Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 482 Setting up a checkpoint and charging admission! (4K)

For a full half hour, less than half of the players escaped from the Lava Mountain arena; the rest were all stuck at the entrance.

Li Zheng hovered high in the sky, looking down at the panicked and crowded players who all wanted to get back to the transfer space as soon as possible. He had stopped making a move.

There was only one fish with the effect of restoring gene power. Li Zheng tried his best to conserve energy within half an hour, and combined it with the method of stimulating cells with mental power. In the end, only a small section of the tail was left.

He kept the fish tail for a rainy day.

The price he paid was unbearable soreness and swelling in both shoulder blades, as if he had been punched twice.

Fortunately, the soreness is gradually decreasing over time.

“Look, this is another trap set by the terminal.” Li Zheng pointed to the crowded crowd below and said slowly, “When people come in, hundreds or even thousands of people can enter at the same time every second, instantly filling the entrance to the brim, making it impossible to move. When people want to leave, only a dozen or so people can leave through the portal at the same time, making even retreating a matter that must be carefully considered.”

If this situation were to occur in a battle between legions, the retreating side would easily be blocked at the portal and slaughtered.

"Isn't that too insidious? If the terminal wants to train troops, wouldn't it be better to just launch a legion training event? Why go through all this trouble?"

In Bai Xiaosheng's live stream, someone raised a question.

In response to the question posed by this person, Bai Xiaosheng said quietly, "When someone wants to kill you, they won't give you any advance notice."

"I think the terminal also wants players to make their own choices."

"After all, besides the battles between legions, the terminal also has a Boss, right?"

The matrix terminal is like a game event planner, providing corresponding gameplay for both PVP and PVE.

The fishing competition was merely a facade for this chaotic battle.

If someone doesn't want to get involved in the conflict, they can choose to find a secluded corner to continue fishing after others have dealt with the boss.

Suddenly, one of the players watching the live stream shouted, "Look, someone's come in!"

Everyone perked up and looked at the screen.

Suddenly, two incredibly sharp sword lights emerged from the portal that traversed between the lava mountains and the transit space, instantly sweeping away a group of players and clearing a space in front of the portal.

Then, one by one, figures appeared in the portal and walked out silently and disciplinedly.

These people have different appearances and genders.

But each of them carried a three-foot-long sword, their brows furrowed and their eyes cold, their aura intimidating.

The leader was a beautiful woman with short hair and a cool demeanor.

She stood there, silent and unsmiling, coldly watching all the players crowding towards the portal, giving people the illusion of being a towering figure.

Gradually, the crowd quieted down, and the two sides fell into a standoff.

Even in front of countless people, Zhan Zhouzhou's expression remained completely unchanged, as if the people standing in front of her were not people, but a group of wooden figures.

Behind her, all the sword apprentices, influenced by her, all possessed the same cold and aloof temperament, like blocks of ice.

Viewed from above, the scene in front of the portal looks like a whale surrounded by a school of sardines in the ocean.

They were eyeing the enemy covetously, yet hesitated to advance.

Zhan Zhouzhou looked up, nodded slightly, then turned around and led the people slowly in that direction.

Wherever she went, the players made way for her.

The crowded people seemed to have transformed into a welcoming party for the Queen, with a solemn expression on everyone's face.

Some people looked in the direction she was looking up, and when they saw the figure standing in mid-air, they were shocked.

Li Zheng!

They quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look any longer, and quietly waited for Zhan Zhouzhou to lead his people out of the teleportation gate. Not one of them dared to have any objection to their invisible domineering attitude.

"Holy crap, this woman is so domineering! I love her!"

"Isn't this Zhan Zhouzhou? I saw her speak on the world channel before. I didn't expect her to be even more beautiful and elegant in person than in her profile picture!"

"What a fine cabbage! It's a pity, I wonder which pig will end up benefiting from it!"

"Be careful, I heard she's now the vice commander of the Qidian Legion."

"Ah...a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman!"

"Hmph, what's so great about stinky men? Look at me, sister, give me a gigolo!"

"Superficial! Do you people only know how to look with your lower bodies? Damn it, he just casually threw out two sword energies, and you ignored them, didn't you?"

"What sword energy? It's probably a genetic ability. Isn't it normal for the vice-leader of the starting point to have a few high-grade genetic abilities?"

