Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 477 Limited Edition Fishing Gear

Fishing competition, Lava Mountain venue.

The environment here is completely different from the endless ocean. The first thing you feel upon entering is the high temperature that is unbearable for most people.

The heat wave hits you in the face, and players with slightly lower physical fitness may even feel the exposed hair on their bodies slowly curling up under the scorching heat.

The terrain of the lava mountain range is also very distinctive. As far as the eye can see, there are barren rocky mountains with no vegetation, only various irregular volcanic craters scattered everywhere.

This is a paradise for players skilled in fire-based abilities, but also a place other players don't want to linger in.

"There are quite a few people here." Li Zheng stood at the entrance of the lava mountain range and looked around. Even with the high temperature surrounding him, there were still quite a few players fishing in the various volcanoes.

"Because most players who have developed fire-type gene abilities have excellent tolerance to high temperatures, and the special catches produced in the lava mountains have a strengthening effect on various fire-type abilities, these people are willing to suffer in this environment."

Fengshan walked over from a short distance away, answered Li Zheng's question, and then complained, "I knew you would come, but I didn't expect you to come so early."

Li Zheng asked in confusion, "How did you know I would come?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Feng Shan pointed to a volcano crater not far away: "This environment is practically tailor-made for you. Once your genetic ability is activated, the entire volcano will explode, right?"

"You already knew that fish caught using unconventional methods also count towards points?" Li Zheng asked, frowning.

"Not too early, I guessed it about five minutes ago when the fishing tackle merchant suddenly started selling a special item." Fengshan waved his hand and said, "Come and take a look?"

"it is good."

Li Zheng followed Feng Shan toward the merchant who was in charge of fishing gear trading in the Lava Mountain Range area, not far away.

Upon arriving, Li Zheng was surprised: "Is there no one else in your merchant group? How come you're here too?"

Fengshan was also surprised: "You know him?"

know?

Of course Li Zheng knows him!

That deep blue skin, unremarkable appearance, and untamed spirit.

Isn't this the wandering merchant "Xiao" that I met not long ago?

Xiao sat in the leather chair, enjoying the cool air from the air conditioner next to him. He held a bright red drink in his hand, slowly sipping it through a straw. Hearing Li Zheng's voice, he slightly raised his eyelids, revealing an unremarkable face: "Huh? You look a little familiar?"

“Sorry, all people of your race look pretty much the same to me. Have we met somewhere before?” Xiao said clearly, biting his straw. His expression didn’t seem like he was pretending to be stupid.

Fengshan stared at Li Zheng suspiciously. "Your so-called acquaintance means you know the other person, but the other person doesn't know you, right?"

Li Zheng was dumbfounded. So this guy is a bit face-blind?
Last time we parted, we said we'd be friends, but it's only been a short time and you've already forgotten about me?
But that doesn't make sense!

Even if you have face blindness, can't you tell the difference between someone with hair and someone without hair?
Just then, a player who was buying items walked over and said, "Boss, give me a grappling hook!"

"Great deal, 1000 points."

With customers, Xiao naturally prioritized business. He turned around, took out a uniquely shaped machine, and slammed it to the ground with a bang. He then casually collected a bunch of 'fish' that were predominantly fiery red and had all sorts of strange appearances.

Looking at that player, Li Zheng finally understood why Xiao couldn't distinguish between those with hair and those without.

This player was clearly an unlucky fellow who had also triggered the side effects; his entire head was covered in bald patches, making him no less unfortunate than Li Zheng.

"Damn it, with this grappling hook, I'm going to make those little trash from the Royal Cavalry kneel down and sing 'Conquer'!" The bald player packed up his device, gave Li Zheng a look of sympathy, and turned to leave.

Even from a distance, you could hear the man shouting into the distance, "Two brothers, come here! This grappling hook machine can't be operated by one person!"

Then two more bald players ran over from a distance...

After completing the transaction, Xiao turned around and saw Xiaoying sleeping behind Li Zheng. He immediately remembered: "I remember now, you were the first player to trade with me!"

Upon remembering who Li Zheng was, Xiao's expression became noticeably more friendly. After all, this was the most generous customer he had ever encountered in his business career, a single transaction equivalent to more than ten transactions with other players!

