Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 471 Holy crap, ice! (5.8K)

Sunshine, beach, waves.

Even the humid breeze makes one feel the strong atmosphere of summer.

"Wow, it's so lively."

Li Zheng led Miriel, Xiaoying, and Zhan Zhouzhou out of the portal and arrived at the Endless Ocean arena.

The entrance is a vast beach, with occasional patches of pebble mudflats and coconut trees of varying heights.

Because the Qidian Legion was slightly delayed at the transit station, the entire beach was already packed with people when Li Zheng and his group arrived.

It was truly packed with people!

Li Zheng turned to look at the small area in front of the portal that was deliberately separated by the terminal. No player could stay here for too long.

otherwise……

"Excuse me, let me through!"

Suddenly, a large crowd surged out from behind them, scattering Li Zheng and his group.

"Goodness, this is really chaotic." Li Zheng steadied himself and looked at the group of players who had just come out and were now squeezing into the beach area.

They are not members of the Qidian Legion.

"Hey! Why aren't you fishing? What are you doing blocking the way?"

"Hurry up and move aside! Don't block the people coming in, okay?"

"Damn! I feel like I didn't come here to fish, I came here to experience what it's like to be a sardine in a can..."

The group of people were either shouting or complaining as they pushed and shoved.

This is considered a player with a good temper; some players with worse tempers directly swore.
"Good dogs don't block the way! Can't you all get the hell out of my way?"

"Damn it! If you don't get out of the way, I'm going to chop someone up!"

This sparked outrage among the players who had been there, who responded with their own rebuttals:
"Would you like to curse again?"

"Why don't you try it yourself?"

"What are you?"

……

The conflict finally ended with thirst; everyone pulled out water bottles and gulped down the water, sweating profusely.

There's no way around it, there are just too many people. Should we take action?

Ha ha……

Let's talk about it when you're ready to unleash your full potential!
Furthermore, the terminal has implemented special rules here, preventing players from causing harm to each other.

Of course, I can still fight.

Just because you won't get hurt doesn't mean it won't hurt if someone cuts you with a knife.

"Should we tell Lao Xiao not to send anyone to the Endless Ocean?" Zhan Zhouzhou finally squeezed through the crowd and came up to Li Zheng, saying, "There are too many people here. I estimate that at least a third of the players in the entire matrix have come here."

Many players have the courage, drive, and expertise to develop gene abilities, but this event is primarily for entertainment, and many of the small, temporarily created legions are there simply to relax.

Of the several environments provided by the terminal, besides the endless ocean, which one is more suitable for relaxing?
What?
You mean a desert oasis?

Are there any bikini-clad ladies in the desert oasis?

What's more, there are many female players from Western countries in the Endless Ocean, wearing only half a bikini, which is incredibly revealing.

Li Zheng glanced over and saw several Western girls in half-bikinis being surrounded by a large group of male players who were taking advantage of them.

Shocking to your values?
Or do you think it's morally reprehensible?

Think more!
Do you think these girls didn't expect things to turn out this way before they dressed like that?

They did it on purpose!

Oh, a girl who deliberately dresses like that does seem a bit morally deficient.

But they're happy to do it...

However, Li Zheng found it quite absurd that the terminal did not intervene in this phenomenon.

Because of those girls in half-finished outfits, the already crowded entrance became even more congested.

By the time the people assigned by the Qidian Legion arrived, the road was completely blocked, and they could not move an inch.

"late."

Li Zheng thought for a moment: "And the entrances in other places are probably not much better than this one."

"What should we do then?" Zhan Zhouzhou frowned, turned around and punched several male players who were sneaking up to take advantage of her in the face, hitting them all in the eyes without exception.

"Anyone who doesn't want to die, get the hell out of here!"

Coldly rebuking the group, Zhan Zhouzhou asked Li Zheng, "Shall we just stay here and wait for them to disperse?"

"It's not necessary."

Li Zheng looked around and said, "Didn't the description of the venue given by the terminal say that there are many islands in the Endless Ocean? Those players who are really here for the event should soon disperse and go to other islands to compete."

"However... we don't need to be foolish and wait here."

"If we can't go on the ground, we can go to the sky. Don't you have a hovercraft?"

Li Zheng said with a wicked smile, "Let these players experience what it's like to take a sand bath at the beach."

The working principle of an air-lift propulsion device is to use airflow to generate a huge force that lifts a person into the air.

When Li Zheng used this prop before, it often stirred up a lot of dust or mud.

In a beach setting, using a buoy to take off would undoubtedly endanger everyone around.

Zhan Zhouzhou was already annoyed by the crowd, and after Li Zheng said that, she didn't care about anything else and immediately said, "Then I'll go first, you guys follow."

