234: Chapter 234 Ranking Settlement, Xiao Ba Appears!

Mysterious Blind Box?

Legendary Grade Antiquity!

Lin Xiao's fingers lightly brushed over the surface of the card, an excited glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"How is it?" Wen Yiran couldn't help but lean in close.

Lin Xiao read out the contents of the card.

The area around the dining table fell silent for a moment.

Jiang Wanwan activated the event card.

Golden light dust peeled away from the card's surface like dandelions blown by the wind, dancing through the air before dissipating bit by bit into the atmosphere.

She watched the dissipating light dust, her expression looking a bit disappointed: "Xiao Lin, I feel like this event card wasn't worth it at all."

"I think so too."

Wen Yiran agreed from the side, her chopsticks still poking at that piece of corn. "This event card is different from the ones we drew before. It relies entirely on luck, and luck is something that really can't be forced."

"Mhm." Tian Xiwei took a sip of coconut juice, her cheeks puffing out slightly as she suddenly said, "Don't we have a luck attribute?"

Jiang Wanwan gave a helpless smile: "I only have 1 point of luck."

Wen Yiran simply shook her head; her luck attribute was a big fat zero.

Jing Hua went without saying.

And so, the gazes of the four women fell collectively on Lin Xiao.

"I don't have a single point of luck either," Lin Xiao admitted frankly.

Hearing this, Wen Yiran's shoulders slumped.

"However..."

Lin Xiao seemed to remember something and took a set of dark gold equipment out of his backpack.

The eight-piece set was neatly stacked on the tabletop.

Each piece wasn't particularly heavy—it could even be described as somewhat thin—but fine rune etchings were faintly visible on the surface of the material.

[treasure hunting lucky star], Tier 3 set.

At the time, he had collected it in passing while gathering blueprints for other equipment.

He hadn't expected that before he could finish gathering the target equipment, he would complete this set first instead.

Lin Xiao began introducing the additional attributes and characteristics of this equipment set.

"The eight pieces combined don't even provide as much Constitution as the [deep sea aria] breastplate. But, it provides an extra 10 points of luck."

He paused intentionally, his gaze sweeping over the four women as he emphasized his tone.

"Not only that, its fourth characteristic, [Fortune Favors the World], permanently increases luck by 5 points. Furthermore, for every ownerless item collected, it accumulates a 0.5% luck bonus, up to a maximum of 20%!"

"Luck affects everything: critical hit rate, drop rate, and the trigger probability of special events."

"So, if I wear this set to open the blind box, will there be a pleasant surprise?"

Hearing this, the four women looked at each other.

"It's an extremely low probability, though. Can it really be done?" Wen Yiran was still skeptical.

...

After finishing the meal, Lin Xiao took The three women to continue organizing supplies.

Jing Hua, meanwhile, returned to Car 06 to transfer some of her clansmen to the vacant compartments in Car 07.

Soon, it was noon.

The long-awaited broadcast rang out.

[Settlement of the Week 2 Point Leaderboard is complete]

[Rewards are being distributed, please check your inboxes, passengers...]

Familiar golden text scrolled across his vision.

<1st Place · Lin Xiao>

fantasy potion - quest for knowledge (Selectable) *3, stardust *100,000, Free Attribute Points (Constitution/Spirit) +10, Backpack +30 slots, Territory Core Level +1, Extra Territory Space +1.

...

Second place, Chen Pingan.

Third place, Liu Bi.

Fourth to tenth place were occupied by the remaining team captains.

Although Old Fan's points ranked low during the Black Tide battle, his accumulated points for the entire stage were still enough to secure his position as the gatekeeper of the top ten.

Despite Jiang Wanwan and Xiao Tian's hard work in battle, their points only put them in the top thirty.

Additionally, Xiao He, who did not participate in the battle, did not enter the top ten this time.

Lin Xiao's gaze fell on Xiao He's name.

