once again. If Shi Feng were to be hit once more, he would definitely die.
He was not willing to die just yet.
Shi Feng took out a Polymorph Scroll, immediately turning the Mountain Beast Warrior that was charging at him into a sheep. Although it was polymorphed only for a second, just one second was enough for Shi Feng to run a long distance away. As long as Shi Feng could run out of the 30-yard range, it would be too far for the Mountain Beast Warrior to use Charge.
Just after running 15 yards away, the Mountain Beast Warrior recovered. Shi Feng immediately spun around and cast Abyssal Bind. He then activated Gravity Liberation, his speed soaring greatly.
The three seconds binding this time allowed Shi Feng to easily run past the 30-yard range, entering the stone forest.
Currently, some of the Mountain Beast Fighters in the stone forest had already respawned, and by coincidence, one of them was blocking the path ahead of Shi Feng. Being struck by inspiration, Shi Feng quickly took the initiative.
Wind Blade!
Before the Mountain Beast Fighter could react, Shi Feng rushed to its front and brushed past it. Shi Feng then took out another Polymorph Scroll, turning the Mountain Beast Fighter into a sheep.
With the speed increase from Wind Blade, Shi Feng easily shook off the Mountain Beast Warrior that was stubbornly chasing after him, escaping it quickly.
After finding a safe location, Shi Feng sat down to rest as he slowly looked through the items his bag.
Shi Feng went from clueless to shocked.
He had to admit that ransacking the camp was extremely profitable. Just this one time was enough to make up for his hours of hard work. He instantly collected all of the Moonstone he needed, completing his Quest. The next thing he needed to do was to leave the Moonlight Forest and dispel the curse.
Amongst these treasures, aside from the large amount of Moonstone, there were also seven Tier 1 Gemstones, three pieces of Bronze Equipment, and a single bronze-colored Mysterious-Iron Ring.
Amongst the three pieces of Bronze Equipment, there was a Silvermoon Armguard. With it, Shi Feng now had three out of five pieces of the Silvermoon Set Equipment. As long as he put in more effort, he might be able to truly collect a complete set. However, Shi Feng did not have that much time. The earlier he removed the curse, the earlier he could regain his strength and level up quickly. He still had too many things to do, and he could not do any of them without Levels.
Aside from the Silvermoon Armguard attracting Shi Feng's attention, the Mysterious-Iron Ring also gave him tremendous joy.
[Ring of Nothingness] (Mysterious-Iron ranked Ring)
Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 10
Strength +1, Agility +1, Intelligence +2
Additional Ability: Shadow of Nothingness: Allows the user to enter a state of nothingness. The user will not be able to see other players, while other players will not be able to see the user. Duration of 1 minute.
Cooldown: 5 minutes
(Only usable in a non-combative state)
Rings such as this, which possessed an Additional Ability, were extremely rare. It was as rare as the Ring of Gravity, possessing many uses.
In his previous life, Shi Feng had done a lot of research on the Moonlight Forest. Including the information found on the internet, he knew the spawn locations of many Treasure Chests. Originally, he planned to only go to a few locations that were easy to obtain Treasure Chests before leaving the Moonlight Forest. Now that he had the Ring of Nothingness, his train of thought widened, and the number of Treasure Chests that he could obtain greatly increased.
The Moonlight Forest was still a virgin land, and treasures could be found everywhere. It was especially true for Treasure Chests that had been opened for the first time; the items inside were the best. Since he could easily obtain these treasures, would it matter if he wasted a little more time?
Following which, Shi Feng put on the Ring of Nothingness. He then opened the map for the Moonlight Forest, confirming his current position.
There was a Bronze Treasure Chest not far from his location. So, he kept the map and advanced towards the Treasure Chest.
After walking for over ten minutes, he arrived at ruins of a shrine. The ruins were surrounded by Barbaric Beastmen who were guarding it, with several Elite Beastmen in the midst as well. Meanwhile, the Treasure Chest was located inside the collapsed shrine. However, without a team of twenty elite players, it was impossible to clear off all the Barbaric Beastmen.
Although he could not beat the Barbaric Beastmen, Shi Feng had other methods to get to the Treasure Chest.
Shi Feng immediately called out his doppelganger, allowing it to move to a distance away and find a safe location. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself moved closer to the temple. While staying outside the detection range of the Barbaric Beastmen, Shi Feng activated Shadow of Nothingness and entered a state of nothingness. He then ran towards the inside of the shrine with high speed.
After entering a state of nothingness, Shi Feng could no longer see those Barbaric Beastmen, and the same went for the Barbaric Beastmen who could no longer see Shi Feng. In such a way, Shi Feng soundlessly entered the heavily guarded shrine.
There were still several Barbaric Beastmen guarding inside the shrine. They were less than twenty yards away from the Bronze Treasure Chest.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng unhurriedly opened the Treasure Chest.
