Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 483 None! Okay! I'll inform you! (4.4K)

"An interview? Me?"

Li Zheng looked at Bai Xiaosheng with a puzzled expression: "What's so interesting about me being interviewed... Wait, are you broadcasting my movements in real time?"

If I remember correctly, Bai Xiaosheng is from Jiutian, right?
"Yes, we've been focusing on Mr. Li since the beginning of the event." Bai Xiaosheng didn't deny it, nor was he embarrassed to say that at the request of the perverts in the live stream, he had turned the camera to the ladies who were giving out freebies.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you don't broadcast your Nine Heavens Legion, does your boss know?" Li Zheng didn't quite understand. Wasn't a tournament that all players were paying attention to an excellent opportunity for publicity?
From the legion's perspective, shouldn't Bai Xiaosheng be broadcasting the news about the experts from Jiutian?

"That's what our boss means."

Bai Xiaosheng didn't offer much explanation. He didn't do many interviews, and each one was time-limited, so he quickly steered the conversation back on track: "A considerable number of the spectators outside who didn't participate in the competition have expressed their dissatisfaction with Mr. Li's practice of charging for the Lava Mountain map. Does Mr. Li have anything to say about this?"

Quite a few complaints.

This word is used in a very subtle way.

Even with Li Zheng's intelligence, he knew that Bai Xiaosheng had already given a vague answer.

The phrase "quite critical" likely means that viewers watching the live stream have already cursed his ancestors for eighteen generations.

After a moment's hesitation, Li Zheng countered with a question: "Do you want me to give a more official answer, or a more heartfelt one?"

"Being more official" means using nice-sounding platitudes, while "being more heartfelt" is not necessarily the case.

“This is a live broadcast, not a TV station. Mr. Li, please feel free to speak.” Bai Xiaosheng adjusted the live broadcast camera from his perspective, trying to get as close as possible to Li Zheng’s face without filling the entire screen, leaving some blank space.

"Oh, then I'll put my heart into it."

Li Zheng nodded and replied seriously, "No comment!"

The four simple words left Bai Xiaosheng and all the viewers watching the live stream stunned.

"What the hell is this 'no comment' nonsense! I thought Li Zheng was going to start cursing right away, what a disappointment!"

"Exactly! Li Zheng has such a good temper. If it were me, I would have cursed at the camera for two minutes straight."

"Good-tempered? Are you serious, you in front?"

"Hilarious... A troll who died in a false accusation case at Li Zheng's hands has something to say: Li Zheng's temper is really too good~"

"This wave? This wave is so good it's making the screen go numb. If the audience and contestants hadn't been separated for this event, I would suspect that Li Zheng would have already started his rampage."

"What do you call this? This is called ignoring it! What's the use of the trolls hurling insults? They don't even bother to respond. It's like punching cotton."

Bai Xiaosheng glanced at the comments and found that almost all the comments in his live stream were in support of Li Zheng, with only a very few remaining neutral and treating him as a mere spectator watching the drama unfold.

However, for the sake of the live broadcast, Bai Xiaosheng certainly couldn't let Li Zheng off the hook so easily. After all, he was a special correspondent and was invincible during the interview.

Gritting his teeth, Bai Xiaosheng pressed for details, asking, "Regarding Mr. Li's order to release people for a fee, I have a preliminary thought, and I wonder if it aligns with Mr. Li's wishes."

He opened his mouth, about to continue speaking, but Li Zheng raised his hand to stop him: "Stop with your immature ideas. I just want to take this opportunity to earn some points."

"Uh……"

Bai Xiaosheng shut his mouth, his heart gradually growing anxious.

If this interview doesn't yield some substantial results, it wouldn't be in line with his usual "plucking feathers from a passing goose" style.

Looking at the time, there were still more than two minutes left. Ignoring Li Zheng's obstruction, Bai Xiaosheng switched the camera to his own face and said to himself, "Actually, everyone only saw that Li Zheng just gave the order to release people for a fee, but no one thought about the meaning behind it."

"First of all, I don't know if everyone has noticed, but the Lava Mountain area is much smaller than the other five areas, and the number of players it can accommodate is extremely limited."

"If we let players in freely, then other people will inevitably start fighting again over territory."

"Secondly, if this place were opened to others for free, with such a safe territory, would others still be in a hurry to conquer the other five bosses?"

"As we all know, players are much easier to defeat than bosses, aren't they?"

"Although this approach is radical and damages people's goodwill towards Qidian Legion, I think Mr. Li's original intention must be for the good of others."

"Am I right?"

Li Zheng was dumbfounded by Bai Xiaosheng's speculation and understanding. It took him a long time to react before he nodded and said, "Ah...yes, yes, you're right!"

