Chapter 929: Treasure Hunting |
Since no item description popped up, this diamond ring isn't an item, which means it's indeed an ordinary diamond ring!
So the question is, why did Ithaqua specifically entrust this diamond ring to Dogo Aige?
Could it be that Ithaqua wants me to propose to Juri Sonoda?
Liu Xing didn't think Ithaqua was like a proper matchmaker.
Liu Xing stroked his chin, suddenly thinking of another possibility, that Dogo Aige or someone else had switched the contents of the box.
However, Liu Xing quickly dismissed this possibility, because with Ithaqua's cautious nature, he would definitely make all the preparations before handing the item over to Dogo Aige. After all, one should always be wary of others, and it was the first time Ithaqua and Dogo Aige had met.
So the possibility of someone switching the contents of the box is not high, or infinitely close to zero, after all, Ithaqua is a Yithian.
Could it be that Ithaqua specifically instructed Dogo Aige to first bring out a fake item to confirm whether the current "Liu Xing" is surnamed Liu or Te, and then bring out the real item?
Or did Ithaqua actually give Dogo Aige two items, and then ask Dogo Aige to only bring out this diamond ring the first time he saw him, and then bring out the other item if he specifically requested it?
At this time, Matsui Yui was still lecturing Dogo Aige, while Dogo Aige was honestly listening to Matsui Yui's "teachings".
There seemed to be nothing strange.
So, could it be that he was overthinking it? Or had he not yet discovered the true purpose of this diamond ring?
Liu Xing picked up the diamond ring and looked at it carefully, finding that the diamond on the ring was cut in a very special way, without forming many facets.
For a diamond ring, a very important criterion is the number of facets, because to bring out the best brilliance of a diamond, it is generally cut with 58 facets. Of course, one or two facets may be added or subtracted depending on the shape of the diamond.
But Liu Xing roughly counted the facets of this diamond and found that it only had about twenty facets. If those master diamond cutters saw this, they would definitely say one word - wasteful!
So this diamond ring should not be from a jewelry company, because even the smallest jewelry company should know how many facets a diamond must have to be considered qualified, and only large jewelry companies should have access to this level of rough diamonds.
Therefore, it is highly likely that this diamond ring was made by Ithaqua himself.
So, this diamond ring is likely a key, after all, many movies and TV shows have scenes where the villain uses a ring on their hand to open a secret room or treasure chest.
Then the question arises again, what is this diamond ring used to open?
Although Liu Xing didn't have the specific memories of when Ithaqua controlled "Liu Xing", he still carefully recalled and found that Ithaqua was also a "homebody", basically staying at home most of the time, except for occasionally going to other places for work (role-playing games).
So, if nothing unexpected happens, the thing this diamond ring can open should still be in "Liu Xing"'s house.
It seems that after the public-military conflict is over, it is necessary for him to go home.
At this time, Matsui Yui's "educational work" came to an end, and she stood up and said, "Liu Xing, let's go have breakfast now. If you don't mind, we'll go to Ryukyu after breakfast. It's better to get treasures like this as soon as possible."
Liu Xing nodded and went to the estate with Dogo Aige to eat.
At the dinner table, Matsui Yui kept trying to persuade Shimada Sho to join them on the treasure hunt, but Shimada Sho had no interest in it.
"Anyway, that treasure spot has been deserted for so long, all the mechanisms inside should have been scrapped, so as long as you guys are careful, there shouldn't be any problems. Besides, your strength is not weak, and it's about the same as the Deep One pirates who buried this treasure, so you don't have to worry about your safety at all... Of course, since you're bringing Liu Xing along, you still need to take care of him, so that he doesn't have any accidents." Shimada Sho said seriously.
Liu Xing nodded, thinking that Shimada Sho was right.
Seeing that Shimada Sho showed no signs of giving in, Matsui Yui could only give up.
Therefore, after breakfast, Liu Xing followed Matsui Yui and Dogo Aige into a small truck, which then stopped on the coastal highway.
A small fishing boat was parked not far away.
If Liu Xing wasn't there, Matsui Yui and Dogo Aige would probably have just transformed into Deep Ones and swam over. However, considering that Liu Xing couldn't be dragged all the way to Ryukyu in the sea, they ultimately chose to take a fishing boat to Ryukyu.
However, this fishing boat had also been modified, so its speed on the sea was no slower than those of luxury yachts.
Therefore, it didn't take long for Liu Xing to enter Ryukyu's territory.
Because it was a special period, there were many patrol boats in the Ryukyu waters, so Liu Xing had to put on a diving suit and tie himself to Dogo Aige with a rope.
Then Liu Xing was dragged by Dogo Aige to the treasure spot.
Five Deep Ones were already waiting there.
Obviously, Matsui Yui's family status was higher than Dogo Aige's, so the command of this treasure hunt naturally fell to Matsui Yui.
Without further ado, Matsui Yui directly led everyone into the treasure spot, while Dogo Aige followed Liu Xing as a bodyguard.
However, Liu Xing suddenly regretted coming here with Matsui Yui and Dogo Aige for treasure hunting, because this ghostly place was simply too dark... After all, this was an underwater cave with no light at all.
Fortunately, Matsui Yui could use the Light Orb Art, otherwise Liu Xing would have really been blind.
"The treasure spot is in the depths of this underwater cave. That Deep One pirate not only put an iron gate here, but also set up many traps, so Liu Xing, you'll follow me closely later, don't run around or touch anything." Dogo Aige said seriously.
Liu Xing nodded and said with a smile, "Can I just wait for you guys here?"
