Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 516 Strange Race
"Name!"

After waiting for a while without receiving any feedback, the staff member became impatient and asked again.

"..."

Li Zheng lowered his head and, with Miriel's help, went to a corner to stay there.

I forgot that my ability to speak hasn't recovered yet...

After about ten minutes, Li Zheng felt that his tongue could move again. He tried to say some words and confirmed that his language ability had finally been restored before returning to the registration desk to register his information.

I had to answer more than ten questions before I could complete the first step of information registration.

Following the order that Yakumo had suggested, Li Zheng took Miriel and the others to register their pet information, and then went to queue at the dangerous goods registration office.

However, after he finally finished queuing, he discovered a piece of information that Yakumo hadn't told him: none of his belongings could be used as storage fees; instead, they had to be exchanged for a universal currency called 'White Crystal' at the property registration office next door.

Fortunately, the storage fee is only required when picking up the items; otherwise, the two-hour queue would have been for nothing.

Interestingly, when Li Zheng took out all the weapons in the capsule to register, the staff gave him two options.

1. Private weapons.

II. Commercial weapons.

If you choose to use private weapons, these items will be held here and can only be retrieved when needed.

If you choose a commercial weapon, the staff will take out a box made with space technology, put the item inside, and lock it.

The display screen on the outside of the box records all the weapon's information for product display.

If the item is sold, the buyer needs to take the box to a special counter to unlock it, and then... come back here to store it.

By the way, the box is charged, and it's under the guise of a rental. It's a one-time fee, and if the item never sells, there won't be a second charge.

Of course, unlocking the box also costs money...

They're even more unscrupulous than the telecom companies in Li Zheng's hometown. Those companies only charge for two-way billing, but they charge for three-way billing!
During the registration process, Li Zheng secretly left a black iron-grade dagger, which he intended to use as a kitchen knife, in the capsule. Just as he was about to leave, the alarm next to the counter went off.

This move elicited knowing smiles from all the veteran players in the queue, indicating that Li Zheng wasn't the only one who had this idea and tried it out.

The staff member seemed used to it and quietly waited for Li Zheng to take out the items, as if he had become numb to such practices.

Strangely, when Li Zheng took out another regular kitchen knife just in case, the staff member simply scanned it and returned it.

The reason given is that kitchen knives are kitchen utensils, not weapons, and can be taken away as long as they are recorded.

After everything was registered, he stood by for a few minutes and discovered that not only kitchen knives, but also many other different types of sharp tools were classified as 'non-weapons'. They were simply recorded and then released.

At the same time, Li Zheng noticed that several players of unknown races were looking at him with an ambiguous smile in their eyes.

However, due to the language barrier, he couldn't get any answers from the questions.

After watching for a while, he turned around and went to register his property.

The process went very smoothly. He only took out some of the props, and the other party gave him a perfunctory response and let him pass.

Now Li Zheng was confused again. After asking, the staff looked at him with a shocked expression, as if they were looking at some rare creature.

Then the staff member said, "If you're not afraid of being watched, then take everything out."

They just sent Li Zheng away.

Li Zheng was even more puzzled. His weapons had been confiscated in the outer city, so why was he still being targeted?
The staff member replied, "There are many ways to kill; weapons are not always necessary."

Li Zheng suddenly realized that he was glad he had only brought out low-grade blood materials and hadn't revealed the real good stuff.

After sincerely thanking the other party, he inquired about the rules for exchanging the so-called 'white crystal' currency.

The staff spent five minutes explaining it to Li Zheng in detail.

When exchanging White Crystal Coins here, only the grade matters, not the value.

Black Iron-grade items, whether minerals, biological materials, or finished weapons, all require one thousand pieces to exchange for one White Crystal Coin.

Eight hundred bronze coins can be exchanged for one bronze coin.

Five hundred silver coins can be exchanged for one.

Two hundred gold coins can be exchanged for one.

One hundred Platinum for one Platinum.

Fifty diamonds can be exchanged for one.

Twenty for one.

One Star for one Star.

The king traded one for five.

A godlike 1-for-1 trade.

Higher-tier items require exchanging them for higher-level currency at another location.

Only one-way exchanges are accepted, meaning you can exchange items for currency, but you cannot exchange currency for items.

That's truly the nature of a shrewd businessman.