This was a point he had overlooked when formulating the battle plan.

As the logistics captain, Xiao He devoted almost all his time to the Planting Boxes and brewing wine, having no opportunity to participate in combat to earn points.

Without the top ten rewards, his Planting Boxes could not be upgraded.

And this directly affected crop yield, which in turn affected the food supply.

Especially the corn wine that provided a sedative effect, and... the black-veined goji berry.

It seemed he needed to find a way to solve this problem.

He made a mental note of it.

In the new top ten list, two unfamiliar names appeared.

Wang Yan from Car 11, 8th place.

Li Kui from Car 03, 9th place.

Lin Xiao's brow twitched slightly.

Being able to break into the top ten meant the personal strength of these two was not to be underestimated.

Their potential was good; they could be focused on for development.

As the leaderboard announcement ended, the supplies were automatically delivered to everyone's backpacks.

Looking at the 10 extra free attribute points on his personal panel, Lin Xiao added them all to Constitution without hesitation.

A warm current welled up from deep within his chest, spreading through his blood vessels to every part of his body.

His muscle fibers felt as if they were being gently stretched and packed tight by countless invisible hands.

The exhaustion left over from last night's fierce battle dissipated by more than half, replaced by a sense of substantial power.

And the three fantasy potions stacked in his backpack also solved his urgent need.

He happened to need quest for knowledge potions to quickly increase his Spirit attribute, in order to drive the high-consumption rune skills [Wave Breaker] and [Protection of the Sea God].

While Lin Xiao was checking his harvest, the territory began to undergo changes.

The walls expanded outward, the floor extended in all directions, and the area of all rooms doubled at the same moment.

The supplies that were originally piled all over the floor finally had enough storage space.

Not only that.

The ceiling rose upward simultaneously, allowing the territory to expand into two new levels.

This was mainly because after the Astral Express merged with the the queen, Lin Xiao's territory structure had already changed from a single level to a double level.

Therefore, in this upgrade, the number of levels directly doubled, going from two levels to four.

Two words: huge profit!

Lin Xiao quickly planned the use for the new space.

The third floor would be converted into a bedroom, spacious enough to fit a larger bed and an independent walk-in closet.

The original second-floor area would be completely opened up to create an open kitchen and living room. Jiang Wanwan had long complained that the kitchen was too cramped; now she could fully showcase her skills.

As for the remaining fourth floor, it could be used to build a large rune array as a dedicated space for mass-producing fantasy potions.

Jing Hua had said that mermaid priests needed altars and rune arrays to refine magic potions.

The area and privacy of the top floor were sufficient.

While the territory was upgrading, the Astral Express also began to upgrade.

When Lin Xiao passed through the Airlock to leave the territory and reach the corridor, he noticed the changes at first glance.

The length and width of the carriage hadn't changed much.

But the height had increased by a full double.

Visually, it looked to be about seven or eight meters.

The corridor became more spacious and grand.

Looking up, the ceiling lights had turned into a sky-blue light strip.

Sounds produced a slight echo in the high-ceilinged space—footsteps, whispers, and the metallic clanging coming from the distant carriage connections.

It felt like stepping from an apartment hallway into the nave of a small cathedral.

Lin Xiao walked along the corridor toward Dining Car 09.

Along the way, he saw many passengers standing at the doors of their compartments, heads tilted back and mouths agape, like country folk entering the city for the first time.

Commotion came from Dining Car 09.

As soon as he crossed the threshold of the carriage connection, he saw that several team captains had already arrived.

Fan Sinian was sitting on a public seat, gesticulating wildly as he described the encounter in the Rift Space last night to Fang Yuan.

Only one shoulder guard of his [Golden Knight] was left on his body; the position of the breastplate was empty, revealing the gray cotton undershirt beneath.

The bandage on Fang Yuan's head had been replaced with a new one, and Xu Shan's right arm was still in a sling across his chest.

