Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 646 Mine, mine, all mine!
"So the so-called 'cutest' is ranked according to body size?"

Li Zheng looked down at the thing below that was a size smaller than the previous twisted creature but looked extremely similar, and complained about the Eye of Preys's perverse sense of humor. How could something so ugly be cute?
[Not only is it smaller, but it's also weaker, and the magic crystal inside its body is smaller, which is why it's called "Little Cutie."]

Li Zheng: "..."

Isn't it very rigorous?

"Strict my ass!"

Ignoring the meaningless information provided by Lao Pu, Li Zheng's mind raced, and seven thousand ice needles shot out simultaneously from his side, covering the sky and the earth like a red-alert rainstorm.

Puff puff puff puff...

The sound of ice needles piercing flesh blended together, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.

When the commotion ceased and the blood mist settled, the twisted creature had become a pile of unrecognizable rotten flesh.

"Its defense is indeed a little weaker than the previous one, but only slightly," Li Zheng thought. "And its reaction speed was also a beat slower; it was instantly killed without even having a chance to dodge."

In this way, the twisted creatures with white magic crystals are not inherently powerful. What is troublesome is the evil aura they carry. Ordinary people must be fully alert and fight against the evil aura when fighting them to avoid being infected.

With both sides restraining each other, to reliably defeat a twisted creature in a one-on-one fight, one needs to reach at least the top level of Star Glory, ideally have a super god level of mental strength, and not be too weak in willpower.

Otherwise, it's easy to crash and burn if you're not careful.

“Little Cutie and Middle Cutie… Pah! They’ve been led astray by Old Pu.” Li Zheng rolled up the twisted magic crystal from the rotten flesh, erased the evil thoughts within it, and put it away. He then raised his hand and condensed seven thousand ice needles from below before turning and flying into the distance: “The data on the middle and lower-grade white magic crystal level twisted creatures has been collected. Next, let’s see if there are any more powerful ones nearby.”

While flying, he kept turning his head to check the information. Thirty minutes later, Old Pu finally responded.

[Go in this direction for thirty minutes, and a big, adorable creature is waiting for you.]

Upon receiving the prompt, Li Zheng accelerated to full speed and flew over at top speed: "At my current flying speed, I can fly at least several hundred kilometers in thirty minutes. Is the Sin Domain really this vast? Compared to such a vast area, the number of twisted creatures is really too small. I guess the residents of some streets in the outer city are too fierce?"

Li Zheng didn't know how long ago the last batch of players had been, but in the past, the residents of the 50th block could clear it up like this.

The Domain of Sin is somewhat of a misnomer.

When you have such thoughts, it means you've begun to underestimate your enemy, which is a very fatal mindset.

Li Zheng smiled and said, "It's not that I underestimated the enemy, but that's the fact I've seen. The Sin Domain is indeed not as dangerous as I imagined."

[It's just that too many low-level twisted creatures have been killed; the real danger is far greater than you imagine.]

"Really?" Li Zheng said, "Give me directions and take me to see it."

[Reconnoitering targets that are too far away is exhausting, but since you put it that way, I'll show you what a real spectacle is like!]

[Fly to the left for twelve hours; there lie countless twisted creatures a thousand times stronger than this little cutie.]

Li Zheng: "...There really is one?"

Twelve hours is too far.

But you can go take a look, and maybe you can even get some purple magic crystals while you're at it.

"Let's deal with this big cutie first." Li Zheng looked down; this target was much larger and stronger than the previous two twisted creatures.

As soon as he flew nearby, the twisted creature spotted him, its countless eyes staring upwards with greedy intent.

"His perception has indeed become much sharper." Li Zheng raised his hand and waved it downwards, and all seven thousand ice needles shot out, covering a ten-meter radius centered on the twisted creature.

Boom boom boom...

The large white magic crystal twisted creature's defenses were upgraded to another level; when the ice needles pierced its body, they made a sound like nails hitting a wooden board.

Li Zheng used his mental power to cover it and was surprised to find that the ice needles he had controlled only pierced the skin of the twisted creature before shattering into ice powder.

