Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 629 Sequelae of Anemia

That night, Li Zheng lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with his eyes wide open. Despite being mentally exhausted, he couldn't fall asleep.

Miriel slept in an eggshell bed. She tried to squeeze in with Li Zheng, but Li Zheng kicked her off the bed.

Before he knew it, it was midnight in the outer city, and Li Zheng heard that genderless electronic voice right on time.

[Random treasure chest draw in progress today, please wait...]

"They're here," Li Zheng thought to himself.

Even though he had recently discovered that the treasure chest system had some kind of purpose behind it, and the system had given him a warning for it, now that the refresh time had come, it still appeared on time as usual and drew treasure chests on time, as if nothing had happened before.

"Is it because I'm too weak that even if I discover something, the treasure chest system doesn't bother to bother with me? Or is the treasure chest system actually devoid of intelligence, just a plugin like a computer program?"

Li Zheng had pondered this question many times, but each time he had no answer, and the treasure chest system had never communicated with him.

[Draw successful. Chest quality: Diamonds. Collect now?]

"Even the notification sounds in my ear are precise down to the last word."

With a thought, Li Zheng set up a mental barrier in the room, then sat up and muttered, "Extract!"

Boom!
A diamond-grade treasure chest appeared out of thin air and landed on the ground. Miriel wasn't fast asleep; hearing the noise, she climbed out of her eggshell bed and peeked over at him.

Li Zheng laughed and said, "Come on, let's open it together."

Miriel is now absolutely trustworthy, and even if she has ulterior motives, Li Zheng can control her before she reveals her secrets.

"it is good!"

Miriel jumped out of bed excitedly and ran to Li Zheng's side. Her beautiful eyes shone as she stared at the dazzling diamond treasure chest: "I was afraid you would find out before, so I didn't dare to look closely. So this is how you get all the good stuff every day?"

“Yes, it’s a treasure chest,” Li Zheng said. “I was unlucky today and only got a diamond-level treasure chest. I guess it’s full of stone fragments.”

The treasure chests he opened a few days ago, except for the God-tier ones, were almost all like this. Li Zheng no longer has any illusions about anything below God-tier.

“Uh…” Miriel asked eagerly, “Can I open one of these boxes and play around with it?”

Li Zheng stretched out his hand: "Come on, give it a try!"

He wasn't sure if anyone other than himself could open the treasure chest he had drawn, so he decided to let Miriel give it a try.

“Okay!” Miriel placed her hand in Li Zheng’s palm and held it.

Li Zheng was taken aback. Miriel's hands were soft and boneless, and felt like cotton candy in his palm, making him want to knead them a few times.

He asked, "Didn't you want to open the treasure chest?"

“Yeah.” Miriel blinked. “Just hold my hand and let me feel involved.”

"You can drive it yourself." Li Zheng chuckled and shook his head. "I happen to have some ideas that I want to test."

Miriel hesitated for a few seconds: "Then I'll drive it myself?"

"Go ahead and open it." Li Zheng let go of her hand and watched from the side.

Miriel rubbed her hands together, brimming with excitement: "I've wanted to try this for ages, but I've never had the chance... Hmm?"

He placed both hands on the treasure chest, but the chest passed right through him as if it were an intangible phantom.

Miriel was not giving up. She tried to grab the treasure chest several times, but her hands passed right through it and she couldn't grab anything.

"How could this be?!" Miriel was furious. She finally had a chance to open a treasure chest and satisfy her curiosity, but she couldn't even touch it?
Li Zheng let out a breath: "I guess only I can drive it."

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Miriel, saying, "Let's try again to see if the two of us can open it together."

“Hmm.” Miriel followed Li Zheng and reached for the treasure chest. This time, she didn’t pass through it, but actually touched the texture of the treasure chest. It was cool and hard.

"I touched it! I touched it!" Miriel shouted excitedly.

Li Zheng's heart stirred, and he changed his mind and decided not to open the treasure chest. As a result, the two of them, just like Miriel had opened it alone before, pierced into the inside of the treasure chest.

"Huh? It's gone again?" Miriel exclaimed in surprise. "Were you controlling it?"

"I just discovered that too. Apparently, even if someone else grabs me and helps me open the treasure chest, they can't open it unless I allow it." Li Zheng was equally surprised, because this phenomenon couldn't be explained by science...