One white crystal coin is enough for one person to store all their weapons for ten days. If the storage period is less than ten days or more than ten days, the settlement will be rounded up.

This means that Li Zheng didn't do anything; he just registered his information and now he owes a white crystal coin...

"Will the exchange rate fluctuate?" Li Zheng asked before leaving.

If the exchange rate changes, I might be able to wait until a suitable price is reached before exchanging the currency.

The staff member shook his head: "It won't fluctuate. The exchange rate will always be the same. If you think it's unreasonable, you can find another way to exchange it yourself."

Of course, we don't guarantee the safety of the equipment; you should consider that yourself.

After saying this, the staff member, seeing that Li Zheng had no intention of redeeming the item, immediately lost interest and stopped paying attention to him.

It seems that the staff get a cut when I exchange white crystals here?

Otherwise, such a drastic change in attitude is inexplicable...

Li Zheng muttered to himself, and after a moment's thought, took out a thousand bottles of black iron-grade blood and exchanged them for one white crystal coin from the staff member.

This time, the other party's attitude became enthusiastic again, and their gaze towards Li Zhengshi softened considerably.

Li Zheng toyed with a coin-sized, jade-like, smooth crystal and quietly asked, "Where can I find a channel for privately exchanging white crystal coins?"

"How would I know?" The staff member leaned back, refusing to answer the question.

Seeing this, Li Zheng frowned, pondered for a moment, and then nodded: "I was being presumptuous."

They make a living off this business, why would they give their business to their competitors?
It's ridiculous of me to ask this question.

However, this staff member was truly cunning. He first told Li Zheng that there was a private channel for exchanging white crystal coins. After Li Zheng took out some items to exchange with him, allowing him to earn some extra money, he refused to reveal where the channel was.

Another unscrupulous businessman.

Turning away from the counter, with proof that all procedures had been completed, Li Zheng went to the first window to retrieve the so-called 'exclusive inscription' and the 'nameplate' for his pet.

Li Zheng had already seen the 'Exclusive Inscription' earlier; it was the thin card with a display screen that Yakumo had taken out later. It was hard to understand why something resembling an identity card would have such an unrelated name. Li Zheng tried operating it, and his image appeared on the screen; the photo used was the one taken during the paperwork process.

Next to his profile picture were the answers he had given to staff inquiries, and there were basically no errors or omissions.

Below the information is a code formed by a string of numbers and some kind of stripes, which is probably used to verify authenticity.

Swipe the screen, and a new page appears with only a large zero, with a corner displaying his current personal assets... in white crystal coins.

"Um……??"

Li Zheng looked at the unique inscription with surprise, then at the white crystal coin he had been playing with, his mind a little blank.

Is this displaying incorrectly?
If you have zero personal assets, then what do you actually hold in your hands?
Is it counterfeit money?
impossible?

If the currency issued through official channels were counterfeit, the economic system would have collapsed long ago, right?
"Or……"

Li Zheng thought of a possibility: "This thing is actually an ID card and a bank card, showing the money I have in the bank?"

So why doesn't the cash amount show up on the passbook?
Once this setting is accepted...

Accept what?!
Why do you aliens use things that overlap so much with those of us Earthlings?

So you're saying our Earth is the center of the entire universe, right?
Whether it's their mindset, technology, or even their greed and methods of accumulating wealth, they're all exactly the same!

Li Zheng, who hadn't done this in a long time, mentally complained, then handed several necklace-style nameplates to Miriel and the others before leading them out of the hall.

Looking at the bustling street, Li Zheng felt lost and didn't know what to do.

"Hmm... First, let's find a place to settle down, then find someone to find out where the ancestral land of the Blood-Patterned Black Dragon is, and then go and solve Sakura's narcolepsy."

Li Zheng stood at the door for a moment, deciding what he needed to do in the coming period. Then he stopped a passerby and asked, "Excuse me, where can I find a place to stay? And where should I go to get information?"

The panda-headed passerby tilted his head and said: "￥……%￥*……&"

Li Zheng: "???"

Don't speak Chinese?

That shouldn't be the case. Don't Yakumo and the staff at the information registration office both know how to do that?
how……

Hmm, could it be that they can speak Chinese because they have some kind of responsibility, and that's why the terminal provides them with some convenience?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Li Zheng smiled apologetically at the panda man: "Sorry, without you... Holy crap, you dare roll your eyes at me? Your mother fell off a tree and died!"

