The Great Thief

Lu Li was still in shock as he held Captain Sanders’ Treasure Map and watched Ithania walk towards Rattan City. Eventually, Water Fairy appeared before him.

"Did you get it?" she asked Lu Li eagerly.

"Did you hear the System prompt?" Lu Li responded as he slowly turned and stepped towards the direction of Theramore’s Fall.

"Does the whole world now know that you have a Treasure Map now?" Water Fairy was a little envious, but she also had some concern in her voice.

"Yep, the whole world knows now," Lu Li said as he rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on.

The Treasure Map was definitely valuable, but it was a hotly contested item – once a player got it, it would be announced to everyone else in the world.

The worst part was that players could inquire as to where the Treasure Map currently was. This was part of the adventure system.

Fortunately, Lu Li wasn’t an ordinary player, but this was still going to cause him a headache.

"Is there someone coming to kill us?" Water Fairy asked.

"If someone else received a Treasure Map, would you go after them?" Lu Li responded.

"Probably. I think the System wants people to try, otherwise, why would it broadcast it to the whole world?" Water Fairy was smarter than most of Lu Li’s teammates.

That was exactly right, the System wanted to encourage the players to interact.

"Get ready. We’re going to find the treasure."

Lu Li wasn’t afraid of anyone and he wasn’t going to give up the Treasure Map. Those who wanted to contend with him for the Treasure Map needed to ask themselves if they could deal with the Shard of the Defiler.

Wandering and Square Root 3 also saw the news and quickly sent a message asking if he wanted help.

Lu Li directly rejected them – finding the treasure only required luck. This wasn’t a problem that could be solved with more players, in fact, it would overcomplicate it. If there were only two Thieves, it would be harder for others to find them.

As for Water Fairy...

He had partied up with her in the beginning to do this quest, but rescuing Ithania was her idea. Now that they had the Treasure Map, of course she would want to find it together.

"Let’s see what the Treasure Map says. There should be some clues!" Water Fairy suggested enthusiastically.

"Don’t be so excited; act with a bit more reserve."

"Aiya, this is a Treasure Map. The legends say that it can turn an ordinary person into an extremely wealthy person overnight!"

s they grew closer, Lu Li realized that Water Fairy wasn’t always cold and was often just like an ordinary girl. She was just a little prettier and had a bit more money.

Lu Li couldn’t help but burst her bubble. "Don’t think too much about it. How can a game company make you extremely wealthy?"

"Wow, you really are taking this calmly," Water Fairy said defiantly.

"I’m sure there will be something good; this is a Treasure Map after all."

Given the way the Treasure Map had been treated by the System, it definitely wouldn’t just be a few silver coins.

Captain Sanders’ Treasure Map: If you are reading this letter, it means that I – Captain Sanders – am now sleeping deep underwater. However, if you follow my instructions, my treasure is yours.

First of all, you need to find a suitcase. It should be buried in Booty Bay somewhere next to the wreckage. When I buried it, I was facing a double-headed mountain and I planted a tree next to me. I don’t know if that tree is still alive.

In that suitcase, you will find the next clue.

This Treasure Map wasn’t a usual map that had red dotted lines leading to the Treasure. It only had some text which could lead them to the first clue.

"Wander around here with the map. Only come over when I call you," Lu Li said, coming to a sudden realization.

"Alright, I’ll be careful," Water Fairy nodded.

System: Water Fairy has received Captain Sanders’ Treasure. Coordinates (1387, 2915, 26).

The two of them were speechless. Did the System really have to broadcast this transaction too? Regardless, this was part of Lu Li’s plan, as he would have preferred this over a quiet transaction.

Lu Li then transported through a few places before arriving at Stranglethorn Vale.

He walked along the coast and began looking for the so-called double-headed mountain. At this moment, all of the players who wanted to snatch the Treasure Map were heading towards Theramore’s Fall.

Water Fairy just kept moving around and avoided interacting with anyone. She also ignored anyone who asked to work with her.

She didn’t kill anyone, but that didn’t mean that no one was dying. The swamp’s mud monsters were at least level 35, but they were more often level 40. There were even some level 45 Bosses around. One could easily imagine the fate of the pre-level 30 players who ran into these monsters. The deaths were so frequent that some players had come to gather the drops of those dead players.

A player had appeared on the Stranglethorn Vale, but no one would have guessed that the little leopard running along the coast line was Lu Li.

It wasn’t clear how long ago the treasure was buried, but Stranglethorn Vale was now lush with vegetation. There were many trees along the coastline and the double-headed mountain was probably obscured by them.

After running around for an hour, he had found several potential locations. However, some didn’t have any trees, some didn’t have the double-headed mountain and some didn’t have the wreckage.

"Lu Li, have you found it yet? I’m being hunted like rabbit and it’s making me anxious. My guild members are helping me to clear them out," Water Fairy panted.

"You don’t have to run around in the swamp – you can escape to other places too," Lu Li said bluntly.

"Dammit, if I knew this would happen, I would have searched for the suitcase," Water Fairy complained.

"Run, I think I might have just found the place. I’ll let you know," Lu Li said as he looked at the mountain which was about 90 feet away. There was also the wreckage behind him, although it was mostly covered in sand, and a tall coconut tree next to him. All three conditions had been met.

In order to confirm, Lu Li risked being attacked by flying creatures and flew up to check out the mountain.

This mountain did indeed have two mountain tops.

Lu Li quickly landed by the tree and took out a shovel before digging into the sand.

He didn’t know how deep it was, but he didn’t want to miss the small suitcase, so he dug quite a few holes that were half a person deep. Fortunately, this was just a game, so he didn’t get tired.

When he heard the sound of his shovel hitting something, Lu Li was filled with joy.

He moved the golden sand aside and saw a rusty suitcase wrapped in crocodile skin that was half-rotten.

When Water Fairy got Lu Li’s message, she immediately went back to the city and transported as quickly as she could, leaving the thousands of players staring blankly at each other. When they queried for her location, they found out that Water Fairy was now in Stranglethorn Vale.

Could it be that this woman had found all the Theramore’s Fall’s clues about the treasure?

She had to be messing with them. There were so many players around her; how could she have the time to find the treasure’s clues?