Li Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, his toes, which had been scratching the villa, were finally free of worry. Feng Shan's suspicious gaze seemed to have a magical power that could make people faint.

This guy never misses an opportunity to manipulate me, just like I did to Feng before.

"I didn't expect to run into you while doing a part-time job!" Xiao put his arm around Li Zheng's shoulder like a familiar friend. "That channel you told me about last time was really good, with a lot of high-quality customers. I even went back to thank you, but I couldn't find you."

Fengshan was annoyed when he saw this: "Holy crap, they actually know each other?"

Another opportunity to manipulate Lao Li has been lost, what a pity!

"Uh...you went back to channel 995 to find me?" Li Zheng recalled that after returning to channel 879, he had heard about Lu Li and Xiao fighting. He wondered if this matter was indirectly related to him.
However, on the other hand, given Xiao's face blindness, if Xiaoying didn't show up, even if he found him, he probably wouldn't recognize her.

“Yeah, otherwise why would I be so bored as to run around doing business?” Xiao looked puzzled. “I had just returned to that channel when I ran into another guy who attacked me. After I dealt with him, I realized that it wasn’t you.”

Settle it?

To be able to get to the point where he recognized that the other person wasn't him, how well must Lu Li have been dealt with back then?

Li Zheng was still very curious about this matter. He took the time to ask Lu Li why he would attack a businessman for no reason.

Lu Li said that Xiao appeared in the middle of the night, and he thought it was a wandering monster, so he took the initiative to strike first.

Unexpectedly, Xiao's strength was beyond comprehension, and he was defeated in just a few moves.

It's really not Lu Li's fault. Anyone who sees an extra creature in their room in the middle of the night would think it's a wandering monster, right?

This is an undeserved disaster.

Li Zheng's lips twitched slightly. Upon closer examination, he realized that Lu Li's beating by Xiao was also due to his own reasons.

We can offer him some compensation later, depending on the circumstances.

However, from a certain perspective, this can be considered "the son following in his father's footsteps".

"Oh, right." Li Zheng remembered something and asked Xiao, "Aren't you special merchants supposed to be able to fight back when attacked by players? Why did you show mercy this time?"

Special merchants are recruited by the terminal from the outer city. They are all very powerful. In order to protect active players, the rule was set that they are not allowed to take the initiative to attack active players.

However, with a large player base, there are bound to be some individuals with rather peculiar thought processes who, for example, target the goods of special merchants and resort to murder and robbery.

In response, the terminal also grants these special merchants the privilege of retaliating against players when absolutely necessary.

Otherwise, wouldn't the profession of "special merchant" become a pushover that everyone can bully?
This was based on two personal experiences and tests by Li Zheng. "Ha!" Xiao laughed and explained, "Anyway, your strength doesn't pose much of a problem for me. In your words, it's better to forgive and forget, and it's better to resolve conflicts than to create them!"

He spoke very magnanimously, but his true thought was that these players' strength was nothing special in his eyes.

Rather than turning around and killing the other party, it's better to spare their life.

After all, every player is a potential customer, and losing even one would be a loss.

Li Zheng looked at the other party suspiciously. Although he hadn't had much contact with Xiao, he knew that this blue-skinned guy's true nature was definitely not as simple as he made it out to be.

“Well, you basically can’t find me on channel 995 anymore,” Li Zheng said. “I’ve moved to channel 879 now.”

"879?!"

Xiao was stunned for a moment upon hearing this: "When did you get there?"

"Maybe... just the day before you came to find me?" Li Zheng wasn't too sure either.

"No wonder! I was wondering why the number of players in channel 995 suddenly increased. Did you guys perform a channel-wide transfer?" Xiao seemed to have figured something out.

“Yes, all the players you’re encountering in channel 995 right now are actually the same group from channel 879.” Li Zheng thought for a moment and said, “If it’s convenient for you, when would you like to come see me? I’d like to do some more business with you.”

He was about to head to the outer city, and it would be ideal if he could get some things from Xiao for self-defense.

"Okay." Xiao nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation.

This is a big client; one of his deals is worth ten of others', so it's worth the special trip he made.

"Let me ask you in advance, did you come to me for your little pet?" Xiao glanced at the sleeping Sakura. Last time, Li Zheng transferred his genetic energy to Sakura, which left a deep impression on him.

