Lily and Selena flat-out refused to let Arthur sideline them from the treasure hunt.

  They knew their dad and brother were feeling the pressure tackling those Bronze Chests, and they wanted to help out, even if it meant drawing monsters.

  They just wanted to do their part in helping the family survive.

  Arthur saw his wife and daughters were determined to help. He didn't object, but supported them.

  It wasn't that he was cold-blooded and didn't want to protect them. It's just that the rules of this world didn't cut anyone any slack just because they were women.

  Unless Arthur was strong enough to shield them, which he wasn't.

  So, all five of them had to work together to face whatever came their way.

  Of course, Arthur knew sending his wife and daughters out to lure monsters with just 1-Star Combat Boots was risky. It was only a matter of time before something went wrong, which was exactly what his son, Hugo, was worried about.

  But Arthur was on the lookout for solutions. Right now, all they could do was keep hitting those chests, snagging resources, and trading them for better gear, weapons, Attribute Orbs, and so on.

  It was a problem every team was wrestling with: how to quickly boost the strength of their followers.

  Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to take down Bronze Chests.

  Hugo tried to object further, but Arthur cut him off. "Alright, this chest gave us three sugarcane high-yield seeds. Selling those should get us a decent piece of equipment."

  High-yield seeds were becoming more valuable.

  Everyone could see that once they matured, they became a sustainable resource. Plenty of people were collecting them. Those three seeds should be enough to trade for a 1-Star piece of gear or a weapon.

  Arthur stashed the seeds. "Hugo, don't worry too much. We can take it easier when we hit chests next time. I'll try to take out two Goblins with Wind Blades first, so Lily and Selena can lure the monsters more safely."

  "When we stop to rest tonight, we can try trading those high-yield seeds and other stuff for some equipment to boost our stats."

  You can't rush getting stronger. Arthur decided to focus on hitting chests and collecting resources, then helping his wife, daughters, and son get better stuff.

  The family agreed with Arthur's plan. They all piled back into the SUV and drove off to find more chests.

  The five of them spent a lot of time and effort to secure two more Bronze Chests. As they continued down the highway, the road ahead suddenly changed.

  It was a fork in the road.

  Several roads leading in other directions connected to the fork, and each road had a vehicle parked on it.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  In the middle of the fork, in the wasteland, was a silver chest, surrounded by a dozen Goblins and a huge, muscular Goblin, over six feet tall.

  "That's...the Chests mechanism!" Arthur recognized what was happening. His expression turned serious.

  At the same time, inside Jason's RV...

  "Hubby, there's a fork in the road ahead," Chloe said, popping out of the driver's seat.

  Jason got a system notification in his head.

  *Congratulations, you've discovered an Advanced Chest and activated the Chests mechanism. The number of participating teams is not yet reached. Please wait…*

  "It's nothing. We've triggered the Chests mechanism. I'll go to the driver's seat to take a look," Jason said calmly, reassuring the girls. He went to the driver's seat and looked outside.

  Kira was in the passenger seat, looking serious. "Hubby, it looks like there are a lot of teams involved in this one."

  Jason nodded, sitting in the driver's seat and looking out the window.

  Guarding the Silver Chest were a dozen Goblins and a D-Rank Goblin Warrior.

  Looking at the roads at the fork, there were five roads already, but it wasn't enough to trigger the Chests mechanism.

  It seemed Kira was right. There were a lot of teams participating in this Chests mechanism.

  "Don't worry. If things get dangerous, I'll concede immediately and send you back to the RV," Jason said, smiling to reassure Kira.

  In the Chests mechanism, the vehicle owner could concede and withdraw from the fight if they didn't want the Silver Chest.

  Once the vehicle owner conceded, the followers involved in the battle would be teleported back to the vehicle. So, if Chloe and Kira were in danger, Jason would concede immediately.

  Even though the stuff in the Silver Chest was valuable, it wasn't worth as much as Chloe and the girls' safety.

  Kira was touched by Jason's reassurance, but it only strengthened her determination to help him defeat the other teams.

  By now, the other girls had come to the driver's seat to see what was going on.

  "There are so many opponents..." Ellie said, poking her head into the driver's seat, surprised by the vehicles on the other roads.

  Last time, there was only one team to fight during Chests mechanism, but this time there were at least five.

  If they fought, it would definitely be a free-for-all.

  Jason started giving the girls his combat experience in the Chests mechanism.

  "There are a lot of teams involved in this one. If it's a free-for-all, try not to get surrounded."

  "If it's a team battle, stick to your formation. Everyone grab a hand crossbow, and shoot anyone who gets too close..."

  The girls listened to Jason's tactics, nodding, feeling much calmer.

  Jason had prepared so many cards. The 1-Star hand crossbows alone would give their enemies a headache.

  Jason turned to Ellie and Lily. "Ellie, Lily, you need to be mentally prepared to kill."

  "Jason, don't worry. I'm ready," Lily said, patting her chest confidently.

  She'd seen plenty of people die on the bus. Killing wouldn't bother her much.

  Ellie stiffened at the word "kill," but forced herself to appear calm. "I'm ready too..."

  Jason saw the uncertainty in Ellie's eyes. He knew she wasn't ready.

  He pulled Ellie into his arms, giving her some encouragement, saying some comforting words. Ellie quickly perked up.

  Ellie had already killed plenty of Goblins. She'd seen blood and wouldn't have psychological problems from killing.

  At most, she'd feel a bit uncomfortable, but it wouldn't affect her.

  Chloe and Kira had already gotten over that hump. Jason wasn't worried about them.

  In the upcoming battles, whether individual or team, Jason would only send Chloe and the four girls, who were fighters.

  Tiffany and ?Joy just needed to stay in the RV and watch with him.

  After waiting a while, more roads connected to the fork. When the number of participating teams reached ten, everyone got a system notification in their heads.

  *Ding, the number of participating teams has been reached…*

  *Scanning the number of people in each team, initiating a random fighting method…*

  *Fighting method: Follower Team Battle.*

  *Number of participants per team: Unlimited.*

  *Victory condition: Fight until only one team's followers are left alive.*

  *Vehicle owners have the right to concede. After conceding, all followers will be teleported back to the vehicle.*

  *Please send your followers to join the fight within one minute.*