He suddenly realized that the existence of the system seemed to be inexplicable by science, not to mention that the treasure chests always appeared out of thin air.
Li Zheng wondered if the two of them could turn the treasure chest into a tangible object if they didn't take their hands out of the "illusory" treasure chest.

He tried it, but it didn't work. As long as his hand was inside, the treasure chest remained in "phantom" mode.

After several attempts and verifications, Li Zheng was certain that even if he revealed the existence of the treasure chest system, as long as he refused, no one could get the contents of the treasure chest from him.

He took his hand out and finally opened today's treasure chest with Miriel.

The two looked inside at the same time, and Li Zheng discovered that the box contained not fragments of the wishing stone, but a bottle of liquid emitting a faint glow, like some kind of potion.

Reaching in and taking it out, the treasure chest vanished instantly. Miriel stared at the spot where the chest had disappeared for a long time, clicking her tongue in admiration: "This thing is incredibly secure. Only you can touch it, and it disappears immediately after you take the contents. No one else can steal it even if they want to."

"I used to keep it a secret, afraid of revealing the existence of the treasure chest. If I hadn't tried it today, I wouldn't have known that this thing was so safe," Li Zheng said casually, looking at the bottle of liquid in his hand.

Miriel thought for a moment: "Even if it's very secure, I don't think we should let more people know about its existence. It's one thing if others can't take it, but if we encounter those petty guys who think they can't have it and don't want others to have it, and they chase after us, it will inevitably cause trouble."

“Yes, that’s what I think too.” Li Zheng nodded; he had a similar idea.

Seeing that Li Zheng was staring at the bottle of liquid in his hand, Miriel asked curiously, "What is this? A gene serum?"

"Pretty much. This stuff is called Yin-Yang Elixir. If two people drink it at the same time, it can restore the person in worse condition to the level of the other person in better condition." Li Zheng read out the effect according to the information given by the Eye of Preys.

“Does that mean…” Miriel mentally processed Li Zheng’s words: “If you drink with me, and you were injured before you drank, but I wasn’t, you can recover to your peak condition and heal your injuries?”

Li Zheng nodded: "That's one way to understand it."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Miriel urged. "Weren't you weakened by that broken gun and still haven't recovered? This is a good opportunity to test its limits."

As she spoke, she reached out to take the medicine from Li Zheng's hand.

Li Zheng flipped his wrist and put the mixture into his capsule: "I'm just a little anemic. I'll buy some blood-tonifying things these days, and I'll recover in no time. It would be a waste to use the Yin-Yang mixture now."

"All right……"

After opening the box, Miriel had satisfied her curiosity and suddenly felt bored. She nudged Li Zheng and said, "Move a little further in."

Li Zheng's face darkened: "Go sleep over there. My bed isn't very big to begin with, and you're taking up my space."

Miriel pointed to the spacious interior, where two more people could squeeze in: "This is a double bed! You're telling me there's no room?"

"That's right!" Li Zheng shamelessly said, "I like to toss and turn in my sleep!"

“…” Miriel was completely speechless. She had been following him for so many days, and she knew better than Li Zheng whether he liked to turn over in his sleep or not. There was no such thing at all!

“Ever since I became an adult, I feel like you’ve changed!” Miriel said, on the verge of tears. “You’ve become more and more disgusted with me!”

Li Zheng said helplessly, "I know what you're planning, but I really can't do that!"

Li Zheng had already seen through Preys' Eyes the whole situation and knew what was going on.

Old Pu also told him the solution.

The reason why Miriel was unusually clinging to him was probably to use him to deal with the side effects of her emotional turmoil.

Miriel's expression changed: "Why?"

“Perhaps our two races have different values,” Li Zheng confessed. “I don’t want to have a relationship with you because of factors other than feelings. That would make me feel like I’m not human, but a beast.”

"And I promised the Queen I would never touch you, I cannot break my promise!"

This is his bottom line, and also his principle as a human being.

Miriel was entrusted to him by the Succubus Queen to be brought into the outer city. Before leaving the Abyss, he promised the Succubus Queen that he would not break his promise.

“I’m all grown up now!” Miriel said urgently. “Besides, we’ll do it secretly. Anyway, Mom won’t know. By the time I return to the Abyss, it’ll be too late. She won’t be able to say anything.” “No means no!” Li Zheng said firmly. “If you continue like this, I will have no choice but to terminate the contract and kick you out.”