Dogo Aige shook his head with a smile and said with certainty, "Liu Xing, you may not know, but the Deep One pirates' favorite thing to do is to tame all the Shoggoths they can find, because after the Ancient Ones created the Shoggoths, the Deep Ones began to study how to control them. After all, the Ancient Ones are the biggest enemy of the Deep Ones, so the Deep One pirates would have a few Shoggoths around them no matter what, so there might be some here too."
Liu Xing decisively followed Dogo Aige closely.
Just then, a large door suddenly appeared in front of them.
Although this door looked like it was made of wood, it was incredibly hard, as even Matsui Yui's full-strength attack couldn't budge it an inch, not even a speck of dust fell off.
However, Matsui Yui was prepared for this, so one of the accompanying Deep Ones took out a small electric drill from a waterproof bag on his back, a modified and enhanced version.
So Matsui Yui quickly drilled open the lock hole, and the wooden door was easily breached... This is the power of technology.
After entering the wooden door, Liu Xing discovered that the Deep One pirate had quite an artistic flair, as it had hung many paintings on the walls on both sides, ranging from Chinese ink paintings to Western oil paintings, and it seemed that they were all painted by it personally, because the signatures on these paintings were all the same person - MacIntyre.
Matsui Yui, who was walking in the front, introduced, "This guy called MacIntyre is considered an anomaly among Deep One pirates, because it loves all kinds of human paintings. So before becoming a pirate, it traveled around the world to learn painting from many famous artists and was quite famous in the mythical creature circles on Earth. However, this also created the biggest mystery surrounding it - why did it suddenly give up being a painter and become a pirate, without any warning?"
"But after becoming a pirate, MacIntyre never gave up its hobby. It would paint whenever it had time to rest, so there were many of its works hanging on its pirate ship and in its lair, so it's normal to have so many of its paintings here. Of course, Liu Xing, if you like, you can take a few out. You know, MacIntyre's paintings are very popular among mythical creatures and secret cults."
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, and a sentence suddenly popped into his mind - "You were such a good person, why become a thief?"
It seems that this MacIntyre is also a Deep One with a story.
So Liu Xing couldn't help but ask, "Yui, do you know MacIntyre's current whereabouts? I think there should be many people trying to rescue it, right?"
"Of course, although MacIntyre offended many people after becoming a pirate, its network of connections is still quite extensive, so after MacIntyre hit a snag, many people wanted to rescue it. Unfortunately, none of them succeeded because MacIntyre's last deal was kept secret from the outside world, so no one knew whose ship MacIntyre had robbed, and the force that captured MacIntyre didn't release any information about it, so now we can only be sure that MacIntyre is still alive, but we can't be sure where it is alive." Matsui Yui sighed.
Hearing Matsui Yui say this, Liu Xing suddenly felt that he might see MacIntyre in person in the future.
And this "future" might not be far off.
Just then, Liu Xing suddenly heard the sound of a mechanism activating.
"Bang, bang, bang."
Three huge spears flew out in succession, but Matsui Yui, who was leading the way, simply waved her hands, and the three spears suddenly froze and fell.
"Interesting. I didn't expect MacIntyre to also like this kind of retro trap. But fortunately, I have magic spells to counter this kind of trap, otherwise, I would have been in trouble."
Matsui Yui casually kicked a spear, and it instantly shattered into pieces.
However, just as the spear shattered, a puff of black smoke suddenly rose out of thin air.
"Fuck, we've been tricked."
Matsui Yui's expression changed, and she immediately took a few steps back, while one of the accompanying Deep Ones raised his right hand, and a jet of water appeared in his palm, dispersing the black smoke.
However, when the dispersed black smoke touched the paintings on the wall, the paintings instantly vanished into ashes.
Obviously, this black smoke was highly corrosive.
Matsui Yui sighed and said with some fear, "It seems that I still underestimated MacIntyre. I didn't expect it to design this kind of chain trap, even guessing my next move. You guys step back first, I'll destroy the remaining two spears as well, so that they won't break on their own later."
Matsui Yui broke off two stones from the rock wall beside her and accurately hit the two spears.
Two more puffs of black smoke appeared, but they were easily dealt with.
After this lesson, Matsui Yui, who was walking in the front, became much more cautious, so the next few traps were easily handled.
Soon, Liu Xing and his group arrived in front of a stone bridge.
This stone bridge wasn't long, only about ten meters, but there was a "small river" under the stone bridge, and the water in this "small river" was transparent.
This shouldn't be ordinary water.
However, this also reminded Liu Xing of the transparent mutated Formless Offspring he had encountered before.
Could this "small river" actually be a transparent Formless Offspring?
Liu Xing shared his thoughts with Matsui Yui.
Matsui Yui nodded and said seriously, "I'll cross the bridge first to try it out. If there's no problem, you guys can come over. But just in case this small river really is a Formless Offspring, everyone get ready to cast magic spells."
After saying that, Matsui Yui carefully stepped onto the stone bridge and walked quickly across.
Nothing happened.
So Liu Xing and the others crossed the stone bridge one after another, and there was still nothing unusual.
Liu Xing touched his nose and said, "Could it be that MacIntyre created this small bridge and flowing water to decorate this treasure cave? So what's in this small river is actually mercury? No, that's not right, mercury isn't colorless and transparent, and with the temperature in this treasure cave, the mercury should have evaporated long ago."
Speaking of this, Liu Xing suddenly realized a problem, "By the way, don't you think the temperature in this underwater cave is a bit unusual? It's much higher than I expected."
At this time, Liu Xing was still wearing a diving suit to keep warm, but he could still feel that the temperature in this underwater cave was not low.
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