Star Odyssey

Lu Yin selected the next video and continued watching.

This time, the display in front of him showed a dark room with a small stone in the middle of it. A man appeared and slowly approached the stone. However, before he even drew close enough to touch the stone, a burst of white light flashed out from above the man. A flurry of invisible attacks shattered the space inside the room, causing the man to crumble into pieces.

Lu Yin was shocked; this video was of a failed attempt. Lockbreakers faced major risks and many Lockbreakers died every year with death being a common occurrence in their line of work. It seems that the Sourcebox Catalog not only included successful cases, but they also featured failed attempts. These were actually even more useful than videos of successes to the average viewer, as these videos represented invaluable experiences.

Although no two sourceboxes in the universe were exactly the same, many shared similar traits and dangers. For example, Lu Yin had been terrified by that white flash that had appeared in this video; if, one day, he encountered a similar white flash during his own Lockbreaking attempt, he would make sure to flee immediately. These kinds of reactions were all born from experience. Hence, these videos were all very precious.

Lu Yin had received about a hundred Sourcebox Catalog videos for free, so he spent a few days watching all of them. Most of the videos were of successful lockbreaking attempts, and there were only a few failed attempts, and of those, only three had deaths. All of these videos were extremely rare; most people wouldn’t show them that easily.

Lu Yin rubbed his temples as he pondered over the situation. Lockbreaking was extremely difficult, but also simple. It didn’t require much technical knowledge, but it had high standards on a Lockbreaker’s own ability and experience as that was all they could rely on. This was the main reason why the profession was so dangerous.

Lockbreakers were like a death squad supported by humanity; one that battled against the universe itself over countless treasures. They enjoyed the utmost respect of mankind, but that was because they faced enormous risks. It was no wonder why Master Wusheng had instructed Lu Yin to contact him before making a lockbreaking attempt. Wusheng must have been worried that Lu Yin would accidentally kill himself during his first time.

The reality was, after watching so many videos, not only did Lu Yin not have an urge to start lockbreaking, but he was actually of the opinion that he should avoid it as much as possible, at least for now. He had no desire to gamble with his life, especially since he had no formal lockbreaking tutor. It would be all too easy for him to accidentally kill himself.

Lu Yin lifted his hand and, with gleaming eyes, looked at the die that had appeared there. He decided to put a hold on lockbreaking for now and that he would only try after learning more. He would first earn some more money, as he only had around three thousand star crystals on him right now, which made him feel insecure.

In another location on Zenyu Star, Bazeer had just met up with Wendy Yushan.

“Take this and contact that Lockbreaker. Ask him to help us lockbreak it,” Wendy Yushan slowly said as she tossed a clump of mud towards Bazeer.

Bazeer was confused. “Representative Wendy, is this a sourcebox?”

Wendy Yushan shot a cold gaze at Bazeer. “Just do as I say. Tell the Lockbreaker that this Sourcebox is harmless and that it will be good practice for him. Whatever he obtains from this lockbreaking attempt will be his reward. This is also to show the sincerity of the Outerverse Youth Council.”

“Understood.” Bazeer left quickly.

Wendy Yushan then turned to look at her gadget, which was displaying Lu Yin’s page from the Lockbreaker network. Of course, the name Lu Yin wasn’t listed; instead, “Seventh Brother” was.

“It’s surprising that the new Lockbreaker is from Zenyu Star. Hopefully, it’s not someone from the Innerverse,” Wendy Yushan muttered with her ever-cold gaze. Even she didn’t dare to underestimate a Lockbreaker, as every Lockbreaker had a high chance of becoming an extremely strong powerhouse as they were the only ones who could unlock sourceboxes. Many Lockbreakers spent their whole lives exploring ancient planets and searching for sourceboxes. Once they obtained a rare item, they would quickly rise up to become a new powerhouse. These were people who she couldn’t afford to offend.

Lu Yin looked at the Mavis Bank in front of him and glanced at the universal currency that was shimmering in the sunlight. He couldn’t help himself from exclaiming, “Still as rich as ever.”

Just when he was about to enter, the familiar ring of an incoming call came from his gadget. He looked at it and his face twisted in anger. Bazeer?

Lu Yin looked at the contact request from Bazeer on his gadget. He quickly glanced through the details and breathed a sigh of relief; Bazeer wasn't contacting him directly. Rather, he was doing so through the Lockbreaker network. This meant that Bazeer didn’t know that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker yet.

Considering his grudges with Bazeer, this man would definitely kill Lu Yin as soon as he found out that Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker. It was something that would definitely cause huge troubles for Lu Yin.

But why would Bazeer contact him? Lu Yin glanced through his profile and noticed that his location was set as Zenyu Star in the Great Yu Empire, which Lu Yin immediately changed to private. No one had told him that his location would be displayed; no wonder Bazeer had contacted him. He was probably trying to get closer to “Seventh Brother” on behalf of the Outerverse Youth Council since they were located so close to each other.

Lu Yin didn’t decline the call, but he didn’t use the video call function either. He only answered after using a voice-altering option, saying normally, “Who is this?”

“Greetings Lockbreaker. I am Bazeer, a representative from the Outerverse Youth Council,” Bazeer said respectfully. His attitude was completely different from their first encounter, when Lu Yin had first arrived at Zenyu Star. It was as if he were talking to another person entirely.

Lu Yin sneered. “What do you need?”

“I have a sourcebox here and would like to ask you to unlock it,” Bazeer answered humbly.

Lu Yin impatiently answered, “I’m busy.”

He was just about to hang up when Bazeer anxiously interrupted, “Please wait! This Sourcebox is not dangerous at all and can be used for practice. Also, anything you obtain from the lockbreaking attempt will belong to you. This is to represent the Outerverse Youth Council’s sincerity.”

