Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 468, updated just before the deadline! Hehe... (4K)

"Speaking of which, it's not just those two extraordinary treasure chests we opened before; it seems there are quite a few other things piled up in our inventory that I haven't had time to organize."

Li Zheng opened the door to the training room and kicked the Omniscient Training Device inside.

"I'll work on them one by one when I have time. I'll arrange all the blueprints that can be made, and sell or throw the ones that I don't need into the legion's warehouse."

As for now, of course, we should first experience what makes the training room built with the extraordinary modification blueprints so unique.

When this training room was built, Li Zheng chose the largest size, 2,500 square meters, which is 50x50 square meters.

The height was also designed to fully consider Li Zheng's potential needs during practice, directly connecting the second floor to the third floor.

The entire practice room can be summed up in two words: spacious!
While most players lived in dwellings ranging from nine to ninety square meters, Li Zheng's training room alone was two thousand five hundred square meters, making it absolutely spacious.

The training room was built using some bionic tissues, ordinary fibers, and animal hides. These materials have now been transformed into a small arena, set up in the very center of the training room.

Eight spotlights shone down from different angles from the top of the ring, making the area around the ring much brighter than other parts of the training room.

Apart from the ring and the lights on the ceiling, the entire training room was empty, without a single piece of extra equipment.

"How can something so rudimentary be worthy of being called a transcendental level?"

Li Zheng frowned slightly, but didn't seem to mind. The simpler the room was, the more its functions might be beyond his expectations.
Bending down to straighten the iron ball-like 'Omniscient Training Device', Li Zheng found an inconspicuous indentation on it and gently pressed his finger into it.

'Hiss~'

A transparent virtual screen appeared out of thin air, displaying very simple information: only three columns: "Strength," "Speed," and "Martial Arts Type."

The first two columns are empty; Li Zheng needs to fill in the appropriate numbers as needed.

The third column features a triangle icon, highlighted to indicate that it is clickable.

After studying it for about thirty seconds, Li Zheng suddenly felt worried about the future of the matrix and even the outer city.

"This is... the actual product is completely different from what was described in the advertisement! Is this false advertising?"

It's not so much a serious discrepancy, but rather a difference from what Li Zheng had imagined.

The full name of this thing is 'Omniscient Training Device'. Judging from the name, it seems very powerful, as if it can really do everything.

In fact, after Li Zheng clicked on the triangle icon, a slightly brief drop-down menu appeared.

The displayed options are: Knife Mastery/Specialization, Sword Mastery/Specialization, Blunt Weapon Mastery/Specialization, Staff Mastery/Specialization, Unusual Weapon Mastery/Specialization, and Hidden Weapon Mastery/Specialization.

It's too rudimentary; there's no more detailed division at all.

Putting aside everything else, just his mastery of unusual weapons alone would probably include uncommon weapons such as axes, whips, halberds, crutches, and battle-axes.

Of course, he hasn't tried it yet; it's just a guess.

It may contain even fewer types than that.

"Just pick one and give it a try."

I randomly selected Swordsmanship Mastery, then opened the Strength tab, where a line of small text appeared: "[Please enter a number between 100 and 1000!]".

Without knowing the unit or what standard the entered number corresponded to, Li Zheng thought for a moment and entered the minimum value '100'.

The speed field is similar to the strength field, except that the range of values ​​that can be entered is now 40-360.

Similarly, select the minimum value, and finally confirm.

The next second, the Omniscient Training Device suddenly made a leaky sound, splitting open from top to bottom, and four soft metal springs, two long and two short, emerged from the middle.

Two long poles support the ground, while two shorter poles, like arms, divide the space to the left and right. Each pole strikes one of the two hemispheres, from which a strange blade-like weapon, one long and one short, pops out.

The design of these two weapons incorporates almost all the characteristics of knife-type weapons that Li Zheng knows, making them very strange and awkward to look at.

Logically speaking, such a weapon would completely violate the principles of ergonomics and mechanics if used in actual combat.

If someone were to ask a master weapon maker to make this weapon, the master might get so angry that he'd kick them out!