Swoosh~ Puff~ Boom!
The levitation thrusters behind her started operating, instantly reaching maximum power, and a strong airflow was thrust towards the ground.

The soft sand was stirred up by the airflow and spread outwards, forming a circular sandstorm that instantly swept over all players within a radius of more than fifty meters.

The sand and gravel stirred up by the airflow blocked out the sun, and before those people could figure out what was going on, they had a mouthful of sand.

Li Zheng: "..."

You son of a bitch!!!
I'm still here!

TJP type ion shield belt, energy -1%...-2%...-5%
Li Zheng: "..."

I go!

Even the belt that blocks ranged attacks has been triggered! How high of a power are you using?!

Zhan Zhouzhou didn't care about anything else. He took off into the air using the levitation thruster, and heard a string of unintelligible words in his ears.

Turning around, I saw Li Zheng's two pets.
Good heavens, it has abandoned its owner again and quietly avoided the crowded people.

Scoring twice belongs to yes.

……

"Ptooey! Ptooey!"

"Cough cough..."

"Fuck! Where did this sandstorm come from? Did I come to the wrong place?"

"Damn! Someone did this on purpose, right? That's so despicable!"

As the sand gradually settled, a large number of sand sculptures appeared at the entrance.

The sand sculptures were spitting out the sand they had eaten, cursing under their breath.

Among the group of sand sculptures, Li Zheng was the only exception. All the sand was blocked within five centimeters of him, and he was the cleanest one without getting any sand on him.

"That's right! They have no sense of public morality at all!" Seeing several people looking at him, Li Zheng felt a little guilty for some reason and joined in with a few symbolic curses.

Secretly, Li Zheng sent a message in the legion channel: "Members who haven't entered the Endless Ocean yet, please go to other places. It's too congested here, and it won't be cleared in a while."

There weren't many Qidian members who followed Li Zheng and the others in; there were fewer than fifty of them.

The remaining hundreds were unable to enter because the portal was blocked, and they were still at the transfer station sending messages asking what was going on.

Upon receiving Li Zheng's message, Wang Chaoran, who had originally led the team into the Endless Ocean, immediately turned around and headed to the desert oasis map.

Because the desert oasis is all land, players can evacuate much faster there than in the endless ocean, and the congestion isn't as severe.

Do you all have the means of flight?

Li Zheng pulled out forty-six sand sculptures at the portal entrance and asked them all the same question.

"Have."

"I do not……"

The forty-six people were soon covered by yellow sand after entering, and they were all completely dumbfounded.

"Those who can fly, go up and meet up with Deputy Regiment Commander Zhan first. The rest of you, come here. I'll lend you your aircraft."

Li Zheng made arrangements for them one by one, and then an even more intense 'sandstorm' swept through the portal entrance.

This time, Li Zheng and his group were smarter. They all covered their faces, and Li Zheng even changed his conspicuous earth dragon armor, for fear of being recognized later.

“(＾－＾)V Yeah!”

"Yahoo~"

"Wuhu~"

One by one, the members of the starting point, wearing their levitation thrusters, cheered and took off, splashing countless amounts of yellow sand onto the nearby crowd.

Li Zheng didn't use his abilities, but instead wore a flying vehicle, lowered his altitude, and focused on the women in half-bikinis gathered near the entrance.

He realized from the air that the space not far away was actually quite spacious, especially the beach. In addition to the fishermen, there were also many people swimming in the sea, so the shore was not particularly crowded.

The reason the entrance was so congested was all the fault of those girls in half-finished bikinis...

After slightly disciplining those who maliciously blocked the entrance, Li Zheng led everyone from Qidian, ignoring the rising and falling curses below, and flew low towards the sea. Just kidding.

We're all competitors. With such a great opportunity, it would be a shame not to mess with you guys, right?
However, Li Zheng's actions can be considered a good thing. At least those people at the entrance, after suffering a loss, all stayed away from there, fearing that those who came in later would follow suit and give them another sand bath.

Along the beach, on the path that Li Zheng and his gang had ravaged, one by one, people covered in dust and dirt emerged.

One of the golden octopus heads stood out conspicuously, glaring angrily at the departing crowd, its tentacles waving wildly.

"If it weren't for the terminal restrictions preventing me from attacking you, I would definitely teach you a lesson!!!" The golden head instantly turned pure black, indicating that its inner rage could no longer be contained.

With a determined look, Roemon shouted to the players on the beach, "Big sale! Deep-sea sonar torpedoes, once launched, will forcibly clear all fish of all levels within the target area for twenty minutes!"

