Fang Zhen was ecstatic. He even started declaiming in a theatrical, singsong voice.
With no one around to see him, Fang Zhen felt a sense of liberation from the judging eyes of others. He could finally be himself, and it was unbelievably freeing.
He even felt some of his stamina returning. Carried away by his excitement, he broke into what he defined as his own personal tap dance. It was pure bliss.
After dancing for a bit, Fang Zhen felt satisfied and stopped.
His body was still a little tired, but his Spirit was buzzing with excitement.
"Time to clean up the scene, deliver a few finishing blows where needed... and then, hehehe, comes my favorite part."
He had previously deduced that this Goblin Camp should hold some good stuff, maybe even a stash of treasure. Now it was time to see if he was right, or if all his ferocious reasoning would end up making him look like a fool.
Fang Zhen chuckled.
He was in a good mood, which made him feel more magnanimous. He laughed at his own joke and headed back to the Goblin Camp.
After returning to the Goblin Camp, Fang Zhen went around delivering finishing blows to any goblins that looked like they might still be breathing, checking their bodies for loot along the way.
After a round of looting, Fang Zhen had only found thirty-seven Copper Coins. There was no other loot.
Fang Zhen wasn't too surprised.
'This group of goblins is a tribe. They have a leader, so they probably have some rules.'
'Bandit groups aren't a 'finders keepers' operation. Throughout history, the grunts' loot has always been divvied up and exploited by the leader. The chief and the elites weigh out the gold for themselves, while the underlings are lucky to get a big bowl of meat and maybe a few scraps of silver.'
'Goblins are basically a bandit group, too. And with the Iron Armor Goblin Leader being so dominant in terms of strength, it's normal for the small fry goblins to be poor.'
'The main thing is whether the tribe has accumulated any wealth as a whole.'
After delivering the finishing blows and looting, Fang Zhen hadn't gained much. He wasn't too impressed with the goblins' weapons and gear, either.
Maybe in this world, those shortswords and Hand Axes were worth something, but back in Fang Zhen's world, this stuff would be worth a few dozen bucks a piece, at most.
Picking them up would just weigh him down.
Even the equipment on the Iron Armor Goblin Leader, which was the best of the loot, was just a suit of iron-ring armor. It wouldn't fit Fang Zhen, it was too heavy, and it would be a pain to strip off.
Fang Zhen decided to just leave it.
His priority was to see if the goblins had accumulated any treasure.
Fang Zhen's gaze fell upon the three goblin tents in the camp.
"Alright, let's see how lucky I am. I'll treat these three tents as three goblin blind boxes, each one worth the lives of six goblins." Fang Zhen chuckled, a little excited.
He walked toward the goblin tents.
Fang Zhen entered the first tent.
He looked around and was somewhat disappointed.
Inside the tent were some containers, including wooden barrels and basins, as well as some dried meat, dry bread, and the like. Fang Zhen even saw a piece of moldy cheese.
He could tell at a glance that this was where the goblins stored their provisions and food. There was nothing important here.
Fang Zhen looked down and prodded the round block of cheese with his scimitar.
'It looks pretty low-quality, shoddy stuff. But goblins can't make this, which further confirms my suspicion that a merchant has been trading with this Goblin Tribe.'
Fang Zhen looked around for a moment. There was nothing of value in the tent, and the sour, spoiled smell inside was quite nauseating.
Fang Zhen pinched his nose, shook his head, and left.
Fang Zhen came out and ducked into the second tent.
The second tent was much more spacious than the first. As Fang Zhen entered, his eyes lit up slightly.
Inside this tent were several wooden crates. Fang Zhen walked over and found their lids were ajar. Opening one, he found a few shortswords, Hand Axes, and a bundle of Crossbow Arrows.
"An armory," Fang Zhen noted, shaking his head slightly.
The crates still didn't contain anything particularly valuable.
In addition, the floor of this armory-tent was covered with a layer of felt, as well as torn animal hides and dirty blankets. It seemed most of the camp's goblins lived in here.
Fang Zhen didn't find anything good here either.
'Could my deduction have been wrong? Is this Goblin Tribe just one of those belligerent, warlike groups that has absolutely nothing to their name?'
Fang Zhen couldn't help but wonder.