Li Zheng's expression shifted: "Do you have a solution here?"

“I do have it, but I don’t have it with me. I need to go back and get it.” Xiao nodded: “Its current state is quite troublesome to deal with. We need to go to the ancestral land of the Blood-Patterned Black Dragon to find a high-level black dragon. However, outsiders are not very welcome there. I have some connections there and can put in a good word for you.”

"The ancestral home of the Blood-Striped Black Dragon?" Li Zheng asked. "In which area of ​​the outer city?"

"Huh?" Xiao said with some surprise, "It seems you're learning more and more about the outer city."

"Unfortunately, the territory occupied by the Blood-Patterned Black Dragon is not in the outer city, but in a corner of the wasteland. You need a certain item to find the place accurately, and that is the item I need to go back to get."

"Just a friendly reminder, that item is quite rare. Even in the outer city, you might not be able to buy it easily, so the price..."

"How much?" Li Zheng asked.

"Five hundred!" Xiao gave the price.

"Five hundred!?" Li Zheng exclaimed, "Are you kidding me? A supernatural item only costs a little over a hundred!"

Five hundred units of genetic energy can buy at least three extraordinary items!
"I told you the price in advance because I consider you a friend, so you could be mentally prepared," Xiao said with dissatisfaction. "If it were someone else, I wouldn't even bother to go back and make the trip. There's really not much profit to be made."

Li Zheng narrowed his eyes. Good grief, he let it slip.
If a businessman says something like "there's really not much profit," it basically means that the deal will be very profitable!
He himself often does business with others. Putting himself in their shoes, if he could say such a thing, he would at least earn three times the cost in profit.

He immediately refused, saying, "Forget it, I'll figure it out myself after I get to the outer city."

Xiao Ke himself said something like, "Friendship is friendship, and business is business."

He's not incapable of taking advantage of an opportunity to make a quick buck.

"You'd better think this through. If you miss this opportunity, you might not even be able to find a channel after you go to the outer city." Xiao wanted to persuade him again.

However, Li Zheng was determined: "Needless to say, I really can't afford this price."

"Alright then, I hope you won't regret it later."

Xiao released Li Zheng and asked, "Since we can't do business outside of the event for the time being, how about we look after the business inside the event?"

"of course."

Li Zheng originally wanted to see what this so-called special fishing gear was all about. If it weren't for the fact that the merchant he met this time was Xiao, he wouldn't have been delayed for so long.

Xiao took out a tablet similar to the one Luo Aimang used and handed it to Li Zheng: "It records all the props I've sold so far."

Li Zheng took it. The props displayed on the tablet were completely different from those displayed on Roamong's, even the most basic fishing gear was very different.

The basic fishing gear sold in the Endless Ocean is mostly ordinary fishing rods, while the gear sold in the Lava Mountains is all made of high-temperature resistant materials, ensuring that you can fish in lava.

As for special items, there are no "torpedoes" or "speedboats" in the Lava Mountains; instead, there are "grappling hooks" and "gold panning tools."

The grappling hook—this special machine was just purchased for 1,000 points, which isn't particularly expensive at the current stage.

Its function is to launch a grappling hook that can penetrate deep into the bottom of the lava and directly grab the fish caught in the lava.

However, this kind of grasping is quite difficult and complicated to operate, requiring three people to drive it simultaneously.

This is the special prop that Fengshan mentioned, which had just started going on sale not long ago.

From the perspective of a fishing competition, the grabbing behavior of this machine does indeed go beyond the meaning of the word "fishing".

The "gold panning" tool has an interesting function.

Gold mining

Limited edition fish hooks

There is a chance to get special rewards while fishing.

(Available in all regions!)

Worth 3,000 points!
"How about that? Pretty generous, right?" Xiao said at this moment, "This gold panning item was originally supposed to be available for sale in seventeen minutes, but considering our friendship, I moved up the listing time."

"And let me tell you a secret in private: each venue in this competition has a similar limited edition fishing tackle. Collecting all six will have unexpected effects!"

An unexpected result?
Li Zheng asked, "What specific aspect does this unexpected effect refer to?"

Xiao mysteriously kept it a secret: "I can't say it directly."

(End of this chapter)