Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 489: No need for convenience, thank you. (5.2K)

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Zhan Zhouzhou waved her hand in front of Li Zheng, looking at his face with suspicion: "You wouldn't be secretly envious of Feng Shan's good fortune with women, would you?"

"I envy him?"

Li Zheng snapped out of his daze and glared at Zhan Zhouzhou with a look that said, "Are you kidding me?": "Have you heard this news?"

"A wife, dissatisfied with her husband's life, sued him in court and asked the judge to make a ruling."

"Think about it, if monogamy is like this, how outrageous would it be if there were polygamy?"

"I have always felt that monogamy protects men, not women."

"Only children would want to have it all; adults know they can't handle it."

"There's no land that's been over-cultivated, only oxen that have died from exhaustion!"

"If a piece of land has been damaged by plowing, it means that more than one ox was plowing that land."

"..."

"Wait a minute..." Li Zheng tilted his head and pondered for a moment before changing his words: "Cross out the last sentence."

"Alright, alright, I was just saying it offhand, why are you getting so worked up?" Zhan Zhouzhou's lips curled into a beautiful smile, seemingly in a better mood. She pointed to Miriel and the other pets and said, "Here, I'm returning your little guys to you. I have to go to the Endless Ocean to guard it and prevent any stink bugs from coming to cause trouble."

With that, she turned around and skipped and hopped like a little girl toward the portal to the endless ocean.

"Whoo~"

Watching Zhan Zhouzhou's departing figure, Li Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, then revealed an expression of envy, jealousy, and hatred, gritting his teeth: "Damn it! Why is that woman surnamed Feng so popular?!"

It's truly a case of some people dying of drought while others are drowning in floods; the ancients were absolutely right!

Two beautiful and elegant girls from Fengshan are throwing themselves at him, even trying to hide in the volcano!
And look at yourself again?!

To lose so completely!

( ) !

"Forget it, forget it, I don't want to think about those unhappy things."

Li Zheng shook his head and continued to work out his plan.

The starting point has already received two "prizes". Although the terminal has not explicitly stated that the products after the Boss is decomposed are prizes, their nature should be similar.

After all, in the previous challenge against mutants, even the decomposition function was limited.

This fishing competition is unusual. Not only is there a chance to obtain special catches, but the ability to dismantle fish has also been unlocked. With so many items that can enhance players' strength produced in one event, it is not unreasonable to consider the dismantling products as "prizes".

"After this battle, Kunlun and Jiutian probably won't agree to help me again anytime soon, unless I can offer them a reward that is attractive enough."

Li Zheng casually found an open space to sit down. Fortunately, this transit space was empty except for him, making it quiet enough for him to think things through.

Miriel quietly stayed to the side with the sleeping Sakura and the Red Porings.

After a while, the Red Porings, who had been with Sakura for a long time, couldn't sit still anymore. They ran to a farther place and started playing with Sakura, running, jumping, leaping, shifting, flipping, and flying.

"Liu Qishao and Tang Qiancang both know that I will be going to the outer city in a few days. Even if all the output of the potion-making station is given to them during this period, the total value is at most equivalent to a prize. They will not agree to that."

If Li Zheng wants the two major organizations, Kunlun Jiutian and Lizheng, to help him defeat the remaining four bosses, he can only do so if he is willing to give up some of the prizes.

But don't the people of Kunlun and Jiutian want to rely on their own strength to kill the Boss?
Especially after witnessing Li Zheng's ability to kill the Boss, and realizing that the Boss is not absolutely invincible.

Moreover, since the event has been going on for so long, they already know that everyone outside the event is following the event through the live streaming function.

They also wanted to let players know through some achievements that, in addition to Li Zheng, the pearl of the Dragon Kingdom, there was also a wooden box.

Moreover, once Li Zheng leaves the matrix and heads to the outer city, without this absolute combat power to suppress him, some things lurking in the shadows will surely start to stir.

All these factors combined mean that the two legions will inevitably take this opportunity to demonstrate their strength to the world and shatter Li Zheng's somewhat 'deified' reputation.

"It's not just these two..."

Li Zheng stroked his smooth chin, his eyes deep in thought: "Even other powerful legions will choose to take a gamble."