"It's not a genetic ability, it's sword energy! I was a viewer in Zhan Zhouzhou's swordsmanship teaching live stream before, and I saw her use sword energy in person. It's exaggerated and fantastical!"

"Holy crap? A swordsmanship tutorial livestream? Is that the one that goes live at random times and is locked so no one can get in?"

“I have a friend who also studies there. I heard that there were more than 3,000 people at the beginning, but then nearly half of them were eliminated, and those who remained were the elite of the elite. That guy in front of me was probably one of the useless ones who were screened out.”

"Are you going to scold me again?"

"Oh, I see my friend! That bastard who's all bullying others and using their connections to intimidate me! Damn it, he got his act!"

"I just...I fainted after rushing towards Zhan Zhouzhou, and I don't know how much time passed before I woke up. Could you tell me where we are now?"

"Goodness, your eggshell doesn't hurt anymore?"

Zhan Zhouzhou walked out through the passage cleared by the crowd, followed by hundreds of swordsmanship apprentices who had already joined the legion.

Once they had all left the portal's range, the other players rushed back towards the portal to return to their respective legions' transit areas.

"Why are you here?" Li Zheng landed in front of Zhan Zhouzhou; her appearance here was not on his orders.

"I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle it alone, so I brought people over as soon as their freeze ended." Zhan Zhouzhou released the Purple Thunder Sword she was holding and asked, "How are things now? Are we just waiting for them to leave?"

"Hmm." Li Zheng nodded. Most of the players on the other side of the portal hadn't reacted yet, and there hadn't been any explosions for several minutes.

Some people understood something the moment they saw Li Zheng, but they all remained silent.

Some hesitated, wanting to slip back to continue fishing, but Li Zheng's menacing gaze made them realize that this idea was not going to work.

"Old Li!"

Fengshan appeared out of nowhere, his clothes were tattered and almost nothing but scraps of cloth, barely covering his body.

"Damn it! Didn't I tell you two to follow? How come I'm the only one rushing back to support our legion members?" Feng Shan complained as soon as he arrived in front of the group. He had transformed and rushed into the crowd, but it took him a long time to realize that he was the only one there. Li Zheng and Lu Li hadn't followed.

If he weren't far stronger than the average person, he probably would have met Zhan Zhouzhou in the transit space.

Lu Li stared at him for a long time, then said quietly, "You ran too fast and missed a good show."

"A good show?"

Feng Shan asked in bewilderment, "What's the show? Oh right, I just checked the Legion channel, and Lao Xiao and the others said that a boss that can kill anyone in its path has appeared in other areas, but we haven't seen one here."

"..."

Lu Li pointed at Li Zheng and said quietly, "This is the good show I was talking about... Our venue's boss was chopped down by Old Li with one stroke."

"Could we... cut it?"

Feng Shan was taken aback at first, then complained loudly: "No way? A boss that Old Li can kill with one strike must only be around Star Glory level, right? Are the players in other areas that weak? They can be mowed down by Star Glory players with their ultimate skills?"

"You're unaware of this," Lu Li explained, recounting Li Zheng's earlier points about the interrelationships of attributes and the possibility that bosses might have resistance to attacks of the same attribute.

"Oh?"

After hearing this, Feng Shan's expression changed: "No wonder I felt much smoother when I used my burst ability just now. It turns out it was because of the amplification of fire-type abilities?"

The battle was so chaotic that Fengshan noticed the abnormality in his own abilities, but he didn't have time to think about it much.

Only after Lu Li explained it to him did he understand the intricacies of the matter.

"Tsk tsk, if only I had this kind of boost outside, I feel like my burst power here is almost equivalent to a max-level gold-grade ability." Feng Shan sighed with regret.

This buff is like a limited-time trial card for players; it'll be gone once the event ends, and many players will definitely miss the feeling of being buffed.

"Let's not talk about that now. Didn't you go to support our members?" Li Zheng asked Feng Shan, "Where are they?"

"How dare you ask? If I hadn't risked my life to get there, there would be hardly any of our men left!"

Fengshan first said with a mixture of disdain and self-satisfaction, then pointed in a direction and said, "My wife is waiting there with her men. There are probably less than three hundred of them."

"so much?"

Li Zheng was taken aback when he heard the number.

It should be noted that the Qidian Legion only has a total of over 1,900 people. After being divided into six different types of abilities, apart from the Endless Ocean area which has only 50 people, the other areas have an average of just over 300 to less than 400 people.