How come I didn't know I was worrying about others so much?

Li Zheng sighed inwardly, "I really am a great philanthropist."

He then shouted loudly into the distance, "Brothers, the price we set earlier was too low; it didn't entice those people! Tell them that anyone who wants to come in now has to pay five times the previous price!"

Bai Xiaosheng: "..."

He never imagined that his nonsense would cause Li Zheng to drag what was originally a reasonable price to the point where everyone was against him.

He said that only for the sake of the live broadcast effect. Originally, as long as Li Zheng nodded, he could have covered up his words in the live broadcast and made some forced interpretations when doing things later. He could have definitely carved out a completely different path in the live broadcast industry.

I never expected this...

Li Zheng has no eyebrows and big eyes, yet he has such a wicked heart.

He didn't believe that Li Zheng hadn't realized he was talking nonsense. Didn't Li Zheng know what he was thinking?

Now that's great. Players from other legions could have spent some money and earned some points or special fish in the Lava Mountains.

Once Li Zheng raised the price, others only had two options left.

First, find a way to defeat the other bosses.

Second, stay in the Legion Transfer Space until the event ends.

what?
You said we could choose the third option, accept five times the price, and force our way into the lava mountains?

Stop making trouble!

Unless you're a professional angler like Deng Tianyuan, this price is unthinkable for most people; they simply can't afford it!

Not only can't they afford it, they even have to pay extra!

While the saying "fishing pros always come back empty-handed" is a bit of an exaggeration, does it mean that someone can earn over 50 points per hour?
difficult!
With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, Bai Xiaosheng didn't dare to continue the interview for a moment, so he gave up the remaining minute and went straight back.

When he returned to the outer room, he heard a few sentences of conversation coming from the live stream.

Fengshan asked Li Zheng, "Are you really going to charge five times the points?"

Li Zheng replied, "No, I was just teasing him. Let's keep the price the same."

"Poof!~"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaosheng nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He realized he had been tricked by Li Zheng.

He quickly reflected on his actions and realized it was all his fault. After meeting Li Zheng, he immediately maintained a rational and objective attitude during the interview.

In that situation, being a rational and objective person was no different from standing on the opposite side of Li Zheng; it would be strange if Li Zheng gave him a friendly face.

At this moment, another player's figure appeared next to Li Zheng in the scene.

Then Zhou Shufen's highly recognizable voice rang out: "Li Zheng, I'm your fan, can I get your autograph?"

"sure."

Li Zheng's attitude changed drastically. He smiled kindly and approachably, took the ballpoint pen Zhou Shufen handed him, and asked, "Where should I sign?" Zhou Shufen unbuttoned the first button of her collar and turned it over, saying, "Sign here, sign here on the collar. That way, I'll be closest to my idol."

"This...isn't that a bit inappropriate..." Li Zheng said hesitantly, but his hands didn't hesitate, quickly writing his name on the inner lining of Zhou Shufen's collar.

The characters were neat and upright, not at the level of someone who had practiced calligraphy for many years, but they gave people a sense of warmth and familiarity.

Zhou Shufen tugged at her collar, revealing her beautiful collarbone, and examined the signature for a while before exclaiming happily, "Wow, your handwriting is so beautiful! It looks just like my dad's!"

"You flatter me, you flatter me." Li Zheng scratched his head a little embarrassedly: "Actually, I just practiced calligraphy for a short time when I was a child. Many people write better than me."

"No wonder you look so familiar," Zhou Shufen complimented, then added, "Idol, can I interview you too?"

"Pick! Pick as much as you want!"

Unlike his treatment of Bai Xiaosheng, Li Zheng was very generous this time.

In Bai Xiaosheng's live stream, several comments floated by:
"Look at them!"

"Oh no, that bastard has been outdone by someone else!"

"Hilarious! Going up there with a stern, businesslike face, who's going to want to talk to you?"

"Exactly, Zhou Shufen did the right thing. She acted like a lapdog when they met, making them feel good, and then she could do whatever she wanted with them."

"This is what they mean by 'you can't hit a smiling face,' you scoundrel, learn from this!"

Looking at these comments, Bai Xiaosheng felt as if he had been pierced by a thousand arrows.

Little did he know that Li Zheng, who looked quite serious, was actually a typical person who would respond better to gentle persuasion than force.
"Then I'll start asking questions."

Zhou Shufen held up a ballpoint pen like a microphone in front of Li Zheng: "May I ask if your statement about charging a fee to allow other people to enter is really as Bai Xiaosheng said?"

"Half and half."

Li Zheng replied, "I know that this behavior might seem like taking advantage of someone's misfortune to those watching the live stream, but think about it yourselves. I killed the boss in the Lava Mountain arena, and I created the safe environment. Charging now is just exchanging labor for reward, right?"