"You!" Miriel was furious when she saw that he was unyielding. "Incomprehensible!"

She got up, stomped heavily on the ground, and went back to her eggshell bed to sleep.

Li Zheng waited until Miriel calmed down before silently taking out the Yin-Yang Elixir again: "Another illogical item. I'm becoming more and more certain of my previous deduction. The things the treasure chest system gave out in the outer city are definitely products of another, higher-level universe!"

Yin-Yang Mixture

Type: Pharmacy

Rank: None
Effect: If the two people drinking this beverage are of opposite sexes, the combination of yin and yang can restore the person in a worse condition to the current health condition of the person in a better condition.

If both parties are of the same sex, the one in better condition will suffer the same harm as the one in worse condition!

One bottle contains enough for one use. According to the description, Li Zheng can indeed recover to his peak condition with this potion, but there is a prerequisite.

It's the "combination of Yin and Yang" mentioned only briefly in the information.

Li Zheng, who was familiar with Chinese culture, could of course understand the meaning of these four words, which is why he gave up the idea of ​​using the Yin-Yang Elixir to restore his condition. He did not want to break his promise to the Succubus Queen.

Although the original agreement stipulated that Li Zheng could not do anything to Miriel before she came of age, this did not prevent Li Zheng from setting a constraint on himself.

He, or rather, his true self, is a rather traditional person at heart. Li Zheng, who shares some of the same memories, genuinely believes that some things require mutual affection.

Miriel is very beautiful; no one would believe she wasn't attracted to her.

But what about Miriel's attitude towards him?

Li Zheng felt there shouldn't be any romantic feelings between them. He didn't believe he had such great charm that Miriel could fall for him after only about twenty days with him.

At least he can't feel it.

If one day he could sense that Miriel was serious about him, he wouldn't mind establishing a relationship with her and having something happen between them.

But not now.

"The item is good, but we don't need it for now, so it's like a waste of a treasure chest." Li Zheng put away the Yin-Yang Elixir again and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Gradually, drowsiness overcame him, and he fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, Li Zheng dreamed that he had returned to the fishing competition venue. The humpback whale raised its huge tail high and slammed the sea surface, creating towering waves that instantly swept him into the seabed.

The thick, dense seawater blocked his mouth and nose, making it hard for him to breathe.

'Demonic Thunder Wings!'

Instinctively, he tried to activate his ability to fly, but was suddenly jolted awake to find himself still lying in bed.

The lightning wings that unfurled from his back instantly pierced through the bed beneath him, and Li Zheng fell through the hole, prompting someone to exclaim, "How did you wake up?"

Li Zheng crawled out from under the bed, his face full of anger: "I should be asking you, what are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Miriel peeked out from behind him and chuckled, "What do you think?"

Li Zheng frowned. The side effects of the emotional turmoil that succubi experience upon reaching adulthood were surprisingly severe: "If you continue like this, how can I explain this to the Queen..."

Miriel hugged him from behind, using reverse psychology: "Why do you care about her? You're not her dog!"

Li Zheng looked up angrily: "You won't regret it!?"

"Hehe, I've never heard of a succubus regretting something like this." Miriel gently patted Li Zheng's head twice. "Besides, I already know your secret, so I'm not afraid you won't give in!"

Li Zheng raised his head even higher, took out the Yin-Yang Elixir, and took a sip: "You're finished!"

……

The next day, Li Zheng woke up from his sleep, feeling dizzy and his vision blurred as he got up.

"I need to buy more supplements today; the aftereffects of anemia are getting worse." Li Zheng sighed, rubbing his forehead. He got out of the eggshell bed, tidied up the bed he had broken the night before, set up the stove, and prepared breakfast.

Miriel rolled over, peered over, and got off the ground. Her legs went weak, and she gasped for breath, sweat beading on her forehead: "Oh no, I think I'm injured."

Li Zheng didn't even turn his head: "I'll make breakfast today, you can rest well."

Miriel sat back on the bed and complained, "Isn't the Yin-Yang Elixir supposed to heal wounds? Why isn't it working for me?"

"Because the Yin-Yang Elixir had already taken effect before you were injured, it restored my condition." Li Zheng said while washing his hands and kneading dough, "The blood that was drained by the Black Dragon Spear yesterday has been completely replenished, but my lower back is a little sore, which may be a sequela of anemia."

