Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 526 Methods of Promotion to Public Office

"You mean Delta stole the three thousand white crystals I gave you as a rental fee when you went back to return the real-time translation headset?" Li Zheng looked at Delta, who was putting on the translation device again.

“Yes, boss.” Kota rubbed the wound on his face. “We returned the stuff to him and told him we were quitting, but he turned on us and demanded rent. If we didn’t pay, he threatened to report us to the law enforcement team, saying we were robbers.”

He's a public official; if he reports a crime, the law enforcement team will generally give him face and handle it officially.

The result of handling things strictly by the book was that Delta, who was originally the one exploiting them, became Delta and the enforcement team.

If the law enforcement team fails to extract enough benefits from them, it's possible that the number of missing persons that day will inexplicably increase by a few, and the black market will see an increase in unidentified live organs.

"So domineering?" Li Zheng rubbed his chin. "Besides being a public official, does this Delta have any powerful backing?"

“Yes.” After all, Kota grew up in Block 902 and knew the distribution of power very well. “Delta himself is not a guy of high status, but his race has a wide distribution of power in Block 902. They have people in almost every industry, including all public offices.”

“Boss…” Kota said with difficulty, “How about we just give up? We’re just nobody, and sometimes we can’t help being bullied. It’s better than losing our lives.”

"never mind?"

Li Zheng sneered, "If we just let it go like this, wouldn't that let others know we're easy to bully? If we get robbed again in the future, are we just going to swallow our anger?"

"Well... who told us we didn't have the strength?" Kota lowered his head. He used to be exploited when he worked for Delta, and they were used to it.

"Do you know how many people Delta has under his command, and what their strength is?" Li Zheng stopped in his tracks.

“There are three other teams like ours. The strongest team consists of three members of the Kelot race, all of whom have reached the peak of the Super God level, just one step away from the first tier,” Kota introduced. “The other two teams are not weak either. The weakest one is at the Star Glory level. If they hadn’t been on a mission today, it wouldn’t have been our turn to rob you.”

"A mission?" Li Zheng raised an eyebrow. "What kind of mission?"

“A few days ago, a group of bloodthirsty people appeared outside the city and killed many people in the outer city. The terminal issued a task to recruit people to wipe them out. The task was posted in the hall for more than ten days but no one accepted it, so we forcibly selected people from among the public officials.”

Kota said, "Delta was also selected, but he used three squads of his men to take his place, so he was able to sit comfortably at the registration desk."

"Aren't those missions supposed to be accepted voluntarily?" Li Zheng asked, somewhat bewildered.

"It's voluntary, but once you become a public official, you have some power but also some obligations." Kota didn't know much about this, and answered almost as if guessing: "I heard that once the tasks that are forcibly carried out by the terminal are completed and settled, each surviving public official can get some public service points, which can be exchanged for some rare materials at the terminal."

"Rare materials?"

A thought struck Li Zheng: "Could it be those materials that are extinct and can no longer be reproduced?"

Kota nodded.

There are quite a few benefits to this public service job. I wonder what procedures are involved in applying for one?
Li Zheng thought for a moment and realized that among the people he knew, only Yakumo Yaran and the doctor knew more. Since he had some money in his pocket, he could go to Yakumo for advice.

"Come on, let's go see someone." Li Zheng started walking again, heading back towards the portal they had come from.

"Boss..." Kota saw this direction and thought Li was going to cause trouble for Delta, so he quickly advised, "Let's just let this matter go. Although Delta is not considered a master in the city, he still has the comprehensive strength of a king or above. Not to mention that he has a younger brother in the law enforcement team who recently broke through to the super god level and is a true beginner master."

It's true that the new boss also has king-level abilities, but that doesn't mean his overall strength can compare to Delta's. Remember, the capacity of a bucket is never determined by the tallest plank, but by the shortest one.

Delta possesses genuine king-level strength, far surpassing someone like Li Zheng who is merely a mediocre player.

If Delta hadn't exploited them so much and if there hadn't been the constant risk of them having to take over mission slots, Kota would never have switched jobs so easily.

He's not like those two stupid younger brothers, who are so brainless.

“Bullying others is a habit. If you swallow your anger this time, can you guarantee that you won’t be harassed next time you see them?” Li Zheng remained unmoved. “Besides, I’m talking to someone else. Perhaps this matter can be resolved in another way.”