With two clanging sounds, the two strange weapons were connected to a shorter piece of soft metal, becoming one with almost no visible joint.

[Please use voice commands to select 'Start/Stop'.]

The virtual screen above its head displays text, which, I must say, is quite user-friendly.

Seeing this, Li Zheng's interest was gradually piqued. He was very curious as to why the training device was designed in such a strange way.

Given the technological level within the matrix, it could have been made much more refined.

Li Zheng raised his hand, summoning the long whip used for practice, and gave the order: "Begin!"

The next second, he swung his arm and lashed out with the whip.

The large whip-swinging motion made Miriel, standing nearby, frown and look disgusted.

Even a layman could tell from his unfamiliarity that Li Zheng's training was not up to par.

Whoosh!

The whip cracked, producing a crisp sound, but it failed to hit the training device.

Those limp 'legs' swayed twice, then suddenly found a certain angle and sprang out, light and agile, as nimble as a monkey.

Li Zheng's eyes lit up with surprise. The speed at which he dodged the training device was actually not fast. If he had been given a weapon that was easier to control, it would definitely not have been able to dodge his attack at that speed.

However, its agility in dodging and some of its techniques gave Li Zheng a lot of inspiration.

"It feels a bit like the special gait of Zhan Zhouzhou's family."

If I could practice with this device for a long time and observe and feel its dodging techniques up close, maybe I could learn this footwork myself?

Thinking this, Li Zheng didn't stop, and lashed out with two more whips, both of which were easily dodged by the training device.

This further strengthened Li Zheng's determination to learn this kind of footwork. Being able to dodge attacks with strength and speed far weaker than his own, even if it was just a few random whip lashes, was still quite remarkable.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
Li Zheng gradually became serious and immersed himself in practicing whip techniques.

Each time he lashed the whip, he would make a sound, just as Miriel had requested.

The Omniscient Training Device is like a small spinning top, nimbly bouncing around and accurately dodging the whip's strikes each time.

Just as Li Zheng was getting used to this inexplicable sparring method, the sparring device suddenly stopped dodging and instead raised two strange weapons, one long and one short, and charged forward.

With his long sword in front, he hooked and flicked, deflecting the whip that was lashing out.

The short sword is behind, hidden beneath the stance of the long sword's parry, like a lurking venomous snake.

The limbs twisted grotesquely a few times, and the short knife, following the soft whip that Li Zheng had lashed out with, used Li Zheng's own offensive momentum to cover itself, and went upstream, instantly appearing three millimeters in front of Li Zheng's neck, where it stopped motionless.

The text on the virtual screen jumped and turned into four large characters:
[Practice session ended.]

!!!

Li Zheng was shocked. He had actually lost just like that? He had lost without even realizing it?
And why did that scene just now make me feel so powerless?

Before I could even react, the dagger was already at my neck!

The speed of that strike wasn't particularly impressive; it was just a matter of angle and timing. Yet, right under my nose, it successfully broke through the soft whip's defenses and advanced to my front.
The movements of the training device were strange and comical, but upon careful recollection, Li Zheng was astonished to discover that these seemingly comical movements were often simple and efficient, with no unnecessary actions whatsoever.

Li Zheng felt that it couldn't even be considered a complete 'move'!
Back to Basics!

Integration and convergence!
This is true mastery of swordsmanship!
It is far beyond the level of swordsmanship mastery gained by learning a systematic set of sword techniques.

"Damn, the stuff from our treasure chest is truly top-notch!"

Li Zheng became excited. From what he had just witnessed, he finally understood the purpose behind the design of the training device in this shape.

Those four spring-like limbs are actually designed to make the power generation techniques more clearly visible.

With careful observation, it's easy to see that each of its twists corresponds to the most efficient power exertion details of human muscles and bones in every movement!
This is equivalent to the training device dissecting all the details and placing them in front of you.

You don't even need to understand the principles behind it; you can easily master it by simply following the steps!

It's like when you were a kid and you were lazy and copied someone else's homework. You didn't even need to think; you could just copy it verbatim.

