Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Treasure Hunting Catman
’Nothing in the world is more important than sleep. A good rest is the only way to have the spirit to face the coming chaos.’ Li Ziyu stretched, tossing all his jumbled thoughts to the back of his mind. He fell back onto his bed and was soon fast asleep.
The bright sun hung high in a deep blue sky. White clouds drifted slowly with the wind. It was another clear, sunny day.
Upon the vast Wasteland, a two-story-tall wooden Mobile Fortress stood silently. In the fortress’s center was a giant, three-fingered mechanical claw, and at its top was a huge plaque-like character for "Treasure."
Liu Xingxing, male, 22 years old. A veteran treasure hunting enthusiast, currently a Transmigrator and the City Lord of the Treasure-Hunting Catman’s Mobile Fortress.
He closed the system interface he had just figured out and let out a long breath. His body was trembling slightly. His feelings were complicated—a mixture of excitement, curiosity, and fear.
In his previous life, he had spent most of his time treasure hunting. It didn’t matter whether he found antiques and fossils, long-lost treasure, or just a single copper coin covered in rust. Liu Xingxing didn’t care; he simply enjoyed the process of the hunt and the joy of discovery. He occasionally played games and read novels, but not very often.
Of course, he knew what transmigration meant, but he’d never taken it seriously, let alone imagined it would one day happen to him. Still, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. A new world meant there were more things to explore.
He had just checked the chat channels and forums. What he saw there left him breathless. It was a dangerous, magical, and fascinating world, and it made his restless treasure-hunting heart pound with anticipation.
Liu Xingxing sat in the main seat, looking down at the two Treasure Hunting Catmen below. ’Are these my subordinates? Catmen who are good at treasure hunting?’
When the two Catmen saw their City Lord looking at them, their round eyes instantly widened, and the ears on top of their heads twitched a couple of times, giving them an elfish, mischievous air.
’Ah, so cute!’
Liu Xingxing chuckled. The Treasure Hunting Catmen didn’t seem to be a powerful Race, but he had no intention of vying for supremacy anyway. Treasure hunting was his passion. He didn’t care about the Catmen’s strength; he only cared if they could help him find treasure. Besides, the two little guys were so cute, they were sure to brighten up his life.
"Start up the fortress! Let’s go on our first treasure hunt!" Standing up, Liu Xingxing gave the order to the two Catmen.
The two Catmen immediately ran out to make preparations. Soon, with a deep RUMBLE, the Treasure-Hunting Catman’s Mobile Fortress started up. It began to roam aimlessly across the Wasteland, searching for any hidden treasures.
Treasure hunting wasn’t something that yielded instant results. Treasure could be anywhere, and each hunt took a considerable amount of time, requiring a Treasure Hunter to have ample patience. Fortunately, Liu Xingxing was already accustomed to this kind of life. He stood leisurely by the window, admiring the scenery outside.
He had never been to a place like the Wasteland before and found it fascinating. The various wild animals also made his eyes light up.
’Wild animals! Real, living, moving ones!’
After the Mobile Fortress had traveled for more than two hours, a Catman suddenly rushed in.
Liu Xingxing pulled his gaze away from the outside world and turned to the Catman. "What’s happening?"
The Catman was waving its arms and legs, looking very excited. "Ruins, meow! We’ve found ruins underground up ahead, meow!"
’My luck is this good? I run into ruins on my very first day after transmigrating to the Otherworld?’
For a Treasure Hunter, discovering ruins was the ultimate surprise. Regardless of the danger, it was something you couldn’t just pass by. You had to dig it up and take a look, even if it was just a small part. Just getting a glimpse was worth it.
Liu Xingxing immediately gave the order: Dig! Dig up the ruins!
The Mobile Fortress stopped near the ruins. The two Catmen swapped the three-fingered mechanical claw for a large excavator attachment. The Mobile Fortress transformed into a digging machine and brought its scoop down on the flat ground ahead.