Of these fewer than four hundred members, eighty percent are rated around Gold rank in terms of strength.

It's a miracle that nearly three hundred people survived the chaos just now, given the strength of such a group, even with Feng Shan and others guarding them.

“We were lucky. The place where we started fishing was surrounded by three volcanic craters. When things got chaotic, we just needed to hold onto one direction,” Fengshan explained. “Moreover, the place we occupied was relatively remote, on the outermost edge, so no one was targeting us.”

The three volcanic craters seem like a great place for fishing, and many people should be scrambling to get there as soon as possible. How could anyone possibly secure a spot if they arrive so late at the starting point?
The reason is quite simple.

One word—hot!

The area enclosed by the three volcanic craters is more than ten degrees hotter than other parts of the lava mountain range, making it no less than a natural low-temperature oven.

If someone in the legion hadn't brought out a few air conditioners to alleviate the situation, they wouldn't have chosen that location in the first place.

Unexpectedly, the territory that others disliked eventually became their natural barrier against chaos.

"Perfect timing! Zhouzhou has brought over about three hundred more people. You all need to arrange for everyone to spread out and watch these players leave the Lava Mountains. Don't let a single outsider stay behind!"

Li Zheng began issuing instructions: "Also, have the brothers spread the word that the Lava Mountain range has been contracted by Qidian. Anyone who wants to come in and fish will have to pay per person!"

“I’m not some shrewd businessman. The price will be 10 points per person per hour. If there are special fish, one fish can be worth 5 people per hour. Let those legion leaders think it through before they come to talk to me.”

Once the order was issued, Fengshan and the others didn't seem to mind and went about their own business.

Bai Xiaosheng's live stream room erupted in an uproar.

"I was so naive. I thought someone like Li Zheng would be selfless. I never imagined he would start a ticket business."

"Now I finally understand why I couldn't make a fortune in business before. This kind of business with no capital is the most profitable!"

"I'm numb! I'm completely numb... Li Zheng's image in my mind is starting to crumble."

"To be honest, I always thought that Li Zheng went to great lengths to clear the area in order to make room for a more powerful legion to come in and discuss plans to take down the other bosses. But he pulled this stunt on me, which caught me completely off guard."

"I think it's perfectly normal. Li Zheng single-handedly defeated the boss and created a safe zone, so it's understandable that he would want to gain some benefits for himself. Besides, the fee doesn't seem to be very high. Can't each person even catch ten points per hour?"

The comments section for Bai Xiaosheng's segment is relatively harmonious.

In some live streams, the comments aren't so pleasant.

"Heh, things have turned dark. I didn't expect Li Zheng to be nothing but a fame-seeking opportunist, greedy for money!"

"Indeed, he has no sense of the bigger picture at all. He spoke so eloquently before, claiming to be acting for the country and its people. But in the end, he openly sought personal gain for his own legion. What a despicable person!"

"He's so hypocritical! We should unite to boycott him! I suggest the streamer talk to some well-known legion leaders and expose Li Zheng's ugly face."

Zhou Shufen's live stream has one of the largest audience numbers.

At this moment, the carefree female streamer, seeing the comments in the live chat urging her to sabotage Li Zheng's business, shouted angrily, "Hey~! I've realized you've all fallen into a misconception! They're already in competition with other legions, why should they help them for free?"

“Everyone is a competitor. I have the ability to create safe zones, that’s my skill, and I can make money from it.”

"If others are unhappy, they can find a way to acquire a venue themselves! Li Zheng didn't stop them, did he?"

"In the end, it's because I'm not good enough. I'm too bad and I always want to take advantage of others."

"Brothers, remember this: the world is full of temptations, but if you don't have the ability, don't try to show off!"

"I support Li Zheng's approach. If you have any opinions, you can go and talk to other streamers and see if they are willing to use their interview privileges to unite the major groups against Qidian."

"Don't use this service here, I won't go there anymore."

Meanwhile, opinions were divided across various live-streaming rooms, with some openly supporting Li Zheng and others expressing dissatisfaction with his actions.

Just as most streamers were debating whether to use their interview privileges, a player suddenly appeared in front of Li Zheng.

"Hello Mr. Li, do you have time for an interview?"

……

P.S. Tomorrow is the 1st, and I want to take a day off. You don't have to approve it, but I don't have to listen.

(End of this chapter)