"So sturdy!" Li Zheng exclaimed in surprise. "It's much stronger than a medium-sized twisted creature. Its defense has at least broken through the Star Glory limit. It should be able to withstand attacks from a King-level opponent, right?"

In terms of defensive capabilities, a large white magic crystal-level twisted creature would require at least a king-level strength to deal with.

"The scope is a bit too large. If we hadn't collected the data in advance, players from the Blue Planet might have rushed in without thinking, which could have caused considerable losses."

Luckily I discovered it in advance. I don't know if it's an isolated case, I'll find a few more to verify later.

"But in front of me, you're still no match!"

Li Zheng clenched his fist, and the shattered ice powder actually condensed together again, unleashing boundless cold air that instantly froze half of the twisted creature's body into an ice block.

The mental energy swept over, forming an invisible hurricane that churned the limbs of the twisted creature, which was half frozen into ice blocks, with a constant cracking sound.

Snapped!
Li Zheng snapped his fingers, and the ice block suddenly shattered, scattering everywhere.

Even so, the twisted creature still had a breath left. It weakly raised its head and stared at Li Zheng for a moment, then wriggled its remaining limbs, struggling to escape.

"You think you can escape?" Li Zheng's lips curled up as he drew his sword and unleashed a crescent-shaped blade of light, instantly slicing the twisted creature in two horizontally.

The lower half of the body, still caught off guard by the sharpness of the blade, continued its escape, running hundreds of meters before collapsing.

“Large white magic crystal-level twisted creatures also have stronger vitality.” Li Zheng observed it coldly for a moment, and only after confirming that it was completely dead did he land and dig out its brain magic crystal.

After erasing the evil aura, he put it away: "One of each of the large, medium, and small sizes. I wonder if Miriel will be able to condense a second spiritual power node after absorbing them all."

Compared to others, Li Zheng ultimately lacked a step-by-step promotion process, and his control over resources was not precise. Everything would have to wait for Miriel to personally test it before a conclusion could be drawn.

"It'll be a twelve-hour journey. By the time we get there, my whole body will be aching..." Li Zheng looked at the location Lao Pu had given him earlier, feeling a little panicked.

The Thunder Wings require genetic energy, and the genetic energy he possesses is only enough for him to fly at full speed for ten minutes at a time.

The way they killed the three twisted creatures along the way was entirely due to a method they had previously researched: using mental power to squeeze cells and generate genetic force.

At this moment, the left side of his lower abdomen felt like he had done hundreds of thousands of sit-ups, sore and swollen, with muscles twitching from the pain.

"Oh right, when I first met Xiao, didn't he use a blank crystal to trade genetic energy with others?" Li Zheng suddenly remembered this. Back then, after entering the outer city, he also bought some of those things to trade genetic energy with others.

Looking back now, he suddenly realized that he had never seen that blank crystal in any of the shops in District 7, including the black market, nor had he seen anyone selling Gene Force.

Xiao had told Li Zheng that such a thing existed in the outer city, but he had not found it.

Clearly, Xiao lied; he was just trying to fool Li Zheng at the time.

"If the wandering merchants that Xiao works for are doing things for the terminal, and their compensation is a cut of gene energy from the profits, then the bulk of the profit should be provided to the terminal, right?"

Li Zheng thought for a moment, then took out the inscription card and contacted the terminal.

The terminal quickly replied: "Genetic Force? What do you need that for? With your current strength, you shouldn't need such a low-level power as genetic ability, right?"

Li Zheng replied, "I have a flight-type genetic ability, which consumes a lot of energy."

After a while, the terminal sent a message: "Sorry, I don't have many of these, so I can't give them to you. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

Li Zheng sent several more messages, but they all went unanswered; the terminal had simply gone offline...

"Alright then." Helpless, Li Zheng had no choice but to put away the inscription card: "It's tiring, but so be it."

Spreading its wings of lightning, it rushed towards its destination.

To save time as much as possible and to avoid making himself too uncomfortable, Li Zheng did not fly at the fastest speed, giving himself some buffer time.

Even so, after traveling for five hours straight, he had to stop and rest.