When opening the Treasure Chest, Shi Feng's state of nothingness did not fade, so the channeling process finished without a hitch.
However, the moment the Treasure Chest was opened, just after Shi Feng's hand stretched into it, his state of nothingness vanished.
Within an instant, the five Barbaric Beastmen inside the temple noticed Shi Feng. Suddenly entering a rage, they waved their stone hammers as they rushed towards him.
Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade without hurry, storing the items in the Treasure Chest in his bag. Before the Barbaric Beastmen could break off the three layers of protection, Shi Feng had taken all the items from the Treasure Chest. He then swapped places with his doppelganger, his original body arriving at a very safe location. Shi Feng leisurely departed from the ruins, heading towards the location of the next Treasure Chest.
Moonlight Forest was very large. With unyielding perseverance, Shi Feng spent more than ten hours before finally clearing the entirety of the Moonlight Forest. He harvested a total of three Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chests, twenty-two Bronze Treasure Chests, and fifty-six Common Treasure Chests. His harvest was extremely invigorating. His entire bag was clogged full, and he was even forced to throw away several pieces of Common Equipment that had poor Attributes.
When he was arranging all these items, a beeping noise came from the System.
Shi Feng looked at the notification, seeing that it was the alarm that he previously set. It notified him that morning had arrived, and he needed to log off and rest.
In consideration of his body, Shi Feng looked for a safe location before logging off.
Chapter 68 - Big Harvest
Early morning, a layer of fog still covered the outer layer of the window. Dark clouds densely covered the sky outside, and there were signs of rain falling soon.
"Hmm… the air quality here is getting worse by the day… After I earn enough money, I definitely have to move out of this broken district and move to a better house in the city."
After sitting up, Shi Feng took a look out his window. Following which, he flexed his body and got down from his bed. He then went through twenty sets of workout motions before going to his cramped bathroom to wash up.
Shi Feng grabbed his phone from the table once he finished tidying himself up. He started by checking the remaining money in his bank account. Constantly eating instant noodles was bad for his body. Moreover, the nutrients provided were definitely not enough to supplement his method of training.
He had obtained the membership card and coupons for Big Dipper after much difficulty, yet, he discovered that he still needed to wait for five days before he could use them. This caused him to be slightly depressed. Now, his only hope was on the sales of the God's Domain game currency.
Previously, Shi Feng had registered 3 Gold Coins at the Virtual Trade Center. If there were someone who bought them, then the Credits earned would automatically be sent to his bank account. However, the Trade Center had a 3-hour transaction delay. Moreover, Shi Feng did not turn on the notifications for his trade account. So, even if the transaction had already been done, he did not know how much had been transferred to his account. He could only use his old-modeled phone to check his bank account.
Shi Feng currently did not possess the money to purchase the latest quantum watch[1]. Otherwise, a lot of matters could be easily resolved using the quantum watch. Even credit card payments could be done through the quantum watch. Moreover, all shops that sold items supported payment using the quantum watch, as it was both safe and fast.
In a short moment, Shi Feng logged into his bank account using his handphone, checking the amount of money he had remaining. If there were enough Credits, he would go and have a good meal. The last time he remembered having meat was when he was still in his third year of university. Now, he was in his fourth year and would be graduating soon.
Previously, he had retrieved all of his money from his bank account to buy instant noodles. His current balance should not be more than 1 Credit.
After selling for an entire night, there should be some people who would purchase some of his game currency. It was especially true for the Guilds in White River City. Shi Feng did not believe those Guilds could amass funds that quickly. Even if they were to sign a contract with money-farming teams or have their money-farming teams, it was absolutely impossible for them to purchase that much equipment in such a short period. More or less, they should have purchased some game currency.
"They actually bought quite a lot. I guess I won't have to fuss over food for a few days," Shi Feng smiled slightly when he saw that there were over 1,700 Credits in his bank account. However, the trade tax was truly high. He sold a total of 30 Silver Coins which were worth 1,800 Credits, but 100 of those Credits went to taxes. The amount was truly sinister.
In any case, Shi Feng now had some money, and it was double the amount of living expenses he would have each month. It was enough for him to eat properly for quite some time.
If all 3 Gold Coins sold, then that would amount to 18,000 Credits. Shi Feng would then have the money to buy two Virtual Gaming Helmets. The only worry he had right now was whether or not all 3 Gold Coins would sell.
After some consideration, Shi Feng decided that he definitely must make these Guilds and players spend more money during this period. Otherwise, if they were to make business deals in the game, they would easily be able to solve their problem with money. At that time, they would not have to purchase game currency from the Virtual Trade Center.
Subsequently, Shi Feng left his rented apartment. He made a trip to the bank, withdrawing all of his money.
