Chapter 275: Diamond Box

Late at night in Bianliu County.

Yan Jing had just switched to his Yi Ji persona and stepped out of the Lin Estate's courtyard.

He immediately summoned the weird creature in charge of the household.

"Did you find it?"

He looked at the Small Wooden Figurine on the ground, his voice gentle.

"Squeak, squeak—"

The Small Wooden Figurine shook its head.

Yan Jing nodded and began to think.

Over the past few days, he had ordered his subordinate weird creatures to search every secluded spot around Bianliu County. According to Chen Nian, the motorcycle possessed an automatic evasion function after crossing over. It would then power down to conserve energy, so it shouldn't be hard to find.

They had searched everywhere outside Bianliu County...

Could it be inside the county?

Were there any quiet, secluded places inside Bianliu County?

He pondered for a moment before giving the Small Wooden Figurine a few locations, ordering his subordinates to keep searching.

"Squeak, squeak—"

The Small Wooden Figurine nodded, gave a salute, and bounced away.

After sending the Small Wooden Figurine off, Yan Jing switched to his Luo Sheng persona.

He was alone in the room. Chilly moonlight spilled through the window and pooled on the floor, making the space feel rather desolate.

There was a way to make it less desolate. A beautiful young woman lived right next door; if he pulled her into his arms for the night, she would most likely agree. But for someone who needed to switch identities at a moment's notice, doing so next to Xiao Yu would be playing with fire.

If the phoenix bird possessed some hidden method to see right through Eldest Young Master Luo, explaining it away later would be more than a little troublesome.

At that thought, he snapped his fingers, summoning Xiao Xin all the way back from the Third Lake Prefecture.

"How are things with Master Liu?" he asked softly.

"Yaaah, yaaah—"

Xiao Xin threw a few stylish punches, telepathically relaying the current state of the battle to Yan Jing.

At the Martial Gate Pass—

The Old Man had just broken through the second gate.

He showed no signs of fatigue yet.

Understanding the situation, Yan Jing made a rough estimate. For the Old Man to clear all sixty gates, a day or two probably wouldn't be enough.

"Good job. Keep up the good work. I'm counting on you, Xiao Xin," he encouraged.

"Yaaah, yaaah!"

Xiao Xin pumped its fists, showing it would do its best.

Yan Jing laughed at the sight. Mid-laugh, he let out a yawn.

"Yah?"

Xiao Xin looked at Yan Jing in confusion.

"It's almost dawn, and I haven't slept yet."

Yan Jing wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and patted Xiao Xin's head, signaling it not to worry.

"It's fine. It'll be over soon."

"Keep at it."

"Yah!"

Xiao Xin left, returning to watch over the Old Man.

Because Xiao Xin was now responsible for keeping an eye on the Old Man, Yan Jing hadn't sent a message to Old Sin City for a while.

During his last message delivery, he had Xiao Xin bring over a few pieces of metal bought in Dangdangli.

It had taken several trips to carry them all.

Fortunately, there was nothing urgent at the moment.

During that last delivery, he had also sent over the cultivation method for a Cotton Cultivator, asking Mantou to find someone and see if it was possible to become one in Old Sin City.

If not, it was fine.

He already had other ideas in mind.

He then lay back on the bed and slept for three or four hours.

When the sky just began to brighten, he got up.

Outside his door stood Bi Jie and Liu Ye, who had been waiting for a long time.

Yesterday, through someone knowledgeable in the Martial Dao, the two had learned the true meaning behind the Heavenly Gate Challenge. Bi Jie insisted on returning to the Third Lake Prefecture and bought an early morning train ticket. Liu Ye decided to follow him.

"County Magistrate Luo, we'll take our leave first."

Bi Jie cupped his fists toward Yan Jing.

"Are you truly not going?" Liu Ye asked.

"No."

Yan Jing smiled.

"I believe Master Liu can win. I'll stay here; I still have a few things to take care of."

"Alright."

Bi Jie nodded.

The two turned to leave.

Yan Jing called out to stop Bi Jie.

"Lord Bi, the item I gave you last time... you have it with you, right?"

"I do."

Bi Jie nodded.

"Good. I'll leave this trip in your hands."

Yan Jing cupped his fists.

The two departed.

Behind him, Fei Yu pushed the door open and said, "Do you really think Master Liu will succeed?"

"I do."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Huzi is still here; we can't just leave him unattended."

Tiger hadn't left his room for two or three days.

If Yan Jing hadn't scanned him with Weird Energy and found him still in the room breathing steadily, he would have assumed Tiger had passed out.

"I'm heading out for a bit. Xiao Yu, stay and watch the house."

"Okay."

Fei Yu nodded obediently.

Although she still didn't believe her young master could solve that human's problem, she had changed her mind. Sensing her departure was near, she cherished every moment she had with Yan Jing, wanting to live out her last few days peacefully.

He would go out on business, and she would prepare meals at home, waiting for his return—just like an ordinary maid and her young master.

As for what came after, she didn't want to think about it right now.

And so, Yan Jing ran around all day, finally gathering the "residents" of Huang Family Village.

His methods could be described as using both the carrot and the stick.

After dinner, he learned that the Old Man had only cleared up to the twenty-third gate. He nodded and then logged out of the Inner World.