Lu Yin was quite interested in this proposal; a harmless Sourcebox was rare. Not all Sourceboxs were dangerous, but there was a low chance for there to be anything truly valuable in a harmless sourcebox, and that was not even mentioning the chances that the item inside had already deteriorated to dust. Nevertheless, this was still a good chance for him to practice as all Sourceboxs were precious. Most people wouldn’t be willing to sell this chance as they would want to try themselves.

“How can you be sure that it’s harmless?” Lu Yin asked.

Bazeer replied, “The Sourcebox is in my palm right now, and I have already tested it on a normal person. It is completely harmless.”

Lu Yin hesitated a moment before saying, “Fine, I agree. Where will the dropoff location be?”

Bazeer was excited by Lu Yin’s acceptance; it was rare to be able to get to know a Lockbreaker. He was an Explorer himself and might be able to obtain Sourceboxs in the future, so if he had connections to a Lockbreaker, he would have a chance of obtaining something rare. “You can choose the location. Whatever’s convenient for you will work.”

Lu Yin thought about it briefly before saying, “Leave the sourcebox in the third vase by the entrance of the Imperial Palace.”

Bazeer was stunned. “The palace?”

“What? Are you not willing? I will remember your sincerity and that you represent the Outerverse Youth Council. I have also memorized your name, Bazeer. That should be more than enough. What? Were you expecting to meet me?” Lu Yin said impatiently.

Bazeer gritted his teeth before replying, “Alright, I’ll do as you say. Don’t worry. I’ll place it there tomorrow.”

Lu Yin ended the call, content with the result. As long as it was placed within the palace, he wouldn’t have to worry about someone finding out his new identity. Numerous people entered and left the palace everyday, including the ministers and the captains of the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons. He was certain that Bazeer wouldn’t be able to monitor the entire palace, which meant that his identity wouldn’t be revealed.

When Bazeer reported the situation to Wendy Yushan, she smiled. The palace? She was curious as to how this new Lockbreaker was able to enter the palace freely. She wanted to see who it was.

After the call, Lu Yin continued walking into the Mavis Bank, but he paused after taking a few steps. He just realized that although Bazeer couldn’t monitor the palace, Wendy Yushan could. After all, the palace was her home. He needed to come up with some way to distract Wendy; otherwise, it would be too difficult for him to retrieve the Sourcebox undetected.

Lu Yin’s bank card had a total of 200,000 cubes of star crystals within its account. He withdrew the entire amount and filled his cosmic ring up. He had spent thousands of star crystals to purchase his cosmic ring and had made sure that it was an ultra-large one. The size was probably excessive for most people, but it could no longer satisfy Lu Yin’s needs. Unfortunately, while there were even larger sizes for cosmic rings, they weren’t available in a place like the Frostwave Weave.

As he walked out of the Mavis Bank, Lu Yin started researching Wendy Yushan with his gadget. To his surprise, he discovered that she didn’t actually reside in the palace as she had moved out a few years ago. Her residence was actually quite distant from the palace. Lu Yin thought about it for a moment and then smiled. He was going to test Princess Wendy with this Sourcebox pickup.

The next day, Bazeer entered the palace under the guise of visiting Undying Yushan and then left after some time. Wendy arrived at the palace before even Bazeer.

Lu Yin was in no rush to retrieve the sourcebox and spent his time in the King Zishan mansion studying a star chart. This had become his pastime whenever he had some free time.

On the day the sourcebox was deposited, no one went near its hiding place at the palace.

On the second day, Wendy Yushan continued monitoring the sourcebox for an entire day. She thought that the Lockbreaker might have realized that she was monitoring the area.

On the third day, no one retrieved the sourcebox yet again. Wendy Yushan frowned as she considered the possibilities.

On the morning of the fourth day, as Wendy was still considering the situation and deciding whether or not she should stop monitoring the palace, she received a shocking piece of news that caused her to fly into a rage. A spacecraft piloted by dozens of drunk men had crashed into her residence and caused a huge mess.

Wendy Yushan immediately rushed home.

At the same time that she went home, Lu Yin followed some officials into the palace. The sourcebox that he had just retrieved was already within his cosmic ring. He wasn’t sure if Wendy Yushan was still monitoring the palace, but he had already done everything within his power. If she was still watching the palace, then his identity would be revealed, though that wasn’t really that big of a problem. But he was quite confident that she had left. While investigating Wendy, Lu Yin had discovered that her residence was very important to her.

This was a special day for the Great Yu Empire as it was an official armistice day for the civil war against Duke Yushan. Many officials had come to the palace, and the entire area was extremely crowded. Lu Yin stayed there for a while before returning home. He specifically made it a point to not visit anyone during his time in the palace.

Less than a minute after Lu Yin left, Wendy Yushan returned to the palace and checked the vase. Her gaze turned cold. The sourcebox was gone. She thought about what had just happened at her residence and realized that she had been completely played.

Wendy was confident in her intelligence and knew that she had only been tricked because she hadn’t been expecting it. After all, she was Wendy Yushan. “You’ll only escape this time, and you better pray that you become a useful Lockbreaker. If not, I’ll let you know the true cost of tricking me.” She was fully capable of exposing the new Lockbreaker’s identity if she really wanted to.

Back in King Zishan Mansion, Lu Yin looked at the clump of black soil in his hand. So this was a sourcebox. Although it looked quite common, this was a genuine sourcebox, and what’s more, it was even a harmless one that was the perfect chance to practice. Lockbreaking relied on both one’s ability and experience, and he was going to get his first bit of experience now.