Free Web NovelChapter 73: Chapter 72: Treasure Map
Li Ziyu came out of the main tower, and Liu Xingxing, Mumu, and Tas Tuling, the two Minotaurs, immediately gathered around him.
"Boss, you’re back," Liu Xingxing said with a cheeky grin. His eyes darted past Li Ziyu toward the main tower, curious about what had just happened there.
Li Ziyu blocked Liu Xingxing’s line of sight and turned his head forward. "What are you trying to see? I’m right here."
"Ugh, I see," Liu Xingxing said, reluctantly giving up on the main tower and looking at Li Ziyu with a pitiful expression.
Li Ziyu’s next words made Liu Xingxing light up with excitement. "Xingxing, we’ve pretty much dug this place dry. It’s time to find a new spot."
"Let’s move, let’s move! Boss, I’ve found several treasure spots. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!" Compared to anything else, treasure hunting was Liu Xingxing’s true passion. He thoroughly enjoyed the process of searching for treasure.
"Be serious. Pay attention," Li Ziyu couldn’t help but caution him, looking at the overly enthusiastic Liu Xingxing. "I don’t want to end up digging up another Transmigrator or stumbling into the ancestral tombs of the Natives."
The treasure-hunting ability was very useful, but the problem was that Liu Xingxing was unreliable. The guy didn’t bother to distinguish what the treasure was or where it was located—as long as there was treasure, he was good to go. If this continued, they were bound to get into trouble sooner or later.
Especially now, with them, the Transmigrators, being targeted by the Natives, danger could strike at any moment. Li Ziyu didn’t feel he was strong enough to take on the massive population of Natives, so being cautious about everything was the right move.
"Don’t worry! You can count on me, no problem!" Liu Xingxing said, flashing a thumbs-up and a confident, pearly-white smile.
’Great. Now I can’t relax at all!’
Li Ziyu felt his temples throb. He had a bad feeling. ’It’s best not to jinx things like this.’
Liu Xingxing pulled a sheet of Beast Hide Paper from his system inventory and spread it out on the ground. Li Ziyu, Mumu, and Tas Tuling gathered around, looking at it curiously.
It was a map, drawn in fine detail but in a fantasy style. Besides terrain, trees, water sources, and beast herds, it was also marked in many places with small red X’s.
With just one glance, Mumu’s eyes widened. He gave Liu Xingxing a thumbs-up. "Amazing! This map is so detailed."
Tas Tuling nodded in deep agreement. Liu Xingxing immediately puffed up with pride and jutted his chin at Li Ziyu, who simply raised an eyebrow.
The Natives might find this map incredibly detailed and amazing, but for Transmigrators like them, it seemed rather ordinary.
’Isn’t it just a fantasy-style map? I saw plenty of those playing games in my past life. There’s all sorts of map-making software that can produce maps just as good, not to mention the hand-drawn maps by concept artists and illustrators—their exquisite final versions far surpass this one.’
Still, Li Ziyu was quite surprised that Liu Xingxing could produce a map at all. After asking, he learned that it was an ability that came with his system.
Every Mobile Fortress had its own special abilities. His Skeleton Undead Mobile Fortress had the Skeleton Architecture and Hibernation Mode abilities. Liu Xingxing’s fortress, aside from its specialization in hunting for and digging up treasure, also had minor functions like map drawing and route recording.
"Are all these the treasure spots you found?" Li Ziyu asked, pointing at the red X’s on the map.
"Yep. A lot, right?" Liu Xingxing asked back proudly, his hands on his hips, gesturing to the many red X’s on the map.
He had to admit, there really were a lot. This guy truly had a passion for treasure hunting; otherwise, even with his ability, he probably wouldn’t have found so many treasure locations. freewebnσvel.cѳm
Thinking about the nearby Swamp Graveyard, which had already been mostly excavated, Li Ziyu felt a warmth spread through him. ’With so many red X’s, my Undead are going to get a massive boost! Our security will definitely go way up!’
’Wait a minute, something’s not right. Knowing this kid, some of these red X’s are probably landmines. I’d better ask for details first.’
"Are all the treasure spots like this one, filled with buried Skeletons?"
"Of course... not. How could that be possible? If there were that many places with buried Skeletons, Boss, you might as well just kill me. Some spots are resource points, and for others, I don’t know what they are. The system just told me there was treasure."
’As expected.’ There was no point in asking anything else; he likely wouldn’t get any more useful information out of him. Liu Xingxing could find treasure, but asking him to gather information about the surrounding area was a tall order.
Liu Xingxing glanced at Li Ziyu out of the corner of his eye and noticed his foul expression. He stopped messing around and, with a wave of his hand, made a third of the red X’s vanish. Mumu and Tas Tuling watched in amazement, not understanding how he did it.
"The ones I erased are all dangerous. Either the terrain is treacherous or there are Monsters nearby. We can’t go to them for now."
After speaking, he waved his hand again, and another third of the X’s disappeared. Liu Xingxing continued, "These have Tribes nearby, so there’s a risk of conflict. For the ones left, I didn’t notice anything amiss, but I can’t make any promises."
Li Ziyu looked down at the few remaining treasure spots on the map, then turned to look at Liu Xingxing, feeling much more satisfied. The kid was finally acting a little more reliable.
Liu Xingxing reached out and snapped his fingers. A few of the red X’s changed, turning into icons resembling trees, ore, and Skeletons.
"These few are resource points; we should be able to get some good stuff. I just don’t know if you need them, Boss. If you don’t need other resources, we can go directly to these spots," Liu Xingxing said, pointing to the few Skeleton icons on the map. "We should be able to get a lot of bones."
Li Ziyu’s gaze swept back and forth across the map. The marked locations weren’t actually far from his current position. After all, Liu Xingxing had a limited range of activity, and he didn’t dare stray too far from the Undead Fortress.
Places with bones were, of course, what he wanted. But the other resources... even if he didn’t need them, Liu Xingxing and the Minotaurs did. ’I can’t just let myself be the only one developing.’
’Without enough resources, Liu Xingxing’s Treasure-Hunting Catman Fortress will be stuck like this forever. I even have to provide its food; it doesn’t have the ability to hunt on its own. If this keeps up, it’ll become useless, dead weight, and lose all its value.’
’What would I do then? Abandon him? Or keep carrying him?’
’Neither option is good. The best solution is to help him develop, and even help the Minotaurs develop. That way, they’ll become my allies, advancing alongside me, rather than becoming burdens that hold me back.’
’Skeletons and Soul Energy are the most important things for me, but that doesn’t mean other resources aren’t important. Basic materials like wood, Stone, and ore are also useful. In the later stages of development, I definitely won’t be using only Skeletons. It’ll all come down to our accumulated resources.’
’Even if I really can’t use them, and Liu Xingxing can’t either, we can still trade them for useful materials. It’s a win-win.’
There was another point to consider. Li Ziyu planned to start hunting again. Recently, he’d either been digging up bones in the Swamp Graveyard or helping the Minotaurs fight. It had been a while since he’d last hunted. They needed to restock their food supply. In the Wasteland, food was a valuable commodity—a hard currency that could be used for trade.
"We’re going here," Li Ziyu said, pointing to one of the treasure spots.