"However, it would be extremely difficult for a single legion to take down the Boss, so those people are probably trying to contact others and prepare for a joint operation."

The safest and most convenient place for legion commanders to collude and commit wicked deeds is undoubtedly the Lava Mountains, which are now jointly controlled by Kunlun and Jiutian.

So……

Should we take this opportunity to scam those people?

For example, what if you accidentally make a noise while "fishing" and it affects them?
Or is it that you also sent someone to the Lava Mountains to find the next victim, no... the next collaborator?
Just as Li Zheng was making his plans, Li Chun and the other members he had left behind in the Lava Mountains were greeted by an acquaintance.

"Li Chun, I've finally found you! Could you please help me ask where Old Li is?"

Li Chun, with his back to Xiao Zhu and holding a black crystal fishing rod, turned to look at the visitor: "Brother Lele, what do you need Brother Li Zheng for?"

Liu Jiale glanced at Xu Ying standing beside him and said somewhat awkwardly, "I... came to talk to Lao Li about a business deal."

Buying and selling?

When Li Chun heard those two words from Liu Jiale, her delicate brows furrowed slightly: "May I ask what kind of business it is?"

As a friend, and because Liu Jiale had helped save her, Li Chun had a good impression of him.

But without realizing it, Liu Jiale seemed to have changed, becoming somewhat unfamiliar.

"This one……"

Liu Jiale paused for a moment and then said, "Why don't you tell me where Lao Li is, and I'll go and talk to him in person?"

"That……"

Just as Li Chun was about to say something, the little spider raised its limbs and touched her shoulder, then pointed to the buoy that had sunk into the lava.

A fish has taken the bait!

Li Chun subconsciously pulled hard on the ink crystal fishing rod. The more than three-meter-long rod suddenly stretched into an arc like a bow with the force of the pull, and the front end shook frequently.

It's a big fish!
Li Chun was overjoyed. As long as the fish showed these signs when it took the bait, the catch would be no lower than level four!

He used all the power of his Gold-level physique, but the pressure from the bottom of the magma did not weaken. Instead, it grew stronger and stronger, pulling Li Chun off balance and causing him to slide forward.

"help!"

Seeing this, a girl next to her threw down her fishing rod, shouted, and organized several group members to grab the rod in Li Chun's hand and pull together.

It took the combined strength of four or five people to barely withstand the pulling force of the lava, and the fishing was at a stalemate, with neither side willing to give up.

For a full five minutes, the pulling force at the bottom of the magma suddenly loosened, the magic crystal fishing rod straightened, and the fishing line, pulling something, broke through the magma and flew high into the air.

boom!
The object landed with a dull thud.

Li Chun and the others looked at each other in disbelief. They hadn't expected that what they had fished out of the lava was not a live fish, but a metal box that was 40 centimeters long, 30 centimeters wide, and 50 centimeters high.

Lost Treasure Chest

5 level

Special catches
Description: A chest made entirely of Orichalcos. The patterns on its surface seem to have a mysterious function associated with a certain race. Opening it gives you a chance to obtain a random item, but there is also a high probability that it will be an empty chest.

Value: 200 points
Note: Only unopened Lost Treasure Chests can be exchanged for corresponding points; once opened, they are worthless.

"What...? Judging from the attributes, the probability of getting an empty box is definitely over 70%!" The girl who had led the call for help was somewhat disappointed.

However, when Li Chun looked at the attributes of the treasure chest, a strange light flickered in his eyes.

"Not bad, catching it is a reward, it's worth at least two hundred points." Another boy went over and moved the treasure chest in front of Li Chun. "Sister Chun, you caught it, you open it."

Although Li Chun was young, she was very close to Li Zheng, and they even shared the same surname. So some people in the legion assumed that Li Chun was either from Li Zheng's hometown or that Li Zheng had taken a liking to her, and thus called her "Sister Chun".

"I think we shouldn't open it. The attributes specifically state that only unopened boxes are valuable. If we open an empty box, we'll just lose two hundred points for nothing," the girl from before advised.

