Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 342 It’s time
"No matter what, you've added too many valuable items to this Earth Dragon Armor. Whether you accept it or not, I have to compensate you." Li Zheng wrote privately, "As for the other part, I'll look for something suitable and send it to you later."

"Huh? But..." Li Chun was obviously in a hurry and sent the message before even finishing typing it.

Li Zheng: "No buts. If you don't accept it, I won't ask you to make armor for me anymore."

After thinking for a moment, Li Zheng felt that this was a bit too blunt, so he changed the subject and replied, "Or you could do it this way: if you really want to repay the life-saving grace, do it in a way that doesn't benefit you, at least don't let it affect your usual explorations, understand?"

"Oh...I understand..."

Beyond the realm of interests?
That's true. The resources in the matrix are equivalent to money. If you repay a life-saving debt by giving resources, isn't that repaying a debt with money?

So superficial!

Why didn't I think of this before?
No wonder Brother Zheng was unhappy.

Li Chun closed the private messaging interface, lost in thought: "But it's not very convenient to move around in the Matrix. How can I repay kindness in ways other than personal gain?"

"..." Little Spider stood behind her, offering her its soft belly to lean on.

“Hmm…” Li Chun pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up: “That’s it! I’ve seen in TV dramas that people who are rescued all repay kindness with their bodies, could it be that Brother Zheng means…”

If that's the case, then it's not impossible.

But I'm still a few months away from turning eighteen. Is it too early to talk about this kind of thing now?

Li Chun's cheeks flushed pink: "Let's... let's wait a few more months, until I turn eighteen..."

Snapped!
The little spider raised a jade-white segmented limb and slapped it on its face, looking like it couldn't bear to look.

Li Zheng had no idea that his casual remark had been misinterpreted by Li Chun. He was still thinking about killing a few more diamond-level creatures, breaking them down into crystal cores, and sending them to her.

According to rough estimates, the materials Li Chun added could be exchanged for at least five diamond-grade crystal core items. Li Zheng has already given one, so four more are needed.

"The task is arduous and the road ahead is long..." Li Zheng sighed and continued on his way with Xiao Ying.

In the next room, Li Zheng encountered a giant scorpion over thirty meters long. With Lao Pu's help, he easily found its hiding place.

The Thunder Wings unfurled and took off, allowing Sakura to force it out with Earth Thrust. Li Zheng then attempted to detonate the target directly using a fire-based attachment technique.

With its wings extended to third speed, the Thunderous Blade was incredibly fast. The diamond-level scorpion couldn't catch Li Zheng's shadow at all, and each time it swept past him, it successfully left a wisp of flame.

After several repetitions, the scorpion was blasted with seven or eight large holes, and dark purple mucus gushed from the wounds, quickly losing its ability to fight back.

Finally, in an even more violent explosion, the Diamond-level Sand Scorpion sacrificed its precious life.

Li Zheng covered his nose as he landed. The air was filled with an unpleasant odor that seeped into his nostrils through the gaps between his fingers, making it extremely pungent.

"break down!"

A bright light appeared, and the scorpion's corpse quickly disappeared, leaving behind a mess.

Without having time to check what materials he had acquired, Li Zheng quickly flew away from the spot, avoiding the purple slime on the ground.

Upon landing again, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over me, but the discomfort quickly subsided.

"Such potent toxicity!" Li Zheng was shocked. He had been extremely careful and tried his best to avoid contact with the scorpion, but even breathing in a little of the smell of the purple slime caused him to feel dizzy.

Fortunately, his constitution was exceptional, and combined with the detoxifying properties of the earthworm armor, the toxin reaction disappeared quickly.

Although the Earth Dragon Armor only shows direct immunity to toxins of Platinum level and below, in reality, even toxins above Platinum level will be weakened by its properties.

However, the weakening effect varies depending on the toxicity level; if the toxicity is too strong, the repellent properties may even fail.

"The Earth Dragon Armor is absolutely worth the price!" Li Zheng touched the soft armor he was wearing and exclaimed in admiration. Without this Earth Dragon Armor, the purple slime alone would have been enough to give him a headache and would have been very difficult to deal with.

Sakura, Is, and Clow came to meet him. The little guy knew that the slime was not to be trifled with, so he kept his distance.

Yi Si and Kuro are mechanical lifeforms, and no biological toxins are effective against them. They also participated in the battle just now, responsible for attracting the attention of the Demon Scorpion and preventing it from thinking it couldn't beat Li Zheng and running away quickly.

"Let's see what we've got." Li Zheng flipped through the notes. Apart from a few carapaces, the most valuable items were a 50-milliliter bottle of dark purple, thick liquid and a scorpion stinger with a strange luster.

The thick liquid is called "Magic Sand Toxin," a diamond-level venom. Anything below platinum level is fatal upon contact, causing immediate death upon contact with blood.

Fifty milliliters, if applied to a weapon, would only last for two uses.

Li Zheng dared not sell such a thing casually; it would be a real injustice if someone bought it and used it to assassinate him.

As for the scorpion stinger, it's more like a miniature version of a complete scorpion tail than a needle. It has its own venom, but it's not as potent as the magic sand poison; it's only considered to be of platinum-level power.

Li Zheng had obtained something similar before, but he still didn't know what it could be used for, so he could only keep it and store it in the corner of the capsule.

"It's a pity there are no crystal core items." Li Zheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized that blindly pursuing high-level kills wasn't actually a good thing.

Because there are many materials that he himself does not need.

In particular, he doesn't have higher-level gene blueprints yet, and even the blood materials he used to pursue are not as valuable to him as before.

"Perhaps I should change my exploration strategy and try to choose resource rooms and rooms with data tables. I haven't obtained any wild blueprints in a long time."

Thinking back to the last time I retrieved drawings from the computer, it was...

Li Zheng couldn't remember how much time had passed, but ever since the blacksmith gave him the sheathed sword, his need for external forces had decreased considerably.

Unless one can obtain the blueprints for extraordinary equipment, the improvement for Li Zheng is very limited, and there is absolutely no need to waste exploration attempts specifically to find the blueprints.

Moreover, he has been collecting blood materials these days, so a biological chamber of the corresponding level is more suitable for him.

However, things are different now. His need for blood materials has decreased, and the value of blueprints and other materials has naturally increased.

"Computer room first priority, material room second, creature room third, and room with development ability items should be given the highest priority!" Li Zheng ordered the subsequent exploration process and continued exploring with Xiaoying.

……

Over the next two hours, Li Zheng explored six rooms in succession.

Whether it was the terminal targeting him or something else, he failed to see the first or second priority rooms six times in a row after setting the priority.

This also means... he killed six diamond-level creatures in a row!

The advantage is that he decomposed it into a crystal core, which was obtained from a poisonous creature resembling a toad, making it perfect for Li Chun's little spider to use.

The remaining five, aside from their flesh, skin, hair, and bones, only had some edible internal organs that were still of some value.

"There's one last chance to explore the Mysterious Declaration. Let's save it for before we go to sleep." Li Zheng put away the lantern. He hadn't forgotten Misaka Tsuchiemon's request. If Sarutobi Ayaka sent out a distress call, the last chance to explore the Mysterious Declaration could be used to rush to her.

Looking at the time, it was already past 4 PM, and there was still no announcement on the world channel about the defeat of Mutant Number 30.

"Strange, could it be that the 30th mutant has become so strong that even Malone and the others can't defeat it?" Li Zheng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Kunlun's performance made him feel that it was somewhat unworthy of its reputation.

Since that's the case, then I won't hold back!

"Brothers and sisters, it's time for us to go find some mutants and have some fun!"

(End of this chapter)