Chapter 465: Chapter 329: The Mysterious Treasure Chest
In front of him was an ancient bronze chest, adorned with patches of green patina that made it look rusted.
Yet the chest was very large, its height reaching up to his chest, larger than the golden chests he had encountered in previous jungle explorations.
With a chest this big, the contents would surely not be ordinary!
Xu Xin wasn’t in a hurry, nor did he stride forward.
Memories of past jungle exploration activities were vivid, and the monsters that always suddenly appeared near the chests left a significant shadow on him.
Is this chest safe?
At times like this, he started to miss Keke again.
In the past, it was always Keke who, with a gentle voice, let him know if there were any dangers ahead.
The chest was located at the innermost part of this area, ten meters from the cliff’s edge.
Xu Xin had just walked around the stone pillar peak, only skirting the cliff’s edge, wary of moving farther in, feeling it was unsafe.
The vultures he heard earlier, from what he could tell, suddenly vanished within this inner location.
If he went inside, would he not draw out those large birds again...?
Moreover, approaching the interior near the stone pillar peak felt like entering a giant mouth; if he went in, there would be no coming out.
But, that chest was indeed too tempting; how could he pass up a chest when he encountered one?
Ah yes, he could have Mimi test it out!
He nearly forgot; he had brought Mimi Silver King and Afu out, and they were both in his wristband now!
And here, the platform was quite spacious, enough to let them out!
Xu Xin immediately twisted his wristband, and in an instant, Mimi appeared before him.
At this moment, Mimi was lying on the ground, in a state of quiet repose.
"Wake up, Mimi," Xu Xin patted its large head.
The temperature here wasn’t too low; after braving the cold, it had risen to below twenty degrees again, not lower than thirty degrees, and Mimi, as a mutated creature, was completely fine.
Once Xu Xin released it, its eyes twitched open, glanced at Xu Xin, realizing it was finally out of the wristband’s dark confines, and slowly got up, its claws gripping the ground, stretched out its body, and let out a lazy yawn.
Xu Xin was preparing to let Mimi probe the chest; its speed was swift, and even if there was an issue with the chest, it could easily dodge it.
After explaining the situation to Mimi, it responded and immediately walked forward, taking two steps toward the chest.
But after just two steps, its pace slowed, finally coming to a halt.
Under Xu Xin’s puzzled gaze, it suddenly crouched, tail raised, the whole leopard became alert.
Is there truly danger?!
Xu Xin immediately released Silver King and Afu.
"Howl..." Silver King, upon being released, was just about to let out a wolf howl but was stopped by Xu Xin.
On the snowy mountain, it’s best not to make noise; who knows what strange things might be drawn out by its calling, or even cause an avalanche.
Mimi led the way, one person and three beasts moved toward the chest.
But nothing happened even as they reached the chest.
Looking at the very cautious three beasts beside him, Xu Xin understood.
The danger might be inside the chest.
So it’s the inside of the chest that’s dangerous?
Like before, he circled behind the chest, gently placed his hands on the chest.
As soon as he laid hands on the chest, a chilling coldness climbed up his arms!
Simultaneously, a strong sense of crisis surged into his heart; he swiftly withdrew his hands, stepping back two paces.
What’s happening?!
What exactly is inside this chest?!
Just touching the chest, without even opening it, brought such a strong sense of crisis; how terrifying could the contents be?
The three beasts around him were tense the moment Xu Xin touched the chest, with Silver King’s low growls and Mimi’s hissing once again echoing, ready to attack at the moment the chest opened.
Suddenly, Mimi couldn’t hold back any longer.
It let out a threatening hiss, and before Xu Xin even reacted, its sharp claws turned into afterimages, swiftly clawing at the chest several times, then jumped back a bit, staring intensely at the chest.
Its tail was raised, body crouched, fur stood on end, all hairs upright!
"Mimi, you... huh?"
Xu Xin’s pupils contracted, stepping back a few more paces.
The chest started to shake!
Silver King’s growl deepened, baring its fangs, but still retreated slowly with Xu Xin.
Afu had flown far away somehow, seemingly realizing it wasn’t a match for whatever was inside the chest.
Xu Xin moved back to Mimi’s side, pulling out his halberd, its tip pointed at the chest. If anything opened, he’d strike right in!
The space here was large enough for the halberd to be used without issue.
The chest’s shaking gradually stopped.
Under Xu Xin’s wary and surprised gaze, the chest made a "creak—" sound, akin to a rusty iron door opening.
The chest lid opened slightly.
Xu Xin’s breathing became heavier as the crisis feeling grew stronger.
Suddenly, Mimi once again pounced, shrieking sharply, and swiped at the slightly opening chest lid with its paw.