Chapter 51

Zhao Futu's appetite wasn't great. He tore off a chicken leg and sat on a rock, closing his eyes in deep thought.

Seeing him eat first, the Yellow Turban squad leaders each took a piece of the roasted chicken, even chewing and swallowing the chicken head. Life in this era was very hard, and those who had experienced the ** decade could feel it. When Zhao Futu was a child, he once longed for meat, and the first few days of each month were when he ate the happiest.

Feeling seven-tenths full, Zhao Futu began to assess his earnings this time:

"Contractor No. 1013 killed the County Magistrate of Nanyang, earning 3 points of merit, 1500 survival points, one F-grade soul crystal, and one deep blue key. Obtained one piece of Hetian jade, one fifty-refined ring-headed knife, and three ingots of silver."

...

In every aspect, the County Magistrate was much stronger than the Yellow Turban leader, so the rewards were much greater.

Zhao Futu earned 3 points of merit, 1500 survival points, and one F-grade soul crystal, all of which were higher than what he got from the Yellow Turban leader. In addition, he obtained another deep blue key and three other items. Among them, the Hetian jade was a white item with a note that it had a calming effect, no additional attributes, and belonged to the accessory category. He sold it directly to the space for 500 survival points.

The attributes of the other items were as follows:

"Silver Ingot (Precious Metal): One of the valuable currencies in this world, used to purchase supplies and befriend characters in the story. You can sell it to the space, and one silver ingot can be exchanged for 150 survival points."

...

"Fifty-refined Ring-headed Knife." (Condition: Good)

"Origin: Yellow Turban Rebellion."

"Rarity: Light Blue."

"Material: Fifty-refined steel."

"Weight: 2400 grams. (The weight of the item affects the wearing requirements.)"

"Equipment Slot: Weapon."

"Weapon Damage: 35-45"

"Equipment Effect: Strength +1, Agility +1."

"Equipment Requirements: None."

"Rating: This is a first-class ring-headed knife from the end of the Han Dynasty, with a sturdy blade suitable for slashing!"

...

The ring-headed knife had higher attack power than the fine steel long sword, but fewer additional attributes. The style of the knife was similar to a sword, making it a good backup weapon for Zhao Futu. As for the silver ingots, he decided to keep them for now, as they might be useful later.

Zhao Futu tidied up his private space and took out the two deep blue keys.

Actually, the reason he didn't plan to open these keys was that he intended to sell them directly to the space. In this world, there were always people who enjoyed gambling. The items obtained from keys were uncertain; they might be useful or completely useless. The value of the items was also hard to guarantee, and with the limited number of people in the Nightmare Space, it was difficult to ensure timely sales for resources.

Thus, a service called "Opening Treasure Chests" was born in the space!

In simpler terms, some contractors who disliked taking chances would sell the keys they obtained from missions at a price 20-30% higher than the same-rarity equipment to those who liked to take risks and test their luck. This way, no matter what they opened, their gains wouldn't be too bad, and they could directly use the survival points and soul crystals to buy equipment and improve their skills.

This was Zhao Futu's initial plan, as he lacked survival points and soul crystals to enhance his skills!

However, he now had to change his mind because the enemies in this battlefield mission were too strong. The County Magistrate's attribute points were much higher than his. If he hadn't fought to the death and suppressed the magistrate's morale, making him hesitant, Zhao Futu would have died after a few more minutes.

Therefore, he needed to open the chests to see if he could improve his strength.

"Phew!" Zhao Futu took a deep breath.

The reason he didn't plan to open the chests was that he disliked taking chances, and his luck had never been good. You couldn't expect someone who hadn't found money on the road since childhood to believe in their luck.

But now, he had no choice but to take a chance.

The first key was opened, and a silver-white light appeared before Zhao Futu. A look of surprise appeared on his face as he looked at it in disbelief!

A silver-grade item?

Could his luck finally be breaking after being dormant for so long?

Zhao Futu took one look and sighed in disappointment. His luck hadn't broken; it was just a steady performance. The item obtained from the key was as follows:

"Meteorite." (Condition: Good)

"Origin: Any story world."

"Rarity: Silver-grade."

"Material: Extraterrestrial meteorite."

"Weight: 3000 grams."

"Item Effect: Material."

"Item Use: Forging, enchanting, alchemy, fusion, etc.!"

"Rating: This is a preliminary refined extraterrestrial meteorite with very high value! You can sell it to the space for 5000 survival points, two F-grade soul crystals, and one point of merit."

...

"Ah! Just a silver-grade material! I thought my luck had broken and I'd get a silver-grade equipment!" Zhao Futu glanced at the meteorite and threw it into his private space.

This was the tragedy of opening chests, a matter of pure luck. Sometimes the items obtained were not immediately useful. If the luck was even worse, it might just be a few survival points.

He took another deep breath and thought, "Heaven help me! Give me a useful piece of equipment!"

Then, he opened the second key. This time, a deep blue light appeared, and he immediately saw a piece of equipment inside, with the following attributes:

"Tiger-head Chain Arm Guard." (Condition: Good)

"Origin: Central Plains region."

"Rarity: Deep Blue."

"Material: Fine steel ingot."

"Weight: 1000 grams. (The weight of the item affects the wearing requirements.)"

"Equipment Slot: Arm."

"Effect 1: Passively increases unarmed combat damage by 15 points, and increases the chance of stunning enemies by 1% on heavy strikes."

"Effect 2: Can block physical attacks of 100 strength or less, possibly reducing equipment durability. The blocking effect is determined by the attribute difference."

"Effect 3: Strength +2, Agility +2, Stamina +1."

"Equipment Requirements: None."

"Rating: This is a special tiger-head chain arm guard. Its owner infused it with a mysterious power during forging. When you wear it, you will hear a thunderous tiger roar in your ear!"

...

Each tiger-head arm guard weighed one catty. When Zhao Futu put them on, he didn't feel burdened. However, the moment he equipped them, a thunderous tiger roar echoed in his ears, startling him. His wrist trembled, and the roar made his eardrums buzz, reducing his strength. It took him a while to recover.

He had a sudden idea and took off the tiger-head chain arm guard, then put it back on.

The thunderous tiger roar sounded again. He repeated this until he finally adapted to the roar and no longer felt startled, then he stopped this self-torture.

He thought to himself, "I wonder if this method can improve my mental fortitude. At least, the roars of generals wouldn't be more shocking than a tiger roar, right?"

"Now that I can adapt to a tiger roar, I shouldn't be intimidated by their shouts, right?"

He equipped the tiger-head chain arm guard, which meant he couldn't wear the bandit wrist guard anymore. He lost one point of strength and two points of stamina but gained two additional points of agility. Zhao Futu's fighting style was wild, and trading one point of stamina for one point of strength was a very good deal.