Volume One, Chapter Two: A Genuine Treasure

In this unfamiliar world, safety always comes first, especially in a place where one is a stranger—carelessness could cost one’s life.

Lin Yi was well aware of this, which is why he valued the alarm function on his watch all the more. Whenever he exceeded the preset safety range, the watch would immediately emit a shrill alarm, urging him to return quickly.

Standing on the vast, boundless plain, Lin Yi’s heart skipped a beat. A whole plain stretched out before him—plains offered no natural defenses. Anyone who had read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms would understand this. An involuntary unease crept into his mind.

Yet, faced with such an open, unobstructed expanse, Lin Yi had no choice but to hope that his territory might attract more NPCs precisely because of this wide, flat land.

He carefully searched within the safe zone displayed on his holographic screen, glancing around but finding nothing. Anxiety began to gnaw at him. Was he really going to return empty-handed from this barren wasteland?

Just as he was about to give up completely and turn back, he suddenly tripped over something unknown beneath his feet. His body lost balance instantly, and he lunged forward. With a dull thud, he fell hard onto the ground, landing in a classic face-first tumble.

“Ouch! Damn it, that hurts like hell!” Lin Yi cried out loudly, his face contorted in pain. He struggled to prop himself up on his hands and slowly rose from the dusty earth.

Rubbing his bruised arm and leg while muttering curses under his breath, he grumbled bitterly, “What kind of lousy thing dares to trip me up? I must be cursed for eight generations!”

Once he regained his composure, Lin Yi turned angrily to face the culprit that had caused his fall. What he saw made his eyes widen in astonishment. Not far from him, a corner of a treasure chest gleamed faintly with a tempting brass sheen, quietly peeking out from the ground as if beckoning to him.

In that instant, Lin Yi’s eyes lit up like torches set ablaze, and his mouth hung open in shock, nearly big enough to swallow an egg.

“Heavens! There really is treasure here! The system doesn’t lie! Ha ha ha ha…” Lin Yi expressed his disbelief, but his joy overflowed.

Thinking of how the fall, though humiliating, had led him to discover this precious chest, Lin Yi felt it was all worthwhile.

At that moment, unable to contain his excitement and urgency, he quickly crouched down and began to dig frantically.

As he dug, he complained aloud, “Not only is this chest so well hidden, but it’s also such a pain to dig up. Are they trying to wear me out?”

After some time, Lin Yi finally unearthed the chest. He eyed it greedily, tempted to open it immediately, but restrained himself, deciding to wait until he returned.

The watch given by the system was quite handy. With a 30-slot backpack function, he just needed to scan the desired items and confirm to collect them.

Lin Yi happily scanned the chest and confirmed. The first slot in his backpack promptly displayed a bronze treasure chest icon. Noticing that the sky was growing dark, he decided to return to his castle.

Checking his watch, Lin Yi saw that the time was late and dusk was settling in. He looked toward the solitary castle in the distance and resolved to head back.

Inside the castle, he was alone. The territory was empty, which made him feel somewhat lonely.

He thought to himself, “When will my NPCs come to visit their king?” Grumbling softly, he quickened his pace.

He knew he had to gather resources and develop his territory quickly to attract more NPCs.

Despite his complaints, he was determined to open the chest. Once back in the castle, Lin Yi first accessed the information panel and selected resource collection.

Soon, he watched the previously zero value swiftly climb to 500. A secret smile crept onto his face—now, with these resources, he could better develop his domain.

Next, he took out the treasure chest from his backpack, excitement bubbling anew. Trembling slightly, he held the chest and muttered a half-joking incantation.

“By the ancient decree, may the Supreme Elder appear, Bodhisattvas bless me, I offer my single life in exchange…”

A flash of white light burst forth as the chest slowly opened, revealing three treasures inside. Two radiated a gentle white glow, while the third shone with a dazzling golden light. Lin Yi eagerly examined their descriptions.

The white-glowing treasures were common-grade items: 500 gold coins and 500 grains of wheat. Gold was the universal currency in this world, used to purchase all manner of goods and services; wheat represented food crops, essential for sustaining more people and animals in his territory.

The golden-glowing treasure was a bronze-grade item: one acre of farmland. Farmland was the fundamental infrastructure for producing crops. With it, various crops could be planted.

More importantly, a kingdom with abundant food was far more likely to attract NPCs. This was undeniably great news for Lin Yi.

Looking at these treasures, Lin Yi’s heart swelled with joy and satisfaction. He knew he had taken the first step toward developing his domain. The road ahead was long, but he believed that with continuous effort and perseverance, he could build a prosperous and flourishing kingdom.

However, Lin Yi also understood that this was only the beginning. In this unknown world, there was still much to learn and master.

How to utilize resources more effectively, how to enhance the territory’s defenses, how to attract and retain more NPCs—all these challenges awaited him.

As darkness fully settled, Lin Yi decided to rest early but found himself tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. The chat platform held no new excitement, and he quickly grew bored.

To his surprise, despite having been here all day, he did not feel hungry at all. He couldn’t explain why.

Unable to figure it out, Lin Yi gave up trying, deciding to act as if hunger didn’t exist in this game.

Bored out of his mind, he began playing a game of rapidly tapping to collect gold coins and magic water, watching the numbers rise steadily.

When he grew tired of tapping, he turned his attention to the training camp.

The training camp’s description read: “Level 1: Consumes 500 magic water to train one Level 1 Minion Warrior.” Upon seeing “warrior,” Lin Yi’s interest perked up immediately. He quickly opened the minion warrior’s info: Level 1, HP 200, Attack 15, Defense 10.

The description added: “The most common warrior. Only one unit is needed to train the maximum number of troops. Characteristic: one is not enough to fight; a group is a quick death squad.”

Looking at his 600 magic water, Lin Yi bit back his reluctance and clicked to train continuously. Exhausted, he had no intention of checking on his minions; he simply pulled the simple blanket over himself and fell asleep.