"It's just two hundred points." The boy said nonchalantly, "Do you think we at Qidian are short of those points? With the guild leader's endless tricks, even if we cause a ruckus, winning the first prize in this fishing competition shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Yo~~"

Another girl walked out from the side. If Li Zheng were here, he would definitely recognize her, because she was one of his teammates who had gone to the 'Desert Wasteland' instance with him, named Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue said sarcastically, "I don't know who it was, but they used to gossip about our commander behind his back, saying that his popularity was all hype and that he could do better than anyone else."

"What? You've changed sides so quickly? Become a little fanboy now?"

"I...I didn't, it doesn't exist, it could never be me!" The boy's face flushed red instantly upon hearing this, and he shouted with his neck stiff, "Zhang Yue, don't make false accusations! I've always been a fan of our leader!"

"I have screenshots," Zhang Yue said with a mischievous grin, waving her hand. "Want me to post them in the legion channel for you to see?"

"No!" The boy was shocked and immediately deflated, pleading, "Sister Yue, I was just young and impetuous, how could you take what I said seriously?"

"Young and impetuous?"

Zhang Yue patted the boy on the shoulder and said earnestly, "This word is not appropriate here."

"Youthful vigor should inspire you to strive for progress, not teach you to be arrogant and conceited."

"Oh, right, there are also some people who, relying on their youth and immaturity, act without considering the consequences. They form gangs and bully classmates at school, thinking they are very powerful and acting like tyrants."

"Later, after entering society and experiencing a lot of beatings, I would use this word to describe myself when I looked back on the past."

"Little did they know, this behavior was not just youthful impetuosity. If we had to sum it up in four words, 'brainless' would be a more appropriate description."

As she spoke, Zhang Yue's gaze swept over several members of Qidian.com, and she said meaningfully, "Speaking of which, our Qidian Legion's dominance of the top spot on the Legion Ranking seems a bit like a school bully with some power, but!"

"If anyone thinks they can show off their superiority over other players or use Qidian's name to bully others just because they joined Qidian, don't blame me for reporting these things to the guild leader and vice-leader!"

Since gaining some experience by following Li Zheng in the dungeon, Zhang Yue has now raised her overall strength to the level of a beginner Platinum.

Although it's not considered very strong among all players, it's only at a lower-middle level.

However, in Qidian, a legion that has recruited most new players, Zhang Yue's strength is actually considered to be among the top tier.

These words, spoken by her, naturally carried a sense of intimidation, causing those she swept her gaze over to turn away and avoid her eyes.

"Oh, Sister Yueyue, I believe they wouldn't do that." Li Chun held Zhang Yue's hand, a pure smile on her face. "Birds of a feather flock together. What bad intentions could players who join our Qidian community possibly have?"

“You…” Zhang Yue looked at Li Chun’s naive appearance, affectionately tapped the tip of her nose, and said helplessly, “You always think too highly of others, but you overlook their bad points.”

"If you're like this, you'll definitely suffer a lot if no one protects you."

"Hehe." Li Chun chuckled, "It's nothing to suffer a little loss. My grandfather always said that one should be content with what one has and that suffering a loss is a blessing."

“Eat…” Zhang Yue wanted to explain the meaning of “suffering a loss is a blessing” to Li Chun, but looking into the other girl’s clear eyes, she suddenly realized that this girl actually understood it better than anyone else.

Behind Li Chun, the now-grown, towering Spider, as large as a dump truck, looked down at the girl, its compound eyes revealing a gentle gaze.

The reason it was willing to become the girl's pet in the first place was because it saw this kind quality in her, wasn't it?
Such a girl should be happy, and for that reason, it is willing to take on all the dangers that the girl might face.

Even if it costs me my life.

The little spider turned its head to look at the crater, and some images seemed to flash through its compound eyes.

"Little Spider, you're hurt."

"Don't move, let me clean your wound."

"Oh dear, there's only one YP-300 left. Oh well... you can use it."

"Huh? Do you want to come with me?"

……

The dark red of the magma was reflected in the compound eyes, as if flames were burning in them.

"You beast! Abandon your master, acknowledge me as your master, and I will spare your life!"

"Considering your potential, I don't want to kill you!"