"Can anemia cause back pain as a side effect?" Miriel tilted her head.

"I think so..." Li Zheng thought for a moment and said, "When I woke up just now, my vision went black. Isn't that a side effect of anemia?"

“Oh…” Miriel nodded, then asked after a moment, “Are you busy today?”

"..."

Li Zheng paused in his work, turned around to meet Miriel's expectant gaze, and felt his back ache even more. He quickly said, "Yes, I'm planning to find someone to buy a resident status in the outer city to replace your master-servant contract with me. It's better not to bother the terminal with something that can be done in the outer city."

"I see..." Miriel looked disappointed, then said, "I have good news for you, my strength has improved again. But I also have bad news, I think I've hit a bottleneck, and my mental power can't be improved any further."

"Hmm, I can see that." Li Zheng rolled out the kneaded dough, cut it into thin strips, added salt to boiling water, stirred it, and then added some vegetables and meat slices.

Three minutes later, two bowls of fragrant hand-pulled noodles were ready.

Li Zheng brought a bowl to Miriel and sat down next to her, eating as he spoke: "After I get you your status as an outer city resident, I'll come back and guide you on how to condense your nodes. This is a method that Xu researched over countless years to further enhance his spiritual power. He taught me this when he poured all his spiritual power into me before."

"So... he did one good deed before he died?" Miriel took a bite of hand-pulled noodles and squinted her eyes happily.

"Doing good deeds?" Li Zheng shook his head thoughtfully: "He is an evil thought separated from the main body. I don't think he was really doing this out of kindness. Moreover, every time I think of him, I feel uneasy. I always feel that he is not dead and that I will see him again in the future."

Miriel sighed with a complicated expression, "He worked so hard to help us improve our mental strength before. I never would have guessed that he was actually an evil thought. I always thought of him as a teacher."

Indeed, Li Zheng thought the same thing when he met Xu Gang.

Moreover, Xu's actions showed absolutely no malice.

"The reason he helped us improve our mental strength was simply because our foundation was too weak. If we rashly accepted the mental strength he instilled, we would easily collapse," Li Zheng said. "I estimate that he condensed that enormous mental strength in the Dark Realm in order to escape from the Dark Realm one day. However, he later discovered that his mental strength was too powerful and became a burden, preventing him from leaving there."

Miriel pondered, "Where do you think Xu will go after leaving the Dark Realm? And how did he leave the Dark Realm?"

"I don't know either," Li Zheng said with a wry smile.

Li Zheng was also puzzled by this question, because he had never been able to find out when or how Xu left.

The only certainty is that the Void's method of leaving the Dark Realm was definitely not through the Lampholder's Mark, otherwise he wouldn't have waited until now.

After all, the Lampholder's Mark has had many owners in the past, and he can leave whenever he wants.

There's only one possibility why he didn't leave: he couldn't escape the Dark Realm through the Lampholder's Mark.

Obtaining an out-of-town identity is quite simple. The blacksmith shop must have extensive connections to be able to operate in Block 7. Li Zheng came out and explained the matter to Zi Yuan, patting his chest and guaranteeing, "There's no need to trouble you, teacher. I can handle it for you!"

Li Zheng thanked him gratefully, "Then I'll have to trouble you with this, Brother Yuan."

He took out the inscription card and asked, "It must cost a lot of money to get an outer city identity, right? I'll transfer it to you first."

“It is indeed quite expensive.” Zi Yuan also took out her own inscription card: “But it depends on what level you need, some are cheaper.”

"Oh?" Li Zheng's eyes flickered. He remembered that when Mo Li gave Xiao Ying the status of an outer city resident, he didn't mention that there were different levels. He quickly asked, "How are they divided?"

“The lowest tier only has an Inscription Card, which at most means the outer city acknowledges the person’s existence, but you can’t enjoy other benefits, such as accepting quests and recording the amount of crystal coins.” Zi Yuan introduced each tier to Li Zheng one by one: “The next tier has an Inscription Card and can also enjoy other benefits, but there are no storage items. Every time you enter the outer city, you have to store all your belongings, which is quite troublesome and expensive.”

"The highest tier is naturally the same as the current players who are promoted to the outer city normally, with all the same privileges, but the price is also the highest, and ordinary people can't afford it."

(End of this chapter)