After just a couple of scoops, they hit something. It was bone, ghastly white, and the ground was full of it. The two Catmen quickly stopped and went back to report.
Seeing that they had dug something up, Liu Xingxing couldn’t sit still. He hurried out of the Mobile Fortress and went to the excavation site. Peering down, he saw the white bones beneath the soil. He wasn’t afraid; he had encountered things like this before during his treasure hunts and was mentally prepared.
’Judging by the density of these bones, this is either a Ten Thousand Burial Pit or a site for sacrificial burials. There’s probably more stuff down there.’ He watched for a while, then returned to the Mobile Fortress and ordered them to retrieve some of the bones for him to examine.
A Treasure Hunter needed a wide range of knowledge, or they might miss a treasure right in front of their eyes. Liu Xingxing couldn’t identify a person just from their bones, but he could make a rough analysis of how long the bones had been buried and how their owners had died.
The two Catmen switched the excavator scoop back to the three-fingered mechanical claw, clamped onto a leg bone, and lifted it. Unexpectedly, they didn’t just lift a single leg bone, but a complete, connected Skeleton.
"How are the bones still connected, meow?"
"So weird. I’ve never seen this before, meow."
Seeing the Skeleton dangling in mid-air, the two Catmen were overcome with curiosity. They could tell it was a humanoid skeleton, but what was holding it together? It shouldn’t be possible. The skeleton was clean and white; all the flesh and sinew had rotted away completely, leaving only bone. What could possibly be connecting them?
They stopped operating the mechanical arm, ran out of the control room, and stood outside to carefully examine the skeleton. The more they looked, the more puzzlement filled their round eyes.
"I’m going to get a closer look, meow."
The bolder of the two Catmen said to his companion and trotted over to the skeleton. The other Catman didn’t stop him; he also wanted to know why this skeleton was so strange.
Just as the Catman got close to the skeleton, a ghostly blue light suddenly flared up inside its skull. The light rapidly grew, blazing fiercely. Two flames now danced within the pitch-black eye sockets.
The approaching Catman noticed the change and reacted in a flash, leaping backward. A Bone Saber sliced through the air where it had just been. The Catman’s pupils contracted. "Meow?"
It saw that the once-dead Skeleton had actually come to life. It was flailing and struggling in the air, swinging the Bone Saber in its hand over and over. The saber struck the mechanical arm with a series of loud THWACKS but couldn’t sever it.
The Catman in the rear stared at the skeleton in terror, pointing at it and screaming, "It’s alive, meow! The Skeleton came back to life, meow!"
The Catman closer to the Skeleton retreated a few more steps. Seeing that the skeleton couldn’t break free from the mechanical arm for the moment, it turned and glared at its companion, snapping irritably, "Go get the City Lord! I’ll watch it, meow!"
The other Catman finally snapped out of it, turned, and ran. Just as it burst into the main building, it ran into Liu Xingxing, who was already rushing over. There was no need for a report; Liu Xingxing had seen everything from the window.
[Warning! Enemy Attack!]
[Warning! Enemy Attack!]
...
A series of ear-piercing alarms rang in his mind, accompanied by a blood-red warning symbol. Li Ziyu awoke with a start, all traces of sleepiness vanishing in an instant. He shot up in bed and looked toward the side, where a Skeleton Undead stood with a Shield in one hand and a Sword in the other.
"What is going on?" Li Ziyu asked, his face grim and his voice cold.
He was utterly bewildered. ’Hasn’t the Mobile Fortress already entered Hibernation Mode? It’s buried in the ground like an inanimate object, so how could someone find me and launch an attack?’
’Who is it? It can’t be the Conscience Merchant, can it? Impossible. Would the Conscience Merchant dare attack my Undead Fortress with just the Gophers he has?’
"There is a Mobile Fortress outside. It has launched an attack on us."
The Skeleton Undead, having already detected the situation outside, reported the intel it had gathered to Li Ziyu.
