Chapter Forty-Three: Mo Yan's Ring

Although 2058 was also typing, Ye Chen could distinctly sense the vibrant liveliness between the lines, unlike anything a mere machine could produce.

"Will this marking thing have any effect on you?" Ye Chen asked with genuine concern. If activating it would put 2058 in danger, he would rather do without it. After all, there were many other ways to get equipment; there was no need to let his friend take a risk just for one silver chest.

"It's fine. This thing is a random refresh by the twelve auxiliary brains. As long as I don't interfere with its refresh cycle, you can open it however you like. Heh." The guy even added a smiley at the end—a major step forward.

"Alright, thank you." Ye Chen closed the dialogue window. By now, the others had already started heading toward the right fork. He hurriedly called out to them, "Don't go right. Let's go left first."

"Go left? Aren't we supposed to choose the right path?" Not only Jian Qingcheng, but all the other women paused in surprise. The left path wasn’t the direction indicated by the quest after all.

"Go left! Don’t you think if the boss is on the right, there might be some other surprise on the left? I’m sure there’s something good over there—trust me!" Ye Chen smiled slightly. Though he couldn’t explain everything, he believed his performance today was enough to earn their trust, at least this once.

Jian Qingcheng hesitated for a moment, then looked deeply at Ye Chen’s confident smile before nodding. "Let’s go left, then. We haven’t completed the Dark Demon set anyway, so fighting a few more monsters won’t hurt."

With Ye Chen leading the way, the group immediately headed down the left corridor. The monsters here were much denser than on the right, but with Ye Chen acting as their living radar, they encountered no real danger. Only the Holy Light Priestess felt pressured, since Big Sister Jian Qingcheng’s high damage output often caused monsters to switch aggro. As she healed Ling Yue, she also had to keep an eye on Jian Qingcheng.

They fought their way through, and with nearly a hundred monsters in the left passage, it took more than twenty minutes to reach the cave’s end. Along the way, two more pieces of the Dark Demon set dropped—leggings and boots—leaving only the armor and gloves to complete it. Ye Chen thought that once they cleared the right passage as well, the full set would be theirs.

"Black Fireball!" Ye Chen hurled a black fireball at several Ghost Assassins lurking on the rocky wall ahead, breaking their stealth. He quickly retreated to hide behind Ling Yue.

The lady knight rushed forward, sweeping her sword to grab the monsters’ aggro, while Jian Qingcheng and the others followed, unleashing a barrage of attacks. In moments, the Ghost Assassins fell.

As the Ghost Assassins' bodies vanished, a silver-white key dropped to the ground.

[Silver Key]: Can unlock any chest below Silver grade and under level 30. Single-use item.

Ling Yue quickly bent down to pick up the key and, upon seeing its attributes, let out a joyful cry, "It’s a chest key—there must be a treasure chest nearby!"

"And at least a Bronze chest, maybe even a Silver one!" Second Sister Drunken Longing also beamed. She’d thought Ye Chen was just guessing, but he’d actually been right. Every veteran player knew that when you found a key, there must be a chest nearby—and the higher the key’s grade, the better the chest.

"Everyone, spread out and search the area. Be careful not to get ambushed," Jian Qingcheng said with a smile, waving for everyone to split up. It was clear she was happy too. Treasure chests were every player’s favorite: no fighting, no risk—if you had the key and found the chest, you’d get great rewards, sometimes even rare items unobtainable from monsters.

The Silver chest was well hidden, wedged in a rocky crevice along a narrow path. Although Ye Chen knew exactly where it was, he couldn’t just walk straight to it. Instead, he wandered around the area, pretending to search, before suddenly letting out a delighted shout, "Over here! It’s a Silver chest!"

"Where? Where?" Ling Yue was especially interested in such things, and hurried over to Ye Chen’s side. Following the direction of his finger, she soon spotted the silver-white chest nestled between several rocks. Her eyes lit up in excitement as she called out, "Big Sister, everyone, come here! Ye Chen found it—the chest is right here!"

The women immediately gathered around, their eyes gleaming like a pack of little misers, all drooling over the glittering Silver chest.

"Ling Yue, open it! Hurry, let’s see what’s inside!" Second Sister Drunken Longing was the most impatient, but since she didn’t have the key, she could only tug at Ling Yue’s arm and urge her on.

Ling Yue hesitated briefly, then handed the key to Ye Chen, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. "You should open it. You’ve been really lucky today."

Ye Chen grinned, inwardly praising Ling Yue for her thoughtfulness and understanding. He’d been itching to open the chest ever since he saw it. As he took the key, Second Sister Drunken Longing, sensing the odd atmosphere between the two, rolled her eyes. Internally cursing the pair as shameless, she still urged, "Hurry up! If you’re not going to open it, give me the key!" She reached for the key, but Ye Chen leapt over to the Silver chest, excitement evident in his movements. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it.

Click.

With a crisp sound, the Silver chest opened instantly. Soft, silvery light illuminated Ye Chen’s face.

"It’s Silver equipment—take it out and show us!" Second Sister Drunken Longing’s voice trembled. Silver gear was virtually the best available right now; as for Gold gear, only Ye Chen had a piece in the entire Fierce Mountain City.

Ye Chen was also excited, controlling his trembling hands as he reached into the bottom of the chest and pulled out the equipment.

It was a ring of dark violet-black metal, swirling with a strange, bewitching light. At its center was an engraved image—a dragon-like beast with its mouth sealed shut. Though small, the engraving was exquisitely lifelike.

[Silent Ring] (Silver Grade)
Attack: 15–30
Intelligence: +12
Constitution: +8
Additional Skill: Silence (Casts this skill on a target, causing them to lose the ability to speak for five seconds.)

"This ring has Silence!" Ye Chen exclaimed in disbelief as he stared at the equipment in his hands. Silence was the bane of all magic classes—whether Elemental Mages, Dark Priests, or Holy Light Priests, all needed to chant spells. Being silenced meant being unable to cast spells. Five seconds could decide the outcome of a battle. The value of Silence far exceeded that of the ring itself.

Moreover, Silence wasn’t just effective against players; it could also work wonders against spellcasting monsters.