"Yes."

Zhou Shufen held the ballpoint pen in front of her and said, "I also think it's perfectly reasonable for idols to charge a fee. People can't always think about taking advantage without giving anything in return. Even if you consider the idol's act of killing the boss to create a safe zone as being hired, wouldn't they still have to receive some compensation? It's just that this kind of 'hiring' is directed at members of other legions."

"Yes, that makes sense." Li Zheng nodded slightly.

Zhou Shufen glanced at the comments and raised her second question: "Someone here asked, if we follow your logic, isn't it unnecessary to forcibly clear out the players in front? Wouldn't it be enough to just let them hand in their scores?"

"The question is simple: you're having a great time at a free place, and then someone suddenly tells you that you have to pay. Would you pay them?"

Li Zheng said, "Even if you give them, will others give them too? If the first player is unwilling to give points, won't the others also refuse to give them?"

"Just kick everyone out, and those who want to continue playing can pay. It's reasonable and fair, and no one will complain."

Li Zheng thought for a moment and then said, "However, another reason is that the previous players were a mixed bag. There were some guys I didn't like in there, and I was too lazy to distinguish them one by one, so I simply kicked them all out and let them come back in."

"Understood!" Zhou Shufen nodded, then glanced at the comments and found that after Li Zheng's serious explanation, the reasons he gave were quite convincing, and there were far fewer abusive comments. Instead, there were more questions and comments.

Selecting a few of the more interesting points, the girl said, "Actually, many things are caused by misunderstandings due to insufficient communication. If we are more tolerant of each other, we will find that the world is much more beautiful than we think."

"Idol, I have a few more questions. You can consider answering them or not."

"Well, you ask."

With Li Zheng's consent, Zhou Shufen promptly extended the interview session to a second time and then asked, "An audience member asked, what kind of girl do you like?"

Li Zheng: "???"

This topic jumps around so much, my brain can't keep up for a moment.

It's not entirely unreasonable for some viewers to be so carefree as to ask such a question at a time like this.

It turns out that someone once called out to Li Zheng on the world channel, but Li Zheng found it boring and ignored it.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, I casually posted a comment, only to be selected by Zhou Shufen who then asked me a question.

Being a girl, Zhou Shufen was more interested in this aspect than some more formal questions.

"Ideally, it would be a more independent woman." Li Zheng felt that since he had agreed to continue the interview, he might as well finish answering the questions.

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Zhan Zhouzhou, who was discussing something with Feng Shan and the others, and said somewhat guiltily, "The additional condition is long, wavy hair."

"what?!"

Upon hearing the additional conditions, Zhou Shufen looked down dejectedly at her feet and said disappointedly, "Do all three additional conditions have to be met?"

"???" Li Zheng was confused. Wasn't what he just said an additional condition?

How did it become three?

"Alright, alright, we're in a hurry, let's move on to the next question." Zhou Shufen glanced at the interview time limit and quickly continued, "Some viewers want to know, do you prefer soy milk or tofu pudding? And do you like your soy milk sweet or savory?"

"Where's the tofu pudding?"

Do you like cilantro?

Do you feel happy?

"Should we eat mooncakes with mixed nuts or fruit puree?"

Do you prefer zongzi with salted pork and salted egg yolk, or with jujubes and red beans?

A series of questions left Li Zheng completely bewildered.

What is this all about?

Don't you have any serious questions at all?

Why don't you guys just keep arguing and debating in the comments!
At least that would make me feel that the world is normal.

After patiently answering each question, Li Zheng gradually lost patience with this joke-filled interview: "Um... can we talk about something more meaningful?"

"Oh, here's one."

Zhou Shufen read aloud from the comments: "What did you get after dismantling the Boss? Why did you put it away instead of using it immediately? Was it material for crafting other items?"

"Well..."

Li Zheng hesitated and said, "I can't tell you the specific attributes, but there is one restriction that is not a secret."

"All items obtained from this fishing competition will be banned and cannot be used until the event ends."

Actually, there are a few restrictions on the core of the Molten Spirit, but those restrictions involve the gameplay of subsequent events, so Li Zheng chose to keep them a secret for the time being.

Just then, Zhou Shufen's two interviews ended within the allotted time. She said goodbye to Li Zheng and then disappeared from the scene.

Thanks to that last question, the discussion in all the live streams shifted from whether Li Zheng was right to occupy the space to speculating about the functions of the Boss's products and what restrictions the terminal would impose on them.

……

P.S. Anyone want to guess what the restrictions are? The person who guesses correctly will get a monthly vote for me, hehe!

(End of this chapter)