Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 123 Techniques Conform to Basic Swordsmanship
In the cave-like room, a group of players sat around a campfire. Fresh meat from various creatures was skewered and arranged around the fire, dripping with oil as it roasted, filling the air with an enticing aroma.

"So...so you all came here specifically to rescue me because you couldn't contact me?" Li Chun was very moved. She stood up and bowed to each of Li Zheng and the others, expressing her gratitude: "I'm really sorry to have troubled you all. Thank you, brothers and sisters."

Behind her, the multicolored venomous spider also lowered its body, bowing in gratitude as it did its master.

"Actually, we didn't do much; it was mainly Li Zheng's credit."

Yan Guang picked up the roasted meat in front of him and found that it was ready to eat. He tore off a small piece, blew on it to cool it down, and then handed it to Feng Shan's mouth.

"..."

Fengshan looked at the barbecue, then at Yan Guang, then at everyone else, and opened his mouth to accept being fed.

Fengshan: "(￣～￣)"

Everyone: "(●─●)"

Yan Guang: "(★★)"

While feeding Fengshan, Yan Guang corrected, "If he hadn't discovered that you hadn't spoken in the regional channel all day and couldn't contact you, we wouldn't have realized what was happening."

Fengshan nodded: "Mhm."

Li Zheng looked at Feng Shan, completely bewildered: "???"

Is this guy out of his mind?
Isn't she quite resistant to Yan Guang?

This performance...

That's a bit strange...

He keenly sensed that something was going on between the two of them, but he couldn't figure out why.

Only Ye Yuan, her face flushed red by the campfire, her eyes darting back and forth between Yan Guang and Feng Shan.

Li Zheng didn't take all the credit: "Actually, I have to thank Ye Kai for helping me find you here. If he hadn't lent me a prop, I wouldn't have been able to pinpoint your location so accurately."

And Chu Xiao, he also provided the group jumping prop used to pull everyone over.

I didn't pay any price myself.

Ye Kai pulled out the roasted meat in front of him and tried a bite: "The most important thing is that you discovered the anomaly, otherwise we would not have been able to save her even if we had the tools."

Chu Xiao, who was sitting next to Ye Kai, said, "That's right! And I'm very grateful to you for helping me find the murderer who killed my sister."

As he spoke, he stood up and bowed deeply to Li Zheng.

Li Zheng felt a little embarrassed: "Hey, I don't have that ability. It's just that Lin Feng is an idiot who tried to expose himself to me."

I reckon he said those things to provoke me and throw me off balance.

People are often not rational when they are enraged. If Li Zheng had fallen for the trap and gone up to fight Lin Feng to the death, he would probably be sitting by the fire chatting now, and he wouldn't be in any other situation.

But life is so ironic.

Lin Feng originally wanted to provoke Li Zheng, then take advantage of his mentally disturbed state to cripple him and torture him until he handed over the "Death Declaration".

In the end, however, he himself was defeated by a truly enraged opponent and died a very tragic death.

His tattered, sack-like corpse is still lying there. After a while, once everyone has left the room, his body may gradually rot and stink, or it may be eaten by some creature that wanders here.

Dig a pit and bury it?

Humanitarianism?

nonexistent!

No one present thought such an opponent deserved respect; sparing him from being reduced to ashes was already considered a sign that they still had some decency.

Chu Xiao looked up and said very seriously, "But it is also because of you that I was able to personally kill my enemy. I will remember this kindness."

"Hey, what's with all this talk of gratitude? We're all adults. In an environment like the Matrix, isn't it normal to help each other out?" Li Zheng scratched his head. "If I ever run into danger, just come and stand up for me."

"Don't worry," Chu Xiao said, pounding his chest. "I'll be there whenever you call!"

"As long as you say this!"

Li Zheng rummaged through his residence and took out a bottle of stalactite milk and two cups: "It's a pity there's no wine, but I have milk here, let's have a drink!"

It was clear that none of the people here were the type to enjoy fine wine; none of them kept such a thing in their lodgings. Upon hearing that Li Zheng had milk, they all took out their water containers and shared some.

"Damn it!" ×N
"Hey!"

"hiss!"

"Meow~"

Several players and their pets drank the Bellstone Milk that had been allocated to them.

Ye Yuan put down the cup, her eyes shining: "It really does taste like milk! I thought you, a bachelor, were just storing..."

"Little round!"

Ye Kai shouted to stop his sister's nonsense, then smiled apologetically at Li Zheng, "My sister has always had some strange hobbies since she was little. She always reads weird literature like BL (Boys' Love). Don't mind her."

"BL?"

Li Chun's eyes lit up, and she ran over to sit down next to Ye Yuan. The two began to chat quietly.

Every now and then, the two girls would let out strange laughter. These two...

That's how we officially became best friends.

Everyone: "..."

"Snapped!"

The little spider raised a segmented limb and slapped it on its face, seemingly feeling somewhat helpless about its owner's behavior.

"Yingying?"

Sakura looked up at Li Zheng with a puzzled expression, as if asking what "BL" was.

Li Zheng said helplessly, "Kids shouldn't ask so many questions. Anyway, it's something you can't eat!"

"Hey!"

The little guy nodded and focused on the piece of roast meat that had been allocated to him...

Well, actually, it was the heart of the ghost lion that Li Zheng specially prepared for it.

After eating this for several meals, the little guy was almost sick of it, but in order to become stronger, he had no choice but to keep eating! Concentrating on his food, the little guy's eyes were very determined.

I, Sakura, must become stronger!
The scene of Li Zheng being knocked away, crashing into the stone wall, and spitting blood as he landed was unforgettable.