"Each one costs only 300 points!"

"You can buy it with a loan in advance!"

In an instant, the shout attracted the attention of almost every player on the entire beach.

Why would fishing gear dealers arranged by the terminal buy such harmful and unprofitable products?
Members of the same legion exchanged glances, each wanting to secretly buy a few to trip up the others, but too embarrassed to buy them openly.

"Give me two!"

A player, soaking wet, approached Roemeng and huffed.

His name is Zhang Long, the leader of a small fishing group and also a fishing enthusiast. He came to participate in the fishing competition to enjoy the fun of fishing.

As a result, he was fishing and humming a song among the rocks, not bothering anyone, when suddenly a strong gust of wind blew him overboard into the sea.

It was one thing to choke on a few mouthfuls of water, but when the fish basket I had tied to the side struggled, I tore it apart. All the second and third-grade fish I had caught escaped, leaving me with nothing!
As everyone knows, besides going home empty-handed, what anglers find most unbearable is losing the fish they caught.

As a seasoned angler, Zhang Long is even more so.

"Commander, think it over!" A member of the legion quickly stepped forward to advise, "One torpedo is worth three hundred points, and we haven't earned a single point yet. What will we do if we can't pay back before the event ends?"

"This……"

After being persuaded like that, Zhang Long calmed down.

Indeed, if you can't accumulate enough points in the end, wouldn't you be at a huge loss?
"What are you afraid of?"

Seeing that the business deal was about to fall through, Luo Aimang revealed an evil smile: "It's okay if you can't pay back the points. You can use the materials in your inventory to pay off the debt. One piece of black iron-grade material or ten grams of black iron-grade special metal can offset one point. It's a great deal!"

"Besides, the rules of the fishing competition only say that the catch can be exchanged for points. Does it say that the catch must be caught by yourself?"

This isn't just a hint, it's an explicit statement!
Luo Aimang was telling all the players present that there was another way to play this fishing competition.

In that instant, those who were initially hesitant began to waver.

It's important to know that the percentage of players who stay on the starting island is actually quite small, less than one-tenth of all players who come to the Endless Ocean map.

The others bought fishing gear from Roemont after entering the area and then went out to sea to find a place to fish.

If I gather the people in my legion together and send some of them out fishing, I don't need to catch a lot of fish, just enough to break even in this event.

If some of them were to go out and interfere with other people's fishing, and also steal their catch, wouldn't that give them an advantage in this event?
If we execute our strategy well, winning this event is not impossible.

Although the rewards for the winners of this event are negligible, standing out among countless legions is a great boost to enhancing the reputation of one's own legion!

These thoughts circulated in many people's minds, including Zhang Long's.

Immediately, he slapped his thigh and said, "Send the order to assemble our legion for a meeting!"

At Zhang Long's command, everyone on the beach, whether they were from his legion or not, got busy.

Luo Aimang smiled and waved his tentacles, giving the players another boost of confidence: "Not just deep-sea sonar torpedoes, this shopkeeper has many more goodies here~"

Although I can't directly retaliate against those players from before, I've used this trick to drag everyone into the chaos, and I don't believe you can stay out of it!

On the other side, Li Zheng led dozens of legion members, flying over the ocean.

They had already searched for several islands, but they were all occupied by other legions, and none of them were willing to share their territory and fish with them.

What's most infuriating is Kunlun!

Liu Qishao had actually given them instructions beforehand: Kunlun could yield to anyone, but it was forbidden to give up its territory to Qidian!
The reason is that Li Zheng and his team have already won the first event, and they absolutely cannot be allowed to win the fishing competition again!

Li Zheng had nothing to say about this. Since Liu Qishao wanted to compete with Qidian, then Qidian would have a fair competition with them!

but……

On the sea, Li Zhengfei recalled all the players he had met since he went out to sea, each with different fishing gear, and fell into deep thought.

Holy crap, where did all these people get their fishing rods?

Let alone the Qidian Legion, I've never heard of anyone possessing such an item since the start of the game. How come so many have suddenly appeared?

Could it be that……

What crucial thing did I overlook?

“Speaking of which…did we forget to buy fishing gear from the fishing tackle merchant?” Zhan Zhouzhou seemed to have received the news and flew to Li Zheng’s side to speak quietly.

"Fishing...fishing gear merchant?" Li Zheng was taken aback. There was such a profession in the event?
“Yeah, I only found out about the fishing tackle merchant when Lao Xiao asked us what level of fishing tackle we bought.” Zhan Zhouzhou said with a sullen face, “I just asked, and Lao Xiao said the fishing tackle merchant is at the entrance of each map, it’s easy to spot.”

