Chapter 122: Failed Unboxing

Of course, the most important thing was that she still remembered there was a bunch of hungry, wailing mouths waiting for her back at the courier station—she couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.

After Yun Li left, Su You glanced at the half-planted field, sighed, and then finished planting the rest.

Although the double disasters had hit Su You hard, she was someone who’d weathered many storms. By the time she’d finished planting, she’d already adjusted her mindset.

So what if it’s a double disaster? It’s not that hard. As long as you prepare in advance, no disaster is insurmountable.

While comforting herself, Su You began planning her next steps in her mind.

Originally, she’d wanted to scout the surrounding terrain to figure out what kind of disaster would strike in a month. But now it seemed unnecessary—double disasters had no distinguishing features.

Still, she needed to map the area. In fact, because it was a double disaster, she needed to speed up her exploration. Only by uncovering the entire map could she know where resources were and gather what she needed as quickly as possible.

...

After receiving the money Yun Li sent for buying food, Su You locked herself in the tool shed with the items she’d retrieved from behind the Long-tailed Crocodile’s pond.

Long-tailed Crocodile plus pond—this was a classic loot farming spot.

A “loot farming spot” is basically a place where treasure chests spawn in the wild, also known as “nature’s gifts.” The Long-tailed Crocodile was the “guardian beast” of this chest.

The items that could spawn in this chest were all sorts of things—it was pure luck. But no one would pass up the chance to open it. Even if the odds were low, just one rare material or item could be a huge windfall.

Especially in the early stages, any resource could significantly accelerate the development of her territory.

But these chests weren’t easy to get. You had to defeat the guardian beast, and even then, the chest wasn’t something you could just open.

Because the chests that spawned at these loot spots were locked. Normally, you needed a key crafted by a blacksmith, or a special universal key obtained through rare means.

If you didn’t have a key, your only option was to pick the lock.

Lockpicking was a bit unusual, but perhaps to satisfy players’ mischievous tendencies, the game developers had deliberately added and even refined the lockpicking mechanic.

In other words, locked chests could indeed be opened this way—it wasn’t a bug discovered by players.

But this method had a major drawback: if you failed at any step, the chest would self-destruct, and all your efforts would be wasted.

With no blacksmiths or keys in her territory, Su You naturally had to pick the lock.

After an entire afternoon’s effort, Su You finally managed to open the first lock… Yes, the first lock—meaning there was a second one inside.

When Su You saw that the chest contained another, smaller locked chest, like a Russian nesting doll, her feelings were complicated.

If she’d known it was a nesting chest, she wouldn’t have bothered—she’d rather have spent the time exploring.

But since she’d already gotten this far, there was no way she’d give up. As annoying as nesting chests were, at least they meant the contents were valuable—not just junk.

What she wanted most was a recruitment card, or some other item that could help her recruit NPCs.

The odds were slim, but hope was hope.

The first lock had been slow but relatively smooth. The second was different—Su You pressed her lips together, brows tightly furrowed, clearly facing a tough challenge.

“…Why did they even change this stupid thing?” After another near-failure, Su You decided to take a break, lest she accidentally destroy the chest.

She shook out her sore hands, cramped from holding the same position for so long, her resentment toward this data-driven world practically overflowing.

The lockpicking process was basically manipulating the tool to move the lock pin out of its groove. Previously, all the locks followed a few fixed templates—once you mastered them, picking was easy.

Some people had even made a “lockpicking simulator” to practice.

Su You had used that simulator, maxing out her lockpicking skills (in real life).

But the grooves in this second lock were totally different from any she’d seen before—not one of the old templates. So she had to experiment, little by little, trying to ease the pin out of the groove.

This wasn’t a simulator—there were no do-overs. Su You had to be extremely careful, inching the pin along bit by bit.

Who knew how much time passed. After her break, Su You continued picking.

She finally managed to move the pin to just a hair’s breadth from the exit—one more nudge and the chest would open. But just then, she heard a loud bang.

*Bang—*

At the same time, her hand slipped, and the pin struck the edge of the groove—

[Lockpicking failed.]

Su You: …Damn it! (a kind of plant!)

She didn’t have time to wonder what caused the bang. The first thing she did was look down at the chest… only to find it gone.

Because she’d failed, the chest had vanished.

Honestly, if the Lord player could learn combat skills, Su You’s greatest wish would be to boost her strength and destroy this world that seemed so intent on targeting her.

Never mind the little setbacks—ever since she founded her territory, nothing had gone smoothly.

First the monster cages, then the double disaster, and now, out of nowhere, some explosion-like noise had ruined her lockpicking, making all those Long-tailed Crocodiles she’d killed a total waste.

After all, she’d gone through all that for the chest. The beast cores were just a bonus, but nowhere near as valuable as the chest.

(End of chapter)"

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