Of course, if you don't use your brain when copying homework, then copying it is a waste of time.

Only by copying homework while thinking about it, and working backwards to find the solution process, can one truly learn from it.

Only this act of copying homework has any real value.

otherwise……

Just be a good-for-nothing!

Miriel also saw the key point, her expression changed, and she stepped forward and said, "Could I borrow this for a moment?"

“Of course.” Li Zheng pushed away the short sword that was resting in front of his neck. Only then did he realize that the weapons used in the training device were not sharpened.

"However, this thing can only unleash the ultimate power of the technique at most, so it shouldn't be of much value to you. Even if you practice with it, it won't be of much use."

Miriel didn't care about any of that. She simply shook her head and said softly, "I just wanted to test some ideas."

"Hmm, do you need me to adjust the sparring conditions for you?"

“Let’s adjust it. It would be best to make it use the whip specialization.” Miriel nodded.

"This……"

Li Zheng wasn't sure if the training device contained any whip techniques, but he still squatted down and changed the conditions to specialization in unusual weapons.

With the final conditions confirmed, the training device returned the two weapons to their original positions, then tapped another part of the device, pulling out a nine-section whip and a meteor hammer from the hemisphere...

"There's something strange here. It seems like this state is fixed, and it can't be used alone with the nine-section whip. Will this work?" Li Zheng studied it for a while but couldn't find a way to make the training device put away the meteor hammer.

"It's ok."

"How do I make it target me and fight me?" Miriel asked.

"You just need to say 'start' to it; it seems to recognize the target based on the command."

"Oh, then stand further away."

Li Zheng then walked away, wanting to see what Miriel was up to.

After he walked away, Miriel did not take off the long whip hanging from her waist. Instead, she shouted a command with her bare hands, causing the training device to launch an attack on her.

Next, Li Zheng witnessed how a master whip expert exerted force when wielding a whip.

The spring connecting the training device to the nine-section whip only twitched a very small arc, and the loose weapon taut straightened, attacking Miriel.

"stop!"

Before the move was even finished, Miriel called a halt, nodded in satisfaction, and walked up to Li Zheng, saying, "You, learn from it from now on!"

"..."

Li Zheng's lips twitched. So you just wanted to test whether this device could be my whip technique teacher so you could get rid of me?

"Alright, you can continue practicing. I won't bother you anymore."

Miriel skipped and hopped out of the practice room; it was clear she was in a very good mood.

Li Zheng watched Miriel's cheerful figure from behind and remained silent for a long time.

This is too bullying!
Am I really that bad at talent?

How could they be disliked to this extent?

but……

With this training device, learning any of the fighting techniques included in it, even if it's just your own talent, should be much easier, right?

Mastering the skills and acquiring fighters is just around the corner!
Ignoring Miriel, Li Zheng threw himself back into the sparring session.

Although this kind of sparring was more of a one-sided torture for him, sometimes he had to repeat the same process many times in order to see the power generation technique clearly, which seemed both stupid and boring.

But he enjoyed it immensely.

During his sparring sessions, through constant reflection, he made rapid progress in not only mastering whip techniques.

Even the few areas of expertise and specialization that I had already mastered have given me many new insights.

This fully demonstrates just how important it is to have a good teacher in martial arts.

When the fishing competition officially started at ten o'clock, Li Zheng finally came out of the training room.

During this sparring session lasting over an hour, he increased his progress in mastering whip techniques to 34.77%.

It's improved by about a third compared to the last time I received guidance from Miriel.

As Li Zheng was leaving, he happened to see Fukada, who was wearing a leather jacket, passing by the stairs.

After thinking for a moment, he gave the combat android a new mission.

Go to the training room to learn more combat techniques.

With its intelligent learning core, Fukada can acquire more fighting styles and techniques through this method.

……

Registration for the large-scale recreational event, the "Fishing Competition," has ended.

[Attention all legion leaders who have successfully registered: The fishing tournament venue is now officially open. You can use the additional functions within your legion to activate large-scale group teleportation and lead players who wish to participate in this event into the venue.]

(End of this chapter)