In the past five hours, with the help of the Eye of Preys, Li Zheng found ten more twisted creatures, nine of which were white magic crystal level and one was red magic crystal level.

It has been determined that the White Magic Crystal level strength ranges from the early Star Glory stage to the peak King stage.

The Crimson Crystal-level Twisted Creature experienced another significant leap in strength, directly reaching the early to mid-stage of the God-like realm.

The two types of twisted creatures are of different levels and do not look very similar.

White Magic Crystal level twisted creatures have numerous and disorganized limbs, as if the creator had haphazardly mixed together scraps from other races to create an eyesore. Red Magic Crystal level twisted creatures, on the other hand, have nearly half of their limbs missing, making them closer to the category of normal creatures.

It is still very ugly, and its sexual characteristics are extremely mixed. It is constantly in the process of self-mating, which is extremely disgusting.

Compared to the White Magic Crystal level twisted creatures, the Red Magic Crystal level creatures have two more attack methods.

One type emits light from countless eyeballs; anyone hit by the light will experience hallucinations, mistaking the distorted creature in front of them for a familiar member of the opposite sex, who then seduces them with alluring gestures.

Li Zheng's mental strength was too strong, making him immune to this move. If he hadn't deliberately lowered his defense to the minimum, he almost wouldn't have been able to test what kind of effect this ray could have.

The second method is rather disgusting. When the first type of ray is ineffective, the Red Demon Crystal-level Twisted Creature will release a strange-smelling gas. Inhaling it will not cause hallucinations, but it will amplify the most primal desires in one's heart infinitely.

Don't underestimate this move, thinking it's easy to resist.

When a certain desire is amplified to its limit, the brain will be occupied by the desire and will not generate any thoughts other than satisfying the desire.

Falling into such a trap during combat would undoubtedly be extremely fatal.

Especially if the two moves are used at the same time, the effect is far more than just one plus one equals two!
Li Zheng deliberately took two hits in a row, and almost turned back to find Miriel on the spot to help her calm down.

Fortunately, after reactivating his mental energy and building up his defenses, this state was alleviated and he was able to break free.

After memorizing all the collected data, Li Zheng patted his stomach, his expression immediately falling: "I kind of miss Miriel..."

When leaving the capsule residence, he didn't have much with him, except for a glass longsword and a set of clothes.

He had already taken off his coat and was using it as a bag to carry the magic crystals.

As for food and water, they didn't bring any.

Replenishing fluids is not difficult. Li Zheng only needs to activate the ice-type attachment to condense the water vapor in the air into ice crystals. Even if there are some impurities, given his physical condition, those impurities are far from enough to cause an upset stomach.

The food issue is more difficult to handle.

The Sinful Realm is desolate, with very few plants growing on the ground. Occasionally, some moss is found, but it has long been contaminated and cannot be eaten.

"If all else fails... how about exchanging a small magic crystal for some food?" Li Zheng thought for a moment, then felt it was a bit of a loss. He then took out two inscription cards he had found on the infected from his pocket. "How about we use these to exchange for food?"

Although it's unclear how much money was stored in the inscription card, the fact that it was so easily converted into an infected suggests that its strength is rather weak, and its net worth is probably not that high.

Trade it to someone else and let them try their luck. If they lose, consider it a good deed.

In comparison, magic crystals with abundant energy are rarer and more valuable.

"Okay, it's settled then!"

Looking around, Preys' Eye kindly pointed out that there was a five-person squad in a certain direction, not far away.

It only takes a few minutes to fly there.

Having just recovered some of his genetic energy, Li Zheng unfurled his lightning wings and headed there.

……

"Mine! Mine! They're all mine!" The cat panted heavily, its eyes bloodshot, and the shadow behind it twisted and turned into a ferocious monster.

"These red magic crystals are all mine! None of you can take them from me!"

He kicked the dog in the stomach, sending it staggering back several steps before it could regain its footing.

The dog instantly flew into a rage, swinging its bone club and yelling, "Go to hell! If I kill you all, I can keep the Red Demon Crystal for myself!"

Old Niu jumped a few steps to the side and roared, "You dare to lay a hand on me? I'll kill you!"