The panda-man mumbled something, then, realizing he couldn't understand the language, rolled his eyes at Li Zheng.

Li Zheng maintained a smile throughout and greeted the other party's family in a way unique to Earth.

Extremely polite.

Seeing Li Zheng's 'good' attitude, the panda exhaled air from its nostrils, glanced at the white crystal coin in Li Zheng's hand, and snatched it away with its paw before leaving.

"You still dare to rob people in public?"

This time, Li Zheng was truly enraged. He raised his hand and conjured high-temperature flames, which he then hurled at the panda man, igniting his fur.

With his thumb and middle finger touching, he was about to snap his fingers when a familiar voice sounded from the side.

"stop!"

Yakumo walked over and stopped Li Zheng, saying, "Are you out of your mind?"

Li Zheng stopped what he was doing, pointed at the panda man who had extinguished the flames and was glaring angrily at him: "That son of a bitch stole my money!"

"Then you can't use your wide-area destructive genetic abilities to attack him. If you hurt others, they can retaliate unconditionally and deserve to be killed!" Yakumo asked, "How much money did they rob you of?"

“One white crystal coin!” Li Zheng said in grief and indignation.

"one?"

Yakumo was speechless: "Is it worth robbing for just one white crystal coin? There must be some misunderstanding here. Let me ask first."

As she spoke, she switched languages ​​and began communicating with the panda.

After a while, Li Zheng felt Yakumo ask him in an even more speechless tone, "What did you just say to this idiot?"

“He didn’t say anything… I just asked him where he had a place to stay.” Li Zheng’s eyes flickered, and he gave a vague answer.

"anything else?"

"I even asked him where I could get information..."

"Gone?"

"...He didn't answer me, and he even rolled his eyes at me. I got so angry that I swore at him..."

"Rolling your eyes? How did you do that?"

“Just roll your eyes, what else can you do?” Li Zheng demonstrated to Yakumo.

Yakumo's tone carried a hint of helplessness: "That's it? In the Black and White Baku clan, this gesture doesn't mean contempt or mockery, but is the highest form of greeting. Why are you insulting them?"

"……ha???"

Li Zheng was shocked. What kind of bizarre and strange etiquette was this?

If you do this in public on Earth, and someone with a bad temper comes along, they might skin you alive and make you into a scarf, believe it or not.

"And then? What swear words did you use on him? Tell me in detail."

"At once……"

Li Zheng repeated the words he had just used to greet the panda man. Now that he knew the man had treated him with the highest courtesy, and he had insulted him, he felt a little guilty.

"Wait a minute, you said 'stinky bastard' and 'pushi'?"

Yakumo finally realized where the problem lay: "In the language of the Black and White Baku clan, these two words mean 'Take what's in my hand and get lost!'"
And since you said it with a smile, did he snort as he left?

"Yeah, what does that mean?"

"What else does it mean? When you say something offensive while smiling, people think you're joking. Exhaling through their nostrils means they forgive you and won't hold it against you."

After figuring out the whole story, Yakumo shook his head helplessly and turned to negotiate with the panda people.

Li Zheng couldn't understand a word they said; he could only watch their actions.

Yakumo said something, and the panda looked up at him, then showed him the white crystal coin in his hand and replied with a few words.

Yakumo said a few more words, and the pandaman put away the white crystal coins, exhaled through his nostrils, and turned to leave.

Watching the panda man walk away, Li Zheng raised his hand and shouted, "My money..."

"Don't even think about that little bit of money. Do you know how much effort I had to put in to convince that idiot not to hold it against you?" Yakumo interrupted Li Zheng's wailing. "If you hadn't made a move, I could have gotten it back for you, but since you made the first move, the situation is different."

I'll take that white crystal coin as compensation for burning the fur. Learn from this experience and remember it.

You should be glad you messed with the Black and White Tapirs this time. They're the most notorious idiots among all the races in the outer city, all of them are incredibly stubborn...

By the way, let me tell you something: in the language of the Black and White Tapir tribe, "二逼" means "honest person".

Li Zheng: "..."

Goodness, this is a really strange race. How come all sorts of offensive and nonsensical things are considered positive terms in their race?

(End of this chapter)