Zhou Jun, on the other hand, was in good spirits, the dark purple leather armor of his [Shadow Attendant] shimmering with a cold light under the lamps.

Chen Pingan sat in a corner, his horizontal blade resting on his knees, eyes closed as if resting his mind.

Sergei and CPUs Kongzhen had not yet arrived.

"Brother Lin!" Fan Sinian was the first to see him and immediately sprang up from his seat. "Did you see the private messages? Last night we..."

"I called you all here specifically for that matter!" Lin Xiao walked straight over, his voice carrying a hint of coldness. "This is truly reckless. What did I tell you last night?"

"Don't push ourselves, act within our capabilities." Fan Sinian scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin. "We just wanted to try more and find our limits."

Lin Xiao sighed and was about to speak when suddenly, a rustling sound came from the top of the carriage.

Everyone looked up at the same time.

Lin Xiao's eyes flickered as he pulled up the surveillance footage from the outside of the carriage.

He saw a bizarre creature crawling in through the Coating on the roof of the carriage.

Its upper body looked like a human youth with a slightly rounded face and a buzz cut, looking somewhat honest and simple.

But starting from the waist, the human features abruptly ended.

Eight thick tentacles covered in dark red suckers extended from its lower body, their surfaces shimmering with a moist, slimy luster.

The ends of the tentacles curled, gripping the edge of the Coating and pulling its entire body steadily into the carriage.

The monster looked around, then locked its gaze on the spiral staircase.

Next, the eight tentacles moved alternately, climbing down the spiral staircase into the carriage and landing on the floor of Dining Car 09.

"Holy crap, an octopus man!" Fan Sinian's mouth formed a perfect circle.

In their surprise, everyone pulled out their weapons almost simultaneously, entering a state of combat readiness.

Battle was on the verge of breaking out.

That strangely-shaped creature hurriedly raised two tentacles in a gesture of surrender.

The suckers pulsed slightly under the lights, making it look very panicked.

"Don't attack! I'm a good guy!"

The voice was unexpectedly refined, carrying a bit of raspiness.

Lin Xiao slowly rose from his seat.

He closed the surveillance window in his vision and swept his gaze over the creature.

"The fact that this thing can enter the Coating means it isn't a Calamity Creature," he said calmly.

The characteristic of the Coating was [Calamity Barrier], which only produced a rejection reaction against Calamity Creatures and their derivatives.

Since it could penetrate through unharmed, it meant the Astral Express judged it to be a 'non-hostile unit.'

"Since you're an uninvited guest..."

Lin Xiao flipped his hand.

A massive heavy battle axe fell into his palm.

[terminator].

Dark red patterns lay dormant on the metal surface like congealed bloodstains.

The broad axe blade reflected a blood-colored edge that struck fear into the heart under the dining car lights.

Lin Xiao gripped the handle with one hand and slammed the axe head heavily onto the floor.

Steel collided with steel, letting out an extremely dull boom.

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

"What the..." Fan Sinian looked at the battle axe that was taller than he was, shivering in fright and taking two steps back. "A Level 5 weapon?"

The octopus monster standing opposite had the same expression and reaction.

Its eight tentacles all retracted a bit simultaneously, the suckers closing tight, and those round eyes went wide.

It hurriedly extended two tentacles, gesturing urgently in the air, trying to explain its identity.

Just then, a cry of surprise came from the connection of Car 09.

"Xiao Ba?"

Everyone turned their heads.

Princess Xiyao came running from the front of the carriage, her silver-blue long hair fluttering behind her.

Her face still carried the haggardness that hadn't faded over the past few days, but a long-absent light sparked in her eyes.

"Xiao Ba, why are you here?"

The octopus monster spun around, its eight tentacles freezing at once.

Then it saw Princess Xiyao.

Tears suddenly welled up in those eyes.

"Princess... Xiyao..."

Its voice was trembling.

Or rather, its entire body was trembling.

"You, you're still alive!"