Then it crashed headfirst into a rat not far away.

The rat vanished, dodging the ox's charge, and reappeared behind the crane. Two gleaming daggers were pressed against the crane's neck, and the rat grinned sinisterly, "I've had my eye on you bunch of idiots for a long time. You think you can take the Red Magic Crystal from me today? You're dreaming!"

As he spoke, he was about to slit the crane's throat with the dagger.

Crane's robes billowed violently, and its body swelled into a sphere, sending the rats on its back flying. It then slashed at the rats' bellies with two hooked blades: "You piece of trash, I'll kill you all with one slash each!"

The five of them engaged in a chaotic brawl, fighting amongst themselves.

Around them lay countless twisted creatures lying haphazardly.

A faint aura of malevolence emanated from the corpses of these twisted creatures, connecting with the shadows behind the five people on the ground and influencing their minds through their shadows.

The battle intensified, and casualties gradually began to appear.

The rat's two legs were severed by the crane at the knees, and the crane had two cone-shaped bloody holes in its chest and abdomen, from which blood was flowing.

The cow's limbs were shattered, and it collapsed to the ground, still groaning as it tried to get up and seize ownership of the Red Magic Crystal.

The dog's body was covered with tiny wounds, the marks left by the cat's claws. Each wound was shallow, but there were so many that the dog had almost bled dry.

The cat was the worst off; everyone else had attacked him, leaving him covered in wounds, lying on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.

"Mine... all of them are mine..."

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"

Even those who were still able to move, lying on the ground, crawled toward the others, trying to kill them completely.

The sound grew weaker and weaker, while the twisting shadows behind them stood up, as if their identities had been reversed with their bodies, as if they were the shadows lying on the ground.

"Huh? So many twisted creatures, and they're all at the Red Magic Crystal level!" A strange voice came from not far away.

"Another one looking for death!" The group turned their heads fiercely, and the five standing shadows also turned their heads at the same time. They seemed to have consciousness, and they looked at each other as if they were discussing something.

Within seconds, they seemed to reach an agreement, slowly sinking into the ground, reverting to ordinary shadows, and hiding themselves.

"Tsk tsk tsk, impressive. Look at these wounds, clean and neat, which shows that they are all quite skilled." Li Zheng walked among the corpses of twisted creatures scattered all over the ground, praising them repeatedly: "In terms of combat skills alone, Zhan Zhouzhou may be slightly inferior."

But why haven't the magic crystals inside these twisted creatures been extracted yet?
Li Zheng looked up and saw five figures dressed in camouflage clothing lying in the very center of the pile of twisted creature corpses: "Injured?"

He quickly walked over to check on the injuries of the five people.

His gaze swept across the scene, and the identity of one person caught his attention: "Wind Evil Cat?"

Li Zheng approached the motionless figure and examined the injuries: "Good heavens, all of them are fatal wounds, yet he's still alive!"

Feng Xiemao was simply unconscious from his severe injuries, while the other four stared at Li Zheng with malicious eyes, growling like wild beasts.

“Something’s not right, and there’s an evil aura nearby that’s different from the Fourth Sin Domain.” Li Zheng frowned. The Eye of Preys was pretending to be mute at this moment, not giving him any hints.

"It seems I'll have to solve this myself." Li Zheng released his spiritual power, sweeping away the evil aura in the arena and tracing the traces to find the source.

"At this!"

With a glare, the shadows of the five-man group twisted wildly, baring their teeth and claws, transforming into bizarre shapes, detaching from the ground, and fiercely lunging at Li Zheng.

"Crush it for me!"

Li Zheng increased his output, and his invisible spiritual power transformed into two millstones, sandwiching the five shadows in the middle and crushing them with all his might.

Five dark figures remained suspended in the air, their limbs twisting, as thick black mist gradually peeled away, only to be crushed clean by the mental power released by Li Zheng.

As the fog dissipated, the five dark figures slowly returned to their original state.

The four people who were lying on the ground but not unconscious experienced a moment of confusion.

He Xiao was startled: "I... hiss... who made two holes in me?"

(End of this chapter)