Now that he had some money, Shi Feng went to the Nutrition Center and bought three bottles of C-rank Nutrient Fluids. They were enough to last him for up to nine days.
When the beautiful saleswoman saw that Shi Feng had bought three bottles without even blinking, she could not help but have delightful thoughts. Taking the initiative, she asked, "Are you free this afternoon, handsome? How about we go to Youlan Square to have a drink? My treat."
Youlan Square was a nearby well-known romantic location, and many youths, both males and females, loved going there.
Looking at the beautiful saleswoman's graceful body and lust-filled eyes, she was much better than the gorgeously dressed girls in his class. However, Shi Feng only gave her a calm smile. How could he not know what her thoughts were? He tactfully rejected her and turned around to leave.
Shi Feng's reaction caused the beautiful saleswoman to feel slightly unfortunate. A large catch had run away just like that. Was she not beautiful? Was her body lacking?
Nutrient Fluids were the pinnacle products of the new age. Not only could they slow down aging, but they could also discretely mend the injuries that could not be detected, regenerate body cells, develop the brain cells, and many more astonishing impacts. These items have already become must-haves for athletes and martial artists. However, they were very expensive, so the common folk could only occasionally buy a bottle to drink. After all, a month's salary was only so much. It was impossible for them to afford a bottle every three days. Only the wealthy were able to treat these Nutrient Fluids as drinks, constantly transforming their bodies.
Hundreds of years ago, very rarely would the children of wealthy families be ugly. Females would normally be beauties, while males would normally be handsome men. However, with the Nutrient Fluids in this current age, beautiful women and handsome men could be commonly seen throughout the streets.
A bottle of C-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 400 Credits.
A bottle of B-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 1,000 Credits.
A bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 10,000 Credits.
As for the best S-rank Nutrient Fluids, those were items that could not be bought by common folk even if they wanted to. These Nutrient Fluids were only sold to the inner circles of society.
In his previous life, Shi Feng was fortunate enough to buy one because of his status as a core member of Shadow. The S-rank Nutrient Fluid was extremely expensive, costing a million Credits per bottle. However, its effects were similarly astonishing. A-rank Nutrient Fluids were far from being comparable to it.
Although S-rank Nutrient Fluids were very expensive, there were plenty of wealthy people in the world. The ones who could afford to buy it would not trouble themselves over such an amount of money. After all, who wouldn't want to trade money for their own youth?
It was truly hard to imagine; the dream of humanity hundreds of years ago had now become a reality.
The body was a needed asset to make a revolution. If Shi Feng wanted to improve his skills in God's Domain and stand at the very top of the game, then a strong body and nimble mind were indispensable. Hence, Shi Feng would not make the same mistake in this aspect as he did in his previous life.
Following which, Shi Feng went to a gourmet restaurant. He spent a hundred Credits purchasing two sets of nutrient set meals; one was for him to eat right now and another as takeaway for his lunch.
After eating, Shi Feng made a trip to a normal workout center. After spending 60 Credits, he trained for four hours before returning home.
In the evening, around 7 p.m., Shi Feng drank a bottle of Nutrient Fluid and laid on the bed. He activated the gaming helmet and connected to God's Domain.
After logging in, Shi Feng started arranging the items he obtained.
When he was done arranging the items, Shi Feng started feeling emotional. It was no wonder the Moonlight Forest was a land of treasures. Just the various Tier 1 Gemstones he obtained alone amounted to over 300 pieces. There were also tens of skill books, dozens of pieces of Bronze Equipment, five pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, over fifty Card Sets, more than twenty recipes for Lifestyle Jobs, over thirty Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, and four Tier 2 Magic Scrolls.
The Magic Scrolls from Treasure Chests were much better than those sold in the Magic Shop. This was because the various scrolls in the Magic Shop did not even reach the standard of Tier 1. Meanwhile, Tier 2 Magic Scrolls were much more precious. Every piece would have a great purpose, and there would be nobody willing to sell it.
As for the thing that brought Shi Feng the most joy…
He finished collecting the Silvermoon Set Equipment. In addition, he also collected a complete set of Blackblood Set Equipment meant for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights.
The Blackblood Set Equipment's value far exceeded that of the Silvermoon Set Equipment. It was one of the best Set Equipment for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights that were below Level 10. If Cola were to equip this set at Level 6 or Level 7, then Hell Mode Dungeons below Level 10 would no longer be a problem.
With so many good items, Shi Feng already had a solid base for forming a twenty-man team. The only concerns remaining would be recruiting members and their skills.
After finished arranging his bag and confirming that there were no more profits to be gained from the Moonlight Forest, Shi Feng activated the Teleportation Magic Orb, leaving the Moonlight Forest.
TL Notes:
[1]quantum watch: something like a wristwatch version of a quantum computer…?