"Damn beast! Since you're so loyal, I'll kill you first!"

"I should have killed you first!"

……

Xiao Zhu shifted her gaze from the crater and returned it to Li Chun, determined never to let that day repeat itself!
"Sister Chun, how about we open the treasure chest and take a look?"

The girl next to him seemed to agree that Qidian didn't care about a mere two hundred points, and changed her stance, since everyone has curiosity.

Girls, in particular, have a mindset exactly like cats; they are naturally inclined to explore the unknown and mysterious.

"No way... what if there's danger?" another girl next to her said, looking somewhat timid.

Along with intense curiosity came deep concerns and fears.

"No way? This attribute doesn't say there's any danger." The onlookers carefully read the attribute information twice and started to speak up.

"What if?" The timid girl took a step back.

"You're such a coward," Zhang Yue said. "If you're scared, stand behind me and I'll protect you."

"it is good……"

The timid girl quickly ran behind Zhang Yue and hid, peeking out her head to look curiously at the treasure chest.

really……

Even with fear, curiosity is hard to suppress.

"Then... let's open it and take a look?"

Li Chun wasn't nervous at first, but seeing the timid girl's expression, he hesitated.

"Open it." Zhang Yue thought for a moment, then took out a shield and placed it in front of the treasure chest.

In this way, even if there is real danger, she will be the first to be affected.

However, a jade-white segmented limb suddenly appeared before her eyes, and then a huge creature blocked their way.

"Spider!"

Spider turned and glanced at them helplessly, then flipped open the lid of the lost treasure chest.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, apart from the sound of the lid hitting the box, there was nothing unusual.

"I'll go take a look." Zhang Yue approached the treasure chest, peered inside, and was immediately filled with disappointment: "Damn! It's empty!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"But not completely empty."

Everyone's hearts were raised again.

Zhang Yue took a note out of the box and read it aloud: "Thank you for your patronage!"

Li Chun: "..."

other people:"……"

After all that effort and anxiety, I opened an empty treasure chest?
That's outrageous!
It's one thing to put an empty box, but to put a note inside that says "Thank you for your patronage" is just plain annoying!
"I shouldn't have opened it after all. I wasted two hundred points!" The girl who initially refused to open it said indignantly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the boy who suggested opening the door said, annoyed. "You agreed to it later!"

"But it turns out I was right!" The girl continued to stare at the other person as if they had made a terrible mistake.

"Tch, I'm too lazy to reason with you, it's pointless anyway!" the boy muttered, ignoring the girl.

Li Chun said, "It's alright, it's alright. This is just the theorem that Professor Xue proposed. If this box isn't opened, it's in a superposition state, and none of us know what's inside."

"Exactly! If it weren't open, there might be a surprise inside!" the boy muttered in a voice just loud enough for the girl to hear. "Sister Chun is so sensible, unlike some people."

"Wang Erzhu, do you want to fight?" The girl instantly flew into a rage, like a lioness with her fur standing on end.

"Come on! Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Wang Erzhu roared, "And if you dare call me by my nickname again, I'll fight you to the death, Tian Liuya!"

"You...you want to die! Wang Erzhu!" Tian Liuya was extremely embarrassed and angry that someone had called her by her childhood name.

"Tian Liuya!"

"Wang Erzhu!"

"field……"

Well, these two are still enemies.

"Um... cough... girl."

Feeling a little embarrassed after being ignored for so long, Liu Jiale asked, "Could you help me contact Lao Li?"

Li Chun discreetly put away the empty treasure chest and said to Liu Jiale, "Brother Li Zheng perished together with the Boss in the Endless Ocean. He's still waiting for the freeze time in the transfer space. It'll probably take another ten minutes or so. You should wait a little longer."

"Well... okay, let's go fishing by the crater next to us and wait." Liu Jiale opened his mouth, but in the end he pulled Xu Ying away.

After a while, Xu Ying suddenly walked over to Zhang Yue alone and asked, "I'd like to talk to you alone, is that convenient?"

Zhang Yue had just thrown the baited hook into the lava when she heard this. She raised her eyelids slightly and said without any politeness, "No need, thank you."

(End of this chapter)