Chapter 272: Chapter 265: A Treasure Hunt in Da Yu’s Treasure Vault

His Eye of the World and Infinite Brain were in their element in a place like Da Yu’s Treasure Vault, where he could put them to full use. No treasure’s secret could be hidden from him, and he wouldn’t miss even the slightest opportunity to find an overlooked prize.

Da Yu conducted a strict five-dimensional assessment before granting a Treasure Vault terminal.

Adhering to a principle of personalized access, Da Yu’s Treasure Vault terminals are assigned different permission levels: D, C, B, A, A+, S, and S+, for a total of seven tiers. The higher the permission level, the more items one can purchase.

The highest-grade item redeemable with a D-level terminal was merely B-grade Sea Beast Blood.

Those with A+ permission or higher could personally visit Da Yu’s Treasure Vault to select and redeem treasures. This in-person selection was free only once; a second visit would cost an additional 1,000 Contribution Points.

Only a dozen or so people possessed S+ level permission.

It was said they could use a small number of Contribution Points to redeem temporary access to certain public artifacts, and even the opportunity for an S-level Sea Beast awakening! The latter, however, was an incredibly rare chance that couldn’t be sought out, and the cost in Contribution Points was astronomical. To date, there were no known S-level Awakened on Da Yu who had gained their status through such an exchange.

’Contribution Points are limited. I have to use them effectively.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Shi Ming applied for the in-person selection opportunity.

...

「Early the next morning.」

"Captain, the interior of the Moon Shadow has fully thawed."

"Captain, the General-level Wandering Ship *Da Min* is requesting to add ’Guns Akimbo’ as a communicator contact. Do you approve?"

"Captain, ..."

Before Shi Ming could issue his next orders, the Da Yu’s Treasure Vault terminal on his desk beeped and displayed a message.

BEEP.

[Esteemed A+ Level User Shi Ming, your in-person redemption access for Da Yu’s Treasure Vault has been approved. Please proceed to the Da Yu’s Treasure Vault, located in Area A-001 of the southwest corner of Deck 10 on the King-level Wandering Ship *Da Yu*, at your appointed time to redeem your items. This in-person access will be forfeited if the appointment is missed.]

The application was approved in less than 12 hours.

"The Moon Shadow is to remain as it is for now."

"You can approve the *Da Min*’s request. Report back to me later regarding their reason for the contact request."

"Everything else can wait until I get back."

’Nothing is more important than picking out treasures.’

...

...

...

After some time, a staff member led Shi Ming to the southwest corner of Deck 10 of the King-level Wandering Ship. A massive plaque stood at the entrance to one of the cabins, upon which several large, elegant characters were inscribed in flamboyant Dragon Country script:

[Nature’s Finest Treasures]

This was Da Yu’s Treasure Vault!

The place countless people dreamed of!

"Esteemed A+ Level VIP, please insert your Treasure Vault terminal into the port and await confirmation."

Shi Ming took out his communicator-sized Treasure Vault terminal and, as instructed, inserted it into a port below the main door. A column of light scanned him up and down, paused for about thirty seconds, and then, beneath the "Nature’s Finest Treasures" plaque, the great door—a fusion of futuristic technology and ancient simplicity—slowly swung open.

"Permission confirmed."

Shi Ming stood at the entrance and looked inside curiously.

It was completely empty.

"Hm?"

’Why isn’t there anything inside?’

Before him were nearly a hundred empty display cases, or compartments. The compartments were all empty, separated only by a thick, tightly sealed protective field.

"Esteemed A+ Level VIP, Da Yu’s Treasure Vault will retrieve the redeemable treasures according to your terminal’s permission level within 3 minutes. Please step inside and wait a moment."

"Alright."

He entered the treasure vault.

A moment later, to the faint whirring of gears and machinery from within, the 100 compartments in the vault began to flip and shift one by one, from top to bottom and left to right, filling with an assortment of boxes, large and small.

Inside the boxes were the various redeemable items.

Dozens of boxes appeared before Shi Ming’s eyes one after another, as if by magic.

The dense, orderly arrangement was dazzling.

It reminded him of visiting a museum in the old days.

With four layers of protection, Da Yu had no fear of theft. No one dared cause trouble on a King-level Wandering Ship, their security measures were impeccable, and every item, down to a single Sea Crystal Stone, had meticulous inventory records. Any data discrepancy would immediately trigger an alarm.

In thirty years, there had not been a single theft incident.

"Esteemed A+ Level VIP, you have 20 minutes to select and redeem your items."

"For every minute you go over, 100 Contribution Points will be automatically deducted."

"The timer starts now."

’Time is money.’