Yakumo is also a public servant, and judging from what she said before, she didn't take Delta seriously at all.

Even Old Pu couldn't discern the strength of Yakumo and Yoran; aside from their names, all information about them was unknown.

Unlike Delta, who could detect some information about Li Zheng even before Li Zheng obtained his king-level gene abilities.

The difference is so great that Li Zheng still doesn't understand the operating principle of Lao Pu, and even Lao Pu himself can't explain it clearly.

It knows that no matter how hard you try, you can't get information that you can't see. Only when Li Zheng's strength reaches a certain level can it detect relevant information and provide it to Li Zheng.

"Hmm... Oh..." Kota hesitated for a long time before nodding silently, pondering the meaning of his boss's words.

That's too advanced; it's a bit hard to understand.

As Li Zheng passed by the registration hall with Cota, he glanced inside and his eyes met Delta's.

Delta waved at him with a smile, looking completely unconcerned.

Li Zheng nodded calmly in response.

If it weren't for his sense of shame, Li Zheng would have rushed in, pointed at Delta's nose, and shouted: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't underestimate a young man's potential!"
"Why are you here again?"

When Yakumo saw Li Zheng, she leaned back in her chair and glanced at Kota, whose face was bruised and swollen: "Did you make some money and come to ask me to be your guide? Or do you want to hand this robber over to me so I can take him to the law enforcement team?"

"I'd say the former." Li Zheng took out his unique inscription: "There's something I'd like to ask you."

Yakumo remained unmoved, pointing at Kota: "Don't you already have people with you? Why waste your money here?"

Li Zheng: "He couldn't answer the questions I asked."

Now that Yakumo was intrigued, he sat up straight and asked, "You want to get a public servant identity for fun?"

Li Zheng was immediately puzzled: "How did you know?"

"Humph."

Yakumo let out a smug chuckle: "The only thing that the common people of the entire outer city would never know is the conditions and channels for obtaining public office."

Li Zheng asked, puzzled, "Why?"

“Because…” Ye Lan spoke up from the side, his voice booming like a bell, the two short words giving one the illusion that the Yellow River was surging and rolling in their ears.

"Shut up!" Yakumo snapped. "If you tell him, how am I supposed to make money?"

Ye Lan seemed helpless: "You don't lack that little bit of money, what's the point of telling him?"

"Making money is my hobby, do you understand what a hobby is?" Yakumo said. "I don't care how much I earn, I only care about whether I can make money at all, do you understand?"

"Fine, fine, I won't care anymore, okay?" Ye Lan was at her wit's end. "You can do whatever you want." "That's more like it."

Yakumo muttered something, then took out his exclusive inscription and held it out to Li Zheng: "If you want to know why commoners don't understand the conditions and channels for obtaining public office, you'll have to pay one hundred white crystals first."

"How much?!" Li Zheng pulled his hand back, still holding the inscription card. "One hundred white crystal coins for one question? Why don't you just rob someone?"

"Don't act innocent after getting a good deal. I know you're not interested in this little bit of money anymore." Yakumo Koko Inscription Card: "Hurry up, hurry up, if you want to know, stop dawdling!"

"I guessed right, you do have some kind of mind-reading ability."

A glint flashed in Li Zheng's eyes. He had suspected this before, and now it was confirmed.

"Mind reading?" Yakumo laughed smugly. "Then you're wrong. I don't have mind reading or any similar abilities. I just have a pair of sharp eyes."

Keen eyes?
Li Zheng muttered to himself, "I don't believe you for a second. When I was following you around before, you could see right through my thoughts even when I was just behind you."

"Who told you that your eyes can only look in front?"

Yakumo suddenly spoke, startling Li Zheng, who pointed at her and shouted, "You still say you can't read minds!"

That confirms it now, right?

Without mind-reading abilities, how would I know what I was thinking?
“If you stayed in my position for a while, you could also be like me, able to discern your inner thoughts just from micro-expressions.” Yakumo stopped teasing Li Zheng and revealed his secret.

"Micro-expressions? Then when I'm standing behind you, what do you think... um?" Li Zheng's expression suddenly changed, and he released a bit of his spiritual power. Sure enough, he sensed a barely perceptible trace of spiritual power spying on him.