'That can't be right. If that were the case, what merchant would come here to trade so many goods with them? Goblins can't make tents, food like cheese, or even weapons. It's most likely they're getting them through trade.'
'Other things aside, weapons aren't that valuable in the modern world, but they can't be cheap in this one. What fool would sell to these little green-skins if they didn't have money?'
'Then again, these goblins aren't very smart. Even if they had loot, could a merchant have swindled them into spending it all on overpriced goods, leaving no treasure behind?'
Fang Zhen thought.
With this thought in mind, Fang Zhen left the armory and barracks tent and entered the last, and largest, tent.
"Oho?"
The moment Fang Zhen entered the final tent, his eyes lit up.
What he found inside exceeded his expectations.
After seeing the goblins' supply storeroom and kitchen, as well as their armory and barracks tent, Fang Zhen had lowered his expectations for them to rock bottom.
Chaotic, filthy, dilapidated... any number of crude adjectives could be used to describe goblins, and they would all be accurate.
Fang Zhen hadn't expected such creatures to have any semblance of decent taste.
But upon entering the last tent, Fang Zhen was genuinely surprised.
The tent still carried the slightly sour body odor of the goblins, but the space inside was large and spacious. And relatively speaking, it was much cleaner than the previous two tents.
Inside, the ground was covered with the fur of some unknown beast, serving as a carpet. Based on its appearance, Fang Zhen guessed it might be wolf pelts. Further in, there was a large, complete animal hide. On closer inspection, it looked like a black bearskin. Its texture seemed good, as if it had been properly tanned.
The bearskin wasn't laid on the ground but was hung on a wooden frame like a decoration.
On the floor, one area was covered with much thicker fur of a different texture—perhaps fox fur or the pelt of some other medium-sized beast. There was also a blanket that could generously be called clean. This appeared to be the sleeping area.
Seeing the furnishings in the tent, Fang Zhen thought it was actually not bad.
To be honest, the decor was still just so-so—very crude and primitive, barely passable. But compared to the wretched state of the other two tents, Fang Zhen felt this could be considered a goblin mansion.
'Not bad for a goblin. It seems the distribution method in this Goblin Tribe is a 90/10 split. The leader used his superior strength to claim ninety percent of the profits.'
Fang Zhen chuckled.
He scanned the tent's interior when suddenly, his gaze landed on a spot behind the bearskin decoration.
There sat a small box. It wasn't large, about forty-something centimeters square—roughly the length of Fang Zhen's forearm.
The box was wooden, plated with a layer of white iron sheet, and had a padlock on it that was currently locked.
Fang Zhen walked over.
He stepped onto the animal-pelt carpet, the fur soft beneath his feet.
Paying it no mind, Fang Zhen crouched down and examined the white-iron-plated wooden box.
The box wasn't big, but it felt like there was something inside. Fang Zhen tested its weight; including the box itself, it weighed around fifteen pounds.
Fang Zhen's heart began to beat a little faster.
He felt a faint thrill of excitement course through him. He observed the box carefully. It was quite sturdy; trying to chop it open with his scimitar would be a hassle. And it had that lock.
After a moment's thought, Fang Zhen stood up, turned, and walked out of the tent, striding quickly toward the Iron Armor Goblin Leader.
Fang Zhen reached the corpse of the Iron Armor Goblin Leader. One side of its neck was mangled, a gruesome sight. It was already growing cold as it lay there.
Fang Zhen knelt and began to search the Iron Armor Goblin Leader's body again, this time more carefully.
Before long, from under the Iron Armor Goblin Leader's armor, Fang Zhen found a brass key.
It was an old-fashioned key, long, with a plum-blossom-shaped ornament. The front had several protrusions for opening a lock.
'This is it!'
Fang Zhen's eyes lit up.
He grabbed the key and jogged back into the Goblin Leader's tent.
Once inside, Fang Zhen strode over to the white-iron-plated box and inserted the brass key into the lock.
The key slid in smoothly, and the tumblers clicked into place. Fang Zhen's eyes gleamed as he turned it.
CLICK.
A sharp sound rang out.
Fang Zhen's eyes widened, and his heart began to pound. THUMP-THUMP.
He lifted the lid of the box.
Instantly.
A faint golden light reflected onto Fang Zhen's face.