"An entrance? Is there one?"

Li Zheng was bewildered and began to recall carefully.

Scenes from the endless ocean flashed through Li Zheng's mind until finally, he noticed that when he was leading the team to shoot others with the flying vehicle, he had indeed seen a smooth, round golden object.

However, that golden hue was instantly covered by the yellow sand, so he didn't take it seriously at the time.

Now that I think about it, that thing looks kind of familiar.

I feel like I've seen this place somewhere before?
……

Outside of the event, in Bai Xiaosheng's live stream, Li Zheng's bewildered expression was clearly visible on the screen.

The comments section was filled with unanimous "hahahahaha" laughter.

"Holy crap, that's hilarious! At first, I thought Li Zheng was on the fifth floor because he was using a flying vehicle to interfere with other people's fishing. Now that I realize he hasn't even bought any fishing gear, I've finally figured out he's on the third basement level..."

"Although it's funny, I still have to defend Li Zheng. The fishing gear merchant was buried alive on the spot, so he probably didn't notice."

"Hey upstairs, you need to think back, who buried that fishing gear merchant?"

"...Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a bit like living in Bengbu."

"Alright, alright, I need to explain." As a news anchor with considerable popularity, Bai Xiaosheng naturally received the 'special correspondent' invitation from the terminal.

At the same time, he also has to take on the responsibility of 'commentary' to enhance the program's effect.

"In that situation, even if Li Zheng had found the fishing gear merchant, there wouldn't have been enough time to go down and buy the tools from him."

"After all, nearly half the people on the beach had been ravaged by them. If he had gone down there, he probably would have been beaten up by everyone."

Instead of dwelling on past mistakes, let's analyze what Li Zheng should do next.

"Personally, I think that since things have come to this point, the Qidian Legion should first find a foothold, occupy the territory, and then send someone disguised to buy fishing gear."

"We can see that Li Zheng did the same thing at this time."

As Bai Xiaosheng explained, Li Zheng, who was also on screen, raised the same idea.

At this moment, Li Zheng was unaware that he was being live-streamed the entire time, and was still planning where to stay.

Just then, words suddenly appeared before their eyes.

[A large school of high-quality fish has gathered 100 meters ahead, including some special catches. It is recommended to stop here.]

Where should I settle down?
Li Zheng and Zhan Zhouzhou exchanged a glance, clearly indicating that the female warrior had also received the same message.

The two then looked around, but there wasn't a single island, not even a reef or piece of debris, in the nearby sea. Where could they find a place to land?

"Look at me."

Li Zheng immediately came up with a solution. The aircraft's power was reduced instantly, and he shot towards the sea like a cannonball.

"Ice and Fire Attachment - Ice Type!"

A dense chill quickly condensed in my hand, emitting a hazy blue light.

"Freeze!"

With a single hand thrust out, the blue light surged, and the originally turbulent sea beneath Li Zheng suddenly encountered a drop in temperature, and began to freeze inch by inch.

As Li Zheng released more and more cold air, the area of ​​the ice surface expanded rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it formed a small iceberg large enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

However, although this ice surface is large, it is like a rootless duckweed, inevitably being pushed around by the waves.

A thought struck Li Zheng, and he pointed with his other hand, shouting, "Change!"

As the cry rang out, the ice surface began to slowly deform, forming an inverted cone shape beneath the seawater, stretching infinitely towards the seabed.

"Ice-type Gene Ability: Shaping!"

This genetic ability, which Li Zheng had not been optimistic about since its development, unexpectedly came in handy at this moment, which was beyond Li Zheng's expectations.

His ability to instantly freeze the sea surface was also broadcast live.

The comments section, which had been laughing at Li Zheng for forgetting to buy fishing gear, suddenly froze, then filled with a multitude of "??????" and "!!!!!!!"

"It's so numb from squeezing it, it's made my skin go numb. It can freeze the sea surface within a hundred meters radius into ice with just a flick of its wrist? That's incredible!!"

"My wife asked me why I was kneeling to watch the live stream, and I said my knees were frozen."

Suddenly, the live stream screen changed, revealing ice spikes growing wildly beneath the calm sea surface.

This caused the live chat to explode.

"We both have ice-type gene abilities, so why can I only condense a small ice ball?"

"Holy crap! How much genetic energy does he have? Is it inexhaustible?"

"We all evolved together as humans, so why am I considered useless compared to him?"

"Well said, upstairs! I'm Waste Number 2!"

"I'm different from you guys. I'm a special kind of useless, so I'm a special kind of useless!"

"This fucking life is so damn bad, I don't want to live another second longer. I'm fucking starting over right now!"

(End of this chapter)