"Understood?" Yakumo Koko Inscription Card: "Now you have to give me two hundred white crystal coins. From now on, whatever you think, don't show it on your face. You have to keep your emotions hidden."

"Thank you, here you go." Li Zheng promptly transferred two hundred white crystal coins to Yakumo.

"Hmm, not bad, you're quite savvy." With the white crystals credited to his account, Yakumo was satisfied: "Now I'll tell you why ordinary people don't know the channels to become public officials—because… they're monopolized!"

"..." Li Zheng waited for a while, but Yakumo didn't continue. He gave him a disdainful look: "You're not thinking of splitting one answer into multiple questions, are you?"

"Oh dear, you figured it out." Yakumo chuckled and continued, "There are probably nine races that monopolize public office channels. They practically have absolute power in departments such as commerce, law enforcement, taxation, and household registration."

"So, what should I do if I want to become a public servant?" Li Zheng asked after listening to Yakumo's explanation.

"You want to be a public servant?" Yakumo turned his head, seemingly sizing up Kota, and understood something. "This guy is following you now, right? You want to become a public servant and then get revenge on Delta?"

Not long ago, the three Kota brothers were beaten out by Delta. She and Yelan watched the whole thing. With her intelligence, she could figure out a lot of things with just a little thought.

"Yes." Li Zheng did not hide anything. He knew that Yakumo and Delta were not on the same side, so it would not hurt to tell them.

“That will be difficult.” Yakumo held out an inscription card: “For 500,000 white crystal coins, I can help you get a public office.”

Li Zheng: "..."

Kota: "!!"

"What? You think it's too expensive?" Seeing that he was unmoved, Yakumo didn't care. "Then forget it. You can try another method. For example, wait until Delta leaves the outer city, then follow him and kill him. As long as you handle things cleanly, no one will usually trace it back to you."

Instead of waiting for people to leave the outer city, it would be more direct to rush in and attack them in front of everyone.

Even tasks specified by the terminal can be replaced by subordinates. Do you expect Delta to go outside the city?

Li Zheng estimated that it would never happen in his lifetime.

Seeing how cautious the other party was, Li Zheng thought that Delta probably had a lot of enemies. Given his way of doing things, the number of people who wanted him dead must be at least five figures.

"Isn't there a better way?" Li Zheng was troubled. Five hundred thousand white crystal coins was really too high.

Although he can now sell intermediate culture medium, he has made an agreement with Kanger not to sell it to anyone else within thirty days.

Although selling secretly might go unnoticed, Li Zheng believed that in the business world, one had to follow the rules.
Especially for businessmen, reputation is the first principle.

"Of course."

Yakumo raised the inscription card in his hand again: "Ten thousand, I'll help you settle this!"

"..." Li Zheng choked for a moment when he heard the price. "Do you know how much that guy robbed me of? And you're asking me for ten thousand?"

For those three thousand white crystal coins, he actually lost ten thousand?
Got a problem with your brain?

Even if I can get the three thousand white crystal coins back, I'll still lose seven thousand!
"How much?" Yakumo's voice rose an octave, becoming excited: "Fine, I'll go ask him for it myself, whatever I get back is mine!"

After saying that, she excitedly ran into the information registration hall.

Li Zheng wanted to go over and take a look, but Ye Lan stopped him: "You just wait here, don't go over."

"why……"

"boom!"

Before he could finish speaking, a figure flew out of the information registration hall and crashed heavily onto the street.

Li Zheng looked closely and realized that it was Delta, who else could it be?

Delta was clearly badly injured by the impact; he was coughing up mouthfuls of blood and seemed to be talking to someone inside the hall.

Click, click...

Yakumo walked out slowly, stretched his neck, and made a crisp sound as his joints were being cracked.

"How dare you steal my money?" Yakumo's words stunned Delta.

"Lord Yakumo, is there some misunderstanding?" Delta crawled backward, and for every step Yakumo took forward, he crawled backward as well.

"Yakumo-sama?!"

Upon hearing this name, Kota's tiger-like eyes widened, and his neck, as if wound up, slowly turned towards Ye Lan: "Then you are... Ye... Ye... Ye Lan?"

(End of this chapter)