From now on, I, Sakura, will fight alongside my master and can no longer be just a little follower who only cheers!
[Pokémon Sakura's personality is enhanced; the "Aspire" effect is increased by 5%]

"Eh?"

Li Zheng stared blankly at the panel prompts that appeared before him.

What's going on?

How come the little guy suddenly evolved a bit on his own?

He scratched his head, unable to figure out why, so he simply ignored it.

Anyway, the outcome is developing in a positive direction, so it's good to let things take their natural course.

The barbecue dinner lasted for an hour in a harmonious and friendly atmosphere, with everyone chatting happily.

Later, on a whim, several girls performed their talents for everyone.

Before entering the matrix, Li Chun studied dance. After returning to her residence and changing her clothes, she came out and performed a dance that Li Zheng couldn't describe.

In Fengshan's words, "His dancing was fucking amazing!"

Then Yan Guang punched him.

Yan Guang sang a pop song a cappella. His voice was mature with a hint of hoarseness, and he actually sounded quite professional.

After asking, I learned that she had studied vocal music for a while and had participated in several talent shows, but because of her average appearance, she didn't become famous.

Ye Yuan's performance was more noisy and hardcore; she... set up a Gatling gun and fired a barrage of bullets at the stone wall, drawing a Calabash Brother on it...

Liu Jiale gave a thumbs up and praised Ye Yuan, saying, "This Mickey Mouse drawing is so lifelike!"

Zhan Zhouzhou took out a tungsten steel longsword and performed a demonstration of swordsmanship that he had practiced for competitions in the past. However, he was interrupted by Li Chun after only a few seconds.

He led her into his capsule residence, and when they came out a short while later, Zhan Zhouzhou had changed into a pure white ancient costume, paired with a buzz cut, which looked somewhat incongruous.

However, it was only then that everyone realized that Zhan Zhouzhou was actually quite good-looking. Ye Kai shook his head in regret, saying, "It's a pity that this hairstyle is a downside."

Then he was glared at fiercely by Zhan Zhouzhou and Li Zheng.

After Li Chun put a wig on Zhan Zhouzhou, the woman looked completely different.

Standing with a sword in hand, his natural aura is like a long sword standing before everyone, exuding a heroic spirit with a faint touch of ethereal grace.

"I go……"

Li Zheng was stunned: "I need to check if there's any potent hair growth serum in the matrix. I'll spend whatever it takes to get her a bottle!"

Fengshan: "+1, ouch~"

Yan Guang punched him again.

"The past, the present, are gone and will never return."

……

Yan Guang held two iron rods in his hand, striking them to create a rhythm, and sang "My Lifelong Love" in his unique voice to accompany Zhan Zhouzhou.

As the song began, Zhan Zhouzhou wielded her long sword with gentle, slow movements, entering the state almost instantly.

For a moment, everyone was captivated by this wonderful combination.

Whether it was a misperception or not, Li Zheng vaguely felt that he seemed to see a fairy descend to the mortal world and fall in love with a mortal. After experiencing many hardships, the two were separated by heaven and earth and could not stay together.

"The sea of ​​suffering rises... love and hate..."

As the music reached its climax, Zhan Zhouzhou suddenly stopped moving and stared blankly at the long sword in his hand.

This change pulled everyone out of their wondrous state of mind, leaving them feeling incredibly stifled.

"Wow! This is so uncomfortable! I've never felt this bad even when I was interrupted while practicing needlework by watching porn!"

Liu Jiale clutched her chest, her face contorted in pain.

Not being able to watch the entire performance left him feeling like something was missing, like a needlework that had reached its final stage but suddenly stopped, unable to continue—that kind of painful feeling.

It wasn't just him; everyone present felt the same way.

But Zhan Zhouzhou suddenly stopped, staring at the long sword in a daze. Although the others found it strange, they tacitly did not disturb her.

"Elbow, come into the house with me!"

As the composer, Yan Guang felt this particularly deeply. She felt she had to find something to fill this void, so she grabbed Feng Shan and headed towards the capsule residence she had already set up.

Strangely, Fengshan didn't struggle or cry for help this time...

Li Zheng was completely bewildered as he watched the two enter the house and close the door.

It's only been a few days?

Fengshan gave in?
Is this really so shameless?

Aren't you very resistant to people inviting you to banquets?

Is it really true that it's like a mountain for a man to pursue a woman, but a veil for a woman to pursue a man?
Ha... what a scumbag!
"Huh? Why am I being so sour?"

Li Zheng scratched his head, puzzled, then picked up the sleeping Xiao Ying and returned to his quarters. (Before the campfire started, everyone had already released their quarters, since they couldn't go back after being teleported here anyway.)
Seeing that it was already late, the others went back to their rooms to rest and prepare for tomorrow's exploration.

Only Li Chun, who had slept all day due to the hypnotic gas, sat not far from Zhan Zhouzhou, keeping him company.

……

After closing the door, Li Zheng raised his hand and beckoned a thick-backed black knife. This was Lin Feng's knife; Chu Xiao had given it to Li Zheng before the campfire was lit.

He casually played around with it a few times, then nodded in satisfaction.

"It's exactly the same as Liu Jiale's. Although it's not a long spear, its platinum quality is still good enough to use temporarily."

Besides..."

Li Zheng opened the history of notifications and found the message.

[Skill level meets basic swordsmanship; Swordsmanship Mastery acquisition progress 0.001%]

I corrected some typos. Sigh, I'm so diligent; another chapter of over three thousand words. (Subtext: Please vote!)
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(End of this chapter)