The now-filled vault was divided into four zones based on the required Contribution Points: the green zone (1-300 points), the blue zone (300-1,000 points), the purple zone (1,000-3,000 points), and the gold zone (3,000+ points). Since he had already browsed the available items many times on his terminal, Shi Ming wasted no time on the materials in the green and blue zones, like Energy Stones, Pure Dome Crystals, Sea Beast Blood, and various pieces of equipment.

He went directly to the purple zone and activated his Infinite Brain.

’I’ll use the Infinite Brain for a preliminary scan, and for anything it can’t pin down, I’ll use the Eye of the World!’

Today, he was here to fleece the flock!

His attention was focused on a cannon.

[Northwind - Annihilator JP-1107]

[Level: 7]

[Truth is only found within the range of your cannon! A naval destroyer cannon that perfectly preserves the cutting-edge combat power of the Land Era. Attack range: 2,000 nautical miles! Speed: over Mach 20! Its flight path is unpredictable. Without effective interception, it can accurately strike a target over 1,000 nautical miles away in under 5 minutes!]

[Upgrade Requirements: Pure Dome Crystal x200, Lightning Swordfish Blood x2000 ml]

This was a naval weapon with extremely high Attack Power. It cost 2,000 Contribution Points, and only Gold-grade or higher Wandering Ships could withstand its powerful recoil.

Shi Ming eyed it covetously.

But he knew his points were extremely limited; he had to spend them where they would count the most. This cannon wasn’t tempting enough.

He looked at the next item.

[Sword of the King of Yue]

[Level: 6]

[One of eight legendary divine weapons said to have been forged for the King of Yue by the master smith Ou Yezi using Kunshan Red Gold. Legend says that if pointed at the sun, day will turn to night. The sword’s material is extraordinary, allowing it to unleash a unique power in the Wandering Era.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Dome Crystal x100, Kunshan Red Gold x1]

If priced in Pure Dome Crystals, the items in the purple zone were valued at roughly 1,000 to 3,000 each. Shi Ming had no current use for most of them, but a few caught his eye. For example, there was a tactical vest that could automatically adjust to the wearer’s size. It boasted extremely high Defense Power, was difficult to damage in combat, and featured self-cleaning technology that could remove any stain, even Sea Beast Blood, with a simple rinse of water.

There was also an extra-large hive with an internal space of 50 square meters. While its convenience and security couldn’t match Shi Ming’s personal inventory, it would be excellent for storing ordinary items.

He already had a few items he wanted to redeem in mind.

After spending just five minutes in the purple zone, Shi Ming moved on to the main event: the gold zone. Every item here cost 5,000 Contribution Points or more, a price comparable to half an S-level Sea Beast!

There were only three items in the gold zone, which he had already learned about on his terminal. They were:

Half the corpse of the S-level Sea Beast, the Eighteen-winged Python (bloodless, cannot be used for awakening): 5,000 Contribution Points.

The artifact, "Golden Threaded Jade Robe": 8,000 Contribution Points.

A single seed: 20,000 Contribution Points.

These three items had no official descriptions, but this made no difference to Shi Ming.

...

His gaze swept over the only three items.

Hm?

He felt the power within him begin to boil, especially the Right Arm Red Pattern. It was faintly stirring with excitement, just like when it first encountered the blood of the Abyss Lord—impatient, burning with urgency...

’Holy Hall-level!’

His eyes twitched.

The Infinite Brain gave no hint.

"Eye of the World, gather intel!"

BEEP... BEEP...

[Compiling information...]

[Searching... Confirming detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing information... Report generated.]

[Seed of Life]

[A seed excavated from the collapsed "Heavenly Pillar." It is intrinsically linked to the Holy Hall Level Power, "Life." It can evolve the Arm of Power to its third stage.]

...

Shi Ming was inwardly astonished, but his expression remained calm.

There were seven sea beasts in the Endless Ocean that surpassed S-level. They were the Holy Hall-level, and they each reflected a fundamental power of the world: Life, Death, Spacetime, Eternity, Fate, Corruption, and Destruction. Besides the Fallen Sanctuary currently merging within his own body, Shi Ming knew of three others:

004, the "Immortal Evil Eye," represents Eternity.

006, the "Abyss Lord," represents Corruption.

007, the "Great Black Heaven Dragon," represents Destruction.

’And this seed is closely related to 001, Life?’

’It can even evolve my Arm of Power to the third stage?’

Shi Ming’s gaze flickered.

His Arm of Power was only in its first stage. Evolving to the second stage required absorbing the power from the blood of a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast. Furthermore, all of his abilities—the Arm of Power, the Eye of the World, and the Brain of Creation—had a chance to evolve to a third stage.

The trigger for the Eye of the World was fusing with the Great Prophecy Technique of the Three-Eyed Golden Crow.

And this seed, right here in front of him, was the key to evolving his Arm of Power!

Except,

’I can’t afford it!’