Upon returning to the Surface World, he took out the final reward from the previous Super-Large Dungeon:

That Diamond Box.

Because there was a pile of unresolved matters after the dungeon ended, the box had been temporarily set aside.

Now that he finally had a little free time, he decided to open it and see what was inside.

Pressed for time, he didn't call Shen Youran over. Instead, he took out an Inner World key and opened the Diamond Box directly.

Instantly, dazzling phantom light flooded the room.

Just like before, the inside of the box was obscured by a layer of chaotic clouds, making it impossible to see exactly what items were within.

But a glowing number bloomed above the box:

2

Only two items?

Yan Jing blinked.

The Gold Box had four items, and the Platinum Box had three. Now, there were only two.

He hadn't heard of item counts decreasing as a box's quality increased, which meant it was purely down to luck?

"That shouldn't be. I already rubbed the amulet Teacher Shen gave me."

Yan Jing chuckled right after the thought crossed his mind.

He couldn't judge the box's overall value just by the item count. Both of them could be exceptional.

He wasn't even hoping for God's Candidate Ticket anymore. As long as one of the items held a value similar to the Potion of Heracles, opening this box wouldn't be a loss.

He reached his hand into the box.

Soon, his fingers brushed against a spherical object. Upon pulling it out, a brilliant, dazzling silver-white light shone forth.

It looked like an extremely ordinary little silver ball, split down the middle. It didn't weigh much in his hand, but it felt solid and well-made.

[Item Name: Survivor 6000]

[Quality: Silver]

[Tier Requirement: None. Cannot be used as a Ritual.]

[Effect: Survivor 6000 can split into two, with each half acting as an independent entity. When fully deployed, the maximum coverage area is 1,000 square kilometers. The area covered by Survivor 6000 will receive protection, equipped with shielding, enemy detection, and counterattack capabilities. It can also augment a single individual, temporarily granting them the power of Survivor 6000.]

[Description: A creation from a self-built Heavenly Kingdom on the heavenly wastelands. This kingdom started as a small camp, gradually developed into a shelter, became a large-scale refuge, and ultimately harbored the delusion of becoming a Heavenly Kingdom. Despite struggling for decades, it still fell far short. However, compared to other scavengers, its residents were fortunate enough to survive in the wasteland, all thanks to their Survivor defense system. Compared to Survivor 5000, Survivor 6000 not only improved in enemy detection, shielding, firepower, and recovery, but most importantly, it added a self-expansion function. Once Survivor 6000 is deployed, it will automatically search for nearby usable resources to expand and evolve. When its area doubles, it will automatically split into a second Survivor 6000.]

[Furthermore, its single-target augmentation has been upgraded from only supporting the Fifth Tier to supporting the Sixth Tier.] [Note: Survivor 6000 can be retrieved and relocated after deployment.] "Good stuff!"

Yan Jing's eyes shone brightly. As expected of a Diamond Box! Even if this was the only reward, he had made a massive profit.

Survivor 6000 could split into two, meaning he could place one in the Surface World and the other in the Inner World.

Not only that, but it could also expand automatically. Although 1,000 square kilometers was only about half the size of Ling'an, if it grew and duplicated itself, he would be able to place one everywhere.

After some brief thought, he twisted the Survivor 6000 in his hands into two halves. With a thought, he held onto one half, and Weird Energy surged in his hand.

"Buzz—"

A hum of grinding metal rang out as silver-white patterns immediately lit up across the surface of the half-sphere. Metallic modules unfolded from within it, and in an instant, the half-sphere transformed into a mechanical device resembling an engine.

Instructions for its use naturally surfaced in Yan Jing's mind. He immediately crouched down and gently placed the device on the floor.

A continuous whirring sound echoed. Under Yan Jing's astonished gaze, the mechanical engine sank into the floor. Tentacle-like mechanical arms then extended from where it had vanished. Surging with Weird Energy, they rapidly expanded outward in all directions.

Wherever the arms passed, metal components unfolded, assembled, and buried themselves into the ground. It was hard to imagine that such a tiny device could deploy into such a massive mechanical "Fortress".

A few minutes later, Yan Jing watched the illusory membrane of light above his head shatter like glass. That was the shielding device Shen Youran had bought previously; now deemed an obstruction by Survivor 6000, it was outright destroyed.

"Crap."

Yan Jing gave a helpless smile.

He hadn't planned on explaining things so soon, but now he'd have to take the time to clear it up.

It would take some time for Survivor 6000 to fully deploy, so he reached into the box for the final item.

Soon, he pulled out a—

Crystal-like bone.

The bone wasn't large, about the length of Yan Jing's index finger, but it was extraordinarily gorgeous. Every ray of light that touched it seemed to refract.

[Item Name: Mysterious Finger Bone Fragment] [Quality: None]

[Tier Requirement: None. Cannot be used as a Ritual. Consumable.] [Effect: You can use this finger bone to steal one ability from a target you touch, regardless of their tier.]

[Description: Some vainly attempt to become gods, while others vainly attempt to become god-thieves. This entity once stood at the peak as well, but in that lost land, he witnessed what a true Deity was.]

[Afterward, realizing he could never become such a being, he strayed from the path. Condensing his life's blood and sweat, he formed this segment of finger bone. By expending its entire power, you can perform a miraculous theft.]